2 Years on Blogger so I had to Return!

Happy Birthday BT's Blog

It was all a trick you see! Not really, but I realised that it's 2 years today since my first entry on my blog, so I couldn't let that pass now, could I?? I am feeling more positive and last night I didn't dream about my friend Phil who died on the 11th, so that's a start. I also had 12 hours sleep last night. Another positive. So, can I creep back?

Give Away

I think I must celebrate my blog's birthday with a give away. What would you like? How about one of my raggy bags? You can see an example in my side bar. All you need to do is leave a comment and say what it is you like about my blog - or what you don't like about it. I can then launch into year 3 with some sound advice. I will leave the competition open for 2 weeks to give everyone a chance.

Below is my very first blogging entry, it talks about our rockery, which has now gone!

Saturday, October 20, 2007

bt-thecraftygardener

Rugby World Cup Final tonight, England v S Africa. Sadly I think S Africa will almost certainly trounce England. Last night watched the match for the bronze medals, Argentina v France. Lots of bad tempers and loads of testosterone abounded! France were seriously thrashed by Argentina. France have had a BAD world cup!

I'm sitting at my computer in Ireland, looking out on dozens of chaffinches, green finches, our resident coal tit and great tit, feeding from the bird table. 2 containers full of nuts and one of bird seed. They frequently visit the bird bath nearby. The bird bath was my Mother's, bought for her and my father by my brother, so it goes where I go.

I smile as I see the rockery we have built, still colourful with dancing heads of yellow marigolds, pink geraniums, purple violas (recently planted), and sundry other pinks and white. A little wren is now hopping around the rockery.

The rockery was once a high bank, covered in brambles, montbretia, wild rose, nettles and sundry other weeds. It took all of last summer to demolish the bank, making a way through to the land beyond. Trees had to be felled too, and the roots raked out, sawed through and removed as much as possible.

In all we have 5 acres. Beyond the rockery used to be a very rough small field, full of nettles, brambles and sedge reeds, as this is Ireland and it's pretty boggy. Now it is a mowable lawn, laughably called the arboretum as it contains quite a few trees, some planted by the previous owner, others by us. (6 yesterday).

Forgive my ignorance at 'blogging', this is my first attempt so will be pretty mixed up. I'll add some 'history' as I go along.

Weather in County Clare today: Cloudy but quite bright.

Back to Today

So there you have it. A lot has changed since then. I have lots of bloggy friends, awards and a new layout. I am a member of an 'Artist Trading Card' group and have my own ATC blog too. I am at least a stone heavier.

Building work

The electricians finally turned up, so we have good lighting in the kitchen at last and lights and sockets in the extension plus sockets for my washing machine and to be bought tumble dryer in the old bathroom, now just a toilet and wash basin. I shall call it, rather grandiosely, 'The Laundry'.

Best of all, we have our wood chip boiler installed and connected up to all the radiators and hot water tank. Phew. It's hot in here. The strangest thing about it is that it makes a repetitive noise rather like a fog horn! We have yet to fine tune the settings and something needs to be fitted by the plumber to separate the hot water from the radiators. I took some photos:

The Beast! We keep the 'chips' in our old log basket. You can see the white section behind the flame. The chips come down an Archimedes screw and pop out of the hole into a little basket, where they are lit. You can't believe that such a tiny basket of fuel can heat the whole house.

Here comes the wood chip.......

It was rather like watching my new automatic washing machine when I first received one. Jim and I sat and peered at the hole to watch the chips drop out!

The pipes behind the boiler will be boxed in. Job number 50 for Jim.

We have a lovely brass fan light in our sun room, courtesy of our 2 electricians:

How many Irishmen does it take to assemble a fan light? Damien (left) and Mark (right), puzzle over the instructions. The awful messy wall you can see behind them is the result of Stanley, our old boiler, yet to be removed. It used to be all hidden behind a curtain.

On Friday 16th, it was reasonably warm outside, especially in the sunshine. As I hadn't been sleeping too well, I fell asleep on a sun bed outside. Jim pounced.....

What a lovely hole in the bottom of my slipper!!

How mean was he?

An Award

Ces let me know that she has given me an award, and a very special one too, so I had to come back, didn't I?

It's the Ces-Arija Award and I love it. The artwork is by Ces. She is so talented, do go and visit her blog if you haven't already:

http://cesandherdishes.blogspot.com/

Ces's explanation as to the meaning of this wonderful award is as follows:

'I did not think I will ever find another woman like my mother until I met Arija. They went through wars, natural and man-made disasters yet arose from the ashes and remnants with great dignity and honor. They share a progressive view anchored in timeless wisdom, both of great intellect and compassion.

.

I am blessed to call Arija my sisterfriend and it is my great honor to design this award to recognize her: A thinking, seeing, feeling, loving person who celebrates life every day. She is an artist, a photographer, a fascinating woman with great sense of humor, wise and thoughtful blogger and a loving and caring friend.

.

Bella Sinclair had this to say about Arija: "I was reading just a little bit about oaks yesterday. Such a strong wood that it is prized for its strength and density. It refused to be felled for centuries (until the invention of iron tools). That, truly, is Arija, she who offers support and shade, who twinkles in the sunshine and sways with the breeze, and who refuses to be felled."

.

I am delighted to share this award with my favorite bloggers:'

And I was blessed to be one of them. Thank you so much Ces.

Love to all.

BT
x