I'm sure there's a saying about how in life everything always happens at once, I just can't remember what it is at the moment. It's certainly the case here though at the moment. I am incredibly busy taking on new exciting things and at the same time other lives continue, or not as the case may be. Sadly this week has brought the news of the death of a dear old family friend. An elderly relative is also in hospital receiving end of life care. Sometimes life can be cruel. ... read more
Money, Money, Money…
When I first started this blog (over 2 years ago now!) I had no idea quite where it was going to go. Looking back my life has changed a huge amount since then and so has this blog. I started off writing about the things in life that make me smile and in a way that's what I still aim to do. When I started though I have to say that I wasn't too sure quiet what I would end up writing about! Of course I had some initial ideas, but once those first few posts are written you really do need to think a bit harder as to what else to write about. I never imagined quite how many book reviews I ... read more
Life
As some of you know, this blog's had to take a bit of a backseat lately due to family illness. Many thanks to those of you that have been in touch and the support you've been giving me recently. It really is appreciated. Life in the C household has not slowed down though and one of the biggest developments over the last couple of weeks is that Little Miss C's appetite has become so great that we've moved on from just milk and she's enjoying her first solid food. Baby rice, baby porridge and pureed carrot are the extent of her menu so far, but so hungry is she that she had ... read more
September
This is how September seems to have left me. Shattered. Where has it vanished to? I was still mentally at the end of summer and yet the realisation that today is October means that I'm having to adjust to it being autumn instead. Don't get me wrong, I do quite like autumn, but I'm feeling a bit unprepared for it. Next people will start mentioning the "C" word. Last year I felt unprepared as I was finishing work and had moved house. I have another excuse this year, but still think I need to start making an effort now so that I don't get caught out again. Money's ... read more
A return of evenings
After three months Little Miss C is now in enough of a routine that I can say that we're actually managing to regain our evenings a bit. After months of evenings where pretty much all I did was feed and try to catch up on sleep I've actually been managing to do some of the things I want to do. It's also given me the opportunity to finish the famous nursery cross stitch. I can yell you that there was a small victory dance as I did the last stitch. Seven months it has taken in total and I have to admit that at times I wondered if I'd still be sewing in the run up to LMC's 17th birthday! All ... read more
Time…
It's strange, but after 11 weeks of having a small person to look after when I suddenly get a few hours to myself I'm not sure what to do. LMC is currently asleep and there are so many possibilities that I almost feel spoilt for choice. Problem is that I have no idea how long I have. Long enough for a chapter of my book? A few rows or knitting? Some sewing? Time to empty the dishwasher? Until the end of a programme on TV?Sometimes you just need to seize what ever time you have and just get on with something. Impulsiveness can be a good thing! ... read more
Finding a livelihood
It's funny how you can sometimes read something that just rings so true that you wonder why you didn't realise it before. A eureka moment. In this case I'm talking about this blog post by Nancy, who I had the pleasure of meeting whilst staying with CompostWoman this last weekend. The principle she talks about is that to be truly happy people should look to have a livelihood rather than a job. Putting it into simple term, what this means is finding your niche in life and finding a way to use your skills to provide something useful for those around you. A livelihood is ... read more
Putting faces to names
We've arrived home this evening after a wonderful weekend staying with CompostWoman and her family at their small holding in Herefordshire. It was a wonderful opportunity to meet them (and various other HML forum people) and also get to finally see "Compost Mansions" and in particular their wood. Their hospitality was fantastic (definitely a five star establishment) and I've come back feeling very recharged and determined to make things happen here.Little Miss C loved having new surroundings to look at and different people's faces to study. She seems exhausted ... read more
Getting back to “normal”
Little Miss C is eight weeks old today. Eight weeks! Where has the time gone. From a small baby who came into the house and did little more than sleep, eat and fill her nappy, I am instead looking down at a bigger baby playing on her play mat, making noises, hitting the toys hung above her and occasionally breaking into a smile too. The transformation has been amazing and it seems that every day there is some small change that we can marvel over.Now that we're both getting used to each other we're learning to live with each other pretty well. I'm incredibly lucky as she's not a ... read more
Tired and weary…
It's amazing how tired and weary you can feel after a day in which I struggle to list what I have actually achieved. This is so different though to the tiredness that I used to feel after a day at work. More emotionally and physically draining, but at the same time satisfying. At the end of it all Little Miss C smiles and suddenly the screaming and tears, dirty nappies, endless feeding and hours pushing the pram are forgotten. The aching weariness is a bit harder to shift though... ... read more