Finally, a Day of Rest

The hellebores in the back garden have opened -- and I was amazed to see that even in mid-December, this one had little aphids on it. It's been a pretty warm winter so far and in any event, I have no idea what aphids do in winter. Maybe they're always around.

Yesterday was a calm, relaxing day -- exactly what Dave and I both needed. We had a professional gardener come over in the morning to give us an estimate on pruning our front garden, and I had him look at the back as well. I want him to give us some idea of the work that needs to be done there. I doubt we'll hire him for both jobs -- he's my neighbor's gardener and she says he's expensive -- but you never know. It would be nice to have a professional give everything a once-over.

I went grocery shopping, stocking up on some soft food for Dave like yogurt, cottage cheese, fruit juice and mashed potatoes. (You can buy them pre-mashed, thank goodness. I'm sure I already knew that but it was nice to discover it again.) And of course they didn't have everything I needed at Waitrose so I wound up going to Tesco too.
 

I repotted our newest rescued houseplant, this little variegated rubber tree I found abandoned on the corner last week. See that black vessel in the foreground? That's what it came in, but it's a terrible pot -- no drainage hole, comically small, and the black chalky coloring rubs off on my hands. I put the tree in a bigger clay pot where it has room to grow, even though the last thing we need is another gigantic plant.

I spent the afternoon reading and trying to get food into Dave. I think he's experiencing some post-surgical depression. He has seemed very subdued, and said last night that he's struggling with feelings of mortality -- particularly after watching his roommate John slowly dying in the next bed. I told him that was perfectly understandable -- it was hard even for me to see John, and I was there only an hour or two each day. I think this will lift as Dave gets stronger and after he gets rid of "the tomato" (see previous post).

Also, we have Whitstable coming up next weekend, and I hope a holiday escape may do him some good -- even if it merely means resting there, with a view of the sea, rather than here.

I also paid a large chunk of our British taxes yesterday, so that's mostly off my shoulders. There's still a balance due but I can pay the rest in January. (For cash flow reasons I can't do it all now, and they're not due until Jan. 31.)

I bought a bottle of gin at Tesco and made an evening martini, which I badly needed after a hellish week. I was going to take this picture with Dave in his chair, but as it turned out he was up doing something at that moment and he wouldn't want to be photographed anyway. He never does.

Olga is saying, "Oh, Lord, the martinis have appeared. It's going to be a long night!"

But it wasn't. I only had one, while watching "Valley of the Dolls." Saturday night in West Hampstead! Sparkle, Neely, sparkle!