The Distancing Diaries - Day 170 & 171

 On Sunday morning (day 170) the lads had me up just before 7am, anxious for breakfast and a stroll around the garden. I joined them for a walk up the lawn, made tea which I took back to bed and lay and read for an hour or so. We ate eggs with a slice of toast and sauteed mushrooms and watched the Andrew Marr Show, back after his summer hiatus.

I painted my nails at the kitchen table. In anticipation for the warm days we've got forecast this weeks colour is Barry M's Scuba, a summery colour if ever I saw one.

Jon popped round to Tony's and spent a few hours with him in his garden while I cracked on with repairing Kev's jeans.

After Jon returned we had noodles with a plan of getting our seeds sown afterwards but the rain started and it turned cold so we put it off for later in the week and instead researched the next few days of our proposed trip, booking a tiny apartment above a potter's studio in an ancient harbour town. 

WEARING: Vintage India Imports of Rhode Island block printed wraparound skirt & 1970s Indian gauze blouse by Oasis Trading, Afghan Kuchi earrings (all eBay), turquoise & coral pendant (India)

By now the rain had stopped so we went for a walk around the block. We'd hoped to find a few more conkers but it looked like the kids had beaten us to it. 

Sunday is hair washing day and my hair had been slathered in conditioner since I'd got dressed. After posing for an outfit photo, I decided to have an early shower. Normally I take one at around 5pm and, for the last few weeks, my hair's still been damp when I've gone to bed at 10.30pm leaving me with all manner of weird kinks when I get up the following morning.

Tea was half a pizza with sweet potato wedges. We watched Gone Fishing and joined George Clarke as he visited several National Trust properties including Snowshill Manor, where we'd been to last Tuesday. 

The arrival of Monday morning (day 171) meant the first Wii Fit session of the week and a return to fruit & yogurt for breakfast. When I checked eBay I saw that I'd sold a couple more items, the final of the lot I'd listed a few weeks ago as Buy It Nows - they've paid for Jon's new shorts, a few bits from Lush and a handful of tasty vintage pieces I've found on eBay (which I'll share when they arrive). I wrapped the sales up and Jon whizzed them round to the post office.

Not Stephen Squirrel this time. Frank's been somewhat out of sorts over the weekend and his eating habits have been very peculiar for days. Worried, Jon called the vets and managed to get an appointment for later. They'll be fed up with us at this rate.

WEARING: Vintage India Imports of Rhode Island maxi dress (eBay), pendant (India), Lotta from Stockholm clogs

Despite the promise of warmer weather later on the week, the last couple of days have been distinctly chilly. The previous evening I'd sat in front of the TV wrapped in a wool blanket. It's definitely waistcoat weather, a welcome layer of warmth over my cotton dresses. 

This little velvet waistcoat is a firm favourite, bought for a mere £5 on eBay a few years ago, it was listed as a child's and probably is, the joys of being an A cup. Its hand-embroidered on both the front and back and was probably made in Kashmir.

We popped to the local garden centre for potting compost, grass seed and ended up with a pot of thyme (the smell reminds us of Greece, where it grows wild at the roadside) and some pea plants, too. 

When we got back I had a wander around the garden.

I'm loving this Dusky Maidens delphinium, the calendula I'd grown from seed are still blooming madly and the marigolds Mark gave us in the Spring have been brilliant  - I'm hoping to harvest the seeds and grow my own next year. I thought that fuchsia was dead a few months back, how wrong I was.

Could the tomatoes finally be ripening?  The trailing geraniums are slowing down now, although the wild ones are coming back with avengeance.

We have olives on the mini trees Jon bought from Lidl last year. 

That delphinium is called Pagan Purple, the bees love it.

Before our noodles I made a crumble with the apples our neighbour Shirley had given us last week, enlivened with some blueberries from the depths of the freezer. After we'd eaten we went outside, got as far as planting a few allium bulbs before the rain started and we had to rush back indoors. The seeds will have to wait another day.

I swept and polished the stairs and then moved on to the bathroom, giving it a thorough clean as it had been a couple of weeks since I last did it.

Meanwhile Jon tracked down a candle bulb from the back of the cupboard. Isn't it funny how different screens see different colours? Several people commented on my last post that they loved my vintage BHS grey and navy lamp bases when, in fact, they're purple and beige. I knew there was a reason for me buying this 1970s lampshade for 50p in a charity shop last year, it's perfect with the beige base. 

Jon took Frank to the vet where he had a thorough check over and nothing untoward was discovered - no dental problems, bright eyes, no temperature, no pain to his tummy and he'd even put on a bit of weight since his boosters a month ago. He's on a course of painkillers just in case it could be a touch of arthritis (he used to limp quite badly when he first adopted us.)  

Tea was a simple but tasty affair - potato fairies, a tin of vegan sausages with baked beans and some grated cheese. Not sure what our viewing pleasure will be later, the curtains are already drawn, it's miserable out there tonight.

Stay safe & see you soon!