Day thirty one, a novel, a poem and a new book!

Since I have started working more hours, I have found that I desperately miss the long hours of reading that I used to be able to do without bating an eyelid. I have tried to continue with my interests but because of the lack of available time, I am unable to really get into anything at the moment!
However, I did pick up a children's book: 'I, Coriander', which has caught my eye a few times in the library. I took an unforgivable amount of time to read it but also really enjoyed it. The descriptive language used was poetry like. My favourite sentence was this: The big black dog of night with its belly full of stars had already rolled over on the day.
It was a story set in the time of the Republic, the decapitation of Charles and Oliver Cromwell's tyrannical rule. However this is also a fairy story, with a difference. It was a very unique story for me, one which I haven't come across before which had me captivated and enthralled.

I came across maybe a part of a poem recently,

January brings the snow,
Makes our feet and fingers glow.
(Sara Coleridge) which also featured in one of the songs that the children sing at their assembly. I thought it quite funny how in the space of a few hours I came across the same part of a poem I had never heard before!

I am going to try and read a book in February, but am undecided as yet! Maybe a trip to the library will help me decide! Or I could just plump for The Hobbit and share it with my son who is captivated with it at the moment!

Only time will tell,
Till the next time!

Day twenty nine!

Had a challenging, draining day today! Feeling a bit blue and frustrated!
Hope tomorrow will be better!
Today I am going to cook a lovely meal, hopefully we will all be able to sit down together with our happy faces on! That's what I need right now!
Till the morrow!

Day twenty eight!

Decisions, decisions!
I am debating over the way to cover my sofa. Here are some preliminary sketches about what I am thinking!
Obviously my drawing skills are very rusty, but you get the idea!

Day twenty eight!

Decisions, decisions!
I am debating over the way to cover my sofa. Here are some preliminary sketches about what I am thinking!
Obviously my drawing skills are very rusty, but you get the idea!

Day twenty six - thoughts turning towards my BIG PROJECT!

My sofa seems to be deteriorating at a rapid speed. However my stash of fabric increased today with some more thick upholstery fabric! I can't wait to get going on this project! I have called in some talented ladies, my mum and mum no.2 to help. We are going to join forces during the half term to work together to cover my old tatty, sofa! I just hope that I have enough bits of fabric to sew together to cover it all!

Till the next time,

Day twenty five - How I am feeling!

Excited, loved and cold!

Day twenty four- a celebration!

I found out yesterday that I have been offered a university place to train as a primary school teacher! It is a dream come true, as i have been working towards this for a number of years! I am a little worried about how I will be able to balance home life with my 'working' life. I am sure that it will be doable but it will mean making some changes for all of us, including hubby!

Day twenty two!

January is passing by, the snow is disrupting life, and a cold is bringing me down!

I must have the January Blues!

Back soon!

Day twenty - word of the week!

I had a few challenges that I set myself at the beginning of January, but some of them have fallen off my list of important things to do. Some of them, like blogging everyday, have been more successful. I did want to keep a few 365 day projects but they have been difficult to continue as they are time consuming so instead of giving up, or just forgetting about them, I have decided to adapt and change them a little bit.

One of my goals was to write everyday. Whilst I was doing my degree I found that writing everyday helped me to combat writers block when it came to the assignments, and I didn't want to lose the craft of writing now that I have stopped studying. I wanted to do what some writers call 'morning writes' which basically means as soon as you wake up you write for 30 mins without stopping to edit or cross out. Over time this will provide you with the practise of being able to write without worrying about what you are writing as well as giving you some very good ideas that you may want to develop further. Unfortunately for me, the morning isn't a good time as its so hectic. So I have decided to be a word collector instead and hopefully turn my cache into a poem or a short story, depending on what comes along I suppose.

Sometimes I find that a word comes along and makes me stop and think. A few weeks ago whilst doing 'The Times' crossword and flicking through the dictionary I happened across
WANDERLUST
I have since seen this word in other places too and which really sums me up at this moment; a longing to see places, to wander. I would love to lose myself among the lakes and mountains
Of The Lake District! This is something I should start researching...

Till the next time!

Day eighteen - wishes came true!

Day seventeen, and a good day it was!

I had the day off from work today to attend a very important interview! It was a lovely day despite the testing and questioning! I met some lovely people, I just hope that we all make it through selection.

We are all waiting with baited breath - is it going to snow or isn't it? My children have already written tomorrow off as a snow day from school and a flake hasn't fallen yet... I think BBC weather will have some very unhappy customers tomorrow if it doesn't! (Unfortunately my son has worked out how to compose emails).

Well after my busy day, I am more than ready for bed,
Night and until tomorrow.

Day Sixteen - a wordless (well, nearly) Wednesday

Day 15 - sealed pot update

I have kept my sealed pot from last year. It sits proudly on my kitchen window sill where I encourage hubby to empty his pockets, although he is quite reluctant. So to make up for it when I get cash back, I always get a little extra to go in the pot! He doesn't know that but obviously he won't mind when we crack it open and there's enough to go on a Christmas break!

I have been out early in the mornings this week and love the shapes and characters formed by the skeletal trees. I wish there was some way I could capture the images into some art work for our house! Hmmm another project on the cards!

Till next time.

Big whoops! Day 10, 11, 12, 13 and 14!

Not sure what happened, life I guess! I have a big day looming this week which has kept me rather preoccupied. The wedding has also taken up some time. Watching my big daughter try on bridesmaid dresses - ah! Brother's birthday celebration that just had to last into the wee hours of Sunday morning and the continual DIY drain on our patience!

But all negativity aside, I have an update on my patchwork sofa! I got up early on Saturday morning to brave the crowds, pushing and pulling each other over remnants, bags of scraps and rolls of fabric. Not to mention the fabric swatch books and wallpaper samples. Big daughter and I had such fun and had to run through freezing rain to get to the car before we literally dropped with exhaustion!

Here is a quick snap of what we gleaned, when I have more time I will take proper photos and I certainly won't forget to do before and after pictures. I think this project will take place in the February half term!

Till the next time ( probably won't be tomorrow),

Day eight and nine! Oops

Well I got just a little bit side tracked last night! My favourite presenter and science boff was on T.V and everything else fell by the wayside. Professor Brian Cox, he is a breath of fresh air for me! I really love science and am interested in all aspects of it, but unfortunately my little brain just can't compute the complexities of it. I am not a big Tv viewer so it was a small miracle that I happened to tune into 'wonders of the universe'. My son and I enjoyed listening to all his facts with his quirky style, his undenying passion for his subject and even the complex atoms were introduced in a relatively simple way. It was a hit for us and Prof. Cox instantly became one of my favourite presenters! So last night I indulged in his company (to my family's annoyance- lots of tutting and sighing was had) but I was in a state of bliss! And will probably be in one again tonight! Not sure how I am going to break it to them that Stargazing is on again tonight, and hopefully with more clear skies across Britain than last night! Here's hoping!

Till tomorrow,

Day seven - back to the daily grind!

I woke ridiculously early so that I could avoid the bathroom queue. It was still pitch black, even when I ventured out with the dog in the drizzly January gloom. I wasn't impressed! We all had a fairly good morning, I even managed to get the washing up done before I left the house- result! I did grumble a bit in the morning about wanting to get back into bed, but then I got to work and the energy and enthusiasm of nearly thirty excitable children perked me up even when we had to take them swimming. Ah, I am glad my first day is over but can't wait until tomorrow! I love it!

January is always such a drag for me but I think this year it will be very different! I have a great job to distract me from the grey, and I have a thousand buzzing thoughts in my head about what I am going to do in our house, if only I can find enough time! Hmmmmmmm

Till tomorrow,

Day six - goodbye Christmas.

Today we spent the morning removing all trace of Christmas. Now, it looks like it never happened. It is always a teeny bit sad for me, the hype, the expectation, the anticipation and then the fall back to normality. Just one day more, I plead, to eat cake for breakfast, and have a tin of chocolates constantly open, but I know that we must return to the grind sometime and why not today, if not for our health's sake!

I have so many jobs to do before tomorrow and not one of them is enjoyable, but I have indulged for nearly two weeks and I really should have tackled them a little bit earlier, so I am entirely to blame for that one!

Off to wrestle the mountain of washing!

Till the next time,









It's a dog's life!

Day Five - Friday focus on upcoming year of holidays!

Even though we are likely to be spending a lot of time and money on our house this year, we are really going to need some well deserved relaxation time! We have made some preliminary decisions to look into The Lakes for our summer camping trip, as well as Iceland and a Christmas trip! We had better get our savings sorted! I would dearly love to escape the dilemma of Christmas, but we shall wait and see!

I have a few thrifty ideas for re-decorating on a budget. My focus at the moment is finding a way to recover our sofa! I hope it will work!

I had some very unexpected news today, my brother is getting married nine weeks from now, and it will take place in the Quantocks, which is an area I have longed to explore! What a lovely surprise it was!

Lots of planning to be done,
Till the morrow,
V x

Day Four and still Diy-ing

Really really hoped that the bathroom would be finished but mostly due to the decision to replace the door, lining and architrave, ( my idea!) we have been delayed by probably 24 hours! Oh well, I am sure I can wait another day!

It's quite exciting watching it all come together! I am determined not to spend any more money than I have to in order to finish this project, so I have been researching ways to make things into more useful things with a bit of imagination. I think it is called 'upcycling', but my oh my the results of some of the projects is awe-inspiring! Let's see what comes along for some bathroom cabinets.

Until tomorrow,
Another day to finish off all those pesky jobs!

Day three - a lazy day of dreaming

Today I spent much of the day gathering some ideas of colours and themes for our new house! Whilst hubby was very busy ripping out the remnants of our bathroom, I was on line building a list for our next project! We have a very tatty and torn sofa but is still useable. I would really like to recover it in a patchwork but am rather undecided as to what colour scheme to go for. We have a very local, upmarket, curtain store who sells very expensive fabrics, which I wouldn't be able to afford ordinarily, however they do have an annual sale which just happens to start in January! So I will wait to see what they have to offer which may dictate the colour scheme!

I hope that recovering Chairs isn't as difficult as it looks! Oh well I figured nothing ventured, nothing gained! Apart from that my day has been pretty ordinary! Here's something I saw in a magazine and just swooned at the thought of having something like that in my house:

Till tomorrow,
XxX

Day two of January

Today was rather a momentous day for my future career. I passed the numeracy test that means that I can now be considered for a teacher training course in September! It has been quite a stressful experience but I can now relax just a little bit until the interview date comes careering along!

Mid winter can bring dim and dismal days but sometimes they can be filled with pure sunshine, today was like that for me!

Until tomorrow,

Day One of 2013.

To be honest it all rather sprung up on me! First Christmas came and went and with doing so much DIY we lost track of the time and the days until New Year's Eve arrived. We had a humble celebration but couldn't resist the ritual of our New Year's Day walk. We spent a rather strenuous 2 hours battling through mud and some flood water, but in the good company of friends it was an adventure.

I really do hope that I will be able to keep in better touch with my friends and family, which also includes the great bunch of people out there in blogland. I have neglected my little online space and feel  that I really should make amends. Therefore I set myself a challenge to blog everyday of January so that it may become a ritualised habit to blog!

I have also set myself the same goals that I never seem to achieve but I don't know- I feel like 2013 just may be my year.

Wishing everyone all the very best for 2013!
Until tomorrow,

xXx