Sun at last!

Today the sun came out and it was so warm that we had doors open to the outside world for the first time in ages. It was wonderful! 

I am excited to unveil one of our new bookcases. Isn't Johnny clever? He made two of these from scratch, and we painted this one with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Old White. The paint texture is soft and warm looking. It was easy to apply, and doesn't smell nasty like regular paint can do. We need to get another can to do the other one as we were assured this paint goes a very long way, so only got one can initially. Hmm. Not on MDF and pine. 

 I bought this pretty little butter dish a few days ago to add to my collection of floral chintz items. It is so sweet and has lovely proportions.

 I'll be arranging all sorts of things on the new shelves. Hopefully they stay put and don't go flying if the earth decides to throw us another good shake. Johnny is securing the shelves firmly to the wall. As you can see in this picture, he has added his special "earthquake" shelf trims so sliding objects should stop before dropping off. Maybe he can sell the patent to the people further up the country. We really are the shaky isles.

 I did a bit of work in the back garden today. Mainly pruning roses. I managed to come out without any prickles and scratches. There isn't a lot of action in the vege garden.

 The leeks are starting to fatten up.

 I like to have some greens growing all year around.

 My loyal helpers were there supervising, as always.

 My hellebores are so pretty this year.

 This is a self-sown one which popped up next to the bigger white clump. I'll have to remember to move it to give it some space. Pretty, isn't it?

 I love the smell of daphne.

 Fairy Blush is gorgeous at the time of year too.

 Mr Mouse was very excited to find his catnip among the other herbs. I'm sure he was encouraging it to sprout vigorously as the weather warms up.

Other bright news:

• Zanny and Tara are looking well and are full of beans! Both girls can buck like rodeo broncos when they get excited. They must be happy to be free of their bossy, toothy foals at last. 
• I finished all three of my Portrait Blouses so now I can wear cherries, cowboys on horseback or little biplanes whenever I like. 
• Call the Midwife is on again. I couldn't be happier!