h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Ah, you have the same luck as me then. I hope the pulled muscle does'nt interfere with your arrangements and packing.
Do you have to travel far to the airport? Sometimes thats the longest and most tedious of travelling.

As i predicted, it's going to be a glorious weekend weather wise and i'm stuck at work. The weather god must have issues with me or something.

It is still quite sore today, but better. I'm keeping a happy thought.

The airport is about 60 miles from here. So, not too bad. Syn is going to drive me over there and pick me up when I get back. The flight over will be a pain. Two plane changes. But there is an hour between each, so the timing won't be bad. Coming back there will only be one plane change, but it involves a long layover, nearly 4 hours. I'm not sure which is worse. At least I'll be in a nice airport with lots of shops and restaurants.

Too bad about having to work on such a glorious day. That is so typical. Today I'm roasting a turkey to have leftovers for the dog while I'm gone. And I'll play with my new camera to try and get it figured out. Then if I'm not too achy, I'll tackle my closet and start getting my clothes ready for the trip.

Hows the packing going?

You must be pretty excited by now, with only one day left untill you're off on the big trip.

I probably won't find you again before you go, so i really hope you have a wonderful time on your hols. I still hope to meet up with you on the Wednesday, so fingers crossed i'm feeling a bit better by then.

Don't forget you camera!

I did'nt really know where to post this, so i'm posting it here. I don't expect you will see this untill you're home though.

I'm sorry i won't be able to come to your mini meet next Wednesday I had the first of my injections today, and the second one is next Wednesday. If i was doing it unsupervised, i could do it first thing and still come along if fit enough however, i have to have nurse supervision and she can't come untill 3pm. There is a small chance i can make it to the afternoon trip to Kew on the Saturday though, health and stuff permitting.

Venus, I'm very glad your treatments have started. It's disappointing that you won't be able to come to London on the 6th, but I'm hoping you'll make it to Kew. The important thing is for you to get the treatments, though.

Teuchter and I have had a wonderful time visiting gardens. We took in Rosemoor, Heligan and the Eden Project. And we found a lovely fishing village in Cornwall. We both liked it so much we went back a second time. It is called Mevagissey (sp?). I got some useful tips on veg gardening at both Rosemoor and Heligan and some programming ideas at the Eden Project.

Hope to see you at Kew.
Hyp

Oh! Teuchter has potted orchids in her kitchen windows. Some of them are blooming and are just gorgeous. I'm quite jealous.

Oooh, i'm envious about your trip to the Eden project I've seen it on tv and hope to visit one day.
It's looking good for Kew next week, i might bring my grandaughter with me, though i havent decided yet. She's often said she would like to go to Kew with me.
You seem to having the best our country can offer in terms of weather this weekend. I hope you're having a fun time in London.

The London visit was great fun. Every thing we did was enjoyable. So much so that I'm hard pressed to select a favorite thing.

I hope tomorrow works out for you so you can come to Kew. It would be fun to meet your granddaughter, as well. So, see you there.

I'm pleased you enjoyed your birthday, sorry i could'nt be there
I will be at Kew tomorrow though The injections are working well and i'm feeling ok. I won't be bringing my grandaughter with me, i left it too late to ask her and her hayfever is quite bad at the moment, so probably not the best time to take her to a garden full of pollen.
See you tomorrow.

Have you recovered a bit from you long journey?
Nick said you were now back at work and life resumes it's normality, holidays are over so quick eh!
Hows the foot now?

The foot is much better. The problem now is that I'm still jet lagged. I haven't slept through the night since I got home. I wake up around 2 o'clock and can't go back to sleep. With luck my internal clock will reset over the weekend.

The vacation was a lot of fun, but it was nice to get back home. This is our busiest time of the year at the library, so there will be plenty to do this summer.

Has your new orchid bloomed?

Hiya.
Sorry it's taken so long to reply. It's our busiest time at work and i'm not fit for anything by the time i get home
Are you getting over that nasty cold now?

I'm hoping i don't get too jet lagged either, it could spoil my holiday at bit I'm not too bothered coming home as i have several days off before returning to work.

One of the little orchids is in bud I've taken a photo of it in bud, then i'll take one when it's in flower. It's one of the British natives that i'm privalaged to own. I'll either post them online or send them to Nick. I'm sure he would'nt mind forwarding them to you.
I'm off out into the garden as sonn as my delivery of meds is here. It's a nuisance having to stay in all morning waiting for the chap to turn up, still it only happens once every four weeks so i should'nt complain.

How long does it take to go from bud to blossom? Must seem like a long wait.

Sorry, this conversation got buried on a back page. The cold is completely gone and I'm feeling normal again. Back at work, getting things ready for our summer programs. Summer at the library is a busy time.

I had some of my relatives and the boyfriend over for a Memorial Day cookout that turned into a cook-in. I couldn't get the gas grill to light. Yes, I had gas in the cannister. So I dug out an old charcoal grill that turned out to be so grimy that I didn't have time to clean it up properly. So I cooked indoors. But everyone had a good time and went hoime with full tummies.

How is the RA? Is the new treatment continuing to work?

The bud is already starting to blossom and i took the first of many photos today. The flowers are tiny, but perfectly formed

I'm not a big fan of bbq's, thats probably because i'm not a big meat eater and i don't like steak at all. I think i've only ever been to 2 bbq's in my life.
What sort of things did you cook?

The injections are working a treat. I can't now bend my knees and kneel again without hurting. As you can magine i've been over doing things in my garden to get it back up to how it should look. It's made all the difference to my well being, i'm a much happier bunny now i can do what i love doing best.
Have you managed to get your veg patch back on track after your holiday?

I'm so glad the treatment is working. What a relief that must be for you, both literally and figuratively.

It's exciting that the orchid is ready to bloom. How long do they blkoom outside like that? Teuchter has some in her kitchen that stay in flower for ages.

I fixed beer can chicken and pork spare ribs. It would be hard for me to become a vegetarian. I am a true carnivore. And the meat doesn't disagree with me. Quite the contrary. I do better health wise when I eat plain lean meat and vegetables. I also eat a lot of legumes. The starches and sugars play havoc with me. Eating in England where the emphasis is so much on flour-based items and starchy potatoes really does a job on me. Everywhere we went (tourist spots, gardens, etc.) it seems there was a load of pastries and sandwiches and jacket potatoes and very little else. The actual restaurants, of course, were better. The starch that bothers me the least is rice. Fortunately, I like rice. Then there is the yeast, soy and msg problem. I'm a mess.

Teuchter took me to Rosemoor where they have a fabulous vegetable and fruit garden. I took a lot of photos of raised beds, garden sculpture, cold frames, etc. I'm trying to come up with a plan that will let me still have my veggies and small fruits for the minimum amount of work each year. So, I've persuaded a bearded cousin to help me get things set up. The plan is to get the beds ready between now and planting time. So, berry and currant beds ready for fall planting and raised veg beds ready for spring next year.

I will have a few things this summer. Tomatoes, sweet peppers, eggplant, cucumbers, zucchini, beans and onions. I am picking snow peas right now. And I have lovely lettuces and spinach. But I have decided not to take another vacation in April or May. I need to be here to do things in the veg garden at the proper time. So, I'm going to start vacationing in the autumn or winter, I think. June and July are out because of library programs.

It won't be long before you're on this side of the pond. I hope having that to anticipate cheers you up as much as planning my trips in that direction does me. It's pretty cool to be able to travel that far is such a short time. There are so many things about modern life that we take for granted that our ancestors would have thought sheer magic.

The orchids outside don't bloom as long as the 'indoor' ones. One of my indoor orchids has been in bloom since February and it still keeps producing more buds at the end of the stem. The little garden ones will last for about 2-3 weeks, then if i'm lucky i get seed pods too. I usually collect the seed in a paper bag and distribute it on the grass when it's a still day. The seeds are like dust, so very tiny. What did you think of the pics Nick sent? Those flowers are very small, the whole spike stands about 5 inches high.

Thinking about it our diet here is very starchy. I think that dates back to the war when food was rationed. To beat hunger bread, potatoes and pastry were used as a means of making a meal filling. I can remember when i was a child, suet puddings, dumplings and meat pudding were on the menu weekly. I can't imagine eating like that now, though i do eat quite alot of pasta and bread.

I would'nt want to be away this time of year either, it's a busy time even for us flower gardeners. Now i'm able to get outside there is always mowing, trimming and weeding to do...not to mention watering and keeping things alive during the dry periods.
I'm hoping that when i'm away in September the garden will be able to take care of itself for a couple of weeks. Things are usually slowing down by then, so hopefully it won't be a jungle b the time i get back
I expect i will get pretty nervous a week or so before i leave. I've oly flown in a plane once and that was when i was 16, so that memory is pretty dim now I'm sure i'll be fine though

It's a long flight, so try to get an aisle seat. That makes it easier for you to stretch and get up and down occasionally. I can get away with a window seat since my legs are so short, but in future I'm going to request aisle seats. Compression stockings are useful for a long flight. They reduce the liklihood of a dvt.

I'm ashamed of the way my yard looks at the moment. Between being away for three weeks then being sick for nearly two when I got back, things have gotten away from me. Now it is getting hot. Sometimes I'm tgempted to just throw in the towel, take out all the plantings and mow it all. It would sure be easier.

I have requested an aisle seat, that was one of the things Nick told me to ask about when i booked the flight. I can't sit in one position for that many hours and will need to move about when i can. I've already thought of 'flight socks' as they are called here, i havent bought them yet.

Aaww i am sorry to hear that you garden has gotten out of control while you were not able to do it. I hope you don't give up on it, that would be such a shame. Maybe you could just keep it tidy and the weeds at bay for this year, then start again next year with the planting and growing?

The first of my Bee Orchids opened one of it's flowers on Thursday. They never cease to impress me, the detail on them is amazing for such a small flower.

I've made a start on the flower beds. And got a bit of trimming done. So things look a little less neglected than they did on Saturday. I really need the daylily beds cleaned out. I have around 70 of them in about 40 varieties. They put on quite a show around the first of July. And my asiastic lilies are starting to bud. I have quite a number of those as well as a few oriental ones. So, all is not lost. *silly*

I'm jealous of your Bee Orchids. Of any sort of orchid, really. But until I get my garden organized a bit better, I'm going to have to settle for the varieties I have.

I am pleased you're not going to give up on your garden.
Have you daylilies started to flower yet?
We've had an awful lot of rain this past week, it was needed, but like everything it's now gone into excess and won't stop raining.
My Martagon lily has started to flower, i would like to get a photo once the rain stops. I have a few lilies in the garden, some species but mostly oriental.