After some five years, the “daylight” bulb over the plants in the dark corner of my room expired. As always, it was a bit of a hunt to find a replacement (GU10, 6500k, 38 degree, 6 or 8 watt), but one finally arrived this morning. Such a relief to be able to put it in, to replace the “emergency” warm white 110-degree horror that’s been standing in for it.
Even with the French windows open, the scent of sweet peas from the vase is very noticeable. Marjoram and echinops complete the display.
Ironing is one of my least favourite domestic chores, ranking well above emptying the cat litter tray on the scale of hatedness. Long gone are the days of ironing a daily shirt at breakfast time before going in to work – it’s a chore I now usually avoid!
However, I’ll need to look marginally less scruffy when standing outside my local polling station on Thursday, and at the Count on Friday, so the iron has been dragged out from the deepest recesses of the cupboard.
The schlumbergera in the bedroom continues to refuse to bloom at either Christmas or Easter, preferring to perform in November and March. But it’s pretty, regardless of season.
After 13 years, my much-loved slow cooker finally died. It was originally part of a “setting up on your own” package from a local leaving care / leaving gaol charity that I arranged for Maurice. The replacement is remarkably similar… All is not wasted – the ceramic pot from the old one will be “upcycled”, either as a cache-pot as is, or have holes drilled to be an actual plant pot.
In the garden, the snowflake (leucojum) leaves are fully grown (flowers won’t appear for another three weeks or so), the daffodil leaves are about 4 inches high, and the first leaves of the blue hyacinths are just breaking through the surface soil. Everything now feels as though it’s moving forwards towards spring.
Decorations are now down. As usual, I’ll keep the tree in the (unheated, windows now ajar) front room for a couple of days before putting it back outside – the next few days promise to be chilly, and I don’t want to give the poor thing too much of a shock.
