A yoyo day today. On the plus side I slept well enough and woke up feeling energetic and wanting to get on with things.
I spent as long as I could on the allotment (until it became just too hot to be out in the sun), and I finally cleared away the last of the chard plants on what will be the leek and brassica bed. Although, the bed is far too dry for me to be able to plant anything for now. I’m pondering how best to deal with this – maybe give it lots of water then try to dig it over and break the soil down? There is no rain forecast for the foreseeable future, so the only other option is just to wait (but maybe wait and wait and wait?). Unless you have some ideas you can share with me?
Peas have begun to flower
Salad bed – I pick the outer leaves of the lettuces not the whole plant. Watered regularly they will last most of the summer (that’s beetroot and spring onions on the r h s)
This old water tank holds a courgette plant, two cucumbers that will climb up the wire mesh, and some flowering plants
Also on the plus side, I baked a delicious batch of bread (4 loaves this time), and yet another vegan chocolate cake. I seem not to be able to be in the house without one right now. Also as an excuse/alibi, we have another visit from a senior tomorrow and he does enjoy a piece of cake.
And another plus (there seem to be plenty of them don’t there, now I’m sitting listing them) is that I finally, at long last, finished the book I have struggled to read since the start of lockdown and started another. For no good reason, it took me weeks to finish it: I struggled to concentrate and focus, despite it being a book I was really enjoying.
Equally puzzling, I’m finding the next book easy to read and very satisfying. It’s Wolf Hall, which I have read before but I decided to start from the beginning and read all the way through the trilogy. It is a delicious book – so well written, and such a good read. (And co-incidentally rather perfect pour nos jours). I’ve found the knack of reading it on the kindle whilst knitting and drinking a cup of tea (or as occasionaly, a beer) – how’s that for multi-tasking.
It’s my mood that’s been the yoyo bit. As with other friends, mostly I manage to achieve a delicate equilibrium to cope, but it doesn’t take much to tip the balance temporarily. So with some encouragement from others, I decided to skip the evening (zoom) meeting and just sit with a good book and the knitting and that beer, and the evening sunshine and birdsong. Just the tonic.
I hope your equilibrium isn’t too out of kilter, and that I’ll see you tomorrow. In the meantime, stay home; stay safe xx
the magic jug 