Two more of my girls enjoying being in the garden.

One of my favourite Gotz slate eyed waifs, Sophie, in one of Dollydoodle's first year Summer outfits admiring the long stemmed daisies on the lawn before hopefully picking them to start to make a daisy chain.


I like the way the three daisy shadows appear on her leg.


Are these fern plants?


Sitting amongst the branches of this Acer shrub.


Just pondering if she should attempt to climb this Fir tree that is at the moment shedding it's ripe cones all around it's trunk base.


Standing in amongst the ferns growing in the top of dry stone wall.


A 1970 Trendon brunette Gingham wide faced girl in another Summer T shirt and shorts set from Dollydoodle in her first year of making clothes for Sasha in the shrubbery.


Standing in the herbaceous Geranuim plants.


Apologies for the slightly green tinge to her face from the reflection of the shrubbery. (Obviously need to find another black elastic band instead of this clear one.)

Some of my girls enjoying the garden.

My new re-rooted Trendon girl, Annaleise, wearing one of Dollydoodles latest girly T-shirts and cropped denim leggings with converses.


I like the way the light here is filtering through the bushes in the background.


Again I love the tree bark background in this photo.





This is a very photogenic little girl.


One of my favourite Frido girls with her bluntly cut Monique Peggy-Sue wig.


Amy is wearing a very pretty Summery outfit by Dollydoodles consisting of a pale yellow short sleeved hoodie and white cropped leggings and raindow stripped converses.


Amy definitely shows 'attitude' in the picture.


I really like this close-up photo showing the delightful combination of pale blonde hair and brown eyes which Frido/Trendon didn't address.

My 2011 crop of Runner Beans.

Not being such a lover of green vegetables, but do like Runner Beans, providing that they are picked when they are small and tender (which they aren't when produced for public sale) I therefore grow my own in containers each year. I sow them from seed at intervals so that they don't all ripen at the same time.
The plants in the beige pots shown below are my first sown.


The black pots are the last ones to be transplanted. Keeping them contained in these planters helps me to keep them well watered with rain water from the waterbutt and weekly fed with liquid plant food.


...and these here are the middle plants. The soil that they are grown in is rich with compost and well rotted farmyard manure.


Close-up photos of the growing beans.


An even closer photo.


Sally helped me pick my very first handful.


They look really small and very tender.


I have a little hand device that once the beans are topped and tailed you pull them through to thinly slice them. Boiled in water for ten minutes, drained and then served on a warmed plate with a knob of butter melting on top and fresh crispy bread they make an ideal lunchtime snack.

Incidently they were delicious. Having more today.

'The Wheels on the Big Red Bus go round and round.'

My sister's husband bought this ex-PMT (Potteries Motor Traction Company) bus the other day as the family are members of POTTS, an old bus group, and are enjoying going out and about in it, tracing and photographing its original service routes and visiting vintage transport fairs and shows.



I had to go over unexpectedly to take my sister something the other day on the way back from the hospital and so saw the bus for the first time. Thinking that I must come back again as my Gregor boys might like to have a look at it.... but luckily on inspecting the car boot found Sam and Jac still rolling around in there from their last visit.
Sam standing in front of the bus.


Sam on the steep steps.




Jac turning on the electricity for the starter motor.


Jac checking the oil level. (Be very careful that you don't get any on your Dollydoodle outfit as it's very hard to get oil off clothing.)

The bus travelling through Cheadle town.


Sam doing a good job making sure that the water levels are ok.


Jac checking the tyres!

Oh dear, the camera battery has just exhausted itsef! Will have to come over another time!