Showing posts with label work. Show all posts
Showing posts with label work. Show all posts

Tuesday, 30 June 2015

Sunny days

Today the weather was beautiful. Pretty much perfect: bright sunshine, warm, the occasional gentle breeze. A perfect day for doing nothing.

Durham Castle in the sun

But nothing isn't generally possible, and today was no exception. Tomorrow I start back at work after a year off, so there was the list of chores - things I'm not sure when I'll next get the chance to do: a couple of submissions to finish swatches for; a couple of patterns to add the finishing touches to; a test notice to write and post. And my son's school taster session, and having a little look over my work notes wouldn't do any harm, especially as both children were out of my hands for the afternoon.

So I spent the morning playing with my daughter and doing easy household things (loading and unloading the dishwasher, throwing several loads of washing in) while her brother was at school, whizzing her round the supermarket while she had a nap so as to make the most efficient use of time.

I probably should have spent the afternoon at home getting on with all the things that needed doing in the house, but instead opted for a quick walk round town to take in some sunshine and an hour in a coffee shop to have a look at a textbook relating to my PhD without the distractions of the house (it's hard going back to work after a fortnight's holiday, never mind a year off), before going back home and getting on with the chores,

I am aware that juggling two children, looking after a house, writing knitting patterns and working at my day job (especially during the intense write-up period) isn't going to be easy, so I'm not sure what will happen to this blog. The frequency of posts is likely to go down, as I suspect knitting and baking may have to take a bit of a back seat once I'm back in the office. But I will try to post at least once a week, which should be manageable. I'll still be happy to hear from you all, so please keep reading, even if it is a little less often - it's probably better that blogging takes a break rather than sleeping!

Wednesday, 8 April 2015

32 things before I turn 33


In the next few weeks I turn 32, and I'm not really looking forward to it. It's not the I don't enjoy birthdays, I do. It's more that 16 doesn't seem like it could possibly be half a lifetime ago. So rather than dwell on it, I've decided to make something positive of it and write a list of 32 things that I need to do before my 33rd birthday. Some are fun, some are things I've been meaning to do for a long time. Some are with the kids and my family, some are things purely for me. Hopefully I'll manage to get them all done. And of course I'll keep you updated over the year on how my list is progressing.

Woolly things
1. A pair of non-vanilla socks
2. Go to a yarn festival
3. Make a wiggly worm blanket for my son
4. Join in a mystery KAL
5. Host a KAL
6. Dye my own yarn
7. Make my own stitch markers
8. Knit a shawl featuring at least some lace
9. Knit socks for my husband
11. Knit a striped shawl
12. Submit a pattern to Knitty
13. Knit myself a cardigan

Baking things
14. Make fudge
15. Bake a battenburg
16. Make macarons
17. Make meringues
18. Make a tarte tatin

Photography things
19. Take a photography course
20. Make our wedding photo album
21. Make our 2013 photo album
22. Fill the empty frames with photo collages

Work things
23. Finish my PhD
24. Write a scientific paper
25. Get a proper job

Other stuff
26. Take my son to the North York Moors Railway
27. Sew a dress for my daughter
28. Get rid of any pre-baby clothes that are never going to fit again
29. Visit Edinburgh
30. Get all my badges stitched on my camp blanket
31. Get my birthdays calendar up to date
32. Walk barefoot along a beach