Just Jo!

…..about the ivy growing over the front of my house. I got a letter from her last week, saying that we ‘agreed by phone for me to cut a section out of the trunk, but as I hadn’t, a gardening team would be coming round today to cut back the bottom half of it.’
Huh b****y huh!!!
Lisa was here the day I got the letter, so I very indignantly showed her where I had cut a section out. Last December. The lady from the council knocked on my door promptly at 10:15. The gardening ‘team’, ie two blokes in a van, came along the path. I showed her where I’d already cut it. “It doesn’t seem to be dying back though, does it?” Not quite sure what I could do about that, not actually having any powers over the wonder that is nature.
I managed to keep my mouth shut. Except to say, “Well, I did exactly what you said to do.”
She looked at the boss of the gardening team and explained the situation again to him. Repeating again, her advice to cut out a section of the trunk to allow it to die back, “Because that will make it easier to get off, won’t it?”
“No,” said the man.
Brief and to the point! Hah! Double hah!! Silly lady from the council has no idea what she’s talking about!!! I managed to keep my mouth shut, but obviously had a huge internal struggle not to burst out laughing at the silly lady from the council who talks out of her bottom!!!
He said they’ll come back tomorrow with scaffolding to pull it all off in one go. “You will be careful of the guttering won’t you?” asked silly lady.
“Yes.” And I’m almost positive he rolled his eyes at her.
And they’re going to be careful of the other plants I have growing there, some of them were cuttings taken from plants in various dead relatives gardens. Don’t think the new owners would appreciate me lurking in the undergrowth getting new cuttings in the dead of night.
Actually, silly lady from the council was OK, not overly officious at all. Just silly. And she did keep saying, “I know you like your nature stuff.” Wha…? I think she knows our new neighbour, or our new neighbour works for the council, ‘cos I seem to remember having a conversation with her last summer about our front garden being a wildlife garden and how it was good for Olivia to look at weeds….it IS educational!! Honest!! We found 19 wildflowers in our garden, Olivia drew them, identified them, found out what uses some of them had, made a nature book to record it all….see? It was educational!
The rest of the morning, Olivia did maths, English, science and algebra workbooks.
I knitted the ninth square of The Throw. I’d forgotten to buy it last week, but remembered to get it yesterday in town. It was a really simple four row pattern, just knit and purl. But half way up it, I realised I’d knitted instead of purled, and had to take it back about five rows. Slightly vexed to say the least.
After lunch, we both read. Olivia finished hers and wrote a book review for it. I haven’t finished mine, so I don’t need to write a review of mine. Not that I had any intention to anyway.
And we used the kite paper. I relented and graciously shared with Olivia, and she graciously allowed me to borrow a pair of scissors.
“But don’t break them!”
“What do you think I’m going to do with them? Hack at the ivy?!”
By the time we finished our window patterns, it was getting a bit dark outside, but I took photos anyway. We agreed this was the best….

Trust me. It was the best. I really need a new camera. I may treat myself next month, or the next. But we both need new passports too.
And here’s a pic of the dolls that may or may not get thrown into a raging torrent….

The little dolls are supposed to lie down on the raft….but they saw the camera and jumped up, all excited like….I’ll go away and grow up now….

My bike survived the night. And from the sounds of it out there now, will have to do it all again tonight.
It’s been a lovely spring day today as well.
Oh, and we didn’t go to Di’s today. She phoned last night to say she still had a friend from Scotland staying, who was taking her out to buy a fruit tree of some variety for her birthday. So we stayed home. Except for the bit, just after lunch, when we went to the shop for some bread.
I’m off for a bath now. I know I had a Happy Hippy last night (not literally), but I’ve got a horrible stomach ache and I feel the need for Lush. A lot of Lush.

Here’s a quickie….because I’m feeling a little bit like the tortoise….