SURPRISE! SURPRISE!

After 10 weeks of staying at home, I'm having to stir up my brain cells just to work out what day it might be.  Staring blankly at the calendar doesn't help, I found. Thank goodness for phones and laptops that tell you the date as well as time.  It's like Groundhog Day, isn't it? 

However, I have had two lovely surprises which made the days memorable: a mystery package was left in my front porch by our local delivery driver; I couldn't recall ordering anything.  But LOOK what I found - 

A beautiful crocheted blanket!

About 4 years ago, I bought the wool, intending to make a 'Moorland' blanket/bed throw, the colours being representative of Bodmin Moor, the area where I live in Cornwall, south-west England.

But after going wrong and having to undo it several times, I lost patience and the wool was relegated to the bottom of a wardrobe.

Recently, during a de-clutter, I came across it and decided to send it to a friend, Debbie, who loves to crochet and knit during any time off her busy work as a surgery receptionist. 

I made it clear that I didn't want anything in return; she was doing me a favour by putting it to good use.

So imagine my surprise when she made this beautiful blanket for ME! 

I have now sent her a surprise of her own - some flowers and assorted Gin miniatures.  She loves a Gin and tonic, I happen to know!

The 2nd surprise for me was another delivery; it was brought to my door by a lady who said, "This is sent with love from your daughter-in-law." as she presented me with a white cardboard cake box.

Inside was a Cornish Cream Tea - 2 freshly baked scones, a small jar of Strawberry Jam, 2 pots of Cornish Clotted Cream and 2 teabags of Cornish Tea.

I can tell you that I thoroughly enjoyed my lovely Cornish Cream Tea out in my garden, in the sunshine. Many thanks to my daughter-in-law Nicola, son Peter and grandchildren Leo and Eleanor.

Update on the Garden

Well, deliveries really are slow; in fact I have no colourful plants from my order so far, just a couple of seed packets and 3 separate deliveries of plug plants, which sat on my kitchen windowsill for a couple of weeks, being watered and watched until I potted them up in readiness for going in the greenhouse. There have been some failures - only 1 Fuchsia survived out of the 4 that were sent; from the herb collection the chives and parsley plugs gave up the ghost, but the other 4 herbs all look healthy and are growing on well.  5 Dianthus are also looking good and will soon be strong enough to go out into containers, hopefully in a week or two's time. 

The GrowBags that I ordered -  Jumbo ones that are longer and deeper than the usual ones - were initially 'Lost in Transit' but an email from me brought replacement ones.  However, that presented a problem - each one was doubled over and crammed into a large cardboard box for transit, then they were placed in my front porch.  Oh how I wished for a big strong man who would effortlessly lift and carry those heavy bags round to the back garden and place them in the greenhouse! It took me ages, with the help of my grandson's skateboard (abandoned in my garage) and lots of shoving, heaving, pulling and manoeuvring - and possibly cursing - before they were at last in position.  Not surprisingly, my back and shoulders suffered for several days afterwards.  Now I have received 2 of the tomato plants so after a week in the kitchen window, they can be planted in one of those GrowBags.  Yay!

In the meantime, any colour in the garden is provided by the established shrubs and plants; here's Benji admiring them! Not really; he's watching out for anyone walking past with a dog, so he can bark furiously at them and let them know this is HIS territory.

A beautiful orange Azalea

Rhododendron

Solomon's Seal

Bleeding Heart (Dicentra)

Fuchsia - when fully opened, this one has a deep purple 'skirt'. Stunning!

Aquilegia - grown from seed 'borrowed' from my neighbour's flowers which poked through the hedge

The newest addition - a replacement fence for the one that was destroyed by stormy winds. It will look much better when it has been painted with a dark brown preservative.

The sapling on the left is self-sown and I think it might be a flowering Cherry.  If so, I shall stake it and feed it and enjoy the blossom for years  to come, I hope. 

The metal gate is the entrance to the village football pitch - we have an excellent local team, but of course they are not able to play in the present circumstances,

The building behind is the Primary School, also not in use at present. 

Benji has just discovered that he can no longer see any passing dogs!  His barking has almost ceased!

An Impulse Buyer? ME?

Well, there's not a lot of physical rambling going on these days, so rather than waiting for my next outing and the chance to take photos, I'm reduced to just . . well . . . rambling!

A few days ago, when it was decreed that Lockdown for over 70's  would be extended, things were looking decidedly bleak.  Then an email popped up, from a well-known online garden supplier; I have bought various plants, bulbs, seeds, etc. from there previously so I regularly received their online catalogue.  After staring sadly at my tubs and containers - cleared of last year's colourful flowers - I decided to splurge (lovely word!) on something beautiful to cheer my garden, for passers-by and ME. It would also give me something to do to relieve the boredom.
Before I knew it, I had submitted an order, then in a bit of a panic checked my bank balance. Phew!

But I have a greenhouse, mainly used for storing garden chairs, the strimmer and all the bits and bobs that normally go in a shed (which I don't have.) I was so thrilled to have one when I moved here, but I realised that first year that it's well nigh impossible to look after a greenhouse and still expect to go off regularly with my tent for a week here and a week there.  It results in desiccated plants!

But hey! It's Lockdown and I'm restricted to my home and garden, ideal conditions for using my greenhouse. So I thought I'd order a few tomato plants and a couple of Growbags . . . . . but somehow, other items attracted my attention.  Checked my bank balance again . . . and ended up with 2 sizeable orders. I guess I could be described as an 'Impulse Buyer'.
Now I need to clear the greenhouse of rubbish. . . er, unnecessary items . . . and sort out where the Growbags will go.

So I shall have plenty to occupy myself for the next few months, maybe a bit less reading in the sunshine but lots of watering.  I wonder if I need another water barrel . . . perhaps I'll have a little  look online.

On de-cluttering - or not.

Isn't it hard to part with books? Many charity shops don't want them any more: a local shop invited donations of books to be resold for a good cause but within  a short time they requested, "No more donations until further notice." By then I had off-loaded a mere fraction of the ones I was willing to part with.
It isn't just where to take them, it's how to bear to part with them.
Intending to reduce the numbers on my bookshelves recently I spent more time reading snippets and deciding I must read those books again, than in placing any in the bag for 'give-aways'. I knew from experience that I would regret parting with them . . . . .

On the subject of parting with things . . . many years ago and with Christmas looming, I decided to sell an old oak chest that I had lovingly polished and cherished for many years.  It paid a worrying electricity bill and put a few extra presents under the tree for my young son.  But it hurt to part with it.
(This is an internet photo, but the style is similar to mine.)
                                                                                                                                                           

A few years down the line, I was due to downsize; there wouldn't be room for all my furniture.  One of the items was a Singer treadle machine which had been my Mum's before me.  On this machine she had made most of her own clothes, as well as mine and later her granddaughters'.  I had also made good use of it, sewing clothing, curtains, cushions and bedding, etc.  It had all the original shuttles, spools, needles and a hand-written receipt from Mum's original purchase.
Oh my, how I have always regretted parting with that precious sewing machine.
(Again, this photo has been taken from the internet.)

Many years later I sold my house and bought a caravan, where I lived for 5 very happy years, on a secluded rural site just a few miles from my place of work.  This time, just about everything had to go.  Luckily one of my sons had just rented a house in town, so most of the furniture had a new home waiting.  It's surprising how many books I managed to fit into that caravan - it's a wonder it didn't collapse under the weight.  A good job I wasn't planning on towing it !  As a matter of fact, I so loved the way of life that after a while I bought another caravan, a little 1979 Fairlane two-berth which I did tow, all over Cornwall and parts of Devon.  Many happy holidays in that little elderly caravan for me and my Border Collie with the much bigger 'van as our main home.
The lifestyle made me realise that we really don't need to clutter our homes with 'things' so why, now I live in a 3-bed bungalow, am I asking the same question again?  Where and how do I part with my books (and other items!)?  And yes, this is definitely a photo from the internet.  Honestly, my bookcases don't look as terrifying as that!

This, That and The Other.

Storm Ciara followed hot on its heels by Storm Dennis was just too much for my front garden fence; I woke this morning to find it half demolished, leaning crazily across the pavement and smashed beyong repair. A distress call went out and my youngest son and his fiance galloped to my rescue.  Well they actually rode here on their motorbike, a hairy ride with these gusty winds.  They quickly finished the demolition of the damaged and wobbly panels, leaving the sturdier ones in place until I get round to replacing the whole lot. 

The stack of rotten timber in the garage awaiting my next trip to the tip.  At least it won't get blown around any more.

On a brighter note - and on a day with actual sunshine - I photographed these Hellebores which have been in flower since January and despite everything that the weather has thrown at them, are still flowering now.  Tough little things, aren't they?

The Snowdrops have also withstood the worst of the weather though it's difficult to get a decent photo as they are in such a sheltered spot under various shrubs.

 "Please, please, please take me to the beach!" 

How could I resist? This was also before the storms arrived, though there was quite a stiff breeze on the beach that day.  Lovely to stand and watch the waves, though.

 One little dog who kept a wary distance from That Wet Stuff but thoroughly enjoyed galloping like a mad thing around the beach

 "YIPPEEEEEE!!!!!"

And finally - just a random car in the car park but the number plate made me smile.

A catch up.

Apologies for the 5 weeks that have elapsed since my last post but we have had some dire weather: constant heavy rain, gales, dark days and nothing much to entice anyone out of a warm home to walk around and take photos. 
However, home was brightened considerably when 100 sweetly-scented narcissi arrived - a beautiful present from one of my sons.

Benji provided some drama - after needing 2 visits to the vet (and a chunk of cash out of my purse) for attention to his chewed tail, needing antibiotics, steroids and a cone of shame, I was then advised that he needed urgent dental work.  So once recovered from the tail mishap, he went in for a full day to have 14 loose or decayed teeth removed. Poor lad.  He was very groggy for about 36 hours and came home with more antibiotics and a week's worth of painkillers.  Soft food for a few days, but then I realised that he never chews his little biscuits - he simply vacuums them up!  WHOOSH! and they are straight down his throat . . . so he was soon back to his normal diet.
The vet reckoned his loose teeth were as a result of a soft diet in his early years: judging by his reaction to a scraped plate, I suspect he was fed on his elderly owners leftovers, which might also explain his former obesity.
He is back to normal again now apart from his daily Dentastix which I think would be a bit hard on his stitched gums.  He does have some teeth left (about 20) but it's taking a bit of getting used to arranging his tongue and mouth around them. 
Last week, I had my annual Eye Assessment to check that diabetes hadn't damaged them (still awaiting the results from my surgery but hopeful that all is well) and the car has thankfully passed its MOT without too much in the way of repairs. 
So we're all fit and well!!! Here's to some sunshine so that we can get out and about - with camera. 

Show Me the Way to go Home . . . . please!

My home village is on the edge of Bodmin Moor, an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

It's a fascinating place to walk with the ever-changing scenery and the presence of the animals that roam freely; sheep. ponies and cattle as well as the wild creatures that live there.

Gorgeous views at all times of the year but thanks to all the rain we've 'enjoyed' in recent weeks it's n now rather squelchy and muddy underfoot - definitely requiring wellingtons or stout boots and a keen lookout for where to place your feet.

Benji is fully recovered now and the plastic cone has been banished, so I took him for his afternoon walk, along with a friend's dog, Goldie the Golden Labrador.  Both were on extending leads - Benji because he would chase after sheep if given a chance - and Goldie because she kept stopping to look back in the direction of the car park and I was worried she would double back to look for her owner. Despite the restrictions on galloping all over the place, we all enjoyed the walk and it was good to catch up with several of the regular dog-walkers - and my two reprobates were glad to cadge biscuits from the other dog-walkers!

However, I was keeping an eye on the failing light so decided to head back towards the car.  Then a friend called out to me, made a fuss of the dogs and started to chat . . and we chatted . . . and chatted until I realised that it really was getting dark.  A hasty goodbye and on we went towards the car park.  It was impossible to see the mud and the uneven ground so I was quite worried about losing my footing. In films, the clever dogs would unerringly take their beloved master/mistress back to the car and safety . . . I didn't have those dogs!  One was sniffing and trailing in one direction, the other pulling in the opposite direction. 

Most of the Moor is covered in bracken and there are grassy tracks criss-crossing the ground used by animals and walkers alike, but as the darkness deepened it was easy to wander from the tracks.  At one stage I was panicking because I had expected to come across a leaning thorn tree which marked the junction of two paths and the place to turn towards home.  Should I retrace my steps and try to find it or carry on a bit further?  I carried on and shortly came to that tree.  Phew! From there, it was much easier, though I was slipping and sliding all over the track where it was well-used near the car parking area.  Such a relief to climb the last little slope and see headlights of a few cars on the road that follows the edge of the Moor. Oh my - such a relief to get the dogs safely in the car and head home.

Lesson learned - get clear of the Moor well before darkness falls and carry a TORCH!