Chasing up

There is a freshness in the air, the first time in ages. I suspect it rained most of the night. It is still raining. A lake has appeared before the greenhouse. I’m even beginning to wonder if I won’t have to put on a cardi before long. Maybe that’s why I slept better last night.

I’ve come to the conclusion the time has come to do a bit of chasing up.

Yesterday, I rang the landscape gardener to find out what has happened about some designs for the back garden. I discover not only that he’s been rushed off his feet in this prolonged spell of good weather, but he was basically afraid to tell us the cost. Ours is a large garden, over 100m long. We are hoping to add some sort of verandah to the house to give us a dry shady area to sit out in on a warm day & dry passage from the kitchen to the laundry room. He’s also hoping to improve the drainage. We’re realistic enough to realise it’s going to cost. It will inevitably cost thousands if we go ahead with the work. Just a plant at the garden centre costs on average £5 & we will need hundreds to fill this space. What we want to see is some imagination, a garden where we will want to spend time just sitting without having to spend all our time trying to keep the weeds at bay. Neither of us is up to the latter any more. When he realised this, he began to relax & started to tell us some of his ideas & the price. He is coming round on Wednesday with the plans.

Tomorrow I will tackle the hospital. I’m due to go back to find out how the pancreatitis is progressing. I feel remarkably well, better than I have for years. I would like to have a bit of alcohol again. I miss my glass of wine with dinner. It gives an extra bit of colour to life. I would certainly be relieved to know I don’t have to constantly check which food, particularly desserts, have alcohol in them whenever we eat out. However, I am reluctant to indulge if there is a high risk of ending up back in hospital as a consequence. I’m beginning to think the hospital has once again forgotten me, so time to chase them up.