Holly Olive

Another early start in order to be ready by the time the charity chaps arrived to collect the wardrobe, just in case I was their first port of call at 8am. They got here at 8.30am, and took all of five minutes to get it out of the house and into the van. Another piece of Mum and Dad’s furniture gone - it still hurts a bit to part with these things, but I need to make the place my own. I have to keep in mind that Mum even told me herself to put my stamp on the bungalow, as she put it, if I chose to stay here. So she was giving me her permission and blessing.

The collection having been done so early, I called my friend Mary and we left at 10am to visit Hazel in her care home. She and some of the other residents were having a coffee morning when we arrived, complete with cakes freshly-made by the chef. We sat and chatted, and helped out with quizzes etc. Mary talked to a lovely lady called Margaret, who told her she was feeling a bit sad today. By the time we left at 12 o’clock Margaret was smiling again, and Mary had encouraged her to have some coffee and a cake. Sometimes simply sitting and listening to someone’s story can make all the difference.

When I got home I vacuumed the wall and carpet where the wardrobe had stood for the past 21 years. It wasn’t too bad, all things considered. A chap from the awnings company had responded to my online enquiry and left a message, so I shall call him back tomorrow to get a quote for a replacement at the back of the house. Also, my hairdresser’s husband Lee called to discuss repainting the bedroom. He’ll come over tomorrow afternoon to have a look, and hopefully he might be able to get that done for me fairly soon so that I can get on with ordering the carpet and having the new wardrobe unit fitted. I feel like I’m at last making some progress with the renovation schedule, and getting the bedroom completed will encourage me to tackle the rest.

My blip shows the pretty spring blossom on a shrub in the garden which grows under the Acer tree. My iPhone seems to have identified it as Holly Olive (Osmanthus delavayi). Anyway, I always enjoy its jasmine-like flowers every April. The Acer is bursting out with its new red leaves now, as you can see in the background. A pretty Camellia from the bottom of the garden is in Extras. I love this time of year!