Intentional enjoyment

I'm waiting for two different things at the moment, and traditionally I'm not very patient when it comes to waiting. I'm aware that lots of us can struggle to make the most of every moment and can realise that instead of enjoying every moment we get, we can forget to be happy.
Sometimes I think we have to remind ourselves to enjoy rather than endure what ever is happening. So today I am intentionally enjoying the day despite the waiting. I've been to my favourite place and hope to upload a video when I get back home.

Spot the difference

Feeling very grateful for David who brought his magical mower to transform the garden very speedily.
Can you see the table and chairs ?

We can now! 

How do we get there?

Just needed a bit of weeding...

Wasn't there a path here?

Yes!

But what about all those lovely flowers / weeds ? As if Kristie would let them go to waste (several vases now full)...

Cake-a-thon?

It's a good job I've walked nearly 50 miles this week. Yesterday I helped support a Christian aid event by eating cake. Today I supported a pride event by eating cake. It's a theme I'm happy to continue... 

changing the future

I've recently enjoyed watching the 3 Back to the Future films with my boy. Mainly the hanging out is what I like, but like a lot of folk I'm fascinated by the concept that going back in time and changing a tiny thing can alter the course of history massively.
So I was really struck yesterday by a shared facebook post that identified that lots of us are drawn to these kind of films yet overlook the related consequence that a tiny change we make in our present can have an enormous impact on the future. I wonder why we struggle to grasp just how much power we have?
(instant thought - it doesn't work well for Capitalism if we were all to be aware of our power, so that gets squashed out of us early)

I hope we all can increase our awareness of how our every action has an impact and keep making our differences :)

Step by step

I now have an app on my phone that tells me how many steps I've walked. I'm aware that next year I might not be able to do so much collecting for Christian Aid so want to do as much as possible this year. As part of keeping my motivation high I will note how many steps I've taken each day. Today I've walked to two services, and delivered in 3 streets, and my total is 14663 ( I don't always have my phone on me so it's more than that really).
Perhaps I should have asked for sponsorship??!!

Sun: 14663
Mon: 14240
Tues: 19000
Weds: 10754 (taking it easy day after the previous day's 15km)
Thurs: 13236
Fri: 11485 (plus 20 mins of cycling when I changed the recording mode, so it counted my cycling time but not my steps)

feel the burn

I can and often do learn lessons from mistakes. Apparently not today tho.
I was so busy regaling my girly with the tale of how I'd left a forgotten pan on the cooker this morning so it burned dry, that I didn't hear the cooker alarm going off, signalling the end of the pizza cooking time. To be fair, the top pizza was fine, the only one that burned was because I'd put the tray directly on the oven base - I've done that before too, so that's the error I've not learned from.
It's a shame cos I'd gone to some effort with the pizzas, making my own dough, letting it rise, etc etc. Anyway, it's the thought that counts or something.

When I've not been burning things, today I've mainly been applying for a job that excites me. I rather like thinking up responses for application forms and interviews (when it's occasional, I know the novelty will soon wear off).

We also raised £526.80 in the bucket collection so that was worth doing :D

Spending wisely

As I'm not bringing in much money this month, I have figured I can spend less so present to you my lovely homemade tea :) the bread is made from chickpeas and tomatoes, yum.

 I am also spending lots of my time fruitfully, not usually having this much available. Yesterday I was able to spend a good chunk of the day at the fracking site, registering my protest. Today has revolved around much collecting for Christian aid inside Morrisons. And I've just ordered more envelopes for next week's house to house collection as I will have the entire week to collect in.

Bank holiday sunshine

I'm really pleased that we had a bank holiday weekend full of rare sunshine. I'm hoping the august one will be a repeat :-) Tho not a sun worshipper myself, I know many many people will have revelled in the glorious weather. Indeed, Facebook tells me it was so.

Social media I think is a mixed blessing, especially around loneliness. It can be brilliant for staying connected. It has an important potential for reaching out when feeling down, several of my friends have successfully used it in this way. I also think we have to work hard at remembering it is only a partial picture. I know there will be lots going on yesterday that didn't make it to instagram, the family fall outs in hot cars not recorded, the people who for whatever reason were not joining the nation in relaxation.

I did my best to make the most of the loveliness and managed a fair bit of gardening in the shade. I know a time will come when I don't have this much time at home so it's good to get as much sorted whilst I can. As always, I find it useful to remember my mantra "this won't last forever", something I've tried to apply throughout parenting. Single parenting has its challenges (as well as its delights) at each stage. I can't imagine how tough it must be when they're very young and need you constantly. This current stage of exam pressure seems intense and I'm glad I stayed around to provide a steady stream of nutritious meals, healthy drinks and plenty of treats too. Revision encouragement, and just the dull but necessary keeping things ticking over with laundry, tidying etc, these are things that I'm content to do as I know a time will come when they won't need me in this way either. What I struggle with is the lack of company. Thankfully I have an easy volunteering option so was able to help out on the phone line a fair bit which is a double win, the caller gets what they need and so do I :-)

As we know, I have choices, so I either change the situation or change how I respond to the situation. With another bank holiday on the horizon, I can try and set that one up differently. Today I'm off to seek company at the fracking site. The last time I cycled that way it took ages so we'll see how today goes, my plan is to be back before today's rain starts!

Inundated

There has been much this last week to feel glad about. Homemade cake has featured heavily (heavily may indeed be the word if i keep it up at that rate). I had such a lovely treat at a spa afternoon. There have been some successes on the de-cluttering front. And the sun is most definitely shining.
It's hard at times tho not to feel like it's an uphill battle. Despite my best efforts, I'm not sure my tactics have scared off my kitchen mouse, and the garden moles are back with a vengeance. The mysterious puddle on my lounge floor , originally blamed on the poor dog, has been sourced, sorted, floorboards dried, and I'm pleased I'd kept leftover underlay from a previous carpet fitting as it meant I could cut out the rotten section and replace it. Trying to clear up after tho and I had to dismantle the Dyson before it would work - nothing seems straightforward.
I'm still not yet fully well and so feel very grateful it's currently only very part time work I'm fitting in amongst the challenges.