LOOK AT THE SIZE OF MY ANNABELLE'S !!! { ooer missus !!! } ..........

I don't mean to brag but .....

Look at the size of my Hydrangea Aborescens Annabelle .....

..... and, Hydrangea Aborescens Sweet Annabelle .

and all without surgery ! 

XXXX

all photographs via me

A GOOD HAIR DAY ..........

At last .....

..... highlights done .....

..... cut done .....

& all to conversation on various subjects  ..... sport, animals, music, BLM, food, films, Tiger King ..... not a titter about Covid-19 !!!

XXXX

images via me

NATURE STUDY ..........

OK, well, this was going to be a post done on the new Blogger ! I went into the new Blogger & realised that you click on the red circle with a cross for a new post ..... all good so far. The page loaded and all there was was the first line. .... TITLE .......... publish etc. Nothing to click on to make a post. I've googled it but ..... nothing ! There was a tutorial on YouTube so I know what I should be seeing ! Anyone out there know why I've got nothing ? Would be very grateful for advice. I just knew this would happen to me !!! Maybe my time in Blogland is up !!!

ANYWAY .....

Look what was having lunch in our garden .....

..... a beautiful, golden beetle gobbling up our flowers ! 

After seeing the above, I was going to rush out and collect hundreds and make my fortune but I think mine is a different species !

Nevermind, we will have to make our fortune some other way !

Isn't he pretty ?

XXXX

HOUSEKEEPING ..........

I cleaned our bedroom today ..... not just a flick round with a duster but, pulling the bed and chest of drawers out and sweeping enough dust up to fill a small cushion !!! .....

..... and, washing everything including the floor and skirting boards and, I touched up the wardrobes. New bedlinen went on the bed and, I have also started to clear out my wardrobe although, I'm not very good at getting rid of clothes. I think that I emotionally hang on to things ..... I need to learn how to be ruthless.

I'm sorry but I haven't much to tell at the moment, much like everyone else. You probably don't want to hear about my cleaning activities ..... it bores me so it is probably boring you. Things are on the up though ..... hairdressers in just over a week and I'm taking my car in on Wednesday for oil change, brake fluid and new filter ... woo hoo ...... life just gets better and better !! ..... I'll take photographs ..... I bet you can't wait ?!!

XXXX

images via me.

NO CHANGE THERE THEN ..........

🎶 For we know it's right, it's in black & white, 

And it's all written down in his diary 🎶

Benny Hill

Some things haven"t changed much since 1664 !

XXXX

AFTER the RAIN ..........

As much as I've loved the beautiful weather we've been having, it has been good to get some rain over the past few days, especially for us gardeners.

 ..... flowers look even prettier covered in raindrops ..... the above rose is St Swithuns ..... I bought it years ago as my husbands birthday is on St Swithuns day and it is the most beautiful rose ..... this year it has been at it's best ..... sometimes that means a plant is going to give up the ghost, let's hope not !

This is Penny Lane

Can't remember the name of the clematis off the top of my head .....

This rose is Desdemona ...... it has the most wonderful perfume .....

A question :

When you write your posts, do you prepare ? ..... I don't { as you may well have noticed !!! }  I just ramble on as if I'm talking ! 

During lockdown, I haven't been able to do much because of my back but, now its on the mend, I'm all over it. I cleaned out all of the bathroom cupboards yesterday ..... threw all of my make up and bottles of shampoo etc with hardly anything in them away ..... so liberating. I'm going to do the kitchen drawers today ..... who is this new Jackie I ask myself ?

XXXX

images 1 - 8: via me, image 9: via pinterest

BACK to BACK ..........

We have had the most amazing weather for practically all of lockdown. Because of this, I wasn't going to stay in and clean, decorate or clear out my wardrobes ..... far better to be outside and tend to our garden .....

I think it was in the first week that I did my back in !!! Lower back pain that I often get when I do the first big tidy up of the garden in early Spring. I obviously use muscles that have been neglected over the Winter !

It was pretty painful so I thought my nice hot water bottle with the chunky knit cover would be very beneficial. I did place said water bottle down my knickers to get the maximum benefit of heat to the root of the problem !!!  After a couple of days of laying on the sofa with hot water bottle down my knickers, I needed to scratch my back and, when doing so, took bits of skin with it 😱 ..... yes, burnt my back !

After a couple of weeks, my back gradually improved but, I'm not sure if it was doing Joe Wicks exercises for Seniors,  scraping the moss off of the drive or doing too much too soon but, I got sciatica !!!  I have only had sciatica once about forty years ago and remember it being painful but this was relentless. I flatter myself that I am very good with pain which, thank goodness, I very rarely get, but sciatica is horrible .... it's like the worse toothache but in the length of your leg. No painkillers touch it and you just want to chop your leg off ! I endured ten days of it and then, it suddenly got better.... ish. Just a dull ache in the morning now. 

Sorry, other peoples pain can be pretty boring can't it, and there are others far worse off.

I will leave you with a photograph of the rose growing over our side gate, a much cheerier subject. It's David Austin Mortimer Sackler. Roses have been amazing this year. 

image 1; via pinterest, image 2: via not on the high street, image 3: via 50 shades of lust, image 4: via me