Sunday's Challenge

I wish I had a better knowledge of computers, I seem to spend hours every time I try to write a blog post trying to upload photos and navigate my way around the entire laptop. Most of the time it doesn't work (currently trying to load the photo of TN reportedly catching a fish, that Daniel swears blind was actually on his line, before it 'jumped off' onto my brothers line for him to reel it in!) and If it does work it's only through pure chance, and then I've forgotten how I achieved it in the first place!

My brother did actually catch a fish, a tasty bream as it happens, didn't go far with 8 people to feed, but we had a mouthful each!

A lot like my 'on line registration' for the South Coast Charity walk, that I had signed up for  in March, or at least thought I had..... it was only last night when I was preparing for the walk that I realised i hadn't received any confirmation email or otherwise....#epicfail

It's true I could have signed up for late registration this morning, but just didn't want to join the inevitable long queue, so scrapped that idea, and went with plan B instead. This included dog walking with Steve, aerobics with the 'red squirrels', and tennis at the club,  and then heaps of gardening chores!
Donation will be sent to Mencap in due course, a worthy charity...

Friday morning I had a very calming yoga class , and then an amazing game of tennis that I thoroughly enjoyed, plus an added bonus of receiving a delicious meal (and special dairy free cake) courtesy of AH-that the family enjoyed- Thank you!  The afternoon was spent walking Jess and gardening until late evening, it was lovely and sunny and a joy to be outside.

I have in the garden a large flower bed and in it an inordinate amount of bindweed. Now, as anybody who does gardening knows, it really is a nuisance. You carefully begin to dig the root with your fork, trying desperately not to break it off, as you know once snapped it will subdivide and come back stronger than ever. The root is often very long and seems to be endless, and although I have 'sprayed' lots of bindweed earlier on this month, I am often too impatient to wait until it has died back enough before pulling it. Thinking I will defeat it, and it won't get the better of me, it just needs careful handling, and surely I am strong and clever enough to outsmart a bit of old weed?

So there I am in my lovely sunny garden, a large fork in hand, gloves and wellies boots on ready to take that bindweed to task, determined not to let it beat me, even if it has the advantage, the 'upper hand' Deeply embedded in the soil it lies dormant until the time is right and then sprouts up where you least expect it, curling it's tendrils around your sturdy flowering shrubs, choking them with its mass of roots and large spade shaped green leaves.
For now, just for this moment in time I'm winning, I'm in control, I am the one in the driving seat.

So, back off Cancer you lose this round.


The glory of gardening: hands in the dirt, head in the sun, heart with nature. To nurture a garden is to feed not just on the body, but the soul.

Alfred Austin