Hello!
Okay, January is properly back in full swing. My boys have just started their third week back at school, we are now into after school activities having gone back to both climbing and Judo plus I've attended my first Weight Watchers meetings of the year and have managed to lose 3lbs fo far. I'd like to give you a cooking tip about the fantastic Lasagne I make using a yummy white sauce of Quark - don't knock it 'till you've tried it - and fat freee fromage frais. Check out the result of my efforts!
This is such a versatile sauce as can be used for lots of things including said Lasagne plus Mousakka and fish pie.
My post Christmas home organisation/de-cluttering of various places and rooms and so far I am happy with what I have achieved. I have sorted, tidied and cleaned out under the kitchen sink, the baking tin/jar cupboard, the place I keep miscellaneous things like plastic and lunch boxes, flasks and spare ice cube trays, the shelves down to the cellar (cellar itself is a blue job for Jon!), crafting supplies and both the boys' rooms! Phew! January is such a cleansing month and one to seriously for looking forward and planning ahead.
On January 14 I cancelled my Twitter account and I'm more than happy about that. I really am done with too much technology; I am tired of contstantly looking down! I know this means I will be out of the loop with some things but if I was that bothered I wouldn'thave cancelled it.Some friends think we are crazy, saying we live in a soial media world, but our point is that you don't have to! The same day I was baking some blueberry and chocolate muffins. These are great for snacks and even for breakfast as there is only a little chocolate in them!
We have been to the theatre to see Spamalot and we had a fantastic meal at a fantastic Tapas bar in Manchester and I also had a nice girly lunch out which was lovely.
I am now caught up with my Post Circle and just yesterday have bought an ink pen, something I've been meaning to do for ages, to make my letters look a little more special!
I think I am all caught up now and look forward to seeing what the next few weeks bring us!
I look forward to any comments or contributions you might have to my ramblings!
Catch you later.xxx
Good morning!
I am typing this post at my kitchen table on our new laptop which we treated ourselves to at Christmas. It is lovely to be downstairs typing where I can keep an eye on people coming to the door, but most importantly be near the coffee pot!
Hands up those who don't love the beginning of a new year?
I absolutely love it because of the chance, second or maybe third, to make a fresh start. I love the optimism, positivity and energy of the new year.
Here, we are working through the house de-clutter and home organisaion and it is going really well. The charity shop has benefitted from Harry's room getting a tidy up in readiness for a new bed and school has received three good bags full of books. We still have Alfie's room to do later today and my craft things have been thinned out as I really do not do as much as I used to.
On a personal note I've begun a Journal of Gratitude combined with a daily journal. I'm enjoying this as I could never manage a full on Project Life, would not have the time, but this way I can be thankful for what I have and keep a few memories, even if it is just when the boys make me laugh, like the other morning when they were singing to a song from Despicable Me! I have also made the decision to return to Weight Watchers. I love my baking and cooking so much but it needs to take a bit of a back seat for a while, apart from making things for the boys.
I
have just finished catching up on most of my backlog of #Postcircle
letters - only two to go now. I am looking forward to sending and
receiving more letters this year. This
will be quite important to me as I plan to cancel my Twitter account
soon. I have come to the conclusion, as I did with Facebook, that my life
does not need social media to the extent to which it interferes with my
life. Don't get me wrong, I talk to some lovely poeple on Twitter but I
hope I can maintain some relaionships by post or other means, maybe even
face to face, you never know, it does happen they tell me!!! Anyhow, I
hope you will continue reading this blog and look out for when I decide to
start new one which may be in the summer. I'll let you know herewhen this happens.
That is all for now as I have a lasagne to make for tea tonight so we are ready for the boys to start back to Judo for the first time since we finished at Christmas.
I would love to hear about your plans for January and beyond and if you arein a positive mood like me.
Hope you stop by soon.xxx
This IS a little late, however......
Hello there!
I have been very, very absent from here recently through being very busy in the run up to Christmas. I was all set to do one last post on Christmas Eve when I had trouble posting photographs. In short I gave up, and now I appear to be having the same problems!
Anyhow, we now find ourselves in that strange in between time which is not strictly the festive season any more but there is a little while until the celebrations for the New Year begin.I've already started thinking about the New Year and what it may bring plus how I can plan for it. I do absolutely love Christmas but I also really love the start of the new year and the positivity and possibilities which come with it and I've been searching Pinterest for ideas of how to start the New Year
with a bang. During
2014 I have kept a Journal of Gratitude which has been great and I look
forward to reading back through some of the entries. I don't go in for personal goal setting but I do try to think how I can improve myself, make myself think a little more and consider the lot of others, too.
The whole thing about the New Year DOES also have something to do with the requirement of a brand spanking new calendar, a lovely blank diary and journals waiting to be written in for lots of reasons, be they important or trivial - I love either! I've also been getting my lovely Household Notebook spruced up a little with some new pages, these all being part of my home organisation which is so important to me for a well run house.
I'm in the process of covering my daily diary - can't do electronic ones. I have my calendar at the ready and it already has high days and holidays marked on it. (We just get over Christmas and then it will be Alfie's birthday - 7 this year - at the end of January!)
We are very hopeful we will be living a different life next year as we are filled with optimism for being in our new home by the autumn, if not before if we are lucky. House moving slows down during the run up to Christmas so we are keen to give it a push once January is here.
I have been neglecting my sewing which I was really getting into, apart from the table runner I made for Christmas Day, and my sister has bought me a great book which helps with the basics of sewing so hope to use that alongside some new projects. I have so much lovely fabric I don;t know where to start so need to focus! I also have to have a sort out of all my craft things with the hope of moving ever on my mind I need to downsize a little bit. Things are spread out a little too much but I have acquired a basket/hamper which may come in useful as I already have my fabric in another of these.
I must go as it is time for another pot-luck-from-the-fridge-left-overs-lunch. Mmmm, cold pork pie and cranberry sauce!
For what reasons are you looking forward to the New Year? I would love to hear your plans so do let me know.
Catch ya later! xx
Hello! (Bit of red for Christmas). This is the point at which I normally let you know there will be no more apologies for talking about the festive season. I think you have the measure of me by now and know that I just LOVE this time of year.
Well, seeing as Halloween and Bonfire night are pretty much a distant memory, I have begun my planning in earnest! Here are my planners, lists and reminders; obviously there will be some additions, changes etc here and there but always good to have a strong, basic plan.
We should be at home for Christmas Day by lunch time, after seeing some family on the Eve. I am already deciding on some yummy recipes for the big day and of course
easy-to-eat, buffet style food for Boxing Day. I love having really yummy eats and leftover dishes that you can just go to the fridge for between watching films and not have to actually cook! I will be hopefully making and baking some more festive food for December 27 when we have some more family here for my Mum's birthday.
I think I may have mentioned the Christmas cake is made and getting fed weekly with Gluhwein. (Love that stuff; put it in my homemade mincemeat, the Christmas cake and the pudding!) I also have some Morello cherries soaking in vodka to give as presents to a couple of people, depending on the size of the bottles I use for the finished product. Both are now sitting on the designated shelf on the cellar steps so I can gloat at the tasty treats I am gradually preparing every time I go downstairs to the washer!
I took a few minutes this morning to look for some more traditional, nostalgic Christmas ideas in articles from Pretty Nostalgic. I subscribe to this wonderful compendium of gorgeous Britishness and have recently signed up to be a Pretty Nostalgic Pioneer. Check out their website for more information.
I collect recipes, decoration ideas and anything to make the festive season tasty and attractive so this is one place I go to. Of course, Christmas is NOT complete without
Country Living. I subscribe to this wonderful publication, too, and admit I wait with anticipation every year for the Christmas issue!
It has taken me a couple of years but there are just some things I cannot do without on the table.
Oh, and I have been seewing a runner for the table this year and although it is a little basic I am chuffed to bits with it.
I would love to know what your favourite things are to make and bake for Christmas.
Is there something you just HAVE to have or everybody asks you to make?
Catch ya later!xx
So here I am finally getting round to telling you about our trip to Lewis last week. I'm going to cut to the chase - it was not a success. The house itself was pretty much as we expected, if a little unkempt due to it not having been lived in for a while.
The first problem arose when Harry said he didn't like his room as it would have been in the extention and slightly away from the main part of the house.
Then as we looked around the areas outside it transpired we could not do as we had hoped with the land. It was so boggy we would have been unable to have pigs/sheep on it long term so there were pens closer to the house than we would have liked. Plus the field across the road had common grazing rights and we would not be able to put services across for anything like toilets if we hoped to us it as a small camping area.
However the killer was that Harry got very upset. After talking to him he explained he wanted to do all the exciting things like climbing, fishing, beach-combing etc, but it was just too far out of the way for him. We think it was very brave of him, as an 8 year old, to say what was on his mind, even though it was a tough thing to do. We would never try and make the boys think it would all be ok, just because it had been a dream of ours for everybody.
So on our return, and after a few days thinking, we know we have made the correct decision for all of us not to move to Lewis.
Most people go an hour or so down the road to look at a house they may buy. We took the risk and made the commitment to go that little bit further! If we had not gone we would have regretted it we know for sure; you regret more the things you don't do that the things you do.
So onwards and upwards. We have hit the ground running, though, and are preparing to go see some properties very soon. We still intend to live our Good life of growing and making our own food, keeping a few animals and chickens and try to give our boys the best childhood we possibly can.
So watch this space. xx
Good morning!
This is my last post of the month for a couple of reasons. My two liccle men are away with the Gramps until tomorrow, with it being half term; hubs and I are missing them terribly but know they will be having a wonderful time.
Therefore, with hubs back to work after the weekend I am having a little me time. I have just yesterday finished some Christmas bunting as a gift for somebody and I'm really pleased with how it turned out; hope to wrap that up today then add it to my festive stash!
The main reason I will not be blogging for a few days is that our trip to the Isle of Lewis in the western isles of Scotland is getting very close, at last! Hubs and I are so very excited, all be it a little nervous, about visiting what we feel will be the place and home of our dreams.
All our arrangements are made; accommodation booked, ferry travel sorted, visit to the school booked and of course estate agents contacted.
We have to be prepared for the slight possibility of arriving on the island and finding it is not for us after all. We were given wonderful advice early on in this venture -
"houses
(in that part of the world) generally sell well to very committed people,
but usually it takes a while for the right people to come along; not
everyone wants the remoteness, even in return for the safety and beauty!" - this is exactly what we are looking for!
Hubs and I have had such positive reactions about our plans from those who really know the kind of people we are, along with wonderful assistance and guidance from those helping us to arrange this adventure.
We feel deep down this is the right thing for us as a family. I really do become quite emotional when I think of the reasons why we truly hope it will be all we hope for. I wrote the following entry in my Smash Book I am creating for this journey -
"life is truly too short to be afraid of who you want to be, or of doing what you want to do. Live your dreams and make them a reality" Now I am almost in tears.
Our wish for so long has been to have a smallholding or small farm where we can take ourselves back to basics, prove we can make our own food, keep animals for our own use and live differently from the fast pace of life of which we have always been a part. As well as this a huge part of our plans has always been to give the boys a wonderful childhood whilst they are young enough and hopefully provide them with some very different life skills for the future.
I can very much imagine some people may think we are living in cloud cuckoo land, fooling ourselves and basically just dreaming. As I write this I have butterflies in my stomach of expectation, anticipation and a hundred other emotions I cannot even explain. I believe these feelings will transform into a flight of life, not fantasy, and our aspirations and plans will eventually come together in a very positive way.
I cannot wait to share the experience of our trip with you when we come back.xx
