Hedge gone./new Fence!

 When we moved into our bungalow, which will be two years on the 6th June, I said right away I didn't like the very high hedge, which went all round three sides of the property. Everyone I knew said, it would cost too much to have it removed and it was nicely green! Environmentalists said it would be alive with insects and birds and what a shame to remove it. But they didn't have the headache of getting it cut, nor the cost. The cost has risen over the two years and is now close on £1500 each year! But guess what.... it had no birds in it and apart from the odd spider or ant not a lot of anything else.. And as it was my hedge I have had it taken out and a fence in its place. 

We still have the Copper Beach hedge down one side and the half size one that edges the front garden. And now this wonderful fence! We plan to grow some small garden trees and at the top perhaps a Bramley and a Victoria plum. As well as roses and shrubs, I'm delighted and love it. We have gained extra ground,  where the hedge had grown out as well as up. I have plans and can't wait to go out and buy new plants. I already have bought three roses, 'Sweet Syrie,' 'Chanfos Beauty' which I saw on the Chelsey Flower show TV last evening, its so exciting.. Watch this space!

Chrisxx

Yes I did after all.

 

Yes I watched it and thoroughly enjoyed it.

Shame it rained for all the street parties and picnics planned and the people who had camped out along the Mal were soaked, but it didn't dampen their enthusiasm.

King Charles and Queen Camila were very regal with their crowns. Charles looked very emotional when William was swearing his allegiance.

Loved the Princess Royal riding the horse behind the gold carriage.

The Princess of Wales, Kate as  beautiful as ever and little Charlotte dress just like her mum. And proud Prince George as lead Page carrying the long King's cloak. Wasn't Louis lovely singing the National Anthem. 

An amazing day!

Did you watch?

Chrisxx

Getting ready for summer.

 It might not look a lot, but this is our start in the garden. One flower-bed weeded and edged, flowers to come are lupins, sea holly, verbena and aquilegia.. as well as dahlias, and my seedlings of antirrhinums and zinnias.. so come summer full of flowers and colour. 

The daffodils have gone and the tulips have started to drop their petals.

We decided to list some manageable jobs and keep to that today; its very easy to carry on and exhaust ourselves!

To day I've potted on some tomato plants and Dh has cleared the patio of the old herb box, we have a new larger pot. Cleared away the odds and bods and the extra patio furniture ready for a builder to lay a new patio. 

I'm very excited about it and can't wait, but wait we must as the builder has been held up on his other job with all the rain!!

We did sit out and admire what we had done, and by next week we hope to get the other flower beds done and me pot on some more seedlings.

I love my garden.

Are you getting ready too?

Chrisxx

Will you or won't you??

 Are you like me fed up of seeing posts about Megan and Harry and the Coronation? So who will watch it?

If someone wrote a book that named me and my family as not being very nice and I had a party planned, I'd probably not invite them.

Megan and Harry decided they wanted their own lives and weren't happy with the press coverage, but it seems to me they have done everything they can to stay in the public eye.

So who cares what happens to them? The vast number of people in this country living below the poverty line, using food banks, worried how they can afford their energy bill and how their children can eat healthily, do they care? I think not!

Megan and Harry are now winging whether their children will have Prince and Princess status. These Royals have no idea how the every day person lives and don't care. OK so they shake a few hands and smile but the world has vastly changed, and today the modern young person doesn't have the same respect for the Royals as did past generations.

Truth be told I don't think I do any more either.. so will I watch the Coronation? Probably just the high lights on the news and hopefully if its a sunny day, we'll enjoy working in our garden, and sitting enjoying a cuppa in the sun.

What will you do?

Chrisxx

Life changing on the 14th April

April 14th 2015. was the anniversary of the day when my life totally changed. I tripped, put out my hand to break my fall and ....... I fractured my right humerus. I remember looking at it at the time, amazed that when I went to move it, it didn't respond and at the time it didn't hurt.

Simple broken arm??? Yes? but no.. I didn't have a plate and screw repair because the Trauma surgeon on Duty in the hospital, where I was taken  that night, didn't do that, because he believed it would heal by itself. It didn't and it hasn't. 

2016 Two operations the following year with a different surgeon, failed.  I was in a lot of pain and fed up that I couldn't use my arm, my dominate arm. I needed my Dh to help me to dress. 

I went to see my own GP in tears. He was so nice, and advised me to get a second opinion and insist on an app. at The Royal Orthopedic Hospital,  London. The untreated fracture and unused arm meant my muscle had weakened and it had slipped out of my shoulder socket. 2017 I had  bone insertion and a complete shoulder replacement, twice. The first one failed so I had two 6 hour ops. Dh stayed in a hotel each time, one in September and one in November, while I was in hospital and came in each day for the four days. He brought me decaff tea from the Costa shop there!

I've known a lot of pain and my life has changed completely. I don't have full use of my arm. I can't drive, I struggle to cook, so don't, I take ages to dress, I find anything where I have to lift my arm up to use it, very painful. I do a little gardening, but can't dig; I can sew but slowly, crocheting for a short period of time is ok. but knitting is a no no. I could go on and on about where my life has changed and I won't pretend I don't have really down days even now 8 years later, the frustration of not  being able to do the simplest of things is depressing.

But Dh helps me and today we've spent the afternoon in the garden. I was able to do a little weeding, easy here as the soil is sandy. I then supervised Dh while he finished the rest and then he took photos of our pots. Some half price bulbs we planted late, such a joy to see. So I do have blessings and still love to look at my garden.

It has given me a real boost to be outside and these flowers fill my heart with such a joy. I can do somethings that I couldn't do a year ago and I keep trying to do something more all the time.

I have to use a walker ( rollator) walking outside, because I am paranoid about tripping again, but on flat surfaces I can speed along. We have a builder booked to lay a new patio in a couple of weeks time, so that's another blessing.

Chrisxx

Vitamins or big girl pants??

 

I hope this is true because I don't seem to be able to 'pull myself together.' I've lost my 'zip' and don't really want to do anything. I can spend hours staring into space and then realise I've lost an hour.

I got hooked on the TV programme 'Race Across the World,' And watched it for hours! Why?  I never used to watch TV or at least hardly at all. But these days I switch on when I get up! I am at a loss; is it an age thing, have I reached the age when slowing down is 'stop?'

I used to be able to get out of bed and shower right away, then I started to shower after that first cup of tea, then I progressed to after breakfast during lockdown. As my friend said, 'no point rushing, nothing to rush for.' 

These last few weeks I've showered after all that and after I've looked at my emails and our morning cup of coffee, the only caffeine drink I have. There was a time, if I had a spare 10 minutes I would start something, but lately I've thought with only 10 minutes, its not worth starting anything now.

It took me ages on Saturday to sow some tomato and flower seeds, then clearing up afterwards I felt like chucking the spare pots and seeds left over, because it seemed too big a job to do. I didn't because Dh helped. 

I eat a healthy well balanced diet, and believe that taking added vitamins produces expensive 'pee', so that's not for me. But perhaps I do need that mixture that used to be advertised to 'fortify the over forties?' Or is it just  a kick up the backside I need? I know I'm getting on, and not twenty something anymore, but I would like to be a bit more active. I try to walk on each day, if its fine; rain does not agree with my arthritis and so I avoid getting wet.

Any advise is welcome, but climbing mountains is not something I can do. What do you do to get that 'zip' back?

Chrisxx

Right hand/ left hand!!

This morning Dh has received a letter from a Building Society with papers asking for his mother's vote in their end of year AGM for the Executives of the Society.

It was addressed to him, however sadly his mother passed away in December last year. He dealt with her estate and closed her account. 

He had conformation from the Building Society and the residue of her savings account was paid to him and his sister and conformation that the account had been closed.

Yet here was a letter asking her to cast her vote??

Me thinks it's a matter of the right hand not knowing what the left hand is doing!

Computer error? We hear of people fraudulently cashing in on pensions of relatives who are deceased. Easy I'd say if the DHSS is run by a similar system as that of that Building Society. What do you think?

Chrisxx

Luck?? Not at all!

 I still have a friend here that I knew when I was 8 years old. We sat together in Junior school but had vastly different lives. Her father owned two shops in the town and she appeared to be well off. I was living with my grandmother and two maiden aunts,  we ate food grown on the old allotment and I wore hand me downs and in the summer my grandmother did B&Bs. But I didn't know how different our lives were, I didn't notice.

We do meet for a chat and a coffee, but not as often as she'd like because she is for ever saying to me.. 'You're lucky, with your husband, and no mortgage. I don't believe in luck and do point out to her, that she had a lot more than me once.

At one time she was managing one of her father's shops and had a husband, who had his own company and they lived well. Often visiting big gambling clubs where they won and lost thousands of pounds. At that time I was teaching, earning money to pay my mortgage and working hard to keep paying the bills myself, with my four older children still living with me.  I had left and divorced my then husband. At one time I did some private math lessons to earn extra money just to make ends meet. 

When I realised I wasn't getting any younger at 58 and didn't like where I was working and still had a mortgage; I resigned my Deputy position, sold my big house and down sized to get rid of it. It was a release, but hard, the three bedroomed house I bought needed quite a few things doing. But it had a nice sized garden and an open hall way as you entered it, so it won me over within minutes of looking round. I had all that needed to be done, bit by bit as I earned the money, doing part time supply teaching. It took 4 years but I loved that house. When I had a tax rebate, I bought what I had always wanted,  a raspberry pink carpet for the lounge, hall, stairs and landing, I loved it! And just doing supply teaching was good. I  did a regular three days in a local school, and really loved it. And didn't retire till I was 64, but that school was lovely.

I met my lovely lovely husband when I was 62 and we married 2 years after.. and so I am well off, not money,  but rich in blessings and we have a lovely home here in S Wales and are enjoying living here.

So when she says.. you're lucky,' I do point out to her, that she spent 4 1/2 years 'dallying' with a married man, re-mortgaged her house because she liked her detached house in that part of town, which is now too far out. She still works part time for Carlton cards in different supermarkets, restocking the shelves and will be 80 in a couple of months time. Like me she has arthritis and walks bent, but too proud to use a stick.

She is now talking about buying something smaller if she can afford it, in town, so she won't have to worry about driving.  I do care about her, but sometimes you have to distance yourself from some people. I really don't agree with her about being lucky, I earned every penny I have and worked hard. I do talk things over with her, but it's her decision and to be honest I think she is still thinking she'll be lucky and it will all work out for the best and even thinks her married man friend might come back.. WHAT??? .. 

It's true, some people never learn!

Chrisxx

Wool gathering, do you?

 I often sit on the edge of the bed in the mornings dwellings on things; wool gathering a friend calls it. Nothing earth shattering, I didn't care that Gary Lineker was off air,  nor that Boris was being questioned about Party gate, and especially not, if Harry and Megan will be present at the Coronation of Charles. 

But sometimes about the garden, shall we buy more daffs for out the front next year? Shall I wait till I lose enough weight to get into that lovely dress I bought, or simply use the cut off excess length to make it those few inches bigger? So many decisions about???.... not a lot!

I suppose now as we're into Spring I should review my New Year suggestions.

 I. I did not lose all that much weight, but didn't gain any.

2. I did walk at least 3 times a week, except when there was snow and it rained.

3. I did not manage to get showered and dressed every day before 9:30am, but was showered and dressed before 8:30 on mornings when we had to go out. The others... well nothing was planned so need to hurry.

4. I sorted out a lot more than 3 bags for the charity shop, so got rid of a lot of stuff.

And the end room, is clear of boxes, with items, books and sewing stuff neatly stored on the 3 book cases in there, plus a table set up with my sewing machine, so I can sew.

Life moved on and I did my best, and thinking about it, that's all anyone can do.

We're settled here now and loving the little town and joining in some of the many activities and groups. Next week I'm joining a craft group and have been asked to explain how to make a quilt! The people in the book group are very interesting and pleasant, the U3A is flourishing and attendance to one talk was 147 people. I have found an excellent hairdresser, and a gentle chiropodist and a private dentist, and the SW consultant is a real fun interesting person, so all good.

And this morning in town we met some people we know and stopped and chatted, which was very pleasant.

The photograph doesn't really do these justice, but we planted over 400 bulbs so you don't just see the odd shaped moss choked weedy grass, as you drive up to the bungalow and several people who pass by, have remarked about them and what's more important is I love them.

Chrisxx

A mere sprinkling!

 This tree is on the road leading to our town, called The Welcome Tree by the towns' people and this past week had snow! But not a lot.

We never have snow here well hardly ever being a seaside town.  I do however have a photo (somewhere) of me in a pram on the beach with snow all around about 1944. 

We didn't have as much as some places, but it did flatten my daffodils and crocuses although they have popped up again. We still only have purple crocus flowering, we never realised that purple ones flowered first, then the yellow and orange ones flower, its only since I've grown them I knew this, did you?

Have you had a lot of snow? Lovely to look at but horrible when you have to go to work, thank goodness I'm retired. What about you?

Chrisxx