Saturday 10 December 2011

Giveaway results & a slightly bent garden

I drew the results the old fashioned way, by writing down the names on little bits of paper & getting the Youngest to close his eyes & pick one - he's helpful like that. You won't believe it but  Jan from Silvermoonbird won.....& I've just won part of a giveaway from her!!!!! It's not a fix, promise! Now you can send me your address, please ;) Hope you enjoy the pendant.

Loved my day off on Tuesday, enjoyed the light smattering of snow, ambled about a bit, started making our Christmas cards & caught up on some tv programs. Wednesday made some more cards while chatting with my Arty friend over lunch, a beautiful calm day.


By Thursday, all hell broke loose! I'd spoken to my parents, they weren't worried, I'd told them we had a full tank of oil for the Aga, (thank goodness an Aga doesn't seem such an extravegance in a power cut!) 3 bags of coal just delivered & a wall full of logs. The power went off at midday but we were warm. The Eldest rang to say it was pretty breezy in Edinburgh but he'd been out to get supplies & hoped we weren't blown away. The Middlest rang to say college was closed in Glasgow -t he didn't know why as there was blue sky ;) Just had to wait for the Youngest to get back as school was closed & they were travelling thru the mountains in the worst of the stom, great! Being a bus moniter he'd had to yell at the screaming & crying girls to sit down keep quiet & put seatbelts on, it was all he could do - poor driver, too!

Quite exciting watching the sea & listening to the roaring outside (once the boy had got home)

The spindrift was amazing.

We had a tricky moment taking a pole off that was flapping about on our screen/pergola. My imagination ran a little wild thinking of it flying off onto our heads but altho we could bearly stand up in the wind we were fine. The pergola wasn't ;( Compare the pic below with the one above in the snow.



A repair job using stronger wood & screws in the spring, I think. We built it so the kids didn't fall into the river, a sheer drop. Perhaps we'll stick to something shorter now the kids are older but I do enjoy the hight of clematis, rose & honeysuckle all in a heap, there.


The bird table fell, snapping the pole, the table bit was in my grandparents garden & has been replaced, bit by bit with found wood; we found the post, we'll find another one on the shore.



The Eucalyptus fared badly too, see the evergreen in the middle back above? Not surprising that the only non-native in the garden didn't make it, too many lovely leaves & it was as tall as the house - should have kept it shorter! I'll have to get my India Flint book out & dye with the leaves!



You can see the roots are right out so we'll root prune, take the lower trunk off & lop just above the branch fork on the top 2 & try & stick it back in....or is it a new planting opportunity?!

It got dark pretty early so I did a little filing of my photos, while the laptop had battery power, read thru a few mags to sort them into the get rid of bag, worked on the Christmas cards & watched the Youngest make a wax finger, didn't you love doing that as a child? Nice quiet evening round the fire, baltic anywhere else in the house!

Friday I got some painting supplies in while I could see in the studio - so cold in there! - but of course by the time it was dark the power had come back on, not bad only 28 hrs bearing in mind the damage we saw on the news. All I did was paint some scrim & fabric, lots more work to do & that was in the light!



Wonder what next week will bring?

18 comments:

jan said...

Woo hoo,I can't believe it, I'm so pleased to have won, thank you very much! I'll email my address to you. You certainly have had some bad weather judging from the photo's...x

Heloise said...

Been wondering how you were getting on. Hope it calms down. Congratulations to Jan.

Stay warm.

Julie said...

Phew! I'm glad you survived relatively well and the beautiful terracotta pot made it too. You should be very busy with all the eucalyptus leaves. You photos look very dramatic, especially of the sea and spindrift. Keep safe.

Ro Bruhn said...

Seems like climate change is having it's effect everywhere. I don't like your chances of replanting the eucalypt, they're a bit touchy even here in their native land. You should get anything from cream to rusty orange from dying the leaves. We get brilliant colours from them after a drought, the colours are more concentrated.

Rustic Vintage Country said...

Wow, what a dramatic time! Hope there is no more for you. Just been told by hubbyman that gales are forecast down south for Tuesday. From a personal view point though it's lovely to have photos to look at from a much loved place. X

Jan said...

so I take it you had a bit of a storm? heheh
Glad you were well prepared and weathered it well. Stay safe and cozy.

Carole Reid said...

I'm like you Emma, once the kids are safe at home (their's or our's) I can enjoy the storms. Living on Vancouver Island we have a lot of windstorms but because our street is hooked up in the same electrical line as the hospital our power hardly ever goes out. Take care.

ju-north said...

Pleased you survived! Seemed as if the SW of Scotland was worst hit.

Jill said...

So glad everyone got through the storm safe and sound (eucalyptus and pergola excepted). Wondered how you were fairing, even down here the wind was strong enough to take out a couple of fence panels!

jinxxxygirl said...

Since its winter i think you have a chance with that eucalyptus. I think your gonna have to cut it back pretty far though cause those roots are gonna need to recover and won't be able to maintain a lot of greenery on top. I'd also put some mulch or rake up alot of leaves and put around the base to help protect it. Crossing my fingers for ya.

Anonymous said...

Nice to see the bit of snow and the see, gorgeous Emma. We are cold finally and it feels like the season, but no snow. Have to live with a bit of frost. xox Corrine

Iz said...

I'm glad you survived! I was thinking about you, and wondering what it was doing up there - now I know! Take care and keep warm

Suztats said...

Glad you all are okay. Take care.

Robin Mac said...

I had been wondering how you fared when I saw the damage to the mainland on our news. So glad you had almost no damage. Like Ro Bruhn, I don't like your chances of rejuvenating the eucalyptus - in fact I am amazed it grew at all! It is worth a shot though. We have had tremendous heat here, and a hail storm through parts of the city - but not at our house. Cheers

jackie said...

At first I was envious of your bit of snow, but I soon began to thank goodness for a calm Hampshire, as I saw your pictures. I think it may be coming our way this week.

Peneller said...

I was thinking about you in the storm and all those other poor souls who were without power. the photos are very dramatic and what a pity about your poor eucalyptus tree. Never mind you're all safe. All the best for Chirstmas and the new year.

Maggi said...

Glad to hear that the only damage was in the garden and that you stayed safe and cozy.

Linda’s Textiles said...

Glad you all came through relatively unscathed - pity about the eucalyptus - they will sometimes come back if you cut them off close to the ground. Not sure in your climate though.
We've had unusual weather too - rain & thunderstorms.