Life in Lockdown - Day 26 & 27

It didn't take us long to fill that empty space, did it?

Lockdown or not, my daily beauty routine is the same as any normal day. 

I wash my face with Himalaya soap (India's leading beauty brand, I stock up when I'm there) and apply Superdrug's Vitamin E Radiance Moisture Cream. I've had my eyebrows tattooed twice since 2005 but they've faded over the years so I use Barry M's brow kit - it's three years old and still going strong. Next is Barry M's Bold waterproof eyeliner and then Feature Length mascara in black (also by Barry M). I love this mascara so much that I've not used false eyelashes since December! Sleek's creme blusher in Crimson has been discontinued so I buy it from eBay. Maybelline's SuperStay Matte Ink is probably the best lip colour I've ever used, it really does stay put (I wore it to cross the desert, slept in it and still woke up with it intact) - my current favourite is "Ruler" which I buy from an eBay seller for half the retail price although the brilliant orange "Heroine" is my go-to India lippie. When the day's done, I remove my eye make-up and lipstick with Nivea eye make-up remover, wash my face with Superdrug's Vitamin E Hot Cloth Cleanser and moisturise with good, old fashioned Nivea in a tin (something else I buy in India, it's less than a quid).

Wednesday's first job was to sand down the flagpole and repaint the bits that someone who shall remain nameless had decided to pick up wearing his gardening gloves when the varnish was still tacky!

Spot the cat. By mid-morning, the heat had finally returned and the felines sought shade.

On opening the greenhouse we were thrilled to discover that the cucumbers and gherkins had sprung into life.

Jon filled the gaps in the flagstones where the wood store had been with gravel,

And planted some kidney weed seed, a tortoise delicacy apparently.

After our lunchtime noodles, I sat in the sunshine and cut up some fabric from my stash ready for my next patchwork project.

Thanks for that, Frank!

We've had a few mirrors scattered around the garden for years, but decided that they'd be better grouped together, so Jon set to work drilling holes and swapping the wire hangers to something more stable. Not sure what was going on with this photo, but I'm liking the effect!

After a walk around the block, we emptied the household bins into the wheelie bins, leaving messages of support for the bin crew.

For tea Jon made pizza using a no yeast pizza dough:

Serves 2

350g Plain Flour

2 3/4 tsp Baking Powder

1 tsp Salt

1 tbsp Oil

170ml Water

Toppings of your choice (in our case pesto, gherkins, tomatoes, peppers, onions and grated cheese)

• Heat the over to 200°C/Gas 6
• Mix together the flour, baking powder and salt in a small bowl, add the oil and water and mix until it forms a ball. If stiff, add more water, it should be soft but not sticky.
• Knead on a floured surface for 3 - 4 minutes. Roll into 2 balls, then flatten out.
• Add toppings and bake each on a baking sheet for 15 minutes.

As it was Wednesday we had a few rum and colas and watched the Channel Four series' My Grandparents' War on catch-up. We'd previously watched the episode with Mark Rylance and last night it was the turn of Helena Bonham-Carter, Carey Mulligan and Kristen Scott Thomas.

Thursday (day 27) started with the usual Wii Fit and fruit and yoghurt breakfast then we watched with tears in our eyes as 99-year-old Captain Tom Moore completed the 100th lap of his garden, raising over £13million for the NHS. What a truly inspirational man. After seeing Frank decimating the catmint in the garden earlier I ordered a new plant from an online nursery and cut up the remainder of my fabric for my future patchworking project (which I'm saving for a rainy day).

I watered the pot plants and discovered that the cress I'd sewn in the cola bottle planter on Saturday had sprouted. I'm looking forward to egg and cress sandwiches very soon.

The postman arrived with a parcel from Liz containing some seeds and a mask she'd made me from the offcuts of my Treetops dress I was wearing (HERE).

I planted some of the kohl rabi in Liz's parcel along with some exotic salad leaves and more aubergine as the last batch had rotted. I knew the plastic packaging from the blueberries and grapes would come in handy. And don't worry, I haven't started boozing in the heat of the day, those vintage plastic cocktail stirrers are perfect for plant labels!

These composite stepping stones have been in Stonecroft's garden since my Grandparents lived here. At one point they ran across the lawn but we moved them to this bed about ten years ago. Frank struggles to cross the gravel so we thought we'd reposition a few to make his journey easier.

And as a barefoot gardener, I'm also happy, I don't need to put my shoes on to cross over to the garden now!

This 1960s barkcloth Hawaiian maxi is one of my festival staples, rather than hide it away till next year I'm bloody wearing it!

I sat in the sun and read a few more chapters of my marvellously atmospheric Scandi Noir,

 Jon set to work lifting the old slabs by the wood store and repositioning them.

Once he'd done the donkey work I grabbed my trowel and gave him a hand uprooting the weeds that grow between the slabs. The soil is full of rubble so tomorrow he'll rake it through and remove the worst of the debris. Hopefully, this will become another veg bed.

Today's buried treasure was the spout of a teapot, possibly some red glazed stoneware made down the road in The Potteries.

When I showed you the apple tree a fortnight ago there were a couple of green shoots, now there are the beginnings of blossom. Spring really is upon us.

After our frittata and salad, we'll be paying tribute to our wonderful key workers. The saucepan is out!

How's lockdown going with you? What have you been up to?

Stay safe & see you soon!