Gardening

Now that I’m back home am really pleased a gardener has been gardening (which of course he would do) so that I can sit and enjoy the garden but also doing little bits here and there. Daughter also says she likes now doing a little gardening - progress. Have also taken out houseplants into the garden to dead head and revive which has been very therapeutic. Grateful to live quite near the sea and went on short one mile walk on two almost deserted beaches with the sun still shining at 5pm. On way back home had my first ice cream since lockdown - amazed but pleased that the shop was open!!

Still being grateful

Been locked down with brother and his wife for over three months on other side of country - great time together. Very grateful to be with family for such a long time and especially with Mum who died while I was there very peacefully. Today really enjoyed talking to friend in Southern Ireland. Also that usually non-talkative Daughter getting on with one of my friends from Northumberland. So pleased that another Friend has provided me with at least 10 hardback crime books - that should keep me going for a while. I also cleared a space on table that had been cluttered for over a year for a new jigsaw -it’ll be great

Still isolating

Still here despite the nasty virus. Grateful for village I’m in as there are many small food shops and all that we need during isolation. Fantastic that I can contact friends in North East and Northern Ireland. Had first FaceTime coffee and cake with new friend in Northern Ireland - first virtual cake I’ve had - actually I made the mini Victorian sponges - proud of myself.

Thankful that I have time to plan an interesting meal for me and my brother and his wife - had Persian dish called Fesenjan made from chicken (should have been pheasant), toasted walnuts, pomegranate and cardamom, cloves, cinnamon. Tonight I attempt my first South Korean chicken dish made with a Korean chilli and fermented rice paste with a tangle of noodles - local small Sainsbury sells the paste - begins with a G but is totally unpronounceable.

Love the butterflies that are in the garden at the moment - taken pictures of a comma and a peacock- I’m sure there’ll be other species during this coming week which is meant to be warm and sunny as we head towards Easter time - I hope more folk in the world contemplate the real Easter - Christ’s sacrificial death and resurrection so that we might know for real our Creator. The ponds frog spawn has now turned into a heaving mass of tadpoles - I wonder how many new frogs will survive.

Just heard from a Master Chef contest who originates from Somalia that she is willing to cook the Hinds family a selection of her dishes in celebration of getting through the virus - this will be fun - hopefully I can muster up 12-15 of us to go.

Grats during a crisis

Wow - what weird times we’re living in. We could all give in and not be grateful for anything but actually there are so many things to be thankful for - social media, friends are still there, sunshine today absolutely incredible, healthy enough to walk around garden spotting butterflies and water boatmen and centipedes and woodlice and spiders and ants and ladybirds - makes you think there must be a Creator. I can still contact my music groups via Zoom (nobody had really heard of Zoom a month ago). Doing yoga exercises for the first time in my life. Thankful for a lovely friend who has sent me some ebook links - I have never read an ebook in my life.

Incredibly thankful for all the frontline doctors and nurses and carers who go to work each day not really knowing what to expect. Grateful that I can get my pain medication from any pharmacy in the country just by one phone call. We have electricity and water and flushing water and gas and food and a roof over our heads and access to medicines and healthcare. We have books and ebooks and online games and crafts and advice from all sorts of people about new activities and how to keep yourself unworried and occupied.

We still have our countryside and wildlife and sunshine and laughter and birds singing day and night and connections to old friends and new.

We have coffee even if no cafes to go to with friends. We have food and wine even if at the moment we can’t get out to restaurants and bars. We have scissors if we want to cut our own hair or someone else’s. We have shampoo and soap. We have clothes and washing machines to wash them. We have the seasons which come to pass whatever else is happening - spring is here with signs of new life again.

iPhones

So grateful for some of technology we have around these days - what would I do without my iPhone -  friends and family just there, can order food and buy presents on line, can send paint damage photos to my car insurers to make a claim (not that it’s likely they’ll cough up!!). Happy how my recent get together with Armenia travel group in May went - all of same opinion that despite the disappointment we should delay till 2021.

Went to fantastic party to celebrate St Patrick’s day and met some wonderfully talented folk - playing instruments, dancing, singing, poem reading or just sitting listening - wine and guinness flowing. Great to have a twin brother who came and collected me by car to go to his house.

So good to find out that younger daughter even though she finds it hard socialising is doing acts of kindness during these days of virus - paid for an unknown lady who was panicking because she hadn’t enough money for the bus, bought something from Greggs for a homeless person as she didn’t have any change to give him - she’s a star.

Friendly Visitors

Glad of several visitors yesterday - new minister of church came round to see how I was and we discussed a strategy of passing over some of my responsibilities over to a new person who could be my successor as church secretary - all good stuff as I have wanted to hand over things before I start not enjoying or even resenting doing them. Friend from work arrived to discuss how to handle his pension before retiring - pleases he came to see me because as it happens if he goes to my financial manager I get £100 for the referral!!! I said I would share the spoils. Old (as in retired) minister cans round and so grateful he drove me round to his house for tea with him and his wife - spent four hours putting the world right - conversations like that are such a boost.

Still very grateful for all the books I have especially from lovely friend who I met for the first time a year ago in two days time

Very Thankful

It’s been a whole month of not filling in my thankfulness and gratitude for all that’s going on around me. Why haven’t I learnt to be more disciplined in this matter - it is so good to count ones blessings and be grateful for so so many things however small. Today spent a really good day with a lovely  friend and enjoyed the freedom to talk about and explore many subjects - so so pleased to see her looking and feeling well - will miss her when she moves on to a strange country. So grateful for all the new books I was given today but especially a neon scratch picture that I thought was destined for another person - it was for me with a lovely note of real friendship. So pleased that we explored Universal Energy with same friend and where it might come from. Also really so pleased that same friend has sought out a backcare yoga specialist to help my recovery and that specialist is willing to travel to see me at home.

Over the month have really appreciated support from close family who are always there. So grateful for physiotherapists, back surgeons, medicines (especially morphine). So glad I have three daughters who look to me for support however hard that might be for me sometimes. Glad to have spent a weekend with youngest daughter who unprompted did so many helpful things around the house while my back is bad. Pleased that I have started to make a new friend in Northern Ireland and seeing this now as an adventure rather being too intense.