Monday 10 June 2013

flaming flowers that brightly blaze

(Don McLean - Vincent)

Blogging seems to be a public version of the tried-and-tested technique of reflecting on positive things that have happened. I have been trying to determine if I am proactively doing more positive things because I anticipate blogging about them, but I think I am just increasingly aware of things that are already happening. If no effort is made to pause and take note, days can get lost in the blur of routine. 




Sunday had the potential to be what I like to term a ‘grey day’. Yes, even in the beautiful sunshine we were having I was feeling a little glib (I do like that word – somehow onomatopoeic, if a mood ever had a sound). Partly the sunshine was to blame. I am not a sunshine person. I like winter nights with hot drinks and blankets. I like blustery wind and downpours of rain, even if I am outside – perhaps I enjoy the sense of existing against the elements (in a very mild, damp shoes, frizzy hair way – Bear Grylls I am not).  But summer. Dear me no, it is not my thing.




I do not doubt part of the problem is a lack of the appropriate apparel. I like jeans, jumpers, cardigans, scarves. I am queen of knitwear. Skirts reside purely in the only-for- work wardrobe. Shorts are a complete no-go. Dresses I like, but the floaty fashions that fit so well with the hazy days of summer, alas, do not fit so well on me. 




Pesky sunshine aside, it just looked to be one of those days. There were weekend chores to be done. I went to clean the juicer, and found (much to my shame) that apple pulp from a few (clearly more than I thought) days ago had gone mouldy. I nearly took a picture, in this sort of fashion, but couldn’t quite bring myself.




But then we got gardening, a full family affair. The Husband and my step-dad had the arduous task of uprooting a conifer we haven’t liked since we moved in. Mum and I applied ourselves happily to purchasing pretty new plants. Under the watchful eye of the man in the shop, we picked the right mix of evergreen and deciduous (the first time I used variegated in conversation since GCSE biology). 




We trundled home with our horticultural haul, and slowly, surely, our little garden transformed. I even enjoyed the sunshine, realising that nobody gardens in a floaty fashion, so trainers and a scruffy t-shirt were perfectly appropriate attire. And trousers too of course. Let’s not get carried away.




The garden never previously felt like ours – the only plant was the conifer, a relic, a reminder of owners past. To have it gone, and replace it with colour and variety, including my favourite, a lilac plant by the door so the scent hits as you walk up the path, felt like a massive achievement. And the juicer got cleaned, and the house tidied too, so a good day all in all.




Sadly, today has been a little peh again (thank-you to The Coffee Lady for that perfect adjective). I tried to make courgette and rocket salad inspired by Eats Well With Others' salad Mondays, and GemsMaquillage food diary. It was bland and I still had lots of courgettes. I attempted these courgette crisps. Thrilled to find a mandolin of sorts on my box grater, I got distracted by my ingenuity, and the resulting charred circles, were far more crisp than courgette. It has been one of those days. Consequently, my newly-intended health kick has already waned, I cancelled my gym class (the perils of online booking systems), and stayed home instead.




But peh will persist for as long as I let it. And writing this has made me grateful all over again for the achievements of yesterday. Helped further by The Husband returning from shopping (it says it all that I opted out of food shopping – and shows how much I trust The Husband that he is allowed to go it alone!), complete with a shiny new watering can. I’m going to wander outside in the last of the light, refresh the plants and myself, and breathe in the heady scent of lilac.

2 comments:

  1. Well as I said on twitter - at least you tried! Not every day is going to be perfect but they just make the good days all the more better!

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  2. Thank you Joanne! My first comment - how exciting. Keep trying I shall.

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