Not a pancake in sight!

Well, I thought I would be different!

There are lots of posts in my blogroll tonight about pancakes, but we haven't had them here tonight - the YFG and the FH made themselves some mini-doughnuts with the doughnut cooker machine whilst the EFG and I were out at gymnastics, so they have had enough fat and sugar to last them a couple of days!

It's been quite a day and I am looking forward to retiring to bed with my knitting shortly - I had the tea cooked and cooling by 8am this morning, and have been to a meeting about my coursework, and taken the FH shopping, and then I went to gymnastics.  The FH wore himself out pushing the trolley around Aldi so he went to do his jigsaw in bed at about 8pm, which meant that the sitting room was quiet with no tv on, and I could phone my friend for a catch up - half an hour later and I had to get off the phone to go and do the washing up.

We are watching less tv nowadays as well - we seem to watch specific shows, but are getting much better at turning it off when there is nothing we want to watch.  Same as yesterday, it means we are getting more done IRL.

And so tomorrow is Ash Wednesday and we are moving in to Lent.  Forty days of what?  Some people would have us believe that Lent is all about going without, abstention and misery.  I like to think of it as a time when I can spend more time trying to get a better handle on the Bible and on Jesus, so I will be doing things to further that aim rather than doing without.  I have been trying to read through the Bible this year with a template of readings I can tick off, but I have missed quite a few lately, so it is my intention to grow a little more diligent with that, and catch up with where I should be.  Easter is such a joyous time in the Christian calendar that spending time in preparation is definitely time well spent.  Ann Voskamp has a downloadable devotional for Lent on her website [link in the sidebar] and so I shall also be spending some time with that.

Haircut in the morning at 10am - it's been six months or more so I am definitely in need of a trim!  I don't really worry too much about getting my hair cut as it spends most of its time up and I don't notice how long it gets, but the trim will cost me £7 so I really ought not to begrudge that as a semi-annual expense.

My friend in Somerset tells me that the waters are going down now, but that a new wave of despair is hitting people as now they are able to actually go to their properties and see the devastation that the water has caused to their houses and their belongings.  I am cross that the news programmes seem to have moved on and forgotten about these people, as their story is still one of heartache and problem after problem.   We remember them and pray for them, and I made as much of a donation as I could afford at the time to a fund for the local people which my friend alerted me to on Facebook.  I am sure that others are thinking of the people in these areas and wishing them well too.