Random Ramblings :: Life at Number 27

Hi there everyone 😀

There really doesn’t seem to have been that much of note going on over here over the last couple of weeks. We do seem to have got into a bit of a routine and have got the chores back under control, whilst still managing to find time for making face coverings, gardening and the occasional trip out. I have to say it’s been nice having the house all reasonably tidy and the ironing under control for more than five minutes.

We’ve still not really made many changes following the relaxing of lockdown rules, but are continuing to watch what is happening, both locally and around the World, with interest. I am constantly surprised by photos I see on Facebook of people who seem to think that the need for social distancing is no more ... with large groups meeting for BBQs and grandparents snuggling up with their grandchildren. 

I have to keep reading the rules to see if I've missed something but no ... it's still a maximum of six people allowed to gather outdoors from any number of households and only two households indoors, up to a maximum of 30. From conversations that I have with other people it seems that number 30 is cause for lots of confusion but hey, what others choose to do is up to them and I don't want to turn into a Covid 19 rules bore, so you do your thing and I'll do mine 😀

I did like this though, which was shared on Facebook and makes perfect sense to me ...

In other news we did have another outing a week or so ago to meet up with an old friend. This time I think we got a little bit complacent and arranged to meet up at Coombe Abbey. As soon as we arrived we could see that it was going to be a lot busier than we really felt comfortable with.

We had a bit of a walk, trying to keep our distance, which was tricky at times ...

We had chosen our parking spot carefully though and once back at the car, had a really nice picnic sat in our camping chairs at the back of the car.

It was nice to get out and good to catch up but I think it just reinforced the importance of doing our research before heading out to new places and being very selective with where we go.

We did get a bit excited about the possibility of visiting the gardens at Alton Towers, after seeing them on Gardeners World. They were offering a limited number of garden visit only tickets for a reasonable price. Sadly we left it too late and ended up missing out by one day as the park had fully reopened by the time we tried to book.

There has also been a bit of crafting and I have managed to make something that wasn’t a face covering ... I had a request for a drawstring mobile phone case, which went well ... at the second attempt ...

I've also made another embroidered gift card for my Goddaughter who's baby girl arrived safely during July ...

... and I finally got to grout the mosaic vase that I did on an old roofing slate ...

I'm not entirely sure what the plans are for this as yet but I have pressed some flowers from the garden that I may somehow try and incorporate, but I'll keep you posted.

We have also done a bit of gentle pottering in the garden with plenty of fruit and vegetable harvesting going on and actually managed to spend a week where we were able to eat something from the garden every single day.

It's not all been about the fruit and veg though ... the agapanthus are looking stunning ... my splitting and re-potting of them certainly seems to have done the job ...

... as are the hanging baskets and pots ... the fuchsias that we saved from last year are really doing well ...

This is the cup and saucer vine that we have grown from seed. There is no sign of any flower buds yet, but I'm hoping that it is going to be a stunner towards the end of summer ...

We also managed a garden catch up with friends this week and there may just have been a little bit of baking going on ...

Whilst lockdown has been good for the garden that is most definitely not the case for the waistline!

We’ve continued with our fortnightly food shop ... wearing face coverings for the first time ... which was certainly an experience that I never imagined I would have whilst living in this country. Whilst I can totally see the point and will be complying for as long as is required I can’t say it’s something that I particularly enjoyed ... it was good to see the majority of other shoppers complying and I have to say it did make me feel just that little bit safer.

Oh ... I did have a hair appointment booked for this week ... it's doubly stressful as, not only is there Covid to tend with, I’ve had to find a new salon as the one I’d been going to for 20 odd years has closed down. Anyway I called in for a skin test last week and ended up having to cancel my appointment as it just didn't feel comfortable in the salon at all. I have managed to book in somewhere else for next week as I am more than ready to get rid of the grey and the split ends ... hopefully it will feel a lot more comfortable.

There has also been lots of progress with the sharing of Will's WW1 story on the Away From the Western Front website and we heard recently that it has now been published. It is fabulous to see his story out there somewhere other than on my blog ... it’s always felt a bit frivolous it sitting on a blog called Life of Pottering and Away From the Western Front is a far more fitting place for his story to be shared.

Normally at this time of year I would be working my way through sharing our March and June trips away with you but sadly both were cancelled and I seem to be struggling for inspiration of where we can visit next for the moment ... it all just feels quite ordinary ... not that there's really anything wrong with that 💜

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