Another beautiful day dawns in Southrepps – it’s supposed to be the hottest day of the year so far, and the temperature reached 20 degrees Celcius yesterday! I want to get some of our seedlings planted out at the allotment today. Actually, I wanted to get them planted out yesterday, but the day flew by and I didn’t achieve it.
I walk the dog while my wife is working on a quotation for some curtains (even when she’s not supposed to be working, she’s working) and then we load ourselves up with seedling trays that have been sprouting in our conservatory-cum-greenhouse over the last few weeks, and carry them down to our allotment, which is just a few minutes walk away.
I’m feeling the strain already by the time we have walked there, so I know that I won’t be able to do very much. My wife arms herself with a garden fork and sets about preparing the ground for planting – it hasn’t rained for a while and the ground is like concrete. I follow behind her with a hoe, and soon we are planting out our cabbages, spinach, carrots and onions. I manage about an hour and a half (which is about an hour more than I thought I would manage) and then return home, sunburned and shattered, whilst my wife works on for a while longer.
Tremor isn’t giving me too much trouble today – my worst symptoms are my walking (which is still pretty stilted), my voice (which is very weak) and my energy levels (which are very low). I slump on the sofa for an hour or so, and then take the dog for another walk (even though it’s the last thing I feel like doing). I am aching all over from my exertions at the allotment, and I know it’s going to take its toll on me for the next couple of days, but I simply can’t leave it all to my wife – she works hard enough as it is.
I have a long soak in a hot bath as soon as we have eaten dinner, and then it’s time for a beer and a little something on Netflix.