Old Slides, Old Music and Poppies

My goodness it has been cold. I suppose in some countries I would be laughed at for saying that but it feels bone-cold to me. 

We are not seasonal gardeners but nothing would entice me outdoors for the past few days apart from replenishing the logs for early fires. 

But I have had my projects. One of them is to hone down my extensive sheet music collection. With that in mind I have been playing every piece on the piano, before making my decisions. And its been very enjoyable. My delight is the dance music of 30`s and 40`s. The charity pile is growing.

The second project is to finally decide on what to do with our 1000 strong slide collection. At one time it was cheaper to have slides printed rather than photographs but it is a real phaffy job to get them in a projector screen and neither of us wants to bother. But there are many lovely memories there from 70`s including our little bungalow when it was new, family pictures, some of whom are no longer with us and holidays.

The first thing we have done is to look at every single one and decide if its worth keeping. Some have faded. Some have mould. In this way we got rid of 500. Many are over 50 years old.

Today a new piece of equipment is coming from amazon which allows you to line up slides and take photos. It is great to be doing something with them. Wish me luck!!!

Before this cold snap we did more to the entrance.

 

Its hard work but we are just doing a bit at a time.

The back of the gnome garden needs to be secured and the bank will have to be reinforced but we are hoping to recycle some wood. With a bit of luck we might get there tomorrow.

At home I have tried the poppies. I was a bit disappointed to find the crepe paper was not all good quality. Here are the poppies. 

 I like the right hand one best.

I have been getting some crafts ready for the school valentines disco this Friday.

The rag doll was completed. The head shape was rather peculiar but seeing as I took on someone`s unfinished work I didn`t mind too much. Someone will love her.

 

And finally, the hedge has at last been cut .... a job that used to be done in the autumn. This pleases me so much.