Creating Memories

Yarnalong - July

Joining yarn along on Ginny's blog today for July.

I'm still working on the Silvermine shawl, and long rows of 388 stitches. I've developed a bit of carpel tunnel (or similar), from the long purl rows especially, so it's very slow going with 2 or 3 rows per day, usually at lunch time.
In the evenings I'm working on another Happypotamus as a gift for later in the year. It's a good project for this lovely summer weather we're having, with small shapes in lovely cotton.
During this past month I made two Baable hats, thankfully before the heat set in! My first time doing stranded colourwork and working with a colour in each hand which I found so easy and thoroughly enjoyable. I finished the first one, the grey, and dear husband instantly claimed it, so I decided to do one for me too. It was all in the name of learning and mastering the colourwork in anticipation of doing the Birkin sweater! I don't have yarn for it yet, but that is easily remedied!

Reading. I started Emma by Jane Austin as a 'I really want to read a classic' project but I found it way too hard going and didn't get far at all. It's abandoned, for now.
I finished Eleanor Oliphant is completely fine by Gail Honeyman over the weekend. What an AWESOME read that was. WOW.
And then started The Break by Marian Keyes.

Thanks for stopping by and if you're a yarn alonger, thanks for sharing your knits and reads!

C xx

Fitness planner set up

Last week I took some time to buy and set up a fitness and diet planner.

I have a spare Simple Stories Carpe Diem planner as I transferred the pages into A5 albums, so I looked at the Simple Stories Fitness Inserts. There are a few you tube videos that show the pages in detail which gives you a good idea of what is included.

I have a few sticker sheets that are tucked into the cover folder and A5 clear pocket which lives at the front of my planner. The fitness inserts pack comes with 1 dashboard page, a few sticker sheets, 1 fitness tracker sheet, 6 dashboard dividers, 12 month at a glance spreads (on the back of the 2nd page is a monthly inspiration tracker page), some week at a glance pages, a pocket page and some die cut dashboards.

I am using the month at a glance page to get an overall picture of how the month went. I'll be recording all my runs and walks and weight loss/gains on a Thursday. On the right hand side is a place to note down any NUTRITION and FITNESS goals. I won't be planning my runs on this spread as I want to record actual activity, this way I can identify gaps or trends.

The weekly spread is quite comprehensive with a square for breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, exercise and water consumption. Along the left hand side is a place to record GOALS and NOTES. I am a very visual person so I need to see the food I eat laid out in front of me. I will forget how much I've had and run the risk of going over my syns allocation. All food is written in black ink, healthy extras are underlined in blue and syns in red with the syn value. Syns are totalled each day and then I will also total them weekly.

I added a pack of the recipe pages in divider 3. The idea here is to turn some of my everyday favourites into syn free meals.

In the 4th divider I have a carpe diem note pad to record anything that is noteworthy in my journey. Again I'm looking for trends that can help identify days/weeks where I battle to keep motivated or indeed times where I am so on it! These will help me reach my goal.

Weight has been an issue for me for at least 35 of my 43 years on this planet and I am so ready to take control. Perhaps one day I will tell more of this story.

I'm recording my fitness journey on instagram @cjm_fitjourney if you fancy following along.

C xx

Yarn Along - June

I'm joining Ginny and the Yarn Along crew today.

This is the Silvermine shawl, that I'm knitting in Amano Ayni yarn. It's a beautiful knit!

Last night I finished the first instalment of The Book of Dust by Philip Pullman. It's quite a scary book considering it's for late teens/young adults. I can't wait for the next book to come out now, although I think that may only be in the spring of 2019.

So looking forward to looking at what everyone is working on this month!

C xx

Week in the life 2018 - Thoughts from a newbie

Before I tackle the task of printing photos and putting my Week in the Life album together I wanted to gather my thoughts on how I found doing this project from a total newbie point of view.

First off, I absolutely didn't think I had nearly enough content in my days to make this project work. I don't have kids, I work full time, with 8 hours a day sat pretty much in the same spot and I don't have a super fun social life. HOWEVER that really DOES NOT MATTER! I DO have so many stories to tell.

The stories are about me, and how I fill my days right now. They are also about how I feel in the space and time I live in.

In the weeks leading up to the 'documentation week' I had a page in my Get to Work Book (link on the left), that I used to jot down things I do, places I go and tasks that fill my time. I knew that I wouldn't do or photograph every single one but I wanted to be aware of these activities so I could look out for them if they did crop up. Ali did lots of FAQ's and general information posts leading up to the week so I made notes of anything that I felt I could include in my project.

I was pretty nervous on day 1. I didn't want to mess up and forget to take the photos and write notes and then waste the kit I bought. Sharing the photos and words each day here on the blog was definitely the way to go. If I had tried to do the album at the same time I would have missed so much actual life. Of course all this advise is on Ali's blog and I'm SO SO SO glad I listened!

I think I kept it pretty simple and I know that there is so much more I can focus on in the years to come, like a theme for the day (thankful), using the 'ing' words (love this idea!) and using 'around here'.

Right now I am taking a big breath and remembering my days from last week and how similar or different they are to the days of this week.

I will share progress and the finished album and possibly some more thoughts about that process. If you happen upon this post and you are keen to do the project but don't think your life is interesting enough, you really don't need to worry about that. We all have a story to tell!

C xx

Week in the life 2018 - Sunday

Sharing my words and photos from Sunday

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A promise of some sunshine today.

This morning I helped set up for church service. While our church is undergoing some essential restoration work we are holding services in the village hall. It was a jam factory in the second world war.

And is also the building that Stuart and I were married in when our church had essential maintenance work.

After lunch I took some time to do my Bible study homework. This is the first Bible study course I have done, and the first time I have actively read the Bible.

A quick vacuum and dust. I'm not a fan of housework!

And some time upstairs writing in my memory planner. This year I am using one from Heidi Swapp.

And while Stuart is watching TV downstairs, I watch The Crown on my iPad, and do some of my Rosy Little Things spring cross stitch. I could have watched on the TV in our room but the light is not great.

And ending my week long documenting project with a photo of us. (Not happy with the quality of this photo, poor lighting and the front camera on my phone have made it so grainy. I may reset and take it again. That's allowed isn't it?!)

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I ordered some large prints of a few of my photos from this week to include in my album. They are due to arrive on Friday, and as Stuart is off racing motorbikes on Sunday I will enjoy time to work on printing the rest of the photos and putting my album together.

Thanks so much for all the visits and to those who shared their days on Ali's blog. I have loved to see the similarities and differences in our daily lives and look forward to the completed album links ;)

C xx

Week in the life 2018 - Saturday

Sharing words and photos from Saturday

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Rain is coming!

Up and out of bed to do some work in the garden before the rain comes. Stuart installed power sockets with USB connections in our bed side tables for phone and fitbit/garmin chargers and bedside lamp and electric blanket plugs. Current read, The Book of Dust, by Philip Pullman.

But first coffee, on our bench watching the world go by but slightly hidden so I can be in my pajamas, ha!

And a morning cuddle from my boy.

Reality is a bed full of clean dry washing waiting to be packed away.

My chickens know that when I fill up their food container I also layer it with treats!

While Stuart mows (a little short maybe), I tackle the never ending ivy problems we have in our garden.

This Elderflower tree is so full of ivy that we have no idea what sort of state it's in. Hoping for the best!

And then the rain came, so we cleared up, showered, had lunch and then had afternoon cuddles with my boy.

We did our monthly grocery shop today. In the past 6 months we have totally changed the way we shop. We now go to Morrisons, always with a list and shop the specials for all cleaning products and non perishables. Sometimes that means we end up with multiples of some stuff and sometimes it means we change up what we cook, but we have way less waste and we keep to a budget. Also we went in the afternoon, where we always used to shop in the morning, and it was much quieter and much nicer.

I love this road back from Letchworth but it scares me. People drive way to fast and there are potholes. But Stuarts truck just glides over them! And it's still raining.

I did three loads of washing today. Everything but our gardening gear. Hanging it all inside.

Dishwasher unpack and dinner prep. We have a tiny kitchen but we manage to dance around each other, ha!

Pita with chicken mayo, olives, feta and jalapeno's, topped with lettuce.

Ending the day with evening cuddles from my boy.

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I have loved today.

C xx

Week in the life 2018 - Friday

Sharing my words and photos from Friday

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Friday is pink shirt day.

Not happy with rain being forecast for the weekend, after such amazing weather last weekend.

Most days I sit in my car for lunch. I watch TV via the iPad and BBC iPlayer, and I knit. I like being outside and I like being by myself.

Most people on my floor went off to a meeting this afternoon so it's very quiet. I really like this photo.

More of my journey home from work. This road is a little tricky to turn on to and sometimes there are scattered remains of a crash on the road. I'm really cautious with a car that can pull away quickly but people sometimes drive way to fast!

This road is long. The motorway runs alongside and I'm always grateful to have this alternate route home.

I love this village, Old Welwyn.

I left work a little early today and the roads were pretty clear,

Stopped at Waitrose in Hitchin to collect a parcel I ordered from John Lewis. Internet shopping has really made life so simple.

And the journey home from Hitchin, our lovely little market town that is so close to home.

I really wish the sun was shining and the sky blue. The day was quite dull.

The best part of my day. Turning into our lane. It's a dead end so no passing traffic, except for everyone that's lost!

The mug I ordered from JL. We have a Royal Wedding later this month and I had to have something to commemorate the occasion!

Laundry prep. I used to try do washing during the week but the reality was I always had a basket of wet washing to hang up before bed and it just made me grumpy. So now I just do it all over the weekend. It takes minutes to pop it in the washing machine and if it's hot it's hung outside and if it's not it's hung on the clothes dryer in the spare room. BALANCE - life is a balance of holding on and letting go.

Pizza for dinner. This is a 'The Greek', which was delicious! First time I've ordered it but I fancied something other than a Hawaiian.

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Thanks for the visit guys!

C xx

Week in the life 2018 - Thursday

 Sharing my words and photos from Thursday

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I woke up feeling cold today. And was that really heavy rain in the night?

Every morning I pop my shower cap on my head so my hair doesn't fall forward into my toothpaste. I don't tuck the hair in at the back so it looks really daft and most mornings it makes me smile.

Getting ready to leave the house I doubted my outfit choice. It was going to be cooler today and I had a short sleeve top on. Should I grab a poncho to throw on over? I stood here at this spot for quite a while as I debated what to do. Eventually I ran upstairs and changed my top, I didn't think a poncho was the way to go. Oh, but I did grab a cowl to pull over my head.

Every day I take a knitting or crochet project with me to do at lunch. Probably don't need such a big basket for a smallish project but I am mid clear out and this is the only basket I chose to keep.
I have a dedicated work bag. It was a gift from my village pals for my 40th birthday and I love it. It fits in the foot well behind my seat in the car so doesn't fall over and spill it's contents and holds everything I need to take with me each day.

 

Thursday is breakfast day. It's the only day of the week that the chefs cooks up a full English breakfast. My breakfast companions humoured me when I asked for a photo of our empty plates.

Thursday is also knitting club. There were 5 of us today (although 2 only did half an hour each and they were different half hours). My knitting companions also humoured me when I asked for a photo of our knitting projects.

I don't need to have lunch after a full breakfast but today I felt like a baguette. Ham, cheese, cucumber and red onion. No butter.

Stopped at the shop on the way home for toilet paper and a small cake.

2 miles walked this afternoon. My left knee is painful after twisting it on the flight home from NZ, nearly 11 weeks ago. I iced it when we got home.

I battle to fall asleep if I don't read when I get into bed. Sometimes I read only two pages before my eyes don't want to stay awake any more. I should go up to bed earlier but the urge to knit just one more row is often too strong to resist.

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Thanks for stopping by and taking the time to follow my week.

C xx

Week in the life 2018 - Wednesday

Sharing my words and photos from Wednesday

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Josh isn't really allowed on the bed. As a kid I always had cats on the bed but it's not something Stuart is into so I can't force it on him. However each morning, once Stuart is gone or not coming back up stairs, this little guy comes and gives me cuddles in bed.

Although the weather app shows cooler temps it's still really warm.

My One Little Word for 2018 is balance and I am trying to appreciate the balance, the ying and yang, of every day life. In this photo I'm driving along with no traffic and for some stretches I'm pretty much on my own. And then......

when I drive through a village I have a bit of a wait while we filter through the narrow streets also allowing traffic to join from side roads. I am so fortunate to have this relatively quiet commute to work. I am also aware that I'm driving through a village where people probably don't like the 'rush hour' traffic, just like I don't like it in mine, so I make sure I am mindful to watch for people who are pulling out of their driveways or aware from curb side parking. So sure that people behind me get the hump with my politeness!!

We have a barista (this is Chris) and some pretty decent coffee at work. I only have one cup of coffee a day so it may as well be a nice one. They have also recently introduced a .10p discount if you use your own cup! 

This morning I had Nutella toast for breakfast! We have a large canteen/restaurant at work that does a good selection for both breakfast and lunch.

 

(Note: in the interest of data protection I thought it best to brush up my pc and laptop. Also I saw this idea on a fellow WITLer's blog and loved it.)

This is my desk. And it looks like this pretty much every day! From L to R, purse (Cath Kidston), JOCO reusable coffee cup, Chillys reusable water bottle, Get to Work Book, laptop on ream of paper (!!), big screen with reminder post it's, my folder of processing codes, phone with headset (I hate holding the phone while trying to get information off the screen), flamingo pen case (Vinegar Hill).

I drove home with the sun roof open! I love having it open on sunny days.

Stuart and I went out for a walk after work. We started our walking routine again last week and it's so nice to get out together. However I want to run and he doesn't, so we'll need to figure out a route where I can go off and run and meet up with him again for the cool down.

Love this section of the footpath.

I felt tired and grumpy when I went up to bed. I brushed up against a nettle and the sting just won't go away. (In fact as I type this up 15 hours later, it's still tingling!) Also annoyed at the amount of dog poop on the footpaths. But I love our room and our bed. This little place of peace and safety and love. And I've just realised that our light bulbs must be different colours and watts!

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Thanks so much for stopping by. I'm so enjoying visiting blogs and sharing in everyone's WITL journey.

C xx

PS. I figured out that Siri will open your photo app but she won't actually take the photo, you still need to touch the button. Not ideal when you want to be hands free while driving but I guess you are allowed to change the radio station/air con setting etc. I did find an app called 'Hey Camera' that you can use to take photos by saying 'photo' but you have to open the app so you still need to touch the phone while driving. If you have a Samsung though, it will take a photo on demand request.

Week in the life 2018 - Tuesday

Sharing my words and photos from Tuesday.

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Checking the weather app first thing, just to confirm that the rain is staying away!

 

My drive to work through a country lane. (it was very quiet so I stopped to take a photo, I need a dash phone holder)

Number plate recognition entry into work.

At my desk. I spend a lot of time looking at a computer screen and spreadsheets during the day. This isn't a manic busy week for me in finance, that was last week, doing month end.

Using a reusable water and coffee cup. I use my get to work book every day to track both work and home life lists. I have two 'today' rulers, one to mark the current week and one to mark my current project page, this week it's notes for the WITL project.

I put fuel in on my way home from work today. Generally I top up the fuel twice a month with around £40 a time. This fills the tank to just over half. Today I also picked up a salad bowl and a box of biscuits from the M&S at the fuel station.

I also picked up an in car phone holder from Halfords. Apparently Siri can take photos so I can be hands free but still document my journey. That sun though!

Loved being able to take photos of my journey today. So lucky to drive these quiet country roads.

A bit of traffic as I neared home as we travelled behind a cyclist. Big plus to cyclists is they slow the traffic through our village.

We have so much braai meat left over from the weekend, what is it with South African men and their desire to grill way too much! Salad, hummus and warmed steak for dinner.

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I am so loving documenting the normalness (is that a word?) of my days, while being mindful of what fills my days.

C xx