Thursday began with a trip to Sainsburys to stock up on fresh produce. I don't particularly enjoy shopping, especially supermarket shopping, but it had to be done.
The groceries were put away and MWNN and I began planting the shrubs we'd bought on Wednesday. Now that was hard work. - lifting the weed-supressing membrane and moving shingle out of the way - not to mention carting bucket loads of soil, dug out from the planting holes, to the back garden. There was a lot of very good quality compost created by the tree bark and leaf debris that was useful when back-filling around the base of the shrub.
MWNN used the hoe, delicately, to break up the topsoil. It was then up to me to wield the spade and dig a large enough cavity in which to place the shrub. Eventually, the euonymus was planted and the beginning of a hole for the holly was started. By then, it was time for lunch. At this rate, it will take us until the end of Sunday to plant all four shrubs.
Afterwards, MWNN cleaned and cleared the tools back into the store and had a well-earned rest on the sofa. I worked for a while creating little packets of gifts, using some of the images from the Southwold holiday. I'm pleased with the results so far.
Halloween was very low-key this year. We had only one visit - two boys dressed as Hannibal Lecter (you've heard of the film Cannibal? he asked) and a vampire/batman/starship trooper hybrid. This is the second year the boys have visited us at Halloween. They arrived just as we'd finished dinner. They are both very polite. I apologised for not having sweets suitable for older children but they just selected a lollipop for their goodie bag, and wished me a pleasant evening.
Very un-trick-or-treaty
A varied day, filled with various sorts of work, with satisfying results.
- Life grants nothing to us mortals without hard work.
