Up on my back legs

Hello there, how are you doing?  It feels good to be writing today’s post as last week, I was feeling very sorry for myself as I had hurt my back with over-enthusiastic wielding of the hedge trimmers and was in a bit of a sore state.  Actually, I was in a lot of a sore state and couldn’t possibly have strung two sensible words together in a blog post, so I thought I would wait until it all felt better and you didn’t get a post full of nonsense to read 🙂

Goodness, when we’re well and out and about, I don’t think we appreciate that some people live with unimaginable pain every day, and I have been very grateful that mine has been able to be treated by a lovely chiropractor.  It’s still sore but is feeling so much better and I’m strapped up with tape so I feel like an athlete, but I know that it’s not so easy for some people to see the light at the end of the tunnel.  If you live with chronic pain, I am so very sorry that you have to live like that and I hope that one day, you can be free of it.

Thank you so much for all your comments on my last post which was about us starting to work out how to spend our time after not so small daughter had gone to uni – I did read them all but I haven’t replied yet.  I will do!

So, now that I am up on my back legs again and can (hopefully) string two sensible words together, I’ve got a few photos to show you!  I say “a few” as Attic24 Lucy reminded me that it’s October next week and that means BLOGTOBER!  Oh you lucky people, you’ll get my ramblings every day for a WHOLE 31 DAYS so brace yourselves 🤣

Back to the photos, though.  Before my ill-fated hedge trimming, I noticed that the wind and the rain we’ve had recently – honestly, it’s been more like the middle of winter than the end of summer – has battered most of the garden but there were just a few flowers left on my Hydrangea.  It’s a funny plant, this one; it doesn’t conform to the rule of being pink or blue depending on the soil type but instead does it’s own thing and this year, it decided to be blue.  Or purple.  I caught these last three flowers changing from bloom to fade just as we reach the end of the month …

I have every intention of giving the garden a bit of an overhaul this winter – you know, you were absolutely right when you told me that I would have so much more time to do these things now not so small daughter is at uni.  I cleared some of her stuff off the landing last week and the space is still clear which delights me no end every time I go up the stairs – and gives me hope that I can start clearing out some other stuff that won’t immediately get replaced by yet more.  It’s felt like shovelling sand with a fork sometimes over the last few years and I will not be sorry to see that change!

We had to have some major work done to one of our trees which split and fell in the winds a couple of months ago and it’s opened up a whole bright space where I can see how oddly some of the plants under the tree had grown to try to get to the light.  The coming winter will be a good chance for me to re-shape and perhaps remove a few things – although I will be getting a proper stretching routine in place before I do anything like that!

I was on a proper roll that gardening day … I was baking earlier in the day (I think I just got giddy because I didn’t have to think about anyone except me that day 🤣) and I found a recipe for “IKEA biscuits”.  We don’t live that far from an IKEA and on one visit, big daughter discovered boxes of oat biscuits (cookies) dipped in chocolate and sandwiched together.  Oh, they are so good and although they come in a big box, they don’t last very long!  I also thought that they are probably not that good for you if you eat as many as we do in a short space of time, so I thought I would have a look to see if I could find a slightly healthier version that I could bake myself.

I don’t know if they’re healthier but they are really good!

They’re really easy to make, too, and if you fancy having a go for yourself, the recipe is here.  I found that it was better to cook them for longer on a lower temperature to help them keep the shape, but don’t forget I cook on an Aga so if you’re using a conventional oven, you might find the instructions work just right for you.

I’m going to finish today’s short post with a final September sunset – oh, they have been glorious this month!  See you in October! xx