Time for the Garden

Day 47- Saturday

During the week my sister asked if G would go round and do some gardening at her house. It turns out her neighbour has complained again, this time about the state of the overgrown garden. I don't blame them, they are trying to sale their house and to have such an unkempt house next door it must decrease the vale somewhat.

As we arrive she jokes about it being a wild life garden. Well its certainly wild and it vaguely resembles a garden. I manage to drag J out of his pit to join us so it’s a real family affair today!

Frogs hiding place

As G sets up the equipment he moves an old cardboard box and I feel something wet move across my foot. I look down to see a frog jumping towards the house and the girls. I standstill and leave it to make its way to a hiding place, I quite like frogs! But my sister is the first to scream and start hoping from one foot to the other, and the girls quickly follow suite. The frog finds its hiding place and peace is restored with focus back on the task in hand.

G starts the petrol strimmer to cut back the long grass, while we all stand and watch, much to his annoyance. So he asks J to start with the petrol lawn mower and follow on after him. J enjoys this for a while, until he finds it too much effort and decides that the strimmer looks like far more fun.

J with the lawnmower

The girls also want to join in now and I point out the garden shears they can use on the opposite side of the garden. They make little impact, but they are enjoying themselves and willing to help which is encouraging and far more than their Mum is doing, who is hoovering in the doorway to the garden as if she might catch something by actually going into the garden and partaking in a gardening activity. I’d already decided that I was not going to join in, I’ve done enough in that house, I’m not doing the garden as well.

Between them they make good progress. It’s not the garden makeover you see on the TV, but the grass is cut, the shrubs cut back and the pathway is clear before the rain moves in. The girls are pleased and start jumping around the rediscovered garden.

There’s a bit more to be done and G tells my sister that she can use her usual lawnmower to run over the lawn again and to trim the edge along the pathway. We all know this is not going to happen. Another wasted weekend day at my Sister’s.

G hard at work

a wildlife garden - over the pathway

It's all about the money...

Day 26 Sunday

Only a couple of hours at the house today. I was a bit worried about the Guinea pigs, but they seemed to have survived ok.

The sister came home with the oldest niece while we were there, still working on the lounge. She tried to conceal her look of horror as she walked in, but it was there none the less, dispite the effort we had put in go clear as much as of the lounge as possible. I could tell her anxiety levels were high & she was already beginning to wonder what stuff we had thrown out.

The youngest niece took them out to the garden to see the new hutch and the oldest niece was thrilled and amazed at the size. My sisters first comment was: where's the cover for it?

I don't know why I thought we might get a thank you. She really is isn't appreciative of anything we do or are doing it.

As I make her help me sort through a pile by the door she sees a Christmas decoration in the bin bag that I'd thrown away before she got home. She pulls it out and starts shaking in as if the straw, hair & general gunk is just going to fall off. It doesn't. But undeterred she's adamant she can clean it off. I'm constantly amazed that for someone who hates cleaning and doesn't do at all, she's obsessed that she will clean everything rather than through it away.

The youngest niece found a 10p coin earlier and she spent 20 minutes constantly harassing my sister to go to the shop and buy her something. She was like the devil child, I'd never seen her like that I actually felt sorry for my sister as she squirmed & tried to put her off. Her feeble attempts frustrate me and I snap at the niece telling her firmly to leave her mum alone. It was a glimpse into their life & need to buy things.

The sun has come out and I want to go home & sit in the garden enjoying the rest of my Sunday. The girls bring a few toys back with them including a loom band kit and we spend the afternoon making bracelets (it was a new experience for me having a teenage son who had no interest them!)

Throughout the evening my sister sent a barrage of text messages asking me where things were, occasionally confirming she'd found the item she'd asked about. I ignored them all regardless.