Day 304 - October 31

For today I chose a photo to suit the occasion. But it also has a special story - it was taken at the beginning of the year! Every winter we seem to have two of these big black house spiders living in our bath room, one behind the radiator and the other behind the sink stem. (BTW, they have just appeared again - so I COULD have taken a new photo...call me lazy.) And every year for 2 or 3 times, my German friend Nicole used to come over to work bank shifts at the local hospital (she's a midwive) which is just down the road, so she stayed with us. Nicole is totally arachnophobic so when she first saw one of those spiders, she didn't want to go into the bathroom anymore! Then DH in his ingenuity made up a story about them being our pets, and that they had names - I then quickly called them Amalia and Charlotta, two very old-fashioned German names. Strangely enough, after that, Nicole was okay with the bathroom, as long as I went in first to make sure neither of the two was in evidence at the moment... And ever since, the annul spiders in the bathroom are Amalia (behind the radiator) and Charlotta (behind the sink). So - meet Amalia!!!

Day 303 - October 30

Another spot of Halloween: In the little flower shop opposite the church they had two really magnificent old witch marionettes for a window display - I tried to take photos but it didn't work too well. Instead I got a really good reflection of the church - does that want to tell us something?

Day 302 - October 29

Finally an autumn tree in its full glory - in good old Chertsey, down by the Bourne!

Day 301 - October 28

I stopped at Truss's Island on my way to Staiens, to get some autumn foliage photos, but there wasn't much to speak off. Truss's Island is just a little island in the Thames with a carpark by the side - people go there for their lunch breaks, so instead there were lots of wildfowl waiting for treats...

Day 300 - October 27

My little car parked ankle-deep in leaves when I went to visit my friend in Staines.

Day 299 - October 26

We are having an absolutely splendid Indian Summer week over here, and I was out hunting for "autumn photos". Shame that most of the colours are already fallen - it went so quick this year once it started... Along the way I also couldn't resist taking some "halloweeny" photos - it's not as much in evidence over here as it is in the States for example, but still you can see some bits... This is "Hobgoblin" beer at the supermarket - do they make that only for Halloween???

Day 298 - October 25

This month Club Scrap asked for my profile and artwork to be featured in the Spot Light of their Digi Scraprap.

Day 297 - October 24

Some more mushrooms I found in the garden - different type. These are under our rosemary bush. Strange - the past years since we moved here there were never any mushrooms and this year we have loads. Must be something to do with the weather...

Day 296 - October 23

I had quite a job getting the photos going today: our main hard drive (network drive) crashed and since Sean is away I can't do anything about it. I don't dare touch it in case I do something wrong and make it worse because my "whole life" is on that drive (photos!!!, my scrapbooking stuff, work, accounts etc) and some of Sean's, too. I really hope that it hasn't lost anything - I'd be heartbroken if I lost the photos inparticularl!
Problem is that I can't open Photoshop either without the drive because it's also my scratch disk... So I had to locate the Windows Image Processor and fiddle around with it which I had never used before. Luckily these photos were still in the camera!
This is Sean in his van as he was leaving for the Yalding slalom yesterday - thought it's a really nice picture of him actually. He'll be back tonight, so until then I have to keep worrying about the hard drive - boohoo...

Day 295 - October 22

And today this little furry friend came walking into the kitchen while I left the door open for a moment in the sunshine. It's milder today, so I thought a bit of fresh air in would be good... I have no idea what he will turn into but I thought he was cute - picked him up on a sheet of paper and Sean took some photos for me while I was holding him up.

Day 294 - October 21

An unexpected present from my friend Eve: a lace making beginner's kit. She found it in a charity shop. Looking forward to trying that out some time over winter...

Day 293 - October 20

I went out in the evening just after it had rained and found this huge spider web over our melothries, sparkling with drops. The photo isn't too great - it looked much better for real, but it was getting dark and it was difficult to focus on the thing...

Day 292 - October 19

My new Wellies which will come in handy for the winter gardening/allotting. I got them via Freecycle (i.e. free!) which was a lucky find, brandnew!

Day 291 - October 18

Cherry apples in the churchyard. Another pretty autumn sight. I love autumn for its colours!!!

Day 290 - October 17

I love the sight of the bright orangr pumpkins! They always do them at the local Farm Shop. I don't shop there because they don't do organic stuff, but it's worth for the show at this time of the year...

Day 289 - October 16

This is Sean's 3-sisters bed which is a bit more exposed and as you can see, pretty much died down now - WINTER'S COMING!

Day 288 - October 15

We had a ground frost warning, so Sean covered the main bed with the crookneck squash, which are still carrying, with a tarpaulin - so far they survived.

Day 287 - October 14

Snapshot by Sean. It's in the dining room (you can see some washing still drying on the rack in the background - it takes ages now because it's cold and humid, best hated combination!). The room behind me is the kitchen and then through to the bathroom - typical old Victorian semi-detatched house layout... And as you can guess from my rollneck and fleece - it's quite cold!

Day 286 - October 13

When I went to the back of the garden the other day I was surprised to find the place full of clusters of mushrooms like these - we've never had them before here.

Day 285 - October 12

There are plenty of berries around this year, both edible and not! This is yew, which is poisonous, but pretty... The berries always remind me of stuffed olives gone wrong!

Day 284 - October 11

The leaves somehow are not very spectacular this autumn but luckily other things provide some colour! Fly Agarics are amongst the most poisonous toadstools in Britain, but I love their cheerful looks, and they always remind me of the fairytales of my childhood!

Day 283 - October 10

This year's District Bellringers' Outing was to the Redhill area where we had the opportunity to ring at eight different churches with rings of 4 to 10 bells! We saw some interesting artwork such as one of the best preserved doom paintings at Chaldon and a collegiate church with brass and tombs to rival Westminster Abbey, which brought it the nickname "Westminster of the South". We also made a little detour to the oldest working post windmill in Britain which was a great treat!

Day 282 - October 9

Arrival of delivery from Goodness Direct which is an online health food shop. Due to my special diet this year I need to buy a lot of things I can't get in local shops, and the online shop has free delivery for orders over £35, so I make up big orders once in a while (hoping I forget nothing essential...).

Day 281 - October 8

We have some lovely late-flowering sunflowers in our garden, and just one small sprig is perfect in the little hand-thrown vase Emily gave me as a birthday present. It's sitting on my window sill by the computer now and giving me so much pleasure!

Day 280 - October 7

It rained all day - I don't think it stopped for even a minute! We needed the rain, but really it made me feel just like Chiefie looks in this picture. No idea why she keeps sitting in the rain - she's got a great big kennel!

Day 279 - October 6

Fuchsia - sadly not in our garden but in the churchyard. It's ever so pretty!

Day 278 - October 5

Finally come out of the woodwork again and back to normal. Sean brought home a pile of sweetcorn ears that were past their prime, hoping to make them into popcorn. So the honour was mine to peel back the laves and tie them up. They are now hanging upstairs to dry...

Day 277 - October 4

Pine cones - yes, it is autumn, even if the colours are still missing.

Day 276 - October 3

My hot water bottle - sign as well of the turning season (at least temperature-wise) as of the fact that I'm still under the weather, feeling the need to keep warm...

Day 275 - October 2

Yuck, I was ill again. After hanging on to an incredibly nasty fluey cold (inherited from Sean!) I came down straight away with some gastro bug. It was absolutely disgusting: green poo!!! Didn't want to eat anything really for two days and then felt absolutely washed out, cold, shivery and tired. No idea what it was - hope I won't get that bird flu they are all talking about!

Day 274 - October 1

Uncle John's beehives at Woodlands - soon to be a thing of the past. Now that John and Jenny have moved to the New Forest, he has taken some with him and sold the other hives and swarms...

Day 273 - September 30

So, I was born on the 273rd day of the year, hmmm. My birthdays are usually non-events these days, and this year I spent the afternoon working in the garden as well as the allotment, but there was a surprise in store for me! While Emily and I were digging over beds on our plot, the two neighbouring ladies turned up, too, and all three of them had brought some simple picnic food. We sat on the boardwalk for about an hour, munching away and doing Girl Talk... Emily also gave me a lovely little hand-turned flower vase, quite a treasure and I felt so chuffed! Shame I didn't bring my camera...

Day 272 - September 29

Picture Paula and Vince sent, bought during their holday in Barbados earlier the year. I really love this, so usual but quite my style I'd say.

Day 271 - September 28

An amazing tree fungus seen at Windsor Park. I seem to be going for lots of walks at the moment - Chiefie is in luck. Waiting to see some autumnal scenery, lovely coloured leaves, mushrooms...

Day 270 - September 27

Mandarin Ducks at Painshill Park (near Cobham/Surrey).

Day 269 - September 26

There are lots of geese gathering now; I suppose they'll soon fly away for the winter. (Looseley Pond)

Day 268 - September 25

You guessed it? Yes, another project for Sean to do: materials for a large cold frame to be built next to the shed. Brickwork topped with an old window frame. Hopefully for THIS winter - here's hoping.

Day 267 - September 24

Heron, spotted by the Bourne, one of our three "rivers" here in Chertsey.

Day 266 - September 23

Yep, that's the beloved chillie plant; still going strongly.

Day 265 - September 22

Headline: "Tragedy in our Garden" - well, to be honest, I found it rather amazing to watch. I was sitting at my computer here and out the corner ofmy eye I saw movement at the back of the garden (the window is right next to the monitor). First I thought it was a raven, or something else big and black, then I noticed a pale coloured breast and had a closer look, and wow, it was a bird of prey who had caught a pidgeon there. A Sparrowhawk. Unfortunately, the pictures didn't turn out through the window at this distance and when I opened it he flew away... So I had to make do with the victim here!

Day 264 - September 21

The official start of autumn - not that there is anything to see of it yet outside... So I resorted, like for Spring Day, to the old Four Seasons embroideries in our hallway.

Day 263 - September 20

Sean the Chef, for a change. Today he brought cooking apples, and he's showing me how to do a quick Baked Apple in the microwave. We don't normally have deserts - but these were yummie (Sean's with honey, mine with coconut and cinnamon) and they were so quick to make and fun to watch volcanoeing out the hole in the middle!

Day 262 - September 19

Bottlebrush in flower - so pretty. (Sunbury Walled Gardens)

Day 261 - September 18

Sean was creative again, presenting his "inventor self". He made this dehydrator from an old filing tray box and nine fans from old computers which fit exactly on the back panel of the box where he drilled several holes about the size of 2-Pound-coins. Now we are slicing apples and papples on alternate days - they take about 48 hours to dry enough for storage. And they are soooo yummie, especially with cinnamon!

Day 260 - September 17

One of the mossies got into the bedroom and really had a go at me - 6 bites in a row across my calf and shin. Either the beasty was infected with something or else I'm starting to be allergic to mossie bites because they turned horrible, every single one - painful and messy. It took me several weeks to get rid of them!

Day 259 - September 16

Our church choir, which had been disbanded earlier this year for lack of a new choir master, was reinstated temporarily for the memorial service of a late choir member who died a couple of weeks ago. Although it was a sad occasion, we were happy to be reunited and following our chosen ministry again, and took the opportunity for a joint photo!

Day 258 - September 15

A pretty visitor called Painted Lady. We get these quite often, and also the ones called Red Admiral.

Day 257 - September 14

Our one chillie plant, an Apache, is really productive. This was Sean's harvest today - he's proudly taking care of this little plant which he has decided was better off styaing inside the growhouse all summer, tied up to support the weight of its many fruit. It will probably make enough chillies to last us a year - and I like using chillies! Lucky they are easy to freeze...

Day 256 - Septmeber 13

Sean brought home a trophy! He paddled as the K1 Men team member and came third in his division. It was the 25th year of this event, and the trophies were quite special: ash tray type ceramic bowls, rather nice.