The Distancing Diaries - Day 152 & 153

Wednesday (day 152) was abysmal weather-wise, after my Wii Fit session and breakfast I got as far as the compost bin when the rain started and continued for the rest of the day. Jon popped out for supplies while I sorted out some paperwork relating to Dad's estate. In October it'll be five years since he died and there's still loose ends that need tying up. The form I'd spent the best part of an hour filling in needed his National Insurance number, which I couldn't find, but after an web chat with an advisor from the tax office, I was assured that a copy would be sent out within the next 15 working days.

The previous day we'd received the terribly sad news that one of our gang had died. We'd not seen Darren for a few years but throughout our 20s, 30s and 40s we'd shared many a lairy night out (& all-dayer), numerous gigs, parties, curries and a handful of Xmas days. During the 2000s he & girlfriend Cheryl joined us & Gilbert at Indietracks a couple of times. 

RIP Darren. Punk to the end.

Getting dressed on Wednesday morning, I finally admitted to myself that the dress I was planning to wear was far too big. What better activity on a thoroughly miserable day than sewing with 6Music for company?

 

It was an involved job, the bodice needed taking in by 4 inches which meant that to do it properly I needed to unpick the sleeves and the skirt.....but it's not like I had to be anywhere else.

With a break for noodles I continued for the rest of the day, finally getting a dress that fitted as well as its twin, the India Imports of Rhode Island maxi I'd worn instead. Jon dealt with the engineer from the boiler company who was able to fix the problem there and then, as he'd got the right part on his van. Jon celebrated by putting the heating on, it was cold!

All my sewing stuff was acquired secondhand, from the Frister & Rossmann machine (£8, car boot sale), to the wooden spools of thread, pins, notions and needles. How I miss the car boot sales where I could buy battered old biscuit tins crammed with sewing bits for pennies.

Tea was a potato and okra curry served with half a coriander nan and a very tasty Vegilantes bhaji basket, which Jon had spotted on special offer in Morrisons when he'd been shopping earlier. 

Accompanied by a few glasses of rum we watched the final episode of Monty Don's Around The World in 80 Gardens in South East Asia, squealing with excitement when he visited Pura Taman Ayun, the 18th Century temple we'd visited in Bali back in 1999.

What a difference a day makes. After being woken up several times in the night by the torrential rain and wind rattling the window frames, Thursday (day 153) couldn't have been lovelier. After my Wii Fit session and our fruit & yogurt we joined Frank on the bench for coffee in the sunshine on the patio.

The My Hermes man sighed when he turned up with a parcel saying that he was green with envy at our lazy start to the day. We offered him a seat and a mug of coffee but he had seventy parcels to deliver before lunchtime.

A parcel? Oh yes! Can you believe I'd bought something new, online from a British high street chain? Don't pass out! During lockdown I'd identified a gap in my wardrobe, a strappy 100% cotton cami to wear with my many block printed skirts. A random goggle led me to this Indian-made beauty with inset lace panels. As it was in the sale I decided to buy the ivory version as well. 

The fit was perfect (loose without being baggy and unflattering) and the shape was just right, finishing just above the hip bone without an elasticated waist, & I wore it straightaway along with the vintage Anokhi skirt I'd altered at the weekend, my new-to-me silver Lotta clogs and a Kuchi tribal necklace I'd bought in Jaisalmer back in January.

Our plan for the morning was to pop into town as we needed limescale remover for the new washing machine, white thread and wood filler along with a birthday card for Al.

Needless to say we came back with more than we'd bargained for! A philodendron (which I repotted as soon as I got home) & a selection of bulbs from Wilkos.

 

And, of course, we had to call into the clearance charity shop as we'd parked outside, leaving with some white shorts (for Jon), more books (the bottom two are my choice) and a three metre long poly tunnel. Total spend £5.

We'd just finished our noodles when Liz phoned to check we were in and we sat in the garden and chatted over tea. She & Al are off camping for his birthday weekend, keep your fingers crossed that the weather is more like today than yesterday's washout.

The rest of the afternoon was spent in the garden. I dragged the brown garden waste bin into the avenue, cut back the brambles hanging perilously from the hedge & threatening to have a passer-by's eye out. I raked the gravel and harvested some dwarf French beans to toss into our salad later.

Jon got stuck in, clearing space in the veg patch to plant his onions.

I gathered some windfall apples from our scabby old tree and picked some damsons to stew & serve with our breakfast fruit.

A few people had mentioned that it had started to feel like Autumn. I'm having none of it, just look at all this spectacular SUMMER colour in our garden!

Tea was posh pizza with salad accompanied by a cheeky can of G&T. We're all out of Monty now so we're back to The Lawyer, we're ready for more Scandi Noir.

Stay safe, thanks for reading & see you soon!