Love our garden.
grandchildren
My Own Little Bubble
Well. Now then. The news, nationally and globally is just so damn depressing.
The UK and lots of other countries seem to be playing Whack-a-Mole with Covid-19.
The US election campaigning is in full swing. Somebody is tweeting rubbish in all capital letters. Racism. Lies.
UK exam results are completely buggered (although our granddaughter did Very Very Well in her GCSEs this year).
I’m really struggling with pain, exhaustion and low mood ( I do know that this is selfish when there’s so much going on, so let’s add guilt to that particular little mix).
Hubby is trying to explain Modern Monetary Theory to me. I sort of get it in a very muddled way but it’s so very different from what I was taught at school 50 years ago. I also worked in a bank for 12 years, and there had to be a debit for every credit, so I’m very confused and fuzzy about it.
So I have decided I’m going to try to stop worrying about stuff I can’t change, and reach out from time to time for some chocolate/painkillers.
Meanwhile my Ab Fab rose is starting to bud like billyo again. Love it so much. It really cheers me up.
Errata
In a recent post I said we were having our front lawn laid to moss.
We’re not. It’s clover. What on earth was I thinking!
Keeping calm and . . .
The gloves for my arthritic hand(s) arrived today. I’m wearing just one on the worse hand and it does seem to be helping. Might even 
try knitting again – tomorrow night perhaps. I’d rather wear a funny old glove than take painkillers, not least because you can’t always get the painkillers at the moment. 🤷♂️
After the doctor’s surgery phoned us, we seem to be on the list for supermarket deliveries (not Sainsbury’s, however, just Waitrose – maybe they use different databases) which has eased my anxiety somewhat. It’s still difficult to find delivery slots, but at least there are some.
Poor old Boris. Not quite so invincible as he thought, after boasting a few weeks ago that he would continue to shake hands with everybody, even those with coronavirus. I don’t wish him ill, and actually hope he gets better, but honestly.
Twice a week we do a video chat with the five year old grandson in Southampton. It’s always entertaining. Clothes – meh, they’re just a nuisance, according to him. Wearing clothes simply creates washing, apparently. I sing him a couple of songs (the Welly Song by Billy Connolly and Mud, Mud, Glorious Mud by Flanders and Swann) and today I did Forgiven (A A Milne) and Jabberwocky(Lewis Carroll) [If English is not your first language, be warned that Jabberwocky is full of nonsensical, invented words.] He liked them both, having checked that Jabberwocky included death. It does. So that was fine.
Went for a walk round the block – about 8 minutes I’d say, depending on my walking speed. I also bumped into a particularly interesting feline, who hates our cat, in our garden, but loves anybody who is walking along the road. I think it’s a female. Long-haired, slightly pushed-in face, grey and brown colouring, and a very assertive miaow. Yeah. Hubby had to rescue her once from next door’s roof. With a ladder. At 5 am. Mm. Luckily nobody saw him and called the police . . . . .
The postal service seems to be almost normal now. I think that our post office workers, our refuse collectors, our street cleaners, all our public service workers, supermarket workers, and particularly our doctors, nurses and pharmacies, are doing an absolutely wonderful, wonderful job. It’s all so fraught, and everybody is potentially in danger, but they’re just carrying on. Strict rules of course about keeping your distance from others, and some items are rationed in the shops, but fair enough, that’s just fine with me.
I do worry though about people with children of any age stuck in a high-rise flat. How on earth would you manage? I’d go bonkers in very short order, I know that.
weestorybook says that lockdown is mildly conducive to online shopping (I paraphrase). Mildly? Mildly?? here on planet loonyfeminist, it’s my new hobby. Just ordered some new tops, some from Laura Ashley, some from Seasalt, and then received an email from Seasalt telling me that one of the tops (my very favourite of course) wasn’t actually available. It took me all day to realise that I could get it elsewhere. So I did.
I’m home!
Went to New Zealand for a month to stay with YD and family. It was absolutely excellent. Very hot. Swimming in the sea is normal (did that a LOT). So is factor 50 sunscreen and a sunhat and covering up in the sun (in fact strongly advised).
It’s very relaxed there, although it’s stuck in the 50s in some ways. I didn’t see one single homeless person or beggar, no litter or graffiti, and there seems to be huge awareness of and responsibility for the environment, and despite the racism and inequality, a sense of what social justice means.
Expensive though. It’s so far away from anywhere they have to grow, make, or import everything. The fruit and veg are enormous! and delicious.
It’s a bitch of a journey though. 30 hours door to door each way, and then there’s the jet lag to deal with. Feeling slightly more normal today – today is the sixth day since I arrived home.
Here are some photos. When my head has returned to its normal state I’ll write more.
Update.
The Aged Mother did not recover. She died peacefully on Monday night. We are currently waiting to collect the necessary documentation from the hospital to register the death and organise the funeral.
It’s all very sad. Her house is a treasure trove of old letters and stuff which will all need sorting out. I feel relieved that she’s no longer suffering and pretending she’s not. Brave, fierce, and difficult.
That’s it I think for now.
It’s all kicking off
Well now. Not sure where to start, really. I guess the biggest thing is that the Aged Mother (87) is actually in hospital now, not at all well, but insisting she’s FINE. Of course she is. Not. Further updates as they arrive. We’re visiting her tomorrow.
I’ve had cortisone injections into two of my knuckles on my right hand. The procedure was almost painless and I now have no pain or swelling there. No pain. No swelling. That’s amazing for me. I saw an orthopaedic consultant six years ago, and he said he wouldn’t replace the joints just yet. Right. Ok. So I saw a different orthopaedic consultant six weeks ago, and he said oh yes, steroid injections, that should help. And it has.
Knitting has recommenced but only in short bursts. It feels so nice though to be able to knit again. Although it had been so long that I accidentally joined the jacket I’m knitting in the round and had to undo a row. Sigh. But it’s all fine now.
Also have decided to have a go at making my own baubles for the Christmas tree with polystyrene balls, fabric and ribbon. One of the knitting group made a fabulous one at a workshop and it’s really, really lovely. So I looked on YouTube, found a couple of excellent tutorials, will take what I need from both, and just need to get some fabric and ribbon. Ordered the polystyrene balls from ebay. Yeah. Photos if they work out ok.
YD is having an excellent time in NZ. Lovely photos and videos. It’s their spring/summer time so plenty of the beach and the sea. Mm.
Finished Christmas present buying. I keep a spreadsheet so I know who’s getting what, and who got what over the past several years. Yeah, I know. Don’t care.
November
Lots and lots has happened since September. We are still awaiting our new electric charger as the electricity supply needs some amendment. Don’t ask me what. It just does. That bit won’t cost us anything, then we have to wait for a quote for the actual charger, blah blah blah.
Younger Daughter, her hubby and little girl are now in New Zealand. As we approach winter here, they are in springtime and having lovely weather. Thank goodness for WhatsApp video calls and wi-fi. The last week before departure was a bit (very) fraught and the journey was long, but they are settled into their delightful temporary accommodation now.
The weekend after they all arrived in NZ, Older Daughter arrived for the weekend with her little boy. Who is delightful. Very affectionate. From time to time he wraps up his toy tiger in some sort of blanket and just climbs on to my lap for a cuddle. Yeah!
There is a garden centre 7 minutes’ walk from our house. It’s a chain, and sells all sorts of stuff apart from plants. There’s a cafe, lots of “commissions” (small shops within it) and that’s where the knitting shop is, so I am there a lot. I have a self-imposed rule never to buy their plants, though, after bad experiences in the past. Once I took back an expensive hydrangea which had died, and the reason it died was because there were two separate flowering stalks, from separate plants, stuck into the pot. They didn’t even ask, they just refunded me.
Last Thursday I broke my own rule, and am already regretting it. I wanted some winter heathers to cheer up the winter time garden. I’d looked online and couldn’t find what I wanted, so gritted my teeth and had a look in said garden centre. Found just what I wanted. Or so I thought. I’ve just potted them up, and I should have checked when I bought them, but all three of them were so badly root/pot bound I had difficulty getting them out of their pots. Then they looked like they were covered in some sort of material. Nope. More roots, all bound round the plant. So I’ve bunged them in and am hoping for the best, but fearing the worst. Hmph. We shall see. The only silver lining is that I am probably not as odd as my self-imposed rules might make me seem. Mm.
At the risk of seeming even stranger, I have to admit I have done about 80% of our Christmas shopping. Mostly on line. In fact probably all online. Still a few things to get, but really not very many. Spare room now filling up with (labelled – oh yeah!) stuff and the poor postman is laden down almost every day.
Had my flu jab yesterday. I didn’t even feel the needle, but my arm is aching now. Better that than the flu, though, hey. And because I will be 65 before the end of next March, they gave me the jab which provides better protection. Good.
Almost September
It was just starting to rain today when I took this photo. Every year it cheers me up. A bright yellow flower on a dull grey British day. The garden is lush and green, but the sky is grey and cloudy. It’s just such a jolly colour.
Then I noticed this.
Yesterday we celebrated Oldest Grandson’s 18th birthday. On a boat trip in Bristol. It was really lovely. A blended, extended, complicated family, with various children and exes. It was excellent. We all like each other and have fun together.
Had a sort out of my knitting. First of all in my head, last night, and then in real life, today. When I’ve finished my current project, which is a Bonbon bunny, I’m going to knit another toy (a gift so no details). Then I’m going to see how I feel. I’ve ordered some Knitpick Comfy Worsted from the States (75% cotton, 25% acrylic, which is impossible to get in the UK – why??) so am quite excited about that. It’s for a shawlette for me. Me! Hooray!
I’ve contacted several teddy bear repairers, but no joy so far. They haven’t all replied, but one said he wouldn’t know where to start (oh great), another one says their books are full until next summer, and the third said it would take many hours, cost a lot of money, and then she’d still be fragile and have lots of scars. She (the teddy bear in question) is currently having a rest in a box. Will see what happens.
The end of the story about my mobile phone: got the Motorola back, fixed, but it wouldn’t recognise the SIM card. I’d kept hold of the SIM card and the micro SD card while they repaired it. Got a new SIM off Virgin, still no joy. Eventually gave in and just bought a new phone. Samsung Galaxy A10, since you ask. It’s fine. But after two weeks it suddenly stopped accessing our wifi network. Sigh. I did lots of googling, as per usual, and eventually what fixed it was fiddling about with the security settings on the router. And now it works.
Not such a good day
I have slept almost all day today. Woke at 10.40, had breakfast, back to bed at 11.30. Slept till 16.45. Oh. My. Days.
But you know what? it’s ok. I clearly needed it. Not feeling quite so low as I was last night, and have made a few plans re the teddy bear renovation.
First up, she’s very old, and in a very bad state. I read the Dorling Kindersley Little Book of Bears, which has clarified what a big job it would be, and I’d hate to ruin her. So I’m going to take some photos of her tomorrow which show how decrepit she is, and email them to a number of bear repairers for quotes.
Then I guess I’ll need to start saving my pennies. Mm.
loonyfeminist 