Adventures of a Laura: Week Nineteen of Furlough

It’s been a long ol’ year. I am only working three days a week and furloughed for the other two. Next month it changes to 4:1, and then I will be working full time 5 days a week from October. Part of my furlough contract states that I must take furlough days off as annual leave, so next week we’re on holiday! Yippeeee! A trip to the seaside to a bit we haven’t been before.

Mental Ill-Health

So the nice sunflowers I had in a coca cola cup on the shelf earlier this week dramatically fell off not long after I put them there, and proceeded to pour a pint of water all over the jigsaw that was still on the floor. I then had an utter meltdown and cried for about five hours.

I already saw the jigsaw as a sign of failure because I haven’t been able to finish it and I didn’t want to put it away as it meant accepting failure. But now it is ruined as it is made of cardboard. Several pieces have split and several more have completely de-laminated. Apparently I should’ve put them between heavy things and towels as soon as it happened to reduce the damage but I didn’t read that until a few hours later, after the jigsaw had already been drying in the sun.

This week, the doctor phoned me and I have been upgraded to 8-weekly calls, instead of monthly. It was fortnightly before that, so he must be happy with my progress. I am still on higher level medication but I still have wobbles (see above).

Physical Health

I have done two whole weeks of exercising daily. Part of me thinks my belly is smaller already and the other, more knowledgeable part, knows that this is just wishful thinking. I haven’t hula hooped much this week as it has been far too hot, and I haven’t walked much either for the same reason.

Homelife

We went out out again this week, over to the in laws to steal their tomatoes from the plants that I gave them, so technically they’re mine anyway, and then down to Ironbridge to play in an antiques shop. We didn’t walk up and down the high street but we did have a cream “tea” (he had coffee and I had hot choca) with lemon scones at the antiques place. I got me a new Mason Cash mixing bowl! Not as big as my old one, but after I smashed the new small one David got me…

I paid a visit to Momma P’s hair salon this week to chop off my crunchy frizzy ends (again). I am trying to grow my hair long but it is too hot at the mo, and the frizzy ends piss me right off.

Crochet

I gifted the lockdown anxiety blanket and wasted no time with starting a new project! I have finally, after YEARS of wanting to make it, started Sophies Universe. I am now about halfway through part four so it is working up fairly quickly, but the rows are complex and I find the book hard to read to make sure I get all the stitches. It is also an American pattern so I have to transcribe as I go as US stitches have different names to UK so I have to stop and remind myself that a DC is a Tr! And a Tr is actually a DTr!

David mentioned that the next blanket needs to be a lap blanket for Momma B when she is zoomy zooming on her scooter, but fortunately I have already half-made a blanket and it’s been stashed at Momma P’s for years. I must’ve started this not long after I learnt to crochet, it is a scrap yarn mitred granny square blanket.

I am trying my best to not use social media at the weekends so having some crochet to work on has been really useful as I cannot hook and scroll at the same time.

Garden

The salad seeds wot I sown are coming up. I have salad leaves (mix), radish, spring onion, chard, spinach, and lambs lettuce. The second load of allotment garlics that were drying in the small greenhouse are now chopped and in the net bag with the first load. I now have a third load drying in the greenhouse as I dug some up from my selly oak work site this week. One of the sunflowers is now twice as tall as me (ish) and somehow didn't break during the thunderstorms this week.

Cauliflower

I am a lump :-(

I invested in a paddling pool this week! It has been SO NICE to sit out and just have my feet in the water – very refreshing. We had to go to Halfords to buy a pump with the proper adapter and the hose isn’t long enough to reach the garden, or suitable to fit on the tap, so I had to make do with two loads from the watering can.

This week the melon has flowered! It was very tiny but I potted the plant up last weekend and now it is having a growth spurt probably due to the heat. The flower is small but hopefully it’ll produce fruit. I may have to fast track the allotment polytunnel project as I still have 9 aubergine plants, and 4 capsicum (pepper) plants too.

We’ve had a crab spider lurking on the buddleia this week. They can change colour to hide in or on flowers, waiting to pounce on a bee or butterfly that lands.

Allotment

I de-duck weeded the pond, again, and it is now full of it, again. Maybe I can buy a pair of ducks off ebay and they can eat it.

I still haven’t tried the hammock as it has been too hot! The potatoes are ready for digging up but I have no need for them so I am going to either divvy them out to neighbours or foodbank them. This week I have harvested more courgette, and the first of the tomatoes. My pumpkin/squash thing is going orange.

Mom’s pumpkin patch on Plot 4 is looking good – quite a few plants are setting fruit now. She has got pumpkin, spaghetti squash, courgette, and butternut squash. My loofah keeps setting fruit and then losing it. Another polytunnel plant, I think.