Diary > Wednesday 10th June

[Roobarb]

Looks like I'm first again.

Rain again this morning, couldn't be bothered to do much so just did the reading and drinking tea again. The refuse collectors arrived for the garden waste, my bin weighed a ton with all the dead ivy, it was loaded by the only woman on the crew, she had to give it a tug as it didn't wheel freely along the pavement like the others. Waited till the collection for the recycling had been made a short time later before I took the bins through to the back garden. Chucked all the rest of the dead ivy in the bin, I just hope that's the last of it.

It stopped raining and was a bit brighter so I took the opportunity to go for my walk, it was quiet and pleasant with the swifts soaring and swooping around me on the field. The small blue bottle things I saw yesterday were not actually helium, they were nitrous oxide (laughing gas) which I understand can be very dangerous and even fatal. Double idiots. No extra debris of that sort, just beer boxes and cans and chocolate wrappers.  There are bins at the other side of the field but these people are obviously above doing something like disposing of their rubbish, it makes me so angry.

Didn't manage much of a walk through the woods, two men with dogs stopped to chat together for some time, there was no chance of getting far enough away from them so I went back on the field. I'd timed it well, this afternoon it just carried on raining and raining, so fed up of it.More forecast tomorrow. You're right Caroline, my mood is affected by the weather, the seasons affect me a great deal too, thank goodness this didn't start in October.

Hadn't been home long before my friend rang to say she was on her way with the groceries she'd got for me, not a lot as I only had a delivery at the weekend but I'd realised that my 440 tea bags were now running out, can't manage without tea! I'm not much good at this online grocery ordering, despite writing things down I often forget other things or get too much.

 I prepared some stuff to go in the freezer, no idea what I did with the rest of the day. I'd started with good intentions, was going to do some art work but before I knew it the day had slipped away. If I'm sitting out in the sun just reading I don't feel like I've wasted the day so I don't know why I feel that way when I'm indoors. The middle of the day is usually okay but I always feel down when I first wake up and this time of the evening is when the loneliness kicks in again.

The other day I was talking to a friend, an old lady in her eighties, she's understandably frustrated at having been no further than her garden for all these weeks but she said 'Now it's just about over' - I told her it's by no means over and I think people are fooling themselves that it is. All the shops are due to open up again, I'm still very afraid of this terrible disease.

Not a very uplifting diary, sorry. Hope others have had a better day. Caroline and Mowsehowse, I hope you have a better night's sleep.

[Caw1]

Oh dear Roobarb... you're right the weather can really have a negative effect on you... my mum always suffered in the winter.. think that comes from having lived most of her life in Africa and just couldn't cope with dull English weather!
Perhaps you can settle to your art tomorrow if you can't get out although of course you do need lots good natural light! What sort of artwork do you do?

Today's offerings....

Better nights sleep but woke early to my phone beeping although on silent..BT coming before 1 pm to sort out phone that's now working...
Usual breakfast... decided to phone sky again after they'd sent me two emails yesterday saying they couldn't get hold of me... rubbish I keep my phone on me all the time! Anyway got through and they've sorted our pause sport as there's not been any and refunded full amounts...
BT chap turned up...
OH went off to play golf...
Like Clapham Junction in this house...
BT man fitted new box at junction as current one was old and got rid of other cable we don't use any longer!..
He told me about a lady he'd visited when lockdown first imposed who couldn't get her Internet to work... he wasnt allowed inside then so spent two hours outside trying to resolve her problem, finally asked her to show him her modem through the window....she'd covered it with tin foil to stop builders dust damaging it..😱😱 no wonder she couldn't get it to work...
Postman came and brought little parcel... pretty earrings I'd bought for my daughter from friends daughter who is a jeweller, she was raising money for NHS and Refuge after her costs she was able to donate £1200 to each I phoned her say thank you and how lovely they were..l
After he left wiped every surface he'd touched down, even though he had too, doesn't hurt to be safe!
Finished cutting scrubs and went to my work room to start machining...
OH home just gone 3pm quick sandwich then he went out to clear up conifer cuttings and we put all bags in the car and off he went to the skip which he said was empty...well it was raining and at 5pm not surprising!
Finished for the day and cooked dinner, meatballs in pesto, sorry Roobarb know it's not your favourite, and tomatoes with ratatouille and jacket potato... really scraping the barrel tonight as have used every veg and fridge draw now empty!  Good job shopping tomorrow!
Watched The Sewing Bee - not too bad this week, wonder if there's been comments made although of course there all made in advance!

Another day over, enjoyed my sewing and will do more tomorrow as I think it's going to be a wet day!

Caroline

[pharmaT]

Well another day not making progress in the garden.  The rain was bouncing and not much progress in the house either.  So tired and sore.  A lot of arthritic type pain in my joints.

The day did not start off well at all.  The TV packed in, sound but no picture.  Googled all the possible fixes but nothing so the wee one is not happy at all.  At least I didn't have a fight over me being fed up with power rangers. 

Really should have done a lot in the house it is stunning how much they can wreck any progress I have made in one day.  Ended up having a rest and confusing myself with some of my sources for my tree.  Death certificates of my 3x grt grandfather and his siblings.  I have matched them up as definitely his siblings based on parents names, age on death of his siblings matching their baptisms and the addresses and occupations of his sibling matching those stated on my 3x Grt Grandfather's will.  Well on my 2x Grt Grandfather's death cert it says his father was a builder but on his siblings death certs it says he was a forester. He had already passed away so couldn't have changed his job at that time. Wrote a few hundred more words in the family tree booklet I'm writing up.

[Mowsehowse]

Yes, weather and daylight does make a severe impact on everything we do. It can cause unconscious tensing of the body giving us pain too.

I hope everyone in pain or low mood can rise above today. Hopefully there will be a dry patch later when we can get out and breathe for a while.

So, Wednesday..... much the same as before I think. Not raining and enough beach for lots of dogs barking, excited to be out early.  Before lunch went across the playing field to the lakes.  A tractor was cutting the grass and we noted vast numbers of crows seaarching for insects.  Plenty of bird song as we wandered round.

Roobarb we are led to believe there are low odds of catching the virus by passing other people quickly, without touching or being coughed over.  I do need to find a new normal, and people are everywhere.  Fortunately there were a few people around, and we tried to avoid them as far as possible.

Lots of swallows flying low across the lakes hoovering up flying insects, and then walking back across the playing field a pair were circling me at knee height.  I got a bit dizzy turning to watch them.  Too fast to take photos, but a joy to watch, and remember.

Massive rain during the afternoon so did more work on my family history write up, and constructed another linear tree.  Well done Pharma for making progress, with all the other things you do.  I have a personal belief that the food we eat can have an impact on arthritic type pains.  If you would like to discuss that do PM me. Anyone.

Must have our evening walk to make up the steps after tea, despite it was really grey and windy, but what a joy that we did.  Around the back of the pond, there was a heron fishing, the tulip tree is still in flower, and so many ducklings came over hoping to be fed, that I decided to take down some oats for them another time. (Thursday!!)

Sewing Bee, Springwatch and Foyle's War on TV.

I finshed Kate Morton's "The House at Riverton" which I enjoyed and found well written.

The weather is worse today, so I better find my stiff upper lip!    Hope you can too. 

[Mowsehowse]

Caroline, great job by the jewelery made for charity, and huge applause for all the sewing you do. 

[louisa maud]

I think because the weather has been so dreadful over the last couple of days it has been miserable, I think we have been so fortunate to have had such good weather prior to the rain but the garden needed it, thank God we didn't have 12 weeks of this weather, I am hoping as soon as we can get out to do more normal things we will all feel so much better, must admit to feeling a bit lazy at times when it is so dull,  we all want to get out and meet our friends and family

My husband's birthday on Sunday, won't be any different from every other Sunday, I might make a cake and put a couple of candles on it to cheer the proceedings up

So don't let be downhearted folks, it is all coming to an end soon

Take care, stay safe

Louisa Maud

[Roobarb]

Caroline, I've never lived anywhere but north east England so I should be used to it. I can put up with the cold but it's the dreary weather that gets me down. Better forecast for next week anyway. 
Re artwork, I enjoy painting and my favourite medium is acrylics, so much more forgiving than watercolour! My art teacher has also introduced us to a number of other mediums, my cupboards are packed with art materials. As for the pesto sauce, I know a lot of people enjoy pesto, it's not something I'd choose but I would eat it if it was served to me as a guest. That's a result of my upbringing, my mother made me eat everything! Thank goodness she did, I would have been such a picky eater if left to my own devices.

Mowsehowse, because I'm asthmatic I make sure I have a good cough before I leave the house for my walk or I would be getting some funny looks! Might be an idea when I want some peace walking through the woods.  How lovely for you to have seen the ducklings and the heron.

PharmaT, good to hear that you got a rest and did something you wanted to do.

Louisa Maud, I hope the weather is better on Sunday for your husband's birthday, a bit of sunshine would be nice.

[Caw1]

Roobarb- I'm not sure it matters where you live in the UK miserable weather is miserable! Those dark dull skies... that's what my son moved away for! As you say warmer weather next week 🤞
I like painting with acrylics too and pastels they can cover a multitude of errors! Watercolours I find too exacting and I'm not good with that! My mother was a very good artist as is my daughter... I've not done much for a long time always seem to have other things in the go..

Mowsehowse - l do love to hear all your tales of nature as you take your walks, there is such beauty in nature and under all these restrictions it has become much more prominent. We've had foxes in the garden as I can hear them and night and definitely smell them when I walk up the garden.
We've had a hedgehog for a very long time it lives under one of our water buts and I keep a shallow bowl filled with water and rocks so it doesn't fall in when drinking. We found a little mouse hole on the edge of a raised area that's boardered by sleepers and OH was watching it flitting in and out!

I'm impressed with you all settling down to family history too... I don't seem to have had time lately and have hit a brick wall that I'm taking a rest from.

Pharma hope you can get your tv fixed! Glad you had some of your time off to do something different!


Caroline

Hope Sunday's a nice day for your hubbies birthday Louisa Maud and that he's now improving after being ill.

[louisa maud]

Thank you Cawl, not sure what we will do, weather permitting and what we are allowed to do, last year my husband was 80 and we did have a celebration then with his siblings and a few  friends

Interesting  to hear  about hedgehogs, I only remarked recently we could do with a family of hedgehogs, they like slugs and we have plenty of those

Louisa Maud