Days Off Work and Home Improvements.

Yet again, it's getting to be that crazy busy time of year at work (which is how it's the middle of July and I'm only getting around to updating in here just now) but I always try to record the quiet moments that happen on my days off  from the rush and chaos of my day job. I'm lucky really in that I do still love my job and only work four days in a row and then have two days off -- my days off are so incredibly precious at this time of year...

So here are a few snap shots from my recent days off...

...bubbles on the surface of my mug of hot chocolate! I love that they are multicoloured and so pretty. :)

I managed to finally get to the beach on my last lot of days off - just lately it seems to always be raining when I'm off work - but it was nice for a couple of hours last week. I brought my crochet and walked to one of my favourite spots right at the very end of the beach. It's incredibly peaceful there and I was so comfortable until it started to rain and I had to get back.

This is what I've been up to in the last few days -I'd sold the last of my headbands a couple of weeks ago and don't have any at all down in Lucy's shop in the village so I'm in full blown headband production mode at the moment. I've only got these three made so far and must make the matching flowers to go on them.


And here are a few home improvement photos -- a dear friend of the family is clearing out a house and gave me a load of bits and pieces for our home: including two of these amazing old glass battery jars! I had been using them upturned as little coffee tables but Peter's made this (the smaller one of the two) a wooden lid that sits into the opening at the top. I can now fill it up with sea shells etc :) :) 

 Cathy also gave me these two old stone wear bottles that are either side of the conservatory door and the ancient rug! I love our conservatory so much - it's so comfortable there (though it can get very hot if you don't keep the door open on a sunny day) and the rug really adds a 'finishing touch' to it.

 Finally here's a photo of our jasmine plant: I was worried that it might get too hot through the summer but it's sent up a lot of new growth so it must be happy!

Grow Your Own.

 Look at our tomatoes!! I bought these plants just over two months ago and they are doing so well in the conservatory. I had previously grown tomatoes outside in one of those rickety 'greenhouses' but they never did that well for me - growing tomatoes outside in Ireland is a bit of a challenge to say the least.

I will definitely grow more next year - buying individual plants was a great idea (rather than sowing a whole packet of just one variety) - so we have regular red tomatoes and then these yellow ones

and then these beefsteak ones as well.

The atmosphere in the conservatory must suit peppers as well as they are romping away too.

all of these (as well as the tomatoes) were bought from our local garden centre on Valentia...the exception is the bell pepper in the last photo: which I bought in Killorglin.