Good morning Mick and all GN's on a sunny still morning , so far, which is not what was promised hurrah. The weather forecast gave gloom and rain and wind for the weekend, nothing like what I see at the moment, and I didnt have a good night but fell asleep about 4ish and have had a couple of hours decent sleep and what a difference that makes. Just seen the squirrel shoot up the tree and leaping about from branch to branch so right now its a great morning.
Yesterday I had a mixed day. Promising myself to do much more than I actually got done but think I really needed a slower day. After getting myself organised I intended to go down the town on the buggy, but then the wind was cold and the sky grey and looked like rain so decided to use the car instead. I had to go around to various different places and the first was to collect the prescription for the vitamin D tablets that I have to take one a week for 6 weeks. Looking at the size of them I wondered if these were really from the vets for horses! Anyway didnt take one yesterday, as I thought I will take them in the morning along with my other tablets , so that I wont forget them . I got various bits and pieces, but oh dear usually I slowly improve walking and moving about , even the snails were rushing past yesterday. Things didnt improve and it really took me a lot of effort to even walk from the car to the shops when they were just across the pavement.
I bought my d and s for the last time from Mitchells who are closing today. They were a really good newsagent, who have been there for more than 40 years and knew their customers and served them well. On my bad days , if I was on the buggy, I used to have the money ready, and just look in the doorway, and when they were free they would bring my newspaper to me, saving me the pain of getting on and off and of course bending down to pick up a paper from the pile on the lowest shelf. I shall miss their cheerful faces and kind service.
I got home and was glad to sit down until my back eased off , and read through some of the paper before getting down to some housework. It was a slow plod, and I had intended to attack the ironing mountain, but ached and creaked so much, gave up on that idea and just did a bit of paperwork and then in the evening was happy to watch Gardeners world, which had an item on miniature daffodils , which I have quite a lot of , and showed me several new ones to crave to add to my collection. I enjoyed the programme but it reminded me of the plants I havent been able to put in the garden yet and long to be able to get down and sort all the borders. Frustration abounds at the moment. I know exactly what I want to do but cant do it
Am rather stuck as it is only a little bit of a garden that is my personal bit, as opposed to the communal garden. The so called gardeners who do that are no real gardeners at all and just whizz up and down on the mowers etc, so wouldnt want them to touch my bit anyway. Even if I felt justified in paying for a gardener, I couldnt get anyone to do it as it is such a little bit that they would take an hour at the most and they want a day or mornings work. I have now thought of a "cunning plan " so am going to ask around at the womens group etc., and see if anyone has a son or daughter at secondary school who is interested but not knowledgeable in gardens and plants. Then they could come and do a little gardening for me. I would pay them and teach them anything they wanted to know, and could fit in with their timing and availability. The extra bit I have thought of ,I am a RHS member and my membership allows me to take another person for free into the gardens . So I could offer the occasional trip to Harlow Carr near Harrogate, where they could be free to enjoy the gardens there. That way I would get what I want , someone who will plant things and get it looking better, in the way I want it done, rather than someone who wants to do it their way. So I am rather pleased with the idea and with holiday times coming up, I should at least hopefully find someone who would do a couple of hours and get the garden looking more as I want it, even if they dont want to do it regularly. So a possibility , but it remains to be seen if it works.
I am going to get down the market on the yellow peril while the weather stays dry and then see how the day pans out. If it stays sunny and dry the indoor jobs will be ignored and I will get out and enjoy the sunshine in some way. The situation with the cost of fuel at the moment means I cant really afford to disappear up swaledale or to the coast but a little drive out into the countryside with a little picnic and coffee and binoculars to see the wild life is on the cards.
Hope your trip into Bicester goes well Mick and you enjoy your chinese. GrandMattie perhaps you need an invitation to join you in church on all your buntings, so that when they fly off in the high winds they take the message far and wide! Greyduster hope your hips improve as you get going. You have my sympathy, it is also so frustrating isnt it? RosesandLilac I have admired all the lovely embroidery you have been doing. Regarding the clocks changing, the only american word I use to remind me which way they go is "spring forward, fall back" . Years ago I was going to be singing a solo in church and had gone round to check on a few bits before the service , only to find an elderly lady stood at the door, wondering why they were not open and where was everyone. This was in the autumn and she had put her clock forward not back. She had begun to get a bit forgetful , and we sometimes shared a service with another church. She had just decided that she had better walk there so it was a good job I arrived.! Melanie61, hope you enjoy your dogsitting today. Looking after someones dog for a while is rather like having the grandchildren over. Great fun for a while but you can hand them back when you are ready for a rest!
Well fingers crossed for this weather to continue and hope you all have a happy and enjoyable weekend .
