Life is a minestrone as the song says - my new diary

teapot2

beanielou said:

A eee poem by our maccad

     Thanks  for that Beanie, I hadn't seen it

teapot2

Very sunny day though chilly in the shade.  After breakfast and a shower I cleaned out the shower drain which I keep forgetting to do.  Considering I've got short hair, there was a lot trapped in there [insert the blue emoji with standup hair - I miss that one]  I also washed the shower curtain and all the towels and shower mat so all looks and smells a lot fresher.  
I Zoomed with 2 friends for nearly an hour, was lovely to catch up with them.  That sounds strange like we ran about together, I wonder if 'to Zoom' will be a new verb in the OED next year  .
I made tomato sauce and meatballs for family which I can leave outside for them to pick up on their daily walk.  I kept some of the sauce to have with prawn linguine for tea.  That's all my tins of toms gone now though.  I'm doing an order for fruit and veg tomorrow so will ask if they have any in stock even though they are much more expensive than the supermercados.
Sat outside in the garden for a while, was really quiet and was enjoying listening to the birds then someone started their lawnmower!  Todays bird news is about a gull, I'm wondering if they are getting less food at the moment as there isn't so much take away food litter around or general opportunities to eat.  I live in a coastal town and there are gulls about but this one seemed to be eating slugs in the grass which it is welcome to.  It was also staring at the seed feeder and went to peck up some bits that had fallen on the ground.  Its been very dry so I guess they can't do the feet drumming thing to attract worms at the moment. 

teapot2

Very sunny today from early on but also chilly if not in the sun - one of those days where it was colder in the house than outside.  I got the guy who did my garden when I was out of action to come and give the grass its first cut and also cut back a couple of bushes that were getting to big for the space.  I should be able to manage it myself from now on, I find strimming the edges tricky, think it might be because I'm left handed.  I do have a pair of the long handled edge clippers so can always use those, just takes me a lot longer.  So now my compost bin and the brown garden waste bin are full.  The guy stood in the brown bin to squash it all in!  As they aren't being emptied I'll need to start storing the next lot of weeds etc in bags.  I seem to remember from years ago though that grass clippings will go slimy and very smelly in a bag so might need to think of something else for them.
Had an hours Zoom with a friend and did some work emails .  Very quiet on the financial front, I paid a bit towards a 0% CC that's is due towards the end of the month.  Also made up an invoice for my second biggest piece of work, bit dispiriting as its less than half the amount it would normally be but quite a bit of the work was cancelled cos of the virus - not sure how much it will pick up as time goes on.
I was thinking earlier about the 20 things in 2020 challenge some of us did earlier in the year.  I don't think many of my 20s will be happening this year such as going to 20 places I hadn't been to before.  Some still will, think I had one about making 20 jars of jam or preserves and another about growing 20 things to eat and I should beat those.  Some possibilities weren't in my awareness at the time but might have included have 20 Zoom conversations or staying in the house for 20 days 

Fortune_Smiles

Hi there Teapot 🤗

have you thought about visiting places on line?  I know a lot of the museums are doing virtual tours and some of the national parks in the States too.  There are also live screenings of opera, ballet, shows to watch.  Perhaps you can tweak your list so that you still get to 'see' new places in a different way.

Fortune x

Karmacat

Teapot, the neighbour whose green bin I share says he's going to put "new" green bin contents onto the ground at the little copse that's between our houses - then when they're being collected again, he can scoop them up. 

Yeah, the 2020 challenge (which I still think about, though I haven't taken part) is going to need some rejigging

Take care.

teapot2

Fortune_Smiles said:

Hi there Teapot 🤗

have you thought about visiting places on line?  I know a lot of the museums are doing virtual tours and some of the national parks in the States too.  There are also live screenings of opera, ballet, shows to watch.  Perhaps you can tweak your list so that you still get to 'see' new places in a different way.

Fortune x

Hi Fortune - waves back,
funnily enough I was on Zoom with a couple of friends and one had had a birthday that week and went on a virtual tour of the MoMA in Manhattan which sounded fun so I might do that.  I've also signed up to get info about theatre production that are being put online though not watched any as yet.  I've watched quite a few live music events though and every morning I join a fiddler in the Western Isles for a quick tune .  I find some of the live music very emotional and while some is powerful and uplifting, some of it leave me weeping but that is ok too.

teapot2

Karmacat said:

Teapot, the neighbour whose green bin I share says he's going to put "new" green bin contents onto the ground at the little copse that's between our houses - then when they're being collected again, he can scoop them up. 

Yeah, the 2020 challenge (which I still think about, though I haven't taken part) is going to need some rejigging

Take care.

Thanks KC, I might put grass clippings into a box in the shed until we're released.  There are woods near me and some folk have been dumping their garden waste in them but not I suspect with any intention of coming back to clear it up

teapot2

I did manage to get out for walk yesterday though it was still chilly in places.  I went round the edges of the woods and saw quite a few butterflies and woodland flowers.  Also had a chat with a not very near neighbour who I've only seen in the distance before .   I wasn't sure what was going on with my rhubarb but after looking online realised it was flowering which I hadn't realised rhubarb does .  The advice is to remove those stalk to allow the plant to put its energy into producing rhubarb stalks, I did that but it was quite difficult to remove them cleanly so I hope that doesn't cause any problems to the crown.  I also stewed some rhubarb with cinnamon, orange peel and a little sugar as I don't like it too sweet.  I'll put a dollop on my muesli as I've not got much fresh fruit left.  I've sewn some salad leaves in a pot and radish in the rows between and I'll sew more in about 10 days to keep the supply coming.  Most of my indoor seeds have germinated and doing ok but I'll need to move the pots away from full sun later today as I don't want them to get scorched.  
I have a work meeting in a couple of hours and after that I'll get outside and plant a few veg in pots, just hoping its not too early as it still gets very cold at night here.  Been trying to write notes for the meeting but brain feels very wooly so hoping I will make sense   have left it for now and will go back to it later.  
I've made some scotch broth which is nice and filling, I think it tastes better on the second day so will leave it to 'mature'.  I've got some left over risotto for lunch so will have that cold with feta crumbled on top.  Not sure about tea - maybe fish or a baked tattie.
I had an email from the local shop where I get a fruit and veg delivery to apologise for prices going up.  I had noticed this was happening so have tried to order more local veg which hasn't been affected as much.  Am hankering after some homemade coleslaw so am hoping to get red cabbage and celeriac in my order

teapot2

Not a great sleep - some weird and vivid dreams.  I've got a couple of virtual work meetings today.  Yesterday's meeting went ok in the end and I didn't disgrace myself  .  Note to self, don't try writing sensible notes when you have just got up!  Checked the banks this morning and the £25 payment from 1poll has arrived  .  I think that might be quicker than usual.
Didn't get any seeds planted outside y'day, the day just ran away with me.  Have stopped giving myself a hard time about that, I am on my own and managing, holding down a job that supports other people as well as paying my bills, paying attention to my MH trying to find things that nurture me as well as learning new ways of carrying out my job in the face of huge uncertainty.  We are all doing our best and trying to find a way through this 

Karmacat

teapot2 said:

Didn't get any seeds planted outside y'day, the day just ran away with me.  Have stopped giving myself a hard time about that, I am on my own and managing, holding down a job that supports other people as well as paying my bills, paying attention to my MH trying to find things that nurture me as well as learning new ways of carrying out my job in the face of huge uncertainty.  We are all doing our best and trying to find a way through this 

I'm so glad to hear you say this - thats where I am a little bit too, although my situation is easier because I'd retired.  Being kind means yes, stopping giving ourselves a hard time,  and also adjusting plans to suit our circumstances.  My sister goes for a walk and does an online exercise class, for instance, but I need that physical energy to work in the garden, to finally get it free of perennial weeds, so that **when** lockdown ends, I'm not stuck at home gardening!  I'm kind of ignoring the uncertainty, while staying as safe as I can.  Thinking of you.