"Isn't it nice to think that tomorrow is a new day with no mistakes in it."

greenbee

Have reordered the Dunhelm curtains as the fabric was back in stock. Even with the discount voucher they gave me as an apology, they are still more expensive than my original order (probably why they cancelled rather than just delaying until new fabric arrived as they knew it would be more). Still, I've coughed up the £6 to get them 2 weeks earlier so I won't be hanging around for a month to find out whether they're going to bother to make them this time!

Got through my work call and hopefully sounded vaguely coherent. Took the dog for a very short walk which was a struggle, and much to his disappointment, am now firmly stuck on the sofa. (I did brush him and not-Fatty as well, as they're both moulting happily).

Time for some reading and attempting to rest before feeding time I think!

KajiKita

I’m glad you will finally get the curtains you want. I’d have given up aaaages ago … 😉

Hopefully Stinky will be happier after his big walk tomorrow 😊❤️

KK

beanielou

Hope the curtains work out this time.

greenbee

Thanks @beanielou - they've said they'll refund me the difference between the old price and new one once the order is delivered… let's hope it is this time!

Woke up without a headache this morning - let everyone out at 5.30am and enjoyed the dawn chorus in the freezing cold. Headache tried to materialise so I went back to bed until feeding time, then went back to bed again with my coffee for another hour and a bit (with not-Fatty who wanted cuddles) until I needed to get up to take Stinky for a walk with a friend. We had a nice walk and catch-up, came home and after a short rest, took inspiration from @redofromstart and opened up the summerhouse. It's too small to sit in really (also too spidery!), but I removed the box of rubbish (rubbish is in the bin, box is in the cardboard store), and put the chairs and table on the paving in front of it and had my coffee there.

Located my weeding buckets, a hand fork and a border fork, and started weeding - I went over what I'd already done the other week (can't remember when) and carried on. Took a break for lunch (salad) and then my mum arrived, so emptied her car and then finished lunch with her sitting outside the summerhouse and trying to work out a few options for the next things to do in the garden.

After lunch we opened the shed, brought out a small bench, tidied up all the cardboard in there and then went over to the workshop and took out all the garden stuff. We transferred it all to the garage, then shut the front garage doors and opened the back one. Quick break for coffee and cake, then we got all the garden stuff put away in the shed. So while the garage is still full, the workshop is now in a better state (still more to do, but much better). Stopped again for a cup of tea, moved the obelisks to roughly where they need to go (I need to measure and mark the spots properly tomorrow). The shed will need a bit of a revamp to become a permanent store for garden tools, but at least they are all now in there. We then got a couple more chairs out and put them on the main patio to check the view of the obelisks from that direction while having a cup of tea!

Once my mum left (taking the 250 snowdrops I had ordered for her to supplement the 250 I planted for her last week), I finished weeding the long border on the right. It actually wasn't too bad, and there are lots of things coming up that I'd forgotten about. All in the wrong places, but they can be moved over time!

Then I pruned the rose on the existing obelisk (bit late, I know, but I want to try training some horizontal shoots rather than let it keep just going up - it isn't particularly exciting, and may not survive when it eventually needs to be moved, so it's worth taking the risk). At which point the cat complaint department was joined by the dog to insist that food was provided.

When I came in, I realised that I'd left all the windows open, so fed everyone, lit the fire, and closed the windows! Also changed out of gardening clothes into something a bit warmer.

There's still lots to do, but I do feel that I've made progress. Stinky is unimpressed by the shortage of walks, but has had lots of time pottering in the garden, eating sticks and rolling around on his back.

My mum has just called and suggested that she ask the gardener to swap our days this week, as I'm away for work on his normal day and she could do with him planting the snowdrops soon, so that should work well.

Tomorrow I want to get some wood moved, clear a bit of rubbish from the workshop, and get some stuff done in the veg plot.

Tonight will involve eating (although the stuff I got out of the fridge was still frozen so it may not be ready as soon as I'd like!), watching rubbish on catchup/reading and a bath as I can feel the effects of the gardening already!

KajiKita

That sounds like a really positive and productive day and I’m glad Stinky got his walk 😊❤️

KK

greenbee

Another slow start and the headache threatened but didn't arrive.

Took Stinky for a 2 hour walk - he met some friends and did lots of sniffing.

Then spent the day pottering in the garden mostly. Got kindling in, moved sticks from the log store to the porch, put some cardboard a friend dropped off the other day into the shed, brought a garden waste bin round to put yesterdays weeds and prunings in, dug up snowdrops and crocuses and planted lots of snowdrops and a few crocuses by the drive and in the orchard. Cut down the sprouts from a crab apple stump, and cut back a bit of holly to make space for the flowering currant next to it. And took Stinky for another short walk.

As it was sunny, I ran the DW, washed a load of cleaning cloths (still on the line) and did a drum clean. DW filter has been cleaned and the DW reloaded. A BNS has been cooked and lick mat production line started. Dog and cat food portioned up ready for me being away for 24 hours. Haven't packed, or checked train times (will do that first thing, and then take Stinky for a walk before dropping him at my mum's.

I did also have lots of breaks and finish my book. New book was started in the bath before supper (was feeling creaky and knew I'd be too tired later on).

Idiot dog has managed to take a chunk of fur out of his face chasing his ball in the dark, so I'll obviously have to be more careful where I throw it in future. He didn't squeak, so it was about half an hour before I spotted what I thought was a bit of yogurt on his face. I've washed it and put antiseptic on it, so hopefully it's just superficial and looks worse because of the missing fur. It isn't bleeding, but does look worse now the antiseptic has flattened the fur. I bet he's got a headache.

greenbee

On my second duvet day due to these stupid headaches/nausea that have been going on for weeks. Managed to get a GP appointment today and he agrees that it's probably post viral but has requested some tests just in case. Talked to a GP friend afterwards and apparently they've had the same symptoms after a recent virus so fingers crossed it goes away.

Stinky is bored, cats don't like the weather, but not-Fatty loves the duvet days!

Good electricity pricing tonight/tomorrow so battery, immersion, and electric heating all prepped… particularly important as a. I am now down to under 200l of oil and the watchman is shouting and b. we have SNOW forecast for tomorrow (must bring the potted magnolia back in tomorrow morning). I'm not feeling so bad about being behind with my gardening (although I must also plant the crocuses I dug up tomorrow so they don't get frozen - they were meant to go to my mum yesterday but I didn't go, so I'll stick them in the orchard).

beanielou

Be kind to yourself. 🤗

greenbee

Laundry backlog pretty much done on very cheap electricity. Just a wool wash to do, but two jumpers need de-bobbling first. And next time I strip my bed the mattress cover needs washing and the electric blanket needs to come off and have the cover washed too. Plus I have some pillow cases that really need soaking to get stains off. But nothing urgent,

Heat pump engineer came and will send an estimate before doing a full (paid for) survey and quote.

Stinky has been walked (not enough apparently, but it’s windy and I still don’t feel great), and after his lunchtime walk we planted the crocuses by the drive. If everything I’ve moved this year survives and comes up, and the stuff planted in the last couple of years keeps going, it’s going to look lovely out there in spring in a couple of years’ time.

Leftover milk and oat milk has been made into rice pudding in the IP. Remarkably easy to do - oat milk version worked better, and I used risotto rice as I didn’t have pudding rice. But nice and easy to eat. Also roasted some veg and managed to eat that, which may have compensated for the white bread and rice pudding.

And I did go back to work today after 2 duvet days. Not hugely productive but good to remember what I’m doing (plus i feel better in the afternoons, which is when meetings are, so I might as well work rather than use up sick leave.

Called the hospital again, but no call back, so need to chase again tomorrow. Also need to book a financial advisor appointment. And chase builders.

Gardener is here tomorrow, so pergola wiring needs doing and obelisks installing (with roses - I think I have them worked out). Measuring will be involved as I haven’t done it yet.

Bulbs are starting to come out on the patio - pots I’ve done look good (a little wind blown after the last couple of days), so I’ll aim to fill the others in the autumn. I also need to think what to put in them to follow on from the bulbs - I have some night scented stock seeds, so might just scatter those in a couple of the pots.

greenbee

Hail at some point last night so outside is freezing. Cats are out, dog wants to go out, I'm inside. It may be sunny, but it's cold, and needs to defrost before I (or the dog, regardless of what he thinks) brave it for more than a few seconds.

Gardener is here and putting wires on the pergola. I need to get the roses out to work out which ones are going where, but can wait until he's dug the holes to do that. And once they're all in I have to decide where to put the new magnolia.

Correspondence with Karcher is ongoing… I think from their latest correspondence that the pump isn't actually suitable for what we're using it for. So need to call the drain engineer in a minute (have called and left a message telling him I just want him to find a suitable alternative and get it installed). And the hospital, again, in the hope that at some point someone will answer my questions about where my biopsy results are and when I might get them as it's now been nearly 4 months.

Headache seems to be staying away this morning, so fingers crossed that's it now.