Covid, Random Thoughts, Body Image and Mental Wellbeing.

First of all, hope you are well and that things are on the up, vacciniations, relaxing of restrictions and if you are coping with the changes or just looking forward to things seemingly, really getting back to normal in some places.

I have mixed emotions at the moment regarding the way rules are soon allowing people to mix a lot more freely. I was shocked the other day aa cases are really coming down in number in comparision to how we were in the beginning, looking at huge nunbers back then.

We will continue to take precautions for the foreseeable. Our boys are looking forward to seeing their friends outside of school soon so that is something we have to consider.

***********************************************************************************************************

Following on from the above I was having random, positive thoughts this morning.

I have struggled in my aim to lose weight during lockdown due to not being able to attend my usual organised support group. Since lockdown, and before really, I have lived in my work clothes which I wear for jobs around the house, working in the garden and sometimes going shopping especially to places like the farmers' co-op for animal feed. The only other clothes I've generally worn have been my jimmers when I relax in the evening. Both of these manage to cover my body quite well so I don't have to think about how unhappy I was with my body.

But today for some reason I woke up and suddenly thought to myself that I can look/ feel nice even though I'm not totally happy with my body shape whilst feeling positive about myself, too.

Therefore, today, after I bathed and washed my hair I dressed like I haven't for some time around the house, even though I still have jobs to do. This has really given me a boost and I've ticked so many things off my to-do-list already.

This week is mental health awareness week and today I'm feeling really good. Just goes to show that small things can made a huge difference to day to day llife.

I hope you can find just a small thing this week to help improve your mental wellbeing.xx 

Dw i'n hoffi garddio - I Love Gardening!

Oh boy oh boy what a weekend that was!

The weather was bloomin' glorious from Saturday until yesterday - not the same today by any stretch but still pleasant, and secretly a touch of rain would be good! Although I've had other things to do like welcoming Airbnb guests on Saturday afternoon, popping over to our local, annual plant sale and running the boys around I got out to work on my little patch of paradise and its been absolutely fab, really!

Over the weekend I've managed to put more compost in one of the massive tyres, in which I've now planted 12 of my Cara main crop spuds, and done a bit of mixed planting by putting in swede with red 'n' green salad bowl leaves in the main patch. I finally have the pea netting up on both sides of the frame, yay! (so promise I'll stop going on about it now) along with willow at the ends for the sweet peas - a few of them I have out out but more are almost ready to go out.

I had a good tidy up in the Poly House. Just because I'm going for the al fresco look it doesn't mean I don't have to keep it tidy....

At least I have a cracking view of everything!! Whilst having a tidy up I dried all the polythene I'd been using to cover everything up in the winter,

folded it up and it now lives in a couple of compost bags to keep dry until need it again.

Also I've been keeping two strawberry plants in the conservatory, as you may have seen, and I figured it was time to get them outside so I've made use of a shopping bag that is just a ridiculous size so here is how I have utilised it.

Jon was unable to cut the grass as the guests were enjoying sunbathing in the sun but we hope to get that done soon. Likewise I have a bit of strimmer tidying up to do - oh the joys of good weather and how it makes you want to just DO STUFF!

Talking to Tracy over the weekend we could almost see each other's smiles through the What's App because we were having so much fun just being outside in the sun doing what we love. 

I completely understand how gardening can be an aid to those struggling with mental health issues. I myself can feel the endorphins being let loose as I spend time outside, loving giving it a go,seeing how things grow and being excited about looking forward to enjoying the fruits, and veg, of my labour and my achievements later in the year.

Hope everyone had as much fun as me whilst making the best of the lovely weather. 

Today is an indoor jobs day. Bread is on the go, vacuuming everywhere is on the to do list because things, as expected, were neglected over the weekend but, hey, whatever.

Bye for now.

Lou.xx

Guest post No.2 - Gardening, Mental Health and Wellbeing

Good afternoon all.

Over the last year or so mental health has been in the news a great deal; high profile celebrities and even members of the royal family have talked about how their mental health has been affected. People are feeling more encouraged to talk about things that have affected them, the impact this has had on their day to day life and and to seek help or treatment.

Recently the gardener David Domoney has developed the idea of an RDA (required daily amount) of gardening. He has found that 30 minutes a day of gardening can be a real boost to a person's mental and physical well being - you can read more abut it here

There's now a Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA) for gardening Spending this amount of time doing activities in your outside space will boost physical and mental wellbeing.

Today I am really pleased to have Kirsty from My Little Allotment as a guest blogger where she writes about how gardening has helped her deal with and improve her own mental health and wellbeing. Please take a look at her blog; she was recently featured in the June issue of the popular Kitchen Garden magazine.

I began by asking Kirsty if she had been interested in or encouraged to garden before her mental health issues.

I had heard a lot about how good growing your own and gardening can be for the mind, and that’s how my little allotment started.

* April was the 1 year anniversary of taking on your allotment. What is the biggest change both personally and also on the allotment?

The biggest changes on my allotment so far for me overall is the pumpkin patch area, last year when I started the weeds were up to my tummy and the ground was incredibly un-level. After lots of digging and clearing in the summer last year and some help from my friends this year I’ve finally managed to get it flat and ready for crops, there’s even a patio for summer evenings when we can have a bbq on the plot.

In a year I feel like I’ve come a long way in terms of recovery and it’s all down to my allotment therapy.

*What would you love to grow or are you growing which has proved to be something of a challenge

I think my aim overall is to give as many crops a go as possible. For me I tend to find the ‘easy to grow’ vegetables and flowers are always my nemesis! Last year I couldn’t grow a sunflower, but managed to grow aubergines who knows how I managed that one. So this year I’m really concentrating on getting some sunflowers to grow successfully as i didn’t succeed last season. I’m growing some really unusual varieties of squash this year and giving fiesta corn a go so I hope to have some fun unusual harvests.

* What is your go-to garden tool?

Ohh go to garden tool, that’s a difficult one. I relied on my fork heavily last year for ground prep, so I don’t know what I would have done without it, but going forward it has to be the garden hoe, anything that makes weeding easier is the one for me.

*Do you have a favourite gardening book, writer or celebrity gardener?

For me personally I don’t have a favourite book, author or celebrity gardener. I think because my passion is so new I’m open to reading and researching everything at the moment. At the moment my biggest inspirations are following the everyday people like ourselves that have a huge passion for growing their own fruit and vegetables and watching their journeys unfold.

*And I finally would like to ask you, as we are entering your favourite time of the year, Spring Bring It On, what plans are you most excited about?

For me the things that I’m most excited about this season are, hopefully harvesting a big harvest of squash, Watching the huge selection of dahlias come to life and of course watching max the giant pumpkin come to life. I decided last minute that I wanted to grow a giant pumpkin and he is already quite big, I’ve named him max and he is defiantly one of my favourites this year. 

I hope you enjoyed my guest blogger and I'd like to say a really massive thank you to Kirsty for taking the time to talk to me, for sharing part of herself regarding her love of gardening and how it helps her in everyday life.

Don't forget to visit her blog and you can follow her on Twitter @allotment9A.

Bye for now.

Lou.xx