100 ABSTRACTS - NUMBER 31

We both slept quite fitfully - I was aware that Mr. HCB needed to stay sleeping on his back, so every time he moved, so did I.  However, although we didn’t have to rush to get up, but he was still up just after 7 o’clock.  He did say that his eye was quite sore this morning, but hopefully by the end of the day it will be less so.

I’m not complaining, because I am happy to do it, but it was quite a palaver to put in two lots of eye drops, leaving five minutes between each, then bathe Mr. HCB’s eye, making sure that my hands were washed each time.  I'd better get used to it because this has to continue for a month.   

Mr. HCB's vision is still quite blurry, so I said that I would make his porridge because his hand to eye co-ordination is not that good and then at least I knew he had had his breakfast - fortunately, he didn’t have any trouble with his hand to mouth co-ordination! 

After my shower, Mr. HCB said that we needed to go round to the greenhouse - my initiation was about to begin.  Obviously we have to be very careful that he gets no dust in his eye, so I had to make sure that he just told me what to do and didn’t get too near, although I could see he was itching to take the watering can off me!  I think the palaver with watering the various plants and troughs was worse than putting eye drops in, but I’m a quick learner and it was soon done.  

As we walked back to the house, Mr. HCB was a bit upset to see that something had been in amongst his newly-planted runner beans, so I then had to find some wire to go at each end of his contraption.  By this time, it was getting a bit too bright for him, so he went indoors and I wandered around looking for something to take for one of my abstracts.

I wonder if you would be able to guess what this one is?  I don’t think I have ever looked at broad bean flowers before, but they are a delicate shade of pink and really quite pretty.  Judging by the amount of flowers, we should have a good crop of beans and we are having intermittent showers of rain, so thankfully, they don’t need to be watered.

When I think that artists would charge the earth for an abstract like this, I am happy that this didn’t take as long as painting a picture, and is one more in my 100 Abstracts challenge for the Mamie Martin Fund, which provides secondary education in North Malawi for young women and girls.  

“Tell me and I forget, 
     teach me and I may remember, 
          involve me and I learn.”
Benjamin Franklin