Now, if I had just remembered to fill the coffee mug before backing out of the room with the mop in hand.
Oh well.
It is a grey and revolting day. Cold. So the crockpot is on. Small pieces of chicken breast, loads of vegetables and some mushroom soup. Chicken a la Linds. It will be wonderful at supper time. * see below.....The washing machine and dryer are also on as well. It is "Let's do all the towels and all the linen and everything else you can lay your hands on" day. My house will soon resemble a Chinese laundry, but the heating will help to dry the loads. The heating on means I will be snug and cosy too. So I am quite happy here. I have no intention of leaving the premises until I have to later on.
I love these days. I have so many things on the "to do/make" list and so many books to read. So many UFOs. So much just sitting there waiting for me to declare a home day and start being creative. Right now, I am whizzing through the red ripple at a rate of knots. I want to get it finished, and then, given the fact that I ventured back on to Pinterest for an hour or so yesterday, I remembered the folders of things I want to try out there too. There are not enough hours in the day!
My friend, Nicky, who went to NZ to visit her daughter over Christmas, and happened to spend Christmas day with MY daughter, and time exploring Wellington, is coming round tomorrow evening, armed with her photos. We will discuss the club she says we all belong to MOCA (Mothers of Children Abroad) and our daughters. And NZ. As Mums do. Out of my local friends, we have children living in NZ, Canada, Australia and Turkey. And I know of other local kids now living and working in Austria, USA, Ireland. This is from a village. Not a city. My 2 new aqua friends have children in America and Australia too. And so many more will be on their way soon. The prospects here are not great. I heard talk yesterday of 2016 before the economy started looking good. That is too long and too far ahead for the young ones who need to start building their lives now. Before they start families.
It was interesting at the hairdresser - I heard one lady talking of how her family's application for emigration was going, and more talk of Australia from another young family. These are people who have decided to DO something about it now, and not wait. It has been a very long time since I have heard so many people talking of leaving. And the irony is that the drive now is not for impossible dreams, but for work. That simple. That essential. An ability to earn.
Are any of you doing Ann's Joy Dare this year? I am, but not on line, in my diary. It is such a wonderful idea, and adds so many new dimensions to my own list, which has been going for years and numbers well into the thousands. My gratitude journal is starting to look worn, and I love that. It should look well used and a little battered!
I have been thinking about how much I write. I write here, of course, and in recent weeks, I have started writing a great deal more with pen and paper. Do you remember those things? Pens? Paper? It felt really strange at first, and I realised just how dependent I had become on a keyboard. But what if the power goes?
So, at the start of the year, with my line a day venture, and the gratitude journal in hand, and a notebook in my bag to do the listography lists I saw Crystal do every week, I am making a start on a few things which my grandchildren will be able to pick up and look at one day. In my handwriting. Don't you just love finding recipes or letters written by your parents or grandparents? Didn't they write so beautifully? We have my great-grandmother's letters somewhere, and she wrote so elegantly. (I seem to have the word elegant on the mind at the moment.) My grandchildren may have a little trouble deciphering my scrawl, but they will see the words.
Good grief, I do ramble on. Cheese on toast calls. And that coffee. Happy Friday to you all!
*Edited to add: At 3pm, I suddenly registered the total lack of warm and cosy cooking smells from the crockpot, people, and I HAD FORGOTTEN TO SWITCH ON THE PLUG. How dimwitted can anyone get, I ask? I have been sitting in the same room at the computer and STILL did not register. It is turbo cooking as I speak. I may be eating at midnight. Screech.
Oh dear. We do become rather absent minded when on the computer.
ReplyDeleteHave been wanting one of those floor-cleaning systems. A mop that practically dances across the floor by itself.
The economy is tanking further yet here. It's a world-wide thing, except for Canada who seems to be doing well. I think we should look to the leader/s of those countries doing better and get a clue.
It was fun to read what you were doing and writing while your dinner was NOT cooking. Hope it got done in time to eat before midnight!
ReplyDeleteIt was interesting to read about your thoughts on "pen and paper", because I have been thinking of asking for a fountain pen for my birthday.
ReplyDeleteI used to love writing with one and I felt it made my handwriting much more "elegant", as you like to say!
It is a lovely word!
Oh gosh...that sounds like something I would do!!!!! I hope you can eat before midnight.
ReplyDeleteYou sound like a whirlwind of energy today.
I love to see the handwritten recipes in my file. I also know exactly what a recipe card looks like when I am searching for it. It is not the same as a computer generated one.
I love my Dad's handwriting - rarely see it anymore as he also uses the computer. I do a mix but not daily - would love to get back to writing somewhere daily. And I need to look into your line a day and gratitude journals.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing again.