All quiet!

There's not much going on here at the moment just more of the same old, same old. The weather is glorious, however, and I kick myself sometimes for not getting out and enjoying it every day - but I guess we can't be all gung ho and enthusiastic every day, can we! In any case, I ached all over for a couple of days after my last walk and switching my walking boots out to another pair didn't really help - I just got a nasty blister in a different place! I have good quality hiking boots but I always feel they are too heavy. Maybe I should really try to get them worn in because wearing the cheap and nasty boots just isn't working!

So I haven't really been doing a lot these past few days. I did, however, decide to get the baby crib that my neighbour's daughter gave me out of the small spare bedroom and into my own bedroom. It was driving me bonkers and so I hauled that baby out onto my balcony and into my bedroom - nearly putting my back out at the same time because that thing is heavy! Still, it fits much better in the larger bedroom and has freed up a whole pile of space in the spare bedroom. I also realized I could quite easily get a bunch of stuff out of the house and down into my basement so I lugged spares of all my supplies down two flights of stairs to my basement and have now got a fairly nice set-up going with stuff being put onto the shelves of my two little temporary greenhouses! Why I didn't do this years ago I have no idea, but seeing it sorted and properly stacked also allows me to see what I need more of (nothing at the moment) and what I have plenty of and won't need to buy for months probably. That's the trouble with shoving eveything into a cupboard isn't it - you don't realize just what you have!

As I was going out the other day I realized we had our first frost of the year and, yet again, how much I appreciated not having to start scraping my car windshield at six in the morning!!!! I'm easily pleased obviously! On the way out today I saw my neighbour and chatted to her for a while and she looks so unhappy. I reckon they're going through a rough(er) patch at the moment because when I sit here reading I'm hearing more and more yelling coming from next door. It really triggers me, actually, because that used to be happening in our house - yeah, we were the screaming neighbours - and I absolutely hate to hear yelling now!

On Sunday nights a few of us former colleagues get together for a quick zoom chat, and after not making it these past couple of weeks, I finally remembered and joined another two friends for a chinwag. It was odd though because one friend had just arrived back from a visit to family in England and said to me "oh, I bet you'll be happy, guess who's got covid - me"! Say what, why would I be happy she's got covid? I know we have differing opinions on the jab but I wouldn't wish anyone to get ill! She started getting an itchy throat and has now come down with a dreadful cold, but as at Sunday she said she really wasn't particularly unwell. Her husband reckons it was the guy that sat next to her on the plane and coughed all over her the entire time, but who knows. One thing is certain though, is that plane full of fully vaccinated people had at least one covid case on board didn't it! Scary stuff! So I told her I hoped she was ok and that while I didn't intend to get jabbed, I also wasn't dumb enough to be out nightclubbing (as if I could) or going to crowded places either, my idea of having a good time being out and about in the mountains! Still, she's very no-nonsense and I'm sure she'll be fine (fingers crossed)!

While I haven't got as much done as I would have liked to these past few days, I did at least spend a good few hours working in the garden the other day and got that sorted. Somebody (I have no idea who) placed a 50 litre bag of compost by my back gate and while I am extremely grateful I kept leaving it where it was because I never buy anything heavier than the 20 litre bags. Still, needs must, and I lugged that baby up to the top of my garden to spread the soil over the top of the grass clippings I just dumped on my raised beds. I also shoved a few sprouted potatoes into one bed and garlic into another so we'll see what, if anything, pops up next spring!

I also got a message from my gardener who said my neighbour had told him that I had more pruning work for him if he wanted it. I had thought about trying to do it myself, but in the end I realize I have neither the right equipment nor the muscles for this stuff any more and in three hours he ploughed his way through two hazelnut trees, the damson bush, the buddleia, the peach tree and a few other things. How lucky am I that I get to just pansy about pretending to garden and yet Mr. Muscle does all the hard grift! I'm not quite as bad as Margot but sometimes I feel like it!

For those that don't know it, The Good Life is a UK series from the '70s and just one of the sweetest series ever. Tom and Jerry (ha ha) are two executives working at the same firm when Tom and his wife, Barbara, decide they want to drop out of the rat race and become self-sufficient. They live in a posh part of London, next door to Jerry and his snobby wife, Margo, and we got to watch their trials and tribulations over a few series and, more importantly, how the friendship between the two couples developed despite their differences!

And finally, we put the clocks back on Saturday night/Sunday morning this weekend, but does anyone seriously want 2021 to last another hour longer than necessary? Answers on a postcard!