Month: January 2024

My week in 5 ..

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It feels like this week has been sponsored by Boots the chemist . I’ve a heavy cold and have been highly dosed up each day on throat lozenges and day / night flu remedies. I did do parkrun today, not one of my best ideas as my cold really did affect my running. However as I’m on my run-in to my 100th I’m trying to get there as quickly as possible and didn’t want to miss the run. I was hoping I could sweat the cold out!

With a cold and life as it is, there was lots of time for reading in the evenings. I loved and sped through ‘After I Do’ by Taylor Jenkins Reid. The story of a couple who take a break for a year to try and rescue their relationship. I was so invested in this story and felt the ending was true to the characters.

As well as reading, I’ve had time to potter in the evenings. My parents were able to go home on Wednesday afternoon and as Mr S is in bed by early evening, he sleeps lots as part of his recovery, I’ve had a little me time. I finished off my 24for24 list and added it to a Padlet so I can drop in a picture or comment as I complete each one. I have my first ticked off, clean my pier plaque and am working on others too. I like a mix of quick wins of things I’ve been meaning to do, little projects and more long term goals.

It was a wonderful surprise to receive some beautiful flowers from my uncle this week as a little thinking of you gesture. I was so happy to see him last year after he had been so ill and his generosity and kindness was most appreciated this week.

Finally my 5th thing of the week was a new bag. I’m always on the quest for the perfect bag and had been looking at this one for a few months online. I had liked it in bright pink but when I saw the duck egg was half price I opted for this. I love it so much, I’m using it as a work bag as it fits in my small laptop perfectly but am also toying with the idea of a different colour for non school days too. It’s a vegan leather product and has my initials embossed on it too.

My week in five …

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As the new year begins, I decided to try and revamp my weekly recaps which I have done for nearly a decade in different guises. I’m choosing to focus on five things each week, but we’ll see how the idea develops in the coming weeks.

This week has continued to be focused on my husband’s recovery. It is now nearly six weeks since his ABI, but I’ve definitely seen real signs of improvement this week and some of the medical equipment has been able to be removed from our bedroom. I spent Saturday afternoon, tidying up the medical cupboard, returning the blood pressure monitor, thermometer and oxygen monitor. Its little things like this which really mean that things are moving in the right direction. He also left the house for the first time and walked a few steps along the pavement ably supported by me and with his stick, but gosh those few steps felt like a very big deal. 

As Mr S health improves it makes us a little more optimistic for the future and notably for our big holiday in August. It was planned as a post GCSE celebration but now has more meaning and I’m so pleased when we booked it we went for a big ‘blow the budget’ holiday. With all that has passed over the past few months we really need that special celebration. Fortunately, my annual pay rise has covered the extra expense and we are excited for the summer.

Obviously there is nothing on my calendar apart from medical appointments at present and when I finally sit down each evening it is with a book. I really enjoyed the short story anthology by Lily King ‘Five Tuesdays in Winter’ It was a real mix of stories but all different and entertaining. My book count is pretty impressive so far this year, already ahead of target on my Good Reads book total!

I love to fill my house with flowers and I have been very privileged to receive some beautiful blooms from family and friends in the last few weeks. I have also received two floral gifts from my son, who as part of the taster courses at the local college has done two weeks of floristry. I don’t think its his chosen career path and he’s looking forward to moving on to catering next week, but I appreciated his efforts.

I finally got my favourite winter fruit this week, lychees. I always try to have a bowl at Christmas but the season seems a little later this year and its taken to mid January to find them in the shops. They are my little juicy bites of sunshine in these winter days.

My weeks .. the ones with busy monotony

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I have discovered in my new role as carer, that life can be extremely busy but also incredibly monotonous, meds, personal care, meals punctuate the day whilst medical admin, requesting prescriptions, chasing up referrals, equipment etc. can all be quite time consuming too. Add work, which thanks to my employers has been adapted to teaching in the mornings only and then prep at home in the afternoons, mum duties and daily life and you can see why I can only deal with one day at a time. 

This week, I’ve been trying to find small pleasures to lighten the days. I treated myself thanks to some gift vouchers to a Neom diffuser and the smell certainly lifts my spirit. I’ve also finally bought two frames for prints I received for my 50th in the summer and arranged them in their new places, my Limited edition 1973 picture is on my desk, whilst the beautiful Old Friends tree print is now hanging on the wall. These are jobs which didn’t take lots of time, but feel like I’ve really achieved something. This sense of finishing a job is great in this time of uncertainty. I’ve done little jobs around the house, labelling the tv gadgets which keep on getting mixed up and driving me nuts and choosing a few new recipes to try. When I was in town picking up a prescription, I noticed the Oxfam bookshop was closing for refurbishment and picked up two Delia cookbooks for £1 each. I have also been trying to plan my wardrobe for our big summer holiday and have started using the Style book app. At present I am uploading photos of current clothes and thinking on the looks I would like to wear en vacances. My final job of the weekend was a walk with my son as I try to give each child 1:1 time at the weekend, even if its simply for an hour or so. On our walk, we went to the pier and cleaned my birthday plaque, again a quick job but one which brought great pleasure, of course the trip finished with tea and cake. 

2023, the highlights….

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2023 was a year of lows and highs, but with Mr S’ accident and subsequent brain injury we are finishing the year on a real low. However I also don’t want to detract from the highs, we had some wonderful family times and they should be celebrated. 

I have detailed all the highs in my blog during the year, but thought I would simply list them here so on a bad day I can look back and smile at the memories. This year we have loved exploring the British Isles and many of the highlights are from our holidays in the Isle of Wight and North Wales and North-west England, amazingly for the wet year we experienced all three weeks were drenched in gorgeous sunshine. But life also happens away from holidays, the family reunions were very special to me, as well as special days out. And sometimes its the simple things which bring joy to daily life, a brilliant book, a twirly skirt ..

My highlights of 2023

parkruns. Volunteering and running give me the reason to get up early on Saturday morning and go out. I always feel so much better for my parkruns and they are an important part of my week, socially and for my fitness.

Lessons in Chemistry. My first read of 2023 and the best book of the year.

Lemn Sissay. By chance, I saw Lemn Sissay was appearing in a local literature festival and just had to see him, his work has left a big impression on me, both his poetry and autobiography. This was my first literature festival and Lemn was everything I hoped he would be and more. My daughter came with me and loved him too.

Portsmouth. Another lovely spring weekend in Portsmouth, on the first day exploring the historic docklands and the second at Gunwharf quays for outlet shopping. The children loved their Nike bargains, I just cherished the relaxed days, warm sunshine and delicious dinner out.

Compton Acres. These are local gardens which I have meant to visit since we moved to the area, twenty years ago. I finally managed it in 2023 and LOVED the gardens, my new little sanctuary.

The Fashion Museum. Another place I’ve tried to visit for years. It was wonderful and I’ve become a friend of the museum as it was so special.

Chanel at the V&A. This was the highlight of an amazing day in London. Chanel’s work was beautiful and inspired We also loved our river ride, trips to Covent Garden, Harrods, Fortnum and Mason and Liberty’s and everywhere we passed as we walked 30K steps around London. 

Red and pink skirt. I bought this from Unfolded and is the most beautiful swirly skirt I have. My outfit of choice for many summer events. The most ‘feelgood’ clothing I own.

Dirty Dancing. This was an early birthday present from Mr S and was amazing and strangely emotional, I cried! We enjoyed an al fresco lunch on the rooftop of a Greek restaurant on the most perfect sunny day before enjoying the matinee. 

The Isle of Wight. There are so many highlights from the Isle of Wight which coincided with another May half term heatwave, the cycle ride around the island, the water park, outdoor pool in Ryde, a brilliant week away.

North Wales. I thought the North Wales coast where we stayed for a week was beautiful, rugged and wild, I loved the beauty and history of the area.

Liverpool. Whist the football mad boys went on a tour of Anfield, my daughter and I went on the Beatles open top bus tour and it was brilliant fun, great social history, fab photo stops and a Beatles singalong. We then walked around, did some shopping and went on the Ferris wheel, such a good day again in glorious sunshine.

Blackpool. This was such a great base for the week. I loved all we did, the Blackpool tower on a clear blue sky day, the Pleasure beach on one of the hottest days of the year, an indoor water park. Blackpool was fun with a capital F!

Manchester. This was a day trip from Blackpool and we went through to Manchester to see the Lowry exhibition. It was so good, and the accompanying short film really set the scene. It affected my impression of Manchester as I could still see the themes of his work reflected in the city today. I was delighted to find the Pankhurst statue in town and marvel at the library too. 

The Air show. We had to postpone our original planned trip as it was so wet and miserable, but did it a few days later in gorgeous sunshine. Again it was a fantastic day, great displays, a buzzing atmosphere and just a fun day en famille.

CPR. I did the training as part of my work in July never thinking I would have to do it for real in November. The patient survived and my highlight is the happy ending.

Christmas Tree Lights. One of my favourite local events and this year, after a hiccup on our first attempt, my son and I had a wonderful time, the lights are stunning and we wondered around full of festive cheer. We had the most amazing hot chocolate in twinkling mugs, all the festive feels. 

Family and friends. I love our family and friends but Mr S accident has shown the deep love from our friends and family whom have reached out to support us. I will never forget their kindness, love and support and this is my biggest take away from 2023.