The Day After Tuesday

A welcome low-key Wednesday after lots of noise and activity going on outside yesterday. A team of chaps hired by my neighbour spent their entire working day chopping up and removing the enormous willow tree that had fallen alongside my garden wall four months ago. It’s a big relief to get rid of it, though after they’d gone I had to spend quite a while in the rain gathering up all the willow branches and twigs which had been shed onto the lawn when the men pulled away the large part of the tree canopy that had been overhanging the wall. What a tangled mess, not only on the grass but also on the flowerbed, and caught up in the rambling rose and jasmine growing over the wooden archway. Fortunately there wasn’t any lasting damage done, but I had to get up high to get some of the debris down. I’m extremely lucky that my neighbour took it upon himself to foot the bill for the clearance, so don’t feel I can moan too much though.

My sister came over today for lunch, and as we walked past people’s front gardens we were quite inspired by some of the lovely shrubs and plants we saw growing. I shall have to find out which ones are suitable for when I can at last start revamping the garden. House renovations must come first, and I’m just waiting for an installation date for the new windows that are on order before continuing to arrange the rest of the work in the most sensible and logical order. I will be needing a plumber, a tiler, an electrician, a flooring contractor and a window blinds company, as well as my nephew doing the decorating and some carpentry work. Before the painting and flooring is done, I must arrange for several large items of unwanted furniture to be donated to charity or otherwise disposed of. Outside, the guttering and soffits need checking and cleaning, the front door needs repainting (which I will do myself) and the large patio awning needs to be replaced. Only then can I make a start on the front and back gardens, though I’ll have to get the gardener to take out the dead bits of hedge at the front. Oh, nearly forgot the small matter of booking a removal company to bring my furniture from the flat on or before completion day. Hard to anticipate a date for that, as we haven’t exchanged contacts yet. My head is spinning!

Church and coffee tomorrow morning before resuming the clearing and packing at both properties after my brief break from it. Onwards!