Since I was young I wanted to have a gardenhouse.

Not a simple greenhouse, but a little house to spend my time reading, writing, or being busy with a hobby.

But life was too intensive, or too expensive, and I had a partner who didn't share my ideas at all.

He always had conditions, like tidying the attic, painting. or whatever, to keep me from what I wanted.

After he died I decided to buy something for myself each month.

Maybe something small, maybe something large, depending on the content of my wallet, and other wishes.

The first thing I bought was: the greenhouse.

I decorated it as a beach house.

Regularly I sit there with a cup of coffee, reading, or listening to the birds.

A quiet time, with thoughts and stories popping up in my mind...

Just finished the book of Luncinda Riley: The Love Letter.

Read the Dutch translation.

Many evenings after dinner I took a mug with coffee and the book to my gardenhouse and had at least half an hour of undisturbed reading.

The book was a gift.
I usually don't read that genre.

But the first part was set in London.. and there was a jounalist... So well.. I tried a few pages ad got lost in the story.
The turns, the tweaks, the unexpected events.

Read it yourself!!

To me the end was a bit abrupt... a bit too constructed. Such a dfferent style from the first part...

But I have enjoyed the book (and the coffee) each minute.

 

The magpie that often visits my garden has some peculiar habits.

One of them is warning me when someone walks to the front door.
But he doesn't warn me for our favorite mailman!
So I think he is a very clever one.

A while ago I thought I saw a rat disappear around the little wall behind the house. I was not sure. But I asked the daughter who lives elsewhere for some dirty content of the cat litter box.
She had put it in little sealed bags.

I threw the content of one in the corner of the wall.

Never saw any rodents.

Today I sat reading in the gardenhouse, when suddenly the magpie sat on my roof and sounded the alarm.
He made a lot of noise, far more than usual.

I thought there might be a cat in one of the gardens.
So I stood up and clashed the lid of the bin very loud.
That makes all cats jump and run away.

But the magpie kept yelling and soon there were two other magpies sounding the alarm too.
They were sitting on the roof above the neigbouring gardens.
Never heard three make so much noise.
It sounded they were following some animal going towards my garden.

I took one of the little bags and emptied it at that side of my garden.

Within two seconds everything was calm.
First "my" mapie stopped calling, then the other two
So whatever alarmed them returned to where it came from.

Thanks birds!!

 

I like to sit down with a coffee after dinner and read a bit.
Now I have the gardenhouse it's relaxing to sit there.
Most of the time.

My neighbours have a very loud way of dealing with life.
I remember they came at the door before they lived here, and asked if this was a quiet neighbourhood.
"Oh yes! It's very quiet here! 
People take care they won't bother other people."

So I expected neighbours who would adjust to that.

Noop!

From the first day they had rows.
Not just disagreements that were solved within minutes, but loud yelling to each other without listening.
Blaming each other, without any self reflection, so nothing would be solved.

I made the mistake once to tell them to close the windows.
If she would have been able to spit fire I would have been completely burned to ashes!

So I went inside when I was enjoying the garden and that was disturbed by yet another row,

But now with the gardenhouse...

Why on earth won't people accept that the spouse does things different?
It was about the dishwasher.
He had put something in it the wrong way.

I tried to ignore them, but it was impossible.

Maybe I should record it all, and play it off loud an clear during a sunny afternoon?

My daughter had dropped a porcelain item and wanted it to be glued.
So I had a try.

To be able to lay out the different pieces I decided to use the little table in the gardenhouse.

That turned out to be a good idea, especially as I left the phone inside the house.

The weather was like someone was playing with the switch between nice blue skies with white clouds and torrential rain.
The temperature was OK.

So I enjoyed the splittersplatter of the rain on the roof and wenton with the job.

Apart from spilling a drop of glue on my blouse.. you can't see it anymore ... I managed to glue the item as well as possible.

First job done in the gardenhouse.