Mystery Image

 

Can you guess what you're looking at?

A Quiet All Saints' Day

 

With the arrival of November, I changed the arrangement in my brown vase - and added a couple of more owls... (Cf. a previous post here.)  The bigger owls (on the other side of the bowl) will remain where they are at least until it's time for Christmas decorations, I think.

During a break in the rain, some time before noon, I took out a couple of bags to the bins at the corner of my building, and extended that walk just a little bit - without photo stops, as it was pretty much the same round as on Friday.

Did not have to put much work into preparing lunch, so instead I decided to put that effort into baking a tray of my favourite cocoa/blueberry muffins, which is something I haven't done for a few weeks either. I've changed the original recipe so that I replace 3/4 of the sugar with stevia sweetener, and half the amount of wheat flour with oats.

 

November

 

November is upon us, and I'm feeling like it's kind of knocked me out already. Although I suppose it's really October that I should still be blaming - with my unfortunate fall outdoors three weeks ago... Looking back at photos, I can see that my body has been slowly but faithfully working away at getting rid of most of the massive bruises I contracted (all over my left leg + right foot). Which is probably what a lot of my energy has gone to, even if my knee still neither looks nor feels back to "normal"...

Yesterday, 31st October, was pretty much rain-free even if overcast, and I managed a short walk outdoors, but stayed within my "immediate surroundings". (I think I was out for about 20 minutes, but walking very slowly.)
 

 

Besides still consciously thinking about every step, walking outdoors now also means keeping my eyes firmly on the ground. So to look around me just now means "full stop". And if I want to take a photo, I'd better stop somewhere where I can also place put my walking pole somewhere safe while I use the camera... (Like leaning on a park bench.)

In the early evening, I had one Halloween "scare" that made me jump (fortunately I was lying down on my bed when that happened!) as someone rang my door bell. I did not get up to open, as I assumed it must have been some kids - even if I can't understand how anyone got in, as the entrance is kept locked 24/7 these days. As far as I know, the only kids in my entrance of "that age" belong to a Muslim family, and I'd be very surprised indeed if their parents had allowed them to go trick-or-treating among the neighbours...

This morning it wasn't raining either, and we even got a few unexpected glimpses of the sun. But I felt I had to prioritise the indoors adventure of a proper shower, including washing my hair. (Taking a "full" shower is another thing that has gone from like a few minutes routine to demanding at least about an hour or so of careful and tiring preparations, concentration, and "after-care"...) 

Having managed that rather exhausting project successfully, and having decided to stay in the whole day, I celebrated by just putting on cotton tights (straight on my skin!) - rather than wide trousers covering a variety of bandages - for the first time in three weeks... 

Skywatch Friday

 

 

 

Photos from Tuesday 28th October, 
(from my balcony, around 4:30 pm)

 

 And that's just about as much of the sun as we've got a glimpse of this week, I think!

Linking to Skywatch Friday

Autumn Leaves and Balcony Gardening Jobs

Photo from a few days ago

Do you recognise this object (the long red one)? And if you do, what do you call it? (Really, finding the correct names for various household objects and tools in English - and what's BE vs AE -  is among my worst "blogging jobs"...) One suggestion seems to be "grabber/reacher aid". Anyway, I got this one, and also a shorter one, a long time ago, in connection with other physical problems; and still find them useful in many situations. I hesitate to use them for "dirty" jobs, though. But today I got inspired to put a plastic glove on this one - and with that solution, was able to use it to pick up wet plant leaves from the balcony floor without having to bend myself too much...

It's been raining a lot lately, and it still doesn't feel like a good idea to try to exercise my injured knee outdoors for very long at a time. This morning I decided to put what little energy I had into another project instead: Getting rid of the last two plants still standing out on my balcony floor - two rubber plants, almost as tall as the railing, and by now half-withered and no longer in a condition that made me want to take them inside. (I have one healthy plant of the same origin indoors already - plus a cutting - and that's quite enough...) 

The indoors rubber plant

The big leaves on the outdoors plants were dripping wet, the pots heavy with rainwater, the stems too thick and tough for my secateurs to just easily "snip"; and I needed three plastic garbage bags (of normal "kitchen" size)  to pack the remains in. (All while still having to "think" about every movement and position.)  I managed to get it done, though - and then put the plastics bags in bigger paper carrier bag, and then used the wheels belonging to a shopping caddy to get that down in the lift (elevator) and out to bins at the corner of my building... (And then there were the pots to clean... But I got that done as well, a bit later.)

I suspect that this year may have been the last time I tried to have any live plants bigger than a few geraniums (each in its own small pot, easy to take in/out) on the balcony.