Happy Independence Day to all our friends and family across the pond.
There was a Pasty Party this afternoon at the allotment, the first time all the allotmenteers have been able to gather together for many, many months. Here is my lovely neighbour delivering the orders. 
We’ve had a lovely weekend with Daughter No 1. How precious these times are after such a long time apart.
Walking up from town in the rain today, we were stopped in our tracks by this beautiful Rhododenron in a neighbour’s garden.
I picked this little bouquet in our Suffragette garden this afternoon to take to friends where we were planning on tea and cake in the garden. The rain drove us indoors yet again but we had a lovely time together. It’s so good to be able to spend happy times with friends again. 
We’ve found a new place for one of our Kachina dolls. This one is a Cricket and we bought it in the Heard Museum in Phoenix in 2016. For more information on Kachinas, check out this post.
The white Camellias on our walk are still lovely.
Also on our walk we came across this box of free apples and pears. We happily took some pears and this afternoon I have poached them in vanilla for desserts over the next few days. 
Last time we were in Arizona (too long ago) I bought a little book of Native American Proverbs. I like the one on the cover and this one below (and many more ) from inside. 
“Be kind to everything that lives.” Omaha
And, excellent news, I received my letter from the NHS today inviting me for my vaccine. I booked immediately and get my shot tomorrow and my 2nd dose on 18th April. Shortly after that I’ll be able to hug family if/when they can visit.
Catkins, a sign of Spring on our bright and brisk walk.
A friend popped round on her walk today so that we could swap books and she brought me some beautiful sea glass too. So, I now have new red glass and some sea glass and I need to get back to work.Thank you so much, H, much appreciated. 
The following lovely story came my way today and I thought you’d like it too, Dear Reader.
What a day! We watched the inauguration of Biden and Harris and found it very moving and full of hope for the future and we loved the poem, The Hill We Climb, by 22 year old Amanda Gorman, a ray of sunshine, from her words to her yellow coat, as my SIL said. You can find out more about this remarkable young woman here. Another lovely thing was seeing Bernie Sanders in his wonderful hand knit mittens.
Since our first visit to America some 40 years ago, I have loved their breakfast of waffles with maple syrup and crispy bacon. Now we have a waffle machine and I can make us that delicious breakfast!
These strange days when we aren’t allowed to hug – and we saw lots of friends yesterday in the market and delivering Christmas cards whom I wanted to hug – this turned up and says it all. In our heads and hearts, we are hugging with delight!
On our walk today, we saw an interesting flag comprising of several different flags. From the top left we identified the flag for Wales, then Scotland but what about the black and white stripy one? I think it’s the Breton flag. From the bottom left is Cornwall’s flag and the Isle of Man but the orange, white and green one? Wikipedia tells me that it is the flag of Ivory Coast. Seen from the other side, it would be green, white and orange, the flag of Ireland. Should one read a flag from the pole? Puzzling. Can anyone help? It would make sense for it to be Ireland, all the Celtic countries. Not sure about the swirly bit in the middle.
We’ve spent several happy hours at our allotment today, weeding a bit more and planting some Osteospermum which we have had in pots at home over the summer.
The next door plot has some amazingly beautiful Rainbow Chard. I’m tempted to grow it just for the winter colour but neither of us like eating it so there doesn’t seem much point. We need to grow plants we like to eat!
These photos came my way today with the words: “Rosa sat so Ruby could walk, so Kamala could run. “So delighted by the election results in America, so relieved, so happy for all friends, family and citizens in the US. I especially love the last picture.
P.S. Nearly forgot, for Remembrance Day, knitted white poppies for Peace outside our favourite pub, photo taken a few days ago. 
YesterdayI learned from a friend that our town, Redruth, is twinned with Mineral Point in Wisconsin, USA! We knew that many Cornish hard rock miners emigrated to the states to take their much needed skills and I did a lot of research into that when I was part of the Perthi Kov team putting together our stories from St Euny graveyard for Until the Day Break. I think Wisconsin will have to be on our next US trip, whenever that can be. I wonder if any of my dear Readers are in Wisconsin. That would be really cool!
Our supermarket delivery came tonight. We have croissants for tomorrow’s breakfast! 
I am not alone among my friends in having the odd wobble emotionally during this strange period in all our lives and I send my love out there to any of my readers also feeling the strangeness. The following poem of Mary Oliver’s captures the essence of what we all need to do. Go out and sing!
I Worried by Mary Oliver
The following poem by Maya Angelou came my way today in remembrance and honour of Ruth Bader Ginsburg who died two days ago. She will be so greatly missed.
When Great Trees Fall – Maya Angelou
When great trees fall,
rocks on distant hills shudder,
lions hunker down
in tall grasses,
and even elephants
lumber after safety.When great trees fall
in forests,
small things recoil into silence,
their senses
eroded beyond fear.When great souls die,
the air around us becomes
light, rare, sterile.
We breathe, briefly.
Our eyes, briefly,
see with
a hurtful clarity.
Our memory, suddenly sharpened,
examines,
gnaws on kind words
unsaid,
promised walks
never taken.Great souls die and
our reality, bound to
them, takes leave of us.
Our souls,
dependent upon their
nurture,
now shrink, wizened.
Our minds, formed
and informed by their
radiance, fall away.
We are not so much maddened
as reduced to the unutterable ignorance of
dark, cold
caves.And when great souls die,
after a period peace blooms,
slowly and always
irregularly. Spaces fill
with a kind of
soothing electric vibration.
Our senses, restored, never
to be the same, whisper to us:
They existed. They existed.
We can be. Be and be
better. For they existed.
We have finished the painting and have put the trellis back in place. Next comes the planting after we have replaced all the soil.
We had tickets tonight for the latest WildWorks show, Meet me at the Edge, to be played out, socially distanced at Botallack. Sadly, it was cancelled on Friday as new Covid rules came into play that the National Trust have to abide by. Instead, the whole wonderful thing was live-streamed and we watched from home. It was so moving and beautifully done. You can watch if you’d like to. I recommend it if you can find an hour.
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