The Distancing Diaries - Day 42 & 43

Friday - our 42nd day in lockdown - started as all weekdays do with a Wii Fit session and yoghurt with fresh fruit. I sprayed the windowsill seedlings and put the artichokes outside on the step to start hardening them off. After I'd caught up with blog comments I got dressed and, as it was dry, I gave the pot plants a watering. Jon continued with his work on Gilbert.

Just as I'd finished I heard the gate creak open, it was the delivery driver from the garden centre dropping off our order. We observed safe distancing by waving and shouting our thanks.

I'd ordered another tray of pansies, some standard geraniums and the trailing variety which my friend Eileen had recommended I use in the pots we'd put on tressels against the mirrored wall.

As well as two sacks of compost which, you'll be glad to know, passed quality control.

Although the sky was looking rather ominous I decided to crack on and plant my trailing geraniums, lining the terracotta pots from our stash with broken crockery to add some weight and help drainage. The recycled lampshade containers are planted out with the geraniums we'd overwintered. They look like they've survived.

With Jon's assistance, I managed to get all twelve potted up before the heavens opened and we had to dash indoors for shelter.

Kos, 2018

To me, there's nothing more cheerful than a geranium in an old pot, they remind me of holidays in Greece.

After our lunchtime noodles, the rain finally relented so I rushed out and squeezed the new pansies into the window boxes I'd planted up last week.

 Meanwhile, in the kitchen, Jon did something he hadn't done in ages and made bread, a rather delicious Roman-style spelt loaf. We don't own any fancy kitchen gadgets, just a 20-year-old hand-held electric mixer with dough hooks, so it took him a while.

The postman arrived with a few treats, replacement cosmetics & nail paint from Barry M and a new pair of clogs. I know, I don't need any more clogs but when they're half price Lottas, resistance is futile.

If you're not already aware of them , Lotta from Stockholm's handmade clogs are produced by a Swedish family who has made clogs for over 100 years. The base is 100% alder, harvested from sustainable forests in Sweden, the leather is vegetable-dyed in Italy & the staples and skid-resistant rubber soles are made in Sweden. I've worn many types of clogs over the years (including that very expensive, rival Swedish brand) and Lottas are the most comfortable by far, hence the reason I own seven pairs.

I'm not being paid to say this, I just love Lottas!

In fact, testament to how comfy they are, I put them on and wore them to walk around the block. No rubbing, no pinching, no blisters! As you can see, the temperature has dropped dramatically, so I was back in my opaques and my 1970s navy suede sheepskin trimmed jacket.

What else was I wearing? An Anokhi block printed cotton midi dress I bought in Mumbai back in January.

Here I am, proudly carrying my Anokhi purchases.

I bought the Banjara crescent pendant from a Lamani tribeswoman in Goa back in the early noughties, the Indian bell earrings were my mum's.

Larry Poons, one of the artists featured in The Price of Everything, rose to prominence in the 1960s with his Op-Art dot paintings

Tea was the rest of Wednesday night's pizza with salad & homemade jacket wedges, accompanied by a cheeky can of G& T. Later we watched The Price of Everything, an interesting documentary about the 21st Century art world and, of course, we partook in a few rum & colas.

On Saturday (day 42) Jon got up first, brought mugs of tea back to bed and we read for an hour. We ate sausage sandwiches on Spelt bread for breakfast then Jon wrapped the remainder up and froze it as we don't eat a lot of bread these days. As it was dry, I stripped the bed, emptied the laundry basket, did a couple of washes and pegged everything out on the line. There was no rain forecast but the sky was looking decidedly ominous.

Today's outfit was a 1970s India Imports of Rhode Island block printed maxi dress (eBay, last year) with a Kuchi necklace I bought in Jaisalmer and some Turkomen silver earrings from eBay.

My lovely friend and keen grower, Sarah had recommended using seaweed plant feed which I'd managed to track down on eBay and it had been delivered a couple of days ago. I put the houseplants in the bath and gave them a good dousing and did the same with the patio plants outside.

Despite it being a dry day it wasn't particularly warm so, after I'd done what I needed to outside I sat at the PC and caught up with my blog comments, made the bed and scrubbed the bath as it was full of soil. The kohlrabi seeds I'd planted in modules on the kitchen windowsill were looking a bit droopy so I transplanted them outside with Jon making a Stephen-proof contraption to stop the little sod digging them up.

Jon popped round to our friend Tony's house to deliver a few supplies & to check up on him (whilst maintaining a safe distance). Our friend's late dad's best friend, who Tony had been shopping for up until a few days ago, died of Coronavirus on Thursday, the same day as a lovely lady we know from trading at festivals. It seems inconceivable that the government are talking about the country returning to work in a couple of weeks time when the pandemic feels closer than ever. RIP Brian & Jeanette. x

SOURCE

I've received two emails in the last couple of days, both from festivals we trade with every year. One let us know that they'd decided to cancel whilst the other is still hoping to go ahead. Don't get me wrong, I'd love for life to return to normal and to start earning money again, we're going to miss the festival season immensely but I'm not sure how confident I'd feel about trading if any were to go ahead.

We went for our daily walk around the block, then, as it was self-care Saturday I epilated my legs, stripped off my nail paint and deep conditioned my hair (and judging by the photo above, it was necessary!)

Have I mentioned how amazing Jon is? He's only managed to get some beer delivered. It's been two months today since I last had a lager and god, have I missed it!

After showers and a cheese salad tea, we sat outside with our beer keeping the cats' company and pretending it wasn't as cold as it was. Not sure what our plans are for tonight, but I can pretty much guarantee they'll involve a night in with alcohol and television.

Keep safe, stay positive & see you soon!