Back home again and my garden was there to greet me.

[Kkimm]

Well I am back home from spending a week of heaven alone in the Welsh cottage of my dreams mountain walking, wild swimming and cycling alone. After returning we had just a day to get the garden ready for a BBQ with friends, socially distanced ofcourse.

Pete had mowed the lawn and cleared blanket weed from the pond and I were and pruned.

It is now a day later and I am pleased we have the garden to ourselves again. Just the birds singing and the rumble of traffic on the road.

I feel very lucky to have this little piece of paradise in the south, alone with my dream cottage overlooking the mountains and estuary.

Today I put my NHS volunteer responder app back on, ready to take calls to provide telephone support to lonely, isolated people during the pandemic. It all feels a world away from 3 years ago when I felt so sick, dizzy and scared all the time I did not want Pete to be in a different room, let alone be left in the house by myself. The idea of taking a phone call from a friend filled me with fear and just a trip to the shops made me feel sick and shaky. Eating, sleeping and walking all felt like mammoth tasks to be dreaded and I lost a couple of stones of weight in six weeks.

To everyone out there who is going through similar thoughts and feelings, do take heart that things will improve, you will get better. Many of us are hear to listen and support you. Feel free to message me anytime if you would like sympathy and support and a non judgemental shoulder to cry on.

Take courage and try to move forward with just tiny steps each day. You will get there.

Kim

[Hidden]

Love this, Kkimm! And thank you so much for what you do; you make a difference in the lives of others! And awesome how far you've come too!

[Kkimm in reply to Hidden]

Thanks so much for your lovely reply

[Hidden in reply to Kkimm]

You're very welcome!😊

[Kkimm in reply to Hidden]

Now I have looked back and joined the dots on who made this very kind reply to me.

It's Minnie alias Jenny Sailor who lives in Norway!!

If you ever feel you have the time, do message me about some of your travels out and about in Norway. I would love to hear more about that wonderful country.

The wildlife, landscapes and folklore of Norway have always fascinated me.

Very best wishes.

Kim

[Hidden in reply to Kkimm]

I will message you tomorrow!

[All_alone]

As always such beautiful pictures. I wish the US had such a hotline like you have there. If they do, I am unaware of it. But sadly this country is a mess with everything going on. I'm glad you volunteer on the phone. Have a wonderful day! C.

[Kkimm in reply to All_alone]

Yes, it is good we have this, it was set up by a charity but is funded by the NHS line they already had set up.

Thanks for your kind comments, really hope you are feeling better.

Kim

[All_alone in reply to Kkimm]

I am feeling better slowly and surely. I've been resting and sleeping a lot and no as many thoughts going thru my head and no more constant work. It also seems like I am able to think better now. I'm a work in progress. Thank you!!!

[Kkimm in reply to All_alone]

I am really pleased you are able to rest and are gradually being better

[Hidden]

That's so beautiful.

[Kkimm in reply to Hidden]

Thanks

[Hidden in reply to Kkimm]

You're welcome. I don't have a gardening bone in my body and gardens are so lovely I wish I did.

[Sillysausage234]

Any fish in the pond Kim or is it just a wildlife one ?.lovely garden .

[Kkimm in reply to Sillysausage234]

It is just a wildlife one. It has lots of newts in it.

Thanks for replying.

Kim

[Bettikins]

Thanks for posting the beautiful pictures to brighten our day!

[Kkimm in reply to Bettikins]

So glad it does.

[Hidden]

Hi KKimm,

I love the garden. It is lovely. hope your day is nice and orderly.

[RobiN0963]

If this is your real garden, then you did an amazing job! It looks fantastic! I love this cute little pond you have in your garden. Unfortunately, my garden is not that large, and usually, I don’t have a lot of time to take care of it. But during the pandemic, I realised that my garden needs some major improvements. I started with removing dead plants and weeds. I planted a couple of new flowers there and placed a bird's bath. Besides, I finally ordered new gardenfurniture.co.uk My old one was in a horrible condition. I watched different tutorials to give it a second life, but nothing really worked.

[Kkimm in reply to RobiN0963]

Hi.Yes it is our real garden so thanks.

We both work on it, the general design is both of us. The choosing, buying and planting or sowing the plants is me but Pete does all the hard labour of digging as well as most of the weeding. I do the potting up, nurturing and all the watering as well as nearly all the harvesting and cooking or preserving the fruit and vegetables. There is a big soft fruit and vegetable area at the bottom as well as a little orchard of fruit trees. We both do pruning but neither of us are much good at it.

Kim

[Celtic27]

Hi Kim good to see you've being making good use of your time I hope your keeping well your garden looks amazing wish I had a garden! It's great to see your volunteer as a NHS volunteer thank you for keeping this amazing service going and helping others! God bless you stay safe and stay well all the best to you and you and your family david

[Kkimm in reply to Celtic27]

Thanks David, my very best wishes to you too.Kim