The Distancing Diaries - 25th & 26th May, 2021

Tuesday got off to another miserable, wet and chilly start. I did my Wii Fit workout and dusted the lounge. Jon joined me for breakfast and by the time I tidied up the utility room and sorted out my desk drawer the rain had finally stopped.

The postman came a-knocking. We've had our melamine camping cups since we bought Gilbert 15 years ago and they were 40 years old then. Jon decided that with new electrics, headlamps and a paint job he deserved something groovier & less scratched and this set of enamel mugs were recommended on one of his V Dub forums.

While I staked the sweet peas and built a new wigwam for the wild ones that had popped up in the lawn, Jon attached more camo netting to the fence. 

Finally, some privacy (and a litter/fly-tipping barrier, too)! Yes, that's part of our 100m long fence, no wonder Jon was knackered when he'd finished.

In my last blog post, I mentioned that new water pipes were being installed in the avenue. The workers have had to dig up the pavement right outside our gates which means Gilbert is trapped on the drive until the work is finished - he's too heavy to risk driving over the temporary covers they've installed. Just as well we've got more than one vehicle!

I spent the rest of the day sorting out Jacob's enclosure which had become overrun with clumps of wild grass. Jacob is Hermann's tortoise and his natural habitat is the rocky hillsides, beech and oak forests of the Mediterranean so any plants we see growing wild in Greece are ideal for his habitat.

Once I'd filled the garden waste bin with clumps of grass I wandered around the garden dividing clumps of wild geraniums, herbs and ferns and replanting them in his pen, adding some interesting looking pieces of broken slate, a few wooden stumps and a generous pile of mulch. 

WEARING: Indian block printed dress (tailor-made in Goa, 2017)

He's not eaten much recently as he's solar-powered and we've had no sun but, by the afternoon, it was peeping out from behind the clouds and the mercury had reached the heady heights of 14°C, so he tucked into a late lunch of home-grown lettuce, dandelions and Welsh poppies (his favourite).

Talking of poppies, this time last year our Oriental beauties had been in bloom for over a week. No such luck this year, they're tightly packed in their fuzzy jackets and are refusing to budge! 

Whilst Jon was preparing tea I lay on the chaise and finished The Madness of a Seduced Woman. Many thanks to Elizabeth for recommending it, I have to confess to shedding a tear when I reached the end. It really is an extraordinary read.

Tea was a cheese toastie with salad and my pickled radishes which were delicious, even if I do say so myself! Later we watched a couple of episodes of The Antiques Road Trip as a new series had started and we were way behind followed by another episode of The Killing.

I thought I'd read all Robert Harris's books so was thrilled to spot Lustrum in the charity shop after my jab on Friday. I'm only a few pages in but it's just as absorbing as everything else he's ever written.

On Wednesday, Stephen Squirrel had me up at the crack of dawn, getting his feet tangled in my hair, yowling at the top of his voice and then chucking up on the bedroom rug. It's his 16th birthday today so I couldn't really tell him off!

After my Wii Fit workout and a wander around the garden with Frank, I decided to dye my roots as it had been 5 weeks since I'd last touched them up and I was appalled by the previous day's photos. After breakfast, Jon took Frank to the vets. He'd got a few scabs above his eyes which weren't bothering him but he'd been scratching and his bloody fur looked so awful that the neighbours had started to worry. The vet shaved his head to get a better look and concluded that whatever he'd done was healing well so no medication needed. He does look a state! 

The postman called...again. This time with a vintage Indian gauzy cotton block-printed blouse I'd won on eBay over the weekend. I think it's the first one I've come across that didn't need the elastic in the cuffs replacing, it's perfect!

 

Wednesday was dry but really cold, I had to dash back inside to pull on my thermal leggings before getting stuck into some gardening. While Jon thinned out his carrots and planted up the lettuce, I tidied the area beneath the Wall of Mirrors, digging out the tressels from behind the shed for displaying my trailing geraniums and potting up some of our nasturtiums into chimney pots. 

WEARING: Vintage Afghan dress (vintage fair, 2017), Frye Campus boots (eBay)

We've been promised heat and sunshine at the weekend, bring it on!

After a break for noodles, we drove over to Liz & Al's, went for a walk around the nature reserve they live on and had a cup of tea inside. The first time I've been in anyone's house since March 2020! We left with some London Pride and violets from their garden which I planted as soon as we got home.

Jon had fish, chips and mushy peas for tea, I had sag aloo sausages and sweet potato wedges. As it's Bin Eve, we sorted out the wheelie bins. It will be interesting to watch the bin lorry negotiate the avenue which, with all the trenches, currently resembles the Somme. 

Tonight we'll be celebrating Stephen's 16th birthday with a cheeky rum or three. Cheers, old fella!

See you soon!