I was over at Green Mount Friday 20th to Tuesday 24th making a start on things for a live-in carer for Mum. The Friday and Monday both had show-rounds and interviews with potential carers. Monday have furniture movers … the sofa-bed from the spare room (soon to be carer’s room) went down to the dining room easily enough once the mattress was off and the action strapped shut, and was reassembled all in ten minutes. moving Jane’s former bed base to the spare room took nearly 45 minutes, as it had to be completely dismantled. an old mattress to the garage, and the kit-form of Jane’s new bed base to her bedroom completed their work.
Other bits and bobs included taking the TV off the wall bracket and fitting feet to it; finding a new home for the Christmas decorations (my back eves cupboard), clearing unwanted boxes etc from the wardrobe cupboard ready for the carer, and so on.
Sim was over there from Thurs 26th, moving everything out of the drawers in the bureau and tallboy to crates. I went over on Saturday to give him a hand carrying these down to the dining room – they will definitely need sorted at some point, but in the meantime are under the hospital bed there! Also carried down the two crates of Mum’s financial filing, left on the dining table so that Jane can easily access them – placed over the table legs, as I was worried about bowing the table if they were put in the middle!
The final job was levelling the bed base for the carer. The floor in that room slopes outrageously! The two legs at the head end rested on the floor, with the other legs requiring amounts of packing ranging from 37mm to nearly 70mm. Much measuring of thicknesses of bits of wood, sawing from Simon, and application of elderly wood glue eventually did the job OK.
Sim then took a video of the room in its “fit for carer” state … I kinda wish we’d taken one before any work happened! It was great to see this room looking good again (it’s the nicest room in the house), though it still needs a deep clean.
While all eyes have been on the national byelections, we had a couple of local ones here yesterday. Both posts were formerly held by a much-respected local Tory, who had a strong personal vote. At least here, it seems that disaffected Tories are going Green (and to a lesser extent LibDem) rather than voting Labour.
Massive thanks to all who pitched in, both Worcester Greens and those from a bit further afield!
City: GREEN Katie Collier 53.5%; Con 24.1%; Lab 12.5%;LD 6.7%; Reform 2.1%
County: GREEN Andrew Cross 44%; Lib Dem 22.4%; Con 24.1%; Lab 9.2%
The cold that I went down with a fortnight ago seems to have seamlessly moved to a post-viral fatigue thing this week. Extreme exhaustion, headaches, a slightly-raised temperature and episodes of chills despite having put the central heating up to 21.5C and being in thermal long-johns!
So, I’ve lit a small fire in the stove, and am sitting huddled over a mug of blackcurrant lemsip (with added honey).
A grey, windy and very wet day! What’s a person to do? Make parkin, of course … it should mature nicely in time for Hallowe’en.
Sadly, I can’t quite fit the whole batch in the cake-tin, to be set aside, so some had to eaten at teatime today!
It’s a grey soggy day, but not actually raining, and very mild. Although I’m still recovering from the lurgy I’ve had for over a week, I did manage an hour in the garden.
Tomato plants have been uprooted and put in garden waste bin, and the omato house plastic cover cleaned and stored. Lots of nearly-dry runner bean pods to bring in: a few opened and the beans left loose to form next year’s seeds. The bulk of the pods going into the dryer (eventually to be podded for dried beans in winter soups and stews, and the pods used as kindling) – it will take several batches.
I don’t normally expect to see flowers on the winter jasmine until around Hallowe’en, but (like so much else in the garden this year) it’s decided to ignore normal times.
I’m slowly recovering from the particularly nasty cold I’ve had for a week, with head and body aches, exhaustion, and sleeping several hours a day more than normal. These little splashes of sunshine yellow are a welcome and cheerful sight through the French window.
