My week off

I had a week off work last week. I’m very bad at using leave. Normally if I have a week off I spend the entire time trying to have a ‘proper rest’. The issue is that I’m not sure what I mean by a proper rest. Do I mean sitting and doing nothing? Curling up on the sofa with a cup of tea and book? Meditating? Having cleared all the jobs on my list?

I never know what time to get up. Should I set a time for each day? Or force myself to go back to sleep? Should I go to bed later then usual?

I always come up with a ridiculous job list. Just like I always pack loads of paperwork to do on long journeys and then don’t bother to look at it. Just have the joy of moving it from A to B and back again.

So last week in change from the norm I was busy all day every day. I got up just after Dear Heart had left for work. Then I had breakfast. On a couple of days I went to my allotment first thing. On other days I stayed at home. Apart form clearing out the pantry none of the things I id were really major projects. Just day-to-day stuff like doing loads of washing, going through bank statements and washing the recycling boxes.

In between I relined my winter coat, hennaed my hair and packaged up all the Christmas gifts I have bought so far. I stopped for tea breaks and lunch breaks now and then, making sure I really enjoyed sitting down with my book and something warming for a quarter of an hour or so.

I didn’t plan my week to be like this it was just the way it turned out. But I didn’t feel exhausted or panicky or that I should have been making better use of my time once. I enjoyed being in the moment and undertaking the tasks I was doing.

My conclusion is that I don’t do very well at taking things easy. I like to be busy. My grandmother used to say that she was not made to be a lady of leisure. I found that I was so keen to get on with things that I didn’t want to go to bed. But I made myself go so that I could get a good start in the morning.

I’ve also often found that I snack all the time when I am on leave. Not so this time. I assume it was a combination of being occupied (and not bored) and stopping for regular breaks.

Strangely though I was less interested in looking at the Internet. I didn’t post here apart from the first day. I used twitter a lot less. I didn’t check any of the blogs that I regularly visit. I did use my computer in the evenings to type my nanowrimo instalments

I’m going to try and apply this process of getting up early and having lots of small tasks to do during the Christmas break. If it proves to be effective I should start January feeling fabulous.

Bank holiday TV

I came across this on the BBC website this morning and it makes me sad that people choose to spend their day off watching TV. I suppose if they weren't watching TV they would be shopping.

I'm really looking forward to this weekend and I've got so many things on my activities list:

• Met my sister and her man for lunch and drinks and hear about her holiday and have a general catch up.
• Cook pittas from scratch and store in freezer
• Visit my allotment for a digging session and harvest veg to give to my sister
• Hang new sash window in bedroom (if it's delivered on time)
• Eat long breakfasts with Dear Heart
• Go for a country walk and pick blackberries (and apples if they are ripe)
• Play with my sewing machine
• Sit around reading and drinking wine while my face pack dries
• Put henna on my hair
• Take some time to think about the next few months and plan out things I need and want to do

I hope I can fit it all in!

This week I will...

When we last met I was perplexed that jobs seem to hang around on my joblist for a week or three before I do them. I think I worked out part of the reason why and it's very simple. I'm scheduling lots of things for me to do. Far too many. My average weekend job list contains between 13 and 20 items. So I need to firstly concentrate on core jobs and then add in maybe one or two extra things every week. I've got a jobs to do now and a long term jobs list so if I have space I can simply add one (or two at absolute max).

The other thing is that I'm not certain having jobs on a list actually motivates me to do them. I write shopping lists but I can walk around the market and pick up what I need without looking at it. It's simply there for reference. It's the same with jobs I set myself to do. I know what needs to be done. Maybe I need to listen to myself more.

So this week I've got a order a birthday present for Dear Heart's Dad, clean the bathroom and sort out the seeds for my allotment. I've very excited about planting the seeds and think there will be a post about this, maybe with a plan of where they will go, coming in the near future.

I'm also sorting out some Sindy type dolls and accessories ready to list on eBay. I've got 2 Sindys, a Farah Fawcett Major, a Covergirl Darci and various clothes and accessories. But I'm only going to do this if I have time.

Heres to a productive week!

Unfinished thoughts

I've gotten into the bad habit of getting an idea for a post, adding it as a post and then saving it as a draft to polish and post later. But, and this is the problem, I don't. I let the idea sit there idling. I dislike this and want to clear up the unfinished ideas in the same way that I like to use up abandoned packets at the back of the cupboard.

I've had a very good couple of weeks. A few days at home making a top from scraps of fabric. A visit from my grandparents which included a huge bag of fabrics and trimmings they were clearing out. A sample of hair conditioner given to me while buying new soap in Lush. An afternoon at the Theatre (The Vortex -must add some Coward songs to my ipod). A lovely new green coat from Dear Heart's mother. Very garlicky home made spread.

My new favourite blog is Gala Darling's Icing. I love the weekly resolution that she is currently posting. I write my jobs for the week in a little notebook (often sprayed with perfume). These posts have made me think a bit more about my list and to move on from simply listing dull routine tasks. It's nice to be able to tick off having done the washing but better still to tick off written letter to friend or repaired boots pushed to back of cupboard.

I think my first resolution for the week is to complete at least one abandoned post. I also want to write a long letter to my friend Sean and take the bags of stuff under my desk to a charity shop or two.

Have a marvellous Monday, dear readers.

A marvellous organisational tip

When I had to wear a suit to work it was very easy to get dressed (if rather boring). I had 5 outfits (more or less - the end of the week could be a struggle) and I knew what I would put on everyday.

Lately I've been finding myself standing in front of my wardrobe (a lovely piece of furniture formerly owned by a distant cousin I always called Auntie) and pondering over what to wear. Yes, pondering. Something I don't really have time for at 6.15 a.m.

Then I read a marvellous tip in Easy Living (February edition - must check which nice person suggested this - think they were something to do with handbags). Now every week I plan food for the following week; I work out what we are likely to be eating for dinner and what I will be eating for lunch so that I know what food to buy and can try and make preparation as straightforward as possible. Imagine how much simpler mornings would be if I planned my clothes at the same time. I could ensure that I wasn't selecting items hiding at the bottom of the wash bin far enough in advance to do something about it. I shall see how it goes but I do very much like the sound of this.