Well, we’re into the last few official weeks of furlough – unless of course there’s a massive U turn and we end up back in lockdown, but I think even if we do go back into lockdown there will be exceptions. Can’t really ship everyone back to school for four weeks then shut them down again. The whole situation is probably going to get a lot worse before it gets even an inkling of better. We’ll see. Anyway. I go back to work full time, 35hrs over five days at the start of October. I have booked a week off to get over the shock.
Homelife
I have been cooking! Quite a lot. I am trying to get back on
track with healthy meals because we eat A LOT of pizza. Like, dominos every
week and then shop bought pizza once or twice a week on top of that. I am a
fatty and it isn’t getting any better. I do put loads of extra veg on the pizza
but apparently that doesn’t make it healthy. Who knew?
We have been using wine in cooking lately. Momma P and I had to ask a man in the shop which one was red as we are not wine drinkers. I did a shepherds pie, and then David also used a bottle in the pasta sauce. Yummy yum yum. Also hic!
I am still finding it hard (so so SO hard) not to snack. I just like eating. A lot. Regularly. Often. All the time, maybe. I just like food.
I found an earwig in my bed. She was alive! Until David
flushed her down the loo wrapped in toilet roll. She is a she because she has straight pincer bits. Boys are curved.
Crochet
I have finished part eight of Sophies Universe! She now
measures 100cm across. I haven’t blocked her and I haven’t gone up a hook size.
I am very much enjoying the pattern but I do need to concentrate. There’s lots
of counting and double checking and missing stitches in the pattern and having
to go back and read it all over again. I find the book quite hard to read as it
isn’t laid out row by row, it is laid out as a long side chunk of text, and a
short side chunk of text, so is easy to miss key stitches.
I do like my crochet chair but I feel like it needs something across the top. I don’t use the chair to actually crochet, I sit on the sofa for that, but I needed somewhere to put the blanket and the huge cushion, so now it is the crochet chair.
Work
I went up to Loogahbaroogah (Loughborough) for some work
training. Three cheers for playing in the countryside with power tools! Also three
cheers for leaving chocolate bars in a car in a mini September heatwave! (oops).
Garden
I have removed most of the sunflowers to try and stop the
squirrel coming into the garden. The Italian White sunflowers are still
flowering! They didn’t have a good start in life and I thought they were going
to die so I’m really pleased to see them going strong. I cut a load for a glass
on the table and now the plants have thrown out more flowers. Will defo plant
more of these next year.
I had a bulb planting day. I redid the trough planters and put in fresh compost, new bulbs, and then topped them off with 10mm grit. I made a bulb basket. I replanted one of the planters out the front with fresh compost, some SwellGel bead things that are supposed to help retain water, and then packed that with bulbs too. Mostly dwarf varieties. I kept the nasturtium in this planter as they are thriving and starting to flower. I have also planted lambs ear with the intention of letting it take over. It is a favourite plant of wool carder bees and I would LOVE to have some here!
The garden has had over 200 bulbs planted in it now, in pots, troughs, planters, and in the ground. I have done a mix of daffodils, crocus, anemones, alliums, tulips, snowdrops, and some fancy other stuff that was in a mixed pack. I managed to get a massive blister on the palm of my hand from the handle of the trowel but of course I didn’t notice until it had already popped, ripped the skin, and then cut the skin under the blister, and it was full of dirt. Yay tetanus! I am now nicely healed one week later, just in time to finish planting the rest of the bulbs. I planted taller stuff at the back and middle of the growing area and am going to put dwarf varieties near the front.
The pineapple has been potted up too and is very happy in a bigger pot with fresh compost. I also mixed grit in to help drainage.
I repotted the sweet chestnut and oak trees that I planted for my birthday last year. I tried to plant a load of sweet chestnut, horse chestnut and oak for my 30th birthday as a legacy planting thing, but something got into Mommas greenhouse and snaffled them all. When David and I went to the Isle of Wight last year I collected a load more seed and some of them worked! So they’ve all had new pots, fresh peat free compost, and 10mm grit to finish them off. They were three or four to a pot so they should be happy in their own space now.
Mental Ill-Health
I’ve not been too bad, I don’t think? I mean, my anxiety is
still sky high, my dreams are still super weird, I’ve got little to no
motivation to do hula hooping even though I super mega really need to. So, no
change I guess.
Physical Health
See above! I am doing some of the exercises, but it isn’t daily
and it isn’t all of them. I’ve been using tins of beans as weights and I have almost
developed a bicep, but only in one arm. Such an athlete.
Allotment
The aubergine is growing well in the tunnel! Two other
flowers have shrivelled and fallen off but there is another bud coming on a
different plant so I might get a second aubergine. I have also put the trays of
cauliflower and calabrese in the tunnel to free up space in my tiny greenhouse
at home.
The tomatoes are nearly all finished. I acquired a washing machine drum to burn the plants as they have blight but although the picture looks good, the fire just didn’t take and so I still have loads of plant material to burn.
I have decided to completely redesign the top of the plot by the shed. I’m just not making very good use of the space and the slabs need to come up and be levelled off and put back down (don’t tell David). I think I have also decided to get new fruit bushes as mine have been on the plot since before I had it (11 years ago) so I think as part of the redesign I shall invest in new fruit bushes too.
Last Thing
It has been over six months since I lived in a house with a
cat and this is not a life I want to live forever. Taffy has taken to roosting
in the compost heap and she ran past my feet to get away but I just want to
bury my face in her fur and smoosh her and brush her and poke her nose and tell
her I love her but nooooooo.
Anyway, more piccies…
