a new week - a new me






You'll be pleased to hear that I am in a far better mood this week. Admittedly, it is only Tuesday but I remain optimistic. There is still stuff that makes me grumpy. There always will be but I'll leave it at that - for now.

We've had a goof weekend, thanks for asking. I hope yours was nice, too? We went to a birthday curry night on Friday with all our camping friends. All of us except Sam, who is working Friday and Saturday nights, still dishwashing at the local Chinese restaurant. He informed me  on Saturday that he has been made an honourable Chinese. I think he was quite chuffed. Teenagers are funny. He better brush up on his Mandarin now. Anyway, the curry night. It was fun. All the children were fed first and then were left to their own devices. The curries were cooked by all of us but the hosts ordered pakora and nan bread from an Indian restaurant. I enjoy making curry but didn't fancy it much on this occasion and left it to Richard. He made a lamb curry which I am told was delicious (I don't eat lamb). I roasted spiced butternut squash slices for the vegetarians instead. There was lots of laughter and I really enjoyed everybody's company. It definitely helped me to relax a bit and feel normal. Good friends are one of the biggest joy in life.

On Saturday morning, Annie left for the practice expedition of the practice expedition for the Duke of Edinburgh expedition. I was a bit worried about her feet as she recently got new walking boots and has only broken them in for 30 minutes the day prior to this weekend hike. I was right to be worried, her feet looked mangled and swollen when she returned on Sunday evening. She was only able to hobble about, poor thing. It was also absolutely freezing and she told me that the girls in her little tent had moved to the heated toilet facilities on the campsite during the night, to warm up a bit. I am glad that they stayed on an actual campsite for this practice expedition as I knew the temperatures would plummet to well below zero. I don't think she had a particularly good time but no doubt the experience will have taught her a few things, in particular that walking boots really need to be worn in sufficiently for a two day hike. I hope very much hat the next two day hike will be more fun.

The boys and I did chores, including a Lidl food shop. We went to a couple of shops to look at tall floor lamps for our reading corner in the extension and we took photos to show to Richard. We then treated ourselves to lunch at Ikea, which the boys think is the most amazing restaurant in the world, only surpassed by KFC. They are still little and there is hope for their palates. After lunch, we ventured into the sofa section and tested a few sofas, and took photos to show to Richard. We have an uncomfortable Klippan sofa in our living room with a slightly shabby denim cover. It is not really suitable for our ageing bodies and I'd love to get a new one and give the kids the Klippan. It was the kids sofa in the first place, until our more comfortable one broke (Annie still uses that one though, not bothered about a broken armrest). Richard is stubbornly resistant to prettify the house if it involves replacing furniture that is not broken beyond repair. His taste has remained unchanged since I first met him and he never seems to get bored of anything. This is in stark contrast to myself.  I'd love to shake things up a bit. I thought pre-screening and taking photos might help but I don't seem to be able to elicit a response. The mere mention of such thing is considered a major nag. It can be hugely frustrating but I guess that's life and hopefully, we'll get there in the end.

I spent the evening listening to the radio and sewing blocks for James' quilt. Jo says that sewing straight lines is good for the soul and she is right, it is. I have forty blocks now, eight more needed.

On Sunday, the weather was gorgeous but somewhat cold. We spent some time in the garden, tidying up. I managed a full hour, which is good going for someone who doesn't like gardening. I bought two bare roots climbing/rambling roses for the garden, which needed planting. One I wanted to plant where the sick honeysuckle is. I have been wanting to do this for two years now but every time I brought the topic up, Richard said that he didn't think the honeysuckle was sick. I guess one could argue that it does make a few new leaves each spring and produces a couple of almost instantly withering flowers in the summer. We compromised on moving the honeysuckle to a position at the top of garden to see if it maybe didn't like the the spot it was in. The climbing rose went where I wanted it. The rambler went up against the garage wall, an amazingly unattractive building. I hope it will cover up the wall and offer some hiding spaces for small creatures, too.

James and Alistair were playing outside all afternoon. First they went to the football pitch, then to the playground. There little faces got a bit of colour, which made their freckles stand out even more. We all rolled our sleeves up to make some vitamin D, which we all need urgently.

I tinkered in my sewing room for a while, sewing button holes. I'll show you my next make soon.

For dinner I made steak without mushroom pie. It was a double crust one and it was rather good but not terribly pretty. I must have overworked the pastry a little and maybe added a smidgen to much water as it was shrinking away from the pie dish. There was noting left, James must have eaten a quarter of it, beating even the most voracious eaters in the house. I don't know where he puts it.

The weekend was followed by a rather dull Monday. I enjoyed my yoga session in the evening. It focused on twists, which ain't easy for people with big fat tummies but I squeezed the fat as much as I could and managed something like a closed twist pose in the end.

I am working at home today so I can go to Alistair's assembly show later without loosing time to commute. He is a horse. Of course.

Have a good day. Thanks so much for your encouraging comments on my last post. I am glad I am not on my own with general grumpiness. Take care my friends xx

Comments

  1. Christina, somehow I missed your last post. I've just read it, poor you, I sympathise completely, I am always cross about something, and I'm completely with you about personalised number plates. Why in the name of all that's holy would people spend money on one is beyond me. They could just get a tattoo across their forehead that says, well, I'll leave that to your imagination, you will be thinking the same thing as me I am certain. Glad this week has more promise. Sunday here was rather a disaster, Monday was spent sorting it all out, today is looking rosier. Children at school, dog snoozing, peace has descended. Wishing you the same. CJ xx

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  2. Glad to hear you are a having a break! I know just how it is, and life is filled with ups and downs. Lets look for the good bits and run from the others. It sounds to have been a busy time for you and your littles (not so ver little anymore eh?) Treasure each day, I am so glad this week is looking up. Blessings to you and yours.

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  3. Good to hear you are feeling more chipper. Some weeks just have to be chucked out and forgotten. x

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  4. Glad to see you're feeling more like yourself this week. Ups and Downs. Thank you for the words of encouragement you left me on my blog.

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  5. Glad your mood is improving! This can be a rough time of year.

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  6. I always love the sound of you friend's curry night, just what you needed to lighten the mood. Opposite in this house. I’m the one trying to hang onto furniture while my other half wants to change it! Glad Annie made her weekend ok. Definite learning curve about the boots. They have to experience to know. Looking forward to seeing the improvements in your garden. Have a better week. B x

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  7. The curry night sounds right up my street. Glad to hear you are feeling a little bright, the ups and downs of family life certainly not helped by the lack of sun. Hopefully you are safe from the Beast from the East.

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  8. So pleased you are sounding cheerier and more like your usual self. Your tales of family life never fail to make me smile x

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  9. Your lucky your daffodils and snowdrops aren't mashed down by snow like ours was. It sounds like you have a wonderful circle of friends. My husband worked as a railroad engineer for 32 years, always on call, so we never could plan things so do not have a circle of friends like yours. ((hugs)), Teresa :-)

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  10. I'm glad you're feeling better this week, Christina. I chuckled about the boys loving to eat at IKEA. We don't get to visit one very often, not having one within about six hours' drive (we sometimes hit one on vacation to another state), but my kids LOVE to eat there. I started making Swedish meatballs at home just for them. :)

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  11. So pleased you are felling more cheerful. I am too after a half term week which ended up sunny although freezing cold here as well. At least it's getting lighter even if there is little sign of Spring.

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  12. I am feeling your little twinkles of light which I get from sewing straight lines too. I hope the horse role was a triumph! I do yoga at home using an app called yoga studio which means I can squeeze in 15 mins at night without it being a major expedition to leave the house. I am still on beginners! Just started snowing here but I hope you can stay warm and out of everybody's way for some peace. I

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  13. So glad you are feeling a bit more balanced. I just about lost it last night after another 12 plus hour day working. I some how forget that when I get home there is plenty of work to do here too. But today I got a bit of a break as three of my patients are ill, so sorry for them but I am home for a few unexpected hours. Have a good rest of the week my friend.

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  14. Glad you are feeling a bit better about things Christina. It's good that you've a great circle of friends to talk and laugh with. Beautiful photos of spring on it's way. We have snow here in Lincolnshire but I'm guessing it's much worse in Scotland. Take care, Cathy x

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  15. I hope you are more cheery now! Luckily I don't have to fight with Brexit, it's enough for me living in an italian bureaucracy. Applying for italian citizenship was an expensive and unpleasant adventure. Un abbraccio, Beata

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  16. Knew you'd soon bounce back. Hope your week has continued to be upbeat and not hampered too much by drifts of the cold white stuff.

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Thank you for visiting and leaving a comment, I love to hear from you, I really do. I sometimes reply by email but I am not all that reliable... Christina xx

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