When the sun shines . . .

Wow the colours are glorious Sheila , I'm glad the weather was fine for your brothers visit , our croquet set is still firmly shut up in the summer house , it's raining here today and we are still lighting the fire in the evenings..

Absolutely beautiful!

Stunning azaleas and clematis, Sheila !
Glad your brother and his wife enjoyed their visit :o)

Thank you Amy, Michaella and Terra :))

What a great morning , Sheila, it really inspire me!

Beautiful azaleas and truly lovely clematis too. Your family must have really loved them.

As for the cold; well all I can say is, 'Will we ever put on our summer clothes and will my husband still be chopping logs in July?!!!'

My heart usually sinks when looking at Montana, but that is so lovely. No bare bottom! just as they should be but rarely are. What a shame about the peris, I can see how spectacular that firey corner would usually be...Still very nice though Sheila, I could do a crossword or two on that seat...Bliss.

It was a good weekend Sheila, the colour from your Azalea and Clematis must have been a welcoming sight for your visitors...

Lovely Sheila

So nice we all got to enjoy a nice warmish weekend, we even sat outside and had lunch on Saturday! Love your flaming corner Sheila!!

Beautiful colours I love them all. :o)

Thank you all for your lovely comments! The Pieris is just deciding it will have another go at flowering . . .

Pimm's, that "bench" is the edge of a raised bed, and it's the wren's favourite spot too. Which crossword do you do?

Lovely photos, Sheila. I long for my very young Montana to look like this and, like yours, my frosted Pieris is trying to have another go.
Good - another crossword fan. It's the Guardian for me.

Gorgeous Sheilabub - that Acer, Azalea and Pieris grouping is fantastic. I have a similar coloured Acer and Azalea growing together - my have to get a pieries in now just to finish it off....thank you for the inspiration :))

Glad you had a nice weekend with your family,Sheila..and warm ? not here it wasn't..sunny but a cold wind..Brr..much better today though..My pieris has been frosted too..it's 3 tone now,,green,red and brown ! Lol.
your clem is lovely,and agree with Pimms..hate to see the bare bottoms on them..I suppose some don't get pruned back enough ? Fire still on here too..nice..but not C.heating ..it's a start :o)

Thanks so much Wilma, Scottish and Sandra. :)))

Anything but the Cryptics....I keep being told they are easier as there is only one possible answer........but really!!

Last time I tried a Cryptic I managed to solve 2 clues - and was quite pleased with myself! Apparently we'd get better with practice . . .

Oh now it's the Cryptics I like. Workouts for the old brain!

Oji...are you my mum?

I wouldn't put it past you

Yes, our heating is still definitely on too. I'm glad you had a good weekend Sheila. It was absolutely dire here yesterday....you wouldn't believe it wasn't November or even December....absolutely dreadful. However, today we had some welcome sun!

p.s. my Cornus Controversas have been frosted and they look a bit sad :(

Which Cryptic is your regular, Oji? I agree . . . I love the challenge of trying them. (My mum could do the Listener one - incredible!)

The Guardian cryptic every day. Araucaria is the name of my favourite setter - just to put a gardening note in!

Mmm.... no, I don't think I'm your mum, P, but I could wish my son was a gardener!

those reds look amazing sheila!

I saw some magnificent Clematis Montana just like yours during my recent trip to Britain - how lovely they are! We're refusing point blank to light our fire again until AT LEAST November! I WILL wear flip-flops daily (yes, my feet are cold, but it's May!) and I WILL pack my jumpers away and wear T-shirts (albeit with a camisole underneath and a shirt over the top!). I declare it's Summer and I will do so until I'm frosted over! So there! :o(

That makes me smile nariz, it's a bit like that poem by Jenny Joseph, 'when I am old I will wear purple' - i am not referring to any similarity in age only in determination!?

I wouldn't know how true this is Oji, but my Mum does all of them and says our local paper The 'Manchester Evening News' is one of the best cryptics. The Guardian evolved from the Manchester Guardian which then became Manchester Evening News....So it has always used quality crossword clue setters. Recently been sold by the Guardian and bought out by the mirror group, so we we see if it lasts.

Lol...That's the spirit Nariz

Yes,P, I remember the Manchester Guardian well, remember it becoming just The Guardian, but didn't know the Manchester Evening News part of the story. Glad to hear there is another cryptic crossword addict out there among other endangered species!

Whoo - this is my kind of thread. Here's one for you Wilma "Pretty Girl in Crimson Rose" (8). It's actually the title of a book (I'll have to look up the author) - he's travelling from South Africa to England with his girlfriend, and teaching her how to do cryptic crosswords on the way . . . Araucaria gets several mentions! My mum used to say that it can help if you get to know a certain setter. Btw, I only solved the clue with the help of a chap in my Book Group!

Thank you Sticki, Nariz and Karen for commenting. :)) Are you sure you can do gardening in flip-flops, Nariz?!

Mmm am i looking for another word for crimson sheila?

No, P, you're looking for another word for rose.
I got this book for a present a few years ago. It is interesting from the outsider-becoming-insider viewpoint. Cryptics are like Marmite - you either love them or ..... Just don't see the point!

Grrr..

Oji is right, but that's not the whole story . . . yes the answer is a synonym for rose (not the flower). You're looking for a word for a pretty girl, and that word is written inside a word for crimson!

I'll put you out of your misery this evening if you like so that it doesn't keep you awake?!

That may be the spirit Pimpernel, but my feet are still cold!

Put your socks back on, Nariz . . . we won't tease you :))

hmm i didnt spot the synonym for rose part, have to keep thinking

I did - last night! I feel dreadful that I caved in, but I can't stand blue feet!

Hard frost here this morning, a little like february although bright sunshine.

I gave up Sticki...The answer hadn't struck by midnight.

I couldn't get it either...given up on it now...
Same here,Pimms..frosty but lovely sunshine...given a decent day,then same again tonight :o(

You seem to need a certain slant of mind (and practice!) to solve cryptic clues, and I only "got" this one with a bit of team work. The answer is "rebelled" . . . "belle" (pretty girl) inside "red" (crimson).

We had a slight frost too, but wall to wall sunshine - it's going to be a lovely day!

See, I was thinking too hard about the un-needed bits.If the clue had just been "pretty girl in crimson" I'd have got it ;) Instead of wasting all my time looking up the names of pink/red roses..

Join the club, Pimm's . . . I'm sending waves of sympathy!

You need a warped mind, Sheila. At least as warped as the setter's! We're all mad.....!

i gave up too pimms, and it was cold here too, 2 degrees this morning ~ bbrrrrrrrrr.

do you know it almost makes me feel worse when i see the answer and i think ~ why on earth couldnt i get that.

i like those dingbat type quizzes, i can do those better. [sorry im not clever enough for crosswords]

I don't mind crosswords Sticki, I enjoy them...But it is a very 'unusual mind' that enjoys cryptic's. they are a bit like stalkers as well, as Oji implies, they track down clue setters..! Weirdo's

i can do easy straight forward crosswords but never those cryptic things. i think im just not complicated enough?????????

tracking down clues??? i have enough trouble tracking down what i have to do next!!!

Thanks for that, P!
But yes, I confess, we are weirdos! Me and your mum among others ....... Think of it as gymnastics for the brain.
Araucaria (favourite setter) was 90 last year and can still set a mean puzzle.

i will never be able to do that!!!! i got beaten at happy families by a 7 year old!!!!!

Sorry Oji..but yes, first thing she looks at isn't 1 across it's who set it. 'half done if I know how they think.' or words to that effect... Ma's no spring chicken but she can do a crossword in her head, but it's the ones she can't do that she enjoys most. My work mates call her the Thesaurus, cause I have to call her when we are all well and truely stuck.

Your mum sounds a lot like mine was as far as crosswords are concerned. Mine could do ones where the length of answer wasn't given, and there were no black squares!! The "gymnastics for the brain" as Oji aptly says obviously kept Mum's mind in pretty good shape, as she lived to 95. (I'll have to go and buy a Guardian, and see if I can attempt theirs.)

Meanwhile, a good Codeword keeps me happy.

ooooooooooh now i like codeword!!!!!

You can download and print the crossword for free from the Guardian site, Sheila. Every little helps!

i have a feeling you can do the same with The Times

Wow - thanks Oji. As most people on here have gathered by now, I'm a techno-prat(!), but maybe I'll manage that . . . I'll give it a go.

Sticki, to get into anything on The Times website these days, you have to register (which means paying!). We get the daily Times, and believe me their cryptic crosswords are almost impossible (it was one of those where I was pleased to solve 2 clues!), so I just do the "Times 2" which is mainly general knowledge.

oh i think thats the one OH does. got a feeling my son has the times downloaded and then can have the paper free or is it the other way round??

Eeek . . . I have printed off a Guardian crossword (well, it couldn't have been easier in fact). Many thanks Wilma - what a great website. And I now have today's cryptic to settle down with: I'll let you know if I solve any!

Good Luck Sheila...

Thanks Pimm's. Result: 0, None, Nil, Zilch . . . so I went back and printed off the Quick one to complete to make me feel better!!
(there's probably a moral in there somewhere "stick to what you do best"?!)

im back to cooking then sheila!!

i love it when a blog winds all over the place like this one has.

yes, good fun, and getting to know each other better :))

Penjing looks good doesn't it Sticki on Devika's photo?

Sorry the Cryptic wasn't a good experience, Sheila.
I have to say it took me a very very very long time to be able to complete one of these, so much so that I remember that occasion (decades ago) to this day.
Well, at least you know you are not one of the weirdos, as Pimpernel so affectionately described us.

it does pimms, its fascinating

yes sheila i like that too!! and finding out about other countries, people and customs.

I meant it in a good way Oji.. It's a gift,

like the ability to walk in to a room that people have been quite happy with and just say 'Your wallpaper is upside down' and be right. then the poor person can no longer live with this terrible error and strips the room and paints instead...cheers Mum.

oh no!! has that happened to you recently pimms?

maybe you could write something out using caligraphy but display it upside down

it would say

I like my wallpaper this way up!

lol...it was a couple of years ago Sticki..I like that Idea though.

That's a brilliant idea Sticki! Too late now though . . . but maybe there'll be a next time :/

I know, P. I take it as a compliment! :o)

There is a part of me that is almost, (but not quite) tempted to do that just to see the reaction!!