Eleven Random things

• This is an exercise in procrastination. I’m very good at these things. The more pressing something is, the better my ability to avoid it becomes. I should be writing a teaching session about Quality Improvement for undergraduate healthcare professionals but I’m not. I have 2 days at work before I need to do it. Not feeling the fear yet.

• Whilst I was queuing (for a substandard university) coffee. A woman rushed in and apologised for being rude to one of the coffee shop servers the day before. She couldn’t stop herself from explaining how terrible her day had been and how awful she’d felt afterward and how she’d not slept properly because she’d been so awful. I wonder what she said. Then she had to apologise for holding up the queue. I think she was apologised out after that.

• I’m feeling the start of Autumn. It’s definitely dark when the ABO gets up on earlies (4.20am today – ugh). There’s a nip to the air and the back to school stuff is in the shops. I love this time of year. It seems like the New Year to me, time to make lists and get stuff done. I feel energised and ready to buy new stationery. There’s nothing like a new pen and a notebook to get the creative juices flowing. At least that’s my excuse (see point 1!).

• The start of Autumn also means I’ve got birthday preparation anxiety. BigR is 6 in a couple of weeks. I’ve ordered bits and bobs for the cake. It’s a ‘Frozen’ theme. Again. For ease the party will be done for us in a nightmarish soft play place a couple of weeks later. She’ll love it. In fact her social life is better than mine with no less than 3 parties that weekend. Will my nerves take it? She’s written a (long) list of things she’d like for her birthday including sparkly shoes (check), hello kitty stuff (check), a unicorn beanie boo (The eyes on beanie boos. is it just me? Hmm I’m not sure about them) and a real mermaid that swims (unlikely!).

• We (using the royal we here, the ABO did the graft) redecorated BigRs room. I bought the paint and chose the curtains (and helped clear out the junk!). She’s overjoyed to now have an ‘Elsa room’. We’re lamenting over ever painting the room pink as it was blue before she was born.

• There’s nothing like DIY and specifically flat pack furniture to bring out the worst in me. It’s one of the few things we argue have discussions about! Usually because we've hjad some 'Chuckle brothers' type moving shenanigans (to me, to you) before we get to the assembly! We’re quite good at flat pack stuff but the new bed frame almost defeated us. If Ikea made normal bed sizes we’d have bought it there. Still the instructions said it would take 50 minutes. There were 4 main pieces and the slats. Three hours later we were still trying to stick it together. The old bed base had been rained on so there wasn’t even the option to give up. Finally, it was done and with a little time before bedtime.

• Apart from one room our entire house is now blue or green.

• I’ve gone all retro and am reliving my youth making friendship bracelets. Bizarrely, when my friend saw the one I made for BigR she wanted one! I’m much better at doing them now than I was 25 years ago!

• I’ve been enjoying digestive biscuits smothered in cream cheese topped with strawberries. Yum!

• I’ve come across a Japanese word which I really relate to ‘tsundoku’. The act of buying books and letting them pile up unread. I really need to read the books I have on my kindle before buying any more!

• I managed to grow a carrot. And some apples. Obviously we’re now self-sufficient with 5 apples, 2 carrots and a couple of radishes. Still there’s some tomatoes to come. If they ever ripen!

The year in books - September

Well August came and went in what seemed to be a flash. With that went my reading too. I seem to have fallen off the reading horse. No books finished at all in August (unless you count hundreds and hundreds of children’s stories...no? Oh OK).

Well a fresh new start for September. I’ve already said how much I love this time of year. This September I will be reading the new Ann Cleeves novel in the ‘Shetland’ series 'Thin Air' (which is published tomorrow) and also finishing the Elizabeth Jane Howard novel (it’s good so I don’t know what happened to me!) I started in August.

Once again joining in with Laura and the Year in Books.

Forgetting, Flowers, words and in the garden :: days 79 - 86

Day 79

:: Beautiful peony stems to delight our dining room. It’s the best place (the one with the high surfaces) for flowers these days with a very inquisitive toddler

:: Bizarrely my last Friday worked before going part time...

 

Day 80

:: A crisp new magazine

 

Day 81

:: Father’s day – my lovely Dad and my girls’ lovely Daddy.

:: A much needed and deserved glass of wine.

 

Day 82

:: Appreciating the library. I needed some quiet space to work and the Brotherton library at the University is one of the best places I can find to work. It’s not the library I ‘should’ work in but it’s got a lovely feeling to it and I get a 7 minute fresh air jaunt across campus. Just being in there means the stuff just goes in by diffusion...right?

 

:: University planting...

Day 83

:: My friend brought her new baby daughter in as she had some work to sort through. I got 15 minutes solitary baby cuddles. Delightful.

 

Day 84

:: The girls had the first strawberries off the plants today. There was no time to grab a picture as they were swiftly consumed. Here’s the next one that’s not quite ripe...maybe tomorrow...

 

:: BigR visited her school today. She loved it. Had made a couple of friends within minutes and ran off to paint a picture of some lions for their jungle project. Then she played in their outside water area and mud kitchen (Grrrr I thought we might have left this behind but no! I love that she loves to gets stuck in but not the stains!!). I was struck by how tall she is compared to children a year older! And how confident she is...I was not quite as impressed about the enormous fuss she made when it was time to leave. Don’t worry from September you can go back every day for the next 15 odd years!!

 

Day 85

:: On the way to work I drive past some allotments. I am always impressed and intrigued by their neat lines of planting. One in particular has some homemade windmills constructed from empty pop/water bottles. I’m assuming they’re there to deter birds from eating the produce/plants but it’s the kind of thing the girls would like to see. There must be something online on how to do it...


:: Forgetting and then remembering that this is the last Thursday I was working!

 

:: Forgetting that I’d preordered the new Robert Galbraith book and it appearing in my kindle list just as I finished the book I was reading.

 

:: The peonies I saw last time have opened into full blousy glory

 

:: The blueberries are coming...

 

Day 86

:: Enjoying an hour in the garden and finally putting some of our overgrown seedlings into the flowerbeds. Still a lot to go...which is lucky as there’s lots of slugs and snails too.

:: Finding that the peppers are also coming too...

:: The most deliciously sweet and juicy nectarine eaten after the girls were in bed so I didn’t have to share. Meanie Mummy.

I cannot believe there are only 15 days left of this challenge I set for myself...

New shoes, weather and conforming :: days 69 - 78

How is it ten days since I last post? I really buy into the concept that time moves more quickly as you age because each minute becomes a smaller proportion of the time you have lived. That’s why double physics on a Friday afternoon dragged then? I just hadn’t lived!

Day 69

:: Receiving the proofs though for my chapter. It’s always strange seeing my work in publication mode. I always end up thinking ‘Blimey I wrote that, how did that happen?!’ Then I send it to my Mum who doesn’t always‘get’ the subject matter (she's never studied science) but always gives great feedback!

Day 70

:: There are a family of ducks in the pond/fountain outside one of the university buildings. It’s a necessary part of our morning walk up to nursery to stop and say hello…

:: Coffee with a friend who celebrated her recent 40^th in NYC. Hearing all her news. I miss working with her.

Day 71

:: Sticky toffee pudding and ice cream (neither homemade but delicious)

:: Planning to start my socks (see Christina’s pattern) but realising I couldn’t for the life of me remember how to join in a circle…so started some mitts with chunky wool (yes in June!!) as a trial. AM managing to knit indie out but will turn them when I’ve finished.

Day 72

:: On such a beautiful day we took a trip to Fountains Abbey. We went for a huge walk all around the lake and Abbey. BigR collected wild flowers and leaves and we made a ‘display’ when we got home. The flowers have really faded now but at least the photo still exists.

:: Both girls running through the sprinkler in the afternoon. Such a simple joy.

Day 73

:: After such a beautiful day of course the weather couldn’t last. It rained heavily. BigR needed new shoes and so after a very brief trip to the shoe shop (pink , check. Sparkly light, check – all her own choice!) we settled down to watch the rain (and create havoc and chaos inside!)

Day 74

:: Taking the girls swimming again. BigR tried without armbands – a success. I think she’ll need some lessons soon…LittleR loves the water but has absolutely no fear (in water or on stairs or climbing…BigR is far more cautious a person) and is more than happy to get her face and head wet! She’ll need exceptionally close watching!!

Day 75

:: A very, very early rise. Not down to children but to the ABO being on ‘earlies’. Now I could use this time to catch up on work/cleaning/sorting/ironing but I just lay in bed with my kindle and catching up with blogs!

:: Torrential rain – and being inside when it was falling.

Day 76

:: It was the evening for new parents at BigRs school. As I sat in the room on the low benches I was struck by the fact that all the people in the room would have indirect and direct influence on BigR over the next 7 years. She’ll thrive at school but for possibly the first time I had one of those completely bittersweet moments.

:: This was quickly extinguished with the thought of book bags (available from the office for a price) pump bags (available from the office for a price), uniform – most children like to wear the embroidered cardi/jumper with an embroidered polo shirt (of course they do) and please sew in the name tags; iron on tags and indelible markers aren’t good enough. Deep sigh! I’m sure it’ll be all fine when it gets going.

Day 77

:: Time in the garden when the girls were in bed. Watering the plants. They’re really coming along now. Still plenty to tackle though.

:: After a busy day – climbing into fresh sheets.

Day 78

:: Enjoying a quiet moment between the ABO leaving (another very early start) and the girls getting up.

:: Receiving my beautiful bracelet from Leanne. It was wrapped so beautifully with a lovely card. I love the colour – thank you so much!!

Wondering in January

:: The phrase ‘the days are long but the years are short’ seems very true at the moment. The weeks go by very quickly at the moment even though I seem to be busy at work I spend time being ‘bored’. I love my job but I’m not ‘in love’ with it anymore and I have to say I’m a little shocked by this. Not sure what I’m (we’re) going to do about it as yet but I’ve been looking at the flexible working policy. Maybe I need to give it a little more time.

:: LittleR was 1 last week. There were presents and Grandparents and a Mary Berry Victoria sponge. It was all very jolly….even with teething thrown in.

:: To go alongside the teething we’ve also had colds. Everyone apart from me, with the ABO feeling the worst and doing the most (building Ikea furniture, going in the loft lots of times, preparing for the chaos).

:: Why is it that the traffic on Tuesday is busier than any other time of the week? I’ve often wondered this. It’s even more pronounced when it’s raining. Whilst I’m sat in the traffic I’ll ponder this some more.

:: I have finally started knitting my Knitting and Stitching show project. It’s this pattern by Sirdar and I’ve got 2 colour ways to do for the girls. So far I’m barely through the first dog’s body. I’m hoping the girls like them….when they eventually get finished!! My extremely competent knitter friend, S, has offered to do the second dog so the second girl isn’t left out…

:: I’ve been reading like a demon…however a demon reads that is. In so far as I have finished a book and am 30% (so my kindle tells me) through The Goldfinch. I'm loving it.

:: Have you noticed that it's lighter in the evenings? Is it too early to say this? I am aware of this as currently we haven’t any curtains in the dining room and it was light when the girls had their tea.

:: The kitchen chaos starts tomorrow. I'm already counting the days until we have a functioning kitchen again. I’ve made some freezer dinners, especially for the girls but am expecting a lot of sandwiches and jacket potatoes. Anyone have any good ideas for things to ‘cook’ in a microwave?