Reflecting on my week #112

I’ve been looking for our next trip away recently, well, since we came back from Barbados. There’s nothing like having your next jaunt booked and ready to go, is there? Only thing is, I didn’t know where we wanted to go. But then again I rarely do.

Given that I’m looking at something for February, I think my options are pretty limited. I was thinking sensible, and perhaps something close to home. Somewhere that we’d not been to or explored before, though I think MOH a thought I’d lost it when I suggested Kent or Surrey. I mean there’s nothing wrong with either of those, it’s just they’re day trip places.

We don’t often day trip there of course, but we could. I found some lovely cottages, some quirky, some modern and some more traditional. I quite fancied Dungeness, but then reconsidered for the time of year.

Browsing holiday cottages, and companies, is I’ve discovered addictive and as I’m discovering choice, or too much of it, can be a great immobiliser. So nothing got booked, but we’ve still some holiday to use. Then yesterday the Sunday paper had dedicated its travel section to France, and a spark, was ignited.

We haven’t been to France for absolutely ages, and I blooming love France. So, hopefully later today I’ll be booking a two night midweek stay in Lyons, which I was surprised that we’d not been too before. It looks a historic and gastronomic delight so perhaps it will be just the incentive I need to kickstart my 5:2 attempts again.

I don’t mind the intermittent fasting so much, but it needs careful meal planning, especially when this time round there’s absolutely no need for MOH to take part. Though if you remember from before he thought a tuna cheese melt was perfectly fine for ‘fast’ days!

It’s definitely a watch this space - the France trip, I mean, though there won’t be the traditional “fill your car boot up with wine” activity this time, which is a shame as they were always good day trips.

It was back to work for me last week, and not having been around since 12 December it was quite a shock to my system, and quite full on too. In the last few days of my extended break I got my lettering pens out again to make a couple of cards. Now they’ve been delivered I thought I’d share them here - I’m pleased with them, and hope their recipients were too.

Out on errands on Saturday we were disrupted by the screeching of the noisy parakeets which are prevalent in Greenwich Park. I’d not seen them so close to home before, but perhaps they’re expanding their patch even further. Who knows.

They definitely bring a spot of colour, and you certainly know they’re there.

Reflecting on my week #111

Well, happy new year. Hope yours was everything you expected it to be, and more. I finally went back to work today, and it was just as full on as I remembered, if not more, and while that’s nice I could quite happily have at least a few more days off, but couldn’t we all?

I had plenty of plans for my time off, and some of them I even put into action. Of course my list was way bigger than I could ever really achieve and I’ve realised that while I like a plan, I also fall into the last minute category too. One of my biggest successes, apart from some fantastic bargain hunting, was getting back into my colourful Vintage Sweetheart crochet project again. I’d forgotten just how bright it is, but I’ve made headway with another two and a bit of the granny square motifs completed. As the CAL (crochet along) has long finished instead of completing it by section I’m taking a more industrial approach and finishing all of one type of design before moving onto the next.

My crochet wasn’t the only colourful thing though. Holiday washing and some new colour in my hair have also brightened my days. I think I’m just about through all the holiday washing, though our suitcase isn’t quite empty yet - it’s one of those post-holiday jobs that I never seem to quite get through in one go. The upside about holidays though, apart from the obvious, is the opportunity to read more. And with no work to go to since I’ve been back, that’s continued so look out for a post on what I’ve read lately soon.

I’ve also realised that I’ve become a stripey top kind of girl, with at least three new striped variants being added to my wardrobe since I last wrote a weekly post.

I’ve pulled out my lettering kit and tackled some projects, aided and abetted by a couple of Christmas presents but more on that tomorrow. My patchwork quilt almost made it out of it’s work in progress storage, but not quite. I’m still cutting it out - yes, still - and it’s one of those tasks that in my mind is probably much bigger than it actually will be in reality, but for whatever reason I can’t quite get myself to start, just yet.

The final good thing about an extended Christmas break is being able to get our gin and cocktail game on. We’ve had some great negronis, gin and tonics and at the weekend our most recent craft gin box arrived, it’s a tough life.

It must almost be time to book another holiday, yes?

My garden in December

There has been very little gardening in December, and not that many trips past the back door in all honesty. Those that have taken place were mainly to collect herbs, like this sage, to add to cooking, including my own sage and onion stuffing. The plant is still going strong, so there could be plenty more of that to come too, which is good news.

The cover on the agapanthus is providing a new visual spectacle in our garden, with the raindrops it looks quite pretty. Who knew, gardening fleece could look so pretty?

Outside the shed the ferns seem to be doing well.

Though there are more leaves, and slimy ones at that, in the slate outside the shed. Another job for MOH!

In the rear bed, these white berries shone against the plant’s bare branches - I think they’re a kind of myrtle, I’ll have to look them up to see what they are.

The days I’ve been outside have also been grey and dreary, and uninspiring. I think that shows in the photos this month, but I guess that’s what we’ve had this December.

There was one photo that was a little unusual - I’ve no idea how I managed to take it - and while it’s blurred I kind of like it too.

I think I’ll call it leaves in a whirl!