Wednesday 7 July 2021

Being busy. Being fed up of the rain. Discussing the joy of gardening and of food. Other stuff.

This week seems to have been very busy. Sunday my daughter and I did the IKEA run and then the family came for tea. On Monday I rushed about in the rain in the morning to deliver paperwork to the primary school our granddaughter will attend in September. And then I had my final Zoom Italian class pf the year. Yesterday we had family birthdays, involving more running about, birthday cake making, meeting family in the park and eventually feeding everyone, including eating birthday cake. This morning I cycled to Uppermill as usual on a Wednesday, but maybe now the week will calm down a little.


Throughout all of this rather fraught activity there have been intermittent rain showers to be dodged, some of then quite torrential. So when I set off on my bike this morning I was prepared with my waterproof in case it rained on me. But in fact the sun came out as I cycled along the Donkey Line. I thought it was starting to rain as I stood in the queue for the fish-man but in the end it didn’t really come to anything. Indeed, there was more sunshine on the Donkey Line for my return journey. Of course, it may be that the Donkey Line has its own micro-climate, always warm and sunny - chance would be a fine thing!


Not long after I got home the torrential rain arrived - stair rods came to mind. I may have said this before, but it is worth repeating: we have had enough rain now! The flower beds have been nicely watered, everything has been washed clean and all the poor roses and peonies have become completely waterlogged! Time for the sunshine to return properly!


After the torrential rain eased I noticed the young man from the family next door taking photos of a plant in the garden. This is not the first time I have noticed him doing this. So, being a bit of a nosey parker, I went to find out what he was up to. It turns out he has a small jalapeño pepper plant and has been recording its growth in a series of photos on his iPad. He was quite excited at the prospect of making his own spicy sauce from his own jalapeño peppers. So we had a chat about the joy of gardening, and of planning and preparing good food for friends and family.  


Of corse, the aftermath of the joy of feeding a largish bunch of people involves some major tidying up. My washers-up after family feeds are very good but among today’s tasks are sweeping and mopping and vacuuming, especially as our granddaughter brought the dog along! So it goes! 


In between the other things going on this week, I have been trying to arrange to see my doctor. Just over two weeks ago I finished a Zoom Italian class with a distinct crick in my neck, the sort of thing where you almost hear it crackle when you move your head. It’s not prevented moving around and doing stuff. However, sitting still is a different matter. At that point my right shoulder and arm decide to ache intermittently. And then I go to bed and try sleep, only to find I can’t get a comfortable night’s sleep. Pre-covid I would have gone along to our doctors’ surgery and waited for a GP to be available. Now everyone has to make an appointment. Initially I simply could  not get through to the surgery on the telephone. Today I finally filled in an online form and now I wait to hear from them. And a bit of me is hoping that filling in the online form will work the bit of magic to make the symptoms disappear!


And then there is football. My Italian friend and teacher is delighted that her team  defeated Spain in the semi-final of the Euros. Tonight England plays Denmark. Will we see an England - Italy final? This is what my Italian friend wants but we shall see!


Life goes on. Stay safe and well, everyone!

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