The Distancing Diaries - Day 102 & 103

Tuesday morning (day 102) was so dark and dreary that it was nearly 7am before I woke up. After my Wii Fit session, I sat at the PC catching up with comments wrapped up in a cardi as I'd left the front door open for the lads. When I took Jon his mug of tea they weren't outside as I'd thought, they were wrapped up with him, obviously as chilly as I was.

After our fruit and yoghurt breakfast, I cleaned the bathroom & mopped the floor before getting dressed. Jon grouted the tiles he'd fitted yesterday. I'm so happy with them!

 I planted up some basil, parsley & mustard seeds.

And gave the veg plants a liquid seaweed feed.

I'm wearing my 1970s Anokhi pinafore dress, a silk top made from a vintage sari, vintage Rajasthani earrings and an Afghan choker. In the days Before Corona (BC) at this time of year, I'd be carrying one of my vintage straw bags and wearing clogs, these days it's a galvanised watering can and bare feet.

Liz arrived bearing gifts, an iris she'd liberated from the lake and some books to add to our freebie pile (she & Al live on a nature reserve and rarely have passers-by). How times have changed! In the past, we'd have gone upstairs and rummaged through my wardrobe or rifled through the rails in the Kinky Shed. These days we sit outside, watch the birds and admire the patio plants.

After noodles, Jon got to work sawing the planks I'd selected from the woodpile on Sunday and gave them a coat of my DIY chalk paint. Meanwhile, I planted some carrots, fennel and kohlrabi in the patch I'd cleared the other day. To deter any naughty cats or marauding blackbirds I cut down some branches from one of our holly trees and laid them over my planting and to make doubly sure, added my Edwardian bird scaring device.

Our neighbour Florence popped over to grab a couple of Liz's old cookery books from the free pile. We chatted for a while and waved at her husband Ray (the breadmaker) who had been banished to their front bedroom with a paintbrush and a pot of paint. Like us, they're still finding plenty to do during lockdown.

After Jon had worked his magic in the kitchen with the planks he'd painted earlier, he planted the iris in the pond.

Tea was halloumi with roasted veg and potato wedges with a cheeky beer on the side. When Jon had ordered something from Amazon the other day he'd neglected to tick all the boxes so we've got Prime free for the month (it's easy to unsubscribe, he does it a lot). We took advantage of the streaming service and watched Black Book, an absorbing subtitled Dutch film based on the true story of a Jewish singer who became a spy for the resistance.

On Wednesday (day 103) I woke up at 6am to drizzle and was pleased that I'd dragged the garden waste bin out the previous evening rather than leaving it to the last minute. After catching up with blog comments I did my daily Wii Fit session before Jon joined me for fruit & yoghurt in the kitchen just after 8am.

The household chore of the day for me was to pull out the desk, scrub the radiator behind it, sweep the floorboards and clean the window frame. Computers are such dust magnets - or maybe it's just old houses with open fireplaces - I was sneezing like a thing possessed by the time I'd finished.

Once dressed, I turned 6Music on and sat beside the window in the spare room repairing the silk top I'd worn the previous day. It seems to be disintegrating at an alarming rate. At this rate, there'll be more boro mending than actual fabric.

I bought my top from a boutique in Jodhpur just around the corner from our haveli. Jon & I got on with the proprietor like a house on fire and we ended up spending ages weeping with laughter as he insisted on dressing me up in ridiculous outfits and making me pose for his Instagram account. His stock was ridiculously cheap already but he still insisted on giving me a whopping discount (the top was £2).

Meanwhile, Jon finished fitting the new kitchen lighting he'd started before his back got the better of him last week. There are six of these retro glass lamps in all. Considering we ordered them online, not being able to inspect them in person due to lockdown, we were thrilled when they turned up.

That's why I've run out of vintage tea towels, I can't bear to use them. I had to frame this Irish linen lobster!

After a break for homemade spelt bread sandwiches with spicy chutney flavoured Kukore,

I dragged the garden waste bin back through the gates and filled it ready for the next collection in a fortnight.

This morning's sharp showers meant that I didn't have to do any watering.

 I'm still anxiously awaiting the agapanthus - there are thirteen buds waiting to burst open. Two of the crocosmia have bloomed so far, hopefully, the rest won't be too far behind.

Jacob's rapidly on his way to becoming a self-sufficient tortoise. Dandelions and rocket are growing like mad in his new enclosure.

As Jon was busy with the next project, the lads followed me around, curious as to what I was up to and anxious to get in on the action.

 Another Anokhi day. Today it's the turn of the midi dress with the quilted bodice I bought in their Chowpatti shop in Mumbai back in February. It wasn't my first choice, I'd set my heart on an indigo blue dress with a metallic gold print but after I'd tried every XS dress in the shop, this and a maxi dress I've yet to wear were the clear winners. As is usual with Anokhi, it's fully cotton-lined with French seams. The sales assistant was horrified when I fastened the bodice's top two buttons, Madam, that's not the way to wear these dresses! Lesson learnt.

The Kuchi tribal pendant came from Jaisalmer.

Tea was a tin of baked beans and veggie sausages with a jacket potato and grated cheese. I'm not sure what we'll be watching later but I can guarantee it'll be accompanied by a few rum and colas, it's Wednesday, it's the law!

Stay safe, stay fabulous & see you soon.