Full on

We've felt as if we were living in Edinburgh today - oh, all right, only in one respect: the mist! When I woke even the other side of the street was hazy, though by the time I went down for breakfast the sun was breaking through and I hung out another washing (stuff I forgot about yesterday) in bright sunshine. An hour later and we were once more engulfed in the mist that had rolled back onshore, but we set off inland a little to Benmore Gardens at noon and found sun once more.

That's where this photo - the first of a series I took in the gardens - came from; I loved the vibrant colours of the two azaleas against the greens and blue sky. We were there to check out their plant sale - meaning that the gardens were much busier than usual - but couldn't find what we wanted. This led to our going to find the new garden centre in what was  Dunclutha Children's Home; the building looks discouragingly scabby on the outside but inside is all pale blue paint and useful garden-related stuff as well as a tearoom. I bought a pieris and a half-dozen pansies, a large pot (for the pansies) and some more compost.

Once home, we had a quick bite before getting on with a string of huvtaes before tomorrow's promised rain: we managed to give the new step into the shed two coats of wood preserver (in forest green, since you ask) before I planted the pieris in the newly-cleared patch at the front and the pansies in the pot, which I've arranged artistically on the same area. The border may have been cleared to the eye, but I nearly killed myself making a hole and removing some roots that were so big and solid that for a moment I thought I'd found the gas pipe ...

That done, we just had time to pop up to the church to practise a short anthem for tomorrow's service before it was time to eat and collapse. I've just dragged myself from oblivion in front of the telly, despite the hysterical yelling that always seems to accompany the points allocation in the Eurovision song contest. I believe Sweden has won. The singer had very long nails ...