a midweek catch-up

Emergency home-schooling... let's just say that we are all still talking to each other (just) and I haven't pulled out all my hair (yet). I am looking after Alistair, Richard helps James. This seems to be a fair division of labour and my inner feminist is happy. Annie is completely independent. Alistair has missed three assignment deadlines, has successfully participated in a couple of live school sessions and seems to be learning very little. It is hard to say if this is normal for him, or not, because I don't really know how wisely he uses his time in class. Some teachers are adapting well to online learning, others seem not that bothered about the children't education. Geography rocks! 

In case you are wondering, I haven't missed any work deadlines myself. A small miracle. 

I started knitting my grass green hat. I ordered a skein of Fyberspates Vivacious DK yarn, a yarn that I coveted for a long time but it is quite expensive at £17.99. I really, really love it and now I want more, ideally enough for a jumper and better still in several colours. I hope I have enough yarn for the hat.

I spent some time resarching orchid pests. Some but not all of my orchids have been infested with what appears to be scale insects. Such interesting creatures, I had no idea. They live on leaves and are encased in a little shell that looks a bit like a flat tortoise. I scraped a few off and tried to see what's inside with a magnifying glass. I assumed the wormy creatures inside were the larvae of the teeny tiny flies that I found dead around the orchids. How wrong I was! The creatures inside the little domes are the females, they retain their larval body form but are fully mature. They live on plant sap. The flies are the males. I am not entirely sure how boys and girls meet and mate, with the ladies being under a hard shell. As interesting as the creatures are, they are destroying my orchids. I washed every single leaf of every single orchid plant carefully with warm water and removed all the domes that I could see. They come off easily. I also sprayed them with insecticide because extensive research informed me that organic methods are not terribly effective. Thankfully no indoor bees and pollinators to worry about. 

We had a discussion about reading books versus listening to audio books. I have been informed that listening to a book is paramount to cheating. I don't know about that, after all I am still enjoying someone's work of fiction. What do you think? I take more in when someone else reads to me. When I read, I skip lines or passages that I find a bit boring but I never do that when I listen. Some narrators bring a story to life in a way that my always tired brain could never do. I really love it when the accents match the geography in a book. My favourite accent (and I admit to being biased) is of course the soft West of Scotland accent but I also enjoy other voices. I am quite good at placing Scottish, Irish and Northern English accents. I am far less adept at categorising other English language accents accurately. I am particularly hopeless with American accents for example. I can recognise a difference but not place it well. I listened to a few German audiobooks but find that the accent doesn't much change with the regions. I wonder why that is? Maybe regional accents are not encouraged? 

On the subject of books, I just finished "Away with the penguins" by Hazel Prior. I enjoyed this very much. It was an easy listen, just what I need at the moment. 

Today also marked the first day of back to running, three months after my fall. I was advised to take it easy and that's what I am doing. Slowly building up my strength with a walk/jog approach. Before that, I increased my walking steadily. Seeing a physiotherapist regularly was the best decision I made in a long time. My ankle is now essentially pain free and getting stronger by the day. My knee on the other hand will never be pretty again, the scar from my accident is hideous. 

Today I also indulged in self torture. I recently found an ancient epilator in the depth of my sock drawer.  I had forgotten that such instruments of torture were once popular! Alas, I am sick of shaving my lady beard and moustache daily and resorted to more drastic measures. Painful and not recommended immediately before a Zoom meeting but very effective. 

I leave you with this slightly disturbing image. Knitting is on the cards next, temperatures are dropping again and I need a new cheerful hat. 

The photos are from a walk in the past when leisurely Sunday walks in the country side were a possibility. 

Thanks for visiting x