Surprise !

looks so brilliant :):):)

Thanks Paul, how kind, I am really thrilled and I had to do nothing!!! Lol

now that's the way lol - looks great and makes you feel good :):):)

Sure does Paul, I am loving my new garden just now!

so you should love the edging - it is great effect

It wasn't cheap Paul but it defines the edge so neatly and it is easy to mow the lawn too. We had loads of bare patches on the edges of the lawn but they are beginning to grow now all this because we let the garden overgrow!

Excellent, very nice too!!!

WOW, what a surprise, you are a especial lady indeed!

Lovely! Looks like a stream!

I have been patching some parts of lawn grandmage from the edging I cut - I can tell it is a pretty pricey job - but only have to do it once and it looks superb

thats looks wonderful grandmage - it really defines the edge and will help you njoy the garden more as you can access it when the grass is wet.

Thank you all so kindly, have woken up to your lovely comments, Yes I am a very lucky lady and I am so lucky to have found 'my man' to help me in the garden, he is working so hard and the garden is looking lovely, we do need rain though and have woken up this morning to find we have had a heavy rain fall during the night, yipeeee. First for three months!

Wow, what a fantastic surprise Grandmage, it looks so much improved. Glad you had rain!!

Oh Lulu you can imagine how I felt, it is so nice to have something done and dusted after so long! I am chuffed.

what a lovely surprise to come home to, have made a comment on your photo :^)

Thank you Daylily, I am so pleased with it, I keep looking out the window!

madge that looks fab , wot a lovely surprize , who did it ? ................ give a sence of space i think .
and did you get your outfit !!!

Cristina thanks darling, my lovely 'man' gardener who I found two months ago and has been digging ever since!!! I was at Bluewater for six hours on Friday and tried on the entire stock in M & S !!! Then went to J Lewis, rubbish, then to Hse of frazer, even more rubbish, so came home, went to bromley yesterday, I did purchase a nice linen suit but its going back, when I got home it looked like a rag at the bottom of the bag :~(, will try again next week!! Off to my daughter soon til Tues. x

Really put's a smile on our face doesn't it, a surprise like that!!
I remember one day, a few years ago...David bought me a tracterload of well rotted cow manure, I was well chuffed with that too!

And, yes....did you find an outfit?

Wow....how lovely your garden now looks....the path really shines out and you've really helped the grass along too. I can imagine your shouts of excitement arriving home to this lovely sight...especially after a fruitless shopping trip!

It's been worth the wait for you to get it the way you want it and your "man" has done a fab job. Love surprises :)

Och Grandmage! I'm not ashamed to say that this has brought a lump to my throat! It's absolutely gorgeous! Truly! You've been so fed up with your garden and couldn't do anything about it yourself, and now you've found a white knight to transform it, and it really is like a fairy tale! I'm so pleased for you, I can't say! We just have to get Jaquie's done, and that'll be the start of a fantastic summer of easier gardening for you both!! xx

Lulu see my comment to Cristina re. outfit!!! and I love the fact that you love well rotted cow manure too, so easily pleased us girls eh!!!
W.lass, I know you are still waiting for your garden to take shape but I have been doing mine now since feb and it is so slow, but now can see things are improving and we are getting there, yes my 'man' is wonderful, I need to keep him locked in the shed really so he is there at all times !!! Thanks for your kindly comments.

Saw the comment!! Good luck with it next week! I like 2nd hand designer shops!!!

That's brilliant Grandma - I suspect your "man" has a soft spot for you, and was delighted to see you smile!! What a picture. :))

that looks lovely Grandmadge, i like the colour of the stones especially...good luck with the outfit!!!

Its Looking great Grandmage, Nothing worse than an overgrown garden, the soil gets rock hard and motivation go's out the window :) BUT, what a transformation, your man is worth his weight in gold lol He is doing a fantastic job and i love your path...
PS, dont blame you for keep looking out the window, i do it all the time.. dee..

What a lovely, happy blog :) Your path is fantastic and the whole garden is looking brilliant. No wonder you are pleased. Have a nice time at your daughters.

Wow! What a transformation GG. Sorry about the dress shopping.....sounds like my experience of same.....dull, time wasted, depressing. And as for Linen....yes, I hate it when as soon as you look at it it's all creased up like a tatty hanky! I hope you find something lovely soon. However, coming home to this gorgeous garden must have cheered you up no end! :))

your gardend looks fantastic, lucky you,

omg madge ............... its bin the same 4 me , ended up with a top from next , but must have tried on a 100 outfits , , lol just wore with bnavy pants in the end !!!
i dont think theres many stylish shop around 4 us nans ,
we not all frumpy are we ..................... we used to be the trend setters after all haha , happy hunting !!!!

Libet, you have started me off now!! Bless you, such kind comments. Wheres the tissues? Lulu, where are the 2nd hand designer shops? Sheila, I text my man and said I was going to charge folk to come into my garden now, he did laugh! Thanks Sk. & Youngd. & Gee, I am feeling quite humble now, didnt mean to boast really, just over the moon, if you had seen me in January, I was in a state. Karen you are so right, Linen feels nice and cool (July wedding) and I thought I had chosen well until I got it out the bag, let alone travelling to west Wales for the wedding !! Nightmare. Would have had to taken a steam iron with me, Lol.
Thanks everyone x x x

Haven't got any tissues to hand...would the sleeve of my cardigan do?! ;0)xx

Libet, only if its cashmere! x x

Grandmage....I hope you soon are sorted with your outfit. I have terrible problems when I need something everyday, never mind for a special occasion. I need a big size and they are not readily available on the high street.

I share your frustration! And again...l love that path :-))

Cashmere rules, esp from designer shops...GM the are all over London...what are you like......goggle 'em! Worth every penny saved from the high st shops!!

get them adds on here so we can all look lol ................. nans rule i say !!! haha

Your garden is looking very nice. You must be feeling pleased with it now. I like the border now it's filling out. and the new path is great :o)

What a lovely surprise to come home to - your new man must be very kind to get it doen for you so quickly, especially as a surprise for you when you were out. What a kind thought.

Now that's what I call a surprise, Gm! It's made the whole garden look so much tidier & bigger too. Well worth waiting for. Don't even mention clothes shopping to me! Scoured the shops today, which I detest at the best of times, finally found something I liked, only to turn round to the mirror to find a hole in the back shoulder! Silly girl on the till said she'd give me 25% off but it would be non refundable. Wouldn't have bought a 'holey' top with 99% off . . . .

Garden is looking fantastic Gmage. Wish I had a 'man' to give me a surprise like that. Went into mine this morning, was going to do a bit, but wind was so strong, I gave up on the idea. Love the path, it really sets it off and I can well understand you keeping on looking out the window with a view like that to look at. Can imagine how thrilled you must feel. :o))

L.loo the 'man' I have helping me is a gardener that I found through a friend and he is a real gem, our garden really needed help and he came along at the right time. He comes and works every fortnight so thats why this has all taken time. Shirley, what a game looking for clothes isnt it, W.lass, I am not a small lady either and all the outfits I find are made for 'stick insects' as I call them, certainly not us cuddly ones!! ol. Mariek, I have been getting help in the garden for a while now and the diffeence it makes to my life is amazing I was getting very down about things and this has made all the difference. Hywel, we both have a nice 'new' garden now and one that we can cope with too!! Thanks all for your kindness. Lulu, I will google the shops, thanks!! x

what a wonderful surprise ~ i would love one like that! it looks really good.
im sorry you didnt get your outfit ~ i went on tuesday to get my outfit for sons wedding ~ hour and a half in j lewis and all sorted ~ even OH was pleased!!!
i hope you find something soon ~ i was told that blue comes out spring/early summer and then the warmer colours. i choose by colour ~ what sort of thing were you after?

Hi Sticki, so glad you found your outfit, as the mother of the groom you needed to look your best. I scoured J.Lewis and couldnt find anything that was affordable, I am shocked by the price of some things. I will have a good look next week now as I am on my half term hols. I feel another six hour trip coming on. Lol !! Thanks for liking my surprise too.

j lewis and others do a personal shopping thing ~ they find the outfits for you ~ its free as well. there certainly werent as many blue outfits as there had been a couple of months ago tho. hobbs and east have nice things ~ i usually shop in m and co tho and my local one also has eastex stuff.

Very sleek and very clean looking now that is what I call a treat. You have been spoiled Grandmage good luck with the shopping trip.

Thank you so much Olive, might also still be looking this time next year at this rate!!! and thanks Sticki, going back to Bluewater this coming week for another session!! Where is it you usually shop? m and co?! Not sure about the name. I have just ordered a top & skirt from Eastex, so we will see what that is like!!

i saw some eastex in the window of m and co today and thought of you. it looked very nice. for my ordinary clothes i often pop into M and Co [http://www.mandco.com/] they also have dash things; they are all quite reasonable but i needed something different for sons wedding.
have a good day and make sure you stop for a nice cup of coffee ~ several times!!

Thanks Sticki, will do!!!

:))

any luk with outfit yet ....................

Oh it's soooooo gorgeous, where did you get the lawn edging?

No Cristina, but have tried on plenty! Lol. Went to bromley today again :~(
Ms.CC. hello, and thanks, the edging came from our local garden centre also I think B&Q sell it too. Think its called Guard edge.

You have inspired me to and creating a wider flower bed! Just a bit more turf removal to do today but will have to don my waterproofs! I would post a photo but my mobile camera refuses to connect with my computer:(

Oh fabulous thanks. We're trying to repair our lawn today. It's not going to be easy!

Hi Ms.CC, any job outside seems to be huge, we have found doing a corner at a time makes a huge difference, put some photos on and ask for help, you will get plenty of advise.
Lulu, lovely idea a wild flower bed, get that camera sorted as I need to see your photos!! You could take photos and then put them on later!!

A wider flowerbed not a wildflower one!!!!
Although, David gave me some wildflower seeds....I've sown them into a large pot so the little seedlings can be looked after, can't wait to see what wildflowers they are!
Am taking photos in the hope that the glitch gets sorted soon!

Whoops sorry lulu, misread, need to clean my glasses,LOL, but a wildflower bed would be nice too!!! Although I like to see them growing in the lawn.

I did have a bit of lawn (quite alot of it actually!) left to long grass, the flowers were amazing. The pups, when they were really pups would dig holes and flatten the grass, so I gave up on that one!

if i had a big garden i would be tempted to keep at least part of it like an orchard ~ with wild flowers, long grass, fruit trees and a hammock!

I have a little area I've spied!!!

Exciting Lulu!!!! Sticki, I notice it would have a hammock, so no gardening in that area then Lol .

well, maybe strim the grass occasionally when it threatened to take over the hammock? i think the garden is to enjoy ~ not to work in all the time!!

Couldn't agree more!!! Sticki.

:-))

Wow you have a lot of supporters here Grandmage.
Your garden looks great! Lovely face lift. I love the curved edge. That was a lovely surprise for you. Glad you got rain.

Sorry you didn't have luck shopping as it's tiring. I on the other hand had a great time shopping yesterday. I rarely go cloths shopping but in hopes of my trip I thought I should. Found a fab pair of slim jeans, $10.00 I can't believe how lovely they feel, so I got 2 pairs, plus 2 tops and 2 bags. While in the changing rooms I meet a greek gal we exchange numbers so hopefully a new friend. I love Greeks and Greece as I use to live there. I got in line to see it was about 20 people long. :-( So I started chatting to gal in line, her boyfriend walked up and I had to do a double take. He looked so much like Michael Bolton!!! I was taken aback as I loveeee MB. When I said it they laughed as it gets said to him a lot. Really it was like his twin but the hair was brown but the same as MB. The line moved very fast as they brought out to more cashiers. I was saying telling the cashier I wasglad they brought out more cashiers. She said, Tue. is their busy day. Oh is that because of the senior discounts you give, I asked. Yes, she said. I asked what age do u need to be. 55, Are u 55 yet? she asked. No I've a few yrs. to go. She rang up everything and leaned over and said, I gave u the discount anyway, shoo!
Bless her soul! That's made my day even more.
Oh also had to pick up a copy of medical records and I was to be charged and the guy said no it's ok your fine!
So that was a rare and lovely day I had and I'm so please with my things.
So hope you have my luck next day out shopping Grandmage :-)

And anyone that has not tried the slim jeans u gota try them. I came home and pulled all my other jeans out of the closet. I'll never wear them again.

Cheers. Happy gardening.

Anjie, ME in slim jeans!!!!!!!!!!!!! ha ha. Lol.

very nice shopping assistants you have Anjie!

Ah give them a try Grandmage! he he! They make the best of any figure plus they stretch!

Yes Stickytoffee, I was well pleased. Although I think it was a rare thing indeed!