Looking after myself

1. Went for my first walk/run of the year after work yesterday. I didn't push myself too much but was close to my typical time (40 mins for 3.3 miles) and was smiling all the way round. It felt so good to be exercising in fresh air again. 

2. We visited a housegroup last night to see how we fitted. I enjoyed it and it felt good to have a proper bible study after a long time without a group. 

3. Pilates after work today. She was kind to us on our first week back. 

Playing, doing, anticipating

1. I enjoyed playing bass at church this morning, and an encouraging/challenging preach.

2. A restful afternoon of ironing, washing and blocking my latest knitted project. I love the way knitting is transformed when it's wet and stretched out. 

3. Looking forward to meeting old friends. 

Keeping in touch

1.  Lunch and a fun afternoon with 2 godsons and their parents - we braved the high winds to see them and had a good time playing games with them.  (Their parents will be delighted once they can get them outside to burn off some energy though!)

2.  A brief chat with another godchild and her parents, to say Happy Christmas and catch up a little.  It was good to speak with them

(I'm realising that I've been far too cautious in picking up the phone to call friends and family for a long while now (for some reason I always think it'll be a bad time to call, or the person won't want to hear from me, or I won't have anything interesting to say, or worse I'll say something stupid/annoying/thoughtless...).  I know it's in my mind so I'm making more of an effort not to lose the people who matter to me.  And hopefully now I've put this in writing I'll keep to it!)

3.  Saw "The Hobbit" part 2 at the cinema with a friend - they could easily have trimmed an hour off the film & I wouldn't have noticed, but I'm still happy I went.  I think I preferred the first film though... a bit more of the back story and less of the brooding menace.

Late night, morning catch-up, evening activities

1. An unplanned late night yesterday when the rain became torrential and aimed downhill as quickly as possible... The neighbours all pulled together again, we put out sandbags and bailed out where we could, with the result that our houses were basically ok.  I spent a while mopping up the dribble of water coming in through our front door so that no real harm was done.  So my early night became 1:30am

2. I enjoy our Christmas Eve tradition at work of having a cooked breakfast together as a team.  And I was ready for it after last night's activities!  It was also nice to have a relatively relaxed morning before finishing at lunchtime; I need to keep my phone on while I'm off, just in case, but it's good to have some time off for a while.

3. My current (secret) knitting project is coming along well.  I've made a couple of mistakes that were just too difficult to correct, but only I would know they're there... I've enjoyed doing a slightly more complex scarf/shawl project this time and learned a bit about shaping and patterning - I hope the recipient will like it.

3b. I've painted my nails red :)  - because it's a Christmassy colour, and because I felt like it.  They're quite bright though!

On recognising that blogging might be good for me...

Three things to be thankful for today:

- An enjoyable ladies' afternoon tea in the run up to Christmas. I had fun baking cakes and scones and drinking lots of tea & coffee, and was pleased that the person I'd invited along seemed to enjoy it too. 

- Our front gate held off the water from the front door when the drains couldn't cops with the downpour. I came home to a closed road and lots of water in the road and garden, but the house has stayed dry. The car's still out on the road so I hope the garage isn't too bad when I look tomorrow. 

- I don't need to be up early in the morning (although I think there'll be done cleaning up to do outside...)

Sharing, not quite there, more to enjoy later

1. The privilege of visiting another church to talk about the schools work in the area. We were made very welcome. And I got to have a go with 2 puppets!

2. We didn't see the Red Arrows (they couldn't take off from Liverpool because it was too windy) but we almost caught the end of the Typhoon display. It sounded amazing! (and we saw a tiny bit through the trees as we walked)

3. Making a tasty meal, with more for tomorrow and 2 meals in the freezer. Spicy aubergines, peppers, courgettes, onion, tomato, kidney beans and chickpeas. Served with couscous and creme fraiche. My teenage self wouldn't recognise me ;-)

Feeling better

1. I woke up with a sore throat, developed a very achey tummy by lunchtime, felt quite sick, went home and felt a lot better. It's still a bit achey but that could be Pilates muscles now...

2. The amaryllis is looking quite pretty now.

3. I had a bubble bath to relax before an early night.

Spring, safe, stretching

1. There are still lots of daffodils coming into flower, and we're also getting primroses in the back garden. I love that the birds are busy too: I've see blue tits, sparrows, magpies, crows...

2. I was the first car behind a car accident on my way out this evening. Thankfully no-one was injured, although at least one of the cars had a squashed corner. Someone else called the police so I left after 3 squad cars arrived with flashing blue lights.

3. My first Pilates class after 4 weeks. I think I'm going to ache!

Gardening, baking and soaking

1. Another 20 minutes or so clearing weeds in the back garden. This time I pulled a few bramble roots and a couple of nettles, but I'm guessing it won't take long for them to grow back... It's the furthest I've reached yet though.

2. He made his first loaf of bread - very nice! (With a hint of rosemary worked through for extra flavour)

3. A bath to relax at the end of the day.

Working it out

1. A slightly stroppy day (I just got out on the wrong side of bed I guess!) which I hope wasn't too obvious, but I was pleased to leave work on a positive conversation.

2. Making progress on the current BSJ, and I think I've worked out how to have a neater edge around the neck while still adjusting the shape.

3. A half day tomorrow... making up for extra hours worked last week.

Awesome, and fun

1. Today's contribution: John 1... Jesus was there from the beginning, the world was made through Him, He came to us, He offers us new life!

2. Sunday lunch with my in-laws, then practising using her netbook.

3. Microwave popcorn :-)

Long day, tasty finish

1. An early start and late finish at work today... but it seems to have gone well.

2. British Summer Time means it was still daylight when I left at 7:30(pm).

3. Cheese and chutney on toast to finish.

A cold start and warm finish

1. A very frosty start to the day meant the daffodils in the garden looked sad and droopy; by the time I got home the sunshine had perked them up again.

2. Housegroup was at ours tonight. We'd not had time to plan and chose to use the children's version of the study guide. It was good to share the readings and prayers with everyone, even as young as 4.

3. We didn't need to drive home at the end of the day.

Sunshine at last!

1.  The sun was shining when we got home from work, so we took the chance to start dealing with some of the dead plants and brambles in the back garden.  There's a long way to go, but we can see some results from an hour's cutting and clearing.

2.  Looking back at some of the photos I've taken over the last few days, as well as some older photos.  I like the memories they bring...  Today's photo fun was trying to capture the beautiful narcissus bulbs I was given on Mothering Sunday at church; there are also some pretty pink cyclamen flowers in the background which we were given when we became godparents to our friends' daughter.

3.  Enjoying a meal from the leftover chicken tagine we made for Easter Sunday.  Perfect when we came in from the cold outside.

Good Friday

1. A Good Friday service with 2 of our godchildren and their parents, followed by crafts in the church hall. We all had a good morning together, and I particularly enjoyed walking and sitting hand-in-hand with my godson.

2. It's still pretty cold but the sun was out today, so I was able to get 2 loads of washing out on the line to dry.

3. The moon has been beautiful recently, and a friend asked on facebook if anyone could get a good photo.  So I had a try...

Celebrating the years, sunshine and the landscape

1. We partied with a friend last night to celebrate starting a new decade... it's good to have friendships which have lasted for so many years.

2. A lazy start to the day... I enjoyed not needing to rush to be anywhere, and the sunshine as we walked to our breakfast.

3. We meandered home on A roads for most of the way. I liked seeing the different landscapes, with thatched roofs, canals and narrowboats, then lakes and fells. The British countryside is special.

Good surprises

1.  My appointment at the doctor's was at 9am, and it was!  I was soon finished and off to work :o)

2.  I went for a walk around the village when I got home.  There was a beautiful low (almost full) moon so I tried to get some pictures.  I only had my phone but this one worked quite well...

3.  I rang my brother to say hello and he was with my gran in hospital so I was able to say hello to her as well.  A nice surprise.

Sunny & cold, but a warming tea

1. A clear, sunny, (cold) day. And it feels good to start and finish work in daylight.

2. A cheat's version of roast beef and yorkshire puds for tea. Yum :-)

3. An electric blanket means it's not cold at the end of the day.

3 (brief) beautiful things

1.  The days are getting longer.  It's been daylight when I arrive at work, and daylight when I leave.  What a difference!

2.  I finished a Bandana Cowl yesterday, after only a couple of evenings.  I'm pleased with how it's turned out and it all helps with the destashing.  I've also blocked my Chinook Scarf so I'm doing quite well for scarves in lovely yarn.

3.  I'm enjoying the latest Thursday Next book.  I'm about half way through at the moment and looking forward to seeing how it develops.

Growing... and blubbing!

1. Played bass at church again, this time in a different band to usual.  One song was much more funky than I'm used to and I struggled a bit during the practice ("Let's do this bit with just drum and bass") but when it finally clicked what the chords actually were it felt good.  I missed the transition to the bridge section though - I was too busy trying to read the notes to see the signal from the leader.

2.  The sermon was about spiritual gifts, and particularly prophecy.  I liked the practical approach he took, which included asking a couple of people to explain the words they'd brought earlier in the meeting.  I found myself nodding to a lot of it.

3.  Saw Les Miserables at the cinema with a friend.  I think it was better than the stage version (certainly the 2nd time I saw it) and I liked that they incorporated a few details from the book which weren't in the stage musical.  It was very emotional though - as expected.  I kept myself together most of the way through, but the final 5 minutes were impossible!