Friday 29th February

 The leap year has leaped!

The past few weeks have been so wet and cold that I had almost forgotten the lovely sunny days here and there through the month...

18th February 

8th February 

They were still cold, but even so... bright blue skies...

Today should have been the last 'pebble on the wall' day, but I've decided to carry on until the end of term. Another 29 pebbles! After that I will stop.

I've done an acre of cross-stitch and finished my prototype book cover;

This is it opened out. I could carry on adding more and more, but I  would rather apply the lessons I have learned to an improved version. 

This evening is pretty full-on with teaching, television (Richard Osman House of Games and Great British Menu)  and then church group, so I thought I'd write the post early tonight. We are meant to be talking about the Andrew Dotchin course for Lent, based on the Winnie-the-Pooh books, but who knows what we shall end up discussing and discovering. Every meeting seems to turn into an 'Expotition'.... 

Wednesday 28th February

 No knitting and no sewing for two days now. Yesterday I was just feeling too tired and 'brain fogged' to want to do any as the likelihood of having to unsew or tink (un-knit) everything was too great. Instead I frittered away a lot of the day on reading and scrolling and doing suduko and other time-wasting stuff on the tablet.

Today, I woke up with a painful left arm. All the sewing and knitting, followed by too much stabbing at the tablet screen with a stylus, had resulted in complaining arm muscles.

I resolutely stayed away from everything involving knitting and sewing needles, and did my best to prod the tablet screen with my right hand, and I'm hoping I will have cured it. A hot bath in the afternoon seems to have helped as well.

I drew this while I was reading in bed afterwards.

Tuesday 27th February

 Yesterday's supper could have been so very, very different;

Best Beloved prepared it all while I was teaching a piano lesson.  Homemade sausages rolls (well, home assembled sausage rolls from sausages and bought puff pastry) with what we call 'salady bits'; sliced up raw veg etc.

Recently he's bought delicious small red peppers on the grocery order and they make a lovely addition to the selection on the plate.

He was halfway through slicing them up when he discovered he was actually prepping a large red chilli;

I've transferred them to a saucer to use a more appropriately in a day or so. Perhaps in a stir fry.

Monday 26th February

It looked as though the February weather was revving up for March, which is traditionally said to 'come in like a lion and go out like a lamb'. After a couple of very still (and cold and wet) days today was a clear blowy day. 

I've done cross stitching today. This was finishing off yesterday's sewing, and then charting and making a start on the final section. Thursday is looking faintly possible as a finish day if all continues to go well

 Knitting; I have added to the poncho and the mitred-square blanket. I'm trying to knit about an inch of poncho a day. That is only 6 rows, and takes about 10 or 15 minutes. Just enough time to enjoy my morning coffee. If I  can keep this up I should finish it while it is still enough to wear it...

The prototype book cover is nearly finished. This is the back. 

I want to finish adding random stipling to the pinkish patch, which is partially sewn down already on the front cover. I shall do something or other to the big green circle before adding it to the cover and then it might be finished.... one can always do more!

And let's not forget the painted pebbles - I did two this morning to catch up. No school children dame past. Perhaps today as an 'insect day' as we used to call them.

A very domestic day...

Sunday 25th February

The weather today was - English. 

A frost at the end of February isn't unusual, anymore than sleet or sunshine. I looked out off the window to see all three at the same time, although the sleet made short work of the frost.

So, as an antidote to the weather I'm reading this at the moment;

Set in the 1920s immediately after the first war, in a 'small' country house in the style long since gone - 

butler, footman, housekeeper, lady's maid, cook, kitchen maid, other maids, Nannie and the nursery maid, chauffeur, land agent, gardeners.... 

and The Family, mother, father, widowed son, daughter with three children whose husband is away on business in South America, teenage grandson whose father died in the war, another son who comes up from town at weekends, and a young, unmarried niece staying for some months over the summer....

Who will the niece marry?

It's very light, summery and I am finding it very amusing in short bursts. Every chapter so far has been crammed with so many ridiculous observations and observations that I need to take a break in between!

 

Saturday 24th February

We had plans to take my father with us and meet up with our family this morning for coffee. We have a favourite cafe midway between where they live and we live, with plenty of outside seating. As long as it isn't raining or bitterly cold it's fine for a pleasant morning together.

I checked the forecast yesterday evening and promptly cancelled! When I looked out first thing today everything was covered in a white frost.  Throughout the day we had sun, drizzle and rain by turns but it was always cold!

So, an indoor day for all of us, although our son might well gave gone out for a walk in the afternoon. 

We had some of the chilli beef from the crockpot meal I made yesterday. It made six portions, or three meals, so the rest is now in two containers the freezer. I used the Bored of Lunch' recipe, leaving out the chocolate this time. Some cocoa or chocolate is a good idea, but 30g as given in the recipe is definitely toooo much. I add shall tomato puree and leave out the cinnamon next time.

The crockpot is now loaded with 'creamy peppercorn and mustard chicken' which I must remember to switch off at about 830 tonight.

Cross stitching is going well, and so is the book cover.

This does seem like a rather dull blog post today, but I'm grateful for a quieter day from time to time. After all, the saying 'may you live in interesting times' is supposed to be an ancient Chinese curse!

Now at the end of the day we are watching the film of 'The Voyage of the Dawn Treader' on television. It's very entertaining but nothing like I remember from the book!

From the website 'rotten tomatoes'

Oh quick, switch the television off! The film is ending with a really soapy saccherine song while the credits roll!

Friday 23rd February

 What is work, and what is not work?

Best Beloved has put two loads through the washing machine and hung it all up to dry, walked round to the corner shop for a pint of milk, tightened up the bolts on the bedframe which involved unscrewing the modification he made to the splats in order to slope the mattress to the head of the bed for me and also a good deal of hoovering. And changing the sheet and putting the mattress back. Ther was also putting out the bins and fetching them back, making lunch and getting petrol for the car.

I would call all of that work, and sadly I find almost all of those tasks impossible. I did slowly put a chilli con carne on to cook in the crock pot, and help with shifting the mattress enough so he could do the rest, and we prepared our evening meal together.

Otherwise I continued with the book cover

Copied a book cover using a drawing program on the tablet

and did another hour's cross stitching while listening to the audiobook 'Mrs Miniver' on BBC sounds. None of which sounds like 'work'!

It's a very unequal division of labour for us these days. One solution is just Not To Be Too Houseproud and embrace the 'lived-in' look!

......

Thursday 22nd February

 We've just had supper

Egg fried rice. This is turning into quite a favourite.  I chop the vegetables while Himself looks after the frying pan. There are red peppers, carrots, spring onions all gently sizzled in a little sunflower oil, and then pre-cooked plain rice, soy sauce (not too much, Dr Michael Moseley,  we were paying attention to your advice!) and a little chilli sauce. Finally a couple of beaten eggs stirred through as they were setting. Delicious. I should have added a handful of frozen peas for the colour. Another time.

I've added more to the bookcover. I need to think of something to decorate the two plain patches of felt and most of the other patches are still stuck full of pins.

Progress is happening on the cross stitching front. I did another 90 minutes this afternoon,  about all I can do in one go. Maybe (maybe not!) it will catch the very last post on 29yh February if nothing happens to derail me....

Wednesday 21st February

 Wednesday disappeared in whirl of activity. A couple of youtube videos, and a conversation with a friend sent me into an intense day of making a fabric cover for my Commonplace Books.

As you can tell from the confusion of pins and fabrics it has some way to go.

The backing is an old cotton pillowslip from a duvet set which is too worn to use. On top I have randomly applied fabric (stolen from my patchwork tin) and felt scraps. Of course Sensible Me might choose to embellish the cover before putting it on the book, but Hurry-hurry Me can't wait. 

It's a great way of using up all the scraps of thread from the years of collaboration with Ang; 

Inside this innocent little felt-lined fabric folder

are all my threads scraps! Aargh!

I just take hold of a likely looking end and gently tease it out to see what I've caught. Will it be long or short? Variegated or plain? How many strands?

That's how the colours for the seed stitched square on the top right corner of the book cover were 'chosen'.

What with the amount of time I spent doing this (I was only going to measure the book; I didn't mean to go this far but one thing led to another) and admin and teaching, and an hour cross stitching for the Dec/Jan/Feb collaboration, it was 7.30pm. Book Club zoom and bed, and no time left to blog.

Tuesday 20th February

 I have just finalised the next phase of my retirement, and told the parents of the children I teach that they need to find a new piano teacher for September. A bit of a wrench, and also, truth be told, a relief. One student is taking Grade 7 in a few week's, and that is really pushing the boundaries of what is achievable on zoom. 

One will be starting with her new teacher next week; I'm so pleased for her as I think she will really enjoy face to face lessons. 

This morning we saw the family on their way to school. Or rather we heard them; a squeal from the youngest announced their discovery of the replenished row of pebbles on the wall outside the house.

The parents, for both father and mother were there, looked round and caught sight of us finishing our breakfast at the far end of the living/dining room. We smiled and gave them a wave, and the children waved shyly back. So sweet.

I was trying to count how many plant foods I had eaten so far this week but kept running out of fingers. So I drew them again;

I need to add asparagus and pine nut kernels from our supper.

Yesterday I was experimenting with the drawing program on my tablet;

This was done using the highlighter pen to do the sea

And I used a crayon for the hedgehog.

Monday 19th February

 Today has been a mix of catching up and getting started.

The painted pebble project, putting a pebble with a little picture on it on the wall outside our house ground to a halt halfway through last week. I prepped half a dozen or so and put them out this morning once they were dry enough to survive the rain.

I'll need some more for tomorrow. 

Some parcels to post, a letter to write, prescription to sort out and request; all those little jobs that can fill a list so quickly.

I used Ang's recipe for Belgian Cake to deal with a smidgeon of mincemeat left in the bottom of a jar. How is it that in order to finish one jar of mincemeat I had to start another one? It's a very good cake, well worth the very slight effort of making it. 

I used half quantities and cooked it in a tin about 15cm square for 20 mins at 160°c in the air fryer. I will happily use up the rest of the newly half finished jat to make another.

Getting started; my work table now looks like this;

I spent most of the afternoon creating a cross stitch chart and beginning to stitch. I've had the idea for weeks now, but no idea how to make it work, and then no brain to start, and then no time to do it! I feel so much better for having made the chart, chosen the colours and done some stitches.

Sunday 18th February - Wait

Maybe I should take the word 'wait' as my word for the year? Perhaps I just need a word for a season.

I've been trying to remember to take 5 minutes every (most!) days to just sit. To just be still. When I do remember I feel refreshed and ready to carry on with the rest of the day. 

'You don't always have to be doing something. You can just be, and that's enough' is an Alice Wheeler quotation from the book 'Still Alice' by Lisa Genova. 

'I discovered I must keep still and I would be found. God was not the object of my search, I was.'  from Sr Angelica Gutierrez.

Various events this past week (which I have not blogged as they are not all my story to tell) have left Himself and me really, really tired at the end of this week. The important things have all been accomplished, and the rest will keep until tomorrow.

At the times of greatest need, I was grateful for this prayer, written by a member of the Poor Clares, which I learned only a few days ago, easily remembered, and if you can't remember it you can easily make it up;

Dear Lord,

Hear me

Heed me,

Help me,

Hold me,

Hide me,

Hearten me,

Hush me,

And be Heaven to me.

As St Julian of Norwich famously said 'All shall be well, and all shall be well and all manner of things shall be well.' 

I shall be holding on to these words!

 

Saturday 17th February

The week just gone was half term. How quickly the days flew by! I could do with another week.

My garden is looking less bedraggled now that my lovely gardener as been and gone. It was well into twilight before she left and noticeably colder, but she wears heavy duty jacket and waterproof over trousers and so I imagine she manages to keep warm. 

During term time she also runs Forest School sessions in local schools. I do think they are so important. Children who have huge difficulty in the classroom are often completely transformed in the Forest School 'classroom '.

My 'Feel better in 5'  book by Dr Rangan Chatterjee, which I go back to when I start feeling a bit down, recommends spending 5 minutes outdoors every day, or standing in the door way, or by an open window. It is quite remarkable what an effect this can have.

I have started reading 'The Crossing Places' by Elli Griffiths. I was resisting getting it - how could it live up to all the hype? - but it was 99p on kindle. I take it all back - I'm completely hooked. 

I've also finished listening to 'Death in Diamonds' on audible by S J Bennett, read by Samantha Bond. I do enjoy the books in which the late Queen Elizabeth solves murder mysteries. The first 3 books were set in modern times, but this one all happens in 1957. I'm hoping for more to come in the series. 

Meanwhile I've downloaded the dramatised reading of Winnie the Pooh with Dame Judi Dench, Jane Horrocks, Stephen Fry and other wonderful actors. It will be a good 'companion listen' for the Andrew Dotchin Lent Course which he publishes daily on his blog.

Friday 16th February

No post yesterday; it was a long and exhausting day and by the time we got home we were about ready to find a book and go to bed.

It was  'visit to the Big London Hospital for routine clinic appointments for me' day; rheumatology because I have scleroderma, and cardiology because the scleroderma has caused pulmonary arterial hypertension (amongst other things). The scleroderma is stable - whoop whoop - and the PAH remains mild - whoop whoop!

However it has become increasingly clear that I need to have more oxygen support during the day now, as well as just overnight.

Scleroderma is a progressive auto-immune disease, and it has done most of its progressing in my lungs. I've known this would happen from the start, way back when I was diagnosed in 2001. 

I reached the stage of needing night time oxygen in 2013, and I could have cried, (OK, I did have a little weep) but it is surprising how quickly you get used to things. 

So this time round, I'm actually a bit pleased. Having more oxygen during the day will make such a difference, in a good way, like giving in and getting glasses or hearing aids, getting a walking pole, accepting help with lifting and carrying. 

Low oxygen levels, as thet get lower and lower, make me feel tired and grumpy, and then sad and tearful, and finally panicky and about to die! So once I am sorted with official daytime oxygen support I won't have to focus on breathing deeply or bite my tongue from making grumpy and cross replies all the time.

I think my husband will be relieved too - he knows I don't mean to be grumpy, but even so sometimes his armour gets dented!

Wednesday 14th February - battery went flat before I coul post

Into today's Lent email from Andrew Dotchin says that Sundays in Lent are not fast day. I'll go with that.

Although in some ways it will make no difference to me; I haven't given up any particular https://suffolkvicarhomes.com/2024/02/13/hunny-40-days-in-the-100-aker-wood-day-1-ash-wednesday/ or beverage. I don't think it will be a good idea to relax my intention to... how shall I put this... clean up my vocabulary, especially when listening to the news, and I do want to persist in taking time every day to close my eyes and just... meditate, contemplate, be still. S9 Sundays w

Today was a day of great organisings and communicating and trying to get my head around various upcoming meetings. It's done, and written down, and I can relax. 

In the meantime I'm still knitting aways at the first legwarmer for my father, to keep his ankles nice and warm when he's out and about in his wheelchair.  I'm over half way now but I doubt I'll get them done for Sunday which is when the next wheelchair outing is to take place. 

Knitting is not as easy to draw as I hoped!

Tuesday 13th February

 I didn't have pancakes today... 

Quite often I save them until the weekend. There's a school of thought that says Sundays are somehow outside Lent, in that one can have that a glass of wine or whatever it is you are giving up, or taking up, to observe Lent. I'm not sure I fully subscribe to this, but I'm also not sure I want to get too bogged down.

A bright spot in an otherwise cold, grey, damp and miserable day was the beginning of the annual Lent course created by Rev Andrew Dotchin. I get the day's instalment delivered to my email inbox, but you can also find it on his blog. 

This year he is using the Winnie-the-Pooh books;

His daily emails/posts are challenging but relatable. 

I've downloaded 'The Unknown Ajax' by Geogette Heyer, on offer for 99p on kindle. Hardly 'literature' or 'spiritual reading', but between getting the Powers of Attorney ready for signing and various other fairly taxing chores, it's about all I'm fit for today.

I've just got to complete today's Lent 'to-do' suggestion from Andrew Dotchin and I'm all done for the day.

I had hunny on toast and a bit of cheese for my tea. Excellent. 

Monday 12th February

 My face is glowing from sun and wind and sea air;

 We went down to the coast with my father for the first of hopefully many lovely outings with the new very foldy wheelchair. It looks like Summer! (It wasn't!) There was a fresh cold breeze but we were reasonably well wrapped up.

Honestly, the first trip with the wheelchair reminded me of the first trip with a new baby. I'm not referring to my father, more unfolding the wheelchair for real in the car park (we had practiced a lot at home, but even so...) and working out how the lap belt fastened, and how to arrange a blanket comfortably on his lap, and how to wrap a scarf around his head and neck to keep him warm...

I think we spent nearly an hour on the promenade watching a toddler flying this kite which his young parents had painstakingly assembled and launched for him, and just staring at the sea and the distant wind turbines which faded in and out of view s the sun caught the blades, and wandering along the short pier.

He said he enjoyed it very much, and is looking forward to the next trip - I'm so pleased. We had a good time to, both on our own account and also because he was clearly so happy.

I have now abandoned all other knitting projects while I swiftly knit ankle warmers for my father to cover the gap between trousers and shoes. I have used some chunky yarn, I think it is real wool, or at least fairly woolly, 6.5mm needles and cast on 36 stitches which I hope will be about 10-11 inches long. I shall knit rows until the length is heading for 9.5 inches long and bind off. Then I shall sew the cast on and bound off edges together and hopefully have a slightly stretchy tube that can be easily pulled on over the bottom of his trousers. The hat I made in Advent has also now found a use. I'm not sure if he has any gloves but I am sure that a pair of Teddy Glove Puppets, also from Advent, will NOT be to his taste! We might have some spare gloves somewhere in a basket of gloves and scarves etc.

I am making a small portable Commonplace book to keep in my coat pocket or my tiny handbag. 

I find browsing through the random writings a very effective distraction when I have severely run out of breath. I'm not sure how this works, but by the time I have read a few pages everything - breathing and associated states of mind - have somehow settled back down. It might very probably take exactly the same amount of time without something to distract me, but the process of reading short snatches and paragraphs seems to de-stress the situation very quickly for me.  

Sunday 11th February

 'O Sabbath rest by Galilee,

O calm of hills above....' 

Except I can't remember the words properly and usually hum a  mish mash of lines from different verses...

Today has been pretty much an oasis of calm for me and I have hardly done anything. I've eaten the food that Best Beloved has prepared, cooked, served and cleared away and that's about it. 

Par for the course at the beginning of half term, especially after a busy day yesterday. 

Maybe a Lent project for me is to take the time to sit and think... 

Taking time to sit and think, if only for 5 minutes, makes a bigger difference than I thought it would.

Saturday 10th February

 I did my walking at the South Coast this morning.

We went, Himself and I, to check out car parks and access for bringing my father down in the new very foldy wheelchair. 

Let's go back an hour or so; the wheelchair is on 14 day's approval. The morning began with an hour of testing out the wheelchair chair with my father in it for comfort and usability. I am glad to say it passed with flying colours, so we shall be keeping it.

As it was still early, and the weather was reasonable if a bit cold, instead of driving home we kept on going until we literally reached the southern edge of England! A slow toddle along the prom, with frequent pauses to take in the view, and then driving to check out out another place further east filled all the morning and we were rather late home for lunch.

I saw;

Rooks, maybe a score or more, in the trees where they have had their rookery for decades, all filling the topmost branches. I used to look out for the rookeries along the diffrrent roads I travelled was a peripatetic music teacher. When we next come this way, hopefully in a week or so with my father, they will have repaired their nests and be sitting in them.

Cows, outlined on the skyline of a green hill, like an illustration in a nursery tale book

A flock of sheep close together in a field of kale or something similar, so that the ones lying down appeared to be nestling in a fluffy green duvet

A labrador, running alongside a jogger on the prom suddenly veer away towards a great puddle in the nearby green space and lie down in it with an air of great satisfaction. It got up, moved to a fresh place and lay down again, and yet another place, before leaping up and galloping off to catch up with its owner.

And I walked for nearly a mile!

Thursday 9th February

 This morning I discovered who has been collecting the painted pebbles I have been putting out on the low wall between our garden and the pavement. 

I often listen out for the chatter of small children walking to the same schools that my children went to. It helps me keep track of time; even I hear them I know it is half past eight. Today the chattering stopped dead outside our house; a small girl, probably in the Reception class was bending down exclaiming and peering at them. I could see her mother resignedly stopping a few houses back as the older boy clearly wanted to shed his jacket. 

The girl picked up one pebble, twirled around three times, then picked up the other one.

'There are two left, two, two, two left', she cried ran back to her mother who was encumbered by her own back pack, the children's back packs, two pair of wellies and a jacket. (I remember those days all too well).

She showed the pebbles to her mother, flashed them in front of her brother, twirled round, nearly gave him one of them, changed her mind and gave him the other one, and they ran on along the pavement chittering like sparrows holding the pebbles aloft.

I have to say it has made my day!

(When I used to take the exact same walk to the playgroup and later the infant school with my own children, my son used to pause outside a bungalow which has replaced the wall with half a dozen metal chains hanging in curves between brick pillars. Progress came a halt, even if we were running late, while he carefully set each chain gently swinging. I was a little worried about what the owner would think, until I saw that he was looking out for the children, waiting to give them a smile and a wave.)

I have put out another pebble. Are these children the only collectors, I wonder?

Thursday 8th February

Two posts today, the earlier one was really yesterday's. 

Today is all zooms and daffodils...

It's a five-zoom day; the usually three piano lessons, plus another piano lesson carried over from earlier in the week, and then the regular Thursday church homegroup zoom still to come.

(not a church homegroup as I used to think of them! We don't plough through a Bible Study booklet, or sit in an attitude of prayer taking turns to pray out loud or stay resolutely silent...

We do take turns to share a Bible verse or paragraph, and put our heads together to see what we can discover between ourselves (Galatians fruits of the spirit bit if I'm choosing,  but I've lost track of whose turn it is), and usually have a closing prayer from a book, but in between we talk about the week, chatting over concerns, highs and lows.  We pray for each other about whatever seems good during the intervening days until next time. I love it!)

Oh, I mentioned daffodils...

Firstly Himself bought three bunches of daffodils, some for me, some for my father when he was shopping today, but then brought them ALL back home by accident. Wow! Twelve stems for a £1? Can the daffodil farmers make any money at that price? I stuffed them into two jars, and will take half round to my father at the weekend.

Then a friend (a member of the homegroup) dropped round with another bunch. So the jars are absolutely full now. Some of hers are a little further out than mine.

And on my rather shorter walk this afternoon when it wasn't raining, I noticed that some of ours are just beginning to flower in the front.

(The painted pebbles I put on the wall, marking off the days in February, are slowly disappearing... I haven't seen them go... I don't want to keep them so I am pleased that someone else is taking them. One of the passing small children perhaps, on their way to or from school?)

Wednesday 7th February

 Here's yesterday's post, only a day late!

I spent a good deal of Wednesday going through the process for creating a Power of Attorney document. Or rather, two of them. At first I was a bit overwhelmed; any legal document or contract does tend to spook me (even after 20 years I'm still a bit wobbly when it comes to tax returns).

In fact, providing everyone is in agreement about everything it is all relatively straightforward. I have been through all 24 pages of both applications and think I know what has to be completed, or ticked, or witnessed, or can be disregarded in each of the 15 sections. 

Why two? These days one creates a Health and Welfare version and a separate Financial Affairs version.

Now all I need to do is complete the various sections online, which they recommend so make it easier to correct mistakes and print them off to collect the signatures IN THE RIGHT ORDER, this us Most Important (although how would the 'powers that be' know if I didn't?). Finally it all has to be sent off, with the money, to register them.

These are for my father; I shall then set about doing another set each for me and Himself.

Needless to say (so why am I saying it?) I shall use an ordinary black pen for signing, not a quill!

Did you know quills come as left- or right- handed, according to which wing of the bird they are taken from? The left-handed ones were cheaper, as the end of them curled in your face when you were writing. I am left-handed, but of course that wouldn't have been allowed back in the olden days.

I was allowed to write with my left hand at school, but the sewing teacher at the convent resolutely taught me as though I was right handed back when I was about 6 years old. No wonder I found stitching from right to left while holding the needle in my left hand such an awkward business, and took so long to produce such untidy work. My report cards read 'poor' or 'fair', 'very slow progress', and eventually, and unsurprisingly 'makes little effort'.

Huh!

How things can change over time!

Tuesday 6th February

 Happiness is a thick warm hand-knitted jumper, knitted wrist warmers, home knitted woollen socks, and a knitted shawl around my shoulders and neck.

I'm feeling warm and toasty for the first time today, now that I have settled down on the settee for the evening. 

It's have been a fairly busy day so I'vebeen bustling around from one thing to another. A frienda friend came round after lunch a bunch of tulips - so kind! We had coffee in the garden, all wrapped up against the cold. It really wasn't the weather for sitting outside but we were both willing to give it a go.

I managed a walk too - no.t as far as earlier days because I'm now tackling a different, slightly steeper road. The slightest uphill gradient has a dramatic effect on my speed! Even so, I managed 550m, there and back,a total of about 800 steps, in quarter of an hour. I'm happy with that as a start. 

Daily drawing 

The picture was cut out of a magazine. It's a hill top town somewhere in Yemen. (Sorry about the glare in the photo) What struck me is how the similar the town was to others all round the Mediterranean Sea; Portugal, Spain, Italy, Greece, Turkey, but here what I took for sky is actually an apparently unending series of steep sided mountains and ravines, making the towns especially isolated. 

When people are widely separated from each other, and access so nearly impossible for centuries, it's not surprising that many countries remained as tiny kingdoms and principalities struggling against each other until comparatively recently, and even in today's times.

Monday 5th February

There was a blink of sun; if you'd picked that moment to do something at floor level you would have missed it. I'd gone out for my walk beforehand and was sorry, but only for a brief moment when cold greyness returned.

I walked even further! But not much. Just a couple of yards further on, right to the very end of our road. I had stopped short yesterday as there were a couple of people propping up their bicycles and scrolling on their phones at the very end.

I added a pebble to the fifth brick on the wall. Two have been picked up by passers-by which is very pleasing. 

Today's sketch; a little sprig from an azalea, covered in lichen. The twig is only a few inches long so I drew it life size. It struck me that it could equally well be a huge branch!

The wheelchair arrived, brilliant service considering it was ordered on Friday. And it is blue,

Sunday 4th January - Contemplation

I'm not great at this. Being still, focussing on just one thing, following a thought through to see where it goes... But I'm giving it a go.

I'm reading 'Praying Like Monks, Living Like Fools' by Tyler Staton at the moment, in short bursts.

Chapter 2 opens with the story of Owen and CJ; CJ is new to Alcoholics Anonymous, and Owen, and older member, is his mentor.

I don't know about the 12-step program, but I do know that sooner or later one is supposed to acknowledge the existence of a power, greater than everything, and - for lack of a better word - pray, call upon this power for help.

CJ is totally NOT doing anything that smacks of 'that God-stuff'.

Owen takes him to the seaside, and they sit on the beach, looking at the ocean for a while as day becomes dusk, not talking, just sitting.

'Yeah, I get what you mean about a greater 'something' out there,' says CJ eventually.

'Yup', replied Owen.

And home they go.

Tyler Staton suggests you find a good spot, where you won't be disturbed; where you are not too hot, not too cold, and set a timer for 5 minutes so that you don' have to worry about continually checking the time, close your eyes and just settle yourself to - contemplating.

Contemplating what? I might contemplate God, or something to do with God, or I might start off with a favourite memory - (us two, nearly fifty years ago, walking on the Yorkshire Moors one Summer and we stopped for breather under a mature spreading tree and watched the light, warm breeze ripple through the field of long grass before us....) and see where it takes me... oh, is that the alarm already?

After a bit you might want to set the alarm for a longer period.

  

Sunday 4th February

 I've managed another walk today, and reached the end of our road - hooray! It was really a bit too far, as I discovered on the way back, but with several pauses for breath and a certain dogged determination I managed. Luckily we live at the lowest point of the road; whether I go left out of the drive (as I have been doing) or right it is always downhill all the way home.

Now, here's another question for the horticulturists among the readers; what is this flower? 

The actual flower is a very vivid pink; you can see it - just - near a couple of red berries that have fallen from some other shrub. If I am going to walk past it twice a day I might as well learn its name!

In one front garden there is a small camellia struggling to make a display. It is well sheltered because the other plants nearby are encroaching upon it, and has maybe ten flowers. Our own little camellia has plenty of buds, but only a couple of flowers, very low down where it is easy to miss them.

We watched the weather forecast for the week at lunchtime. I'm already shivering in sympathy with those living further north; it looks like we may escape the worst of the coming cold snap.

I'm hoping for slightly decent weather tomorrow; we are taking delivery of a lightweight folding wheelchair so that we can take my father out for a push around the park, or the duck pond, or wherever. It has been a challenge finding one small enough to fit the boot of the car.

Finally I discovered this one which folds into its own bag - amazing! 

But pink! I rang the manufacturer, Fenetic, and yes, it comes in blue as well. It is supposed to be delivered tomorrow, which is quick work since I ordered it on Friday. We can try it out, and send it back if we have to (but I hope we don't.) The reviews on amazon are a mixture of 5 and 2 stars; but on closer inspection, the 5 star reviews relate to this model, which has larger wheels and handbrakes, and a previous, lower specification one. 

I'm down to the last two sachets of herbal teas from pukka from that mad moment a few years ago when I ordered a huge consignment of 'peace', cleanse', 'rebalance', 'new you' and whatever else they were. Either I've gone off them, or they always did taste a bit like herbal soap. This one, 'peace' is spearmint, something or other, and ashwagandha (????) - well, it's hot. I think I will generously give the final sachet to the worms and stick with English Breakfast or Lemon, Honey and Ginger for now. I shall hold fire on decision-making regarding the Matcha Green Tea for a bit - I laid in supplies because the gardener liked them, but she's keener on the Lemon and Ginger. 

Right. I'm chucking this brew down the sink and going off to make a real pot of tea!

  

Saturday 3rd February

 Another grey day. But never mind - it was dry, which made it easier for me to go out for a walk.

Before went out I had a go at painting some pebbles from the garden, using the Posca paint markers I was given for Christmas. I did the snowdrops first, then the daffodils.  I'm not sure the aconites on the left were as successful. 

These pebbles are a nod towards February's 'noticing exercise. I'm balancing then on the wall in our front garden;

to mark off the days in February, and also as an incentive to walk every day. I wonder if they will stay there, of if passers-by might take one? I'm half inclined to write a 'please take one' sign... there are loads of pebbles in the garden. 

I've also put proper shoes on. Yesterday and the day before I just stuck my feet into my favourite old shoes which should have been retired long ago as the elastic sides are completely gone and my feet just slop around. But so comfortable!

I walked further, firstly, before I had to stop for breath, and secondly in terms of distance. Hooray! About 360 yards.

After much dithering we decided we would meet up with our children in the afternoon in the hope that, as on Friday and Thursday the afternoon would be sunny and warmer.

Well, that did slightly happen; there was a little bit of sun at about 3, and the wind died, so we were able to be together outside for tea/coffee/hot chocolate and cake/bara brith/scones with cream and jam according to choice. It was lovely to catch up; our last meeting was on Christmas Eve, and Daughter couldn't come then.

On the way there and back I looked at the trees, comparing the shapes of the branches. So that was what I chose to sketch today.

Friday 2nd February - Candlemas

Snowdrops are called Canflemas Lilies in France, I believe. From just one or two buds and some promising clumps of leaves back at Christmas we now have quite a display.

When the long border was being discussed,  I said I wanted something new to look forward to every month. I have no idea what this shrub is, but it has tiny weeny flowers out now.

This morning was depressingly cloudy and cold when I went off for what I hope will become a daily toddle up and down our road through February. (Rain or shine? Err, maybe...)

I went a little bit further, about 360 yards today, whereas yesterday was 220 yards. I could have gone a little bit further still, but thought I'd leave it in the hope of an easy 'win' tomorrow. I like to set my targets low and exceed them, rather than strain to attain them.

On the way back I found a tiny bit of twig encrusted with lichen. This is for examining j der a magnifying glass, after reading the next season in my Nature's Calendar in 72 Seasons book.

I put the pen in for scale. They are fascinating organisms, a kind of symbiosis of algae and funghi. It's the theme of the next day or so.

And here's the 'noticing exercise' for February. This has got me thinking of various ideas I could have a go at.

I've done today's sketch, but won't post (even though I'm quite pleased it) because it features a friend’s family member and I have a policy of avoiding pictures like that.

Thursday 1st February

 Today, 1st February, is Imbolc, the first day of Spring in the ild Celtic calendar. 

The sun shone, the birds were singing...

I even went for a tiny teeny walk along our road, my first of the year, looking at all the front gardens. Some crocuses, even a couple of primulas were flowering.

In the garden I tidied up the chard, removing dead stalks and leaves, and had a little look around. There's a little bit of chard to pick for a green vegetable medley in the next few days.

Green vegetable medley;

Sweat some finely chopped shallot and onion in oil or butter. Add a little garlic if you like. Then add whatever green veg you have handy; some green beans cut into very short pieces, bits of broccoli, a handful of (frozen) peas, broad beans, etc. Add a little water and seasoning; I like to use Marigold vegetable stock granules name up with boiling water. Simmer until done, letting the water evaporate a bit. Then add the stems of your green leaves; chard, kale, spinach, and after a minute the shredded leaves.

When all seems cooked, serve!

At home I taught three piano lessons and did a bit of drawing, but not in any particularly wonderful way.

My blog yesterday was short; the day had been exhausting. There were a few family 'curve balls' flying around that needing catching, and friends are also having 'trying times' so what with one thing and another Two sentences were all that I could reasonably manage to construct! Today has been very different. Most of the curved balls have been caught and the 'trying times' calmed down somewhat.

These are my two best drawings of the day - a diagram which I held up to the screen for one piano student to help her get her head round the counting in her piece; (I don't really think this counts as a drawing!)

and another go at the overlapping spheres - Lesson 2 of  'You can learn to draw in 30 days' book. I didn't do any drawing yesterday, so this picture shows Tuesday's and then today's below. 

My other achievement, if you can call it that, was to find the needle that I lost a couple of days ago and couldn't find anywhere. I was in my left shoe which I had been wearing without ill-effect all day for the first time since I lost the needle. It was only when I took it off... but no harm done, no visible blood...!