Yawn Yawn Wakey Wakey 2024

Afternoon all.

Firstly, and most importantly, I hope all has been well with you ladies and gentlemen since last I posted.
Sorry for your loss @steephill . My thoughts are with you and your family circle at this very sad time.

Here things have tended towards being non-good for a fair few weeks of late. A former work colleague (and a genuinely nice man) lost his life under tragic circumstances. This is the subject of legal proceedings, so I won't go into any details, except to say that he died long before his time.

A man in this village who was very much the backbone of village life has also passed away only a few months after a cancer diagnosis. He was a born organiser, and a man of high integrity and will be greatly missed by many.

My neighbour, who has been struggling since she crashed her car some time ago, is now in hospital. I had increased my visits from once a day to three times a day, but things were getting worse, so I got the GP to make a house call, and she telephoned for an ambulance. I'm hoping that my neighbour will improve, but it is still too early to say.

Another neighbour, who is still a relatively young woman, has been diagnosed with a cancer deep inside her head, and I'm hoping that it will be treatable.

Two residents I was particularly fond of at the nursing home have both passed away (when I first began visiting the home I asked the staff which residents had fewest visitors, and so I began to visit them and bring them small gifts just to let them know that the outside world hadn't forgotten about them). I miss them both greatly.

My Mother has developed a mysterious swelling on one side of her face, and blood tests and scans so far have not revealed the cause. It is very concerning.

On a personal note, I went to the optician with some symptoms, who referred me to eye casualty, who diagnosed me with "posterior vitreous detachment".

I would have posted about all these things before this, but I didn't want to post a rant (hopefully none of this post comes across as rant-ish).

Some good news is that my Lebanon Striped Squill, my Grape Hyacinths and my Snake's Head Fritillaries all performed much better than I deserved.

Well enjoy your Sunday afternoon and, as always, stay safe out there folks.

P.S. there should be photos of the aforementioned bulbs attached to this post.

 

Hi all

Beautiful day here, but a bit overwhelmed how much needs doing in the garden, so took the easy option and we went to the Botanic gardens. Pete the propagator was there, so I did get some free plants, more work though.

 

Your bulbs look beautiful @Badly_Maintained. I wish I could grow SH Fritillaries but I think they prefer it wetter than we normally have here. Have tried once or twice but with no success.

I'm sorry to read of the losses you and the community have suffered in recent weeks. Sometimes life just hits you over the head with a big lump hammer. One thing after another and it can be quite overwhelming. Your post highlights what a caring and compassionate person you are and I wish you strength to deal with it all.

I hope your mother's health issue proves to be nothing serious and that your own eye problem can be resolved. I also hope there is a suitable treatment for your young friend with cancer.

Take care and best wishes for you all.

 

Morning all, almost 8AM here. 49 degrees and raining.
Garden in general green and lush, my honeysuckle vine blooming on the deck railing, seen a few hummers on it (that's why I planted it there). And my beautiful yellow azalea shrub blooming, off to the right side of the deck.
Just some inside stuff to continue the trips planning process.
Maybe continue cleaning out closets, drawers etc.
Have a good day all.

 

Good afternoon,

It’s pleasantly warm here though clouding over quite a lot now. I’ve taken a risk though and pegged out the washing.

Lovely photos @Ante1 and @Badly_Maintained.

Im sorry to hear of your losses too, @Badly_Maintained, and of the concern over your Mother. I hope the swelling goes down and the medics can work out what it is. As @Topbird says, life sometimes does hit you on the head with a lump hammer, and unpleasant things seem to arrive en masse.

I’m going to eat my sandwich now, then pop out to move some pots about for their spring/summer homes. OH got rather carried away pruning back a euonymus shrub yesterday, and one side of it now looks very exposed and depleted of greenery. I do hope it revives, but I am concerned that it might be a prune too much. If it doesn’t recover, I’m afraid it will have to come out - a shame as it’s been there about 25 years. It survives.

 

These two blooming (well not the only two) in the garden.

 

Bright sunshine. I’ve popped to the recycling and being pottering. Enjoying a cup of tea and waiting for a milk delivery and a summer dress. Anytime in the next few hours. Enjoy the weather.

 

Thank-you both for your very kind words @Topbird & @Blue arbour .

 

Badly maintained I hope the people concerned will have better news and a lot to deal with in a short spell.

 

Thank-you for your kind words @Rosie loves nature

 

Best wishes to you, your family and friends @Badly_Maintained

 

That’s a lot to deal with, @Badly_Maintained. Remember to look after yourself, will be thinking of you, and your family.

 

RIP Bernard Hill
I saw him live once in The Cherry Orchard at the Aldwych with Judy Dench … phenomenal.

So sorry to hear of such difficult times @Badly_Maintained … sending kindest thoughts and hoping for brighter days ahead.

 

Lots of chopping back of overgrowth and undergrowth in the garden has been done .., a good part of the veg patch raked down to a fine tilth and Swiss chard and Cos lettuces sown (and covered with netting in case of feline visitors). OH has cut the grass at the front and strimmed some of the edges but now we need a new reel of line so that’ll have to do for today.

DS has just arrived with a load of washing which is already in the machine … we’ve not seen him since Wednesday … and a tray bake is in the oven (chicken thighs, a few lumps of chorizo, thick slices of yellow courgette, new potatoes bits of red pepper and some sweetcorn … the chicken was marinated this morning in lemon, garlic, olive oil and rosemary.

Think I’ll put my feet up for a bit …

 

@Badly_Maintained, first of all may I say thank you for your beautiful pictures - a joy to behold but I was so sorry to hear of all the sadness. It is times like this when you suddenly become aware of your own mortality. Your post did not come across as a rant at all. I am sure you will find the inner strength needed to tackle facing the absence of people you used to know and think a great deal about.