It's a while since I've written so on this wet and windy morning with the fire roaring, lit more to brighten than to provide warmth I will write.
I last wrote in June when we were hoping for rain, we've had plenty since then. Towards the end of July we had the call that my Mum had collapsed and passed away. Although expected as she'd been poorly for sometime it still came as a shock. No matter how you try to prepare yourself in your head it's completely different when it actually happens and you feel it in your heart. So my sister and I drove down to the Midlands and spent 3 weeks there. The funeral was hopefully just what my mum had ordered, she'd left specific instructions of what she wanted and didn't want. Rich and my brother in law came down to meet us. It was both sad and beautiful. My biggest regret is that she didn't get to see this place, with the pandemic then her diagnosis and our living conditions there never seemed to be the right time.
After 3 weeks away it was a relief to be back, I'd missed home enormously. Even though due to my mum being ill we've probably been away about 8 weeks this year the garden has still been a success. I've a freezer with lots of tomato and courgette dishes in it. Curries, soups, courgette fritters and oven roasted tomatoes. It's been good not to have to cook every night. The tomatoes are about finished now, I've started to remove the plants from the polytunnel. The courgettes are the same, there's just a couple of plants still producing. The sweet potatoes are still in their containers, I'm not sure how successful they've been as I think they needed it to be hotter but we'll find out shortly. We've planted some potatoes in the polytunnel in the hope we'll be able to have some in time for Christmas. I've also dug up our remaining potatoes from the veg patch, we've got a decent amount to put away.
Work has restarted on the house, my eldest son has come to help for a few weeks so he's been digging ditches and pulling the staircase out the house. It's even more interesting when we have a bath now. As well as a plank to cross we now have to get upstairs using a ladder. But at least we can still have a bath so for that I'm thankful.
I'm become very aware since our return how old Tabby is getting, she's approaching 18 years of age. Roughly a couple of weeks ago (I'm always uncertain of days/time here) she went out in the early hours just as it was starting to get light. I heard her cry out so jumped out of bed and clapped my hands loudly out the window in the hope of frightening off whatever it was. Tabby came back inside in obvious pain but no visible injuries. We think it most likely that a fox got hold of her, she's quite small and I suspect it dragged her. She's quite deaf so probably wasn't aware of it being close by. Slowly but surely we've nursed her back to health. For the first week we decided to accompany her each time she went out after dark. A bit of a daft idea as she is in and out all night, I normally just keep the window open. She refuses to use an inside tray and will only drink water from the pond, stream or a puddle, never from a bowl! But she is much better, she's managing the steps again now and is able to jump up and off the bed. We're now leaving the door open for her when she goes out and a light on in the hope it'll deter any unwanted visitors. We're still not getting much sleep but at least we're not waiting outside with her for half an hour each time. That really was exhausting!
So there's been lots happening, good, bad and sad. Life is such a mix of so many things.
I write this in memory of my mum and with thanks for all she gave to me. As we enter into Autumn with the change in the weather and the trees starting to turn beautiful shades and shed their leaves, I miss her. ♥️
❤️🙏
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