What a strange day

 It was misty pretty much all day here yesterday, but it wasn't cold at all.  Husband went to his Sheds group in the morning, dropping me off in town first.  I browsed round the charity shops and a couple of the relatively upmarket (well, relatively for Minehead!) furnishings/gift shops, looking for cushions for the garden chairs, didn't find any - well, not ones I liked/were suitable anyway.  I think I might have to get them online.  I needed a small amount of black gloss paint but couldn't find small enough tins of that either, I really only need a tiny amount.  Then I had a brainwave and bought 2 bottles of glossy black nail polish, perfect!  I also got something else I'd been wanting, a garden obelisk for the climbing rose which I'd cut down almost to the ground (as the stems were bare to waist height) and which has sent up loads of new growth.  Husband picked me up and we popped to the garden centre for yet more plants - I think we must be their best customers at the moment, even the young male cashier greeted us with a smile and a "Hello again" 😂

So another productive couple of hours in the garden - husband built up part of the stone wall of the existing raised bed, which was collapsing, and I started putting together the - flat pack - obelisk.  It was quite tricky to begin with actually - not surprising I suppose, as it was a cheap 'made in China' thing.  I made a couple of rookie mistakes 😉 at first - well, in my defence, I've not assembled one before and the badly-printed picture instructions were so faded I could hardly see them.  Once I figured it out though, it was fairly easy, although I had to call husband over a couple of times as brute strength (which I don't have) was needed to squeeze together a few of the joints.  Got it done soon enough and put in place over the rose, it looks quite good for a cheap item.

Then I planted up the geraniums I bought yesterday in pots to go on the paving, to help break it up and provide a splash of colour.  Husband planted a couple more alpines in the new rockery bed.

SAM, you're right, the garden was a clean slate, a blank canvas really, so we could pretty much work out a plan of exactly what we wanted.  I'm already looking forward to next year when everything is established and well grown.

I noticed a small red, slightly raised and scaly, itchy patch just above my wrist yesterday after I came in from the garden....I'm guessing it might be yet another allergic reaction to something I've inadvertently touched out there.  I've taken an antihistamine, to be on the safe side.