ArcherphileApril 19, 2026 at 3:38 PM Reply to Miriam, from the 17th. Thank you so much for asking. I didn't find the wheeled Zimmer frame useful, so that has gone to a. Charity shop for the local hospice. The little 3-wheeled walker is OK but only on flat, solid ground. It digs into the lawn and has to be lifted over the stepping stones or any bumps! But I can at least sit under the pergola and look at the garden on warm days. My breathlessness is considerably worse and I have to stop frequently both indoors and out. I can only sweep half the kitchen before having to rest! But I have a lady coming to do a bit of basic housework for me for an hour on Tuesdays starting this week so I'll see how it goes. And I actually have a face to face appointment with my GP tomorrow afternoon, the first since before Christmas, so I can report the changes. The new drug (Spironolactone ) I was given then has almost miraculously lowered my blood pressure to normal or below. But some side effects are painful and distressing. Cant have it all ways I suppose!
REPLY
MiriamApril 19, 2026 at 4:36 PM Lovely to hear from you again with an update. Now sit quietly + jot down things you want to talk about with your GP and take this with you. If you're anything like me, I need my notes to remind me about what I want to ask + talk about and Dr. never has a problem when I refer to my scribbled thoughts. Make the most of a face-to-face appointment and don't feel rushed, as after all, it's all about you. 😍
AmbridgesMrsPApril 19, 2026 at 4:49 PM AND …….ARCHERPHILE
Might you ask about Nitrates, such as have been a help to me for the breathlessness. They may not be suitable for your condition, but worth asking and finding out I would think. Good luck with your GP tomorrow.
MiriamApril 19, 2026 at 5:06 PM Why oh Why, at 6.00pm on a Sunday night, is the sun now shining brightly + the strong wind has finally dropped. Far too late to make the most of it! At least I did some batch cooking and made my normal weekly loaf of granary bread - all looking good + tasty 🫰
MiriamApril 19, 2026 at 5:10 PM Made a pork casserole in a cider gravy with lots of veg. plus a chilli using chicken mince. Am thinking low cholesterol as my blood tests are now due! 🙀
Cheshire CheeseApril 19, 2026 at 8:52 PM It sounds like you've had a busy day Miriam. I enjoyed today's Countryfile about the Peak District National Park, a landscape that I love and am so familiar with.
Must share that I’ve actually had a good nights sleep. A rarity for me. I went to sleep immediately after turning the light out, deliberately didn’t turn onto my right side and as a result, no pain from my carpal tunnel wrist/ hand, and no bathroom visits either. And woke early ( early for me ).
Yes, the GP actually gave me about half an hour of her time. Gerald came in with me so I wouldn't forget to ask anything. She was delighted we seem to have found the right combination of drugs (4 different ones) to control my BP at long last. But we are going to try reducing the new one to try to control the distressing side effects. She said I could take one of those new weight loss drugs if I wanted but she couldn't prescribe them on the NHS & I'd have to buy them myself. I need to lose about 5 stone which might help my walking but I could have unpleasant side effects so I shan't bother. Too late for me to go on a diet now, I want to enjoy my food for my remaining years!! Nice bit at the end ...she complimented me on my dress ( a tent shaped shift with flowers on) which cheered me up a bit.....clever doctor!
Good to hear that your GP consultation was so positive AP. And also to hear that your making decisions for yourself choosing which parts of advice to implement or discard. Your life Your choices
Of course you had a lovely dress on Archerphile you are the queen of them (which is how I recognised you at Hinton Ampner all those years ago now 🫢) 7 of them this September in fact according to my photos and iPad diary entry of September 18th 2019 - yikes. Little did we realise what 2020 had in store for us all…… So glad you had such a well deserved successful and unhurried Dr appointment!
ARCHERPHILE. What a lovely GP you have and glad she spent so much time with you. I was diagnosed with v. high blood pressure about 14yrs ago now. I take 3 BP meds daily and also a statin, as my cholesterol is always classed as borderline/slightly high even though I eat a low-fat, low-salt diet, well most of the time. I admit that this is not quite the case in the winter months, when I enjoy comfort foods. Who doesn't love a beef pie with a suet crust pastry top, dumplings in a stew of beef + guiness, and not forgetting a hearty belly pork dish I love, plus another favourite -Lambs liver + bacon... It's things in moderation I always do, and last year I refused to increase my statin dose for being just slightly over the upper limit - my choice. I'm lucky as I still only weigh 8 1/2 stone on average and never go above 9st. and I eat very well... However I don't eat sweet things - cakes, biscuits etc. as I basically just don't have a sweet tooth, preferring savoury things. Mind you I do like my chocolate, but it has to be dark chocolate, particularly a peppermint one, or fruit and nut...😋
What a fabulous sunny + warm day it turned out to be, after a cool start. I did the big weekly shop this morning (no bargains) and this afternoon, my front garden got the works! It was slow going, purely as I spent so much time chatting with neighbours, who appeared at different times. What a difference a wonderful afternoon working in the sun-shine makes. Tomorrow, it's the bigger back garden's turn, but there won't be anyone around to distract me, but not sure if this will be a good or a bad thing though.. My garden bin gets emptied on Friday, so I'm determined it'll be full to get my moneys worth out of my permit!
Another fabulous hot + sunny afternoon here. As usual did yet more work in the garden, but the end is finally in sight! What a shame though the mornings are still so cool even though sunny. This reminds me of last year, when I couldn't get the garden under control for various reasons (one was a heart scare but all OK), so paid someone to do it for me. This was done in early May and by then, the ground was so dry and it was hot, that this person and son, really struggled! Thanks to this person's brilliant clearing borders, sorting out + cutting back, I had MY Garden back again and so it's remained...
I planted some tomatoes in the greenhouse yesterday and a courgette outdoors. My daughter in law likes to celebrate the day she first met Dan as well as their wedding anniversary so we went to a nursery a couple of days ago and I came away with some nice plants. There is a garden seat in the front garden and I am trying to turn it into a little oasis of fragrance. Have planted several dianthus/pinks to the left of the seat and to the right of it in blue pots I now have a red erysimum and a yellow and orange very pretty one. The gate is almost beside the seat and I want the fragrance to hit people as they walk in.
I do have someone who comes to cut the grass regularly now, and there is a lot of it, which has freed me up to do the nicer things. Last year I had a nice person who was supposed to do it but he was, and still is, involved in a custody/access battle over his young son. So far there have been 9 court sessions and he was so distracted by it all he often didn't turn up and I spent more time cutting grass than actually gardening. I think prior to having children young couples should have it drummed into them that parenting is for life and a child needs two parents no matter what happens to a marriage.
We have recently bought a small patch of land from a neighbour to improve the shape of our rather irregular plot clearing the old border has involved sacrificing a couple of rather untidy lilacs. I made MrNuts wait until they were in full bloom, I now have two very oversized arrangements in the lounge, and it smells wonderful.
I’ve had an exciting phone call this morning, a follow up from a freecycle offer of Bullrushes. I’m to collect them on Wednesday morning when they will be dug out of their stream. I’ve always wanted a bog garden and I intend to make one in an old plastic dog bed. I already have three lilies, two of which are in flower now.
I love lilac and am enjoying the different colours of several trees in the local Parks Walk.
My wonderful standard Azalea, now almost 38yrs old, has come into bloom. It's bright pink and scented, and is a pure delight to both see + smell. PS A final couple of hour's work in the garden, has got it as good as ever and how I and want it to be! It's neat tidy, the plants are thriving and I revelled admiring it, whilst having afternoon tea and relaxing in it this afternoon. Mind you I had to air the cushion for my favourite garden chair, which smelt a bit musty this morning when I got it out in eager anticipation of use...and it has been. Aah the aroma of BBQ's is starting..
Today we are going on a little jaunt over to “Lancashire!” to visit our son and his wife’s new house. Then for the next couple of nights we are staying at a spa hotel before heading home. Really looking forward to it all. Taking the rest of Sam’s stuff over there now they have a bigger home. Dogs have gone into kennels on their hols as they don’t get on with their dog. It was very strange being at home with no dogs last night.
The Spa sounds lovely. Today we are going to the Wadebridge car show that apparently has lots of " high energy action" and a fairground. I'd rather go and look at horses but little Max is in a liking cars phase, and on the plus side it means I don't need to cook Sunday lunch and the sun is shining again.
I’ll think of you relaxing in the spa’s jacuzzi, a glass of champagne in hand . Hope you are enjoying yourselves P2BY. There is so much to do in the garden so I’m doing absolutely nothing. I fear that this year it is going to be search for the plants among the weeds. Can’t seem to generate the energy somehow. I hope I’ll be telling you a very different story by the end of the week. At least the roses and clematis are doing their own thing .
I sympathise Soz. Mine is going to be a Forth Bridge job, but I’m learning to do small amounts at a time as well as moving from job to job, but I do feel as tho’ I’m achieving something, albeit incrementally.
Soz + Mrs P. As have already said, my back garden a year ago was a mess. I spent out on a true gardener, who I found on my local community page with before + after photos, along with other local residents recommendations, who came + completely cleared all the weeds, chopped back overgrown shrubs, re-edged the lawn and sorted everything out, well above my expectations. It was a bit costly, I admit, but even now what she + her son did is still there, as it was so well done. My point is, a one-off payment to get things completely sorted which can then be far more easily maintained, is well worth the cost. Also I found a gardening trowel + fork which have 18 inch handles and bought a hoe, all of which suit me and makes my gardening so much easier.
To clarify - the long handled gardening tools are to do with my glaucoma + the constant bending over, esp. as things are getting borderline again. I'm just waiting for my next hosp. eye clinic appointment, which is now overdue!
The latest photo of my OZ neice is amazing. She was the one who had a total thyroidectomy in early February. There is no scar to be seen and finally her thyroxine levels have been sorted. She looks + feels totally normal again. It's a massive success for her and her family.
MrNuts’ niece followed in her uncle, father and brother’s footsteps today by completing the London marathon. She was raising money for diabetes uk as her elder daughter, now 4 yrs, was diagnosed aged 2, she had a second baby last year & then her training was majorly hindered as she needed surgery to remove a benign tumour from her shoulder…… I think it’s amazing that she got round at all.
Well done that woman. A local mother here who has never been a runner until this year, ran to raise funds for the school to support the children still suffering from the after effects of the coach crash. Her son was on the coach.
I've been trying to improve my birdsong recognition recently. When we were on a walk at Quarry Bank today I heard one I didn't recognise which my app said was a Rose-ringed Parakeet. I was a bit sceptical at first but then saw it, it's the first one I've seen in this area.
The first place I saw parakeets was in Studland Dorset but in the last few years they have appeared in North London where my daughter lives. The ones I’ve seen are very colourful but make quite a raucous noise.
Thank you Miriam for your suggestion of paying a gardener for digging over the plot etc. I think it’s too late this year for that. Also I would be a dreadful ‘backseat gardener’ telling them what not to touch and what to do my way! I can remember my poor father being constantly chastised by my grandmother whenever he tried to help her with the garden. I’m going to do what I can, slowly working my way round . It will be a mass of colour and perfume in June when the roses will smother the unsightly bits. I can see the point in employing someone to rejuvenate the plot so you can start again and I’m glad that it has worked for you Miriam. Maybe in the autumn…..
Sounds like your garden will be gorgeous. I just wanted to give you the benefit of my experience and how well it all worked out. I knew the moment I met the lovely lady who I asked for a quote, that we'd get on well and she went round the garden with me, to get my wishes and what I didn't want touching. She did exactly what I wanted and although I left her + her son to it, she called me out a few times just to check on a few things. I struck lucky!! I enjoyed replanting things last year, which was this time and are doing so well now. I looked back to the photos from last year, and what a difference...
Frost and very cold nights but beautiful warm sunshine by day here in the Midlands. I’m still wearing woolly jumpers but the sun does make you think summer is coming.
We are stuck without a gardener again as our chap has had to go & care for his mother, with dementia, after his father died recently. Very sorry for him but we have several large jobs coming up which Gerald cannot cope with. Tried advertising in local parish mag & on Face book. But only 2 replies are from big property maintenance companies who will mow lawns, cut hedges but not do any 'proper' gardening. . There seems to be a lack of anyone locally and I envy Miriam on her good fortune
Sorry to hear about your gardening problems Archerfile. It is difficult to get good gardeners these days. Middle daughter inherited hers from the previous owners of the house and he can't get his head round doing the garden the way my daughter wants it rather than how he's done it for years. He's also pretty clueless about plants! I'm lucky to have one who knows what he's doing but he struggles to find people to work for him.
I sympathise. The one in charge of the little group who have recently started cutting my grass is s gardener and does know his plants but he has had to have an op on a leg he broke playing football, and the two he sent along last time definitely aren't gardeners! I asked them to leave the three cornered leek outside the kitchen because we use it in cooking ( things like chopping it up in mashed potato) but to mow over any anywhere else, and lo and behold after they had gone I came out to find they had mowed down my patch of lilies!! 🤨
Our gardener is an absolute gem, very knowledgeable and can do more in the garden in two ours than I can do in two weeks (probably two years, to be honest)! As a general rule, we just let him get on with it. My main input is providing cups of tea and asking him to plant out the sad looking seedling or plant that has been languishing too long on my kitchen windowsill. That said, two weeks ago I gave him two sunflower seedlings that I had actually taken good care of.... The slugs ate them
Happy Mayday everyone! We are off to Padstow as usual, but sadly not daughter as fridays are one of the busiest days at the holiday park. Mabel has made a picnic which we will eat in Prideaux Place gardens where one of the teams of dancers and musicians come at midday to dance the "Oss" through the grounds and house.
Encountered the ‘ Hobby Horse ‘ on its first outing last night. For several days now it will be parading through different parts of the town with the drum banging away, the OSS dancing along the route, and the followers on foot.
It doesn’t feel or look like summer this morning. We don’t seem to have had much, much needed, rain but it is cloudy and cold - jumper back on. I am enjoying this year’s Race around the World ; I like the people and getting a glimpse of places I don’t know much about.
Such torrential rain over night, and woke up to a very gloomy day. No more rain today, but very grey skies , very soggy, but still warm. A shrub is now flat on the lawn, as has been totally battered down I'll try + sort it out tomorrow. If I can't get it upright again, then it'll be chopped right back to root level! It will survive, in time! I knew the rain was awful as I not only heard it, but I also had to dash out for milk for breakfast at 9.00am, (no idea why I hadn't any!) and the water + puddles on the roads were very extensive.
24hours or therabouts later, that shrub is doing, as the song says:- "Pick yourself up, dust yourself off and start all over again"! It's better than it was as no longer flat on the lawn, but might still need to be cut back a bit..
Is anyone watching Race Around the World - this time through the 'stans' all the way to Mongolia. I think they are very brave tacking such remote and wild country with such difficult languages, where few people speak English. I feel sorry for the Irish daughter who is given very little responsibility by her overbearing father. The two young lads from Liverpool have very sad back stories but really look after each other. I hope they do well. Also the young brother and sister are learning to understand each other, another good side effect of spending so much time together. Scenery has been stunning so far.
As PtbY and I said a couple of days ago, it’s interesting to see places we are unlikely to visit ourselves. The competitors seem genuine and there’s no arrogance. I don’t know why they have to lose one team along the way. I’m sure the 2 girls could have kept up with the others.
My eldest great-nephew, now 12yrs, and his mum, spent the BH weekend at Butlins, Minehead. It was a rugby tournament over the weekend, and out of 30 teams, they came 2nd. A great achievement. Other news not as cheery, as B-I-L learnt today he needs open heart surgery to repair or replace the mitral valve in his heart. Another valve is also now starting to show signs of deterioration, so this will be fixed at the same time. This will be done in December! He's under a specialist cardiac centre, and this is the best option, unless can afford to pay privately, which they can't. It is what it is, and they've 'phone numbers in case of problems.
I can report that the Rugby Tournament at Butlins in Minehead this last weekend was not a trouble to the town, as some weekends are, so perhaps you would like to pass on my congratulations to your relatives Miriam and I’m glad they had a good time.
Sorry to hear that your B in L has further heart problems. If that time comes to me I shall take matters about my future into my own hands, nevertheless I wish your relative the very best outcome.
He is taking matters intodhis own hand, by agreeing to the surgery. His heart problems can be reversed, so he can continue with his life, doing things he's not allowed to or can't do at the moment. He gets out of breath quite easily with a lot of excercise/walking particularly up hills, but he's not allowed to do any heavy work, such as gardening with hedge cutting etc. and can't play golf! He can mow the lawns as has a ride-on lawnmower.These he should be able to do again and at the moment he's getting very frustrated with an imposed more sedentary life, as he's normally so active.
I have been so opinionated + vocal recently, that I'm doing my usual, that is to step back for awhile. Hope everyone stays safe + well and all just enjoy whatever you're doing and with whom. Back shortly..maybe a week?
Just been down to vote and I was very annoyed with our polling station. As usual it is in the village hall, up a longish drive next to the school. Very unusually - there were no signs "To the Polling Station" anywhere visible from the road. Just one small sign right at the top of the drive.
Second, there was no access provided for disabled people, there was usually a ramp up to the door. A sign pointed to the disabled access, round the back. But on hobbling round there the door was locked!! I remonstrated with the returning officer & his deputy. Turns out they had never done the job before & didn't know the rules or where anything was. As a former returning officer myself - I soon put them right! Funnily enough I had had an email from the council yesterday saying all polling stations would be accessible to disabled and wheelchair voters, with ramps and low booths provided. Pity they didn't inform the staff!
That's so frustrating Archerfile. We normally have postal votes but there is no voting in our area this time. We went to RHS Bridgewater to see the candelabra primulas but there were fewer of them and we couldn't get close because of the building works on the Chinese streamside garden. Still, we got close to coot, duck and Canada Geese chicks wandering around with their parents.
Janice, do you speak Cornish? There was an item half-way through PM yesterday on its revival, which is a current trend for local languages, at least in Europe, as many are dying out.
Not properly Basia. Years ago I went to a Cornish language course, and at that time woke up one morning and realised I had been dreaming in Cornish, but those days are gone. Possibly because of not having anyone I could speak it with I seem to be limited now to simple phrases like Dyth da, Nosta, and Ollangwella ( all the best), Nadelik Lowen ( Happy Christmas). 99% of any passwords I use are Cornish words. My father and the other older ones in our village spoke a very distinct dialect with words originating in the old Cornish and "outsiders" had great difficulty deciphering it, and because of the dialect pronunciations I know how the old Cornish language should sound. For example in Nadelik Lowen the Lowen is pronounced Laawen. I have two ways of speaking, King's English with most people but I revert back to broad Cornish when with other older locals. I was with some friends from up country who were visiting and unintentionally slipped back into the broad Cornish accent and realised they were staring because they couldn't understand me. I am pleased that it is taught in some schools here now. Lose your language lose your culture.
That's interesting Janice, Nadelik is from nativity, like in some languages, natale etc Nosta for night, again similarity; ollangwella looks very much like all's well though doesn't sound like that. Thanks.
ArcherphileApril 19, 2026 at 3:38 PM
ReplyDeleteReply to Miriam, from the 17th. Thank you so much for asking. I didn't find the wheeled Zimmer frame useful, so that has gone to a. Charity shop for the local hospice. The little 3-wheeled walker is OK but only on flat, solid ground. It digs into the lawn and has to be lifted over the stepping stones or any bumps! But I can at least sit under the pergola and look at the garden on warm days. My breathlessness is considerably worse and I have to stop frequently both indoors and out. I can only sweep half the kitchen before having to rest! But I have a lady coming to do a bit of basic housework for me for an hour on Tuesdays starting this week so I'll see how it goes.
And I actually have a face to face appointment with my GP tomorrow afternoon, the first since before Christmas, so I can report the changes. The new drug (Spironolactone ) I was given then has almost miraculously lowered my blood pressure to normal or below. But some side effects are painful and distressing. Cant have it all ways I suppose!
REPLY
MiriamApril 19, 2026 at 4:36 PM
Lovely to hear from you again with an update.
Now sit quietly + jot down things you want to talk about with your GP and take this with you.
If you're anything like me, I need my notes to remind me about what I want to ask + talk about and Dr. never has a problem when I refer to my scribbled thoughts.
Make the most of a face-to-face appointment and don't feel rushed, as after all, it's all about you.
😍
AmbridgesMrsPApril 19, 2026 at 4:49 PM
ReplyDeleteAND …….ARCHERPHILE
Might you ask about Nitrates, such as have been a help to me for the breathlessness.
They may not be suitable for your condition, but worth asking and finding out I would think.
Good luck with your GP tomorrow.
MiriamApril 19, 2026 at 5:06 PM
Why oh Why, at 6.00pm on a Sunday night, is the sun now shining brightly + the strong wind has finally dropped.
Far too late to make the most of it!
At least I did some batch cooking and made my normal weekly loaf of granary bread - all looking good + tasty 🫰
MiriamApril 19, 2026 at 5:10 PM
ReplyDeleteMade a pork casserole in a cider gravy with lots of veg. plus a chilli using chicken mince. Am thinking low cholesterol as my blood tests are now due! 🙀
Cheshire CheeseApril 19, 2026 at 8:52 PM
It sounds like you've had a busy day Miriam.
I enjoyed today's Countryfile about the Peak District National Park, a landscape that I love and am so familiar with.
Must share that I’ve actually had a good nights sleep.
ReplyDeleteA rarity for me.
I went to sleep immediately after turning the light out, deliberately didn’t turn onto my right side and as a result, no pain from my carpal tunnel wrist/ hand, and no bathroom visits either. And woke early ( early for me ).
Did not do well with Wordle though.
Sorry I missed your birthday - hope this coming year is a healthy, rewarding one.
DeleteDidn’t manage today’s wordle either.
Another cracking picture KP 😂🤣😂
ReplyDelete⭐️ Archerphile do hope your GP appointment today goes well and to your satisfaction, often think of you and Mr AP 🥰
Yes, the GP actually gave me about half an hour of her time. Gerald came in with me so I wouldn't forget to ask anything. She was delighted we seem to have found the right combination of drugs (4 different ones) to control my BP at long last. But we are going to try reducing the new one to try to control the distressing side effects. She said I could take one of those new weight loss drugs if I wanted but she couldn't prescribe them on the NHS & I'd have to buy them myself. I need to lose about 5 stone which might help my walking but I could have unpleasant side effects so I shan't bother. Too late for me to go on a diet now, I want to enjoy my food for my remaining years!! Nice bit at the end ...she complimented me on my dress ( a tent shaped shift with flowers on) which cheered me up a bit.....clever doctor!
DeleteGood to hear that your GP consultation was so positive AP.
DeleteAnd also to hear that your making decisions for yourself choosing which parts of advice to implement or discard.
Your life
Your choices
Of course you had a lovely dress on Archerphile you are the queen of them (which is how I recognised you at Hinton Ampner all those years ago now 🫢) 7 of them this September in fact according to my photos and iPad diary entry of September 18th 2019 - yikes. Little did we realise what 2020 had in store for us all……
DeleteSo glad you had such a well deserved successful and unhurried Dr appointment!
ARCHERPHILE.
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely GP you have and glad she spent so much time with you.
I was diagnosed with v. high blood pressure about 14yrs ago now.
I take 3 BP meds daily and also a statin, as my cholesterol is always classed as borderline/slightly high even though I eat a low-fat, low-salt diet, well most of the time.
I admit that this is not quite the case in the winter months, when I enjoy comfort foods. Who doesn't love a beef pie with a suet crust pastry top, dumplings in a stew of beef + guiness, and not forgetting a hearty belly pork dish I love, plus another favourite -Lambs liver + bacon...
It's things in moderation I always do, and last year I refused to increase my statin dose for being just slightly over the upper limit - my choice.
I'm lucky as I still only weigh 8 1/2 stone on average and never go above 9st. and I eat very well...
However I don't eat sweet things - cakes, biscuits etc. as I basically just don't have a sweet tooth, preferring savoury things.
Mind you I do like my chocolate, but it has to be dark chocolate, particularly a peppermint one, or fruit and nut...😋
What a fabulous sunny + warm day it turned out to be, after a cool start.
ReplyDeleteI did the big weekly shop this morning (no bargains) and this afternoon, my front garden got the works!
It was slow going, purely as I spent so much time chatting with neighbours, who appeared at different times.
What a difference a wonderful afternoon working in the sun-shine makes.
Tomorrow, it's the bigger back garden's turn, but there won't be anyone around to distract me, but not sure if this will be a good or a bad thing though..
My garden bin gets emptied on Friday, so I'm determined it'll be full to get my moneys worth out of my permit!
Snap Miriam. I did my weekly shop this morning and spent the afternoon in the garden.
DeleteA glorious day here today. We had a lovely walk with friends along Rudyard Lake and a tasty lunch at a café on the lakeside.
ReplyDeleteAnother fabulous hot + sunny afternoon here. As usual did yet more work in the garden, but the end is finally in sight!
ReplyDeleteWhat a shame though the mornings are still so cool even though sunny.
This reminds me of last year, when I couldn't get the garden under control for various reasons (one was a heart scare but all OK), so paid someone to do it for me.
This was done in early May and by then, the ground was so dry and it was hot, that this person and son, really struggled!
Thanks to this person's brilliant clearing borders, sorting out + cutting back, I had MY Garden back again and so it's remained...
We had a frost this morning, followed by a much warmer day than yesterday. Keeping the temperature in the greenhouse right is challenging.
DeleteI planted some tomatoes in the greenhouse yesterday and a courgette outdoors. My daughter in law likes to celebrate the day she first met Dan as well as their wedding anniversary so we went to a nursery a couple of days ago and I came away with some nice plants. There is a garden seat in the front garden and I am trying to turn it into a little oasis of fragrance. Have planted several dianthus/pinks to the left of the seat and to the right of it in blue pots I now have a red erysimum and a yellow and orange very pretty one. The gate is almost beside the seat and I want the fragrance to hit people as they walk in.
ReplyDeleteI do have someone who comes to cut the grass regularly now, and there is a lot of it, which has freed me up to do the nicer things. Last year I had a nice person who was supposed to do it but he was, and still is, involved in a custody/access battle over his young son. So far there have been 9 court sessions and he was so distracted by it all he often didn't turn up and I spent more time cutting grass than actually gardening.
DeleteI think prior to having children young couples should have it drummed into them that parenting is for life and a child needs two parents no matter what happens to a marriage.
We have recently bought a small patch of land from a neighbour to improve the shape of our rather irregular plot clearing the old border has involved sacrificing a couple of rather untidy lilacs. I made MrNuts wait until they were in full bloom, I now have two very oversized arrangements in the lounge, and it smells wonderful.
ReplyDeleteI’ve had an exciting phone call this morning, a follow up from a freecycle offer of Bullrushes. I’m to collect them on Wednesday morning when they will be dug out of their stream.
ReplyDeleteI’ve always wanted a bog garden and I intend to make one in an old plastic dog bed. I already have three lilies, two of which are in flower now.
I love lilac and am enjoying the different colours of several trees in the local Parks Walk.
My wonderful standard Azalea, now almost 38yrs old, has come into bloom. It's bright pink and scented, and is a pure delight to both see + smell.
ReplyDeletePS A final couple of hour's work in the garden, has got it as good as ever and how I and want it to be! It's neat tidy, the plants are thriving and I revelled admiring it, whilst having afternoon tea and relaxing in it this afternoon.
Mind you I had to air the cushion for my favourite garden chair, which smelt a bit musty this morning when I got it out in eager anticipation of use...and it has been.
Aah the aroma of BBQ's is starting..
Today we are going on a little jaunt over to “Lancashire!” to visit our son and his wife’s new house. Then for the next couple of nights we are staying at a spa hotel before heading home. Really looking forward to it all.
ReplyDeleteTaking the rest of Sam’s stuff over there now they have a bigger home.
Dogs have gone into kennels on their hols as they don’t get on with their dog. It was very strange being at home with no dogs last night.
The Spa sounds lovely. Today we are going to the Wadebridge car show that apparently has lots of " high energy action" and a fairground. I'd rather go and look at horses but little Max is in a liking cars phase, and on the plus side it means I don't need to cook Sunday lunch and the sun is shining again.
ReplyDeleteSounds lovely PtbY and good weather too. We've still got some of our children's stuff, I think an ultimatum is needed!
ReplyDeleteI’ll think of you relaxing in the spa’s jacuzzi, a glass of champagne in hand . Hope you are enjoying yourselves P2BY.
ReplyDeleteThere is so much to do in the garden so I’m doing absolutely nothing. I fear that this year it is going to be search for the plants among the weeds. Can’t seem to generate the energy somehow. I hope I’ll be telling you a very different story by the end of the week. At least the roses and clematis are doing their own thing .
I sympathise Soz.
DeleteMine is going to be a Forth Bridge job, but I’m learning to do small amounts at a time as well as moving from job to job, but I do feel as tho’ I’m achieving something, albeit incrementally.
What style you have PtbY !
Soz + Mrs P. As have already said, my back garden a year ago was a mess.
DeleteI spent out on a true gardener, who I found on my local community page with before + after photos, along with other local residents recommendations, who came + completely cleared all the weeds, chopped back overgrown shrubs, re-edged the lawn and sorted everything out, well above my expectations.
It was a bit costly, I admit, but even now what she + her son did is still there, as it was so well done.
My point is, a one-off payment to get things completely sorted which can then be far more easily maintained, is well worth the cost.
Also I found a gardening trowel + fork which have 18 inch handles and bought a hoe, all of which suit me and makes my gardening so much easier.
To clarify - the long handled gardening tools are to do with my glaucoma + the constant bending over, esp. as things are getting borderline again. I'm just waiting for my next hosp. eye clinic appointment, which is now overdue!
DeleteThe latest photo of my OZ neice is amazing. She was the one who had a total thyroidectomy in early February.
ReplyDeleteThere is no scar to be seen and finally her thyroxine levels have been sorted. She looks + feels totally normal again.
It's a massive success for her and her family.
MrNuts’ niece followed in her uncle, father and brother’s footsteps today by completing the London marathon. She was raising money for diabetes uk as her elder daughter, now 4 yrs, was diagnosed aged 2, she had a second baby last year & then her training was majorly hindered as she needed surgery to remove a benign tumour from her shoulder…… I think it’s amazing that she got round at all.
ReplyDeleteWhat a fantastic achievement in those circumstances 👏
DeleteWell done that woman.
DeleteA local mother here who has never been a runner until this year, ran to raise funds for the school to support the children still suffering from the after effects of the coach crash. Her son was on the coach.
Only just managed 6 today!!
ReplyDeleteSo did I - on verge of giving up!
DeleteI've been trying to improve my birdsong recognition recently. When we were on a walk at Quarry Bank today I heard one I didn't recognise which my app said was a Rose-ringed Parakeet. I was a bit sceptical at first but then saw it, it's the first one I've seen in this area.
ReplyDeleteThe first place I saw parakeets was in Studland Dorset but in the last few years they have appeared in North London where my daughter lives. The ones I’ve seen are very colourful but make quite a raucous noise.
DeleteLondon's the only other place that I've seen Parakeets Soz when our daughter was at university there.
DeleteThank you Miriam for your suggestion of paying a gardener for digging over the plot etc. I think it’s too late this year for that. Also I would be a dreadful ‘backseat gardener’ telling them what not to touch and what to do my way! I can remember my poor father being constantly chastised by my grandmother whenever he tried to help her with the garden.
ReplyDeleteI’m going to do what I can, slowly working my way round . It will be a mass of colour and perfume in June when the roses will smother the unsightly bits.
I can see the point in employing someone to rejuvenate the plot so you can start again and I’m glad that it has worked for you Miriam. Maybe in the autumn…..
Sounds like your garden will be gorgeous.
DeleteI just wanted to give you the benefit of my experience and how well it all worked out. I knew the moment I met the lovely lady who I asked for a quote, that we'd get on well and she went round the garden with me, to get my wishes and what I didn't want touching. She did exactly what I wanted and although I left her + her son to it, she called me out a few times just to check on a few things.
I struck lucky!! I enjoyed replanting things last year, which was this time and are doing so well now. I looked back to the photos from last year, and what a difference...
To add, the "before" photos were horrendous, far worse than I remembered!
DeleteNice to go away but , goodness, it’s even better to come home.
ReplyDelete😊
That's why you have to go away to appreciate how nice it is to be back.
DeleteLovely sunshine again, but at 5.30am there was ice on the car!
ReplyDeleteI even went out to check it was..🤣
Nice sunshine but very windy here, my emerging spring plants are getting battered. Still, the washing dried quickly!
DeleteFrost and very cold nights but beautiful warm sunshine by day here in the Midlands. I’m still wearing woolly jumpers but the sun does make you think summer is coming.
DeleteWe are stuck without a gardener again as our chap has had to go & care for his mother, with dementia, after his father died recently. Very sorry for him but we have several large jobs coming up which Gerald cannot cope with. Tried advertising in local parish mag & on Face book. But only 2 replies are from big property maintenance companies who will mow lawns, cut hedges but not do any 'proper' gardening. . There seems to be a lack of anyone locally and I envy Miriam on her good fortune
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DeleteSorry to hear about your gardening problems Archerfile. It is difficult to get good gardeners these days. Middle daughter inherited hers from the previous owners of the house and he can't get his head round doing the garden the way my daughter wants it rather than how he's done it for years. He's also pretty clueless about plants!
DeleteI'm lucky to have one who knows what he's doing but he struggles to find people to work for him.
I sympathise. The one in charge of the little group who have recently started cutting my grass is s gardener and does know his plants but he has had to have an op on a leg he broke playing football, and the two he sent along last time definitely aren't gardeners! I asked them to leave the three cornered leek outside the kitchen because we use it in cooking ( things like chopping it up in mashed potato) but to mow over any anywhere else, and lo and behold after they had gone I came out to find they had mowed down my patch of lilies!! 🤨
DeleteOur gardener is an absolute gem, very knowledgeable and can do more in the garden in two ours than I can do in two weeks (probably two years, to be honest)!
DeleteAs a general rule, we just let him get on with it. My main input is providing cups of tea and asking him to plant out the sad looking seedling or plant that has been languishing too long on my kitchen windowsill. That said, two weeks ago I gave him two sunflower seedlings that I had actually taken good care of.... The slugs ate them
Happy Mayday everyone! We are off to Padstow as usual, but sadly not daughter as fridays are one of the busiest days at the holiday park. Mabel has made a picnic which we will eat in Prideaux Place gardens where one of the teams of dancers and musicians come at midday to dance the "Oss" through the grounds and house.
ReplyDeleteEncountered the ‘ Hobby Horse ‘ on its first outing last night.
ReplyDeleteFor several days now it will be parading through different parts of the town with the drum banging away, the OSS dancing along the route, and the followers on foot.
Happy BELTANE to all.
Thought for a minute you were here at Padstow. Didn't realise Minehead had similar.
ReplyDeleteIt’s Beltane an ancient pagan custom to welcome spring.
DeleteFortunately quite a few places still hold true to the tradition.
On my local SM someone commented that Minehead was not as good as Padstow, and was shouted down with fury.
Summer!
ReplyDeleteYes Janice SUMMER ………
DeleteMia Culpa
It doesn’t feel or look like summer this morning. We don’t seem to have had much, much needed, rain but it is cloudy and cold - jumper back on.
ReplyDeleteI am enjoying this year’s Race around the World ; I like the people and getting a glimpse of places I don’t know much about.
Same here re Race around the world. Great to see places that I’ll never get to see in real life.
DeleteI like the brother and sister.
Such torrential rain over night, and woke up to a very gloomy day. No more rain today, but very grey skies , very soggy, but still warm.
ReplyDeleteA shrub is now flat on the lawn, as has been totally battered down I'll try + sort it out tomorrow. If I can't get it upright again, then it'll be chopped right back to root level! It will survive, in time!
I knew the rain was awful as I not only heard it, but I also had to dash out for milk for breakfast at 9.00am, (no idea why I hadn't any!) and the water + puddles on the roads were very extensive.
24hours or therabouts later, that shrub is doing, as the song says:-
Delete"Pick yourself up, dust yourself off and start all over again"!
It's better than it was as no longer flat on the lawn, but might still need to be cut back a bit..
If this is of interest to anyone:-
ReplyDeletea new series of Conversations of a Long Marriage, started today.
You beat me to it Miriam.
DeleteIt might just be of interest to us two only.
Nope. I’ve listened to it too. Roger Allam could talk to me all day long. 😍
DeleteMe too! My daughter put me onto it. Thanks for the info Miriam. I agree about Roger Allam’s voice - also Joanna’s silky drawl is easy on the ears.
DeleteMe four! Thanks Miriam.
DeleteIs anyone watching Race Around the World - this time through the 'stans' all the way to Mongolia. I think they are very brave tacking such remote and wild country with such difficult languages, where few people speak English. I feel sorry for the Irish daughter who is given very little responsibility by her overbearing father. The two young lads from Liverpool have very sad back stories but really look after each other. I hope they do well. Also the young brother and sister are learning to understand each other, another good side effect of spending so much time together. Scenery has been stunning so far.
ReplyDeleteAs PtbY and I said a couple of days ago, it’s interesting to see places we are unlikely to visit ourselves. The competitors seem genuine and there’s no arrogance. I don’t know why they have to lose one team along the way. I’m sure the 2 girls could have kept up with the others.
DeleteI enjoy this too, also like the brother/sister, very grounded, and the Liverpuds, but wish they would stop the 'bro' stuff.
ReplyDeleteMy eldest great-nephew, now 12yrs, and his mum, spent the BH weekend at Butlins, Minehead. It was a rugby tournament over the weekend, and out of 30 teams, they came 2nd. A great achievement.
ReplyDeleteOther news not as cheery, as B-I-L learnt today he needs open heart surgery to repair or replace the mitral valve in his heart. Another valve is also now starting to show signs of deterioration, so this will be fixed at the same time.
This will be done in December!
He's under a specialist cardiac centre, and this is the best option, unless can afford to pay privately, which they can't.
It is what it is, and they've 'phone numbers in case of problems.
To add - he'll be 78yrs in a couple of months. Interestingly both his parents died young from heart problems..🤔
DeleteI can report that the Rugby Tournament at Butlins in Minehead this last weekend was not a trouble to the town, as some weekends are, so perhaps you would like to pass on my congratulations to your relatives Miriam and I’m glad they had a good time.
DeleteSorry to hear that your B in L has further heart problems.
If that time comes to me I shall take matters about my future into my own hands, nevertheless I wish your relative the very best outcome.
He is taking matters intodhis own hand, by agreeing to the surgery. His heart problems can be reversed, so he can continue with his life, doing things he's not allowed to or can't do at the moment. He gets out of breath quite easily with a lot of excercise/walking particularly up hills, but he's not allowed to do any heavy work, such as gardening with hedge cutting etc. and can't play golf! He can mow the lawns as has a ride-on lawnmower.These he should be able to do again and at the moment he's getting very frustrated with an imposed more sedentary life, as he's normally so active.
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DeleteI’m with Kirsty Young as far as Anthony Claire is concerned - just to alert any one else to these repeats of the stand apart broadcasts if interested.
ReplyDeleteI have been so opinionated + vocal recently, that I'm doing my usual, that is to step back for awhile.
ReplyDeleteHope everyone stays safe + well and all just enjoy whatever you're doing and with whom.
Back shortly..maybe a week?
I have replied to your similar post on the other blog Miriam 😉
DeleteYour posts are just as valid as everyone else's Miriam.
ReplyDeleteJust noticed “life lines” has started a new series today if anyone is interested.
ReplyDeleteThanks PtbY. Just the treat to look forward to once I'm up to date with Conversations from a Long Marriage 😊
DeleteYes and we know that Miriam listens.
DeleteI usually eat around that time but this one is so tense, playing havoc.
Just been down to vote and I was very annoyed with our polling station. As usual it is in the village hall, up a longish drive next to the school. Very unusually - there were no signs "To the Polling Station" anywhere visible from the road. Just one small sign right at the top of the drive.
ReplyDeleteSecond, there was no access provided for disabled people, there was usually a ramp up to the door. A sign pointed to the disabled access, round the back. But on hobbling round there the door was locked!! I remonstrated with the returning officer & his deputy. Turns out they had never done the job before & didn't know the rules or where anything was. As a former returning officer myself - I soon put them right!
Funnily enough I had had an email from the council yesterday saying all polling stations would be accessible to disabled and wheelchair voters, with ramps and low booths provided. Pity they didn't inform the staff!
That's so frustrating Archerfile. We normally have postal votes but there is no voting in our area this time.
DeleteWe went to RHS Bridgewater to see the candelabra primulas but there were fewer of them and we couldn't get close because of the building works on the Chinese streamside garden. Still, we got close to coot, duck and Canada Geese chicks wandering around with their parents.
Janice, do you speak Cornish? There was an item half-way through PM yesterday on its revival, which is a current trend for local languages, at least in Europe, as many are dying out.
ReplyDeleteNot properly Basia. Years ago I went to a Cornish language course, and at that time woke up one morning and realised I had been dreaming in Cornish, but those days are gone. Possibly because of not having anyone I could speak it with I seem to be limited now to simple phrases like Dyth da, Nosta, and Ollangwella ( all the best), Nadelik Lowen ( Happy Christmas). 99% of any passwords I use are Cornish words. My father and the other older ones in our village spoke a very distinct dialect with words originating in the old Cornish and "outsiders" had great difficulty deciphering it, and because of the dialect pronunciations I know how the old Cornish language should sound. For example in Nadelik Lowen the Lowen is pronounced Laawen. I have two ways of speaking, King's English with most people but I revert back to broad Cornish when with other older locals. I was with some friends from up country who were visiting and unintentionally slipped back into the broad Cornish accent and realised they were staring because they couldn't understand me.
DeleteI am pleased that it is taught in some schools here now. Lose your language lose your culture.
That's interesting Janice, Nadelik is from nativity, like in some languages, natale etc
DeleteNosta for night, again similarity; ollangwella looks very much like all's well though doesn't sound like that. Thanks.