Pleased with progress

Things are looking better, clearer and calmer in various spots around the house. There is still a long way to go, but tonight I will sleep knowing that a good job has been done.

The sunshine and cool temperatures were absolute crochet bliss today. I took the opportunity to start something that has been hankering to be made. Not to distract from Han's blanket, which is being worked on in bed...

Big J is home from a four day trip to Ireland where much fishing and imbibing of Guiness went on. He is looking incredibly chilled.

Rising Tide played at Redfest today. The gigs are getting bigger.

My girlies have been around all weekend and we have had some good laughs. Han has had a migraine though.

Tomorrow I plan to ride the bike to work....

All in a day

After the departure of the B Team - Han and I went and did some shopping at my all time favourite store  - yes everyone - ALDI.  I got a KEEP CALM AND CARRY ON mug (2 actually) for me to use at work and one for Big J. It might be more accurate to add SCREAMING at the bottom of mine... or DRINKING...or....GOING MAD, all would suit the job situation really well.

Then it was off to do 5 hours of moonlighting at the private hospital for my boss.....I do love a bit of extra work! (And despite what I say above, I love my day job).

Tonight was about undoing the recent chaos created around the house but before that, it seemed a good idea to hop on the bike for a quick mentally soothing, physically challenging sprint to Crawley Down and back. Good call.

The girls are both moody and cross, the place still looks like a tip. It is an odd vibe tonight. But I will crochet a row or two of Em's blanket and read a bit more of the book
White Woman on a Green Bicycle which was our last Book Club book and which, you can tell has not been finished yet.  It is great. It took about half the story to get me hooked and now it is hard to put down.

Will I?

Ride the bike to work this sunny morning? Will I leave it outside the hospital with a plastic bag tied over the saddle in case of rain? Will I feel odd in a skirt and sneakers? Will I be able to carry everything I need for lunch/the day and my high heels in the tiny bikers back pack I have? Will I be able to pop into town at lunch time and do some odd jobs - on the bike or on foot?  Why yes, Elizabeth, you will.

The charity bike ride has been cancelled - due to lack of interest - can you believe it? But nothing is going to stop me riding my bike.

Another Sunday

This weekend has been about catching up at home, because on my usual domestic day, I was in London with JG, getting rained on and not taking photos! But we were talking, we saw some amazing paintings at the Royal Academy and it was very good for my soul. She is an insightful, creative, funny, warm woman and I look forward to our next day out together.

So, the bike has had a few outings. A quick test run last Sunday. A ride to one local town on Monday night after work, 6 miles all told (although down hill miles don't seem to count really). We went to a spin class on Tuesday night and for a newbie I was ok. It was tough and impossible to get my arms and legs going at the same time, but I worked on the premis that pumping those pedals is key....

Today I rode to another village near here and this time took my camera. There is a pond at the end of the road and a lot was going on.

With the Olympics looming it looked like a rehearsal for synchronised swimming. Love the swirls in the water and the curly tail feathers.

There were some ducklings which were really hard to see in the water with the reflections of the trees and sun on its surface. This next photo is not great but it was fun fiddling with all the settings on PICASA. The water surface is so lovely.

I was being watched...

He was waiting patiently while his rider let a family with small children say 'hello' and pat his friend, who is not in the picture.

One of a pair of geese.
The ride home was not as challenging as I feared and it was a great feeling, riding in the sunshine.
Big J and I spoke. Sometimes, distance distorts ones perception and the time difference does not make it easier. The only time we have to talk each week is usually lots of fun, today it was very serious and we both felt strained. Thank goodness for good sense, he suggested we come back later and talk again. Good call. I think it is because it feels as if everything needs to be covered in that small window of time that it can get a bit fraught. He is staying on for two more weeks, so we have a month to go before he comes home. Then we all go on a summer holiday.....yip yip yippeeee!

Remembering the good things

Today I collect my new bike from the shop. I have committed to doing the ride for Help for Heros and our own Trust's charity fund. I have signed up for a spin session at the gym on Tuesday as part of the training and I suspect my legs will be very sore on Wednesday. The sun is shining and it is cold. It is a lovely day and my girls are well. Adam is well and so is Big J who I saw live on screen this morning in his hotel room in Hong Kong. Everything is hunky dory.

But I am feeling a bit blue. I spoke to my mum this morning. She is very far away in Cooran in Queensland in Australia. She and Dad live in a beautiful but pretty isolated area. They have both had ailments, they are not getting any younger and none of their offspring live near.

My sisters are going to a mutual friend's 50th soon, in Bali, (very close to Australia if you live at the top end, as one does). I miss my sisters.

My brother and his lovely wife and daughter are in Hong Kong - I miss them too.

Big J does look well, but still he does not have a return date. It will be great when that is decided. We are a bit in limbo and yes, I miss him, a lot.

Missing all those people makes me blue.

Remembering the good things is the challenge for today.

All the folk I love

A new bike

A feta cheese and spinach filo pie

Being at home doing the things I like

What would happen if I stopped?

Easter is behind us, (we only had one chocolate bunny each, but with banoffee pie made to request as well this weekend, enough with the sweet stuff already!) and Big J is only a couple of hours from landing in Hong Kong, it feels as if lots of things have ended.

But, things never end, there are always goings on. Big J will be back in May for good. (Until the next trip, but not a 4 plus month stint). The girls are working on their skirts. I am sewing in ends and adding another row of squares to my LENT blanket....ok so I did not get it done, but I had a good go. The result will be the same, it will still go to a good cause.

The garden is well saturated now with the rain we have had and I can get some of the potatoes in. This year we are trying Kerr's Pink.

We have booked a very short stay in a cottage in Portugal in June as the girls will be away over the summer again and with me having to share holiday time now with another mum, it was the only time we could all go together.

I am about to sign up to a charity bike ride with my lovely friend Gill who is a bike queen. She has done the London to Brighton, and knows her stuff. She is encouraging me to do this and is being very patient about all my 'buts' and 'what ifs'!! It will mean getting a bike for me, not borrowing one of the girls' which on the last longish ride I did caused more pain and distress than I personally thought it was worth! BUT, that is because the seat was too low and hard, I could not lean into the handle bars and I could not stretch out my legs on the downward pedal motion. Bit like riding a mini bike really. This time it will all be to suit my height and needs and there will be a gel saddle, yes sir, a gel saddle, ideally the size of a tractor seat, if they exist....comfort is key here. The next week or so will involve tracking down a good used bike if one can be had, the saddle and then riding to work (eek). The plan is to then set off after work and do some road rides for training purposes....watch this space.

On top of this, there is my frugal food plan, ebay, decluttering - still, learning more about my camera, sewing a dress for me and my new crochet idea which is jumping up and down in my head and being very pushy,  and which I am really excited about - but have declared it must remain an idea until that LENT blanket is packed off to SIBOL.

So Easter had ended, only one tiny ending in all that goes on in life.

I wonder what would happen if I stopped?  LOL