Reflecting on my week #148

Well the weather’s been odd hasn’t it? The other weekend there was the best sort of snow, the best sort because it was here and gone within a day! I’m not a huge fan of snow, though admit it does look pretty. It didn’t really settle here, and there was a little more than this photo shows, and for London it was enough. Enough for those that wanted to to play, but not enough to cause the usual disruption. Seeing the pictures of Greenwich Park was good, but with our Covid view of the world, I wonder if like me you also viewed these pictures with a social distancing lens.

snowfall in our garden

In reality though, we’ve done very little - which is the purpose of lockdown I guess. We’ve only been out to the shops once or twice in the past fortnight so it is quite dull. The weather seems to time it just so when we could escape we don’t as it’s too wet, too cold or even too snowy. On the plus side it’s meant I can really get on with my half and half squares made from the mini-skeins from the yarn advent calendar.

days 1-14 from the yarn advent made into crochet squares

These are from days 1 through to 14, so I’m over half-way. The colours are random, some are quite bold others more delicate. I’ve four of each colour, two with the pink/grey neutral and two with the blue/grey neutral. I’m yet to decide how to layout the squares for the blanket, or whether or not to make one or two throws. When I’m a bit further through I’ll lay them out and see what I think works, and probably ponder a bit more.

MOH has come up with a great idea, which involves drinking gin - so who am I to disagree? With gin arriving every month, and each coming with mixers and often syrups we’re gathering a growing collection of all sorts. His plan is for us to make some headway with the mixers and syrups, and obviously gin. I told you it was a good plan.

We’ve started with a gin star martini - a gin take on the porn star martini I’m sure - gin, mango & passionfruit juice, syrup and lime. I could only muster a dried lime, but a lime’s a lime I reckon.

gin star martini

I’ve got back into making bread, and while I’ve revived my sourdough starter (actually must go check on that soon) it’s the wholemeal loaf that’s currently our favourite. Most recently I’ve shaped into more of an loaf shape, rather than a cob. It’s the same mixture, so must work…

another wholemeal loaf

And so far, so good.

Now that our Christmas cake is long gone, MOH has got back into the baking habit again - we’re currently on a lemon and poppy seed traybake, but there’s also been a chai banana loaf. You see we are both lockdown cliches. And somewhere in the middle of this, it’s February already, though on some days I already think it’s been a long year.

A bathroom refresh

It’s been a fair while since we’ve done much work on our house, but we’ve been pondering a bit of a bathroom refresh for a little while. The last time we went to Grand Designs Live - that must have been May 2019, quite a while back! - we saw the most beautiful wall hung vanity unit. I’ve kept the photo, looked at the catalogue and now we’re at the point of actually making it happen, realised I don’t like the price anywhere near as much. Thankfully it was also too big for our space, and a pale blue which isn’t really our colour, though it would kind of work with the wallpaper that we’ve used as a continuing feature.

But the idea of a wall hung vanity unit was sown. And one that hasn’t gone away. So another one was sought, and found. And has since been delivered. Along with a new toilet and a new shower - just the shower bit, not the surround. The shower is no longer as hot as it once was, or should be and therefore is being replaced. We’ve a suspicion that the toilet is slowly leaking at the base, and our current basin, well it still works as a basin should (though sometimes it drains very slowly), the porcelain is starting to crack and it looks as if it has many veins appearing. Some porcelain just goes like that, but as all of this was put in in 2007 we’ve had good use out of all of this and so replacing the bits that are starting to ‘go’ isn’t exactly extravagant.

The other day it all arrived, on a pallet. We got our delivery slot - one of those all day slots, though being home based that’s less of an issue than it would have been if we were office based - and they were knocking on the door a good five minutes before the slot started. So that was a very good start, and before breakfast - we’ve got very bad at getting up since it’s been darker in the mornings and especially as we don’t need to get anywhere other than the dining room table - MOH was out in the drive unpacking the pallet. I was called for a bit of ‘to me, to you’ to bring the heavier items in, and then later up the spiral staircase. Since then our plumber has visited to check we have all the right bits, and so he can get what else is needed - we passed, phew - and now we’re booked in for a week or so’s time to have it all fitted.

Now it’s here, I can’t wait - though as luck would have it, the day it’s happening is one that I have booked off work. Not that it really makes much difference at the moment as it’s unlikely that I’ll have grand plans to go anywhere much. So by the middle of February our purchases should be installed, and I’ll be setting MOH some tasks mostly around painting - refreshing the woodwork and giving the ceiling a lick of paint, which to be fair he’s identified too. The final job will be to paint a cupboard we have in there - it’s currently a very darkly stained MDF custom-built affair. It works with what is in there now, but with our new unit being matt navy blue, I’ve a feeling it won’t work quite so well, so my plan is to have MOH repaint this a similar colour. I know it won’t take much to persuade him as he recently let on that he’s never been much of a fan of how it looks, it’s been there almost 14 years - he’s a very patient man (though I knew that already).

AREZZO WALL HUNG VANITY UNIT, VICTORIAN PLUMBING

AREZZO WALL HUNG VANITY UNIT, VICTORIAN PLUMBING

Reflecting on my week #147

Before Christmas I had the forethought to book a few days off in January, and over the past few days that’s what’s been happening here. It’s been much needed, even though my company shuts over Christmas, and that was nice too. We haven’t done a huge amount - it’s still lockdown after all, but some bumbling around and not having to be at the dining room table has been nice.

We’ve walked into Greenwich, and into Blackheath and haven’t got wet. We’ve caught up with things at home, which are dull but need doing - fixing the shelf in the wardrobe where the Christmas decorations go, defrosting the freezer and that kind of thing. We’ve had days of domesticity with cake making, bread baking and some very fine food - and wine - being consumed. Fridge jenga is back after a trip to the butchers, our monthly online shop, a veg box delivery and a visit to the farmer’s market all within a few days of each other.

apple crumble cake from blackheath's farmers market

But best of all we’ve had some time to ourselves. Apart from each other I mean.

We probably do during the working week too, when MOH pops out on his bike. But usually I’m working, as he’ll leave here before dusk, and so I notice the alone time less, mainly because spending it working doesn’t count! And while there’s no one I’d rather spend lockdown(s) with than MOH, I’ve realised that I’ve also missed having some time to myself.

And I’m sure he has too. With (usually) busy social lives we’d often get an evening to ourselves, or solo nights out with friends, but as we all know life has been quite different to that for a while.

So these past few days I’ve found myself making a list of things to fill that time so when it happens I can make the most of it, even if that is enjoying the time without feeling the need to get things done.

  1. My tax return - yes, I just need to get on with it, don’t I?

  2. Reading my newest book

  3. Picking up my crochet hook

  4. Editing and sorting my photos - I’m up to December 2019

  5. Planning and writing more blog posts

  6. Catching up with TV recordings that MOH’s not keen on

  7. Listening to podcast episodes I’ve tuned out of but enjoy

  8. Sorting out my craft supplies, for my next and current projects including those I’ve not quite started yet

  9. Joining a fitness or wellbeing session, either alone or online

  10. Enjoying the silence and just being.

Each of them have their appeal and I know that having a variety of things will suit different days and different moods, and the one I think is important to include is the last. Sometimes enjoying the moment is just what’s needed and often what’s missing when we get caught up in the whirl of our daily lives.

So more of a reflective post from me this week, but I think that also ties in with the start of the year. I’ve already looked back at the top 10 posts here last year, and a word or maybe a phrase is starting to bubble in my head. For 2020 the word I chose was gumption and while the year didn’t turn out as anyone imagined, gumption was definitely something that was needed.

More on that another time though, and most likely once that tax return is submitted.