Thirst

One week into the hot weather and the garden, which has received record breaking levels of rain through April and early May, is now starting to feel thirsty.

Of course with a hosepipe ban in place, watering has just gotten a whole lot harder. I have some legal drip irrigation in one small part of the garden, but the rest is going to be me, a couple of watering cans and 4 water butts (I just installed another two).

I now find myself getting home at night and watering pots in the dark.  Or getting up early and having a scout around before 7am. The bigger garden beds are just going to have to look after themselves as I am only barely keeping up with the pots and greenhouse. And the water level in the butts is lowering rapidly.

So here I am praying for those showers they promised this week. Cue: raindance on the back lawn. Now there's a thought - entertainment for next doors' Polish builders I suspect. Oh yes, just at the time when grabbing a few rays out in the garden is looking appealing, the building crew next door are up ladders and on the roof and all privacy is gone. Ho hum.

Wandling

Spring is a lovely time to do a River Wandle clean up.... Sunshine, nesting coots and ducks (that we steer well away from), chestnuts and hawthorns in bloom. And all the volunteers have a spring in their step.




Mays cleanup was truly fun, with a good crowd and a fairly accessible (and not too deep) piece of water to work on. The rubbish was also of a manageable size and we had a lot of excited kids giving us a hand. Of course, the excitement level was raised by finding another gun in the water (that was promptly delivered to the police station).

Of course, I did my bit for the workers with tea/coffee cheese scones, carrot cake and wedges of buttered banana bread (no leftovers as per usual). Overall, a lovely day.  I know it's a bit of work on my weekend, but I really do enjoy it.

Weighty matters

It had to be done.  I'm not the most sporty of people but with trouble in the knee department and a rotator cuff injury in my shoulder last year, my physical activity had plunged to new lows. A friend invited me along to a session with her trainer (a generally sensitive type, not given to 'go for the burn' type unhelpful comments.)


And that is how I started.  I already had a pile of gym equipment languishing around the place.  And I had come to the realisation that; No, you do not get Fit through Osmosis...


The lovely Peter has figured out my weak points and gave some remedial work to ease me back into the game and strengthen up my shoulder. Mostly weights and floor exercises, but I'm actually enjoying it, and it makes my heart pound too, so that ticks off the aerobic side  too. 

I never thought I would actually enjoy this. My spare room /gym is looking reasonably well equipped and with the radio tuned to Radio 6 and blasting out something interesting, and a lovely view out over the garden, it really is a nice spot to be (the big mirror doesn't hurt either.) And being at home, daggy old sweats are fine - no fashion parade here gents....

Mutton

Please God, oh please do not let me utter the words 'Actually I look younger than my age' or 'I feel a lot younger than I look' or 'I'm young at heart' or 'My friends tell me a look much younger' or 'You're only as young as the man you feel' or any other such utterances.

What is wrong with being a woman of experience, perspective and a self deprecating sense of  humour? One with a broad grin framed by smile lines, who might be a bit soft around the edges (think of a cuddly toy for grownups...)

What's wrong with approaching the road ahead with a bit of self respect and dignity? And some appreciation of the life you have lived and learned from?

I have been reading too many internet dating site profiles and it can make for a depressing read. Actually, it is an issue that is even broader than that.  It extends into the workplace and pervades society in general. When did maturity,  intelligence and self respect become a crime? Down with this cult of youth I say. We should nip it in the bud (with our older, sharp thorny stems....)

Autobiography

Yes.  I'm contemplating a creative writing course (distance learning through Oxford University) and thought that while I am doing my research and thinking it through, I may start on my own autobiography.

Titled 'My Life through a Blender', it will have no chronological sequencing, but rather a set of themed chapters such as 'My Desert Island discs', 'Interesting people I have known', 'Things my Mother taught me', 'My favourite places', 'One night stands I wish I could forget', 'Fashion disasters through the decades',  'Things I wish I had known in retrospect' etc etc.

I'm quite warming to the idea. My experiences with internet dating (and reading and writing profiles thereon) have taught me that random facts can tell you more about a person that any well crafted narrative. I really do have some daft stories. Let's see if I can knit them together into something worth reading.

Doodling

I found a site about creativity this morning and have found it hard to tear myself away from it. It's at http://www.brainpickings.org  and has all sorts of interesting things and quotable quotes.

It also had a series of maps by Yanko Tsvetkov. This is a familiar one - Europe as seen by the USA. It made me laugh....