Adventures of a Laura: Weeks 22 and 23 of Furlough

I’ve not been in the mood to have my laptop out in the evenings for lots of reasons, which is why I didn’t blog last week. Of course, this week everything clicked into place and I realised I had been in a depression again. Low mood, fatigue, not sleeping properly, wanting pizza and chocolate all the time, no motivation, not showering. Yep. Classic Laura depression.

So here we go with two weeks worth of updates!

Mental Ill-Health

As mentioned above, it’s not been great. I’m coming out of it now though and feeling quite a bit better. My dreams are very weird lately. I couldn’t get out of bed until I had found the bucket of aubergines (in my head) to turn off the alarm. Yep.

Physical Health

My new exercise routine is GREAT. I have reduced my hula hooping time back down to 20 minutes as I haven’t done any for three weeks or so, so I need to start again. I have held my first one minute plank for the first time in ages. My thighs and butt are feeling a lot stronger and more toned, I just wish they’d be 2 inches smaller while they were at it.

We went for a bike ride – my second in 19 years – and did 5.5 miles. It felt pretty good. I went zoomy zoomies (to me it felt zoomy, to David it probably didn’t). I think I quite like it. I need arrows on my gear knobs because I forget which is what and what goes where. I have four gear knobs! It’s a lot. I also can’t look anywhere other than straight ahead as where my head goes, my bike will follow. Mud is slippery.

I need to start walking on the regular again. I just mostly cannot be bothered. I need to make a new playlist on my phone and just GO after I have finished work. Maybe next week.

Allotment

Project polytunnel is done! Almost. It is up, pinned and weighted down, and has plants in it. It has weed membrane down and then a couple of tarps to protect the weed membrane. I still can’t get a delivery slot from Wickes to get a load of timber to build the new raised beds, so at the moment it is a bit like a camping tent – lined with plastic and puddles.

The aubergines are doing really well in there now, I have two open flowers that I have pollinated with a paintbrush, and there’s a lot more flowers coming. The peppers and melon have perked up but I’m not sure if they are going to produce anything.

I am going to get more of the plastic mesh I use and rig some up inside so that when I get the raised beds built, there is a climbing structure in there for things to grow up.

I have been picking tomatoes every few days from both the allotment and the garden and we now have three punnets of homegrown toms in the fridge. I have started to remove the plants from the plot as they are getting blighty, and I now have a washing machine drum so I can have a burn.

I have also started the autumn clearing of ragwort – but not before knocking it so the seeds went EVERYWHERE - and I have also started removing some of the spent courgette plants that aren’t doing anything. I spent a lot of time cutting leaves off the pumpkins on both plots so that the developing fruits can get some light to help them ripen. We picked the first two pumpkins from Plot 4, and another huge spaghetti squash. I do absolutely love growing pumpkins!

I bought a crappy cheap tray in Poundland a couple of years ago so I have been painting it this month, and I bought some cheap plastic handles from Wilkos this week and now have a useful little shed tray.

Homelife

We have been in our little house for six months now! What good timing we had. It would’ve been a very different and very difficult year if we hadn’t moved when we did.

Last week I finished another book, The Garden Jungle, and so this week I have started another. Momma P got me this last year, it is written by my little Frenchman who I love (especially when he says dandelions). I am reading The Lost Orchard by Raymond Blanc. It isn’t what I expected as there is lots of stuff about apple varieties which is interesting but also of no interest – I personally don’t need to know how an apple performs in a tarte tatin, but it is interesting to read about the different varieties and their history. It also makes me want to subscribe to an apple subscription box whereby you get sent seven different apples a week to try a new one each day. Also I would just like to add that Raymond Blanc has retweeted me TWICE this week. I am in LOVE.

On the crochet front I have finished part seven of Sophies Universe and am now working my way through part eight. It is almost long enough to cover my legs and feet when I am working on it, but I tend to have it scrunched up on my lap so that I can see the pattern book while I work. I am really happy with the way the colours are working out! I have been juggling the colours and switching rows around as I work, so my original row by row plan has well and truly gone out the window.

Mattress update! We may have found a solution and all we needed was a length of packaging foam. I bought it off ebay as “orthopaedic support foam” and it arrived but it is literally a strip of packing foam. But still, it WORKS. It is an inch thick but is soft enough to be comfortable for me and I’ve been sleeping better. So he now has his horrible side and I have my good side. Bliss. The mattresses are still on the floor so the next step is a lower bed frame when we can afford it.

I still haven’t sorted anything out, here or at Mommas. I’ve been looking at a local car boot sale but it still requires me to sort stuff out. Maybe next week.

Momma P did my hair! I am now orangey-red and so bright.

I bought some Angel Delight and mine didn't set so I had to drink it out of the bowl.

This week we also went down to Evesham for a change of scene. We went for a little walk and had lunch in a riverside cafe, and I saw my first ever ivy bees!!

Garden

I have cut off and got rid of the sunflower heads. I was leaving them for the birds but the squirrel is back and eating them, so they’ve gone in the green waste bin. I have been watching the squirrel patrol the garden fence and nibble each sunflower head or bud to see if it’s ready to eat and then skulk off when it realises that it isn’t ready, so I need to be prepared to cut them off when they go to seed. I have saved a lot of the seed to grow next year.

I bought more bulbs! A trip to Wilkos isn’t complete without a trolley full of bulbs. These are in addition to all that I bought in the Range too, so I now have LOADS. I am going to plant lots of these by the edges of the slabs but also at the back along the fence, and also in the planters out the front. I need to sort out an envelope to collect the snap dragon seeds which I’ll scatter everywhere next year and leave to their own devices. I have also chopped down the buddleia and done some general clearing. We only have a few green waste collections left of the year.

The monster pineapple plant that I was given is now in need of potting up so that’s also on the to do list. It apparently can take three years to fruit so I’m in it for the long haul, but it looks well happy.