JANUARY - IT'S THAT TIME OF YEAR

Around this time of year I am given a nudge and suddenly remember my garden, yes, the one at the end of the alleyway past the barn. It is deep in it's Winter sleep, well it should be, but it seems to having odd spurts of business this year. What usually gives me that nudge are the garden catalogues that come rattling through the post box. Delicious booklets full of wonderfully coloured and scented plants. There is nothing like sitting with your breakfast cup of coffee and toast working your way through these wonderful books. You can transplant, in your mind's eye, these healthy mature plants into your garden. These juicy succulent books overcome you and then the fun begins, out comes the pen and paper and the lists begin to be made. 'oooh one of those would be nice, ooooh what a reasonable price that is, ooooooooh look at this special offer or if I buy X amount I will get this free'. Then reality hits, you add up your lists and find you have, in your little fantasy world spent a couple of hundred pounds. That's when the crossing outs begin and you think 'Do I really need six types of lavender?'



Used wisely though, you can pick up the bargains, especially if you can team up with a friend to buy the larger amounts that come at the really discounted prices. In my garden though the larger amounts even divided are still too much and too many for my space. Every year I think surely my garden is full but I still manage to squeeze a little more in. I have decided not to sew seeds this year, I am still going out to buy my bedding plants later in the year, but what I buy from catalogues will be perennials, as last year's did so well. I have my eye on a lovely set of penstemons, a plant I only grew for the first time last year, but which gave so many flowers right through the summer and autumn. I also want some more flowering small shrubs for the alleyway and need to do some serious wall covering, I am thinking Virginia Creeper and another lovely looking climber called Firethorn. I have also promised myself a little rock garden in some suitable container to put on my bench near the back door. I must also, make my first foray into rose growing, and I am thinking about the luscious David Austen roses. I am also searching for those lovely hanging coloured glass baubles that you see a lot of on the sites of people who live in Germany. I think a few more ornaments is what my garden lacks. It does make spring seem nearer all this garden daydreaming, though I have heard we are forecast severe storms from tomorrow.



I found these two interesting meme's on Janet's site, so I have pinched them, feel free to use them if you wish, I won't be bothering tagging anyone.

Two names you go by:
1. Daisy 2. My secret magick name

Two parts of your heritage
1. English 2. Irish

Two things that scare you:
1. Snakes 2. Religious fundamentalists

Two everyday essentials:
1. Coffee 2. Something [preferably a book] to read

Two things you are wearing right now:
1. A large paisley shawl and big spotty fluffy furry slippers [I interchange them with my tiger feet ones] it's freezing and windy outside today

Two of your favorite bands or musical artists (at the moment)
1. Madeleine Peyroux 2. Loreena McKennitt

Two things you want in a relationship (other than love):
1. A united front in time of crisis 2. Occasionally I need my own space or sanctuary

Two truths:
1. I have a fear of going blind [because I use my eyes the most of all my senses, though some might say my mouth never stops talking] 2. Chronic fear of flying

Two favorite hobbies:
1. Creating all sorts of things artistic 2. Reading

Two things you need to do this week:
Oh God how can I narrow it down to two!!!!!!!!! Right!!
1. Keep on sorting out belongings for Mother's move 2. Find time to have a decent conversation with my husband, not just hello, goodbye, I'm going now be back sometime tonight

Two stores you shop at:
1. Waterstones [Bookshop a bit like Borders only probably smaller] 2.The Pier, for simply glorious ornaments and furniture 3. Monsoon, for gorgeous accessories, handbags, clothes etc [only at sale times though] 4. TK Maxx [Where would we be without it]
Do you really think I could only list two shops?

Two favorite sports:
This must be a joke question, I haven't got one ounce of liking for sport in me. I suppose watching our local heron fish and bunnies in the fields playing tag

Two shows you like to watch:
1.Lost [Before it went to sky] 2. Invasion [Before they abruptly ended it] Don't watch a lot of TV

Two things you’d buy if money were no object:
1. A house on a hill with fantastic gardens overlooking a wide vista of the sea with a private beach below 2. An Elizabeth Frink sculpture for the garden, either a running person or a horse

Two wishes for 2007:
1. That we get out of Iraq, we can do no good there, get rid of Blair, and please there must be someone out there, who is not yet corrupted with some scruples and morals left that can put this country to rights 2. Personal wish, that I get all my projects made and my other projects set up with a nice degree of success



Fill in the blanks to each of these statements - it's as simple as that! These don't have to be one-word responses. Use as few or as many words as you need to fill each blank, in order to tell your story. My responses are in italics:-

1. I have never wanted to be famous, I just like communicating with people, exchanging ideas and even maybe one day writing a book. I am friendly but never want to get caught up in some mad publicity show, so I do things quietly and wait for word of mouth to get round.

2. When I was 18 I believed I could have it all and live this rather strange boheminan lifestyle without regard as to how I was to afford it, I was nearly 16 when it was the Summer of Love, so called, I thought I could go to America, and live in Haight Ashbury or follow Kerouac's footsteps to Big Sur. It was all a beautiful dream, it has taken my until my early 50's and some boring times trying to keep my wild child spirit in check to realise that now I can be what I really am and my wild side does not just creep out for an occasional view of the world. It can be permanently unleashed, it is my creative self, that wild child.


3. If I was my own best friend, what I would enjoy the most about spending time with Me would be sitting in a lovely café drinking coffee or a glass or two of wine, discussing our creative projects, laughing, giggling, recommending each other books, then going together to buy art supplies, browsing bookshops, walking round an art gallery and finishing up in another café or bistro for a meal before before heading home; while what I'd find the most irritating would be what irritates me most about myself, I can't help it if I get really excited talking I tend to cut across the person talking, I really find that impolite and do try to check it, its just I get intense and excited.

4. If the story of my life up to this point was being published tomorrow, it would be titled DAISY, A WOMAN OUT OF STEP WITH TIME, knowing that most of my beliefs, ideas etc are out of sync with the modern world, not that I care just the world is moving and spinning too fast, people need not to be so time obsessed and slow the world's pace down, hurry gets us nowhere.

5. When my time on Earth is over, and the people who loved me are remembering me, it would please me if they said Daisy was a free spirit, and slightly eccentric at times, but you could always rely on her if you had a crisis

.

I am afraid I have to finish on a very sad note, my best friend's husband died on Tuesday lunchtime. They went on the holiday of a lifetime last year, and he came back to the news that he had an inoperable brain tumour. All this happened within six months. Please keep them both in your thoughts, especially my friend. Thank you.