Buzz buzz buzz

The plot is buzzing with life at the mo so we've been spending extra time down there. We've left the leeks to go to seed and the flowers look really beautiful. The bees seem to be appreciating them too :) Our raspberries are also producing tons of fruit this year so we've been nomming lots of raspberries straight off the plot. They make a very tasty snack when you're down the plot working.
The onions are looking good. Even the new ones I planted the other week from spare onion sets that some kind plot owner left out are also coming up. Hopefully that will keep us in onions for a bit. The sweetcorn is also coming along nicely too but that will be a while before they are ready to eat. We're also giving Spinach a go too this year so we're looking around for some yummy recipes to use this in. I'm thinking of giving Saag aloo a go :P Also the Sunflowers are all flowering and they look amazing. I love the way they all turn themselves to face the sun. Theres also something really happy about sunflowers too which I love.
The plot is also teaming with life too. As well as tons of bees I also spotted loads of ladybirds, grasshoppers and butterflies. I even saw some Small Tortoiseshells which has made me smile :) They were laying loads of eggs on the stinging nettles at the end of our plot so we made ourselves a little unpopular with our neighbour by not trimming it down but it was well worth the hassle. They look lovely.
I've also been working hard on 3 crafty swaps. I've sent of the earrings I made Tara for the Earring swap. Hopefully they should reach her in a week or two. I've also nearly finished making stuff for Kiddo for the Tiny Swap. I'm really chuffed with how the bits I've made have come out so I want to get on and finish that one this weekend. I'm also gradually getting bits done for the Spooky swap. So far I've made 4 things and the goal is 7 so thats going well too.
I've also made my friend a birthday pressy too :)
I've also picked myself up a second hand copy of the new Professor Layton game so I've been glued to that too :) Within a week I'd clocked up about 10 hours on it! I was chuffed with my purchase of this though as I was able to pay for it with the voucher I'd got from Computer Exchange when I traded in a few games last month.

Back from Berlin

We just got back last night from the most amazing holiday. My first time ever abroad (well further afield than Ireland) and I loved it. As you have probably guested from the title, we went to Berlin. A beautiful city with so much to see, a week was no where near long enough but we had a nice relaxing potter around and managed to see a fair few of the sites.
Purely by chance and good luck we found that Berlin has a Dali Gallery devoted entirely to Salvador Dali and his work. While there wasn't any of his big oil paintings there, there was still loads to see. I felt like I'd died and gone to heaven :) We also became very well acquainted with Ampelmann, the German equivalent to the man in the traffic light. He's apparently only found in the former East German side of Berlin and is very cool. He is so popular that he even has his own shop (which can also be found online here). I thoroughly enjoyed doing the whole touristy bit and have come home with my own Ampelmann t-shirt :)
I'm planning on put together all my soveniers in some form of scrapbook or something similar. I think I need to recover from the journey home though. zzzzz
I also need to get going on the swaps that I've signed up to. I'm taking part in the second round of the tiny swap, the spooky swap and earrings swap :) I'll have to get my crafty act together and come up with some things. I've already got some ideas of what to make Kiddo for the tiny swap.
I'm also in the process of making something for a friends birthday :) I won't say anymore though as I know she's probably reading this ;)