Jennieworld Today

There was a brief glimpse of sunshine yesterday, and so Husband and I took the opportunity to get some fresh air with the boys.

We took the scooters with us (for the boys, although husband and I tried to hijack them more than once!). It was lovely in Roath Park, and although we usually go to the busier lake part of the park, I think that this bit is in some ways even nicer. It’s quieter for a start, with the river running through (as you can see in the picture).

We didn’t stay for long, as it was already late morning by the time we left the house and we needed to get the boys home in time for lunch, but these little outings do us all a power of good. We are lucky in that we have some lawn area around our flat and so we do see green space around us, but having lived in a house which had a large garden for most of my childhood I do miss the open space. However, I was cheered up still further when we got home and I found some more daffodil buds outside our front door.

Altogether, it didn’t really seem like a winter stroll, especially with all the spring buds and foliage which were evident. However, the weather forecasters assure me that we’ll be getting a proper taste of winter in the coming week or two, so maybe I’ll have some snowy pictures to post soon!

I was feeling pretty miserable at the start of the week, thinking about the long couple of cold wet months ahead of us, and really needed something to cheer me up. I came online to distract myself from the wind and the rain outside, and it worked! I received a wedding invitation from a close schoolfriend of mine, which cheered me up immensely, and then I went to check on Firefly’s blog. This is something that I do quite regularly when I come online as it is such a lovely and serene blog to read. I never fail to come away feeling better for reading it than I did before I started. Anyway, it gave me the idea that I should really look around and find things to be happy about rather than hibernating for two months until the rain lifts a little. And so I took my camera out with me in the week and found these lovely snowdrops hiding under a silver birch which is in front of our flat.

 Snowdrops have always cheered me up, especially on the long dark January days when you think that you’ll never see more than a flicker of sunshine again! And I nearly missed them as I’ve been keeping my head down and marching straight off every morning without looking to left or right so that I can make the journey as short as possible and get back into the warm as quickly as I can! So I’m very glad that Firefly gave me the idea to stop and look around me for a minute or two.

On the subject of the mild weather that we’ve been having; we’ve got a fair few frogs around at the moment. I thought that they were supposed to be hibernating right now? There is one big fellow who lives somewhere near our front porch, as I’ve twice now nearly stepped on him on my way outside! I must remember to take more care on my way out!

 Since I created my resolutions and started keeping my flat tidier, I’ve rediscovered my enthusiasm for home cooking. I’ve always enjoyed cooking, but when your kitchen is disorganised and you need to search hard for everything before you start, it can be a little offputting!

 However, for the past couple of weeks now my kitchen has been lovely and tidy all the time, and so my family are reaping the benefits with many more cakes, biscuits and treats, not to mention home cooked meals which involve more work than boiling pasta and making a quick sauce to pour over!  

The cakes on this page were made by me on Tuesday as my sister in law came for lunch and I decided to put a bit of effort in. I think it was appreciated! My husband was certainly happy when he got home and saw a big box full of cakes and tarts! Last night my best friend came for tea and I cooked a roast beef dinner then made little strawberry tarts for pudding. I forgot to take a picture of them, so I’m afraid I can’t share them with you. They did look good though! (Tasted good too - all disappeared in record time!)

This morning, my daily walk to school was accompanied by the worst weather I have had to plough through since the school run started two and a half years ago. The rain was hammering horizontally at my face, and controlling the buggy in the high winds was extremely difficult. By the time I was twenty steps from my front door my trousers were soaked through and I could hardly see due to the driving rain in my face. I’m supposed to be going out tonight, but if this weather doesn’t calm down a little I think I’ll be staying home in the warm, dry and relatively safe.

Today is our bin collection day, and I’ve never felt so sorry for the bin men before. I imagine it would have been quite a struggle to manoeuvre our large wheelie bins up to the lorry. I also felt very sorry for the postman today, having to walk for hours in this terrible weather. It made me appreciate being a stay at home mum that little bit more, and even though I have to walk back down to the school this afternoon to collect my elder son, at least it’s only a ten minute walk and then I can come home and change back into my pyjamas!

Or should that be JeHoCleMo? The title stands for National Home Cleaning Month, and my alternative is Jennie’s Home Cleaning Month. I think I’ll have to go with the latter, as not everyone will need to spend the whole month making their house presentable!

Maybe I’ll have to parody NaNoWriMo a bit more this year, and throw myself into things for a month so that i actually get things done. February could be JePlaSaxMo - Jennie Playing Saxophone Month! Except I still haven’t decided on a saxophone to hire, and I may have to have an imaginary saxophone for February. Anyway, any suggestions for me? I could always tie this in with my resolutions and determinations. 

I’ve just come across this amazing website (based in America) which sounds like it was written by someone who knows me very well! As all of my friends and family can attest, I am not at all a tidy person. On the very first page of the Flylady website, it tells me that it was created for people who suffer from CHAOS (Can’t Have Anyone Over Syndrome). This is so about me! I need at least a couple of hours notice before I have any visitors, during which time all of my surplus possessions get stashed in one or other of the bedrooms and the doors wedged shut. Then the bathroom is cleaned and the kitchen placed out of bounds! So effectively, while my hall, lounge and bathroom are more or less presentable, the rest of my house looks like someone has taken the roof off and stirred everything up with a big stick!

Anyway, a secret, probably over-optimistic resolution of mine for this year was that I would become tidier, and would need no notice at all before people came to visit me. When I first started seeing my husband, I used to really love how he and his sister could take friends home without any notice and my mother-in-law was ready and willing to make them feel at home, even feeding a few extra people at the drop of a hat if necessary. I remember thinking at the time that I’d love to have a home like that if I ever had children of my own, where their friends would feel comfortable visiting at any time. And now I have children (admittedly a little young to be bringing many friends home yet) and a shamefully untidy home! So, I’m following Flylady’s advice, and looking forward to more visitors this year! I’ve already made a good start and have a very nearly gleaming kitchen (although that was helped enormously, if I’m honest, by the large jug of boiling water that I spilt on the floor this morning, completely unintentionally!). Another idea I’ve had is to invite a friend for a meal at least once a week, which will encourage me to keep on top of my new tidy ways.

Keep coming back for updates!

Something that I should have added to my list of almost-resolutions was that this year I want to try doing new things. For instance, I’ve always wanted to play saxophone, but never had the opportunity as they are so expensive to buy. Anyway, I’m going to make an opportunity to do that now, by (hopefully) hiring a sax for a couple of months to determine whether I’ll take to it or not.

I’m sure that I don’t need to be mournful because of not doing so many things that I’d like to do. This year I hope to find ways around the problems and obstacles. Next: finding an AmDram group which will let me on stage! I’m pining for the smell of the greasepaint and the heat of the stage lights!

Happy New Year to you all. I can’t believe that the time has passed so quickly and that we’re at the start of another year. This is a sure sign that I’m getting older! it really doesn’t seem long since I was discussing with friends what to do for Millennium Eve, and look at me now - a degree, a husband and two kids have happened since then!

So, anyone with any resolutions this year? I wasn’t intending to actually articulate any resolutions as such, but just try to get more done this year. However, some resolutiony thoughts have been entering my head despite my efforts to ignore them, and so, so far, I have the following aims for the coming months:

1. Finish the decorating etc in the flat that I started about five years ago
2. Lose a stone in weight
3. Edit my NaNoWriMo book and send it off to Lulu to get a hard copy, then start the research for the next one (I want it to be a readable book this time!)
4. Finish all the crafty WIPs (Works In Progress) which are lying about the place, and make more things as gifts for people outside of my immediate family

An example of this last resolution is to knit some squares for Firefly’s Project Gracious Parcels. This is a project co-ordinated by a lady in America whose blog I discovered a couple of months ago entirely by accident. However, I enjoyed reading it and so have come to read it regularly and look forward to each new instalment from her. She set up this project before Christmas, but I’ve had no time until now to even think about contributing towards it. In a nutshell, she is collecting 7 inch squares knitted in Aran wool or wool blends to make blankets for people who don’t have very much. I’m sure I’ve got a couple of balls of Aran weight wool among my collection, and so I’m going to give it a go. It might be a struggle getting the squares to be exactly seven inches square, but I’m sure I’ll get there if I try!

Anyway, I’d like to send you all my best wishes for health, wealth and a great deal of happiness in the coming year, as well as lots of bear hugs (available in person if we manage to meet up this year!)