It did not start well.
Scout woke late (my fault?)and had to get ready to get to school for an event (preparation for Duke of Edinburgh Award). I had forgotten to put the bread maker on last night and flew out of bed in a panic. There was a flurry of activity, entailing me cooking some of that old standby ‘the part-cooked French stick’ from the freezer and packing a ‘kit lunch’ (ham and cheese in a plastic container as the bread was too warm to assemble into a sandwich immediately) while intermittently calling upstairs to check he was still getting ready. Overnight guest was dispatched home, a bag was thrown together, a few more cross words were exchanged and then the lift arrived.
Techie slept then home worked, and Cylcoman cycled. So I went into the garden after a brief search of books for inspiration followed by a web search. I know now what I want…. no what I need, is a Flowering Cornus – a small tree with white or pink flowers… can’t decide which. But that won’t fit the space I have in mind, and I still need to find the exact bush for that little vacancy.
The day outside started well: some sunshine some dullness but no rain. Enough sun to power the solar powered radio -most of the time.
Cyclo man arrived home about 2pm.
“Has anyone remembered Mother’s Day?” he asked.
“No,” I said and laughed.
He had been drenched on his ride, but not a drop had fallen here. I felt rather smug about this and plodded on, after lunch, working on my curvaceous herbaceous border which was a little neglected last year. So much to do. Work entailed weeding, lifting, separating, replanting, then mulching. The mulch is in a mega-bag in the front drive way, delivered last week, and I got into quite a rhythm up and down the garden, around the side of the house with wheelbarrow loads. It’s amazing how cared for the garden looks after an application of good dark mulch.
Gradually the sky got darker. I had to wind up the radio as there wasn’t enough light, then there were a few spots of rain.
“Are you coming in?” called Cyclo, “It’s going to pour.”
“Not enough to stop me,” I said… and carried on….Oh no, I thought, I am an intrepid gardener, it’ll take more than a few drops of rain to stop me…. well that lasted all of 5 minutes. A sudden fierce downpour of rain with some hail sent me scuttling inside.
It’s sunny again now. Scout is home and we have made up. The water butt is now full. I’m going back in the garden and he’s going to cook supper.
And I may just decide on the cornus and drop a hint about a little Mother’s Day treat.
Boadicea's Chariot 
Yes; I know the feeling Pseu. I hope it got better!
I found myself being asked, in Morrison’s, at around 3pm, by some guy at the checkout; are you not going out for Mothers’ Day? Yes, I said. This is it; the Mothers’ Day outing… 😉
Pseu, it aounds like a great day anyway 🙂
Poor Claire!
Yes, Bravo… especially the cooked evening meal, which meant I could stay out int he garden until nearly dark.
Rather sad really.
Pretty obviously I have no one to send anything, yet to my surprise I had an international phone call from the one girl who wanted to marry Roo to say happy mothers day. They had been best friends for 20 years and she has no mother now, or husband. She often calls me, it is good to stay in touch.
I always get cards and flowers from my hairy children on the USA day which is a different date, all terribly confusing. The dogs tell me that daddy ‘helps’ but they address their own card with paw prints.
Make quite sure you ignore Father’s Day!
Or you could overdo it to such an extent it becomes an embarrassment, good for laugh!
Here’s a posey from me, I would have sent them earlier but I had no idea that it was Mothers Day over there.
Ours, along with most of the rest of the world is on May 9th.
I do hope that your lot made it up to you.
If not, perhaps we could invent a sort of ‘get your own back day’ (the Monday immediately after Mothers day. 😉
It wasn’t Mother’s Day here either – I had a phone call from my daughter in the UK – which sent me rushing to the phone to phone my mother! I warned her that the flowers would be late!
Ahhh! Soutie – How kind. 🙂
My lot did a find way of making it up later on. The younger one cooked supper with supervision form eldest, which meant I could stay in the garden working until it was dark, then come in to wonderful smells of a Sunday roast.
Boa, I rang my Mum too.. and her card should reach her this morning… I missed Friday’s post!
Christina, that was lovely of her – and such a great surprise as you didn’t expect it.
Father’s Day is a celebration designed by card manufacturers, I believe!
Pseu
I’ve never quite worked out why some years the Aussie shops are full of Mother’s Day Cards well before the UK date and other years they are not… this year they were not. So I hadn’t got a clue when the UK date was.
For a variety of reasons, I do not send my mother cards – I can’t do the the ‘sloppy sentimental’ stuff, she doesn’t like my sense of humour, and there isn’t much in between. We’ve had more arguments over my cards than almost anything else – even Spot!
Hmm, I know what you mean. I have found a brand of nature photography cards which fit the slot… no printed message. I had one like this, but with another squirrel running up the other side of the tree…
My mother would have a fit if I sent her a card with a squirrel on – they are all rodents! When I was a child I used to be sent to buy sweets, things like sherbet dabs, liquorice sticks, and other such children’s goodies. I would ask for two bags and share the sweets evenly between them. Into one of the bags I would put a sugar mouse… that way I knew I would get my ‘fair’ share. My mother wouldn’t eat any of the sweets that had been ‘contaminated’ by the sugar mouse. 🙂
I think it’s a fabulous picture!
I wish I had taken it –
Bo, I’m not surprised you have put half a world between you!
Contaminated by a sugar mouse?
Blimey, sounds like she needs a straitjacket!
I wonder if the differing mother’s day are because some are fixed and some move with the church calendar? Can’t think of any other reason. Its all very confusing when one’s relatives are stretched all over the world, recipe for total disaster!
It is all quite amusing this card business. Harold cheerfully detests his children and I have none now, so the business of the dogs sending cards, presents and flowers has become a bit of a creative art form in this family. We vie to top each other in the realm of the ridiculous. Dogs are allowed in most shops that are not food shops so they are quite good at ‘selecting’ things for themselves. Its nice to get sent a decorative pig’s ear in a bouquet for example !
All I can say is we amuse ourselves, keep ourselves off the streets and out of therapy!
Can just imagine what Boa’s Mum would have thought of a decorative pig’s ear in a bouquet !!!!
According to Wiki – Mothering Sunday and Mother’s Day were two different things. The first was a Church celebration, based on an earlier pagan tradition, and was the fourth Sunday in Lent. The latter was an American celebration.
It’s worth a read for those interested!
It doesn’t bear thinking about, Pseu!
I’m glad the UK sticks to the Mothering Sunday date. I’ve always wanted to try baking a Simnel cake, but haven’t got round to it yet. Anyone know a foolproof recipe?
Yes, that’s right Boa, but we have come to use the term interchangeably. Ours is the fourth Sunday in Lent.