ahah! So I decided to write a bit more of the blog since I'm 71 and won't last forever.  Since my most recent post little Polly, my elder cat, had to be killed by the vet as she was falling over and getting thinner and weaker. She was 19 years old.  So now Lulu has had to take over her duties, except the "waking me in the morning by walking over my face" duties, they've been passed on to Zak but he's not much good at it, as he snuggles up to my face and falls asleep.  But Lulu has to remind me (every hour) to feed them, has had to turn in to a lap cat - even with visitors, and has turned into the yard cat too since little Jenny from upstairs, who was the yard cat, had to be also put to sleep.  I think of Lulu a bit like Prince Charles, waiting almost a lifetime for a proper job!

Now the "every time" list.
Every time I
iron a teatowel
water the aspidistra
cut the nail on my littlest toes
pencil in my eyebrows
see the snapdragons
cook roast potatoes
look up the hill
see a rainbow

Every time I iron a teatowel I think of our kitchen in Armfield Street, Coventry, where my mum got my brother and I competing to be allowed to iron! And I've never lost my love of ironing, though as a teenager I didn't much like ironing the adults' and my teen brother's underwear. Fortunately, now I live alone, I don't iron anything that doesn't need it.

I remember, late 60s or early 70s, we lived in Alderman's Green Road by then, mum having to heat up a solid (non electric) iron on the boiler to do the ironing. Why was that I wonder?  I don't think it was during the three-day weeks, they were later in the 70s.  

I enjoyed the 3 day weeks, we had to work by candle light at Gulson Hospital where I was a medical secretary. Some of those junior docs were very cute. That's all I am saying.

Every time I water the aspidistra it reminds me of so many things. The original aspidistra was in my nan's front room at Perkins Street, Hillfields, Coventry. Dad rescued it when she died and brought it to Alderman's Green. When dad died in 1990 he had not long split the plant into a number of smaller plants, and lots of rels took one with them from his shed.  I managed to save one and it's been with me ever since - 30 years and counting.  I split it off and give them away. I love it. And the other great thing is, the tortoise can eat aspidistra too.  He can't reach it, so I cut him a bit off every few weeks. So that aspidistra reminds me of my nan, my mum and my dad.  When I was little we didn't have indoor plants - they were a luxury, I guess, when one's money had to be spent on food.  Later though, my parents became really keen on indoor plants especially Christmas cactus.  Somewhere I have a photo they sent to me in the middle east of a cactus of which they were particularly fond. I'll see if I can find it! (nope, can't find it, but I can see it in my mind. The other thing I need to do is go through the big box of photos!)