Diary > Saturday > 12th June.

[Mowsehowse]

Great news your daughter has done so well Pharma.
You are right to be proud of her.

[DianaCanada]

Haven’t been on for a while, just have not felt very energetic and not a lot going on.
Enjoy reading about everyone’s adventures.
Pharma, many congrats to your daughter!
Gardening is a bit of a challenge, I love the results, but never enjoyed weeding, nor does OH.  One of my daughters is having a consultation with a landscape firm in August, it will be fun to see what she has done.  My other daughter seems to be getting more interested in gardening, she was talking about her peonies and roses (came with the property). 
Weather here has been very hot and humid, feeling like high 30s all week. It just broke this afternoon so I was outside reading, The Jane Austen Society.  Finished Ken Follett’s The Evening and the Morning a few days ago.  Really enjoyed that, 900 pp but it really zips along.
Did some online work this past week too.  Working on three projects at once, unlike me, but slow time of year for educational material, so I will list them all at once in July.
We had an absolute downpour on Friday, a soaking wet sparrow on the kitchen sill, and a blue jay on the dining room sill, peering in, looking so woebegone, so wet it was just a dull grey.  There was a tiny rabbit on the patio, too, plastered wet to its skin.  A couple of hours later the roads were all dry.  We need more rain.
Our crowd of mallard male ducks did not return, but we’ve had the odd male and female since then.  This morning I was taking bird seed out and a male crash landed right by me, right on his face.  I had to give the poor thing a handful of his own seed!
Have been watching the series Unforgotten on Brit Box - excellent.  Series 4 will be on US PBS in July, def will record.
We had just tuned into the Denmark/Finland match a few minutes after Erikson had collapsed, we did not see anything questionable, not even the collapse.  Thank goodness he seems to be improving.
Our lockdown has ended, we are in phase 1 of recovery.  Stores are open again, but lots of other things not.
OH has announced supper is ready - better go, he doesn’t like me to be late!

[Roobarb]

What a good Samaritan you've been Annette, hardly surprising that you felt weary after all that lawn cutting. Eighty pounds sounds pretty extortionate to me, particularly considering that a professional will be used to that sort of thing and will probably have a petrol mower, so it wouldn't take them nearly as long. I don't use Facebook but apparently a lot of areas have local pages where people ask for recommendations for trades people locally. Might be worth a try.
What a kind thought in buying the chair for your neighbour, I'm sure he'll be very pleased.

Stanwix, I know what you mean about having difficulty getting back to normal, I've felt that way too. Last year I felt as if I'd lost all my social skills, I'd only been out to a couple of places when we were put in tier 3 then 4, then total lockdown. So it's been a case of starting all over again. I'm taking things in small steps at my own pace. At the moment normal life seems a long way off but getting there gradually is the only way I can see of doing it, building confidence as you go. I hope you manage to make a start.

PharmaT, congratulations to your daughter, great to hear that her hard work has paid off.

More extreme weather for you Diana, the poor little animals, although I expect they'll recover. How nice to have supper made for you, I'd be there with my bib on! 

[Mowsehowse]

Hope you have recovered from all that grass cutting Annette. It sounds like a really big job! Is there any kind of Community exchange system in the area your sister could tap into?
All those sopping wet little creatures Diana. Perhaps you need to erect a special pergola they could shelter beneath??
BTW, I forgot to say, on Saturday H and I saw something swim very fast along the edge of the pool we were peering into at Haldon Grange.
Maybe 5cm length, dark above and pale belly, pointy nose....
We both saw it for 5 seconds or more, and both convinced it wasn't fish or amphibian. I wondered if there is such a thing as a water shrew. A bit of research at home revealed, YES, there is, so we can say we have seen one!!
How could I forget that Horatio moment of excitement! 

[DianaCanada]

Hope you have recovered from all that grass cutting Annette. It sounds like a really big job! Is there any kind of Community exchange system in the area your sister could tap into?
All those sopping wet little creatures Diana. Perhaps you need to erect a special pergola they could shelter beneath??
BTW, I forgot to say, on Saturday H and I saw something swim very fast along the edge of the pool we were peering into at Haldon Grange.
Maybe 5cm length, dark above and pale belly, pointy nose....
We both saw it for 5 seconds or more, and both convinced it wasn't fish or amphibian. I wondered if there is such a thing as a water shrew. A bit of research at home revealed, YES, there is, so we can say we have seen one!!
How could I forget that Horatio moment of excitement! 

Actually, MH, we are scheduled to have our patio replaced and a retractable awning installed next month.  The animals can shelter under the awning!
A water shrew sounds interesting, good eye!