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Gardening within liMitS: We found a fungus in the woodpile!Piles of stuff...

Gardening within liMitS: We found a fungus
in the woodpile!
Piles of stuff...: We found a fungus in the woodpile! Piles of stuff – we must declutter!   7th October 2018 Shed Clearouts...

We found a fungus
in the woodpile!

Piles of stuff – we
must declutter!

 7th October 2018
Shed Clearouts!

Table top we found
behind the shed.

Logs going into the woodpile.

I have mentioned how many ramshackle sheds we inherited when we moved here, but my least favourite has always been my garden tools shed which leaks and grows things inside. Well I entered it trepidatiously today while other half was building the log pile. And it was all the things I feared and more...

Turned over it became
a shed floor...

Some reading...

I found all sorts of animal behaviour exhibited within and lots of my gardening gloves chewed to within an inch of their lives. I pulled out the rotting carpet and discovered rotting hardboard beneath. I recycled a plastic table top from behind the book shed and used it as a new flatter floor. I am not going to get my dream shed anytime soon, so needs must. I pulled it all out and have found some missing secateurs, going a tad rusty in some cases, but it shows I have always been putting them away but whatever has been living in our shed – definitely something rodent like but possibly badger or rat like judging by the pellets, pile of snail shells, and chewed bags of garden fertilisers – has been making a meal out of whatever I have stored in there.
Some things haven't been returned to the shed yet – I see this job taking tomorrow too – but we have a lot of spare plant pots and I can consider making some new planted pots for areas of the garden. I bought some seeds which could be put into the greenhouse...

So Sunny it Hurts!?!

1st October 2018

Glorious Sunshine

I'm back from a relaxing Spa Weekend. So relaxing I did 10,000 steps yesterday and only 5,000 the day before. I met my friend at Henlow and while I booked in for a massage and manicure, she joined in with exercise classes and used the gym. It worked very well, and we met up for thassalotherapy and dinner. Before anybody tells me off for doing the water therapy, I think it gave me some extra oomph the next day, when we went for a walk round the fishing lakes, and additionally, I didn't do all the therapy as I stepped out from the round sprays that do your tummy and I came off the water bed when I became uncomfortable. The minerals in the water are supposed to be good for you – but as I didn't swallow any, I'm not sure how!
I had my nails done and had quite a giggle with the therapist doing that treatment. I felt quite wonderful coming home until I was faced by the mess... Not part of my deal, but the outside of the house was a quarter painted, which explains why the girls had been left to their own devices.
I also found myself picking up garden magazines over the last few days which has given me ideas for places to visit and meet up with my spa friend.
Today is a new day and its so sunny my eyes hurt. I have bought myself some gardening magazines – not as posh as the ones at the spa but they have some free seeds – and have some of my favourite seeds to plant for next year...

Last apples hanging on

Tree behind shed has been sawn down

Compost bin has been inserted
into cleared space

We may have to get this
horse chestnut taken down.
It gets attacked by this worm yearly.

Silver birch sapling looks
poorly after the heat of July.

Fish tank needs home.

Apple tree looking poorly
too but bumper crop.

One of the pots.

I thought August had killed off everything
in here but  an agapanthus seems to have survived.

Birthday plants also loving the mid garden area.

This part of the garden seems to suit
the planters. Just need to work out some
paving or gravel.

Second flowering.

Planter at front.

The garden is fairly tidy but a serious work in progress. I've said it before but until I am working there is no way we can do any of the things on my wish list so I'll just have to be creative... I have a greenhouse and lots of seeds, so I think I better start planning some planting. I'd like to try taking some rose cuttings from the monster rose bushes and see whether I can transplant them to the front garden. Monty Don made it look easy when I watched Gardeners World a couple of weeks ago...
There's still a lot of tidying to do, but I've had an excuse for months now. But I've reduced my painkiller intake dramatically over the last couple of weeks so it is looking like I am improving.
Onwards and Upwards!

Sunny September!

Smallest Daughter's plan

Oldest Daughter's plan – See the symmetry?

25th September 2018

The sun has got his hat on!And he has shaken off my glums... I have to apologise for my mood when I drafted my last blog but insomnia does that to me! I couldn’t see the good that surrounds me and I was very hacked off. I’ve had serious surgery and no one promised me it would be easy, in fact I was warned - and my reaction and experiences after the op when I wasn’t myself - should have prepared us all for a major slump. And the fact that I’ve only had a couple of wobbles is pretty good. 

So it’s onwards and upwards. Even bits around the house are showing improvement. Hubby grouted the tiles in the new bathroom, the render has been sealed and lots of plants seem to be thriving being neglected, so that must be my mantra for next year. Let it grow and see what comes? If I prune it, berries will come. We have lots to do but I will try and curb my impatience and enjoy the good bits of what we have.

The girls drew little plans one day I was wiped out and they have requested to design and build a flower bed with a cherry tree and poppies in. Well I have poppy seeds from Branklyn Gardens to plant and maybe I can stretch to a cherry tree if I shop wisely? We can put this new bed in the front garden and it will benefit the passersby. I will just avoid ingesting any of the seeds in future given my opium reaction. These poppies are for viewing!

Big chunks of the tree trunk behind the shed have also been attacked with the chainsaw and the compost bin we free-cycled for apples has been filled. I think we knew the garden was a project but didn’t think it would have to be on a slow burner. C’est la vie!

Expletives rule!

Small hours of a Sunday in September 2018

Excruciating pain making me grumble!

I am struggling at the moment as nothing seems to be improving, much as I’d like to believe it. I have just spent six hours willing myself to sleep with little success. I am in lots of pain, 8 nearly 9 weeks after surgery and I’ve come closer to understanding people who give up and take their own lives. I won’t - I’m a coward - but I have seen into that black hole and it’s scary. My surgery wasn’t minor and my recovery is slow but it’s getting boring that my answer is sleeping during the day and insomnia at night. 

I have new lumps and bumps from the surgery but the scary red scars are fading. I want life to get back to normal, but what’s normal to an MSer is miles different to anybody without an auto-immune condition. Fatigue is a huge stumbling block as is my inability to lift the paddles in the automatic car we lease for me. I can’t imagine getting it off the drive anytime soon. Which limits me incredibly when my step count is so lowered during this recovery.

Six weeks is the recovery time they gave me and I thought that was conservative but the reality has been worse. I have managed days out which I’ve blogged about but the recovery from those is stringing out to days lost and lethargy to get out of the hole is getting to me. My brother sent me some Royal jelly and with my other vitamins, it seemed to be helping but I now think it’s a placebo effect. My dust allergy seems to have disappeared too, so I obviously have been too absorbed in this recovery to continue with sneezes and snuffles - or is it in self preservation blowing my nose hurts as well at the moment? Let’s take that away - the surgery hurts enough?

Sorry for the pity party but it’s hard to be positive. My neuro thinks I should be working but I am struggling to get my self a job, and my finances are looking dire without one. Maybe the presence of this blog is too easily found if you search my name, but I’m not going to lie about the last eleven years being easy or brush my health under a carpet. I just want to do something interesting that won’t send me catatonic with boredom.
Pity party over? Who knows...

Royal Jelly I bought here which
has orange juice in? Eek

Zen at Kew 2018

Dragonfly at Kew 2018

Kew Gardens, September 2018

18th September, 2018

More walking and the kids did double!

We went to Kew Gardens with friends at the weekend, and I am still recovering! It was mind-blowing, exhausting and the kids did double the distance we did. They also spent a long time in the children's play area and until we found them we didn't realise they loved lentils so much!

Lentils!

Amazing colours and foliage everywhere, and don’t forget the dragons! We walked to the Japanese Pagoda, and we walked round the Zen Gardens, But with four not yet teenagers we didn’t stop long for contemplation anywhere.

The glass houses are astonishing and the temperatures hit me but only when we came outside again.

I wasn’t expecting to see Piranhas either, but we did! They are ugly looking creatures too, and grumpy looking. I couldn’t get over the many hands tempting fate at the pond edges but hey they aren’t the vicious version. So that’s okay then...
We had a picnic by a rather stunning sculpture and hidden from busyness...

The step counter was on because I wanted to track this day and at 12,000 steps wandering round Kew was significantly more steps than I’ve done in all my recovery. But what a day!