So it’s been quite a summer holidays (and I am using the term ‘summer’ very loosely). Firstly a week on the windswept Lincolnshire coast near Skegness (ah, the glamour never ends) where I proved that there is no karaoke audience that can’t be won over with Ernie the Fastest Milkman in the West. And now we have just returned from a house swap holiday in Brittany which proved, just as effectively, that the appalling weather isn’t limited to the UK.
The holiday has also marked something of a milestone because I have, at long last, finished my book. It has been something of a labour of love, in that it has taken nine months, I felt overtired and emotional throughout and somewhere along the line I knew it would involve me holding my husband’s hands in a vice like grip whilst screaming “why did I do this?” and “it’s all your fault”.
Of course, there will still be a hiatus of six months before Garden Crafts for Children appears (it was supposed to be called Little Green Fingers but those pesky Americans only have plant-friendly thumbs) but at least I will no longer have to spend my evenings cutting out elf trousers, painting rabbits on plastic bottles or sowing microleaf farms in wineboxes.
I thought I would mark the moment by posting up a few shots of some of the projects (although, I would add that those in the book are actually taken by professional photographers so will look a bit less…. rubbish).
Awww... look at your little garden in a bowl complete with washing line and shed and everything. When I were a little girl we had to make do with a bowl full of sand for a desert island, a carrot top for the palm tree, and a compact mirror half buried in the sand for the oasis. But we were still happy ... ish.
Well done on the book front!
Posted by: Arabella Sock | August 29, 2011 at 03:57 PM
Ha ha...funny how a book can give the impression of being written in a bubble of serenity while the reality is so v different. I was talking to the author of one of my fave food books and I told her how I loved the lovely light tone (and she didnt even *snog* me)...and she laughed and told me she'd been an absolute witch to live with and stressing out about it morning noon and night. You are not alone. Looking forward to reading it x
Posted by: MarkD | August 29, 2011 at 03:59 PM
I love the dinosaurs :) The nice thing is that by the time the book is published you will feel all serene again, and make it look easy. No wonder no one knows what it takes!
Posted by: Emma | August 29, 2011 at 04:05 PM
Arabella - I'm so nicking that idea for the next book. Mostly because of the classy use of compact. Now if I can just work in the cigarette holder flag pole and tiara curved seat I can call it the Audrey Hepburn oasis garden.
Mark - She didn't snog you? Why not? Surely no one is safe from your legendary West Country charms.
Emma - Yes, it's again rather like childbirth - I'll be all rose-tinted spectacles by then thinking what a good idea it would be to start another one.
Posted by: Dawn | August 29, 2011 at 04:13 PM
Well done. I remember minature garden competitions at the school fair and as Arabella says there were a lot of compact mirrors as ponds with little toy ducks on.
What did you kids think of the whole thing? Are they expecting you to maintain this level of manic creativity just to entertain them?
Posted by: Helen | August 29, 2011 at 04:51 PM
Helen - the kids are probably more relieved than I am as they were press ganged into unpaid modelling at every opportunity.
Posted by: Dawn | August 29, 2011 at 05:37 PM
Am dabbling with Blurb at the moment for some presents for relatives. Having just edited 248 pages down to 160, replaced 30 odd photos because they weren't good enough and put together the index, I have a new found respect for anyone daring to write the real thing.
And I haven't done a proof read of the darn thing yet.
On holiday we visited a garden of someone who's about to have her garden projects book published by Timber Press. We could hardly move for the various finished projects that were left all over the garden. Is yours the same now - that hopscotch pathway for example?
Posted by: VP | September 02, 2011 at 12:38 AM
VP - So many... dinosaur tyre garden, alpine wreath, scented hopscotch, salad window box etc, etc, etc. By the way - that's some impressive editing on your part!
Posted by: Dawn | September 02, 2011 at 05:57 PM
Any chance of this being ready for Xmas? Looks fab, I'm inspired already.
Posted by: drumanagh | September 03, 2011 at 11:35 AM
Drumagh - I wish! Sadly, due to a laborious printing process that involves it travelling around the world, it won't be out until February.
Thanks for the kind words.
Posted by: Dawn | September 07, 2011 at 11:22 AM