A surprise from the garden

This my friends is what happens when you have a weekend of rain followed by a week of sunshine and don't check the garden.  Yes that is a 30cm ruler.  I guess we are having some zucchini dishes this week!

Oh and I'm remaking the trifle so I promise some good photos plus a step by step guide to trifle assembly for those who have never had it, after all I was well in my 20s before I had my first trifle.

I've been possessed

As I've written before I do not enjoy exercise.  I make myself do it by rewarding myself with yummy food, taking extra time for stretches, enjoying the scenery on a walk and fitting into beloved clothes.

But this morning as I was doing my Pilates situps a strange and very foreign thought wandered through my brain.  "I actually quite enjoy situps" I thought.  Which was immediately followed by a series of fast thoughts trying to analyse if I've been invaded by a situp loving alien or if my present state of extreme tiredness has tipped me over the edge into crazy land.

I don't know if it is the repetition, the great stretch I get through my back, the slow controlled breathing but I have to admit that it is true, I actually really like situps.  Never fear, I still loathe all other exercise and only do it so that I can eat the chocolate Mum put in my handbag for lunch.

Have you surprised yourself by liking something unexpected recently?

Surprises

Not the actual surprise flowers, there wasn't time to take a photo.  These are some from last year

Do you know what is better than getting a suprise - giving a surprise!

My garden is bursting with roses.  They have been teasing me with buds for weeks but the last few days of hot weather (I have a feeling it is going to be a long hot summer) has coaxed them out en mass.  One of the brilliant things about roses is that cutting them actually encourages more flowers, so I love to fill my house and those of my family with them.

My parents were away this weekend and I knew that they would arrive home this afternoon to a hot, shut up house.  So this morning, I got up early enough to pick a large bunch of gorgeous fresh roses, head over to their house and open it up so that it would be cool, fresh and fragrant when they arrived home.

Of course the art of the surprise is keeping it, which should be easy, except that for various reasons I spoke to my parents multiple times throughout the day.  However I did manage to resist spilling the beans which meant they could come home to a lovely suprise.  Well the flowers were a lovely surprise, unfortunately I'd put the airconditioning on too low and managed to freeze them - I guess it is the thought that counts!

Back of the drawer

So possibly this indicates that I have too many clothes, but every now and then I find something tucked in the back of a drawer or the cupboard that I had completely forgotten I owned. This morning was one of those days. I was looking for a black top and grabbed a random bit of black fabric only to pull out a surpise! I honestly cannot remember when I got this top, but I really like it - which is probably why I bought it in the first place.

Finding something like that is the best kind of surprise, a bit like finding money under the car seat, it is manna from heaven. While it has always been yours, was hard earned and carefully considered, finding it again after your brain has so effectively wiped the memory of it is just like getting something for free.

It was a very pleasant way to start the day.

Surprise - it is a free scarf!

We all know that I love something free, I also love surprises and I am slightly obsessed with scarves - so what could be better that a free surprise scarf! I know, really, does life get much better?

This is an original Larry Kazmerski design. If you are are struggling to remember a designer by that name, shift your thinking from fashion to solar power. That's right, Larry is one of the solar power industry's luminaries but every year for something like 30 years he has designed a scarf and tie that he gives away as gifts. People apparently hoard them and they are a real collectible for solar geeks.

And now I have one. Aren't the colours brilliant? It really looks fabulous on, several people not in the know about its solar significance have commented on its fashion worthiness. Now I just need to work on my strategy to continue to receive one each year!

Surprises

Do you like a surprise? I know many people have a morbid fear of them, they like to live life in a planned orderly manner. I however, love a surprise and they come in all shapes and sizes just like the couple I have had in the last day.

Last night I arrived home to a surprise, a beautifully wrapped present on my doorstep! Attached to it was the most lovely card filled with the wonderful wishes of a very special friend. The devine Ms N, is one of the sweetest people you could ever hope to meet and she had delivered me a gift to give me a little extra lift when she thought I could use it. Honestly, it just made my day.

This morning I went to a breakfast which I regularly attend, however due to a full carpark came in a different entrance. As I walked out into the courtyard I was surprised with a beautiful vista. A normally plain walkway has been transformed by vigorously flowering wisteria. It was so unexpected it quite literally stopped me in my tracks. After yesterday's rain it all just looked so fresh and gorgeous, I couldn't help but take a photo.

I hope something wonderful has surprised you today!