Dreich- adjective ( see also Scotland)

My back garden lawn !

Today has been the sort of the day the Scot's invented the word dreich for. It's been grey and damp with that horrid drizzly sort of rain that gets you soaked right through to the bone. When I first ventured north to university I wrote home to my Mum ( yes, that was in the days when you used a stamp and an envelope, but not quite a quill pen) and told her that the rain up here was wetter than down in the good old south. And do you know, I still stand by that daft statement to this day.

Rain in Scotland has a persistence about it that matches the national character. It is strong and unforgiving. But like the Scottish character the land has a warmth and glow about it that I cannot resist and that makes my heart smile. So I will wear wellies and cultivate the biggest umbrella collection known to man.

Anyway all this drivel about drizzle is because today was "Bank Holiday Monday" which translates as "Guaranteed Wet Dreich Day" so I spent the time catching up on some odds and ends and started a new project. You might remember a few blogs ago I asked for suggestions on what pattern to use for a Layer Cake I had bought entitled "Happy Campers". Well I settled on Emily's suggestion of  "You Zig and I'll Zag" , from the Ruby Blue Quilting Studio and have made a good start. I have promised to give this to Pepper Ann, who is a huge retro fan as I thought it would be a great start to her and Scott's home which they have started  saving things for. It used to be called a "bottom drawer" and that probably  sounds very old fashioned thing now , but actually I think is quite sweet. Pepper Ann and her big and wonderful Scott ( who is somewhere around 6 ft 6 I am sure) are the last of our gang of 5 to set up a home and we hope it won't be too long for them before they are all set and find their ideal place. In the meantime, I can start off their nest with a nice big and bright quilt to snuggle under on the dark nights. I have hit a wee snag though, as the pattern requires 41 blocks and as the layer cake only has 40 pieces I have had brain fade trying to figure out how it's meant to work from the cutting instructions, so I hope I hear from Ruby Blue soon. If you have made a similar pattern or any ideas that will help me please drop me a line to rescue me.

I have to confess though that I did get a bit distracted from my task of this quilt as I stopped for a cuppa and a slice of Marmalade cake and discovered a rerun of Sense and Sensibility on Channel 4 and, well you can't beat a bit of Austen on a wet bank holiday can you. Not to mention Mr Rickman in breeches. Three hours later it seemed a bit late to return to the den to pick up the pieces, if you pardon the pun, so I will continue next weekend, as the beloved JB will still be away at work.

Given all this moaning about rain I thought it would also be good if you saw a few of the upsides of all this northern precipitation. You know I love my garden and its been a tough year but these last couple of pictures show  some of the beneficiaries from this summer. I have been trying to grow Agapanthus for years and this is my first ever bloom. I know its a bit on the weedy side, but its a start. As for the Hydrangea, they remind me of our wedding where we had them stacked high in buckets by the entrance to the marque, and they looked stunning in shades of pink and purple. Next year I will try the iron filings trick and see if I can get a similar effect. The last picture is one of the rain laying on the Achemilla which I thought just looked rather cool. Hope you like them .

 

Anyway, that's me off to find a cure for webbed feet and trench foot... see you again soon