May meanderings

School was closed for polling day yesterday (despite it not being used as an actual polling station)…

So Joe was home with me; I wasn’t in work and we decided to go out for a photo walk along the canal and into Hebden. With a stop-off for cake at the town hall cafe. Which, incidentally, was being used for voting. The main hall, at least. The cafe was open for business which was good because it’s nice and quiet in there and I like taking Joe.

He uses my old DSLR camera which must be probably 14 years old by now. It’s a bit rattly but does the job, and he seems keen on me teaching him the fundamentals of photography. I suspect that he’ll get that glazed look as soon as I start about ISO, shutter speed, depth of field and all the rest so we’ll see.

May’s doing its thing: the blossom’s turning into confetti as soon as there’s a breeze. The cow parsley’s out and the bluebells are carpeting the woods. I need to get out for a photo session which is exclusively about the bluebells. Hopefully a grey day within the next week or so.

But we found lots of things to capture - the canal boats and allotments, goslings, ferns and the first poppy in the park.

I was determined to keep Joe occupied - for the morning at least - without resorting to the TV or his Nintendo. Because he’d happily do that for hours.

I saved it for after lunch - an hour’s screen time, then an hour’s break, then a bit more screen. And I used that time productively by hanging out washing and editing some product photos I took last weekend.

We also did a little jaunt up the hill to Midgley to collect some cow parsley from a roadside field. I have a big, heavy glass vase and yes, I did buy it for this very reason.

I called in at the estate agents when we were in town. Apparently we should have the keys to the new house by next month. It’s taken (and is still taking) so long; this is the perfect time of year for us to get up there and make a start on the renovations. The garden needs clearing too.

It’s frustrating.

Last weekend we had my brother and nieces over for a barbecue. I noticed I was feeling a bit sniffly and my throat was sore. I had to cancel a midweek visit to see my friend back home.

It’s got steadily worse since then. I’ve tested negative for Covid but keep getting shivery then hot, and my head aches. My nose is completely blocked, my inner ears itch and I can’t stop coughing and sneezing. I’m not sleeping.

The past few nights I’ve been really cold in bed, but last night was horrible. I woke up with a headache again but thought I must be getting a wisdom tooth coming through because I had pain in the right side of my face and upper jaw. This morning it hurt to blow my nose too - it turns out I’ve got sinusitis. The chemist advised to drink plenty of fluids, take paracetamol and to rest. I’ve also bought some nasal spray and menthol crystals.

I’m so glad it’s Friday and we have no weekend plans.

That’s why I haven’t written too much here today. I do like to blog regularly and I’m glad I’ve put this post together but it’s time to retreat to the TV for a bit with some honey and lemon.

I do want to say thank you for your considered comments on the previous post. They were really useful and I definitely have a more structured plan in place for moving things forward. It’s exciting and I’m making lots of notes and have plenty of ideas.

I’ll maybe talk a bit more about that next time.

Right now I’m struggling to keep my eyes open, so I’ll just wish you a great weekend!