Tags
busyness, cataract operation, crocus, Diary, driving, gardening, horse brasses, iris reticulata, medical appointments, muddy lanes, Plough Sunday, Plough Sunday service, pulmonaria, rosemary, Rumburgh Church, snowdrop, sparrowhawk, storm damage, Suffolk, the plough, wintertime, witch-hazel
Both our cars are covered in mud all the time; they are in a worse state now than in the photo! Most of our lane is inches deep in sloppy mud and it is hardly worth our while to wash the cars.
This year has been crazily busy so far and there has been no time for even a short walk since the new year. At last, I have managed to catch-up with all my blog reading, I’ve sorted out all my bank statements and receipts and have got rid of large amounts of paper. I have even spent a little time in the garden weeding and tidying-up the flowerbeds; there has been very little cold weather and the weeds have grown and grown!
Rosemary ( Rosmarinus ‘Miss Jessup’s Upright’) in flower in January
Witch Hazel; the stems covered in lichen.
Snowdrops. These and the crocus above grow under the crabapple tree. It has got somewhat weedy there in recent years!
Pulmonaria
I have taken a Morning Prayer service at church and attended a meeting with others in our Benefice who take church services.
Plough Sunday Service 12th January. Richard took this service very nicely. Much of the congregation is made up of members of ‘Old Glory’ the Molly Men and their friends and supporters
The decorated plough; the star of the Plough Sunday service.
Look at these beautiful horse brasses!
Most of my time has been spent in the car, taking Elinor to the station on her university days, taking Mum to her many hospital appointments, taking myself to hospital and doctor’s appointments, dental appointments, eye clinic appointments and grocery shopping trips. Mum has had both her cataracts removed and such a load has been lifted from her and my shoulders! She has so much more sight than we thought and the fear that she may not be able to look after herself and live alone as she wishes has receded for a while. She is approaching her 90th birthday and though she tires easily and is somewhat twisted and stooping because of arthritis, she is still able to cook and look after herself. Richard and I had to visit her the week before last to repair her hedge and fence, damaged by the first of our storms. Mum hadn’t been able to do any gardening for some months because she couldn’t see, and the garden has become overgrown with brambles and nettles, thistles and other unwelcome weeds. I had done a few jobs for her and so had Richard but the weeds had taken over and the fence that broke in the storm was covered in enormous brambles.
A rather beautiful female Sparrowhawk (Accipiter nisus ) who observed me taking her photo
This coming week I only have three appointments to keep and none for Mum except for taking her to church on Ash Wednesday. I’m at the hospital all day on Tuesday having eye pressure tests, I have a hygienist appointment at the dentist on Wednesday and a hair appointment in Norwich on Thursday. Housework has been a bit hit-and-miss lately and I hope to be able to catch-up with all my chores at home very soon.
This is just a short post to let you know what has been happening. My next post will probably be about one of our days out last year, or even the year before that! I have plenty of old photos but hardly any new ones!
A Suffolk Lane 
It’s good to hear from you again, Clare! Those are lovely late winter flowers. Wishing your family the best, and I am glad to hear things are going well with your mother, and that her vision is so much better after cataract surgery. Hope you and Richard are taking good care of yourselves, too. You sound very busy!
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Thank you very much, Lavinia. I must admit both Richard and I are exhausted and would love to escape for a while! Things are improving and we should be having less to do in a few weeks. Best wishes to you and Rick.
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Oh dear. This muddy winter has made quite a bit of drudgery hasn’t it? And the natural world is so confused. Lots of nesting birds already – and now, late in the day, it’s snowing hard! Good news about your mother!
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Thank you, Margaret. No snow here and, for the past few days I have been listening to a blackbird singing! So early!
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Yup. We have blackbirds singing too, and nesting in the stable.
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My goodness!
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Aye, and that’s North Yorkshire an’all.
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Hehe!
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Loved all those Spring flowers. Poor you though, what a time you have had. I do hope your eye pressure tests reveal nothing alarming, good luck.
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Thank you very much, Susan. We have certainly been very busy but I am hoping it will calm down soon.
I was diagnosed with glaucoma recently but my eye pressure was normal when it was tested. I am spending the day having pressure tests every two hours to see if the pressure fluctuates. It will be a very tedious day!
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It sounds like you have a busy week ahead, Clare. Thanks so much for taking the time to bring a little beauty into our lives. The flowers are gorgeous! I’m happy your mother is well. Take care of enjoy your day! ❤
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Thank you very much, Jill. Your comments are as kind as ever. ❤ ❤
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❤
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Lovely to see the little signs of spring. 🙂 And good to know your mother’s sight has improved greatly after surgery. Hopefully some restful time for you will be available soon. As usual it is lovely to see the decorated plough. My mother passed away in mid December so there has been a lot to do re her death, including her funeral of course. She was 97 . We miss her dreadfully but it was her time to leave us.
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I am so sorry your mother has passed away, Mandy. 97 is a wonderful age to have reached. I had wondered where you had got to and now I understand your absence.
Thank you for your kind comments, which are as thoughtful as ever.
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Thank you, Clare. I haven’t managed to post about it yet. Just need to process things for a while longer. 🙂
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I do understand xx
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With all you have had to contend with I am even more grateful for your regular comments, Clare. Your description of your lane makes us happier that we live on what has become a main road.
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Thank you very much, Derrick. I love reading your posts and admiring the photos you take. They help me relax at the end of the day.
We can tell where people live when we drive to town to do the shopping. The town cars are considerably cleaner than ours!
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🙂
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Your cars reminds me of the conversation my daughter and I had about her school shoes before she set off this morning.
Anyway, I do hope that your eye tests will give you relief. I’m glad that your mum has got some vision back and can stay longer in her own home.
Hopefully, you will be able to get a break with your husband soon. The tone of your post suggests you really need to get off the treadmill.
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Haha! I used to have conversations like that with my daughters! I’m surprised my younger one hasn’t started nagging me about the state of my car!
You are right; we are absolutely exhausted and could do with a holiday – except a holiday would involve organisation and we haven’t the energy! 😀
We are all so pleased that Mum has some sight back and she has regained all the confidence she lost before Christmas.
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Yes, holidays and organisation! I hope you find time out to relax, one way or another, anyway 😊
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Thank you, Helen 🙂
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I especially like the Sparrow hawk!
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Thank you very much, Andrew. I was very pleased the photo wasn’t too out of focus.
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It’s wonderful your mother’s eyes are still so sharp; it must be such a relief to be able to see again. Good luck with your busy week.
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Thank you very much! Mum wasn’t sure if she would gain any sight at all as she also has glaucoma and macular degeneration. She was so happy and excited when she came out of the operating theatre!
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I bet! Wonderful!!
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Clare, it’s lovely to see a post from you! Oh, the mud on the roads are terrible and we and everyone else in the country seem to have given up on washing cars – I just make sure the number plate and windows are clean! So many roads are flooded we are fording roads rather than driving on them!
The flowers are delightful and wow, you’ve been busy with your mother’s garden as well. I’m so happy her cataract op went well – I have had several relatives who have had this, and my grandfather used to boast how well he could see again – it gave him a new lease of life!
I hope your eyes are okay at the appointment and that you keep well through this greyest of winters. Take a well-earned rest now and then … and enjoy a walk or two when the sun shines. Tomorrow and Wednesday look promising! It is heavenly to see the trees in bud and listen to the birds – one can almost imagine Spring now and then. 😀🌺
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Dear Annika! Thank you so much! I am sure the tests will go well but it will be such a tedious day with tests every two hours and then trying to amuse myself in-between times! The first test is at 7.45 am and they go on til late afternoon. 😦
Won’t it be wonderful when the winds eventually drop and the sun comes out!
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Dearest Clare, lovely flowery photos. Wrapping you all in much ❤ and I can feel the loving energy that is flowing between you all. ❤ Such good news about your Mum's eyes and I am wrapping you in much ❤ for tomorrow. Loving hugs for you all. ❤ Xxxx ❤
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My dear Jane! Thank you so much for your kindness ❤ Hugs and love for you my dear friend ❤ ❤ xxXXxx ❤ ❤
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Yes, good to hear from you! Lovely, lovely flowers. And even lovelier that your mother can now see well enough to continue to live on her own. No small accomplishment for someone who is ninety! Hope your eye tests go well.
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Thank you, Laurie. Mum has regained all the confidence she lost when she couldn’t see but is also aware how fragile all our senses are and is grateful to have got back what she thought she had lost forever.
The eye tests are not intrusive and my greatest problem tomorrow will be boredom! I have recently been diagnosed with glaucoma in one of my eyes (and a cataract in the other!) but my eye pressure was normal when it was tested. They want to find out if my pressure varies during the day. So tests every two hours from 7.45 am until late afternoon! Ugh!
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Oh, goodness! Best of luck.
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Thank you, Laurie.
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Great to get your news and see your garden springing into action! Wonderful sparrowhawk picture too. You sound really busy but good that your Mum can see again and am amazed that she gardens. Never give up. Hopefully with your help and some good weather she can enjoy her home and garden.
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Thank you, Georgina. I was so pleased with the sparrowhawk! The photo was taken through the kitchen window and I zoomed as far as I could. It’s not quite in focus but I’m still pleased I got it. Mum can only manage half an hour at a time in the garden these days but she does love it so.
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I’m guessing the eye pressure tests are for glaucoma, which I hope you don’t have. It seems to me we’ve talked about it but I can’t remember the conversation now!
It’s great that your mother can look out for herself at that age. They tell me I’ll need cataract surgery in about 2 years so her experience is encouraging.
I didn’t know you had a mud season there. The roads here will sometimes stop cars completely.
Nice to see the flowers!
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Unfortunately, I do have glaucoma. My optician said it was likely from her tests in the autumn and it was confirmed by the hospital doctor a month ago. It is an hereditary disease; my mother has it and her aunt became blind because of it. The reason for the tests tomorrow is my pressure test at the hospital was normal and they want to find out if the pressure varies throughout the day. They hope to be able to control it fairly well with eye drops but I’ll have more tests soon to see if there is anything else that can be done. I must admit to being very disappointed in the diagnosis.
We don’t normally have a mud season but the rainfall has been so great this winter we seem to have one now! We have narrow lanes dating from the days of horse and cart with grassy verges at the sides. Traffic includes wide farm vehicles and enormous trucks and articulated lorries that break down the banks at the side of the road and cause most of the mud.
I also have a cataract that is quite insignificant now but as soon as they tell me it can be operated on I will go ahead and get it removed. It was a joy to see the excitement on Mum’s face when she came out of the theatre after her operation. The results are instantaneous. All the other patients waiting for their operations were very nervous going in but so happy coming out! There is no pain and all is done so quickly and efficiently.
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I’m very sorry to hear that you have Glaucoma but it’s true that it can be controlled with eye drops. They give me drops called Latanoprost ophthalmic and they keep the pressure down to about 16, which they tell me is good. Some help more than others and everyone’s eyes are different but I’m sure they’ll find you some that work. My father had it too and went blind from it, so it’s nothing to fool with.
You’ve almost made me anxious to have the cataract surgery, and that’s something I never thought I’d say. Hooray for your mother. I’m glad it went so well for her!
Good luck at the doctor’s office. They can do wonders these days, so I wouldn’t worry. The hardest part for me is remembering to put the drops in!
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Thank you so much for your comforting words, Allen. The doctors and nurses at the hospital are kindness itself and so gentle, too. I am in good hands.
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I’m glad to hear it!
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It does sound as though some well earned peace and quiet would be just what the doctor should order so I hope that you can get some. Like others, I do appreciate the trouble you take to comment on other people’s blogs when you are so busy. Don’t reply to this comment!
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Thank you, Tom. I won’t.
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I do hope your eyesight improves and that you will find plenty of opportunity to ‘stand and stare’ when the beauty of spring arrives. I see your garden has some early indicators already.
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It has! Thank you very much, Richard.
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Hi,Clare – I loved the catchup. Your garden is beautiful. I had no idea that witch hazel looked like that. Thank you for taking a break for all that you have going on so that we could sit and chat for awhile!
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My pleasure, Donna and thank you! Witch Hazel flowers do look quite different to most other plants; and the scent is usually wonderful though sadly, my one doesn’t have a strong scent.
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I hope all went well on Tuesday, Clare. What a busy time it has been for you. May it calm down and the weather improve so that you can have some beautiful spring walks soon.
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Thank you so much, Jolandi! It all went well on Tuesday and I understand my complaint a little better. I have glaucoma which is a little disappointing but a lot can be done to prevent it getting any worse.
It would be good if the weather improved, as we have had named storms every weekend during February. We have storm Jorge arriving tomorrow!
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So sorry to hear about the glaucoma, Clare, but happy that there is a lot than can be done to prevent it from getting worse. Understanding one’s complaints is much better than wondering about it, as the imagination often makes it much worse.
I hope you have survived Jorge. Storms with names are never pleasant.
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Thank you, Jolandi. We have survived all the named storms this winter with no damage at all and no power outages! The winds have been from the south and south-west and we live in the east and the worst of the wind and rain has dissipated before getting to us.
You are right. Knowledge and understanding of disease helps considerably.
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As I gaze at your flowers, I look outside at the snow falling. Beautiful flowers. We will get there too but who knows when? Maybe May or June?
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Our spring flowers are so early this year! The snowdrops and crocuses have finished already and all the daffodils are coming out. We have a friend who opens her garden each Easter in aid of her church and she calls the event ‘Daffodil Sunday’. I am sure that there won’t be any daffodils left by Easter! I hope your spring flowers appear before June, Mary Ann! xoxo
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There are two of us who hope so. Your weather if far ahead of ours.
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xoxo
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Clare, I hope your test day went well. You seem a real stoic, or maybe you just have the right attitude. xo
Pulmonaria has such a pretty little flower, doesn’t it? And rosemary – I wish I could grow it here, but it wouldn’t last the winter. I had one many years ago and brought it in when the cold came; I thought it might be better at the library with lots of windows, but the leaves dropped and that was the end of it.
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Thank you, Lisa. I have been surprised how well Rosemary does here as it is a Mediterranean plant and we do (or used to get) cold and wet winters every year, though not as cold as you get! I plant it in sheltered places in very well-drained soil and it grows and grows. I even get self-sown seedlings!
The test day went okay, thank you. There were three other women having the same tests done as me and we kept each other company. We all had books to read and when we weren’t needed we could go for walks and to the cafés. My first test was done at 7.45 am and the last one, the 5th, was at 3.45 pm and then I drove home through driving, wet snow! I have glaucoma and the hospital wanted to know if my eye pressure fluctuates during the day – it does, but not by very much. I’m not sure if I am stoical but I have been attending hospitals regularly for appointments for the past 35 years or more for different things and you have to learn to sit quietly and wait. The doctors and nurses are almost all kind and caring and they are doing their best to make me feel better. They have a difficult job to do and are over-worked and under-staffed. I was very glad to get home, where we had pancakes to celebrate Shrove Tuesday. Yum!
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Hi Clare, I can already see spring flowers in our garden.
I like the little snowdrops best, because they are my birthday flowers. They usually bloom on my birthday and that’s why I love them.
Greetings
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Thank you, Rosie – happy birthday! Our snowdrops have gone already and we have daffodils now.
Greetings to you, too.
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🙂
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Beautiful photos and everything flowering already! I love that photo of the sparrowhawk 🙂 It’s good you managed to catch up with things despite all the muddy weather but my goodness Clare I hope you are alright? So many doctor and eye appointments, I can’t imagine how you managed to cope with everything, and are you okay now? ❤ ❤
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How very kind, Cat and thank you! I’m okay, and now that I know that I have glaucoma and that eye-drops will prevent the condition from getting much worse I can just add this and the extra hospital check-ups into my routine. Mum’s cataract treatment is all over except for a last hospital check-up next week so I won’t need to take her to hospital quite so often now. I’m just as busy with the church but that is fine and I am visiting my elder daughter in Sheffield this week which will be lovely. I am looking forward to better weather and the end of this covid-19 corona virus problem! ❤ ❤ 🙂
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Good to know you are okay and that your mum is doing better. It must be a relief to have cataracts removed and to see again, I can’t imagine how difficult it must be to have cataracts. I hope you and your whole family and friends are well and stay well ❤ I wouldn't worry too much about this corona virus, the media are good at making everything seem terrifying, but it feels like many other viruses, most people I think are recovering and the number of people getting it is still small compared to the size of our population on the whole. We just need to keep hygenic and do things like wash our hands and not panic too much as that can make us feel down worsen our own immune systems. ❤ ❤ 🙂 I look forward to this whole thing being over too, hopefully it will slowly die out with the warmer weather – fingers crossed 🙂
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Yes! 🙂
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Nothing is growing here yet, so it’s nice to see some spring life in the garden.
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Thank you Resa! We have had a really mild winter and everything is blooming early.
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Lovely sparrow hawk, and looking at this, I believe you got blooms before we did. I’m so glad to see the color, and how wonderful your mum’s eye surgery was such a success.
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Thank you very much, Sheri. Yes, our flowers have been about three weeks to a month early this year and the leaves on the trees are appearing now. We were so pleased Mum’s surgery was done earlier in the year and not booked for now! As it is, she still needs some laser treatment before she can get some glasses but she is grateful for the sight she has regained. I doubt if she will get the laser treatment for months now.
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Sorry for the delay on the rest of her treatment. It stayed unseasonably cold here, but the birds have been singing in the morning for a couple of weeks now, and with that came the earliest blooms and now swelling and just popping leaves. I can’t wait for more spring green!
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Sorry, I seem to have been ignoring you. Good to hear so much was going right. Loved the iris photos. Hope you are all keeping well despite the recent problems.
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Thank you, Simon. I have been very busy catching up with housework I’ve skimped on for the past three months because of my rushing about (mentioned above in the post).
I’ve also ventured into the garden. I have nearly caught up (yet again) with my blog reading, haven’t made many, if any comments but hope to start again in the next day or so. We also haven’t been able to get any home deliveries from supermarkets so have to go out to shop for us and for my mother. She is alone in her home which worries me but she is resourceful and is used to having little company and making do with very little food. My main worry is the thought that I might unwittingly pass on the virus to her for which I’d never forgive myself. I hope you and Julia keep well and that both your sons are fine. I spent the past few months longing to be able to stay at home all day and now that my wish has come true I’m rather regretting having wished it! 😀
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Yes, it’s a big responsibility keeping parents virus free. My Dad has been in lockdown at the care home for about a month – I was annoyed I couldn’t see him but it’s probably for the best.
In 1969 I remember telling my mother I could do with a day off school. Later that day I broke my arm in two places and dislocated my wrist. I got two days off school and a day in casualty. At the age of 11 I learned a lesson about being careful what I wished for. 🙂
I forgot to ask in my comment – how are your eyes?
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Haha! Yes – wishing is a dangerous business.
Thank you for asking. I have definitely got glaucoma in my left eye even though my eye pressure is within normal pressure bounds, though it does fluctuate a great deal during the day. I use eye-drops every night to reduce the pressure and have another appointment with the specialist at the end of the month. Which will probably be cancelled. 🙂
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Yes, it’s a worrying time if you don’t have the popular ailment of the moment. A friend of my sister had her cancer surgery cancelled this morning.
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How miserable!
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Beautiful photos 💖
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Thank you very much, Saania ❤
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My pleasure, Clare 🧚🏻♀️
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Normal life hey? Amazing that these days can make us think about what is normal.
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Yes. And to think that for weeks and weeks earlier this year I was longing for a quiet life and a chance to spend a few days at home or in the garden. My wish has come true!!
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It’s great to see your beautiful flowers poking through! I’m so glad your mum’s vision is better now. My mom also had cataract surgery a while ago and that’s helped her vision. It’ll be nice when the two of you can sit back and enjoy those flowers together!
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That will be lovely when it happens. At present I am on complete lock-down because of my health issues and can’t leave the house. I won’t be seeing my mother for three months! I am glad we can chat on the phone and my husband lets me know how she looks when he delivers her groceries.
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I’m sorry to hear that. My mom hasn’t been able to leave the house since January so I know how difficult that can be. Sending you lots of love and hope for better times ahead!
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Thank you, Sheila ❤ ❤
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