My dear friend Gay sent me this book 30 years ago, when my kids were small. I never did get around to making it, but when I found it in my craft book stash recently, my fingers began to itch to get to work on it. Hope to start the central block today. When I went to the dentist in Llandovery yesterday, I found some pretty fabrics in the wool/patchwork shop there, which will suit. The narrow bias binding is for mending the ties on a duvet - I'll need to zigzag stitch down the middle to hold the strips together.
I gave myself a lunch treat after the dentist - I had three tiny fillings replaced which were by the gums so as long gas I didn't eat on that side, I could eat straight away. I had a good sausage roll and lovely raspberry and white chocolate muffin from the bakery there, and bought a lovely crusty brown Harvest loaf - so tasty. How people eat this cheap white sliced pap is beyond me.
Despite the dentist appt, it almost seemed like a day out - it's about 25 miles away, and the route goes through hill country and the road has a beautiful woodland-edging. It was so good to see all the trees (bar the Ash) sporting leaves in varying hues of green. When I used to walk up our old valley along the Cothi, the view across to the wooded slopes there showed as 50 shades of green in May. I even saw a Hare - first I've seen since we first moved to Wales, so they aren't that common. Last week I saw a Curlew up on the Eppynts, and that was a joy too - it was right beside the road. The Swifts have arrived, and have been flying above our hill, feeding, and on occasion, shrieking too. The sound of summer.
I was busy in the garden at 6 a.m. yesterday. I woke early and went out to work before it got hot. I got a few more boughten plants in, did lots of weeding, and am trying to reclaim the edges of the area at the top of the garden which is covered in large golden gravel and now totally reclaimed by Foxgloves, so I am going to add other boughten plants here and make it into another bed. First the Tormentil, Buttercups, Plantain and Nettles had to go though! Not to mention the foot or so of grass which had colonised the edges. Photos later.
Today I am going to sort out the raised beds and put fresh compost and farmyard manure in them to top them up and then get the bean poles and runner beans in. That gives me some more room in the greenhouse to get some tall perennial seeds started - some of the ones I gave Tam for Christmas which came from Old Bladbean Stud gardens. If you have Facebook, do look them up. They put up daily photographs throughout the summer. The plantings are amazing - such a beautiful garden and all done from scratch. I need to pot on various things in the greenhouse too.
Keith is struggling with the Air bed as it is so hard and he says making his bedsores worse. SALT are coming again today and he will trial the Tablet-style way of communicating. Since having pneumonia, his speech is a huge struggle for him, sadly.
The Officious One from the OT team has decreed Keith is not allowed to use their shower board (across the bath) as she deems him too much of a risk (this on seeing him once and NOT using it at the time!) and has also demanded the toilet support be taken away too - lest we be tempted to use that as well, instead of the commode. She got right up my nose (and Keith's) when we met her and if she never darkens our doors again, it will be too soon. You can do without people like that. Fortunately the other professionals we have met are more facilitating and helpful. We have NEVER had a problem using the shower board - there are two of us to help Keith if he needs it, and he only "stands up", supported by Danny, just a few inches off of it so I can wash his nether regions (sorry if TMI). They told me, we could buy our own, so we have . . . Obviously worried about being sued . . .
Right, off to the raised beds . . .
Well, she sounds a real barrel of laughs. What an attitude! As you say, you are the one on the spot, coping on a day-to-day business, you know what Keith can and can't do and your decision to buy a bath board sounds logical and entirely justified. X
ReplyDeleteGood Les Dawson mother-in-law material . . . If we had the slightest worry about giving Keith a shower, does she honestly think we would jeopardise his wellbeing? Miserable c*w . . .
DeleteThat book is an absolute joy, mine is years old and like yours was a thoughtful gift. Looking forward to seeing the finished quilt. Thanks for sharing in you blogs, Pam
ReplyDeleteHi Pam. Oh goodness, the making up is fiddly though. I have had to seek out my Bondaweb as I couldn't find the roll of thinner freezer paper I found only last week (and have promptly lost again!). Folded under edges too bulky by far. I love sewing by hand though.
DeleteThank you SO much for your beautiful flowering tree header photo!! I love the shape of the tree, and how the flowers reach practically down to the ground on the far left. It is so interesting!
ReplyDeleteGlad you love it. I haven't been out anywhere to take any photos I like better, which is why it's still up. There is a gorgeous one down in the town too. White is far prettier than the pink.
DeleteP struggled with the air bed initially as he sleeps in a half reclining position and found his rear sank into a dip and he struggled to get out of bed! The inflation in the bed is set to the occupant’s weight. Pete was just two kilos over the weight set but a community nurse reset the bed to the next weight up which was 15 kilos higher and made the bed much firmer. P is much more comfortable now. Perhaps Keith’s bed needs adjusting. P was also issued with short side rails to help him get in and out of bed. I had to fit these myself as the men who delivered them (and assembled the bed itself) were not allowed to fit them! The hand rails simply clamped to the rails at the side of the bed. As you say, worried about being sued ….
ReplyDeleteAh, I didn't know it was set by weight. There is nothing of Keith these days and he has insisted on turning it off because it was making the pressure sores worse. I have him on his side (after a fashion) when we can but difficult for him to drink then if I'm not there. We did actually have the side rails fitted, but have dropped them down as he doesn't need them. Again - they are jumping to conclusions.
DeleteWhen my sister was very ill she found the air bed uncomfortably firm as well. We put a foam pad (about 1.5 inches) over it, and that made it much better for her. Maybe that would help Keith?
ReplyDeleteThat sounds like it may help. I will check out the options. Need to do something soon.
DeleteLove that quilt pattern. I can just see your fingers itching to start it. I am sorry Keith is having trouble with the air bed. How dare Officious one tell you both what you can and can not use.
ReplyDeleteGod bless.
Well, I have started it and hit problems already but will overcome them. Hoping that the Officious One won't darken our doors again. She isn't at all helpful.
DeleteSorry to hear abut the Officious One - some of those people can be so patronising and unhelpful. Glad you got out even if only to the dentist and managed to do other things as well. Great news about the hare sighting and also the curlew - they are in such trouble these days.
ReplyDeleteThen there's the Speech and Language lady - kind demeanour but obviously institutionalised as she was chattering gaily on about the new ipad type speech aid, and "getting pictures on it as she knows Keith likes the pictures." !!! She's coming again tomorrow, so I will draw her aside before she goes upstairs and point out that my husband may be barely able to speak, but he still has all his marbles and please don't treat him like a child. I shall try not to be too sharp, but Keith is highly intelligent and "pictures" are a blardy insult.
DeleteHasn’t it been gorgeous weather. Hope you haven’t been overdoing it in the garden and are having some sitting down time too. The patchwork looks complicated but your fabrics are so pretty. I think you are doing a brilliant job of looking after K at home. It sounds so hard at times and the last thing you need is some officious OT person telling you what you can’t do. She should be doing everything she can to help you and make everyday activities like washing easier, especially if it’s working for you anyway. I’m still trying to nurse my knee but last night it was so painful I rubbed some muscle gel into it. I didn’t do much yesterday either. The chimney sweep came so I got the sitting room ready, I pruned three forsythia growing in the woodland edge, took S for a haircut and then we went to Parham and ate our picnic sandwiches sitting by the lake watching ducklings and goslings. S had a tub of ice cream and I had a tub of raspberry sorbet and I bought a cirsium rivulare atropurpueum and a pot of strawberry mint as a treat. The cirsium is growing in a big two litre pot and cost £10.50 (I may split it into three before planting ) and I hope it will do well in my hot well-drained soil. We stopped at the farm shop on the way home and bought Jersey potatoes, Nutbourne tomatoes, lettuce and smoked trout fillets from the Weald smokery so supper last night was salad with asparagus and chives from the garden and homemade mayonnaise made with a whole egg and rapeseed oil. We are going out tonight to a choral concert in Arundel cathedral which I’m looking forward to. I like scrubbing up and going out and it’s only a 10 minute drive to Arundel. So today I’m going to pace myself and look after my knee and just do some standing up sowing of seeds - French and Borlotti beans - and plant out the congested pot-grown ranunculus into the cattle trough where they will have room to flower before the Gaura and Cosmos get going. How are your ranunculus doing? My garden could do with a good weed (hedge bindweed is waving through the beech hedges) but I’m not doing anything involving kneeling until my knee feels better. I’ve always knelt or crouched down to garden but those days have flown. Take care BB and I hope the heat isn’t triggering your asthma. Sarah x
ReplyDeleteWonderful sunshine, but too hot for me to garden much. I was up early (6 a.m.) to get some weeding and digging over done. Sorry your knee is giving you problems - you need a massage from Emma! Good choice of plant. Don't think I've ever seen it offered for sale hereabouts. The nurseries tend to be more common or garden varieties. I really MUST get my runner beans planted out as they have shot up. Danny is lined up to wheelbarrow the bags of FYM and compost down to the bottom triangle for me but has been busy over the weekend - though he did dig a goodly hole for my other rose "out front". Ranunculous a bit conspicuous by their absence. I am peeved over the recommendation I had for a good seed compost as nothing is growing in it! Seeds germinate and then languish.
DeleteI saw the most amazing and colourful (lots of hot reds and oranges) pot plantings up steps which a friend shared on FB. My plantings on the steps up into the garden (in mainly purples) are looking nice now but still a work in progress.
Raspberry sorbet is a delight. I can remember when frozen yoghurt was all the rage and very refreshing. We had a BBQ on Saturday (Danny presiding) and the first of the lettuce which Emma grew but can't eat fast enough!!