Marks Grans Blog

I had already written a whole post on differences in families.  How two people from the same bloodline can be so different.  I 'borrowed' the idea from a post Lettice did on her blog  http://lettice14.blogspot.com/2020/05/i-wish-i-didnt.html     I have felt for a long time that I am very different from my brother and my mother and had it all typed out ready for publishing.   However, I stopped and had a think and decided what I'd written was all a bit too personal and that my brother would be mortified if I laid out all his, lets say, idiosyncrasies for all to read!  So this is a diluted version! Suffice it to say, my brother lives a very small, controlled world where he won't fly anywhere in case the plane crashes, he's got lots of issues round health, he's become very very nervous, he has routines he must stick to regardless etc etc.  My mum has always had routines.  Cleaning is her hobby/work.  Neither store any food. ...

My son told us a story the other day and it made me think of the film Finding Nemo.  I got hubby to dig out the dvd for me and I plan to watch it today while I iron shirts and stuff. My son told us he and his partner are planning a trip on their boat to 'The Heads'  to hopefully see some whales passing by.  Apparently at this time of year it is possible to see lots of whales moving from one area to another.  I believe they go between the Antarctic and Australia/Fiji.  Anyway, they had set out to do this last year and got to The Heads, which is effectively the gateway from Sydney Harbour out into open ocean, took one look at the endless ocean with no land anywhere in sight and said 'nope, too scary, we're turning back'.  I immediately imagined the scene in Nemo where Nemo's dad stops him from swimming 'off the edge' into the scary ocean beyond.  He's been sailing for much longer now and feels he may be brave enough to try again.  I'm not sure ...

It's strange but I feel I'm doing better at the moment than normal!  I'm sleeping better; I'm worrying less about the state of our nation though I'm worrying more about catching bugs; time is whizzing by, I can't believe its almost the end of May already; I feel fairly contented most of the time just now, unless I have to go out or go shopping. A random photo of our dog and my daughters dog as I have nothing that fits this dialogue!! Don't get me wrong, there are many things I miss dreadfully.  I miss my granddaughters big hugs, in fact I miss everybodies hugs and I miss feeling safe to stand and chat to friends, neighbours and random strangers.  I would like to stop rushing around with spray bleach every time someone comes into our house or touches the doorbell or the garden gate!  And, frankly, I'd like to stop clapping for the Keyworkers.  They have done/are doing a brilliant and thankless task there is no doubt, but it feels a bit patronising n...

Suddenly yesterday afternoon I felt quite down.  Most of the time I've felt fine throughout this weird and not so wonderful lockdown but yesterday it got a bit on top of me.   It might just be because I had to go and shop.  I'm now managing to eek out the shopping to once a fortnight with my daughter bringing us a loaf at the halfway mark.  I also make my own bread but given the shortage of flour just now, I'd soon run out of flour if I baked my own bread for the fortnight.  I usually bake one towards the end of the first week until my daughter is back in work during the week and she brings me a loaf which does us till the next shop usually.  If we run out at that stage I just use crackers instead!  Shopping at our local shop is actually not that bad.  I've managed to find a nice time to go when its pretty quiet and people are generally pretty good with social distancing  However, I still find it a strain to keep on top of avoiding peopl...

Today was what I call an eventful day.  In lockdown times any event is eventful but today has been exceptional and I feel my day has summed up lockdown. First thing I had to rush upstairs to make a birthday card for my aunt! She was 80 today and should have been heading to Southampton to go on a Mediterranean cruise with the prospect of a party on her return.  Instead she is locked in at home with her daughter with no thought of a party any time soon.  My brother and his wife, my husband and I and my mum were all going to make our own way to her house to sing happy birthday to her from the garden and she loved it.  It brought her to tears.  At the moment, I cannot think to make any cards and this month and next is the busiest in our family for birthdays!  Having just spent £20 in a local shop to get 7 cards to send to a friend, there is good reason for me to make my own cards with all the 'stuff' I have accumulated for years.  So, the card was duly...

My garden is looking great just now, if I say so myself.  I have a Clematis Montana that travels from our back door, right down the trellis between us and the neighbours to the flowering cherry at the bottom of the garden and during May it looks amazing.  It takes over and flowers just as the blossom on the cherry gets blown off as it inevitably does every year! This is the view of the clematis from our upstairs room window. I also have some Honeysuckle about to flower and the smell of that on warm evenings is delicious.  The veg is all coming along nicely, we've eaten loads of rhubarb so far, I have spring onions just about ready to eat in the greenhouse and lots of cut and come again lettuce to eat now.  There are millions of Forget Me Nots everywhere.  I love them growing in all the little crevices of the paths and I have Foxgloves coming up all over the place too.  Mine is not a formal type of garden.  It's what I call a bit wild and wooly but...

I've been busy making masks.  I have loads of fabric, mostly saved from the 80's when I used to make all sorts of stuff for people, cot mobiles, padded pictures, advent calendars to name a few.  I also have some of my granddaughters baby dresses, I have a couple of my daughters dresses from childhood, I have a couple of kilts which I found in properties my husband was clearing out for a landlord, I have wadding in anticipation of making a quilt I never did, I have netting, I have old sheets, duvets - I am a fabric hoarder!  However for now it is coming in handy as I make my masks for friends and family.  Everyone is choosing their fabric from photographs I send them.  My granddaughter picked fairy fabric, bought for a quilt I had intended to make her - oops!  My grandson, who's 18 I might add, has chosen Thunderbirds material from an old duvet cover of my sons - the original Thunderbirds so its retro!  I made my mum one from some elderly Laura As...

Another 3 weeks of lockdown here in Scotland at least.  Bojo hasn't declared it yet but he probably will although I think he's trying to ease the blow by asking us to stay safe instead of just telling it like it is - BLOODY STAY HOME! It's hard for everyone but you also begin to realise that life is going on regardless.  Its not all about Coronavirus. One of my neighbours died this week.   It was expected.  He's had cancer and has been ill for a while.  However, having died now means his wife, who is a devout catholic, won't be able to have the big mass for him she had planned or indeed the funeral she planned.  The family haven't been able to come to comfort her as they would normally.  Her friends and neighbours can only wave to her and wish her well from a distance. Another neighbour has a sister who is severely depressed.  She was attending an NHS psychiatrist until Coronavirus hit.  Now she can only have telephone conversations w...

During the lockdown I've been lucky to have a garden I can potter in.  I love my garden.  It's very private and I have it just the way I like it.  I have a greenhouse where I start all my vegetables and grow on tomatoes and cucumbers and I have a hut to keep all my tools in.  I realize I'm very fortunate especially at the moment when so many people are stuck at home with less space than I have.  I enjoy being in the garden.  I've always craved light.  I think I would curl up and die if I had to live in a basement with little light.  I remember one time at work we were moving to a new office.  I wasn't keen on the move as it was from a bright industrial estate near my home into the city centre on the 4th floor of a horrible building.  I used to take my car and park at the top of the town and walk down into town and the nearer the office I got the darker it became as the tall buildings began to cast their shadows.  In the building ...