Sunday

Well after our very hectic day yesterday we all laid in til lunchtime!

I'd been awake since about 9 but just lazed in bed catching up on some reading until about 11.30 when I thought I had better put the chicken in the oven if we were to have a proper Sunday dinner anywhere near lunch time!

Had a lovely meal then caught up on Jenny and Rob's photos from skiing in France, and Becky and Rob's Paris photos.  

Simon took Becky and Rob back to Sheffield via Crispin Drive where he cut the grass which he'd intended doing on Saturday but couldn't due to the rain.  

I decided to use the opportunity to go for a run. It was a lovely sunny day with nothing spoiling.  When I started, I thought I wouldn't make it as far as the Co-op but I kept slow and persevered and ran a few meters further than I had last time I went out.  Was really pleased with myself and gave myself a good talking to about what we can do when we put our mind to it instead of giving up before we start.  I had two short stops on my circuit  and my goal for next time is to get it down to just the one stop.  I have a few more longer term goals but am just going to focus on one at a time at the moment.  I'm going to try to get out every other day if I can.  

Two down ...

Once Simon was home we headed back to Sheffield to take Jenny and Rob to the train station. We were ages early so stopped at Beauchief Abbey for a half an hour walk (more exercise - go me!!) and got some nice photos of the woods and Abbey.

We headed to Becky's for a quick sandwich tea and then to the station. Becky went off to meet Rob to go see The Last Shadow Puppets at Sheffield City Hall - there was a possibility of a late ticket for me but by the time Rob got to the front of the queue they had all gone. Probably for the best being that I was still dressed in me sweat pants and trainers from my run earlier :-). By all accounts it was a great gig.  I'll look forward to seeing them in July at Castlefields in Manchester with Becky though.

I was very happy to come home and took to my bed once again whilst I watched The Durrells on telly. I remember reading My Family and Other Animals years ago and really enjoying it so have been looking forward to catching the series and enjoyed the first episode very much.

Saturday

We've bought a house in Sheffield to renovate  for Becky and Rob (1) to rent off us while they are at Uni.  We got the keys on Thursday and so went over with a load of tools, decorating and cleaning equipment today to make a start on pulling it all to bits.  Simon and Rob took off all the old doors, pulled up the bits of mis-matched carpets and a grotty built-in bed that had been in the small bedroom and took them to the tip whilst Becky and I set to scraping of various layers of wallpaper in the living room.

We were joined in the afternoon by Jenny and Rob (2) who were visiting from London for the weekend. They helped with the scraping and we just about got the front room finished before we decided to call it a day.

 

I think I can call that a good day's exercise!

Our soundtrack to the day was the new album by The Last Shadow Puppets, and Radio X whose playlist appeared to consist of songs circa 2000.  Good to hear some oldies that I'd forgotten about.

Becky appears to be spending most of her spare time on ebay and Gumtree sourcing second hand furniture as cheaply as possible.  The first item bought is a lovely beech table with a frosted glass top, a huge bargain at only £30. More so when the sellers decided to throw in the 3 powder blue dining chairs for nowt too.  Best bit though was when Simon and Rob (1) went to pick them up and got stuck in the lift :-)  

We decided to go for the easy option and get a Chinese takeaway for tea. It was lovely, and even better having a full table of people to share it all with.  We had a right laugh afterwards playing 'Never Mind the Buzzcocks' and Rob (2) (who says he doesn't 'do' music!) proved to be particularly adept when it came to tunes from the 60's and 70's.  See how influential music is!

Brilliant feel good day all round.  Retired to bed tired and happy.

She runs!

Well.  Over the past ten years I've had many attempts at C25K, most of which have ended after about the third run because, well, it was just too difficult*

So this morning I woke up thinking I really fancied going for a run.  My self talk went something like:

"I think I'll go for a run.

Oh but you know if you exercise first thing in the morning you'll throw up!

Yeah, that's true, I don't really fancy feeling so shit. On the other hand, if I manage a bit of running I'll feel better mentally.

Yeah, but what if you throw up, just think how gross you will feel.

Hmmm.  Worst case scenario, I run, I throw up, and lose weight either way and feel more perky. Win, win. Let's do this" :-)

After a 10 minute throwing of clothes out of the wardrobe I finally found where I'd tidied away my sports bra (essential believe me!), put on the running gear and set off.

I decided not to take any music with me, as it makes me run faster, which at the moment is self-defeating as I end up crawling the last half of my course.   The goal is to just get out there consistently enough that it becomes a habit for me.  So I plodded along, and when I found I was getting too breathless I slowed down a bit.

My route is only one and half mile, but for the first time ever I managed it with only 2 short stops.  It was the best run I've done in the past 10 years.   I think I ran a mile and a quarter, and walked a quarter, and for a beginner, I'm really pleased with that.

And in case you're wondering!!! I didn't throw up :-)

I've decided to keep a record of my runs on here, but I'm not going to publish them until I feel I'm consistent enough to keep going. I'm really good at crowing about what I do, and then give up the next week, and I don't want that to happen this time.  If you are reading this then it means that I succeeded otherwise this post is gathering dust unpublished at the back of me blog.  Fingers crossed eh :-)

* I'm a woose and give up far too easily.

Never too old for some easter crafts

Fill water bomb balloons with 3 or 4 tiny chocolate eggs or chocolate buttons inside.

Soak some wool in PVA glue and stick on the balloon in a random pattern making sure that any gaps are smaller than the chocolate inside.

Leave to dry and check back tomorrow for the finished results!!

The Invitation

Just found this on Facebook and it has made me go 'Wow'. 

Amazing and oh so challenging:



The Invitation

“It doesn’t interest me what you do for a living.
I want to know what you ache for, and if you dare to dream of meeting your heart’s longing.
It doesn’t interest me how old you are.
I want to know if you will risk looking like a fool for love, for dreams,
for the adventure of being alive.

It doesn’t interest me what planets are squaring your moon.
I want to know if you have touched the center of your own sorrow,
If you have been opened by life’s betrayals
or have become shrivelled and closed from fear of further pain!

I want to know if you can sit with pain, mine or your own,
without moving to hide it
or fade it
or fix it.

I want to know if you can be with joy, mine or your own;
if you can dance with wildness
and let the ecstasy fill you to the tips of your fingers and toes
without cautioning us to
be careful,
be realistic,
remember the limitations of being a human.

It doesn’t interest me if the story you are telling me is true.
I want to know if you can disappoint another
to be true to yourself;
If you can bear the accusation of betrayal
and not betray your own soul.

If you can be faithless
and therefore trustworthy.
I want to know if you can see beauty
even when it’s not pretty every day.

And if you can source your life
from its presence.

I want to know if you can live with failure,
yours and mine,
and still stand on the edge of the lake
and shout to the silver of the full moon,

‘Yes!’

It doesn’t interest me
to know where you live or how much money you have.
I want to know if you can get up
after the night of grief and despair,
weary and bruised to the bone,
and do what needs to be done
to feed the children.

It doesn’t interest me who you know,
or how you came to be here.
I want to know if you will stand
in the centre of the fire
with me
and not shrink back.

It doesn’t interest me where or what or with whom
you have studied.
I want to know what sustains you
from the inside,
when all else falls away.

I want to know if you can be alone
with yourself;
and if you truly like the company you keep
in the empty moments.”

 Oriah Mountain Dreamer

Falafel burritos

Mmmm.  Left over rice and mint sauce from last nights Indian, tomato, lettuce and some warmed up cauldron falafel.

Gorgeous. And plenty left for work tomorrow.

And finally

... the last ingredient for my craft recipe.

Now I just need some time to pull it all together!

More supplies

Ooh how exciting!

More ingredients for my next project arrived today.

Just awaiting one more delivery then I can get to it.

New Project

5 x A3 sheets of polycarbon (black) - tick.

Just waiting for the rest of the ingredients to come then I'm off and running on a new craft project.

Chocolate & Vanilla

After 8 months of various amounts of upheaval, the hall, stairs and living room are almost re-decorated. 

After 20+ years of various shades of blue, we decided it was time for a change of colour.

Out went the border and wallpaper, in came the paint and dado rail.  I love it.

Just need some new curtains at the front door and that's the hall and stairs done, but here's some pics in the meantime.  

The only downside of it is that I start craving ice-cream every time I walk in the front door.