IT'S PURPLE SEASON IN THE GARDEN
Week four? Already? We’re a bit ahead of the government lock down as we decided to isolate ourselves for a week or so after schools were shut. It seemed sensible as between between me and the kids there were two schools and a nursery in our circle. Nonetheless it was very odd chatting to the neighbours mid week (4ft brick wall between the gardens, trampolines in each and kids about the same age - we have to pretend to not see each other quite a lot!) over the wall and it going from being our decision not to let our kids play, to it being mandated across the country.
In some ways being home this much isn’t all that strange, its like the summer holidays but at the wrong time of year and without any of the usual things we’d do. That said, I did take the kids up to school as I had to get my password sorted. I figured I might as well make use of the massive outdoor space while no one else was there and let the children run around. Predictably I ended up shouting at them, as listening to mummy is apparently not a skill I have ever taught them. By the time they were eventually corralled back into the car the thought 'I'm not a fan of leaving the house with the kids' had crossed my mind more than once!
Amusing moments from this week include: ordering crafting sets from Baker Ross after the success of last week’s beading session. This proved to be overly optimistic as all the delightful activities I chose require parental guidance and frequent untangling of threads. The kids love the sand pictures and the fridge is now covered in birds and space rockets, some of which are to be sent to our relatives so they can share in the joy of this delightful lockdown art. If you mix all the sand together you get something called ‘mouldy colour’, it seems quite apt.
In normal weeks a lovely lady comes and cleans the house. Pip in particular loves her, and as she normally comes on a Thursday which is my day off he tends to follow her about trying to help and chatting away about all kinds of nonsense. Explaining why she’s not here took a while to sink in. I very much appreciate her and am currently paying her not to come to my house. My appreciation for her hard work has been sharpened of late, but I am now beginning to suspect that she might in fact be in possession of mystic powers. Somehow in about an hour and a half she is able to make the whole house look clean and smell lemony fresh. At the moment it feels like I am cleaning ALL THE TIME and the house neither looks nor smells of lemons at all. Also no one says ‘thank you for my lovely clean house’ like they do when ‘landa has finished. I think I miss ‘landa more than Pip does.
There is no amount of cleaning that is going to make the paint work in the kitchen clean. It was never on a to-do list which I’ll never tackle so it was completely expected when I decided whilst Ed was out delivering the baby car seat to the parents of a self-isolating pregnant woman that I was going to start repainting. The wall by the table was filthy. There were stains where drinks had been spilled and all manner of general crud from the two years since it was last painted. Apparently trying to purchase paint or brushes in order to paint one’s kitchen is on the prohibited list - fortunately there was enough blue paint to do this one wall in the garage. It look so much better - and has made me feel so much better. And look - so not covered in yuk anymore!
Whether I have any energy left to do any of the rest of the kitchen or the house in subsequent weekends will have to be seen. School starts back up tomorrow - Sally has three live video lessons a day and work to do and I’m supposed to be video teaching, setting and marking work too. Oh, and helping Sally with her work, finding fun activities for Pip, entertaining Cleo and trying to stop her bashing into things as she tries to figure out walking and preventing her from escaping out the back door every time the other two run outside and leave it open.
There is also some suggestion that people might like to eat too.
Another three weeks they say? Oh, it’s going to be fine.
At least all the pretty purple colours are out in the garden and the apple blossom is about to burst forth.
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