A fresh start

The Summer term commences tomorrow - so we have new beginnings.

The beginning of the end for the EFG - her last few weeks at secondary school, as she will have finished all her exams by the second week after half term in June, and so she is now on the home stretch of this stage of her education.

Spring is really here now and so I have begun the grass cutting season - the front lawn was done on Saturday and the back today. It is very satisfying to see the short, uniform grass rather than the rather untidy thatch that the winter had left! The rabbits will be glad to get out of their cages in rotation and spend time on the lawn in the run - I think Guiness might get the first honour!

The EFG spent her morning at school today doing an art workshop in preparation for her upcoming exam. So the YFG and I dropped her off at 8.50am and pootled off across the fields to the lovely Cambridgeshire town of St Ives. It was a very pleasant journey, and I called in on a friend, and then we mooched around the town market. It has been years since I looked around that market, and it has changed and moved on, now boasting stalls selling mobiles, for example, and yet it has stayed the same in that the veg stalls still stand in exactly the same spot that I remember! We didn't have time to go down to the river and feed the swans, but on a longer visit, that would have been where I would have enjoyed lingering. We popped into Poundland and spent a few - we don't have one in this area so it is a novelty to see all the things that they can manage to sell for just £1!

This afternoon I spent time in the garden, doing the lawn mowing as well as tidying up all the strawberry plants and talking to the chooks. They are laying at least 20 eggs a day now and so I need to find some new customers!! I gave two dozen away today - one to a friend in the village who does our hair and the other to my friend in St Ives.

And what of the weekend and the meditations? It was a good weekend on lots of levels. Friday was hectic, with the YFG having a friend here overnight on Thursday and then having the friend stay all day on Friday, having a marathon Wii session. The friend is an only child so they do enjoy playing together when they get the chance. Another pair of little friends had already been invited to tea, so I cooked them Toad in the Hole, and then chocolate buns for pudding. They went home well stuffed at 7.30pm and I took the girls and we went babysitting in the village. We had a very relaxing evening, watching tv and reading, whilst the little girl remained fast asleep all the time we were there - we never even saw her!

On Saturday, we spent most of the day at home until I took the girls out in the late afternoon to do a spot of uniform shopping. The EFG needed a pair of black trousers that she could wear for this half term to school but which would still be useful when uniform is no longer needed. We got two pairs of cheapish ones from Asda, and popped in to some other shops whilst we were out. It was a lovely ride home across the fields again. I do enjoy driving in the countryside at this time of year!

Saturday evening the girls decided to have a sleepover together on the lounge floor in their sleeping bags, and watch some films. They have their moments of togetherness, and this was one of them - sometimes they seem to really get on, and at other times appear not to be able to stand one another!! So I encouraged them to spend time together, and indulged them - I didn't wake them on Sunday morning and the FH and I slipped out at 9.15am to go to church and left them sleeping.....

Today has been lovely too, although the YFG was very very quiet this morning. Eventually I extracted the problem that she was worrying about - some homework - and so when we picked up the EFG, she was able to nip into school and have a word with the teacher who was in school as it was a training day. She has been back to her normal self this afternoon and much happier!

This evening I have turned up one of the pairs of trousers for the EFG to wear tomorrow and we have watched Silent Witness together. I bought two large pieces of topside this morning at reduced prices, so I have cooked them both this afternoon and now 16 portions of beef reside in the freezer - 4 dinners for 4 people - half with accompanying gravy made from the juices as well! Can't wait to dig into that one Sunday lunch time!

I hope you have all had a peaceful and relaxing weekend. We are back into the fray tomorrow: the girls are off to school and I have a meeting at school here in the morning, followed by gym in the later afternoon and early evening.......best get some rest!!

Who is your Guru?

Life can get over informed, don't you think? I've been reading too many blogs lately, I feel, and don't know whose advice to follow for the best!! I feel like I have information overload, a chronic shortage of time caused by spending too much of it on here, and too many choices to make...and I could easily begin to feel drastically inferior, reading of people's housecleaning routines, beauty routines, workout schedules, etc.

Sometimes I wish I was like Shadow, the cat, answerable to no one, with no responsibilities and no expectations beyond food in my belly and somewhere to curl up and doze.

But I am not like that, and I do have those things to consider.

First things first. I'm taking a few days off from here - and from all other blog reading too - and I am spending the weekend in the real world.

With my husband and children. With friends and family. Doing some housework, some exercise, some garden work, some chook cleaning out, some decluttering, some ironing...taking care of life!

Knitting, reading, talking, cooking, creating, learning.

Finding MY way. Finding out what works best for me. Thinking, plotting and considering.

Hope you all have a great weekend. Only this weekend before we dive right back into the Summer term, GCSEs, church plans, holiday plans, gym competitions....

See you all next week x

Loch of the Lowes Webcam

I have turned the photo of Lancelot in to a quicklink to the webcam at Loch of the Lowes where Lady the osprey has returned for the 23rd year, apparently. So when I want to have a quick look to see how she is doing (no eggs yet), I have an easy link. Feel free to use it yourselves, although I have put it there for my own convenience!!

Taking time equals appreciation

The YFG has been saving up since Christmas for a new phone as hers died a death last term. She has managed without one, but I have to admit that I like her to have one so that I can get in touch with her if I want to when she is out and about. It's a bit tricky ringing a house phone when she is at someone's house for the first time, and whispering to her, "Are they OK? Are you having a nice time?" especially now that she is at secondary school and mixing with people whose parents I don't know. She is able to send me a text and let me know that all is well!

She finally had enough money last week and we ordered it, and it was delivered this morning. She was so excited, so pleased with herself and all her strategies to acquire the money - and that is what I want to encourage in my children. I don't want them to look for credit, to be impatient and think that they "deserve" to have everything straight away.

The EFG has similarly bought herself a new camera this week. She has also been saving up for it, and wanted it for her coursework with art. I encouraged and motivated her and she is thrilled with her new piece of technology....taking lots of photos already!

I am trying to help them to realise that work brings rewards, and that they have to be patient. I don't want them to move out of here when they are older and expect to move into a house of a similar size and standard, for example. I lived in a little rented house at university for a year, with electric heating we couldn't afford to run, cardboard thin walls, and nearly two miles from the college so I walked everywhere all the time. We worked hard to get where we are today, and they can't expect to have everything they enjoy here straight away. I understand now that if they work hard and save very hard for several years before they get into marriage and children, they can put themselves into a better position. I just have to help them to understand that, rather than wasting income on gadgets, furniture and cars!!

I am reading Down to Earth by Rhonda Hetzel at the moment and really enjoying it. I will need to read it again with a notebook at my side, and I can't wait to get some of the right yarn to try knitting a dishcloth! I love most of the ideas she has, and Love the book!

I had to buy some cucumber seeds tonight as the seeds I had bought the FH had sowed and they had bolted and were useless, so I needed more. I like to support heritage seeds, so I buy some from The Real Seed Catalogue but remembered the name incorrectly and ended up on a website selling cannabis seeds!! Needless to say, I closed that one down rather quickly without making a purchase, and swiftly looked more closely for the site I really wanted!!! Shocking how easily these mistakes can be made.

End of first quarter

The end of March may be a week or two ago, but I have just got round to sorting out the end of the quarter's figures, so that I can compare the first three month's spending against the whole budget for the year.

Several points have come to light:

1. The Council Tax has gone up, so I needed to adjust that budget slightly, since it was made before I knew whether it would go up and by how much. An extra £40 required in there.
2. The electricity budget is plodding along on track but it is past the time I should have been looking for a cheaper supplier. On the "to do" list this week.
3. The TV licence pot can be reduced - the FH will turn 75 at the end of the year, so since ours is due in July, we will only pay about half (although I don't know whether we pay it all and then get a rebate, but it will all come out in the wash!)
4. The Grocery budget is OK, but we have to reduce the average amount spent per month in order to compensate for stocking up which took place in the wintery months. With the garden in production later in the year, this should all even out. I will keep a careful eye on this one!
5. I have money in a pot for RAC membership, but I may take that out with Tesco vouchers. I will have to weigh up the pros and cons of that. Now that we no longer have the motorhome, I may change back to the AA, as we have a friend who is a patrolman and he gets commission on sign ups. I'll have to check into all the possibilities for this one, too.
6. The cars are both insured for the year, and it came in at £62 more than I had budgeted, so I have had to put that into the pot. It is OK though, as I have a newer car than I had when I set the budget, so it is to be expected that the insurance was a little more.
7. I have reduced the pot for school trips as the EFG will be out of school between the middle of June and September, and I can't imagine that they will spend the whole amount I had set aside in the Autumn. Since the YFG will not be going on a skiing trip for £999 next year, I am fine with this!
8. I had overestimated the cat food bill, so that pot has been reduced a little.
9. The medication bill has had to be increased. I take a daily medication which I cannot get on the NHS in the brand I need - they prescribe a generic which doesn't agree with me, won't prescribe the brand I need, so I have to buy it myself...
10. Wavering over whether to include the interest on the ISA which has been paid or should I only include the savings I have made this year from actual income? Have yet to decide on that one!

What with all the changes, I have reduced the overall budget by £16, so that is theoretically £16 to put to savings...

And the SFT Sealed pot challenge? The pot is 3/4 full! I am so pleased - and can't wait to get it full. I haven't weighed it lately, but it is getting heavy. We have decided that we might open it for holiday spending money in the summer half term, which would still leave the rest of June to the end of September to save for a birthday treat for me! I think that however much is in there, we probably wouldn't spend it all - we have decided what we want to do when we are on holiday, so I know roughly how much cash I need for the days out....but more of that another time!

Hoping you have all had a peaceful Easter and been able to spend time with those you love. We have had UJ over for lunch yesterday, and then my Dad came over in the late afternoon for some time with the girls and us. The EFG and I have had a quiet day together today, and the YFG went out last night to a sleepover round the corner, and just came home about an hour ago. It is nice to have her back.

Happy Birthday Mum x

I have been taking some time to remember my mum today. She would have been 71 today, so I bought some flowers and put them in a nice vase on the table to remind me of her birthday for a few days. I don't go to her grave often for she isn't there; she is here, with us, in our hearts. My dad, bless him, looks after the grave for us, and my sister puts flowers there sometimes.

Mum knew the EFG for about 18 months before they were separated. They would have had such good times together as the EFG grew up, and she would have loved the YFG as well. I remember her pushing the pram around Cupar, sneaking little star shaped chocolate to the EFG (can't remember what they are called!?) when she thought I wasn't looking - I think I have made up for all the chocolate they would have shared, though, so the EFG hasn't missed out on that!

The girls do miss out on grandparents, in a way. My dad is lovely to them, very proud of them, interested in all they do and want to achieve, and supports their ambitions, but there is only the one of him, and the other three grandparents have all passed on. He is 83 this year, and slowing down. The girls do their best to keep him up to date with the technology, though, and he is very pleased when they put his photos on DVDs and pop them in the tv for him to share with us.

Funny how the pregnancy was never mentioned because I was 400 miles away, on the end of the phone, and it could be avoided, and I was an unmarried mother, so not quite respectable. But once the EFG was born, named after my own grandmother, the outpouring of love began, and it never stopped. The EFG and her Granny spent the second week of February together in Cupar that year, although my dad had offered to take Mum to Malta, and she said, "No, let's go and see (the EFG) again" so they came. Mum died just a few days after they returned home.

It does me good to remember each year, remember the love, remember the sharing and the history we had. The good times as well as the rough times which we got through. Our faith. Our love. Her generosity and hospitality. Her kindness as well as her sharp tongue at times. Her thriftiness, her love for us as children, and her support for us as adults. Her dedication to her big brother and her mother. Contentment. Hard work. Afternoon naps. Sewing dresses for our dolls in secret for Christmas presents - fantastic outfits made in velvet. Three of us in matching summer dresses one year.

I hope I am doing enough to make her proud still. Not what she hoped for me, nor what she had as ambitions for me, but perhaps a different path to a similar achievement one day.

All done in!

The girls broke up from school on Friday, but that wasn't the end! We still had gym on Saturday, two church services on Sunday and then gym Holiday Club Monday to Wednesday for 4 hours a day. Today feels like it has been the first day I have had "off"....

And what have I done? Washing, deep-cleaned the hall, some tidying in the kitchen, emails and invoices for various things, listing on ebay, more washing, moving the ironed clothes upstairs, etc.

The FH took the girls to meet his sister at their parents' graves - an annual visit. He bought a new pair of shoes on the way home, and then this afternoon, the girls went out on their bikes - they delivered some eggs to a friend, posted an Easter card to my old Kindergarten teacher, took some Easter gifts to friends, and then visited with a little friend for the afternoon. They came home just in time for tea!

Tonight I have been doing some work on the Sunday service, and the girls have been designing posters for the Craft Club ladies for tomorrow morning - we are doing a sponsored knit for the Samaritan's Purse appeal and the ladies want to advertise for spare wool.

UJ is coming for lunch on Sunday, so I am hoping to find something good in the depths of the freezers, and we have so many eggs that I am going to have to start making lemon curd again - the girls are laying anything between 14 and 25 eggs a day at the moment - the day that the clocks changed, the explosion of egg laying began, and they haven't looked back yet! I'll make some kind of cake for the weekend as well.