The other night and it was at night I wrote a post about waiting. I wrote it because I had been reading Abbie Greaves book The end of the Earth. It had taken me back to when I was a young adult. I couldn’t sleep because of the thoughts going round and round in my head. Once I had written it and I apologise I didn’t read it through so there are bound to be errors.
One of my new blogging friends Bitchy after 60 commented that with everything I have been through it would have broken most people.
That post only scratched the surface of what my life has been like in the last 50+ years. I’m not broken yet. I have many emotional fractures and my body is falling apart but nothing has broken me yet.
Last night mother asked if I had experienced depression or anxiety in the last year. The question was in relation to the covid-19 pandemic. The answer is no. I am lucky to have technology that has allowed me to keep in contact with family and friends. I could also order whatever I needed online. I also have plenty to keep me occupied. My garden, reading, knitting etc.
That doesn’t mean I haven’t experienced anxiety or feeling in low spirits. I have but more in respect of my health than the pandemic.
No this isn’t what either of us are subjecting the other to. It is the name of a book. A book that I read on my kindle last year and have given to mother in paperback version for her birthday last weekend. This book The Silent Treatment by Abbie Greaves. (Her first book). This book is very different to any I had read before. I found myself not just wanting to but needing to turn the page to see what was going to happen. Constantly trying to guess the whats and whys. As I am writing this mother is deep into the book. I am looking forward to getting Abbie’s second book which is released tomorrow. I found out about Abbie’s first book through my daughter in law who put a post on instagram last year. I’m on tenterhooks waiting to receive my pre ordered copy of The Ends of The Earth. If I go missing for a few days I will be reading. In US this book has a different title. Anywhere For You.
I am hoping that any of you who also love to read will find these books and enjoy them too. I say enjoy but maybe that is the wrong word to use as certainly The Silent Treatment was heartbreaking I belive The Ends of The Earth will be equally heartbreaking but unmissable.
Another book I read recently was Tales of The City, by Armistead Maupin. There was a question on Pointless (tv quiz that mum has watched for years). One of the answers was Armistead Maupin. I later looked up his Tales of The City series of books as I gathered that they were set in San Francisco. A city that I am interested in. Whilst I enjoyed reading about the city and checking the maps to see where various roads were the story itself was not really my cup of tea. I wasn’t sure I would read much of it but I persevered and got to the end. Now I am in two minds whether to read the second book. As I said it wasn’t my cup of tea but by the end I had figured out who all the characters were and how the many connections came about. I might read the second book to find out what happens to them.
I have been for a blood test this morning. The Dr I spoke to recently wants to see what my hormones are doing plus I am due my diabetes blood test. Afterwards I collected up the last of my Avon books for April. I have now got £600 in sales for the month. I still have a few more customers who need to let me know what they want. I don’t think £600 is bad for two weeks work. I am continuing to post products onto my Elliesdeals blog but not quite as frequently as I started off doing. Two days ago I posted about our Radiance Tinted moisturiser. I have noticed that my customers have ordered quite a few tubes of this in the last couple of days. I have been using it myself for a couple of years particularly at this time of year.
I have just received two packages. Quite telling really that one was more half coconuts for the birds and the other was 24 mixed trailing lobelia plants. My garden is starting to take shape but I could do with finding someone to do the work on the ground that I can’t manage anymore.
The last few days have been full of blue sky and sunshine. There has been warmth but also a chill wind or should I say breeze. The summer before last mother had a new decking installed outside the patio doors. This raised the level outside the door so that she could go outside without having to manage a step down.
Last summer she only went out a few times for no more than 20 minutes. On the really hot days it was too hot for her. The heat affects her MS. Mostly though it was too cold. I noticed over time that we only got the sun on the decking for an hour to an hour and a half mid morning ( before the temperature had become comfortable for sitting out). I would sit out but have to move my chair around with the sun. The sun moves around our garden giving patches of sunshine for an hour or two. The bottom of the garden where there is a sizable patio gets even less sun than the decking. The trees have grown up to such an extent that the garden is shrouded in shade. Our friendly tree surgeon did his best to create more light without cutting back too far.
In January we had a new fence erected between us and the adjoining house which at the time was empty. The new fence is a foot higher than the one it replaced. It doesn’t look that much higher but obviously is. I don’t remember a time when there wasn’t a conservatory next door. Now I realise that the sun we were getting on the decking was actually coming through the windows of the conservatory. My dilemma now is that The lady who moved in a couple of months ago has put up curtains which are permanently closed. I have moved all but two of my flowerpots off the decking as they were in constant shade. Do I just put up with the lack of sunshine or do I ask her to leave her curtains open? The garden on that side of the fence has pretty much full sun most of the day so it probably doesn’t occur to our neighbours that we don’t get much in ours.
This morning I was updating my Elliesdeal blog dedicated to my Avon business. I decided to add the link to the blog to my twitter account. I only created this account a few months ago. I’m not really up to speed with twitter. I am following a few people but don’t have any followers of my own so anything I post (or should I say tweet) is never seen by anyone else. Much to my surprise this morning I discovered that I do have a a couple of followers. It looks like a grand total of 4 people have liked or retweeted my posts recently. Let me know if you would like to follow me on twitter and I will give you the name on my account.
We haven’t seen much of the pigeons recently (we have a couple of magpies nesting in the tree instead. The doves come and go. We sometimes see a young one with an adult. The blue birds have been absent for a short while but I am used to them being around a lot then not for a while then returning again. At last after 3 years of living here I am seeing sparrows in the garden. Yesterday there were 3 of them in the buddleia bush, hanging feeder on the crab apple and even on the decking for a few minutes. Today I saw a great tit on the decking, it hung around for a while. We hadn’t seen any for ages. Usually they are only around when the bluetits are here.
Yesterday I had cut up an apple for the blackbirds. I saw one of the squirrels (Roger I believe) sat on the fence nibbling away at a chunk of apple. The dunnock has recently been venturing out of the undergrowth to feed on the meal worms that I put out on the lawn for the ground feeders.
I went out a little earlier than usual to pick up my Avon books today. That takes my orders for April over £500 with more books to collect tomorrow and Wednesday. I also had another order through my digital shop today.
I have had my new car for a few days now. I am enjoying driving it around. I am happy that so far I have not yet stalled the engine. I was worried about swapping my automatic for manual transmission after my last three cars being automatic. However what I don’t like is getting out and getting an electric shock each time I close the door. I am learning to use my sleeve. I’m gradually finding my way around the various functions on the screen etc. I have even managed to pair my phone. This will help when I’m out and my mother tries to phone me to see when I’m coming home.
In the last few days I have done a bit of gardening. The sweet peas are in as are the nasturtium seeds. Solar lamps are hanging in the crab apple tree and another tree that I don’t know the identity of. Solar powered garden tea lights are along the edge of the patio at the end of the lawn.
Oddly we didn’t have very much wild life in the garden. There were no Pigeons, no Doves, only one Robin a couple of times later in the day. Only one squirrel came for a visit and that wasn’t until tea time. We have no idea what was going on. I am happy to say that we have seen a robin several times and a collared dove but also the dunnock and some sparrows. We don’t often have sparrows in the back garden although they can be seen in the lilac tree at the front of the house.
Today is perfect weather for drying the washing. Unfortunately I am waiting for someone tall and strong to put our new washing line. However I have managed to hang my washing on an airer set up in the middle of the lawn.
I have been out to pick up some of my Avon brochures. I have another £80 in orders to add to my tally for April. I have more to collect on Wednesday when I shall also be putting more out for next week.
I had my second Pfizer jab on Saturday evening. I am pleased to report that apart from a slightly sore arm I have no other side effects. I’m not planning to be out partying any time soon but now that we have both had both our jabs we are a little more confident about seeing anyone else.
I have been knitting in yellow the last few days. an yellow and green striped jumper and a yellow pixie hat.
I have had great enjoyment out of the last few days with family visiting. Apparently both my grandchildren have been chattering away to their parents about seeing Granny and the things they did and saw. Teddy was convinced he was going to the beach with Granny and Gampa again today.
When I woke this morning I was thinking how quiet and peaceful it will be today. I know that my mother has loved seeing the family but she does get very tired. I am sure she is thinking Peace at Last which reminds me of a favourite book when my boys were little.
Today I am working on my Avon. I have been adding to and improving my Elliesdeals blog. This afternoon I shall be preparing brochures and deliveries. Both of which I have neglected so far this week.
I haven’t been out in my new car again yet but I have looked at it several times.
Earlier when I was checking the stats for this blog I noticed that someone had been looking at an old post from 2014. I have noticed this quite a few times recently. I can only assume that whoever has been looking is probably disappointed when they see what the post is actually about. It called little tits. I also see that the most popular page is Petrol Head.
I know that I have at least one petrol head who reads this blog regularly. I keep meaning to mention for him that on the day I went to look at my new car in the garage forecourt I followed a grey right hand drive mustang along the motorway. (I even missed my off slip). Then last weekend I passed a bright yellow mustang going the other way. I might not be with my petrol head husband any longer but I just can’t help noticing American cars when I’m out and about. I guess it has become a habit.
The sun has been shining and there is a feel of spring in the air. The first of my seedlings are sprouting. The magnolia is coming out in bloom.
I didn’t get around to topping up the bird food until lunchtime. I have given the squirrels a new conundrum. This time it’s three pots one inside the next. Only one squirrel has been interested. He knocked it over and devoured the nuts from the smallest pot. That’s all he managed. Mind you he was chased away by a local cat. I’ve not seen that before.
I’ve been out with more Avon books. That’s all my regular customers now so next week I shall start canvassing for new customers.
I was feeling a bit down this afternoon. No particular reason I just didn’t feel myself. I am surprised that I was feeling this way. The sunny day combined with the obvious signs of spring would normally make me feel good.
It hasn’t been a great week for me. I wanted to get my new Avon books out ready so I could put my first order of the month on early. I would normally pick up my first batch of books and hopefully orders on or around the first of the month. This month is different. In their infinite wisdom Avon decided to send out the march bonus books with the April brochures.
Now I don’t want my customers to miss out on the fantastic deals in the bonus book so I have been waiting for them to arrive so that I can get both books out together. They arrived this afternoon.
In previous month’s I would have picked up one batch of books on Monday then put out another lot to pick up today. My next lot would have gone out today for pick up next Monday and so on. This month however my first batch are only going out today. To make up for missing a week I shall have to put out and collect more books each time.
Although I am now recovered from my surgery I do still get very tired easily. I shall see what I can do.
As it is I have not been feeling great for several days so in a way I have been relieved that I wasn’t going out but that’s beside the point.
So today I have done deliveries. Come home to be here when my books arrived. Slotted them into the packs I had already made up. I have put out half of today’s books. Later I shall do a few more deliveries and put out a few more books. I know my customers will be happy with the 5 for £5 deals we have.
Since long before I moved here my mother has been watching the squirrels. They are very naughty, I have tried putting out a variety of bird feeders (for the birds not the squirrels). A great many feeders have been destroyed or completely vanished. I know this is the squirrels not the birds. We have a squirrel baffle on our bird feeder but since we had new decking and a banister rail put up the baffle is redundant. The squirrels can leap across from the railing.
We have got used to these little bundles of mischief making use of the bird feeder. It is very amusing watching them contort in different positions to get to the various hanging things like coconuts etc. I have long known that there were three squirrels that pass through our garden. we can see them travelling from tree to tree along the edge of ours and the neighbouring gardens. I can see them chasing each other around.
Recently I have been putting some peanuts on the decking for them. It is interesting to see that they are not the only creatures making use of this new habit of mine. The wood pigeons, and collared doves eat the nuts whole. The blue tits will grab one and fly off with it.
Anyway I have decided to try an experiment. I have put a few peanuts out as usual but I also placed the peanut bucket on the decking with a few peanuts on the top but the whole thing is covered by a wire cage from one of the squirrel proof feeders. We are now waiting to see how long it takes the squirrels to figure this out.
Our regular visitors we have named Roger (mostly grey), Ginger who has a mostly ginger head, back and tail. Then we have Biscuit who has less ginger than Ginger but more than Roger. Only yesterday was a little confusing because we seemed to have two Gingers. I thought I was getting muddled over which was which until for a few minutes we had not three but four squirrels running around at the same time. We now have to think of a name for Ginger #2.
So far today Roger and Biscuit have been around snaffling up the stray nuts. Both have had a good look at the nuts inside the cage but not attempted to get in there.
lady in red again 