November and New Home

We did it! We moved and although it was very stressful it's all forgotten now. We are all snuggled up in our box filled sitting room watching a film. Getting some rest and relaxation time together.

There are numerous boxes still littered around that need unpacking but we need to find some space for them first. It is going to be a looooong process! Things aren't looking so good on my November goals as I have slipped on the first hurdle! In all the hullaballoo of moving I didn't stick to my meal plans and subsequently spent a small fortune on our food bills. But this will be easily rectified by some smart planning.

I have enjoyed getting into bed each night wallowing in the familiarity of my bed covers even if it is in an alien room! I have also enjoyed sharing a little bit of Coleridge's world and feel so much more drawn to his poetry now that I know more of his personal circumstances. His link with the West country also draws me in and soon I am planning a little trip to walk (quite literally) in his footsteps! I did have this neat idea of tracing his travels from his birth place in Ottery St Mary to his homes in Clevedon as well as Nether Stowey and then hopefully in the summer taking a little camping trip to the Lakes and investigating the Wordsworth connection too. But alas, I found out that in between the West and the Lakes, Coleridge took an educational trip to Germany. I got a little excited at this prospect but I feel my family may fear I am taking this idea a little too far. Oh well I can leave Germany out for now. I am thinking of organising a fat busting post Christmas walk over the quantock hills with a handful of friends. I haven't decided whether to tell them about my current infatuation with the Romantic poet; I wonder if they would understand??

Until the next time, where I am forced to think about Christmas!

October here then gone!

October came and went. It is by far my most favourite month of the year, and this year it was extra special. Not only did we celebrate the birthdays, of which there is a few!! but I was lucky enough for my dear little family to celebrate my academic success too. We trekked the long journey to Portsmouth so that I could don the gown and grace the stage if only for a few short seconds. It will be one of those memorable events that will never leave me. I felt truly blessed that I had not only persevered but that my long suffering family had supported me all the way! I did hasten to tell them that this journey is not yet finished. I have another intense instalment of studying yet ahead of me!!! We will see how they all fare with that!! 

On to other matters; we have a moving date: next week! EEk so a lot of packing and panicking is ensuing but with these things they normally just progress, so it is sometimes a case of trying to endure, if not enjoy, the ride!

I have decided to try and make some monthly short term goals that will bring me some steps closer to the BIG ones. I find that it is sometimes hard to always be focused on those BIG goals because (well in my case) they seem such a long way off. So here are my little steps towards them for November.

My November Steps:

Financial:

To stick to the meal plan and shopping list, therefore keeping to the budget.

To overpay the mortgage by £300. 

To put £100 in the travel fund. 

To raise some cash from our unwanted goods - which will be slipped into the Sealed Pot!!

Health:

To take up an exercise class with a friend (who has persistently been asking me for the last month). 

To eat healthily and frugally!

To walk for longer spells.

Emotional well being:

To take more time to keep in contact with family and friends. 

To plan and organise my Coleridge expedition.

To plan our holidays for next year - big family meeting!!

To plan our advent calendar.

November goal just for me:

To read all of Holmes'  Coleridge biographies. 

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On to my reading goals! I would like to make more time to read but I somehow think that since we will be moving and the house isn’t exactly a palace, I am not going to be able to create more time for this. However, I will try to read a book a month and I would like to work my way through the ManBooker prize short list for 2012. I was delighted to learn that Hilary Mantel won, again. I also have a few unread books on my list which I hope to plough through too. Hmmmmmm do I really need to sleep????

Till the next time which won't include this view any more. 

Still here....

We have sold our house, we have committed to buying another, but we are still waiting!!
We are waiting for the solicitors to earn their keep, the estate agent is gleefully rubbing his hands together but here we are in limbo!! The days are shortening ever faster towards the Big C and we are tentatively removing pictures, wrapping up the heirloom china, all the while knowing full well everything could fall through!

So I am still here but incredibly busy chasing my tail! Bear with me, I will be back! Hopefully with tales to tell.....

Phew weeee!

Well this week has been MANIC! I am so so glad it is now the weekend! I am even relishing the thought of cleaning the house!

I have decided to wrap myself in Patrick Ness's literary genius once again and am reading his debut novel, The Crash at Hennington.  It is a familiar read as themes like sexual politics, power and greed which were explored in his later trilogy are also investigated here, but in an entirely different style.

I am also investigating one of my favourite poets and era's, the Romantic Samuel Taylor Coleridge. I have borrowed from the trusty library, Richard Holmes (award winning) biographies of him. When I have a large amount of time, the time that is free to choose what I want to do rather than have something or someone dictate what I do with it, I will lose myself quite happily in that world. I may even report back my findings or musings.....

Tintern Abbey, one of Wordsworth's famous poems

But until that moment I really do need to blitz the house, make coffee and help daughter with homework! That looks like my Saturday wrapped up!

Hope yours is as productive and relaxing in equal measure!
Till the next time,

Done, finished it

I don't tend to be swayed by reviews, I try to refrain from Amazon's reviewers until I have finished a book completely. It avoids the spoilers. I really did enjoy this book. It was a bit of a beast at 833 pages long but it really didn't feel like it was that long. After I read it I realised that there really wasn't much of a storyline but Faber did such a fabulous job of entertaining me with his detailed descriptions - but they never once felt 'overdone', as sometimes Dickens makes it seem, and contrasting the lives of the rich and poor in Victorian London. I really do feel like I have experienced the story. For me the style with which he employed really did pull me in from the first line and he kept me in the palm of his hand throughout. I know (from Amazon reviewers) that some found it tediously boring, but for me I found it fascinating - I love the Victorian era. The ending was also a moot point for some but again for me I just knew that he wasn't going to conform; he left it very open. This didn't bother me at all - I know what happened to the characters, it's just that it is my version of the story and it becomes a talking point. I think that is the brilliance of this story is that you make it up for yourself. Use your imagination, surely that is what reading is all about.

I am a little bit undecided where my literary interest is going to fall next but what I do know is that I haven't finished with the Victorians - oh no! not by a long way!

September

Summer is now just memories

It is all back to normal - if there is such a thing. Got up early to ensure I had time to make special breakfast for my boy who returned to school today. Will have to do the same again tomorrow for when the girl goes back on her first day!

My first day was good, it went by in a flash of an eye.... Have to cook the tea and start with the ferrying of swimmer to the pool - ah the joys of parenthood. It's not all bad - I am nearly finished The Crimson Petal so this would give me the chance to catch up on some reading and possibly pondering the possibility of moving house!!

Till the next time,

It seems again that the summer holidays have flown by and we are all reluctantly facing the prospect of early mornings, homework and strict routines again very soon. Despite my renewed goals, I haven't found much time for blogging this summer - possibly because we had a PC malfunction and had to splash out on a new one! But also because I have been so busy trying to catch up with the things I planned to do like sort out the thousand photos into a scrapbooking album - only 5 years to go until I am up to date!! And I really wanted to finish my daughter's quilt which was for her 13th birthday but this autumn she will be 14 and sadly the quilt is still not finished! (I do dilly dally sometimes over simple decisions!!) I will have it finished!

We have also done some fun stuff too. The Olympics was a massive highlight for our family - we were glued for a fortnight to the action. We had tickets for the Millennium stadium and lucky for us we managed to see the Men's GB team, despite losing on penalties (AGAIN!!) we all had an enjoyable

time. Although trying to get out of Cardiff with 70,000 other people was a bit tricky!

We did our annual camping trip too, this time we decided on Cornwall. What a lovely part of the country that is. AND this time it didn't rain (much!) We were very lucky with the weather. 

We all came back with a hint of bronze about us and happy memories!

hmmm like I said, the Olympics had an effect!

Well our summer draws to an end, even though it hasn't felt like much of a summer again but I look forward to the new challenges that lie ahead of us. For it looks like there will be many!

Till the next time.