Tuesday 30 June 2009

Foiled

I decide to set off in the Mean Machine for some fish for dinner today - crayfish tails. It's a bit overcast, though muggy as ever. As I near the end of the road, I feel a prickle on my skin, as though its starting to rain. No sign of any drops on the shiny red of my scooter. Must be my imagination. Then I smell that earthy smell that comes with rain. At that point the heavens open. I look for shelter. All the trees & overhanging branches have been lobbed. I turn back for home.

So it is I'm now sitting, wet skirt spread out around me. A damp bum - the scooter seat got wet when I had to get off to unlock the garage door &, by the time I was able to sit again, the seat was running with water. My top is decidedly damp.

Still I'm telling myself my clothes will soon dry out in this heat. My skin is waterproof. I'm unlikely to catch a cold at this time of year. I'll soon dry out. In fact, after the last few days, it's actually rather pleasing to feel the coolness of the rain.

The fish will wait. I'm not prepared to try going again, even though the rain seems to have stopped once more. We'll go in the car this afternoon, probably on the way to the Pub. There we'll find out if Little B enjoyed his meal last night as much as he seemed to.

Monday 29 June 2009

Fingers crossed

It always seems strange to me when there is no food preparation to do in a morning.

Today is the day for our end of the month meal. We're going Italian this time. I'm really rather surprised about this.

When I first agreed to once again organise the meals, I suggested we could maybe go Italian some time. There's a popular Italian restaurant in Lancaster, Even gives free bottles of wine to early diners on Mondays - we usually start about 6pm. We've never tried it ourselves.

"But I don't like pasta or cooked cheese," wailed Fran.

I assured her there will be other things on the menu. Al, our gardener had gone there earlier in the year to celebrate his 60th birthday. I know his wife had sea bass. I have difficulty imagining serving that with cheese or pasta.

You can imagine my surprise a week or so later when Fran turned up with a menu from another Italian restaurant. They'd stopped for a lunchtime snack there & it was really nice. What's more there are meals with potatoes & veg, but no cheese. So we're off to try tonight.

We're just keeping our fingers crossed all goes well. No excess afternoon alcohol. No animosity between Little B and Fran & Den. Mrs B, the retired headmistress & mediator between the two parties, can't come this time. She's off to Manchester Eye Hospital to have her tear ducts cleared today so won't be up to venturing out this evening. I also hope Linda fits in well & enjoys herself. She needs a bit of support through this time of grieving.

As I say, fingers crossed.

Sunday 28 June 2009

Sitting on the fence

It's first thing in the morning. I stagger out into the kitchen, still bleary-eyed. My eyes are drawn to the window & the garden. On the trellis he stands. His great yellow webbed feet holding precariously onto the inch of wood. He sees me & instantly starts reprimanding me.

Who is this? Our friendly, or not so friendly, lesser black-backed gull.

Since we got the new bird table, we've been putting our food scraps on it rather than the stoop. Unfortunately for him, there isn't sufficient space for him to get on the table without hitting his head on its roof. There remains on the table a little of the venison & redcurrants we had yesterday for dinner. He's now feeling frustrated at not being able to reach it. Whenever he sees me these days,
he tells me off. Occasionally I yield & put something on the stoop especially for him but not today.

Saturday 27 June 2009

Wet thoughts

The skies are rapidly clouding over. I suspect it will soon be raining. Mind you we need the rain, partly for the gardens & wildlife, & partly to just freshen up the air. The last couple of days it's been too cold to eat out. We've had a strong wind with a decided edge to it. Nonetheless no coolness seems to have been getting into the house. Maybe now some freshness might arrive.

Around here the dryness of the land tends to be superficial. As Al, our gardener says, the one lawn in the area he will guarantee to be green & lush without regular watering by humans in a long hot dry spell, is our lawn. Sure enough it is green & lush, while all around are looking dry & thirsty.

I had a trip out in the Mean Machine, my electric scooter, yesterday. On the way back, I stopped for a chat with some neighbours further up the road. They were saying that they'd had to dig a deep hole, about 3 feet down one time. When they'd dug it out, they went in for a cup of tea to regather their energy for the next task. When they came out again, the hole was full to the top with water. And it hadn't even rained. We're further down the hill so you can imagine what ours is like.

When we got home yesterday, we discovered the fence panels had been delivered. Once they're in place, we can get on with the task of planting up the bog garden. At the moment I'm thinking of a combination of hosta & lilies of various types. Maybe a hydrangea at the dryer end. We'll see. Above all I'm aiming at a variety of textures & colours. Some plants that will survive having their feet in water a large portion of the time. Al reckons he was told about a shrub that grows in the American Bayou which has fantastic autumnal colours. He's always fancied growing it but not had the right terrain. This should be the perfect spot. Hopefully he'll remember its name in time for me to find & get one when I'm planting up.

Thursday 25 June 2009

Too hot

The heat is getting to people. I think that's the only explanation for it. Yesterday we get to the Pub.

"Glad you've come. We can't do the crossword today" is the greeting from Mr P, the music teacher. This is unusual from him. He's usually put out because I've completed it before he's even arrived. But as the afternoon goes on, it's clear he's mentally in a daze today, unable to concentrate on anything much. Too hot.

Little B comes in. He was out having his cigarette when we arrived. His greeting was not dissimilar. "I can't do the polygon either," he adds. This, too, is unusual. He usually greets us with " The polygon's a doddle today."

For once I'd got it straightaway & give him a clue. "It's to do with fats & begins with E." He immediately gets it - emulsify.

Next stop the crossword. It seems harder today but eventually we get the final answers - adduce & chime in. Everyone sighs with relief. Now the mental workout is done & we can relax.


Wednesday 24 June 2009

Memory lapse

We did the food shop yesterday. Afterwards we stopped for a cooling, refreshing drink at our village pub. Once home, we emptied all the bags & prepared to get on with dinner. The Fox was in charge. First requirement - some marge to fry some onion & I realise we're nearly out & I ought to have bought another tub. Meanwhile the Fox looked in the cupboard for the tin of tomatoes. Not a tin in sight. In the end the Fox ended up rushing off to the local shop, while I got the table set & grated some cheese.

I'm relieved to say the dinner, turkey muffin pizzas, were delicious. The muffins gave the base a lightness, the tomato sauce a pleasing freshness, especially with the bit of mint, oregano, basil & chives from the garden in it. All washed down with a delicious bottle of sangiovese.

So what caused this blip of memory? Well, I'd spent a couple of hours in the morning trying to clear the bog garden, ready to plant with all sorts of goodies yet to be bought. The result I was exhausted, feeling more like a lie down than a shop. We'd also stopped on the way to buy some fence panels. The fence panels behind the bog garden are rotting away & it seems easier to replace them now before rather than after we plant up the bed. As a result our thoughts were more on the garden than on food. Or maybe it was just too darn hot.

Tuesday 23 June 2009

Our little bit of paradise

Once more the sun shines. Once more we sit out to eat our meal. It is at times like this we really appreciate our garden, its sense of privacy & tranquility. We have so many trees & shrubs around that, in summer, we can eat outside in it not seeing anyone or being overlooked by anybody. That's not to say there aren't many eyes in the garden. The birds are queueing up on the trellis for their chance to get some dinner.

After dinner, we go for a stroll in the garden, down to the far end. The Fox has noticed a spot of yellow he'd not seen before this year & wants to investigate. It turns out to be our second bed of yellow irises, which self-seeded in this spot a few years ago. My eyes, though, are caught by the escalonia, in full flower & smelling so sweetly. When this shrub dies down, the mock orange from the other side of the fence, takes over & perfumes the garden.

We turn to make our way back to the house. We are startled by some movement. Out pops a frog, a very black one at that. He makes his way across the lawn to the central bed & to once more disappears into the undergrowth.

We continue down the garden. The white astilbe is coming into flower. It always seems to precede the pink one more or less next to it. The hosta in between the astilbes is also coming into flower.

Our garden may not be the tidiest of gardens. It may be rather overwhelmed by the number of weeds, but it gives us so much pleasure & joy as we see it develop & discover all its inmates, visitors & residents alike. Maybe not all its inmates. A few less slugs & snails wouldn't come in amiss, but even they have their role, encouraging the number of birds & frogs that feed on them.

Monday 22 June 2009

Lunch out

We got to the meal yesterday. It was a mixed event as far as we were concerned. We do find it disorientating eating at, to us, the wrong time of day. Normally the most we will have is a snack, until 6pm or thereabouts. Eating at one takes a bit of getting used to. I can raise an appetite at most times of the day; the Fox is a different matter. By the times he'd had his soup, the idea of beef bouguignone, roast & new potatoes, broccoli & carrots, had little appeal. As for jam sponge & custard, that was about the last straw for him. I had had at least the wisdom to go for melon for starters & raspberry pavlova for dessert, both I suspect lighter options than his. As for the free bottle of wine, that was very nondescript. We both struggled through the one glass & felt no urge for a second!

The Fox also had difficulty hearing over the noise level. There were over 90 people there, all sat at tables of ten. It was difficult to hear what someone even a couple of seats away were saying, let alone those on the other side of the table. These days the Fox's hearing is not as sharp as it once was, so he had even greater difficulty.

I was somewhat surprised when Bas came over & asked me to keep a seat for him. He is a bit of an intellectual snob, a retired history teacher. I've never had any difficulty with him,. He used to regularly help me getting my manual wheelchair back into the car after services.

I was surprised to discover how nervous he'd been about coming to the meal. He doesn't often coming to church social events &, with being in the choir, he doesn't often have opportunity to meet many of the congregation. Despite being well established at the church long before we arrived here, he seemed to know fewer people than we did. Part of it is that he was widowed a couple of years ago after his wife had had a long illness, isolating him as her carer from much social life.

His own lack of small talk & impatience with fools doesn't help. We, nonetheless, had a wide ranging conversation on history, particularly the Reformation & Counter-Reformation, food, local restaurants, parish monies, local events, gardening & wildlife, Mr P the music teacher & Bas' former colleague, music. He was surprised to discover that the Fox recently bought "The Strange Death of Liberal England" by George Dangerfield, a book Bas is currently reading.

Whatever the deficiencies of the meal we did feel glad we had gone. The pleasure on the faces of John & Janet, the retiring vicar & his wife, when they saw we had made the effort was worth enduring any niggles & misgivings we may have felt.

But it's good to get back to normal. With food in the evening.

Sunday 21 June 2009

Another church event

We didn't go in the end. The weather was so iffy & we're so tired, it didn't seem worth the effort of going round to the church to see if the garden party was held outside or not. We'll discover what happened later today.

Today we're off out to another church event - lunch at one of the Morecambe hotels. John, the vicar, is retiring. He's holding his last services today. To show our appreciation of John & his wife Janet's devoted service over 17 years, the parish is having a celebratory lunch, a chance to say thank you & give them our best wishes as they move away from this parish. They're not going far - just to Lancaster.

John will leave a big vacuum. Intellectually he's not the most stimulating preacher. However, when it comes to caring for his flock, he's second to none. Any problems & he'll be there. He regularly comes to check we're okay if I'm not at church for a while. Anyone in hospital is guaranteed a visit. He's not above scrambling up on the church roof to repair the building himself. A good man, with a good laugh, a devoted servant to God & to the parishioners in his care.

The parish itself is unsettled. It has still not been decided if we'll get another priest purely for this church or whether we won't end up combining with another local church, sharing the one priest. Everyone is very anxious over the coming interregnum & its uncertainties. We'll just have to see what happens.

Saturday 20 June 2009

To go or not to go

I've been nervously looking out of the window all morning.

This afternoon is our church's annual garden party. If it's fine, & the party is held outside, we're hoping to go. It's always a good place to buy a few books for the following year's reading. If it's wet, & therefore being held in the church hall, we're staying at home.

The hall is not very big. I went to a coffee morning there once &, by the time half a dozen tables had been arranged, it was impossible to use my wheelchair. I ended up leaving the Mean Machine at the doorway & hobbling to the nearest chair. There's no way I could manage with half a dozen stalls set up as well.

So far it's looked very variable. Bright & sunny one minute, overcast & threatening the next. It's finally decided to rain. I wonder if now there's a rethink going on, stalls hastily being brought in. We'll make our decision whether to go along a bit later.

Meanwhile this morning I've been busy preparing a chicken to put in the oven for roasting for dinner tonight. The potatoes are now par-boiled ready to go in the oven & roast too.

In between I've been busy on the phone, checking who's available for the end-of-the-month dinner. Unfortunately, Mrs B is having to go into hospital that Monday for a minor op on her tear ducts. The op's to be done in Manchester so she suspects that by the time she's back she won't want to come along, especially as she anticipates having a black eye initially. That means it looks as though we're going to end up being piggy-in-the-middle between Little B on the one side, & Den and Fran on the other.

I've got one more call to make. Linda, Dave C's widow, is thinking of joining our group. She's finding it difficult to adjust to the social swing without Dave. The grief & loneliness is getting to her. Not surprising when it is only a couple of months since he died. She's finding most of her contemporaries (she's still in her fifties) are partnered off, so ends up feeling like a gooseberry all the time. Our group contains various single people so hopefully she will feel a bit more comfortable. And, as she says, she's still got to eat. I hope she can come.

The sky is once more clearing up. Blue patches are appearing again. To go or not to go that is the question.

Thursday 18 June 2009

Dynamite required

I'm contemplating having a little trip down the promenade in the Mean Machine, my electric scooter. The Fox is cooking today. He's doing haddock boulangere, so we need some haddock. And a few potted shrimps are always a welcome addition. If I do go, I'm thinking I might go on to the library to see if I can find some good guide books on Italy, something to fire me into looking for a holiday with a bit more enthusiasm.

What is raising the doubt about the little trip is the weather. We're back to grey skies & strong winds, quite a contrast from when I last wrote. Yesterday was one of almost solid downpour. At least it's stopped raining but the wind has arrived instead & the skies don't exactly look settled. I might just leave it until this afternoon when we can go along in the car.

The holiday hunt isn't going too well. My heart just isn't in it. I'm almost feeling too drained to make the effort to look at what's on offer. I feel mentally glazed over. I'm telling myself there's plenty of time. We weren't thinking of going away until September time. In another few days I'll feel a bit more zip, a bit more energy to look. At the moment I'm not sure I've even got the energy to do that much. I'm not sure the Fox is doing much better. I have an awful suspicion we both really need the holiday to regain our energy to look for one. Still, maybe a guide book, as opposed to a brochure, may inspire me, act a bit of dynamite to get me going.

Tuesday 16 June 2009

Garden plans

As we sit outside eating, & then digesting dinner, we contemplate the garden. The bog garden desperately needs something doing to it to smarten it up a bit. This area is regularly under water. It is essentially a soakaway. From the point of view of aesthetics we would just concrete it over, & then add some colourful pots to cheer it up. However, it does perform an important role as a soakaway. The whole yard inclines to this corner, which means all the water from the garage roof heads that direction. The shed roof directs its water to this point. This is why it is so often under water. If it was solid ground we would be flooding the house if we weren't careful. At least, with this bog the water does soak away.

When we first arrived here there were some trees in the bed, but our then gardener (the one before Al) cut them down without our permission. The trees may not have looked overly healthy but they at least were still drinking & did discourage the weeds. We tried planting a few bog plants but they all drowned. The kaffir lily did best, keeping going a couple of years. Since then the patch has just been left & disappeared under weeds, occasionally nuked with some extra strong weedkiller Al puts down.

We finally decide the thing to do, is to clear the bed & cover the ground with a thick layer of bark or pebbles. That way the water should be able to filter through. We may even try a few water-loving plants. We should be able to clear sufficient bark or pebble to plant them yet continue to discourage the proliferation of weeds.

With this thought in mind, I start to clear a few weeds this morning. I'm starting at the dryer end. We're thinking we might get to the garden centre this afternoon so may manage to get some plants for this patch while we're there. Hope so.

Monday 15 June 2009

Change of plan

I was under the illusion it was supposed to be a wet day. Well, they got it wrong again. It's been a blisteringly hot morning. Great for getting the washing dry. Not so great for making lamb pies. Even my usually freezing hands are getting a bit warm for making pastry. Still the pies are made & par-cooked, ready to complete the cooking this evening while we sit in the garden over an aperitif.

I had been hoping for a quiet day. A bit of rain would have suited me fine. I overdid things a bit yesterday with the result I ended up going to bed aching badly, with red hot knees, which were not conducive to getting off to sleep, just a lot of tossing trying to get comfortable.

Instead, I've ended up popping in & out to peg out wet washing & bring in the dry before pegging up yet more washing. At last the final load has been done & everything is on the line drying or already dry. I feel I can rest a bit. No need to go out again to check until I go for some green beans from the freezer for dinner & for some wine to accompany it.

Sunday 14 June 2009

Frustration

I've just been entering the results of my bird count of yesterday. Imagine my frustration when I discover the form only asked for the number & species of birds and a few larger visitors eg cats, hedgehogs, badgers, squirrels, frogs, toads. And to think I'd spent time counting woodlice, snails, different types of flies etc. What a waste! Why couldn't they have been a bit clearer in their needs?

Saturday 13 June 2009

Counting

I've just been doing my bird count. It was pleasant, sitting in the open kitchen doorway looking down the back garden, past the new bird table. The warmth of the sun fell on my feet, whilst I was sufficiently in the room to escape the cooling breeze. The garden is a hive of activity today.

I discovered the disadvantages of doing a count at this time of year. Our garden is full of shrubbery, trees, grass &, down that side at the moment, yellow irises. In winter most of this dies down, but, in June, it is full of lush green growth. The birds rapidly disappear into the undergrowth or the foliage higher up.

The other disadvantage is that so many birds are juveniles, not yet in their full adult plumage. So, for example, we were visited by some starlings, more balls of greyish brown fluff than the spangled outfits the adults wear. A young magpie appeared. Its white plumage was more grey than white, and the navy shot through with shimmering green of the rest was more navy & grey-brown.

This count also asks you to count all that crawls, hops or flutters in the garden. I'm afraid I can count clouds of midges but not the individual midges in a cloud. Equally I can count spiders, frogs, snails, slugs, flies etc but not identify the particular species of spider, snail etc. I am aware there are greenfly out there mainly because, by the time I've had a rummage in some of the undergrowth to count some of these shyer creatures, I seem to return inside covered in greefly.

I'm not really convinced my counting of these smaller creatures even has much validity because I am much more interested in watching the antics of the birds than focusing on the very small scale to locate these others. I can certainly only count them in a very small area otherwise I'd be there forever, mooching along inches at a time. I've just visited the obvious spots. These include the lily bed for the frog, the chives for the bees, the raspberries for the speckled wood butterflies.

I'm telling myself I've done my best & that's all I can be expected to do.

Friday 12 June 2009

The world in colour

I've just been looking at our local paper. There are 3 available in this area plus a rather thin freebie. We usually buy "The Visitor", but yesterday we were given a copy of "The Lancaster Guardian". It's a long time since I last looked at this one. The transformation is amazing. Many of the pictures are in colour & reasonably sharp too, unlike the odd colour picture in "The Visitor". The people & places take on a new freshness & interest for that added dimension of colour.

When we first got a proper camera around 1980, and joined a local photography club, I remember how precious people there were. Serious photographs, as opposed to snaps, should be in black & white. I never understood it. I appreciate black & white can often bring out texture better. I can also understand that if you are going to process the film yourself, it is easier. But that's the only attraction of black & white for me.

I rejoice in colour. I see the world in colour, so any pictures I take I want to capture that joy. Looking through this newspaper reminded me just how much I prefer & appreciate pictures in colour.

Thursday 11 June 2009

A non-day

It turned into a bit of a non-day. Yesterday afternoon we set off for the hospital to see MK. As usual I made my way in while the Fox waited in the car until he could find a parking space.

MK is now in a different ward, a more modern one but, for him, a more frightening one. Here he is in a separate small side ward for 4 people, invisible from the nurses' station. His fellow patients suffer from dementia, which means no sensible conversation for him. The nurses only peer round the corner into the ward when something has to be done, so there are long spells in which he is left on his own, without any means of getting any help if he needs it. His fellow patients aren't in any state to call for help for him. Indeed their constant chuntering means even if MK is in a state to cry out for help, he can't be heard over the others.

Anyhow, by the time the Fox arrives on the scene & had chance to say a few preliminary hellos, a member of the palliative care team turns up to discuss what MK really wants to do if another such emergency occurs once he's home again. (He's hoping fervently that will be happening on Friday.) She stays discussing the question for most of an hour. By that time visiting hours are over. We say our farewells & wonder why we'd bothered going in. We'd no chance to talk & joke a bit.

Home we go through heavy traffic. At one point, on the one way system, the traffic was 3 lanes thick & none of us moving much. Through this an ambulance comes, siren squealing, lights flashing. Cars try to move to make a fourth lane to enable the ambulance to get through.

Eventually we get home. I warm up the chicken curry I'd made in the morning. A singularly nondescript effort it turns out to be.

While the rice cooks, I think about today's dinner. I'd decided on lamb pies. What else could I do with the just 4oz of minced lamb I had in freezer to use up? It occurs to me I haven't seen the patty tins for a while. I start to rummage round the new kitchen & suddenly remember that we threw a few old & battered tins away when we were returning things to the kitchen. A horrible suspicion passes through my mind. The tins had been thrown out. Certainly neither of us can find their new home if we still have them. So on to the shopping list goes patty tins & the lamb pies will have to wait until Monday, by which time, hopefully we will have bought some new ones.

By the time I go to bed I just feel the whole world is toppling down on top of me. I go to bed more because I'm not sure I can cope with more things going wrong, than because I'm sleepy. The Fox comes & lies next to me. I burrow into his shoulder, feel his arms around me. We exchange a few gentle kisses. Maybe the world isn't so bad after all. Even my aches seem a little easier.

As for today's dinner, I look at the next thing down the list of freezer contents. So it is that I've just made some chilli con carne, hopefully with a little more fire than yesterday's curry. And while it plops away I watch the birds feeding in the garden.

Wednesday 10 June 2009

Lovely day for a walk

"We've just bought a touring caravan," announces Tony, the power station worker. We were pleased to see him again. He hasn't been in the Pub as much lately since the police charged him for driving under the influence a couple of years ago. Anyhow, he proudly shows off his photos of the recent purchase.

"I went into Lancaster today, to buy some pans for the caravan. Just a cheap set. When I went to pay, my card was refused. I hastily went across the road to a bank, but that machine wouldn't let me have it, either, despite showing a balance of over £3000. So I went to my bank & tried to get the money out of there. They said no. All because, a couple of days ago, I'd paid a cheque in from my savings account to pay for the caravan & the cheque hadn't been cleared. I didn't even have enough cash left in my pocket to pay for the bus home. I had to walk the couple of miles back & I was just wearing sandals. Banks!!"

We sympathised, having recently had our run-in with the bank.

"The worst of it was that I'd been dreaming of having breakfast & a pint at Wetherspoons all morning. I had to make do with a slice of toast when I got back home. Still," he continued, "once I'd calmed down, it was a lovely day for a walk."

Tuesday 9 June 2009

Zip at last

I can't quite believe it. I've woken up feeling truly awake, fresh after a good night's sleep. It feels as though this must be the first time I've felt like this all year. Maybe I'm finally getting on top of all this exhaustion. Now the secret lies in not overdoing it. It doesn't take much do that.

I'm forced to admit the brilliant blue sky, the air fresh & slightly chilly after a cold night, is tempting me to go into the garden. Undoubtedly there's plenty of mare's tail to tackle, not to mention some blackberries appearing in dangerous places. I'm trying to convince myself that I should leave it a little longer before taking on such arduous work. Take it easy.

Fortunately the RSPB is doing a spring count this year & this is the week to do it in. So maybe I'll sit like the lady of leisure I am & just count whatever appears in the garden for an hour or so.

But the urge to do something more, when I feel energetic for the first time in ages, is undeniable

Monday 8 June 2009

Ashamed

I feel ashamed.

I see from the Euro Election results the North West, where we live, we are partly represented by the BNP. I'm not much happier with the 2 UKIP representatives. I'm ashamed to think of this area, this country, being represented by such bigots.

I can understand that some people are not happy with being in the EC & want out. I can understand some people feeling that the existing system needs change. Personally I tend to think our best chance lies within the EC. But what upsets me with these parties, especially the BNP, is the racist aspect of these parties. Such intolerance & prejudice I abhor.

Saturday 6 June 2009

They've found it

Weather's back to normal - grey, wet & windy. I'm telling myself that at least it saves us having to water all the pots. The birds have clearly discovered the new bird table. I looked out to see at least half a dozen sparrows happily on it. They seem to be rather messy eaters & the edges around the table are not very high, so seed & bread is scattered on the ground too. No problem. Down below, a few more sparrows are feeding, along with a collared dove & a robin. Yet more birds are queueing up for the hanging feeders. I suspect the planters below the bird table may soon start filling up with some more exotic plants, certainly some sunflowers, as dropped seed germinates. Maybe not. Whenever I've planted sunflower seeds, they've never grown much. I've long suspected the birds just eat the seed before they've had chance to grow into plants.

We never got to the garden centre yesterday, though we did get to the butcher. The Fox is having a go at making a coq au vin for dinner today. It's a very extravagant recipe, requiring a whole bottle of red wine as well as some cognac. But to hell with it, it does you good to once in a while have a treat & I'm certainly looking forward to eating it.

Hopefully we'll get to the garden centre some time next week. I'm thinking of doing a chicken curry next week. That will involve another visit to the butcher which is just round the corner from the garden centre. And on the way back, we'll stop at the Pub as usual. A nice way to spend an afternoon.

Friday 5 June 2009

Catching up

Life is getting back to normal. Today I'm trying to catch up on the things I would have done the last couple of days if I hadn't been reading legal documents. So it is this morning I've been doing the ironing. I will admit I had thought I'd leave this until nearer the end of the week when it might be cooler. Well, it is cooler than it has been, but there's no sign of the promised rain. We're out daily watering our new plants & seeds, hoping it will rain soon.

We're contemplating another trip to the garden centre this afternoon. The sight of the brightly coloured planters at the foot of the new bird table is encouraging us with the idea of a few other pots for the patio, a bit of colour to cheer the drab crazy paving.

But I'm not sure. I'm still feeling weary after that reading. We're certainly intending to get over to the butchers. I fancy some flavoursome chicken for tomorrow's dinner. The garden centre is in the same village as the butcher so, who knows, we might get there as well. Or maybe it will be next week....

Thursday 4 June 2009

Going to work

If you read the Fox's latest blog, you will probably have guessed why I didn't get around to writing yesterday. I was busy reading legal documents. I don't object to doing this. In some ways I feel it does me good to use my brain to some purpose for once, a sort of cerebral work out. And I do like to feel that I am achieving something worthwhile.

But at the same time I am struck by why it is not feasible for me to do this sort of job on a full time paid basis. It sounds silly.The principle cause of my disability is the result of problems with my knees. So why couldn't I do this sort of work? It doesn't require me to use my legs in any way. The answer is that I do find it difficult
sometimes to concentrate for any length of time. The number of times I had to re-read passages yesterday because my eyes had just gone over the words & yet my mind had not registered any meaning in the words read. I knew this document was time sensitive & so had to be read as soon as possible. I deliberately did not get back to PD about it until the evening as I knew I would need to read it again today before I could hope to explain what was being agreed to.

I've just re-read it. Today it took less than an hour, yesterday I was at it for several hours. This time I feel I've come to grips with what it says & the implications, yesterday I did not.

No. A job, even based at home, just reading, is more than I feel I could do realistically. I just couldn't be reliable. And I'm aware of just how drained I now once more feel. And that's just one document!

Tuesday 2 June 2009

More for the garden

I've just been planting up some of our purchases at the garden centre. The new bird table is weighed down by a thick layer of peebles, topped with compost. I've even put some flowers in two of the four pots - some orangy red marigolds in one & scarlet salvias in another. The latter is a flower my mother loved. Every year she would grow some from seed for our front garden, so this tub is in memory of her. I'm intending to get some petunias, another of her favourite annuals,along with some lobelia. It should be a riot of colour for the summer.

We also bought a new lavender for the herb garden. It's not one I've seen before. The flower shape is more like French lavender with its ears, but the flower colour is quite a browny purple, not a colour I associate with lavender.

I've watered everything in well. We're off to the supermarket for the inevitable food shop today. Morrisons usually has a good selection of bedding plants so I'm hoping to get a few more plants then.

I feel quite lazy about food today. As we're shopping today, & as it's quite as hot as it is, we've decided on a salad. Nice & easy. I've boiled a couple of eggs. That's it. Later on I'll get some Black Forest ham out of the freezer to thaw in time. The fresh bread & veg we'll get while we're at the shop. As I say, nice & easy.

Monday 1 June 2009

Bad design

I'm once more plastered up. The cause? Opening a tin of corned beef. You would think by the 21st century we could have devised a safer tin to open.

The Fox turned the key. As so often happens, the key snapped off on the seam, so the two parts remained joined by a thin strip of metal. He couldn't get the meat out. As I'm usually the more successful at this job, I had a go. The bottom whipped off, catching my finger as it went. Next, blood is gushing, but I persevere & get the meat out. I hastily go off to the bathroom to get some disinfectant & a plaster. As I go, blood sprays out on our beautiful new lightish green dining chairs.

The cut isn't too bad, but very awkwardly placed, right at the end of my forefinger. Needless to say, they don't make plasters the right shape to stick down well on this position. While I was preparing today's meal this morning, the plaster came off. I thought I'd manage without until I saw the wound was opening up once more, so another plaster.

The chair we manage to sponge off so you wouldn't be aware what had happened. Thank goodness for that.

I've had to change my mind about today's meal. I had intended to make either some kebabs with some minced lamb or some hamburgers with the leftover third of a tin of corned beef, but I didn't fancy shaping the lamb round skewers or the corned beef into patties with one finger plastered & to some extent out of action. So we're having a variation on the idea of shepherd's pie. One good thing about our new cooker is that you can set the oven to start itself so the meal should be just ready to serve when we get home from the garden centre this afternoon. And we won't even have to sit around in all this heat while it's doing it.

The one good thing is that we did enjoy eating the corned beef yesterday - a very pleasant change from our normal fare.

PS We've just heard the bad news. MK is once more in hospital & it's not looking hopeful. Helen is contemplating seeing if he could be moved to the hospice where he would get more one-to-one attention.