A glimpse

The EFG has gone to stay with her friend for a couple of nights: they were planning to go to the cinema today to see the new film about Stephen Hawking, and then tomorrow, I think some shopping was on the cards.  This has left the YFG and I feeling a little quiet again - it is a glimpse back into what life was like before the EFG came home!  She has been here for three weeks now, and we have got used to have her here again, but next Thursday, she will be northward bound again, and we will be getting used to the quiet again.

It isn't that she is a noisy person, but there is a different dynamic in the house when she is here - there is a certain amount of competition for my time and attention, and some one-up-man-ship between the two of them as well.  It makes life a challenge some days - but when I am not with them, they generally get on very well, and happily pootle off together on a walk or on the train somewhere.....that's life, it seems.  It has been wonderful to have her home and I shall be counting the weeks until she comes home again at Easter.  Once Easter is over, the end of the academic year in May is in sight and she is already keeping a lookout for a summer job - I just hope that it will be here and not in Aberdeen!

I have worked today, got a load of washing on the airers to dry, looked after the chooks, and had a wee gallivant out to meet my aunt and uncle for a cuppa and a chat in a Dunelm tea room half way between our homes.  It was a lovely treat and a good opportunity for a wee outing too.  They brought the girls a couple of presents from my cousin and some DVDs that she had borrowed, and I took them some magazines [decluttering, remember!] that I thought my aunt would enjoy browsing through, as well as some DVDs which I think my cousin's father-in-law may have lent to the FH.  If it wasn't him, I have no idea who they belong to, as I have already asked several others...

Spending?  Just a little on some veg in Tesco on the way home. It came to just over £4, but I had one of their price match coupons for £2.10 so I ended up only paying for half my shopping today which I was rather pleased about.  I have also got a voucher for £10 off when I spend £50 on a Sainsbury's online delivery, by next Wednesday, so I am considering having a delivery from them next week instead of having to go to the shop myself.

Tomorrow brings an ICT module exam for the YFG which carries a few marks towards her final grade, so she has been revising hard this week.  We are both going to stop at 9pm and watch Silent Witness tonight as we do enjoy that programme.  Thank goodness for the return of some decent things on the television - we are also looking forward to the return of Call the Midwife before too long!

Storecupboard strategy

Longtime readers will know that I tend to shop to keep  my pantry full rather than to a pre-planned menu for the week.  This is handy when there has been a lack of forethought and there is "nothing" for supper!  That's what happened here last night...

Corned beef hash as a suggestion was not met with enthusiasm so I then moved on to a tuna pasta concoction which was greeted with considerably more positivity and so that was made for the girls.  Pasta from the storecupboard in the kitchen, a tin of tuna from the stores in the garage, and peas from the freezer.  

Just then the need for some kind of soupy mixture to bind it all together then?  No tins of cream of mushroom/chicken/celery soup - been ages since I bought any of those as no one had had any enthusiasm for those varieties lately.  The answer?  Two sachets of chicken noodle cup-a-soup, thickened with some cornflour and boiled in a pan.  Did the job so successfully that the YFG cleared her plate and the EFG had seconds!

And me? Not being able to eat pasta nor the soup, I concocted my own supper from some bottom of the fridge bacon, some broccoli that was almost past its best and half an onion. The risotto rice and the stock powder are permanent residents in the cupboard here and often help out when I can't think what else to make!

Not a penny spent yesterday and indeed, £3.50 found in my declutterings last night!

Calamity avoided

We had a slight mishap here last night when the EFG had been using my laptop....when I came here to try to publish a couple of comments that had appeared in my inbox, I couldn't get in!

The EFG had been onto her Google account and it had automatically logged me out - and for all the tea in China, I couldn't remember the password!  The thought of all these memories and posts being lost in the ether and not be able to access it any longer nearly brought me to tears.....

The YFG saved the day and managed to reclaim the password through a message to my phone - thank goodness the young people are so good with technology these days!  And we have the password safely written down on a notebook page now......

Word

There are bloggers everywhere choosing a word which encapsulates their hopes and dreams for the year ahead.  

Elaine at MFin3 has chosen Adventure, and Ilona has shared a lovely post over at Life After Money in which she has brought together lots of words which people have suggested.  Lots of inspiration there which could help if you are looking for a word for the year.

My word is the same as last year, and probably some of the year before that.  When I discovered the writings of Ann Voskamp, I found my word.  And it isn't a word for this week or this year, but I think it could be my word for life.  Her book, One Thousand Gifts, changed the way I thought.  I have the word engraved on a silver bracelet that I bought from her son's website, which he and his siblings use to fundraise for Compassion, and the bracelet is on my wrist all the time now.  It's there to remind me, to help me and to inspire me.

The word? "Eucharisteo" 

It comes from the Greek word "charis" which means "grace" - an undeserved gift.  The derivative "chara" comes from the same root and means "joy". And "eucharisteo" is usually translated as "giving thanks" so we have a trinity of holy meanings here.  For me, it's about giving thanks, recognising graces and finding the joy.  

It is the word which helps me to get through the days.

On the days when the boring job on the phone grinds me down, I recall that it is a way of earning money which is flexible, above minimum wage and I can do it at home - and I am thankful. 

On the day when I lost the FH, I was able to be thankful for the wonderful caring attitudes of the staff who looked after him in his final illness and then had time to spend with us as I wept.  I was grateful for the medical advances which had kept him going for so long after his transplant.  Most of all, I was grateful for our years together and all the time we shared.   I give thanks for our two amazing daughters and their love.

On the days when I worry about the future, I stop and think about the blessings I have, and give thanks.

On the days when I wonder how life will turn out, I give thanks for the way God has guided me in the past.

I think it is a good word for me right now!

A free weekend

One of the last few days before the reality of the normal routine really kicks in again!

The YFG is off to Peterborough with her friend. They were planning to go last week during the holidays but the friend had to have her appendix out just days before Christmas and so she has needed time to recuperate.  They are letting the train take the strain today and will not have too much walking to do as the train station is just a short walk from the big shopping centre in Peterborough. The YFG has put some of her Christmas cash into savings already, and spent some, so she will be window shopping mostly today, I believe!

I'm considering a mooch to Cambridge with the EFG today. She seems to have a desperate urge to go somewhere, whereas I am content to hunker down and get stuff done at home.  I'm torn between stuff that needs to be done and wanting to keep her happy.  I have almost another two weeks with her at home before she goes back to Aberdeen on the 15th, and I will have limited time to do things specifically with her once every other routine commitment kicks in again, so if the weather bucks up this morning, we will be off later!

Tomorrow afternoon will be a gathering of aunt and uncles here for a cup of tea - UJ and his brother and brother's wife and daughter will be here with daughter's husband.  Follow that? Well done!  We haven't seen some of that gang for a while so it is a good chance to catch up and for them to see the EFG too.  The Boxing Day cousins of the FH will probably want to come over again before she goes back, and I know my dad will want to see her again too!  I think next weekend might be busy with visitors as well......and I have a service to take.....better get organised this week!

Yesterday I had a little extravagance and bought a new shredder. I know I said I was decluttering, and I am, but you can't get rid of mountains of confidential paperwork without a shredder!  We did have one and it stopped working ages ago, so the papers that need shredding have been building up...time to have a clear out of those. This shredder also niftily cross cuts the papers so that we end up with short choppy bits rather than long curls - much easier to deal with, I think, and I am pleased with the purchase - shredding will commence tomorrow, I think.

The decluttering slowed down a little on Thursday with only about 20 items identified, and yesterday there were only 2 - and one of them an accident!  I had a lovely Swinnerton's flowery serving dish which was pretty ancient and I loved it.  The EFG managed to knock it onto the kitchen floor and it broke into about 5 pieces, so that is one less item in the kitchen.  Eternally positive, the YFG immediately related it to the decluttering and said, "Well, that's one item for your list today!"  That wasn't quite how I was planning this operation......

Hoping you all have a great weekend - and thanks for your comments, and emails.  It is humbling to read how much some of you are inspired by my ramblings!  Thank you xxx

Inbox

A personal email from a bishop is quite a good start to the day, even if she is on the other side of the world. I was at university with the Bishop of Waikato [New Zealand] - she is English although she is now down under.  

We took many of the same classes at the University of St Andrews, and even ended up with the same degree, but then our lives diverged and we are at quite different stages now. We were friends on Facebook until she decided not to use that platform any longer, and now we connect through emails, usually at Christmas, when we catch up on one another's news.  

It was a lovely way to start the day this morning, with a bishop's blessing to get me through the first day back to early starts and working again!

If you are back to work today, I hope it is a good day for you too xx

First steps

We've had an interesting kind of day - a long lie in to begin with was a good start!  

UJ was here for a lovely turkey lunch; I put the turkey thigh joint in the slow cooker just before 1am and it was perfectly falling off the bone by 1pm - it probably didn't need quite that long but it was delicious. A £4.50 joint fed four of us very generously today and there is plenty left for the three of us tomorrow.  That sounds like good value to me.  

(image from groceries.morrisons.com)

UJ stayed until later in the evening, and helped out with the Christmas jigsaw - it is a very slow process, but we are plugging away at it.  The girls have been watching the EFG's boxset of Modern Family and reached the end tonight - what a relief!

(image from en.wikipedia.org)

I've been pottering about, chatting with a friend via text, tidying my desk up ready for the work to begin again tomorrow, and doing some more decluttering.  We have sorted out over 390 items already and I am looking forward to another run to the charity shops tomorrow afternoon when I have to take the YFG to an appointment.  

Thanks for all your comments and support this Christmas.

First day of the new year has been a good one - I feel ready for 2015!