1000th post - flashback

A thousand posts ago I wasx sorting my head out. I thought it might be nice today to re-visit the inside of that head.


Like so many others I am beginning to notice that I want to make changes in my life.

Everything is happening too quickly and in such confusion. Its always Monday, always Christmas, always washing day, its always ages until pay day. I moan about people wasting food when I read a newspaper article, and then I throw away something from the back of my fridge which has somehow got overlooked as my week rushed past me.  I slowed down. I really did it. The problem was always worrying about what else needed doing instead of enjoying the moment. I suspect that thinking things through as a prelude to blogging made this come right. Thank you bloggyworld.

It is time to slow down. Simplify and de-clutter are the buzz words but I visualise something more like a pruning. My cherry tree benefits from this when we remember to do it, so why shouldn't we too. Pruning can bring clarity and definition as it cut away the old dead wood.

My home needs to be the centre of my world. At the moment I expect a lot from it without giving it time and attention. The house itself is quite a small traditional semi built in 1908. It is packed to the eaves with far too much junk but it is a happy house and always full of visitors. I have got recycled, gifted and binned literally thousands of items, and missed them not once. We now fit quite well in a house which was once much too small.

I work full time and that isn't likely to change for a few years. I need to pay the mortgage but also I am lucky enough to that my job is important and the sort of work I would volunteer for even if I didn't need a salary. This is a good thing but work must also be kept in perspective. It cant be the centre of my universe.

So, we are content with ;-
the family, two lovely & occasionally troublesome teen aged boys and one grumpy old bloke (who is slightly younger than me but dont remind him as he gloats). Boys are now men, grown up and adorable. Certainly not troublesome. The old fella will be 50 this year and is not grumpy at all, turns out he was just ill.
the animals - two naughty and adorable cats and a chatty cockatiel. Sadly I lost both my cats in 2009. They were elderly but nonetheless too traumatic for me to consider replacing them.
the job I have been promoted since then :)
the car - ancient Astra estate Sadly Sally the Astra went to the scrap yard in the sky. I now have an almost as ancient VW Golf with only 40,000 on the clock.
the house - small but perfectly formed, however the extension is nearly finished. It is finished and we live in it. House fits us well now.
the extension - home built by us, except for some of the electrics, and mostly from recycled and scrounged building materials. Yaay, all good.
the garden - still suffering from the building work but it was rather cute before and will be again. And it is again.
the allotment - the sister and I spend a few happy hours each week in the 'green gym' which is just 10 minutes walk down the lane. We couldnt manage this too, long, long gone.

and we are slightly less content with;-
the overcrowded house - No longer overcrowded
the 'lost' things which are often re-purchased because I cant find the originals. Not any more!
the food which get thrown out because i forgot it needed producing at meal times. Not any more!
the birthdays & anniversaries which get forgotten and the associated guilt buying. Aha, no, not now. Thank you Facebook and Outlook!
the 'cant find anything to wear to work' about 4 times every week. Nope, all sort when the house was de-cluttered
The grumpy old blokes blokes business, which is taking a long time to build up and which is suppose to support me in old age! Sadly this failed as the world economy dipped. We will finish paying debts relating to it within the next 3 years.

Something else to add to my list of things which I am already quite content with, although this does need some extra work.

Cooking. I like to cook, beloved likes to cook sometimes, if reminded and we all like to eat so this should be an easy area for an overhaul. We already avoid convenience food on the whole but there are definitely areas i need to address. I need to get more organised with regard to leaving things to decompose at the back of the fridge and not making so much that we are sick of it before its gone. I also notice that as the week goes on then I get worse at meal prep and Friday night is quite likely to end as takeaway night. Takeaways don't feel like a treat then, just a re-fuelling exercise and this also needs attention.
There are some convenience foods which I do use, tinned tomatoes,baked beans,corned beef all spring to mind.
There are two possible ways forward here that I am considering. The larder method, whereby I keep up a constant supply of everything decide on a daily basis what we will eat. This is a more organised version of my current method. Another option is to meal plan for a week or so at a time. I can see advantages to this but what if something happens unexpectedly, will everything go to the dogs in my plans. Things most likely to happen in our family are kids eat a grandparents house and aren't hungry when they get home, beloved has to work late or extra and doesn't feel like eating by the time he gets home, a good price for chickens etc mean I stock up and we get lots of chicken meals for a while, more important what if i just don't feel like cooking what is on the master plan for today. I went with the larder method. Still working

I am astonished, looking back, at the power of small changes. Life is good and wasn't always so.