MY A – Z
2020 - CORONAVIRUS YEAR
A - Aim in life is to be happy and spread a little sunshine around. Life is too short to be miserable.
Aim to get through this dark Coronavirus tunnel and into the light. We are survivors!
B - Blackberries
Our ground floor flat is on the embankment of an old railway line which is now a cycle track. There are lots of blackberry bushes nearby down a little lane and as we had a good spring and summer this year, there was a bumper crop of blackberries. We really enjoyed going out in the sun picking them. We usually pick about 8 lots 8 ounces each, but this year we picked 30 lots of 8 ounces each. I have filled the whole bottom basket in the freezer with them. They will be made into apple and blackberry pies or crumbles and the best part is they were FREE !
C - Coronavirus
To coin an old English saying "Least said, soonest mended." which means the less you say about something the sooner it will be put right, or words to that effect.
D- Dogs
We have stayed away from our family members mostly, so I've missed my son's two dogs a lot. One is a honey coloured female, Bella and the other a black male called Kevin. He is the noisiest and the biggest of the two. They are Cavapoos, King Charles spaniels/poodle cross. They have the softest, curliest coats, but need regular clipping. Kevin hates the car so when my soon took them to the dog groomer Kevin barked and whined all the way. We were all wearing our face masks, I was sat in the front and my son drove. My grand daughter sat in the back, holding the dogs, no mean fete as they tend to pull a lot. Honestly, Kevin gave us all a headache and we were relieved when we got to the groomers! Ha, ha! I haven't seen them since. I'm particularly fond of Bella, she is really gorgeous.
Dressmaking
I did some dressmaking during the first Lockdown. It was good to have something different to do. I made a summer skirt and then bought some fabric for a long sleeved dress. It is viscose fabric which is so soft and drapes beautifully, but it was difficult to cut out as it moves in all directions. I made the mistake of not making the dress long enough and it needed extra darts here and there and taking up from the shoulders! It is also a fabric which easily snags, so unpicking it is really hard. I'm fed up with it at the moment and have shoved it back into the cupboard until I feel able to carry on! Ha, ha. It was so big it was swimming on me. I said this to my grand daughter and she replied 'What does that mean?.' I replied 'Far too big.' I wish I'd never bothered now, but when you want a dress in a certain style or colour it is hard to find it in the shops. Lots of dresses are far too short for someone of my age, they really don't appeal to me. Obviously they are nice on younger women.
I have some fabric to make a summer dressing gown. It is pale green and has daisies on it,it's really pretty, but I think I may have bitten off more than I can chew! Ha, ha!
I love looking at fabrics and could easily swamp myself with them, buying all I see. I had to be firm with myself and not buy anything else. Buying the fabric is one thing, but making it up is another. It always takes me a long time. I think I'm a bit of a perfectionist, but there's no point making something if it isn't going to look good at the finish.
E - Excitement
During the first Lockdown, we tagged our shopping order onto our son's and daughter in law's online shopping. It was almost impossible to find slots for our shopping, so they did it for us, sometimes staying up late at night looking for suitable time slots. Every time the shopping arrived, it felt like Christmas to me. Honestly, having plenty of food is better than money in the bank and I am so grateful for it. I am so thankful I've never gone hungry.
YOU ARE READING
... and nothing but the truth
Short StoryThis is a book of true stories, anecdotes and little snippets. I hope you enjoy them. There may even be a little poem or two, you never know!
