Acceptance, Hope and the Three brothers Clem

This blog post was originally supposed to be about loss, death, the withering of beloved plants but I've now come to tell you, instead, a tale of hope, of growth, of second chances and reprieves!

This is what I thought I'd be showing you, and we do have a lot of that, but, more importantly, we have things like these...

And I have no idea what these will turn out to be but I'm hopeful and proud and leaving them alone until they make their identity known to me. (Do you know what they are?!)

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As part of our ongoing Beautifying our Backyard-/Garden-Space Project I'm eagerly searching for the best deals on garden furniture so we're ready to roll when Spring is finally sprung upon us here in London.

I've encountered a problem, however, and I need to rectify it quickly.

At the back of the garden we have a gorgeous Clematis (this is a picture of it in its heyday... it's the giant plant that rests across the top of the fence at the back of the garden)

and it's a source of pure joy each year when it blooms. (Of all the pictures I've ever taken; this continues to be a firm favourite.)

Clem was in the way when we were having our outback renovations done and he'd been trimmed back drastically to allow the landscaper to get into the area to work and then add the extended trellis on the back wall.

Now, several months later, it seemed to be that Clem had been over pruned and wasn't going to recover from the ordeal. I'd come to believe that Mr Clematis's time had come. His end had drawn near. He'd moved on to That Little Garden in the Sky where he could run around and play with other happy Clematises...

This is Clem...

So sad *sob*

I simply can't have just dry, withered Clematis vines at the back of my Please-Let-This-Be-Beautiful-and-Functional Space so drastic action was taken.

Allow me to introduce;

Three brothers Clem. (There are three of them. They are brothers. They are all named "Clem".)* Please excuse their varying states of undress.

Aren't they handsome?

I've unpacked them completely, fed and watered them well and am now waiting patiently for weather that is consistently 10 °C for longer than two hours a day so I can introduce them to their new home. I'm pretty excited.

For posterity (and this post) I went outside, intent on capturing pictures of the current state of death so I could show you just how bad it had become out there. (We saved, in pots, a rose and a fuchsia plant in the hopes that they could be replanted and placed around the garden as life, decoration.)

What's this?!

I'm not certain that this is Clem (as opposed to another plant that's wound around in the same viney mess) but I'm hopeful that it is. (Can you tell? Is it a clematis? If not; what is it?!)

And this is our sad, little rose...

But wait!...

A sign of life! Hope for our rose!

And our Fuchsia... Long-coveted by our neighbour...

Because our neighbour longed for this plant; when it was removed I tried to save some cuttings of it and get them to sprout so that I could surprise her with it. So far; my attempts have failed *sigh* I'm quite disappointed by it.... -ish...

There's hope! If I'm correct, those new shoots are coming from a section that had been sharply pruned back to move it out of the way of our satellite dish some time back and we'll have a fuchsia plant again! (Is it a fuchsia?!)

*When I have to explain it; some of the literary mystique is lost. Try to keep up.

Finally, a usable space...

Winter has descended upon us here in London and we're cosy inside our little home...

Taken 2nd December 2010

Taken 18th December 2010

I finally have visions of barbecues, brunches "on the patio", summer evenings reading The Book du Jour in the cooling air...

Yes, folks, our garden is finally complete! (OK, it has been for a couple of months but I allowed myself to get distracted with some end-of-the-year craziness and haven't told you about it in good time. I'm sorry.)

Before I show you pics of the Landscaper-Finished version (we still need to buy the accessories - BBQ, table, chairs, plants, etc) I'll remind you of the enormity of the task that was set before the man...

I think he did a very admirable job...

So, we're planning to (I should say that I am planning to and MrB is quite indulging at this early He-Doesn't-Know-What-This-Might-Cost stage) get a chimnea (that's just a link to show you what one is, ideas for type and style are gratefully received!), a BBQ, a large-ish table, some chairs, some potted plants (and, perhaps, a new clematis depending on how this one has faired being cut back a-little-further-than-it's-used-to coupled with an earlier-and-more-than-usual-for-London snowfall)... Is there anything you recommend we add to our new Outdoor Living Area?

Still plugging along...

I'm still at home babysitting the landscaper as he transforms our backyard/garden into a space we can not only use but are actually proud of. No small task, I can assure you... Before pics can be seen here.

Here are some pictures of the last few days of work...

Just this evening the paving stones were finished and pointed but there wasn't enough light left in the day to take a photo so I'm going to do another photo shoot this weekend. I can't wait! Next stage: Decking!

In other news; I'm working on some new projects that have sort of fallen into my lap and I'm excited about the prospects they bring. Here's a sneak peek...

Yes, those are old 45s! I found them next to our skip outside and rescued them from the landfill! They're badly treated and scratched. Totally unplayable but heck! I don't want to play them. I want to play with them!

I plan on transforming them from the shapes they are to some that are more form than function and some shapes that are both form and function!

(On a side note; whomever had these beauties as a similar taste in music to myself! It's all 80s/early 90s Pop... Right Said Fred, Spandau Ballet, The Human League, Prince, Paul McCartney to name but a few. And those are just the few with labels I could save! There's a ton of other ones just as impressive but, sadly, the labels didn't survive. (When I found them, they were so wet they were mouldy and stuck to their covers/each other. Ick.)

Look for them in my Etsy shop, soon! Hooray for Up-Cycling!

Also, I'm in the process of "finding" my sewing machine. It's not actually lost, it's more...hidden buried. It hasn't seen the light of day since I made my wedding dress a while back...

It will be nice to use it again. And boy, will I use it! To continue with the above theme of up-cycling and in the vein of organising my craft space/office/Geek Room I'm getting together all of the no-longer-wearable clothing I've accumulated over the last few years and will be making some cute bags from old jeans, saving them from the landfill, too! I can hardly wait but it is getting tricky trying to find enough hours in the day and days in the week to accomplish all that's spinning around in my little brain. At the moment I have lists. Lots and lots of lists!

One of the main things on that list is "What to bake next?!" I'm thinking I'll bake a vegan cornbread (largely because I know it will go well with the vegan Boston/New England Baked Beans). Do you have any suggestions of dishes you'd like to see me make (or attempt) to make vegan? I'd love to hear your ideas!

And then there's these yummies...

That's right! The now all-but-famous Mrs B bakes totally Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies! The recipe has been perfected, tested and approved and will be shared with you darlings very soon so "stay tuned" for that!

That's more like it...

Some of you know the trouble MrB and I have had with our backyard/garden. For those who don't: We've never really used it. I think we've sat out on a blanket on the grass on two separate occasions in the almost four years we've lived in this flat.

The main trouble was in that last sentence. There's -grass-. I'm very very allergic to grass pollen and being near a freshly mown lawn is quite problematic for me. For this reason, when we moved in, I asked MrB if we could get rid of the grass, deck it over or something because I wouldn't cut/mow it. It's not something I've ever done and something I'd rather not do, if I can help it. Especially on a weekly basis (or however often grass needs to be cut. See? I don't even know).

When we moved in in November 2006 the response I suggested decking over the garden and what I got was basically "no, no, no, I'll cut it. I'll be responsible for it. Don't worry. I don't want to deck it over."

OK, said I. Your deal. No problem. Problem solved.

Cut to August 2010 and this is what we were looking out at every time we lifted the blinds on the back doors...

The grass had been cut all of three times. With a weed whacker/strimmer. We own a lawnmower. A small, electric one. But it's never been out of the box. Ever. It's sitting under the stairs as I type, mocking me. The green tarp is there (in the garden, not under the stairs) because we were killing said demon grass and weeds because A. Year. Ago. I finally convinced MrB that decking the lawn would be best in the long run.

A. Year. Ago.

Just last month I finally got our bums in gear about getting someone to do the work we wanted done in the garden (are you sensing a theme, here? Read: Procrastination) and I spent two weeks sending and responding to emails that were bordering on the utterly ridiculous. One landscaping company wanted to charge ten to fifteen thousand Pounds to dig up what was in the garden and put some decking in after only seeing pictures of it, not knowing it's size! Another company had a much lower cost (about half of the low estimate) and even came out to see the space but every time I tried to ask specific questions about pricing for the extras we want (clothes line, shed for the bikes, etc) those questions weren't responded to in their return emails. Seriously? I'm asking specific questions and even outlining them for you and you completely leave them out of your reply? Thanks, but no thanks.

Anyway, the guy we chose to do the work not only answered all of our questions and gave a layered, detailed quote(s) but he was about half the price of the middle guy's estimate, too! Here's what he managed to get done after only about 3/4 of Day 1...

Amazing isn't it?! The only plants left are the ones we specified that we wanted to keep/had special plans for. I'm getting so excited.

I've also been working on things for my Etsy shop and have started my Winter Seasonal Celebration Cards (was that totally non-denominational, or what?!)...

I'm keeping it rather simple this year as last year I did cards that were very decorated and involved and I'm going for more ... how shall I put it... "reserved" this year. I'm also making twice as many as I ran out last year and that was quite annoying, especially considering how much I'd put into the ones that I did make.

The Mrs B bakes test kitchen is also working on a super new recipe for Apple Cinnamon Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting. Vegan, of course. (And the recipe is actually, technically, officially done, but I didn't take pictures of the test batch of cupcakes before they were devoured and I don't feel it would be fair to share a new recipe with you all without the accompanying, tempting photos!) So stay tuned for that! *grin*