I have often found February to be the crappiest month in the year and thankfully we are almost out of it. As we emerge, things look bright!
It is hard to believe that just two or three weeks ago it was so extremely cold, with a low of minus 7C at night. Did I ever tell you I struggle with the cold? I found that hard to cope with as the house became very chilly after a few days.
Now the days are becoming noticeably warmer with daylight growing each day, it is such a delight to see daffodils and other bulbs coming into bloom. Paula, our lady gardener and inherited from Rachel’s late mother, has just started back after the winter break and I’ve been filling the wheelie bin and compost bin having been pruning. Mind you, Rachel’s eye brows have been raised having seen my efforts “but at least I’m willing” I say in my defence. Paula will be too polite to pass comment.
Over the weekend the weather was fantastic with continuous sunshine and all three of us were in the garden on Saturday. Hannah is Head of Jet Washing and has cleaned a number of paving slabs, the conservatory and some block paving. I am wary of standing still too long for fear of being jet washed myself.
I dusted off the lawn scarifier and set to work on the back lawn, a.k.a. the meadow. It is fair to say the grass-weed ratio would never win any prizes in the best bowling green contest but at least it is bee friendly. The old but nifty scarifier has lots of little sprung wires which scratch at the lawn, somehow pulling out thatch, moss, weeds and leaving the grass in tact. Clever.
While all that is fine and dandy, I do miss seeing friends. I miss the face to face chats and it must be a blokie thing that with us not phoning each other much. Having said that, my friend Chris in Cheltenham called for a 90 minute catch-up. It might of lasted longer, had my phone battery had a little more apple juice. Nevertheless we have been protected from the virus and for that we must always remain thankful.
Physically I’m okay. My running is progressing. Today I ran 6.5 miles in a little under an hour over an undulating course, somewhat dragged along by my friend Jon in a frightfully posh Hertfordshire. When I run alone I make ‘heavy weather’ of it, so roll on Parkruns and possibly even the odd race! My plantar fasciitis is 99% gone, although there is now a twinge in my other foot but thankfully running doesn’t seem to aggravate it. Sadly I think this is yet another reminder of feeling my age (see previous post).
Having been to the dentist today, about a molar with an abscess some 18 months old, my options appear to be:
- Root canal treatment (the original plan) but not available on the NHS. Would cost £650 and <50% chance of success owing to a possible crack in my tooth (that’s a theory, not a fact)
- Dental implant, the recommended treatment costing around £3,000
- Extraction is the only NHS treatment available. Aside from having a gap, it would place a strain on neighbouring teeth and possibly cause the tooth above to move. Not good.
- Doing nothing? Well the dentist says that’s an option but one day something “will happen”.
I have had the abscess for ages, he says I’m fortunate as some other patients are in continuous pain. When it flared up it was painful and I had a course of antibiotics which quickly solved the problem at the time. Occasionally I’ll rinse it with salt water to keep any infection at bay and it hasn’t caused any problems since. Could be a ticking time bomb.
Rachel is still plodding on with sorting through her Mum’s things, deciding what to keep, sell, give away etc. It is a painstaking task and one full of memories and emotions. It is something which cannot be hurried but progress is being made. Every now and then Rachel will say “Oh someone’s bought X on eBay”. X being an old postcard, a piece of bric-à-brac or even the odd piece of furniture. The important thing is that we’re making progress.
So, February has gone. The crappiest month in the year and we can be thankful it only had 28 days. Ahead things are brighter; hopefully COVID is improving, it’s getting warmer and it really does feel as if we are emerging into a hopeful new world! Perhaps a point for another time, I just don’t want things to return to “normal” as it was. Let’s just take stock, breathe and think how the world ought to be….