Sunday, 11 July 2021

Falling Behind with Everything

Hello Friends!

Yes, I'm falling behind with everything.  I think I have sciatica.  Remember I did No Mow May?  Well, June 1st I pulled out the mower and had the devil of a job to get it through the well overgrown lawn.  It was so hard I only managed about two thirds, and it took me about three times as long as normal.  On June 2nd, I woke up in pain and have been in pain ever since.  I haven't been for a walk since the end of May, and I am struggling to do simple, everyday things like cooking and washing dishes.  As they say, it is what it is, and is, with hindsight, self inflicted.  I have some morphine based pain killers, but they come with their own unwanted set of side effects.  Heigh ho!

So, I've struggled along for the month, but for the past fortnight I've chilled as best as I can, not bothered to dust or hoover, and watched Wimbledon, which I've enjoyed immensely, but have to say the crowds seem much noisier and rowdier than normal.

Being glued to Wimbledon means I have fallen behind by a few days on my ICAD, but if I'm late finishing, I'm late finishing. 

Five weeks down, three to go.

32/61

How could I not draw a pumpkin?  I am really eager to do this one on proper paper soon.  Water colour and ink.


33/61 I often revisit this shape and experiment with it.  Mixed media


34/61 a and b.  A stylised doodle.  Sometimes alcohol ink soaks through to make an interesting effect on the reverse.  I prefer the reverse.  What about you?



35/61  Imaginary doorway. Mixed media


As to the garden, I've forced myself to push the mower around once during June after that post No Mow May mow, and will try to do it again this week before the garden waste collection on Thursday.

However, the flowers continue to give their best, despite the neglect.  I really must do some dead heading soon.

The Crocosmia Lucifer is coming into it's own now.  I know it's not well loved, but I like it a lot, and it brings heat and colour to an otherwise very green corner.












Sorry the photos aren't brilliant, it's not easy hobbling on a stick and juggling a camera while in pain.

Another indulgence is watching reruns of Downton Abbey, currently on every evening from Monday to Friday, from the very beginning.  Will I ever tire of it?

I had some eggs to use up, so made this rich, dark, moist chocolate loaf style cake. I am experimenting using Pyrex dishes instead of tins at the moment.  It was very good, and this afternoon it's time to fill the cake tin again, so I'm going to bake Mary Berry's Almond and Chocolate cake from her Baking Bible, which is my favourite cake and baking book ever.

Bon Appetit!  This was delicious with syrupy sliced strawberries!


Thank you to everyone who has commented lately, I've read every comment and kind word.  Hope you are still able to follow now that Blogger has made yet more changes.  It's almost as if they don't want us any longer.

Until next time
Stay safe, stay well!
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21 comments:

  1. Sue in Suffolk11 July 2021 at 09:57

    So sorry to hear about you having to hobble - sounds Very painful. Hope it goes quickly now.
    I much prefer the redder crocosmia compared to orange.
    Cake looks delicious

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    1. Rustic Pumpkin11 July 2021 at 10:32

      Thank you, Sue. Yes, the red one is much taller and provides structure and interest. It's also not invasive!

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  2. Valerie-Jael11 July 2021 at 10:02

    Hi Deb! I'm sorry to hear you are in pain, I can relate to that very well, and to the bad side effects of tablets etc . Your ICADs are wonderful, my fave has to be the lovely pumpkin. Your garden looks really good, in spite of being 'neglected', you have a great show of plants. And Downton Abbey? Always good! Enjoy your sport and films on TV, take care, hugs, Valerie

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    1. Rustic Pumpkin11 July 2021 at 10:34

      Thank you, Valerie. I hope the pain will go soon, but the older I get the longer the healing. Wimbledon finishes today, so back to the grindstone tomorrow! Hugs, Deb

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  3. Bovey Belle11 July 2021 at 13:19

    What beautiful flowers in your garden. I don't mind the Lucifer Crocosmia, had that at my old garden, but the blasted orange one spreads like Covid!

    Love the back of your pink clematis painting - lovely affect.

    Right, I shall wag my finger at you now - please don't suffer with the pain of Sciatica (K's mother once came on holiday, complained of it and spent the next fortnight in bed getting worse!) I have had it a few times in the past and book straight in with my Chiro (Peter Jarvis, who has a practice in Carmarthen, Pembroke etc - think I've mentioned him before.) He is VERY good, very experienced and very Covid-aware and protected, and would have you right in a jiffy. And no, I don't work for him!

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    1. Rustic Pumpkin11 July 2021 at 17:03

      Thank you, Bovey Belle. Yes, constantly pulling montbretia, but Lucifer is well behaved and worthy of a place.

      I think I did something to my hip when I had to sleep in my armchair for three months due to illness, and I have been wanting to visit my chiropractor since March 2020, but as I don't have a car, riding on a limited bus service does not appeal one jot right now.

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  4. Kim11 July 2021 at 18:59

    I'm sorry you're hurting, Deb. Please take it easy and let yourself heal. Can you hire a local teen to cut your lawn for you until you recover?

    Your flowers are just gorgeous! I bet they're worth hobbling out to see.

    This batch of art is lovely. I find that door to be quite inviting. Perhaps a friendly hobbit is behind it and might answer if you knock. And that cake looks delicious. A good use for those eggs, I'd say. Take care.

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    1. Rustic Pumpkin11 July 2021 at 19:32

      Thank you, Kim. It's just so frustrating when there's so much to be done.

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  5. Victoria Zigler12 July 2021 at 05:23

    Sorry you're still in so much pain. I know what you mean about painkillers having their own issues, though in my case mostly those issues prevent me from being able to take them at all (literally the only painkiller I can tolerate is liquid Ibuprofen, and it does have to be liquid form, which generally means the version meant for children, and even that it makes me a bit weezy for a short time after I take the dose... Everything else either makes me physically and violently sick, or triggers a full on asthma attack). Anyway, I'm glad you've been finding plenty of things to keep yourself occupied while resting, and hope things improve enough that you can start going on your walks again soon.

    I'm following you via Bloglovin', since I already had an account with them to follow someone I couldn't follow any other way that I've been following for ages, so I started following as many of the Blogger blogs as I could via that when Feedburner made their announcement about stopping sending out post notifications. You can list blogs on there to follow even if the blogger isn't on there themselves, and it sends an eMail notification to my inbox similar to the one Feedburner has been sending out, so it works well for me, since it doesn't change my process of doing things much.

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    1. Rustic Pumpkin12 July 2021 at 06:59

      Thank you, Victoria. Right now, I can only take paracetamol or prescribed pain relief, and the latter comes with side effects. For me, it's about finding the balance, and now Wimbledon is over I must find another distraction.
      Thanks for the blog information, to be honest it's all above my head. I thought Bloglovin' had ceased.

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    2. Victoria Zigler12 July 2021 at 12:15

      Nope. Bloglovin' is definitely still going. I used it to access this very post.

      Delete
  6. Sue Garrett12 July 2021 at 08:59

    Blogger changes are a nightmare - I wish that they would sort out the glitches before hitting the update button ot whatever they do.
    The real downside of no mow May. I guess strimming is the only way - or s scythe, both hard work.

    I love Lucifer too which taken out of context sounds so wrong!

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    1. Rustic Pumpkin12 July 2021 at 10:01

      Thank you Sue. My dad used a scythe to clear the land. Very hard work, and doesn't do an already stressed back any favours.

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  7. Ragged Robin12 July 2021 at 10:14

    I am so sorry to hear about your sciatica and hope it eases soon. It is horrible when it is harder than usual to do tasks.

    Glad you have enjoyed Wimbledon there have been some good matches :)

    Love all the drawings and the door and pumpkins are my personal favourites.

    You have a wonderful selection of flowers in the garden and the roses are especially lovely.

    The cake looks yummy - MB Baking Bible is my favourite baking book too. Her recipes are so reliable and delicious :)

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    1. Rustic Pumpkin12 July 2021 at 10:33

      Thank you Ragged Robin. Those are my two favourite cards too. Yes, MB Baking Bible is a must have book for everyone who enjoys baking.

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  8. The Joy of Home with Martha Ellen16 July 2021 at 01:18

    So sorry to hear you are in pain, my friend! I understand this pain all too well, so I understand. Hopefully it will pass soon. If not, I hope your Physician can give you some relief. Your artwork and flowers are so lovely. And that chocolate cake sure looks moist and delicious! Take care, dear one. xoxo

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    1. Rustic Pumpkin16 July 2021 at 10:06

      Thank you, my friend. I have morphine based pain relief, but as we know it brings it's own set of problems. Managed to hobble a few hundred yards this morning and saw a weasel! xoxo

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  9. Beatrice P. Boyd19 July 2021 at 23:32

    Hope your pain will be lessening day by day, but realistically that may take awhile. Thanks for struggling through to include these photos. The artwork and flowers were lovely to see...but that chocolate cake looked so good!

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  10. Jean | DelightfulRepast.com13 August 2021 at 18:30

    There's a pair of physical therapists on YouTube who have helped my husband and me with numerous things. You might check this out. They probably have a bunch of videos about sciatica. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-vfPIIMMhA Also (and I'm not a doctor) I've recently heard about gabapentin being used for different types of nerve pain, such as sciatica. Have a friend taking it now post-mastectomy, and she hasn't had any side effects so far. Hope you get well soon!

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  11. Daisy Debs22 August 2021 at 07:04

    Oh no ! No more No mow May for you ! Has the sciatica eased up yet ? I hope it settles down again very soon . I know that pain . I love your paintings ! They are so joyful ! :)

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    1. Rustic Pumpkin22 August 2021 at 07:59

      Thank you. I did, eventually, finish the art challenge. My sciatica is bearable now, but I don't think people understand how truly debilitating it can be.

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