Reasons to be Cheerful

Rosa_Damascena

My trip to the garden centre in the sunshine yesterday afternoon lifted my spirits. I continued gardening into the cloudy evening and felt much better for it. Back to my HWB and square one today it seems!

London_1

Gers how fantastic the first cuckoo and so early, thats great ,my late ma-in-law (as my children called her the old wife all the tales were about ) used to say "the earlier the cuckoo the better the summer" .
I think my children thought she was part witch, as being widowed at 28 in the 1930s with two small sons she returned to the IoW to live and having very little money kept her two boys healthy on various remedies that came from her Granny's 'big book' written in beautiful  handwriting script from the late 19th century.
Sadly the book and all its remedies and recipes was thrown away when my Ma-in-law died and the house was cleared, and I would have loved to have had it, as some of the things ,especially the recipes were from HER Granny as well written in the 1850s. But they must have worked as my late husband never saw a Doctor until 1951 when he was called up for the RAF for his national service.He was an extremely healthy chap and in the 40 odd years we were married I never knew him to have a day off work or any illness at all. he swore it came from all the stuff his mum had brought him up on being very hard up they more or less lived from what they grew and a few chickens and rabbits caught by the two brothers or fish they got when beach casting. He had never tasted anything out of a tin until he went into the services and never had very much in the way of a sweet tooth at all. My Ma-in-law died at 86 in her own bed with all her 'marbles' and all her teeth (she cleaned them with salt !!! but never had a filling in her head bless her. 

We ate all sorts of stuff when visiting that she had foraged, and jolly nice it was as well, I never liked to enquire to closely what it was ,but it was pretty tasty  

My nice things today are

1. feeling a bit better from my lymphodema flare up from the weekend rather uncomfortable weekend folllowing a tiny paper cut to my finger which makes my arm swell up and get very red and hot and a fluey feeling But antibios have started to kick in so feeling better than I was.

2. DGS Ben has got his full time teaching post he was after.

3. eldest DD is popping in after work shortly to see me ,she's back from NYC so will tell me all about how my grandson is doing.

4. May budget not touched yet and did OK with April's budget and had a small amount to tuck away

5. just washed the cover of my round foot stool and it has come up really nice Its a grey crocheted one like a big ball and its now a nice light grey instead of a grubby dark grey colour so on the line it will go.

JackieO xx 

Rosa_Damascena

Am feeling much more bright this weekend after another super stressful week at work. Am still benefitting from exercise and pacing myself around the house, if it doesn't get done then so what.

I bought a BN copy of this today for 20p and am looking forward to dipping into the strategies it suggests. Will share the ones that work for me:

London_1

Well done Rosa know your limitations and capabilities. I don't do half of what I used to think 'important', certainly not when it comes to ironing for example.  

I've managed to roughly get my main food shop per month down to around twice now, which frees me up to do things I enjoy doing .

I have discovered the delights of a gentle stroll around my local park at Capstone which has a small lake and many ducks and watching the Mumma ducks and their brood, and just sitting in the sunshine is so relaxing .
I take a small flask  or sometimes treat myself to a cuppa in the little cafe. The rush and tear of life is now a thing of the past and just enjoying the moment is so much nicer food for the soul I think  

Today I was up pretty early as my youngest grandson had a 7.00.a.m. start for his weekend job. Not normally that early but he had to open up for a delivery.I didn't mind and nipped into tesco on the way back to see if there were anything in the way of a bargain .bought a couple of reduced to clear tins for my tin cupboard and was home by 7.30.

Spent the rest of the morning just tidying up and pottering about (I tend to potter quite a bit now ) also quite relaxing  then after my lunch I just sat and had a good read for awhile  then a long natter on the phone to my DDs ma-in-law She had her other eye done for cataracts this week and she enjoys a good chinwag.

She's 85 bless her and doesn't go too far at the moment.Hopefully once she's had the check up done in 4 weeks time she will be able to get some new glasses and be able to get out a bit more. her optician said it wasn't worth her having new glasses until both eyes were done so its hindered her for reading a bit.But she's a cheerful old soul and does like to have a chat.

I've made a trifle to take to DDs tomorrow as I go there every sunday for dinner and like to take something along as my contribution 
Apart from that not a very busy day, but odd little jobs were caught up with and I'm now going to do some knitting and watch a bit of TV, if I can find something worth watching if not then it will be the wireless. 
I tend to steer clear of the news as its too depressing at the moment and worrying about the world at large won't make a scrap of difference.

The sun has been in and out for most of the day, and its quite mild so no heating needed at all. just looked at the calendar and its only 7 weeks until our family holiday on the IoW  which I'm really looking forward to

Hope everyone has had a nice peaceful relaxing day and found a few cheerful things to make them happy

Take care chums 

JackieO xx

YorksLass

It's funny how certain things become less important as you get older and you start to appreciate things like going out for a walk just for the sheer pleasure of it rather than as a means of getting somewhere.  Whilst I like to keep my house clean and tidy I'm not overly houseproud - it's my home, not a showcase!  Pottering is a good thing too, in fact I think I achieve more by this method than any other - it means things are kept "on top of" and gives a sense of achievement.  It's also a useful means of gentle decluttering at a pace that suits you rather than going at it like a bull at a gate.  

Today I've been through my inventories of food stocks and have made a list of what meals I can make from the contents.  There's honestly much more there than I thought!  So, for this month at least, any grocery shopping will be confined to what's really needed eg fresh F&V, milk etc.  It's a fine balance of using up what's already there and not expanding the accumulated stocks too far to be at a silly level.  Of course, any worthwhile bargains I might see while out and about won't be overlooked!  

Tonight I'm looking forward to feet up, a bit of TV and some knitting.  Some chocolate could make an appearance too.  

London_1

YorksLass we are definitely sisters in another life I think  

I'm off to book club this morning, followed by a gentle stroll around the park which is close to my book club library so I will have a walk around the lake and keep an eye out for the Mama Duck and her little brood of babies.
The sun is shining and sky is deep blue, what's not to love about this Monday morning  

JackieO xx

YorksLass

Yes, I think we are indeed Jackie.  There is one glaring difference though - you're an early morning lark and I'm a night owl.    

While I was enjoying my first cuppa of the day I was entertained by two kittens playing on the grass outside my kitchen window.  One was white with a black tail and ears, the other was a gorgeous marmalade kittie.

My kitchen has had a thorough clean today - worktops, cabinet doors, wall tiles and floor.  All sparkling again - for now.    

On a more gentle energy level, my stash of empty glass jars and lids has been pruned down to a more sensible level.  Some small ones have been repurposed as tea light holders (they're far too pretty to throw away) and a few saved for when I make jam or chutneys later in the year.  The not-wanteds are in a bag under the stairs for me to take to the bottle bank next time I'm passing.

Rosa_Damascena

Yesterday was such a lovely day! My home has gone from miserably cold in the winter into Forever Summer mode!

I got back late yesterday, but went straight out for a walk and just kept on going until 9.30pm. It is doing wonders for my wellbeing.

London_1

Good Morning everyone ,a bit cloudy this morning ,but I am the eternal optimist at least its dry 

1. Off to Dobbie's for my weekly coffee morning with my friends.

2. Loved my stroll around the lake yesterday so may repeat it after coffee 

3. Came home from book club with not only a new book to read ,but one of the ladies had a large haul of clementines and bananas that she couldn't use up as she was going away for several days and she shared them out amongst us all.I came home with two bananas and a bag of 10 clementines. nothing will get wasted I actually had one of the banans with my cereal this morning for breakfast.

4.  The Mamma duck's babies are growing well and there is one little rebel who just won't join the rest when crossing the lake and she is always chasing it  

Hope everyone has a good day and finds something to make them smile

JackieO xx

YorksLass

My best cheerful today is that I've finally finished sorting through my yarn stash.  Some oddments that I'll never use have gone in a bag for the CS.  With the rest, I asked myself "Can I use this to make something?" and "Will I use it?"  Where the answer to both was Yes, I kept it.  Where the answer to both was No, in the CS bag it went.  If the answer was Yes to one and No to the other, the bag won out again.  What I have kept (and there's enough to keep me going for a fair while    ) is now neatly packed away in clear storage boxes in the spare bedroom and it's all been listed in a small notebook that makes it easier to know and see just what I have without dragging it all out again.  The room is tidy and my head space definitely feels lighter!