Sunday 3 March 2024

I am related to Churchill . . . apparently

 This is what Family Search tell me, but I am somewhat suspicious of their research. In fact, downright sceptical!  View the tree HERE.  It is a nice thought, to be his 11th cousin.  The name Clotworthy Skeffington is wonderful . . .

Lulu finally in possession of the Amazon bag

Well, progress has been made on the quilt and in the garden.  Yesterday, I finally sewed the first bit of sashing in and I have to say, the inaccuracies have backed off now and aren't so visible (except to my eagle eye!) Hoping to make more progress today but it's childcare day today and tomorrow, so I'm not holding my breath.  I have promised baking and sowing some seeds.  I  need to make another super-calorie rice pudding and Potato Dauphinoise too.  

Emma and Danny put the staging together yesterday, so I'm ready to go in the greenhouse (though I fear not much progress will take place for a while as it's currently minus 3 C . . .)  They also got cracking with the Summerhouse and Danny put some easing oil onto the screws and managed to get the jammed door off, and then sanded it top and bottom where the winter damp had swelled the wood. We managed to get Emma's heavy massage table up the steps and not fall in the pond with it :)  So things are taking shape and they will start decorating it next weekend, inside and out.  They cleared away leaves from the pond and we had a tidy up that end of the garden.  They bought two packs of wildflower seeds from Tesco to strew in the bottom paddock, so that should look pretty this summer.  It was sunny all day, and warmish despite there being a covering of snow on the hills round about here.  All in all we got plenty of fresh air, and little "I" had great fun outside.

I managed to force myself to make jam on Saturday, but the strawberry had to be boiled up again - did it in the microwave as a small amount, and then of course, it exploded, so ended up an even smaller amount in jars.  I also did Jumbleberry jam (had an order) and that hasn't set as I had a conflict with it being apparently ready for the jars, and Keith's lunchtime. So I will need to boil that up again today.

Keith is looking forward to warmer weather and has asked Danny to wheel him out to his workshop for half an hour or so when the weather is warmer and it's dry.  I have been grateful for Danny's help as sometimes it's a struggle getting Keith out of his chair (hoping that Jon will be able to manhandle into the car the riser chair we are buying from his mum - delivery on Saturday if so). Mealtimes are taking longer and longer and I always end up feeding him at some point.  We have a phone call from the Dietition on Wednesday afternoon. We've also had an NHS letter which says we note you are waiting for an appt., in Geriatrics, please let us know if you still need it . . . What use is that, no details of what the appt. might be for!

Right, onwards and upwards.  Hope everyone has some welcome sunshine.


7 comments:

  1. Garden, greenhouse and summerhouse all sound to be coming along nicely.
    I keep putting off starting seeds as the weather is so haywire - frost this a.m. here too - not many of those this year.
    Hope your day goes well

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    1. Progress. No point in starting seeds when it's so cold at night, though that said, "I" and I started of some Nasturtiums and Pot Marigolds a few weeks back and the latter are now through - and given shelter in the greenhouse.

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  2. So you could be related to Churchill and I used to live opposite his grandson, also called Winston Churchill when he was MP for Stretford and then Davyhulme in Manchester. Small world. :-)

    It sounds like you are still really struggling with everything at the moment, thank goodness you at least have some help now. I do hope that things can ease for you a bit when the warmer weather comes.

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    1. No chance - this wasbased on someone's (American?) "family tree" where they just went by names somewhere in Devon. One was only 7 years old when she died, but had apparently been married and given birth by then!

      Struggling with a cold today. Just want to go to sleep so "I" is up with Danny and I am waiting for K to finish his meal so I can lie down before she comes back down again.

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  3. Do we need to curtsey now? Research can, and often does, bring up some surprises {and shocks}. Of course, you know I am descended from Brian Boru, King of Ireland? Way too windy here to go out and pile the garden waste that was cut last November into the bin which goes out on Wednesday evening. My gardener starts again this week. I have a long list of jobs for him!
    Did you get to see the Aurora last night? I'd imagine you'd have good, dark skies there.

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    1. No - someone's dream family tree I reckon - certainly people who aren't checking records properly. I think you win on hiararchy! Very windy here too (and a bitterly cold wind at that). Danny is now my Heavy Jobs gardener, which is a huge help.

      No, didn't even now that I might see the Aurora (and would have probably had to drive out up onto the Eppynt to see it. I was in bed by 9 p.m., feeling rough with a cold.

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  4. Bit by bit things are getting done around your place. So nice that you have some help with Keith.

    God bless.

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