Isolation Chalking: Manchester (forever)

When you’ve been isolated for a month, you start to notice all of the really tiny things around you. Like, what time the sun hits the bookcase in your dining room every day (1740, if you’re interested), that’s there a massive allotment just three streets from your house (some big things were noticed during this period), and when a song is so perfect for a moment, the lyrics actually start coming to life (kind of).

This morning, I put my bunny out to play, made a coffee, sat on the back doorstep and started listening to ‘Hello Sunshine’. And for the first time in five years I felt compelled to run for my stash of chalk and capture this moment. It’s not ground-breaking, it’s just a patch of sun on the wall in front of me. But I feel like Gruff Rhys totally sent it from Wales to Manchester to make this day a little bit more interesting (I know it came straight from the sky, but I can pretend, right?)

‘Hello Sunshine. Come into my life’ - Gruff Rhys

Liverpool, UK: New Yard, New Me! Maybe...

Hello!

Here I am. Eight months after my last blog post which involved taking a small dog out for a looooong walk.

In July, 2017, the thing that is currently clearing my head is gardening (if planting flowers in tubs counts as gardening, that is... As it involves tiny, roasting hot gloves and a trowel, I'm going to say that yes, it does).

My tiny mum came up to visit me recently, and it was her idea to give our backyard a bit of a makeover. She is obsessed with gardens and demolition projects, and as our garden back in Wales is relatively under control, the sorting of mine was a project that both of us could get stuck into...

We didn't take any photos because we stupidly ploughed through it in the roasting hot sun, ripping out weeds, shoveling up sand and sweeping furiously for over an hour (we needed to work fast to avoid dying right there on the concrete floor. Seriously).

So here are a selection of photos of the finished results (which I literally cannot stop adding to. I think I have a flower-buying problem. And I keep sitting out here on my own, which is probably a weird thing for our neighbours on their trampoline to see every other second...)

Anyway, HERE IT IS. My new garden.

With a few little reminders on how to keep the whole thing alive...

'Helen. Water your plants.'

Me and my boyfriend had an argument in a garden centre car park over that blue one. It wouldn't fit in the car and he kept bending all of the flower faces to get them in...

'GET OFF MY FLOWER FACES', they shouted. But he kept on pushing...

I also had to put some slug pellets down, but I'm hoping they just read my message and move along. I don't want them to eat my flowers but I also don't want them to die...

Aren't they?

GOOD DAY TO YOU!

Every day is a good day when you eat out here (that is unless next door's cat has also popped in. More on that later...)

*** 1 day later ***

Walking is the best. Especially with a tiny dog.

When life gives you lemons...

...find someone who owns a little dog...

...and take him for a walk...

This is Milo. His owner (my friend Sarah) lets me take him out whenever I want. Woo hoo. 

I haven't been able to walk him for ages because walk and life and everything has just been so busy.

 But today I had some time to myself, so I emptied out my brain with some fresh air, while Milo trundled along beside me.

I was mostly staring at the floor, which is completely covered in leaves in some parts...

Milo was mostly searching for squirrels to eat (he didn't get any)...

***

Lost Gardens of Heligan: Where is your coffee shop?

I need coffee...

My mum is mising Paul McCartney...

...and my brother is trying to rival my blog with a new one called 'Dave charcoals'...

Can we at least solve one of these issues with one of you guys making me a coffee?

Trees? What about you?

Oh, yeah, thanks.

Thanks for sending whatever you sent down from your leaves for me. It felt like it had teeth...

Something has bitten me...

Probably not a spider, as my mum has kindly illustrated above...

Or something from it's web.

Mum, why must you mock me when I have a fly in my pants and there's no caffeine to be had?

This will be my seat until coffee appears.

Strange...

The fly has gone but I see no cardboard cups trotting along.

Yet.

Maybe if I write annoying things on the wooden stuff here, my mum and brother will give up and find me a drink to shut me up?

'Mr Mendeleveev is the best', eh mum?

We'll see about that!

What's that, David?

You've GUFFED on the bench?

How rude...

Being hilarious and evil at the same time is so tiring...

Let me rest my flat foot for a minute.

***

Charlestown: Barnacles vs Chalk

Charlestown is a beautiful place.

Everybody's chilling, the sun's nice and warm, and the barnacles are letting us sit on them without giving us too much hassle...

There's just one problem.

Well, two if you count the pair of pants these three spotted on the side of the road...

It is impossible to find a place to chalk here.

:(

"There's another beach over there", the old, wise man in the watchtower says.

 But we walk for miles and find nothing, so head back home to watch the Olympics and drink tea...

Wherever we go tomorrow, I think to myself, I'm going to write entire stories.

***

Cornwall: Flat feet and other stories*... (*No other stories)

My family love walking. My flat feet do not. If feet could talk, by day 3 of our trip, I don't think anyone would have been our friend... (Our is me plus my grumpy feet)...

(Those feet up there aren't mine. Thankfully, I managed to persuade everyone to perch on a wall for a bit in Fowyer before my feet went into meltdown...)

Then we went to the beach and I managed to convince everyone to sit there for ages, too. I couldn't chalk (see above) but it was all good because the weather was LUSH and my flat feet were free to flap* around in the sunshine...

Amen to the beach.

For restoring our souls/soles.

*feet flapping took place on the rocks to the left of this photo 

***

Falmouth, Cornwall: Chalk Prevention

We travelled to Falmouth yesterday. It took an hour to get there but it was totally worth it.

Friends... Small people...

CHALK!

Or not... *note hand waiting to rub out my fun*

Hiss

***