Still Shocked

Fifitr - teeth are much improved, but I'm feeling wrung out. I think it's just the after effects. 

I suppose I was always going to be into football. I don't follow it now, not really. There may be a hint here and there that I support Liverpool (close call that I'm still saying that after the farce of the Super League), and that I watch England.

I grew up on the Wirral, technically in Cheshire but within sight of the Merseyside border. You were Liverpool, Everton or atheist (a few lost souls followed Tranmere Rovers, but we didn't talk about that). Father was a semi pro footballer in the fifties, played for the Army, coached and managed teams and at one point he had the job of going around and scoring referees. You see, back in the seventies and eighties, someone like father would travel to a local(ish) club and observe the referee and to record how they did. I don't know if they do it now. 

DH isn't interested in football, and, to be honest, neither is bear. I think bear is okay with playing football, but less interested in watching. I also like watching tennis. I don't know anything about it, but I love watching it. Again, DH and bear are not very keen. I'm not so bothered about the Tour de France, although I think brother follows it a little. So while I'm happy with the sport being on, I can imagine that Amazon Prime is a real help right now. I'll have to check out that show.

There is a lot more light in the garden. There is such a difference now that those bushes have been cut back. I don't think that they needed to go back so drastically, but at least it's safe for vans now. I suppose it's so severe so that it doesn't need doing again for another twenty years. I really need to get out there, but so tired at the moment. I have the residual energy to go downstairs after this and drag bear's shirts out of the dryer and that's about it. I got a pic of the jasmine earlier. It's travelled around ten or twelve feet and spilled over to around the lamppost.

I'm pretty sure that this is wild mustard. It's a local weed and it's definitely not growing there deliberately but it looks lovely and cheerful. 

Hugs and good health to all.

I Can't Believe It!

 I've just seen the football. England won! They won without extra time and penalties! They actually won!

And it's too early for me to drink as well. I've watched it sober. It's just as well, or I would have thought I was hallucinating. I'm definitely having a drink later.

And they came and sorted out the trees.

Before

Now

They have made a bit of a mess of them. They are seriously hacked back. I don't think it did the trees any good. But I can now get down the street. There is a lot more light coming through as well. I think that the guys that came seriously underestimated how much they would cut back. They took away a large trailer of chippings and still left a pile by the brambles. 

And I have a bot in my facebook messenger trying to sell me something. I've just sent a link to the Curse that the Bishop of Glasgow laid on the border reivers. It's a cracker. I love messing with bots. I like seeing how it works. I am not sure that I entirely believe in the curse, but I enjoy the thorough language. The Bishop was very upset. They don't quite know all the terms I'm using, so I'm having fun. 

Today has been pretty good!

Hugs and good health to all. 

Getting Better

Heather - I never thought of using the sprayer with a wide spray, so thank you! I've now got several promising courgettes and no idea when to harvest them. I really need to get some feed into the garden.

Today has been an odd sort of day. I had a bad night, so tried to get forty winks after the school run, but the postman came. I was a little worried about being too tired to drive, so I topped up with vats of caffeine. Then back to the dentist who couldn't do anything. I still think that they are awesome and the tooth is feeling a lot better. The appointment was at 11am though, so I drove home, then out, then home, then out to pick up bear, then home, then out to the climbing club, then home. Tomorrow I need to be more productive.

On the bright side, bear seemed happy about his exams. He has a couple every day this week. I've offered to take him climbing any day after school to take his mind off things, but I don't know if he will bother. He looked shattered after climbing tonight.

I have so many things to do tomorrow. I'm going to crawl off and get an early night.

Hugs and good health to all. 

Gardening May Have Happened.

Sharon - it's hard putting yourself out there. But you have already shown amazing courage sharing photos and crafts - and you are awesome!

The courgettes have aphids and mildew. I consulted the internet and apparently the best way to deal with the aphids is to squirt fierce streams of soapy water at them and wash them off. I took some pics.

Before

The squirt gun that I bought on an impulse (with a fairly fierce jet for a £2 Tesco special)

The squirt gun after battle

Afterwards. I think I got most of them, but I noticed one or two bewildered ants.

Next week, when I have a sunny day, I need to spray them with milk and water for the mildew. Fortunately all the street believe I'm insane anyway, so I have no reputation to lose. I think that I may end up with half a dozen courgettes after vast amounts of stress and strain after buying a plant that cost more than the equivalent in courgettes from the shop. I also need to feed all the plants as well. The tomatoes are looking very sickly. As you may guess, I'm not really clued up with gardening. 

Bear has Schrodinger's Cough. Schrodinger's cat is the thought experiment where the cat could be either alive or dead and no-one will know unless you open the box. Bear's cough depends on whether or not there is a doctor's appointment booked. Last week he had an awful, soggy sounding cough. I booked an appointment for Friday. The cough disappeared so I cancelled the appointment. The very next day, the cough kicked off again.

To be honest, I think it's just a cold type thing and not serious. I will, of course, keep an eye on him, but he's in high school where social distancing is something of a myth and the weather hasn't been good. He has exams all next week, so I shall make a fuss of him. 

Hugs and good health to all. 

Calm Continues

Fifitr - Bear did once forget to tell us about a performance he was in and I found out from a phone call from the drama teacher on the day. That was a few years ago. I have accepted that I can only guess at half of what he gets up to, sometimes by working out from his school notes that are online. He has exams all next week, so I'll let him off a lot. I was never really interested in drama. I turned up when I thought I should, but the thought of people looking at me filled me with horror. I'm only good at being an extrovert with words, from the safety of a screen. 

Tooth continues, though not so bad today. Also, the sink that was mended yesterday is still leaking, though nowhere near as badly.

One of the reasons I blog is that it helps me look for the bright side. I know that I am lucky, even with toothache. It's good to jog my memory and nudge me to appreciate all that is good. Today has been wonderfully quiet. I've done a little knitting, watched bear play a very calm and quiet computer game and generally hung out with the men. DH cooked dinner and it was good.

Hugs and good health to all. 

Tooth Continues

Sharon - thank you. I have an appointment Monday.

Tooth continues v bad. I'm in bits. On the bright side, my sink is fixed.

Another bright side is that I haven't gone near eBay while on codeine. This is a relief to everyone. It is probably especially a relief to the delivery drivers. Tesco today got the van caught in the branches.

I took a pic yesterday (I think - codeine is hitting hard) and thought I'd share.

If you look, there should be red and white jasmine and honeysuckle, all together.

Hugs and good health to all.

Tooth!

I should be able to get to the dentist next week. Currently in a bad way.

I didn't go on the walk, as it was raining. I called in at the farm shop, however, and got a bad pic of a cute alpaca and some salt and pepper chicken for dinner.

I've been pottering around gently, but I managed a run to the tip before picking up bear. I only had a few bags, but it's twelve days until the black bin is collected again, and I can see it overflowing!

Bear got a gold certificate from school for a good number of positives. It would be great if he had told us this! I only found out because he left a pile of rubbish out and it was in there. 

Fifitr - I forgot to say, I LOVE foxgloves. When I was around six or seven, we went on a holiday and I had a ladybird book on identifying wildflowers. Foxgloves were the only ones around that were in season and I was thrilled to find a few at the back of the caravan site. 

Hugs and good health to all.