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Here you can see the result of my Mid-May hammering. The bike alleyway on the side of the house had a fence that wobbled in the wind and needed to be connected to the roof - which was still sturdy in framework if chipped in one corner. Liz suggested I ram a piece of wood in to stop it bending in and out and I located a bar of wood to begin with, expecting to have to saw it into two pieces to fill the gap.

I could not remove the nail/screws, though - so aimed to bang the wood up into them, then slot in a seconds horizontal bit below to wedge the gap. This proved too difficult - BUT - during trying to do so, I discovered that the wood lodged behind 2 screws would bend the fence into correct posture were I to bend the wood back vertically. I therefore secured the wood trapped at the top between two screws - and bunged a couple more new ones in in case they bent - and nailed it into place. It's fixed!

Above is Liz's working solution to cats on poly tunnel rooves who dig claw marks into the poly - netting pinched back home from the plot. here is the result of some of my crops - the lettuce from the poly tunnel, chives from Liz's garden, and nasturtium from the plot!

The crops just keep coming now May has turned to June - this was one day's strawberry pickings for example. the following shows the gooseberry haul from the same day.

& again - another sampling of crops. Liz mentioned lambs wool slug repellent pellets - and I investigated. I had a £10 online voucher, so bought two packs to 'try'. My verdict is that the product works very well - 2 chilies and 2 lemongrass plants have not been touched by a slug when using the first pack - the downfall being the cost - to cover the allotment would cost around £75....per annum!

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Once the tools were safely installed in the tools alcove, I put up the shower curtain - to hide them out of sight. you will have to forgive the electric drill in a Sainsburys bag sticking out - the carpet was rolled up and has yet to lay flat - so I put it on the corner.

Here are my takings from a trip to Chichester Liz and I went on recently - I have just this weekend made my first batch of vegan feta - photos of the result follow!

This is the dry and marinaded feta in storage for up to 2 weeks - though I munched my way thru 200g in the first 2 days and gave Liz a few cubes to sample. Here is one way to use it - with home grown lettuce and nasturtium as salad!

Plenty of color in the lower hallway from my two geraniums - rescued from dad's throwaways, they grew into bigger and better plants than the ones that he potted. Guess who has been lava-lamping their washing up liquids again, ho hum...

Finally for today, my latest lava lamp washing up liquids.

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I covered over the 2-color floor with left over kitchen ceiling paint in a double coat - to make it look smarter - and be easier to clean, as this one is moppable! That brings us up to the close of April and start of May. On the 3rd day, I finished the coffee lounge.

The above pile of stuff had to be thrown out, placed in the tools alcove, or otherwise dealt with - that would leave the room ready to furnish and inhabit - as a coffee lounge.

The above are the two carpets and shower curtain to add to the room....but first a quick detour as I filled up the washing up liquid squirters...again, more lava lamp colors!

Above you can see that I have now laid the spare spare room carpet piece as a mat in the tools alcove. Below you can see I have put bags under the boots to keep the white floor white. I know muddy paw prints and wet laundry sloshings will color it, but....not yet!

I began to fill the tools alcove...

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Here is the first of the 2018 crops - one stick of rhubarb! It, along with another stick, were harvested in the middle two weeks of April, mine being an early variety, generally ready to pluck the first sticks from late March or early April onward.

This view taking in the scene between my two compost tubs shows how well my garlic and shallots are growing this season! Additionally, you can witness the gooseberry leafing, and blackcurrant and raspberries also beginning to shoot out for the coming season.

The empty bed comprising the main part of this next picture is for my corn - I haven't planted it yet, its still in pots in the poly tunnel and yet to surface, which hopefully it will, ready for transplantation in May or June.

You can also view my 3 raised beds - the old strawberry one to the left, the new half one to be shared with nasturtiums in the front and the regular one that will be on its last season before a turn out to the rear right. Also in sight is a netted area for peas, beans and salad crops - to ensure pigeons don't munch MY food! Towards the camera of the netted area you might just make out 6-7 small curly plants - those are my chickpeas!

HERE is the link to a video I made in the poly tunnel in the middle of May 2018 - showing the crops in situ.  It shows the tomatoes, lettuce, chilies, etc that I currently have left to grow in the tunnel, after taking the Brussels sprouts, a few tomatoes, most of the butternuts and all the chickpeas down to plant out at the allotment.

Middle of May and I took three pictures down the plot while taking scraps and coffee grounds down to the compost. It was too wet to dig right away - so I would have to wait a few hours to carry down a half dozen tomato seedlings to plant or do any weeding. This first shot shows the chickpeas, celeriac, and Brussels sprouts plants.

In the second shot, you look across over the butternut and corn area to the prolific strawberry bed - with a nothing-came-up carrot/turnip bed in front and beyond to my red onions. In my final shot, you can see my next-to above pic bed of tomato, rainbow chard and kale planted the day before the photograph was taken - already 2-3 of the tomatoes have been munched, sigh. Then there are 4 garlic/oniony things that I left to grow for seed as an experiment in a patch of land to be filled with tomatoes as soon as the soil dries enough to allow me to take them down - hmm, one more hour perhaps?

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My painting supplies will of course be removed before I furnish the coffee lounge and the tools alcove was all that remained to be done as April ran down into its last 2 days.

I emptied the tools out with the painting supplies and began - the horrid tear-jerking job of washing stained dirt engrained black hole-riddled walls, lashings of cobwebs, and bright pink brickery...

The shelf came off easily and is in good nick - that is one good thing! A quick wipe over and its perfect. not so the walls....UGH! I polyfilled, waited, polyfilled, waited, then on the final day of the month one final polyfill had those ghastly stained holes filled sufficiently to paint - it doesn't have to be perfect, as it will be curtained off and contain tools, not be seen, thankfully.

I began, shortly after coffee with my best friend. It was raining, and likely to do so all day - so I figured I would undercoat the tools alcove. I used up all the mauvey purpley pink paint first. I then began to use the last of the color called 'cookie dough' - but, it was runny liquid and I had an idea. Why not paint the strip of floor between the doorway into the kitchen and back door?

This strip gets filthy, as I use it daily carrying armloads of wet laundry outside and coming in with muddy gum boots - but I thought the former ugly cement might look better with spare paint, and spare paint I would have!

I didn't quite have enough, and ended the strip with a little green from my son's bedroom walls. The look was nice - and I am wondering if I should rip out the lino and paint the rest of the floor....but I didn't - yet.

April ended and I had used up the last of 3-4 cans of paint in the tools alcove - which I remind everyone will NOT be on show - I just didn't want ugly black stained holes, even for tools.

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Continuing with the other half of the coffee lounge, here you can view the window - looking out over patio greenhouse to the pond, bird feeder, and poly tunnel beyond. One of the next steps will be to polyfill and paint the bright pink brickery out of the tools alcove and place a curtain across so the tools are kept safe and dry - but unseen! I have already purchased a shower curtain to do this with. I may hang a flower such as a geranium in the hook near the window - I have one in the kitchen at the moment, as I don't have garlic hanging there for a few months.

Finally, back to where we began in my last blog - the former door between kitchen and coffee lounge, now open plan! Once again, the mirrored tools section will have a silvery shower curtain hiding it.

Liz and I turned out Betty's linen closet and I came home with a stock of light globes of varying type. 5 of the old style from a decade or two ago, and a lot of the energy saver bulbs that came out afterwards before fading to the new options 2-3 years ago. These will be useful and keep me going for a long time.

I did little this and thats in the coffee lounge, now more than half way done. Here is a shot of the doorway with the undercoat. Since this I have top coated the doorway and polyfilled the closet.

Here is the first attack of paint to said closet. I used the last of the blueish paint I have in my bedroom. I then undercoated the side panels and lower panel in magnolia.

I was painting most days again, due to horrible weather and feeling sulky. The topcoat was soon applied. This left me with just one area left to tackle - the yuckiest corner and grottiest wall - the tools alcove.

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On the second Saturday of April, I began to polyfill the closet surround. I do not want to use this wooden box style cupboard, so have decided to seal it up empty. It is too high and dirty and warped to be of use to me. You can see that I applied the first load of polyfilla above. More is to be applied until such time as the closet is fixed 'sealed' and paintable.

Still to go - the tools alcove - oh, and um, me... The pink brickery and dirt-stained ceiling will be painted once the back door and closet have been. Any gloss paint left over, will coat the exterior of the back door! Well - that is the plan...

One of my more recent fads is similar to that of my best friend. That is to collect specimens of flower and greenery from the gardens and use them indoors. For the time being, this is my arrangement - including white floral hedge, lungwort, primrose and grape hyacinth.

I like artsy decor - as those following the storyline of the coffee lounge will know only too well! I therefore have been 'playing' with my washing up detergents and making them into lava lamps by mixing various aromas and colors into squirter bottles. On the right, you can see me having added purple to the green, yellow, orange and red. The purple settled at the base.

It is time to take stock of where I am at in the redecorating of the coffee lounge. Please recall that when first built in 1953, this room was an outhouse - used for such as storing laundry baskets, coal, potatoes, and for tradesmen to leave deliveries if my parents were out - as it previously had a door into the kitchen that locked! As you can see in the above photo, that door has been removed by myself, as I prefer not to have too many doors between the sink where I do the laundry and washing line, where it hangs to dry! This walk way will remain for the purpose of getting out into the back yard, with or without laundry, and the heater will remain off. I have no place else to store the family gumboots.

Turning into the room, we see the freshly painted corner along with the linoleum I put down a few years ago. That corner will house the sofa when bought - though along which of the two possible walls I have as yet to decide. Maybe along the outer wall, so the window light is seen shining thru - or maybe under the window facing the decor wall. Either way, other than mopping, removing paint from the floor, and vaccing, the space is ready to furnish as far as this corner is concerned.