Life in Lockdown - Day 60 & 61

Tuesday (day 60) started in the usual way with a Wii Fit session, it had rained for most of the previous night and when I popped outside to refill the birdbath I could see new signs of life in the beds.

After catching up with blogs and our fruit & yoghurt breakfast, Jon announced that he was off to the coal house to reorganise his tools. How many saws does a man need?

I decided that, with the temperature set to rocket later, I could safely pack away my boots.

I don't usually do this as I need boots for festival season but, now they've all cancelled, I'm safe to pack them away until the Autumn.

I swept the floor, scrubbed down the skirting board and gave everything thorough dusting.

The shoe rack - which long time readers might recognise as the Utility shelf that used to hang on the bathroom wall before we redecorated last year - now houses my Lottas.

And the Ghanaian basket contains my sandals & Indian chappals.

I removed my velvet scarves leaving my silk ones suspended from the scarf holder, which Jon made from garden wire and cup hooks.

The contents of the wardrobe remain the same, I was still wearing my Afghan a few days ago.

After reading my friend Betty's blog post first thing this morning, I followed suit and put a few of our houseplants outside in anticipation for the promised sunshine which, by 11am, had burst free from the clouds. 

After I'd pegged out the washing, I watered the plants on the patio and set about repotting the Dragon Tree which I've had for years and, after months of looking sickly and spindly, has flourished with all the love and attention I've lavished on it during the lockdown. 

After our noodles, I checked the Kinky Melon bank account and was amazed to see that the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme payment had already gone through. I never expected that.

I celebrated with my favourite Indian tea and tested out my new reusable tea bag, which gets the thumbs up!

Jon spent the afternoon tinkering with Ebbie.

Me, on the other hand, changed into a bikini, slapped on factor 30 and read my book in the garden. And how about this for a coincidence? My book is set in the Iranian city of Isfahan and I'm lounging on a Ghalamkar bedspread, the style of Persian textile printing which originated in Isfahan three hundred years ago. How do I know? It's stamped "Ghalamkar, Isfahan, Iran" on the back. A jumble sale find way back in the noughties.

The lads kept a watchful eye on me.

Book finished, washing & houseplants put away, and the car and the coal house locked up and it was time for our tea, a veggie burger in a salt and pepper bap (found in the depths of the freezer) with salad, which included rocket and lettuce from the greenhouse.

Entertainment was the final two episodes of Fenix that we'd intended to watch the previous evening until we realised that there was another episode of Age of the Image we'd missed. As I'd finished A Good Place To Die in the garden earlier I started another book when I went to bed.

After my Wii Fit session today (day 61) I took all my houseplants outside to give them a good dose of sunshine, noticing that the first Oriental poppy of the season had burst into life.

My garden's a jungle...

Free from the usual clutter of plants I cleaned the kitchen windowsill and when Jon got up we had our usual fruit and yoghurt.

After breakfast, we wrapped Frank in a towel and tried to get a good look at his mouth as we'd noticed he'd been dribbling for a couple of days and was a bit out of sorts. Unable to get any closer, Jon called the vets who suggested he brought Frank to the surgery but, with the vets having to observe social distancing, Jon would have to hand Frank over at the door and sit and wait in the van until the vet had examined him.

Jon arrived home half an hour later, without Frank. Due to him living as a stray for the first part of his life, his teeth have never been great but it appeared that several of his teeth were badly infected and needed to be removed under anaesthetic. The vet hoped to proceed after blood tests and would call us later to let us know when we could collect him.

I do what I always do in a crisis and threw myself into a frenzy of activity. I pulled out everything from under the spare room bed, swept the rug and put it all back neatly (our travel bags, a suitcase full of dressmaking patterns, a doll's house extension and a Victorian top hat in a box).

A couple of years ago Jon & I had decoupaged this unicorn head, added some ridiculous pink false lashes and gilded her horn. I thought it was about time I displayed her in the bathroom.

Outside I added a few more plants to my Ikea lampshade planters and then gave everything a thorough watering, including Jon & the houseplants.

Inspired by Beate's plaits and headscarf I followed suit, tying one of my vintage Indian silk screen-print scarves around my head. The 1990s Diesel cut-offs, Boden bikini (I'm wearing the bottoms under my shorts ready to strip down to once my tasks were complete) and oversized '70s sunglasses were all charity shopped.

Like me, Jon's not one for sitting around dwelling on stuff. He continued working on Ebbie and planted some Rosedale lettuce seeds before making our lunchtime noodles.

After lunch, we lay in the sunshine with Stephen Squirrel who, by 3pm, had suddenly realised that the family unit was incomplete.

Jon's just brought Frank home, he's had 5 teeth removed and is currently hiding under the bed in the spare room, I'm glad I cleaned it earlier.

Tea will be a paneer curry with a garlic and coriander nan, accompanied by a beer and followed with rum and cola in front of The Great British Sewing Bee, we need it after today!

Stay safe, keep healthy and be positive.