A Day in the Life... A Wintry Sunday

I enjoyed doing Upon A Solstice Day so much that I thought I would try doing another and maybe even make these photo diaries more of a regular thing.  Though I feel I should warn you that my photography skills are seriously lacking so I'll apologise in advance for any and all wonky looking photos.

As for my Sunday...

7.00am

I really shouldn't be awake this early.  Still the sky is pretty so it seems a shame not to try and take a photo of it at least.

8.00am

An hour later and the sky is still looking amazing.  Though I'm really hoping that no one is seeing the crazy red-headed lady who keeps dashing outside to take photos of the sky in her nightie.  Because yes that would be me.

9.00am

Look who's turned up for morning cuddles in bed.

Several minutes later after a ton of smooches...

Nudge has settled in for the long haul.  Seems I'm going to be staying in bed awhile longer.  It's a hard life.

10.00am ish

Finally up and it feels like a beaver socks kind of day. 

11.00am

Dishes done, laundry done, microwave and fridge cleaned... yep boring mundane chores.  Not exactly exciting I know.  Still they are out of the way which means break time with a cup of green tea and a new book.  

 

A book I won no less.

 

I know right?  How awesome is that.  Hopefully it will give me some inspiration.

1.30pm

 

I'm very much a hit and miss gardener but there's something about pulling out weeds and turning over soil that is very satisfy.

 

Sadly the garden is looking very bland at the moment with nothing in flower except the weeds.  

 

And there's a lot of those.  Like seriously... a lot.

Still now the weather seems to be getting warmer than the sub minus temperatures that we've been having I'm finally able to make a start using my fab Niwashi, a traditional Japanese gardening tool that my mum got me and which really is as good as everyone says it is.

2.30pm

Freshly clean and wearing my latest made-by-mum skirt for an afternoon outing.  I wonder where we are going...

4.00pm approximately

 

The bottom of the South Island.

It's a little overcast but the view isn't too bad.  Even better after a short walk we had...

Fish 'n' chips by the beach.  Well in the car as it's just a tad cold outside.  And there's no beach.  

The food on the other hand is just perfect.

7.00pm 

 

Back home and rounding out the day with series 3 of Luther.

 

With so few new shows coming out Other Half and I have been re-watching some old favourites and Luther is still just as good.

 

Just the thing to end the day on.

Book Talk: I've Been Reading...

It seems like ages since I've done one of these which is pretty sad considering I'm still trying to catch up with posts from all the book reading from last year let a lone this year's reading. All I can say is gardening and knitting and sprained ankles do not make for much room for any writing.  Still I'm here now, typing away and posting as fast as I can to try and make up for the serious lack of posts.

 

Crime, non fic, children's and chick lit feature this time around.

 

Though my crime reading was way, way down, the odd one managed to slip through; though they were less murdery and more thrillery if that makes any sense.  Leona Deakin's Gone was seriously good.  Even better I've now got her other 2 books on hold. 

 

There was also some really good non fiction that came out last year and I enjoyed all three of these very different books.  The Five was an interesting look at the lives of the women killed by Jack the Ripper while The Lost Family gave a fascinating look into the world of DNA testing and how it's helping solve crimes and family mysteries etc.  As someone who wants to take a DNA test one day this book was totally me.  

 

Chick lit by some of my favourite Chick Lit authors was next.  And as I've said many times what's not to love about a feel-good, light and fluffy Chick Lit novel.

 

Rounding out this lots reading were three super oh-so good children's books.  I've become a serious fan of Ashley Herring Blake's books which deal with identity and being true to yourself in such a lovely way that they always make me teary eyed but also give me hope.  And isn't that exactly what you sometimes want from a book. 

Upon A Solstice Day

Hello, it's me.  Yes I'm still alive.  Yes it's still winter.  And yes my brain is still weird and sometimes just won't let me write.

 

Other than that life is good.  Because what's not to like about winter.  Hot drinks, warm socks and all the snuggling.  If only it didn't rain I would be one very happy camper.  Even so the weather hasn't been all that bad what with lots of cold crispy frosty days and warm sun.  My kind of weather.

 

As for the Solstice...

8.30am

 

What I am doing out of bed at this time of morning is a mystery.  Especially as it's my birthday.  But up I am.  At least the weather outside isn't looking too bad.

Nudge seems to like it.  

 

This has become one of his favourite spots lately.  Mostly because he can see all the other cats wandering past as our place seems to be 'cat walkway' for some weird reason. Looks like birthday cuddles with the boy is not going to happen at the moment.

9.30am

 

Dressed and out of bed.  Psychedelic socks for a wintry pick-me-up.  Pink AND daisies.  Two of my favourite things.  As for the rest of the wardrobe it's sweatpants, long sleeve t-shirt and jumper.  Because yes it is that chilly. 

 

A few minutes later... 

... a cup of blood orange tea to start the day.  All in a pretty daisy cup.

10.30am

 

Walk time.  

 

Off into town and a nosy around the Op Shops while I'm there.  Although looking at the floor in our utility room I really need to give it a good scrub.  Maybe another day.  Like when it's not my birthday.  My shoes are also looking a bit sad.  Guess it shows how much walking I've been doing.

1.30pm

 

Finally back with my charity shopping haul.  A new bag for me as my only other bag is badly fraying on the handle.  Even better it only cost $4.  I also treated myself to a $2 jigsaw puzzle which I hope I can get stuck into it and cross another thing off my 101 Things in 1001 Days list.

 

All courtesy of Other Half who gave me some loose change he had found in the car and told me to 'treat myself'.   Frugal living for the win.

2.00pm

 

Courier parcels arrived and look it's presents from my mum and exactly what I wanted and needed. 

Several minutes later...

Trying out the new hot chocolate mix and it smells like marshmallows.  Having a mug of it with soy milk and some of my favourite biscuits which Other Half gave me as a surprise present.  The sweetie.

And shortly after that...

On the sofa about to watch one of my favourite rom com's.  Perfect birthday viewing on a misty day.

5.00pm

Is this wool awesome or not.  So pretty.  Now that I've had a short break from knitting for the past couple of weeks I'm ready to get back to it.  This is going to be a sweater vest.  Something to keep me warm down here in the boondocks of the South.

6.00pm

Mince on toast.  I love mince on toast and haven't had it in ages.  Being totally spoiled by Other Half who made this.

9.00pm

Oops forgot to take photo of dessert or anything else for the last few hours.  Good food always distracts me but I'm pretty sure you don't want to see a photo of an empty bowl.  The chocolate steamed pudding was good though.  Beside that we just finished watching the last couple of episodes of The Drowning which was really good.

10.00pm

Here's a candle.  Well an artificial one anyway.  I got a packet of these given to me at Christmas and finally remembered that I had them so it seemed appropriate to switch them on for the first time today.

Happy Solstice Everyone :)

Mays Plans... Which Might Not Be That Many

Man plans.  Then then we sprain our ankle - while gardening no less - and all the plans go up in flames.

 

Gardening, as my friends say, is evil.  And I starting to think they may be right. 

 

Who but me would sprain their ankle gardening.  I blame it on the annoying dips and potholes in the overgrown veg patch I'm trying to clear out.  Really though I'm just a klutz who didn't look when taking a step backwards.  And that as they say is the end of that plan.  

 

So instead I'm on the couch with foot strapped and raised, knitting and reading and watching really bad films from the 80s.  It could be worse.

 

As for future plans well they're still there, even if they're going to take me a bit longer than I first hoped for,

Reading

As you can imagine this suddenly going really well.  

 

My To Be Read pile is going down fasting than I can add to it.  At least I hope so.  Of course I'm tossing aside many of the books after just a chapter or two as they turn out to be just not for me.  Still... I have read some really great books too so I'm looking at that as a big win all round.  Enjoyable books AND getting my TBR pile down.  What's not to love.

Crafting

Crafting Queen is still on the ball.  I've about two thirds of the way through of my knitted cardigan.  Just a sleeve to go, then stitch it up and voila it's all finished and ready to wear this winter.  

After that I start on my sweater vest and maybe use up some of my left over balls of wool on some smaller projects.  

The cross stitching is on hold for now until I can save up some money for it.  Sadly crafting hobbies cost money so some saving is required.

Watching

Since I'm currently 'sofa side' I've been catching up on my Letterboxd reviews.  Something (as usual) I was seriously behind on.  Which meant some rewatching of old movies so I could review and rate.  All I can say is that the 80's made some seriously bad movies.

 

In between that Other Half and I have been watching Shadow and Bone which we half enjoying and half a bit 'meh' about.

Future viewing for the month is more movies and catching up on the latest seasons of The Blacklist and Line of Duty, both of which are seriously good.

Book Talk: I've Been Reading...

We can blame my complete lack of posts over the last month to me madly gardening and knitting in a desperate attempt to get on top of things before the freezing - possibly snowing - winter starts.  Because yes where I live now gets snow.  Quite a bit of it in fact.  Which means that winter will probably be a no go as far as doing any gardening.  

 

And the knitting... well what with the snow and all I'm definitely in need of some winter warming clothes so my current round of knitting involves 1st a cardigan and then a vest (why yes I am taping into my inner Giles) to help keep me warm which naturally means lots and lots of knitting before the winter hits with a vengeance.  

 

I feel just a bit guilty though about the lack of posts so here I am madly typing in between bouts of gardening and knitting and other tasks just so you know that I am still alive.  

 

As for the reading it's been generally comfort reading all round. A mixture of YA and Chick Lit, both of which I love.  When life feels all doom and gloom there's just something about a feel good book that helps me unwind and relax.  So naturally there's always a few, or not so few, on my reading shelf.

Book Talk: I've Been Reading

You're probably thought I haven't read anything in the past 12 months going the complete lack of book talk posts.  The year that was and still is took a toll.  Mostly on my writing and blogging but new year, new blog posts and book talk is back baby. 

 

So what have I been reading all this time...

YA was one of the few genres I found my brain could actually handle during last year so I filled it with a mix bag of rom-com romances (yeah it's a thing, just deal with it) and some serious drama (a school shooting and surviving the fostering system) all of which were really good.

After than it was onto some travel memoirs because if you can't travel then reading about travel instead is my motto  

 

It seems kind of demented when you're in a lockdown but dreams about far off places and adventures was just the kind of relaxation I needed so naturally I had to pick up a book or two... or three.  I loved all of these reads which were about exploring areas that most people don't go to either by foot or by bike.

Next up it was time for some crime.  Urgh.  Bad pun not intended.

Crime is usually one of my go to reads but during the start of last year's lockdown my brain really just couldn't go there.  So I mostly stuck to thrillery crime instead of the blood-and-guts kind of crime.  Less murdery rampages and more thrills and excite, if you know what I mean.  Although weirdly all three of these reads kind of cross over at times.  Maybe I just closed my eyes at the murdery bits...

And just when you think my brain couldn't get any weirder it decided that end-of-the-world type of books were just what I needed in my life.  Like seriously what is wrong with my brain?  And no you don't need to answer that question.

Instead maybe just wallow in some good dystopia fiction and eating plenty of chocolate while you do.

March Plans and February's Outcomes

You would think with doing 101 Things in 1001 Days I wouldn't need any more plans but like I've said many times - my brain is weird and likes to torment me.  Seriously though having monthly goals really does help to keep me focused and at the very least reminds me of what I need to be doing... even if I ignore it some of the time.  I also love making lists, so there's that.

 

Reading 

 

It probably doesn't need to be on the list but I'm putting it there anyway.  As usual no definite plans other than try to keep on top of my endless To Be Read pile.  E-magazine reading is going well, though I do keep copying articles to save for projects and things I'm interested in.  You can just see already that I'm going to have even more plans in the future...

Gardening

 

Do you ever feel like an explorer hacking his way through an endless forest?  That pretty much sums up my gardening mood at the moment.  Just when I've done one bit there's another bit to do and the trees keep getting taller and thicker.

So of course I took a couple... make that 4... days off and just read, knitted and walked.  Utter bliss.

Now it's back to the fray, hatchet in hand as I get stuck in.

Crafting

 

Going so, so well.  I am a Crafting Queen.

 

Cat blanket finished, cardigan for me started.  I've also got my eye on a sunflower cross stitch kit which I'm going to order and make a start on.

 

And it's not even winter yet...

Watching

 

9 seasons of Waking the Dead finished and completed.  Which probably explains why my crafting is currently doing so well.

 

I've now just started Men in Kilts, a quirky little travel/history/culture show staring 2 of the actors from Outlander.  Filled with lovely Scottish scenery, cute little towns and fascinating bits of information.  Really though I'm here to just swoon over Sam Heughan's (aka Jamie) Scottish accent.

Get Fit and Healthy

Feeling pretty good to be honest.  All this gardening and living off smoothies, scrambled eggs and plant protein meals seems to be doing wonders.  On the plus side the weight is still going down.  So win win all round.

Now just need to keep it up and maybe try to fit in more walking and some yoga.

Frugal Living

 

I brought a crystal vase.  For $2.  I know right?  Awesome bargain right there.  Especially since it was completely dirty and covered in layers of dust and grime.  Now it's looking all shiny and new and filled with flowers from my garden.

 

I also managed to retrieve a huge piles of North and South, Life & Leisure NZ and Next magazines from the local rubbish and recycling centre.  So now I've got even more things to read through the winter.

Writing

 

Blog posts is pretty much it.  I really do need to put some time aside and put words on paper instead of in my head.