Take the O out of OAP

TAKE THE O OUT OF OAP
I have taken the bull by the horns and decided to begin a project that I have been thinking about doing for far too long - write a blog. So here is the first blog.
I am am in my seventies and live ‘out in the sticks‘. At least townees think of this place as that, but of course friends on nearby Exmoor think my home does not qualify as I am only 2 miles from the nearest very small town and four from a fast expanding larger one. However I can look out of my windows and see for about twenty miles, glimpses through the folds of hills and woods, and only see another house using binoculars. The houses are there but are well hidden.
My aim is to give you an insight into my life as an ex-farmer and business woman. I will give you tips and my thoughts on how to stay looking good, be active, and thoroughly enjoy life. This may sound presumptuous but I believe that by this age we all have something to contribute that is of interest to others and as well as picking your brains as to what to call this ’diary’ I would love to hear how you cope with life today. What a cheek, asking you to help me write this!
To-day my tip is to ask yourselves if you are feeling that everything is getting on top of you and if so, finding some solutions. For instance I now find that I cannot , or rather do not like, bending for too long so I am changing my flower beds from perennial flowers to shrubs with bulbs and lots of Day Lilies planted underneath and adding self seeding flowers. By choosing shrubs that flower at different times there will always be a focal point. For instance I have a Daphne Merezeum and a Daphne Odora, both with heavenly scents. Then comes a Viburnam. I wish I could grow Azaleas but my soil isn’t suitable, but you could if you have the acid type of soil. I find the Potentillas flower for ages and there are some lovely soft coloured ones. A good website to go to and see what is in flower when and how to look after it is: www.crocus.co.uk .
If you have room I love one of the Amelanchier trees which can be multi-stemmed and kept small if need be. They have bronze leaves in the spring with dainty white flowers, are not so colourful in summer but give out welcome light shade in a heat wave; then in autumn the leaves are once again spectacular.
To cut down on mowing I would love to have room to plant a lot of Lady of the Woods - in other words birch trees and under plant these with bluebells. Long grass here would look very natural. I personally do not have to cut down on mowing and I will tell you why on another day.
If you would like a recipe for birch tea which is good for cystitis and urinary problems, gout and arthritis and acts as a diuretic email me and I will put it in another blog.
If you are reading this you are probably a ‘silver surfer’. Being able to use the internet is such a boon especially if you are housebound or having a few off days or have a broken leg or something and can’t be as active as usual. The net can transport you anywhere at the click of a button or feed your thirst for knowledge. It is brilliant and we should encourage our friends to learn how to use it if they shy away from the idea. I have several contemporaries trying to learn. Taken step by step it is not that difficult as it is logical, sometimes intuitive and what is more, can save one lots of money.
Talking of saving money - if that is something you try to do, try this - when you want to ring somewhere and their number starts with 0870 or another premium number look up this website www.saynoto0870.com and follow the sequence and it will tell you the Geographical number which should be cheaper.
That’s it for my first blog. I’ll end by telling you that one of my aims is to die healthy - but not for a long time I hope! I have lots more wishes and ways in which to achieve them and those will be revealed in due course.
Here’s to health, wealth and happiness to us all. Janet