A cup of tea

I asked hubby for a cup of tea, ten minutes ago. He put the kettle on then wandered off somewhere. I can’t make it myself as I’m walking around with crutches. My balance is a bit off and I’m still in pain so I’m struggling to support my weight on my foot, I’m getting better but the damage only happened four days ago.

I know it’s hard for him, his mental health isn’t good. I asked him to cook tea earlier. I had to tell him to read the instructions, he can’t hear me because he gets irritated by his hearing aids. When he’s in the kitchen and I’m in the living room, he says my voice sounds like “wah wah wah”. Then he accused me of “mansplaining”, I was just trying to help him. I know his anxiety is bad, how do I help without appearing to interfere?

I’ve just written this and still no sign of him!

Lavender

Lavender, lovely flower, place for bees to sip and feed. Likes hot and dry conditions. The aromatic oils create a delightful scent. Growing in fields of purple and green. Row upon row of beautiful flowers. People still make little bags of lavender flowers to sit under their pillows and help with sleep.

I have tried to grow it but it’s too damp and shady in our garden. I might grow a small plant, but it never flourishes like these plants in the photo.

I remember having a rockery at my childhood home. I think we had lavender growing in pockets of soil in it. It thrived in hot summers when the sun was baking hot.

Two cats together

It’s hot, and the cats have come into the living room to enjoy the breeze from our oscillating fan. They won’t sit right in front of it but are off to one side so they can feel a bit cooler. I’ve got the back door open for once after dosing myself up with hay-fever spray. Usually the windows and doors stay firmly shut but it’s hot AND humid tonight. It’s rained for a bit so that’s cooled the atmosphere slightly. Meanwhile the cats just decided to mooch off somewhere else xxx

Spode plants

In the restroom at Spode. Lots of plants adorned the old windowsills. I gave them all a bit of water as they were looking very dry. I didn’t pour a lot of water in them as I didn’t want to disturb someone else’s regime of watering. It’s lovely to see them surviving as the space is boiling hot in summer and freezing cold in winter, but still the plants survive.

Summer solstice

Stonehenge

Today was the Summer solstice, the longest day here in the Northern Hemisphere. In Scotland it was Dawn before 4am and after 10pm … 19 hours of daylight. From now on the day length will start to shorten again until we reach the shortest day in December.

So in the next ten minutes before British summer time midnight I shall cherish those extra minutes of light. I hope we have a good (and cool) summer and that we don’t get mad temperatures like last year, but I doubt it, we have already had a hot June and it’s not over yet.

Think about climate change and the things you can do to help keep overheating down. Hugs, happy solstice.