Lovely Surprise

Ashraf and Miriam came over last night and we went with Felix out to dinner, which was just lovely. Felix helped me get rid of the sawdust and general debris, which ingeniously involved stacking the dishwasher with scant hope of it working, but hey, it got the stuff out of sight.

My wardrobe is chockablock with timber since I had nowhere else to put it, and the demolished cupboards I put in the back of the truck - then parked it down the road so we didn't look too Appalachian.

While we were out it rained, and this morning looks like the dawn of creation, snail on the thorn, dew on the rose, all rejoicing, plumper, greener, revived, and the thrush singing his heart away. Strong pink shoots from the roses I planted last year, they are happy where they are - rosamutabilis and Fourth of July, in a froth of freesias and wallflower.

I took a cutting of a new salvia from Cissy yesterday at lunch, the trick will be to find somewhere for it. I need a new truckload of topsoil, and a strong lad to spread it.