Froglet

Good morning! I feel like I need a drum roll here... My spare room is empty and clean! Admittedly much of the 'stuff' is in the bath because I have a very small house and there was nowhere else to put it! I can't use it at the moment as the hot tap's not working - a plumber is coming in a week and a half so that's my motivation to get it emptied! I'm popping over to mum and dad's to borrow a camp bed and will then set it up to make a lovely bedroom for my 9 year old niece who is coming to stay for the first time on Sunday. I've done various bits of browsing about things to do together and some crochet will definitely be on the agenda as I taught her how when I stayed last autumn and she's going to do some baking as we're going to invite granny and grandpa for tea and she's doing pudding! Once her visit is over I'm going to continue with sorting and maybe even start decorating the spare room - or at the very least visit B&Q!

My timetables aren't detailed - I just split the day into 1/2 or 1 hour chunks and allocate a task or two to that slot. I've found that planning to do the same thing for more than 2 hours inevitably fails but I give my permission to stop after the allocated time even if the task isn't completely finished and I make sure that I plan in 'down time' too. So the other day I had something like 11 - 1.00 sort spare room, 1.00 - 2.00 lunch/reading, 3.00 - 4.00 ironing/tidy living room etc. Sometimes if I'm really procrastinating I set my timer for 15 minutes and just do a task for that long. Mainly because I'm not really on Facebook and the whole idea intimidates me!! 😆 I just accidentally discovered an old episode of Bake Off where they were making Viennese whirls - now I want to bake something...

Thanks for that - I'll look them up.

I still have a TDL although it doesn't have school stuff on it so often. I am still a master at procrastination and today resorted to writing myself a timetable so that I actually got something done. My spare room is making slow progress although I still seem to have a ridiculous amount of stuff. I have various bits to get rid of but even the charity shops in town are disappearing now and I have no idea where to take the 'too good to throw in the bin' things!

That's not nice at all Zigzag. Rest assured - if I ever come to stay I am the kind of person who tries to leave a place even neater than it was when I arrived! I've just been browsing places in Northumberland for a September getaway - no luck so far!

I’m glad you countered Sunnyday and that it seems to be going somewhere - fingers crossed it speed up a little. Quiet week here too - lots of late mornings. I have got myself a new phone and I think have sorted out all the things I need to on it so I’m feeling quite proud of myself. I’ve got on with knitting my new socks but have done nothing on the spare room. My niece arrives in a week so I need to get going on sorting it! Other than that no current plans for next week!

Sorry to hear about the house sale Sunnyday, hope it resolves itself soon. Have a lovely lunch on Sunday. I finished for the summer yesterday so today I'm having a lazy day - I didn't think I would be as tired only working part time but I am definitely sleepy. No particular plans coming up. My niece is coming to stay in a couple of weeks so I need to research some things to do with her and also sort out my spare room so she has somewhere to sleep! I also need to try to sort out a new mobile which I hate doing - I get very stressed trying to understand all the terminology and tend to keep a phone until it is no longer useable - that's just about where I'm at now so needs must! There's a few films and plays I want to go and see but also want to wait a couple of days until I'm less tired - I think a darkened room would have me snoozing all too quickly! Have a lovely weekend all.

You know it's been a good day in Early Years when... you're still getting sand out of your shoes 3 hours after the children have gone home! I've worked lots this week doing extra days and so on, I'm tired but we have had some lovely times. I have been fed many many 'milkshakes/icecreams/soups' from our seaside cafe and we had an amazing time creating a siphon using tubing to water the plants. End of year 'do' tomorrow - it's starting early afternoon so I'm contemplating a visit to Waterstones as part of my own end of year treat. After that 3 or 4 more days to go next week then I'm done. Congratulations on finishing Louby and all you others enjoy your weekend plans!

I'm with you on the heat Sunnyday! How lovely that you are able to go to see your granddaughter's performance - hope all goes well. I also love that advice from your MIL, I think I might try to adopt it as my own guidance. I have had a busy Friday so far - friends coming for dinner tonight (we first worked together nearly 20 years ago and still get together semi regularly for food and a catch up. I've tried to plan a menu that is light and doesn't involve too much hot cooking so I've roasted some mediterranean veg to have with chickpeas, will do a lemon couscous, a simple tomato salad, houmous, tzatziki and flatbreads and lemon mousse for pudding. I've cubed a load of watermelon and put it in the fridge for a starter. Now the cooking bit is done I'm going to get on with the cleaning. I have to say it's so lovely to be able to do this when I haven't spent the day at work. I love hosting but I have never managed to leave work at a sensible time and it was always a manic rush! Other than that I'm planning a quiet weekend mostly inside where it's marginally cooler! Take care everyone.

That was exactly what someone at school suggested. I think I'm probably just being a bit careless and was also tired (less sleep 'cos of the heat). Mostly just feel a bit daft!

Hello all! Really glad to hear Mr S. is doing better. Louby - I really hope you're not all tangled up! And afternoon tea - what a lovely thank you present - enjoy! I'm still a little sniffly but loads better than I was. I fell over again on Wednesday - slipped in the bathroom. All is fine but I think I need to make sure I wear something on my feet more often - I'd gone barefoot as I usually do in hot weather! Visit to Hardwick Hall yesterday which was lovely - they've recently had some portraits which had been for cleaning/conservation returned so there was a new exhibition to show them and it was fascinating. I am experimenting with easy homemade icecream (condensed milk and cream) which seems to work well. Other than that a quiet weekend although I have friends coming for dinner next Friday so I am having a happy time browsing recipes while I decide what to cook!

'Tis Saturday! Sorry I missed yesterday - so good to check in and see updates from lots of you! Sunnyday - I'm glad the caring fairy got to go out - hope you enjoyed your catch up. Sue - loved the poem, that describes me exactly! Zigzag and Louby - no storms here yet. I'm hoping for one today! School for three days this week was interesting - we did lots of things like closing blinds, paddling feet and 'forcing' water on small people but the relentless heat and increasing tiredness due to broken nights' sleep was making for some very hot and bothered people (both the adults and the small ones). I was due to work on Thursday too but the school cancelled as they'd had so many absent due to heat the previous day - to be honest I was relieved! I spent 2 very slow days, doing a few jobs early in the morning and hiding in darkened rooms the rest of the day. It is, thankfully, a little cooler and we have a little breeze today. I'm feeling a little sorry for myself this weekend - 2 days of a really sore throat has become a definite sniffle and then this morning I slipped on an unnoticed wet patch in my kitchen and fell over - wrench my shoulder and think I'll probably have a good couple of bruises next week. It could have been a lot worse though! I've done the usual Saturday jobs plus a little planning for next week at school and have now taken myself to the sofa where I will either read a book or knit some more socks (small and not sticky unlike the crochet blanket!). Enjoy your weekend everyone.

That is a gorgeous colour Cait! And in answer to your question (as a half way there southerner!) I'm taking everything slowly and my hot water bottle is in the freezer!

I planted my plants! Really looking forward to seeing how they fill out.

Good morning - 'tis Friday! Nothing in particular to report this week - my usual few days in school, I've started a new sock pattern and a new book. I am planning to try out a recipe for cinnamon rolls this weekend. The sunshine is lovely today and I'm planning to go to a local nursery's sale this morning whilst it's a little cooler. I need to do a little work to restore some order at home - I seem to have lots of half finished jobs around! Take care everyone, have a lovely weekend.