I haven't been well.  On Sunday I had cystitis which, by mid afternoon, had turned to blood in my wee, and by evening a bit of wee in my blood, and a whole world of pain.  So off to A&E who were good enough to supply sympathy (really!) and antibiotics.  And a diagnosis of roaring kidney infection

So I've been phenomenally tired.  I have slept a good 18 hours, each of the last 4 days.  And still I could sleep.

Today, though, I have taken a bona fide day off sick.  It's quite sunny, outside my bedroom window, with a slight (chilly) breeze.  I thought I'd be brave, and *do* something, so I went and made a block of the red quilt.  And got two more blocks three pieces together.  Once they're finished, that's the end of the piecing for that quilt, I think - just some sashing to do and it can all be slung together (oh no!  I've just remembered the block I don't like, which will have to be remade.  But that should be straightforward).  The problem is, I have no idea how I want to quilt it.  Quilt it??  I have no idea how I want to back it!!  I have a vague notion that black and white might be nice, with the usual row of scrappy pieces, but I can't find any black and white fabric that's mostly white....  Any pointers gratefully received (any evidence of readers at all, actually!)

So then I fancied toast.  With marmite.  But there's no bread, so I wandered into town, and provisioned us.  And came home and felt tired, so have been in bed ever since.

I really want to crochet, but if I start anything new with the red quilt still incomplete, there might be trouble.  I have my eye on the babette blanket.  And there's an impending baby at work who could use a little crochet blanket like Joe's...

I'm watching some workmen instal a netting roof over the five-a-side football pitch in the park, opposite, and trying to convince myself that the dogs are *only* farting, and there's no need to pad around the house in case that horrid smell has a physical source.  And thinking about going back to sleep...

In the end, I did none of the solipsistic, moochy things that were making me so despondent, and gardened instead.  I found some poppies on special offer in the garden centre (I only went for a bag of compost) and so bought 3.  They're very beautiful, so I had fun on Monday morning, taking photos of them.

I love how my camera captures each hair on the stalks and buds.  The opening bud is still trying to shrug off its little cap, today.

Then I decided they were so beautiful I wanted to make one, so I spent half an hour in the shed with various bits of mulberry bark, crepe de chine and velvet, before admitting that the creative spark seems to have left me for a while.  Oh well...

 I also seem to have picked up one of these.  It's a bit of a triffid, with largish leaves and this lily-like flower.  I can't remember what it's called, but there was a hole just the right size for it at the back of the bed.  Which is no mean feat, considering just how little bed there is, in this garden.

So then I tied back the daffodils, and planted the bedding plants.  These are begonias, which the snails are enjoying very much, thank you...  There were also sweet williams, snapdragons, and marigolds.  I expect the snails will enjoy the marigolds, too, when they've tired of the begonias.  Oh well, I never was a huge fan of begonias.

I filled various tubs, window boxes and stray pots with geraniums.  I do like a good geranium.  And a couple of straggly tomato and strawberry plants went into the bottom of the tub with the clematis in.  I don't think they'll survive -they got rather too dry in their little plug plant pots - but it's got to be worth a try, right?

And then the aquilegia, which is actually rather coming to the end of its season, looked so stunning in its shady corner that I took a sneaky picture of that, too.

And after that, it was just a question of throwing some alpines in the front (which was just a series of gravel beds, and now has  fig tree (with 3 figs) in a large tub; some window boxes of peas, beans and tomatoes, and an extensive alpine bed.  Looks less ordered, but much nicer.