Every Penny Helps

I’ve been reading lots of blogs about saving money recently, hoping to find ideas I haven’t already had. I can’t really do a list, as I think so many of them really have ideas that we all know are good, we just sometimes can’t be bothered with them! There are a couple that I think I will do. For example one said to save as if it was a direct debit, which I do think is a good idea as I love direct debits as then I can never forget about bills and get a fright when a new bill comes through the door! One also said you should ‘bank’ any spare money like in The Weakest Link, I defintly think it is out of sight, out of mind for me too.


I’m already selling some things I never use on ebay, and my paypal account which was empty in January now has £64 in it! I was very proud, as I wasn’t doing anything with what we sold. The thing now is to only spend it on something we needed anyway. I certainly am guilty of finding these little piles of pennies and using them for a treat! Hopefully we can have a carboot sale soon. There is a big place close to us that has them on a Sunday morning, so it is when I already work. Last year we kept meaning to have one, but the weather was so awful I was glad I didn’t take a day off to help out. They normally last 9 hours (as you are pretty tightly locked into the selling area), so it would be TH and I together so one could at least nip to the loo if need be!

TH is a reiki practioner and is hoping to extend his client base (this is his site here). One day I hope he does it full time as it makes him so happy, but I think it would also be quite scary starting out a new business, and now isn’t really the time. He has been getting some training for using the hopi candles properly and all of the types of massage that should be done with them, so I think he’ll be able to start advertising his skills in that too. TH’s friend also sells salt lamps and we said we’d help out with that. I love them to bits anyway-and they were so helpful when we moved into the new house and it was a bit dampish and cold, so I know I could sell them with real passion!  I'll be sales person of the month in no time!

Friends for Tea

Having friends for supper is one of the loveliest ways to spend your time. We did this the other night and it was a real ‘moment’ as we knew that the house was no longer so cold we were embarrassed and it was quite organised. No boxes, no carrying the heater to and fro until the boiler is fixed, just warm and welcoming.

I had made a lasagne the night before so it was a simple ‘lift from fridge and into oven’ job after sprinkling on cheese. We gathered around the table and tucked in. Reaching out for delicious spoonfuls and gathering them on our plate until they tumbled down upon each other.

Yup, this was what the house was supposed to be.

November is…

November is for hot pots and slow cookers, it is for roasts after long walks and good warm filling soups. November is for looking out of the window and seeing harsh frost and rain.

November is for Remembrance Day, Guy Fawkes Night, and when I will stir up the Christmas cake. For me it is also when the girls in the family are heading to Edinburgh for some Christmas shopping.

November is for wearing two coats and scarves, big hats and boots for stomping around the countryside to tire the dog and stay warm. It is for jumpers. Jumpers of cable knit and snug soft materials. It is for finding sparkle for parties. Glittering and sequined garments which will shimmer and dazzle in the fairy lights.

November is for being surrounded by books, cushions and mugs of hot cocoa.

 It is for visits to the library and books bags overflowing with recently requested items full of ideas for Christmas bakes and makes.

November is for throws and eiderdowns, porridge for breakfast and travel mugs for the long journey to work. 

November is for long nights spent watching period dramas, for playing scrabble and finding Christmas movies at the weekend with warm fresh popcorn.  November is for squirreling away presents and hiding them in a new location each and every weekend.

What makes me Happy

Sometimes when I get away from work early I rush home and get to see daylight.

When I leave for work it’s dark and cold.

And when I come home it’s dark and cold.

But sometimes, on very rare occasions I get home and its still daylight.

And on those very rare occasions that I do get home and if its still daylight I take Daisy out for a walk.

She always gets nice walks, but I do miss the evenings we had in Summer when it was still bright when I got home. So when it’s light enough to go for a longer wonder around the village we go off the beaten track and head over the golf course to the sea.

She runs around and I pad over the sand away in my own little world, day dreaming and planning, and letting my imagination flow where it will.

Daisy on the other hand runs like the wind, drags seaweed along with her, and snaps her little teeth at any shells coming into shore riding on the small waves.

This is what we do

This is what we do...

when it gets too warm inside, when we wish to feel the crisp air on our noses.

when we want to go for a walk, when we want to see something other than the inside of the fridge.

when we want to feel healthier, when the dog starts to feel restless. 

when the sun is starting to give into twilight, when the warmth seems so far away. 

when we need to feel the harsh winds from the North Sea, when we want to see wildlife. 

when we need to feel small and the weight needs lifted from our shoulders. 

when we are tired from doing nothing,  

 when we need to get out of the house,

when we want another view of the village, 

another view of the things we always see and need,

We get the dog on a leash and taken 'em for a long, long walk.  We come back dirty, rosey in the nosey, happy, and very, very sleepy.

New Year Walkies

The air was fresh and calling to go outside.

Daisy Dog and i walked over the golf course 

and on to the beach 

it looked empty from here..... 

or not!  I guess everyone had the same idea!  It was nice getting lots of "Happy New Year" calls from strangers. 

The harbour and bay looked beautiful 

and luckily the tide was out so there was plenty of beach to share with other walkers

our friends live over the way, but i guess they were still wrapped up warm inside 

so we threw our selves on the sand and stamped our feet...OK, Daisy rubbed her nose in the sand and came up shocked and sneezing!

Couldn't help myself

Just a quick wee shot of a pile of presents waiting to go into a little wicker basket and taken out into the cold.  We're heading out visiting and need to get them to their true owners before it gets too icy to make these trips.  I thought they were just too adorable!

Do you know those weeks..days...months?

Do you know those days, weeks or months where you literally do not even get one moment to yourself?  You can't even say that you've been wasting time online or watching TV, you go from chore to work to chore and back again.  Its been a little bit like that recently.  Utterly tiring, emotionally-from work getting more and more awful by the minute, my Mother leaving the country and my friend recovering in hospital.  Utterly tiring, physically-travel, work, tidy, clean, dust, tidy,work, make food, do chores...and try to squeeze in lots of time to visit my Mother and friend.  Ive also had lots of forms to fill in recently, and I'm not just talking about the census. 

 My lists of to-do's have been growing, and it can easily get on top of everything...like those teetering piles of laundry, there will come a point when it all crashes down.  Then it changed....not really properly changed, but i felt better, and that's how it changed.  A glittering good fairy did not do the laundry or cook any meals for me, but it was a lovely thing none the less.

The other day I'd got up at 5, went to work, got on bus, picked up things for friend in hospital and had went to do an exam for work.  From there I'd walked down to the hospital, but because of a mix up i couldn't stay the full length of time as they're very strict about how many people are at each bedside (i know it doesn't sound like I'm going to tell you something very stress busting but i am, hold on in there).  Id had time to spare and was on the outskirts of town-the pretty side of the outskirts where all the houses have giant bay windows blossom trees sprinkling confetti down on there lawns-and i was allowed to walk around.  All of a sudden i had three hours which were my own.  I could go into town, i could browse, walk through the park, do anything i pleased and it was amazing.

I decided i wanted to go to the University so made my way there, however i passed one of my favourite haunts....a second hand bookshop and knew i had to go in!  I picked up a couple of lovely books-which i will show off later, but i spent a good hour in there.  When it come to paying i was even invited to share a cuppa with the lovely assistant as she wanted to ask questions about one of my favourite subjects and something i picked up a book on.  From there i walked down the beautiful cobbles and sat on the grass right next to where The Husband and i got married and read one of my new books until The Husband came to pick me up.  It was so good to re-charge the batteries, it was so good to have a much needed moment to myself where i was forced to be out and about.  I think that if i had 'found' that moment when at home i would have watched TV or done something which really wouldn't have re-charged the batteries at all.

We were in such a good mood that we decided to head out for tea and although it seemed far from it in the begining, it was such a perfect day.  Theres a whole bunch of rubbish out there that you can easily get caught up in, but we had such a good day that its important to remember that you make your own family and ties that are important to you and wrap yourself in that.  As for all that bad-vibes and downright nasty-ness at work i think its on the way to being sorted as i just called in the 'big-guns'.  I do not get paid nearly enough to deal with bitter people-not the patrons, i love the patrons-so i've passed it up the ladder and i honeslty think it'll get sorted!

I hope you're all re-charging your batteries and making sure you've got plenty of YOU time!
x

First Snow of Winter!

Okay, these were taken five minutes ago from the window...as you can see from the reflection!

I can't say its the first snow of the year, it stopped snowing here in May!

But it is the first snow we've seen in this house!

Really more hale than snow....but white all soft all the same

Poor neglected back garden!

Oooh am i that fairy of a white light in the window....ooops, just the flash!!

The Simple Pleasures

One of the things that makes me happiest is rummaging. I adore charity shops, antiquarian shops, antique shops, fairs, fetes and anything of the sort! My favourite things, besides brown paper packages tied up with string, most certainly are china and books.

As a librarian the latter is easily explained. I also did history- so I spent most of my undergraduate years rummaging through monographs and periodicals in the basement of the library desperately seeking primary sources. My love of china has been with me since I was a little girl. I was the girliest of little girls and played with my plastic china tea set all of the time. My Sylvanian Families also had little tea sets, as did my Polly Pockets and all my tiny dollies!

I always think of my Granny when I go looking for my tea sets, either in my china cabinet or in a shop. I can always remember her setting places at the big wooden table in the kitchen of the tenement flat she lived in. It was the most beautiful home you can think of, a proper old fashioned on with a giant kitchen and Sheila’s Maid hanging above you as you nibbled on Victoria sponge.

I often think that i want to prepare a home like that for my family. We can not wait to have children of our own, and i think when everyone gets to the broody stage they know what kind of nest they want to make for their family. I know that ours will be like the home of my Granny.