Good morning Mick and all GN's from a dark still but very cold morning in North Yorkshire. Another rubbish night and I am creaking around. For some reason I thought it was Easter Sunday at first, so it took a little adjustment for me to remember it was saturday, and alter my plans for the day! Poor sleeping patterns definitely plays havoc with workings of the brain in my case!
Yesterday a quiet day at home, trying to do things and keep away from traffic. It was a slow plod and paperwork that I had thought would be simple caused quite a bit of hassle and there is still things to be done today now. I had problems with the laptop,and while I could read things easily it didnt want me to add my comments . Then after a lot of thought and checking up, I had decided to go ahead with my trip to St Kilda and after doing the insurance with no problem at all, my wretched credit card would not put the money through to the company . I got very annoyed and irritated with myself, the card, and everything. Became more anxious that I would lose the place and the good offer if I didnt get something done, but didnt want the wretched bank to stop my credit card working, and leave me with nothing available over the holiday.
I felt so annoyed that I decided I needed to calm down before I tried anything. I was full of aches and pains as well and didnt even feel able to walk round the garden with the wind blowing quite wildly, but where there's a will there's a way! So I uncovered the yellow peril and did a rather wild west drive round the garden. I knew that if the grass cutter machine could drive round with impunity , my buggy should be ok, so I "saddled up" got my secateurs at the ready and blew round the garden on the buggy. It worked quite well , as it became quite a game and needed some concentration. So there are daffodils round the trees and others in island beds and under hedges etc. They were definitely dancing in the wind yesterday, so I drove the buggy close by and then it was concentration to be able to just deadhead them, but with the wind swirling about and the daffodils dancing about, it needed a darts type aim, to just snip the heads off at the right time and not cut those flowers still blooming. A brilliant interlude, as at the end I had done a good job and all the beds looked much better and it will mean that the efforts will go into the bulbs for next year. The snipping had been quite cathartic and needed concentration and so I came back in , looking like the wild woman of the west, and very cold but calmer.
This allowed me to begin to use my brain in a better way, and after a further unsuccessful attempt online I found the phone number of the company and got the answerphone of course as it was Good Friday. I explained the problem, assured them I was definitely planning to come on the trip, that I had already arranged insurance - which I thought would show them my good intentions, and then for good measure send an email to their address, repeating what I had done, and asking if they would send me an email to confirm receipt etc etc.
I then got an email from one of the directors who was working at home and ended up ringing her up. She understood completely about the bank situation, and actually was in a similar position herself having tried to pay for something that there were plenty of funds available yet the credit card would not let her go ahead. So it was actually very worth while speaking to her. She reassured me that my place on the trip was not going to disappear and we also checked over various little bits and pieces, and so I am not going to bother to try to do anything until tuesday when I shall be onto the bank first thing.
Well that was calming and I continued rather slowly plodding on with jobs , whilst listening to the St Matthew Passion, with my very favourite piece of music "Er baume dich" which I just sat with eyes closed in peace and quiet . The St Matthew is , for me , the most beautiful of the passions and I was able to enjoy it in peace and quiet and it calms me down and puts things into perspective and lets me relax and be thankful for the things I have, especially the joy of music which has given me so much pleasure in many ways in my life. I sat quietly at the end and then suddenly realised I hadnt got the D and S, my local paper which has all the happenings on in the villages round here and of course local news.
So I decided that the local garage might have one in and set off on the buggy again, only to be surprised by a road closure I hadnt expected. I just went a different way, but this is all the extra hassle with the railway, who have of course closed much of the lines round here and they are doing major works all round here, which not only seems to affect the actual lines but closing various roads and as much inconvenience as they seem able to do! If they really get a lot done it will be worth it to have one bad patch but I am not holding my breath and will not be planning any rail journeys soon.
So with my paper and a coffee and had already got some mince made up ready for dinner with cauli and cabbage and potatoes, I then had a quiet evening reading bits, watching Gardeners World and just having a quiet time to myself. Didnt hear from my son or anyone but was quite happy in my own space.
Today I shall definitely be putting winter clothes on for a trip to the market and the shops for anything I need, but wont be loading a huge trolley up . I looked after a family, had to do quite a bit of entertaining over the years for quite large groups, but I dont ever remember filling trollies up to the brim as I seem to see families doing these days. The local garage was charging 154.9 for petrol , so I shall be continuing to use my buggy for as much as possible and eak out the fuel I have in the car for as long as possible.
So apart from shopping today I am still on the hunt for elusive paperwork and although I am getting through stuff , I have now got 3 folders for different sorts of paperwork outstanding, so that I dont let things get into such a mix up again. I have a fireproof box for important documents but it is things that need sorting first that I need to do. I also think I have saved quite a large amount of tesco points and plan to look at their deals and see if I can use them to get something I need at a good price, but that is not important compared to the other stuff. So fingers crossed I find some of the missing things and can enjoy looking out at the daffodils looking tidier for my ministrations. If it stays this cold I shall not be tempted to go out to anywhere but have plenty of food to concoct some good meals and will be happy not to be out on the roads today.
Hope you have a good journey into Bicester Mick. It will be good to have a gentle day Bellasnana and I am sure Milo will enjoy a walk. Thankyou for the picture GrandMattie, Yes it was me that wanted to know about it. I shall watch with interest how you make it all. I struggle with my hands quite a bit these days, ok on here as I am a touch typist , but knitting and sewing can be quite painful and then I also get annoyed that I cant do it well these days, so prefer to admire all the great things that all you talented GN's do . I still have a very ancient sewing apron I made in school, with applique on it and I was quite proud of it and pleased with the colours in those days. Ah well I shall try to stick to my gardening and by dint of longer handled tools and working out ways and means will hope to get the borders all planted up to suit me. Wishing everyone an enjoyable and successful day and looking forward to Easter day.
