Reflecting on my week #144

This last weekend I’ve felt - and been - my most productive in a while, which on reflection isn’t saying much. But things were ticked off my not-quite-imaginary list, including putting the garden away, or as much as we could. The beans were pulled up, tomatoes composted. The handles fell off two of our trugs - seriously, and the pizza oven and the patio furniture were covered up. The barbecue and parasol were moved to one side, as we may not be needing them for a little while, and the fire pit was moved into prime spot, and two garden chairs and the fire lighters were put in a sensible, and easily reached storage space.

I even made some bread. And not sourdough for a change, there wasn’t time for that. We’ve started to buy some unusual (but unusually good) bread, by Jason’s Bakery. It comes in an old-fashioned wax-type wrapper and in our M&S they do three varieties, including one with craft beer, and it is rather tasty. Looking at their site they say the one we have more often is nicknamed the crumpet bread, and it does have a different texture, and to me is almost from a batter consistency, rather than a dough-y one. The plan was to have a cheese toasty with the loaf we had, only we didn’t have enough loaf - that’s the thing about good bread, it doesn’t hang around.

And without bread for breakfast, some hasty kneading was needed. It’s been a while since I’ve made yeasted bread, and while this is small, it is mighty. It also gave me a bit of an issue when refusing to come out of my vintage Hovis tin. Maybe the tin knew it wasn’t real Hovis bread - in the base of the tin it says, only to be used for Hovis bread! But it came out, and in one piece, and it’s good for breakfasts - a little goes a long way!

There was of course good reason why the fire pit was moved into prime position. We had plans to use it. In fact we had plans to use it on Bonfire Night, but it was a bit chilly to sit in the garden, even with a fire. Saturday was much milder, and was good for our first fire pit foray of the winter. Armed with snacks, a hot gin cocktail, and plenty of logs and wearing my coat we sat out watching the many, many fireworks which continued long after we came inside.

It had been another busy week - I know I say this every week, but I truly expect things to be much less busy at some point. Not sure when, but hopefully soon. Though the lockdown 2.0 as it’s being called, isn’t helping with that right now. But I shall remain an optimist, for now at least.

I’ve had a few calls to the doctors this week as well as my ankles, actually all of my feet, have been swelling up throughout the day. It turns out I’m sensitive to the tablets I’m on, so need some more tablets. I’m getting to the point where I think I’ll rattle at the moment if you ask me to jump up and down. After the weekend it’s clear I need to be more active during the day, which is one of the things I’ve missed since we started working at home, some 34 weeks ago. Thirty four weeks. I think that’s also why I’m struggling with it all again. I’m missing walking around campus, catching up with people spontaneously, virtual meetings just don’t cut it. I know that I need to make this happen, but I am very much a just one more thing kind of person, and picking up my crochet is a great way to switch my brain off, but not such a great way to stay active.

And the irony of posting about being more active and following that with a picture of a ginormous cake isn’t lost on me. We’d walked into the Farmer’s Market in the village on Sunday and left with a cake or two, some kimchi and some milk from an Essex farm. All quite random, and I’m sure all very tasty, but it was way busier than we expected. The trader’s too said it was busy, and today our area has been featured in the local news in a report saying that people aren’t really following the rules. Conversely I think they are, but I think people are pushing them to the limits. We weren’t totally comfortable with the amount of people out and about, and the numbers who weren’t socially distancing - despite it now being something that we should all be used to, and reminders clearly on the signs on each stall - and so we donned our face coverings.

The cake was good, let’s hope that’s all we picked up there. We’ll be heading for less densely populated areas where we can, which is tricky, but not impossible when you live in a densely populated area.

I’d hoped to make progress on my grey tiled throw, and in a way I did. Now at least all the outer squares are the same size, and they’re positioned where I’m happy. They’re also pinned together and it’s been put back in its bag to pick up again another day. The plan is for this to be a throw on our sofas, partly to protect the arms, partly to add more soft furnishings and a fair bit to give me something to do. It’s so close now that I don’t think it’ll be too long before I pick it up again.

I’ll leave you today with this shot of my fatsia starting to flower. And yes, I was pretty much in the bush taking this photo, worth it though for the result, and the look on MOH’s face when I emerged, though of course you’d think he’d be used to me by now!

Reflecting on my week #143

It’s been a few weeks since I’ve written a weekly update post, mostly because not much had been happening, well apart from work and they started to feel a little same-y. Then the week before last we went away, and while it wasn’t comparable to a pre-Covid break, it was our first proper break since March.

And it was good, to get away. To stay somewhere we knew, yet was completely new to us. We were lucky with the timing given London’s move to Tier 2, and luckier still that we didn’t chose November for a break.

That week was far from same-y and yet there was still no post. I’ve no idea why, maybe it was enjoying time away from my screen, maybe something else, maybe a way of dealing with the recent round of changes.

We had a pub Sunday lunch in a pub close to us to make up for the family Sunday lunch we’d to cancel thanks to our tier change, which felt slightly galling when checking the rates of those we were meeting with, which were higher than our London borough. But our compensationary (yes, I made that word up) as a welcome distraction.

Back to work, and I vowed I’d make the days shorter somehow. That didn’t happen, though by Friday with an optician appointment and plans to meet work colleagues in the pub (well five of them outside) I probably managed it, though not entirely the way I imagined. I welcomed two new colleagues, got loads (but not as much as I wanted) of stuff done, and sat in front of the rugby for most of Saturday, while awaiting Boris and his announcement that he managed to squeeze in between the end of the England game and Strictly. I didn’t have him down as a fan of the latter, I must admit.

So here we are again facing a second lockdown, and I’m not quite sure how I feel about that. I’m frustrated at how the communications were leaked, rushed and delayed; frustrated that it’s happening again, even though we knew it was likely. Annoyed by those who think the virus has gone, or will somehow skip them, and concerned for how a lockdown in winter will play out, as I don’t really expect it to end on 2 December, surely no one sensible does?

But these are things I can’t universally change. I can only change how I react to them, and how and where I spend my energy, so that’s where I’ll start. Slowly, and one step at a time.

And so, I’ll share some pictures from our Norfolk trip. The cottage we stayed in was tiny, but divine, the beaches at Hunstanton just as I remembered them, and just as ‘watchable’.

Holt made me smile inside and out and staying close by was just what we needed, just as much as a penguin carrying drinks, oh hang on…

Getting out and about in the walled garden and grounds of the Blickling Estate was good for the soul too, as was the brief spot of sun. Less so the day full of rain, but then you can’t have everything, can you?

The Anish Kapoor exhibition at Houghton Hall made me realise how much I like circles, which given the design of our grass, shouldn’t really have been that much of a surprise. The gallery exhibition in the Stables reinforced that, with this mussel shell art catching my eye. MOH saw the price and quickly shooed me along!

At home we’ve had ‘experiences’ shall we say. There was the noisy washing machine incident, which was tortuous to sit, and work through for us both. We thought it was going to be expensive, but it turned out to be an escaped underwire which managed to lodge itself in the drum.

Thankfully the washing machine has recovered, my bra less so, and annoyingly I’d only had it since June. But lesson learnt and two new bras were quickly shopped for.

I’d also been toying with buying a slow cooker, and this weekend have taken the plunge. Weirdly prompted by moths. Taking some time to repack a wardrobe in our spare room, and failing to get everything that had come out back in, I checked the other half of the wardrobe only to discover that our years old, full length winter coats seemed to have attracted moths.

MOH’s was clearly their favourite as his had been well and truly nibbled, passing over mine for the good stuff. Neither though were rescue-able and not fit for a charity shop donation. The wardrobe was emptied again, clean Ed and restacked - and it still didn’t all fit in - and some moth repellent was purchased. Along with a slow cooker, not the most usual companion choice I’ll admit.

BKUE MOON MARTINI

And after all that, we needed a drink.

My garden in July

I bet you weren’t really expecting to see my July post, so soon after June’s - especially in October, but I’m happy to prove you wrong. Just looking through these photos, it feels like only yesterday and I’m struggling to work out where the intervening months have gone - and how we’ve done so little in a single year. But I guess, that’s 2020 for you.

These roses are from our patio, during one of my gardening sessions I got a bit over-enthusiastic and snipped these without realising. Not wanted to compost them while they were in their prime, they were soon indoors in a vase to be enjoyed for a short while.

With veg growing in the garden, I was very much in the habit of checking it every morning before opening my laptop. One morning I got more than I bargained for, and found some of our beans completely upended onto the grass.

The beans look like they had been carefully placed aside and much fun was had with the earth and the pot. I’m blaming the foxes, and hastily shoved everything back into the pot and gave them a drink. They survived a bit, but the didn’t really recover and beans from these plants were few and far between. Never mind, our other pots turned out to be pretty productive, but I didn’t know that at the time.

July is the month that our agapanthus really gets their game on. The flowers breaking out of the paper casing early in the month, and looking a lot more delicate than I think they really are.

There was good weather, and evenings to enjoy in the garden - a cocktail or two helped, as did the barbecues.

There’s always gardening jobs to be done though and it was time to tackle the Chilean potato plant that goes wild early in the season. The ladder was out and the green bin filled pretty quickly. As you can see the neighbours on this side had scaffolding up, it’s been a time for most of our neighbours to have work done - and who can blame them.

I wanted a sunny spot for my chillies, and tried tin cans on the trellis. This was a little too sunny it turned out and I lost one of these as it fried in the sun. The others were hastily moved back to the greenhouse and while they’ve not grown as I’d hoped they would, they are still alive. I’m thinking of potting them up to have in the conservatory, which I think will be marginally better (and warmer) than the greenhouse.

The nasturtiums soaked up the sun and provided flowers in an array of colours from bright yellows to the deepest of reds, and everything in between. I really wasn’t expecting the colours, especially as they need very little attention or care, and in fact prefer poor soil - they’re my kind of plant!

The colour wasn’t far off the orange of the runner beans, and we’ve had a good few dinners courtesy of a pot or two of beans - but not many from the one the foxes interfered with. Our beans are still limping along in October, but they’re due to join the compost heap relatively soon.

Back nearer the conservatory, the agapanthus blooms were starting to stand up straighter and the buds were thinking about opening, but not just yet.

Our squash started to flower and that became a regular spot to visit and encourage each morning. A squash did eventually form, but I won’t spoil the ending just yet.

The peonies which had given so many fluffy flowers the previous month finished, leaving a stubby flower centre left in their place. The rain didn’t help, and despite the sun, there was plenty of that. The snails seemed to enjoy it though.

And it didn’t stop the agapanthus doing their thing.

Another ritual for the month was picking salad for lunch. That in this strangest of years felt like an incredible luxury. And a tasty one too.

We popped up to Norfolk catching up with family for just the second time this year. As usual we left with gifts including this purple oxalis, a favourite of mine and which grows freely in dad’s greenhouse.

The morning garden inspections continued, and so did the beans. On this particular morning so did the rain, so for this picture I was sheltering in the greenhouse waiting for the shower to pass. It didn’t pass as quickly as I hoped, and shortly after snapping this shot I was running back to the house.

We also had visitors indoors, this dragonfly flew in, flew around our downstairs and stressed me out during an online meeting. I lost sight of it, but after a little while found him having a snooze on the curtains. He wasn’t up for moving, so we spent the afternoon in companionable silence tolerating each other. Once his strength was restored, he decided to head off and managed to navigate out as easily as he’d come in. This, it turned out was just the first visit - we had another two visits as the summer continued. Of course, it may not have been the same little fella - and not all of them were quite as well behaved - but this year, one positive is that we’ve seen much more wildlife in our garden (and in our house!)