Getting Through A Very Rainy Day

 Yesterday felt like a bit of a right off in many ways because of the weather so I kept busy inside. I designed my new pin board for the caravan which I am really thrilled with and just hope it turns out as nicely as I had planned and ordered the new item I need for the old Robert's radio. I will definitely be taking it to a repair cafe when all they start up, but until then I'm keeping my fingers crossed my plan works. I just hope my brain waves work! I get these ideas, usually when I'm out walking the dogs and have time to think and often they come to nothing but sometimes they work out well. I love it though as I feel so enthusiastic about things when an idea comes to me and it can get me through the darkest of rainy days. I often see items on the news about mindfulness and relaxation and I always think that's not really for me. It's new ideas and being busy that get me through. 

For a short time in the afternoon the sun came out and I went out and fed the birds, changed the ducks pool and checked the greenhouse. All this wet weather has really brought the slugs out and I have to do a snail and slug "sweep" in there every day as they have been munching on some of the seedlings. I carry them out and dump them in the hedge at the end of the garden, no doubt for them to return the next day, I'm sure I recognise some of them! I have bought my cosmos and sun flower seedlings into the house as I have lost so many. This reminds me why I should try to grow plants in the garden that slugs and snails just ignore, it is so much less trouble, I have to battle through with my dahlias yet! After only an hour this was what the sky looked like as I was returning into the house.

Within five minutes and after a large clap of thunder that set Layla off barking and barking this was the sight in the garden. I was very glad I got inside in time.

It looks like it is going to be another day of rain today, I can't believe I was moaning about how dry the garden was in April. Tom is off work for two days and he has a spot at the dump booked tomorrow as we are getting rid of my Dad's old microwave for him. He is obsessed with getting the loft tidied up which I can't really be bothered with as we can't see it. I have managed to get so much sorted out in the house during lockdown and now the boxes have all gone to the charity saleroom, I'd rather not have to sort out any more for a while but I suppose it is a way of passing this rainy day. I hope everyone has a lovely Sunday and you manage to avoid this heavy rain we are having. xx

Adapting So Well And New Ideas

 The weather wasn't very nice all day yesterday so I spent most of it working on my photo website. There is always a lot of sorting out to do and adding of photos. I have a local area section and have so many local photos to add I have taken in the last year of "coronavirus related" subjects. People queuing, signs, mask wearing. All sorts of things that we couldn't have believed would become normal just 18 months ago. Sorting through the photos it made me realise how incredibly we have adapted.

I have got into a bit of a routine while trying out these £4 "Too Good To Go" bags this week. I walk down to the M&S local at the petrol station at 9pm, collect my bag and meet Tom off the bus as this is the time he has been finishing this week. Last night youngest daughter said she would walk down with me but she wanted to pop into the Co-op first. As only 8 people are allowed into the Co-op at a time at the moment and I didn't want to get mixed up with the people queuing I stood a little bit up the road waiting for her. It was so interesting watching people's behaviour. People were pulling up in their cars and effortlessly popping on their masks as they stood at the end of the queue, happily standing two metres apart (I would have struggled to estimate two metres at the beginning of this but now it is easy!) and entering the shop when one person left. How wonderful we all are I thought. We adapt so cheerfully really, I know there are exceptions which the news loves to report, but on the whole all I have seen is people politely going about their day and fitting in. Who would have thought a traffic light system would be operating at a local petrol station.

I often think when I see reports of World War 2 and the blitz spirit how wonderful people were in those days. My Dad who grew up in Liverpool during the war, which was terribly badly affected by bombing, loves to tell us stories of how they all adapted. From his Mum planting a beautiful garden on top of their air raid shelter so it blended into the garden to the other terrible times of calling out "He's dead Miss" to the teacher when she was calling the school register after a bad night of bombing.  Although of course we can't compare this situation to how bad it was during a war in another way we can. Between 40,000 and 43,000 civilians were killed in the Blitz during WW2, approximately a third of the people who have died from coronavirus in this country, yet still we carry on with our days, cheerfully (well mostly!) Maybe one day people will be talking about the "coronavirus spirit" to a certain extent they already are, celebrating all the people who have volunteered and helped, but just living a "normal" life is important to me. I don't mind following the rules but I want my family to be happy and still enjoy their days as much as possible. Eldest son phoned last night, he is working so hard on this government contract driving people to and from quarantine hotels but of course he has no idea when it might just suddenly end. It is impossible to plan but as he said he is simply going to take one day at a time, which is all we can do really. 

It's raining here this morning and it looks like it will be on and off for the whole weekend which is a shame but I have lots to get on with. I have given up trying to fix my 1970s Robert's radio. I have tried everything, trawling through YouTube videos and online radio fixing forums (yes there really is such a thing!) but not a sound. I have another plan for it now which I hope will work out soon. I also had another idea how I would make a unique board at the caravan to display our old caravan club badges we collected in the 1960s. I have given up trying to find a retro looking pin board as they are either too expensive or too big and will be working on my new idea today. Hopefully I will be sharing my success's not failures with these ideas later next week! Have a lovely day everyone and I hope it doesn't rain on you all day. xx

The Young Have Arrived

 It was another lovely sunny day yesterday after another cold start. Poor Tom, leaving at 5am everyday at the moment has to wear a warm coat and then spends the rest of the day having to lug it about. I decided I would try and fix the Roberts Radio. In the end I used a plastic wire connector to connect the new battery terminal wires and it worked, the radio has power and it switches on! However very disappointingly I still can't get any sound. The must be something else wrong with it. I'm not giving up yet though, I'm going to do a google search to see if I can find out what else the problem may be and another search on trusty YouTube. 

In the afternoon I gardened and weeded and cut back. The garden waste bin is collected tomorrow and am I the only person who feels that because I have paid for it to be collected, it must be full! While I was "slaving away" as youngest daughter called it, she lay on the sun lounger working on her tan and giving me a running commentary of what the wildlife was doing. Our vixen has kept a very low profile in the last few days but the male fox has been up and down all the time. While we were out there she suddenly appeared. "Is that our vixen?" said youngest daughter. "She looks different" When I looked at her she stared back in the usual trusting way but she looked thinner and strangely dirty. She must have had her cubs. I wonder where they are they must be very close, probably just behind the fence I think. I set up my wildlife camera as really want to catch them on film as soon as they emerge out. Last year after the cubs were born the male fox disappeared completely for a few months so I'll be very interested to see if that happens again. Here is the male fox keeping an eye on us.

The other interesting observation youngest daughter noticed while she was lying there was the magpies are busy in and out of the nest now in the cherry tree so their eggs must have hatched. What I feared has happened and we appear to have no other small birds nesting in our garden this year because of them being there but I suppose they have a right to nest too. They have such a bossy way about them I do have to laugh.

It seems both sets of parents have had young over the weekend. It remains to be seen how well the next few months goes for them. I'm going to look into what food I can put out for the magpies to give to their young as if I can minimise the chance of them stealing young from other birds nests it must be for the good. 

It's quite overcast and chilly this morning and apparently we have more cold weather on the way. As my Mum used to say "Never cast a clout till May is out!" I'm going to be working this morning, then trying to fill the garden waste bin to capacity this afternoon. I hope everyone has a lovely day today what ever your plans. xx

Family Tree Coincidences And A New Hobby

 It was a really bright warm day yesterday after the cold start. I worked first thing in the morning and then planted a couple of butterfly bushes I have grown in pots from little seedlings that have just appeared in the garden as butterfly bushes do. I love them but you have to keep them a bit under control and we cut down an enormous one earlier this year that had just got away from us. I have planted the new one in the same spot, it may not flower this year but they do grow very quickly so we may be lucky. After an early lunch I went to my Dad's house. I often think, when I arrive at Epsom Downs station it is one of the most beautiful spots, especially on a sunny day.

It was so nice to be out and about and my Dad, my sister and I had a really lovely catch up and planned some open air outings. We decided it will be a perfect time to do some investigating in our family tree which we chatted about all afternoon. I have been studying it for years and have recently found some incredible coincidences on my Dad's side. We couldn't quite believe it when it came to light and we said if it was written in a book no one would believe it could happen. Later in the week we are going to a nearby church to have a look around the graveyard. My Dad joked things have got bad when he's looking forward to a trip round a graveyard. He also joked that at nearly 90 people will think he's choosing his plot! I'm just looking forward to us all spending some time together and uncovering more of the mystery. I'll write more about it soon. 

Another really exciting thing that happened yesterday was my very kind brother-in-law has given me his spare butane gas blow torch. I have had my old Robert's radio that I used to listen to as a teenager, for years. It doesn't work as the battery connectors have become corroded. I have contacted a few places and they have said they don't mend these old radios, I've even been on to Roberts themselves with no success and I have been looking at repair cafe's but none of them seem to be open because of the pandemic. I would love to be able to get this radio working again, so I have been studying Youtube videos and have decided to give it a go myself. I have bought some new battery connectors on ebay but first I'm going to be very careful and try out the blow torch on a broken brooch I bought at a jumble sale, then I'm hoping to progress to the radio. If I master it I have all kinds of things I want to give a try. The blow torch has it's instructions so it shouldn't be too hard to work out. I'm really looking forward to a new hobby.

It's another sunny day today and Tom is off work. We're going to have a bit of a relaxing day as tomorrow we have a few things planned to do that will keep us busy. I'm going to sort out another couple of boxes for the charity salesroom though today as we have got some more boxes down from the loft (does it never end up there!) and of course I'm off to find a cannister of butane gas! I hope everyone has a lovely day what ever you are doing. xx

Seed Planting And Funeral Thoughts

 I had quite a busy day around the garden yesterday. One job I started on was the step for the caravan. I had stupidly imagined that it would be a really quick job however it took me a long time to rub all the rust off, but the worst was scraping off the old brittle rubber mat on the top. It took me over an hour of scraping with an old knife and  rubbing it down with sand paper in between. The vixen came out from behind the shed to see what was going on and sat watching me, about ten feet away, for a while. I chatted to her while I worked and she stared at me, sitting there like a dog. I did notice while she was sitting her stomach looked really big. I wondered where she will be giving birth as since a house is being built in the garden but one from us I think their territory has shrunk in the last year, one of the reasons they spend so much time in our garden. By the evening I had painted the stand, so just the top to cover now and it will be ready.

I spent a while planting some more seeds in the greenhouse. I planted some sunflowers and some hollyhocks. I have lots of hollyhock plants from seeds my sister gave me last autumn, to plant out when the risk of frost has passed and these will all probably be red, we think. The variety I planted today are called Good Golly Miss Holly and are a mix of "vibrant colours" so they should add some more colour to the border, if they flower this year. If not it will be something to look forward to next year. The sun flowers are a giant variety which can grow up to 9 feet! I doubt very much these will do that well but I'm still looking forward to seeing how they grow. 

After I had finished and was inside having a cup of tea with youngest daughter, our eldest daughter phoned to say Scarlett had got into their first choice of Primary school for September and then the doctor's surgery phoned to book my second coronavirus jab for next Saturday. It was a coincidence as I had just been saying I was looking forward to having it done, and with the news the figures of coronavirus positive tests are at their lowest since September it felt like a really cheerful day. When I went down to the shops yesterday evening I saw our lovely local florist had decorated their shop for spring. All our local shops have worked so hard keeping their windows looking pretty despite being closed and it is really nice to see them open again. 

I was thinking a lot about the Queen and the royal family last night. That terrible night before a family funeral, they must be heartbroken, particularly the poor Queen . They are no different than the rest of us, they have lost a loved one and must be dreading today and the whole thing is going to be in front of the world's media, who will be looking for any look or sign of a drama to make a big thing of. I really feel for them and even though I have a lot to catch up with today, I intend to watch the funeral. It is a moment in our history. It's a lovely morning so I better get going with all the things I want to get finished. I hope everyone has a lovely Saturday and enjoys some of this lovely sunshine. xx

Recycling, Upcycling And Turf Wars

 I've realised I get much less done when Tom is on a late shift. For seven days he is leaving for work just after an early lunch and getting back in at 11pm. I don't seem to get much started in the morning on these days, especially as youngest son and daughter are both still home from work for the Easter holidays. By the time I had tidied up and had a chat over a cup of coffee, most of the morning had gone and I had missed the sunshine as it went in and became quite cold again. One thing Tom and I were chatting about was something we saw on Breakfast Television about charity shops. Apparently they have been inundated with donations that they can barely cope with. They haven't the space for all the stuff people have been clearing out during lockdown and as was our experience, they have been turning people away. On Monday, so many people visited them across the country they took more money than any other day in their history. A reporter visited a massive charity shop in Bristol that even had a cafe on it's premises, it looked like my idea of a good afternoon out and I usually hate going to shops! Shame Bristol is so far away.

I love buying second hand. I love the feeling something has a history and while there are perfectly good second hand items I can't bring myself to buy new.  It's not just buying second hand, I'm an obsessional fixer. I really enjoy making old things work again. I get much more pleasure from fixing an old broken item than I ever could from spending lots of money on a new one. The lampshade I ordered arrived today for the 1970s lamp I rewired a while ago. Handmade from 1970s material I thought it would be perfect for it. All totally recycled.

Another item I started repairing today was a step for the caravan. I feel embarrassed to admit we put this tatty old thing outside our caravan door last year. Tom wanted to throw it out and buy a new one but I am determined to do it up. It's an original old feature of the caravan, probably from when the caravan was new, and because of that I want to try and keep it. I'm hoping in a few days no one will recognise it, I have big plans!

A strange thing that happened yesterday was some sort of territorial fox war is going on. Everything has been so calm in the garden for months, with our foxes plodding about, that it all came as a bit of a shock.  I was standing in the kitchen at about eight o'clock, just as it was starting to go dark, when I saw something moving in the flower bed, one of our foxes ran down the garden so fast it frightened me. I never see them run like that. There was the sound of crashing into fences and loud fox howling that went on and on. I ran out to see what was happening and the male fox was standing in next doors garden looking ruffled to say the least. There is definitely some sort of turf war going on. I'm not sure if an outsider is trying to move in on the territory or if the vixen is getting close to giving birth and the balance is upset. I'm going to keep a very close eye on them to see if I can work it out but it seems rather strange to be watching events in the garden that we have no way of influencing. It makes you realise nature is so much bigger than we are.

Scarlett is coming today and I'm sure will be delighted with our new dove, who is much more vocal than Dottie to put it mildly! Tom is here this morning so she will be thrilled to spend some time with her Grandad. I hope everyone has a lovely day what ever you are doing. xx