Thursday

In the garden ...

... the white rose is looking good and is full of flowers this year - I think it heard us talking about whether to remove it or not. It's definitely staying but will be cut right back once it finishes flowering as the previous gardener removed the centre of the plant and the majority of the flowers are right at the top, out of my reach. The gladdies are looking good and the two newer fuchsias are still full of flowers. 

Yesterday turned out to be a reasonably productive day despite still feeling completely drained of energy. I watered the garden twice, doing the pots with the watering can first thing and then using the hose to water the entire garden last night. I also cleared some of the tomato plant leaves as mentioned by Joy over on her blog. 

The nutrition session about meal planning was interesting with several suggestions on how to approach it but nothing new to me so I will keep going with my own method and make a bit more effort to stick to it! 

The decluttering took up a good part of the day. I've placed most of the adverts for the items I'd previously taken photos of so now it's a case of waiting to see if they sell. I've also decided on the wording for some of the more obscure items and have sent that over to one of my late partner's friends to see if my attempts at describing the items are correct. 

Once that was done I devoted the rest of the day to phone calls with friends, naps, reading, and researching the local piano teachers. There is a huge difference in the price they charge so that will inevitably play a part in my final choice - the most expensive so far was £27 for a 30 minute lesson and the cheapest was £12 for the same. A couple only offered hour long lessons and quite a few were geared up for taking exams, which I don't think I want to do, so I'm still looking. I'm sure there was someone in the village who advertised piano lessons but I couldn't find his/her details anywhere online so maybe I've remembered incorrectly. Anyway, the search continues!

Today it's the Indian cookery at 1 pm and today's recipe is Punjabi Pakora Kadhi, which I doubt I will make for myself - it's a yoghurt based curry and they aren't my favourite. The link is to the result of a google search so isn't the exact recipe we'll be following. 

We're promised showers today but I'm hoping to dodge the raindrops and get out for a walk at some point ... I need some fresh air and a change of scene. Apart from that, I'll carry on looking for a piano teacher, decide on the best way to sell a coin collection, and look for an Italian conversation group.

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My August decluttering challenge:

• 1st = a set of plastic measuring spoons (I never use them)
• 2nd = a white shirt (band uniform that is now too big) 
• 3rd = odd balls of wool (going to my sister, who can make use of them)
• 4th = a map quiz book (completed and unlikely to want to do it again)
• 5th = blue cardigan (big holes in both elbows so only fit for the bin!)