Reflecting on my week #127

Well, it’s the first Monday in May and it’s not a bank holiday. The signs were there, had we realised, that this could be a very odd year! Though given that the change of date was made after diaries and calendar went to print it’s possible some people are quite unaware that it’s moved.

We’re back at work, well, at the kitchen table, and today is a momentous day. Yes, we have an online shopping delivery, and for the first time in over ten years, it’s not from Ocado. I’ve already noticed some obvious differences, and am interested to see how it might all work. We’ll see.

The rain that was forecast last week came, and watered in nicely the two jasmine plants I’d moved. Canny gardening that. In between the showers I popped out to the garden, returning with a few stems of fragrant lilac for the house.

bringing lilac stems indoors

The beans I’ve planted have germinated and raced ahead of anything my slower broad bean seedlings might be contemplating, and I’ll need to make plans for them soon. I’ve had success with basil (briefly), all of my basil seedlings have now been munched, as have half of the lettuce seedlings. Clearly whatever it is has quite particular tastes as the parsley, tomatoes, dill and nasturtiums are safe.

beans on the march in toilet roll tubes
basil seedlings, there one day gone the next

Saturday saw plenty of crocheting, and I’m now just one final granny design from finishing my blanket. It’s been on the go for a while so it will be good to see it finished, and also because I think I’ve already found my next project, Which doesn’t seem to be on that’s already on my ‘to make’ list.

granny flora senior, one of the last squares in my vintage hearts blanket

I suspect that it won’t be long before we’re all encouraged to cover our faces while we’re out and about, and I have mixed feelings about this. It’s not unusual to see people wearing them already, and those who do are the ones who come the closest, and even lean across people, in shops as If they have some kind of immunity.

Then there’s the point about people buying the types that are much needed by our medics, leaving them even shorter than they already are. And the effectiveness of homemade versions, as well as the demonstrations for making them out of scarves and an elastic band. I think, face coverings are likely to become ‘competitive’.

I will most likely make some from old shirting, or rather from old shirts, and I have a couple of patterns to follow, one of which needs the template printed. Which should have been fine, except that our printer is throwing a wobbly. We last used it, in probably January, and now the toner (which was already low) has evaporated, or completely dried up. It’s fair to say, we don’t print a lot.

Scuppered by the printer some more gardening took place. The Chilean potato plant with its pretty lilac flowers had a small tidy, but the most of the cutting took place partway up the garden with the euonymus and (another) pyracantha which are intertwined. Many full trugs later, and from the front it really doesn’t look any different (yet), which is kind of demoralising, but as ever, not everything that’s important is on show.

cuttings in the trug
almond butter cookies

Some impromptu lockdown baking has also happened. I’d opened a jar of almond butter (think peanut butter, but worse) and let’s just say neither of us were fans. Rather than let it languish in the cupboard, with the addition of sugar and an egg it’s transforming into cookies, which actually taste pretty good.

Hope your week is as cookie-filled as you need it to be.