Half term done!!

Well half term has come and gone in a flash!

Jeff ripped up the old carpet on Saturday.

I then sanded and washed it all down, ready for painting. 

2 coats of undercoat before 2 coats of topcoat!!

Most of the week has been spent decorating!! 

I used to love decorating but alas, no longer do!! Don't get me wrong, the end result is lovely but......the actual decorating bit is just tedious! This small bit took 4 days, 4 coats of paint and was expensive to do!! Still, it's done now! The carpet doesn't get fitted for another week, gives the paint time to harden off. As paint is so expensive, and because there is a reasonable amount left, I need to keep the motivation going and re-paint the woodwork in the bathroom upstairs, which is scuffed and marked and maybe use it to do the coat cupboard door. Then there's the kitchen doorway surrounds and the actual doors, in fact all the woodwork in the house needs doing, plus new doors, and really the whole house just needs to be repainted and refreshed!! Will just park that for another day!!

We took a break from painting on Thursday, to go up to Cardiff to meet up with Sophie and Sam. Had a catch up brunch over at Llanishen Reservoir, before viewing 3 properties with Sophie. It was a useful afternoon, continued to clarify what she wanted, what is realistically available in her price range, what work she is prepared to do and what finances are therefore needed. A standard 2 bed 'box', an upgrade from her one bed rented flat, is priced at her top budget but most are ex rented properties and are in need of a lot of love and attention, a minimum immediate 10k spend, which at the moment she doesn't have! So we chatted through all the options and I think she's feeling a little more realistic and positive about things. The right house will come along, at the right time xx

Sam was on good form. Still focused and on course to finish this summer, chunking off the last of his assignments and essays, before a final exam in the summer. He was pleased to have finally mended his bike and got back out on it, speeds everything up! And I'm just happy to see that he has finally bought and wears a helmet!! He was going to come home for the weekend but as always with Sam, his plans changed, so only Sophie came back for the weekend once she'd finished work on Friday.

She met up with her friend, whilst I finished painting and then we went to see the new Bridget Jones film in Wells on Saturday afternoon. It was BRILLIANT! I laughed and cried, loved it. I read the book years ago, 12 yrs ago to be precise!! God, that makes me feel old!! Even bought it in hardback! And it was really nice to see the cinema full. At my weekday matinees, there is normally me and about half a dozen other people. It's only £5 and if not supported it will go and then it'll be too much of a hassle to go somewhere to see a film, so really happy to see all screenings were sold out!.

The weather has been mixed this week. Very cold to start, warmed up slightly, one sunny day, but a dollop of grey, damp, bleurgh weather in the mix. When he has been able to, Jeff has been out in the garden, cutting back the ivy and annoyingly, without consultation, my Blackberry bush! I love my blackberry plant by the backdoor. Can easily pick a handful daily when in season, and still have plenty to freeze. But he's cut it back to nothing!!! I'm not impressed!! On a more positive note, the daffodils are starting to pop up and flower in the lawn and pots, and when the sun has been out, it has felt like Spring could be just around the corner.

Although today is back to cold and wet and windy. 

So not completely out of the woods yet!

I've tried my best to keep focused during half term week. It's always trickier with Jeff at home and days out and this weather has me craving carbs, but I've made good choices when I can and I've been implementing the Glucose Goddess hacks where I can. I have had more bread/carbs than I should have but I start in the gallery on Wednesday and will have four concentrated days a week, to make a real difference. I can only eat what I take in with me and as I finish at 5pm, it's straight into making tea, so no picking/grazing/snacking. The one thing I really need to do is 'move' after eating. If the weather improves, I need to go for a walk around the block after tea and make sure I do a few rounds of the gallery after I eat my lunch.

My motivation.....Italy, in just four weeks!!

So, there you have it, half term week done! 

I've swapped the heart bunting for my cheery, yellow, spring/Easter bunting and have brought out the fake Forsythia!! Cheers up the dresser and is a prod to Spring to show its self. We finally got around to booking our accommodation for Lisbon in October, just need to book up the ferries needed for this summer. Sophie and I checked in for our flights to Pisa. We are going with just the carry on 'free' under the seat luggage option and waited for check-in to be allocated seats, so saving over £100 each. It'll be our first trip with the under seat 'free' luggage option and I'm very interested to see how we manage. We're only going for 5 days, one change of accommodation, so will be a good test. So four weeks of the gallery ahead, my focused health kick and hopefully better weather!!

Love is in the air!

February, so far, has been cold, damp, grey and miserable, so I injected a little colour with some red, felt, heart bunting, just £2 from Tesco's, in preparation for Valentine's day. My yellow bunting will go up soon and the fake forsythia will be out, encouraging, sunshine, warmth, brightness and Spring!

I've been helping out up at school, in the gallery this week. It's been good to be busy and not just sat gloomily looking out at the grey weather! This year Millfield is celebrating 90 years and one element of the celebrations is a 90 Photographic Portrait Project. The students had a workshop with photographer Finn Taylor, then went about photographing various members of the Millfield community. 90 portraits were selected, edited, and finally, I got to print out the final results. 

Derek framed them all and ...

Rach and Jen curated the order .....

before Derek and I spaced....

...and hung the portraits.

I LOVED it!! Completely in my element. I love display and remembered in conversation, that I actually did my dissertation on the importance of display. I am such a visual learner and that's also why I take so many photos and why I love my little job in the gallery.

Friday was Valentine's day and Jeff broke up for half term.

Although I spent my Valentine's evening in Bristol at the theatre, 

watching Dear Evan Hansen....

....with Sophie!

She'd seen it back in early 2020 in London with a friend, just before Covid happened!!

 And said at the time, that if it ever toured I should go.......so we did! 

We met for food first. Had a good catch-up, tried to lift her spirits. She'd just put in her very first offer on a house but got pipped to the post by a better offer. So we talked through the disappointment and by the end of the evening and turned it all into a positive, and as I always say...things happen for a reason and this one wasn't meant to be. It's hard doing it all on her own. Last house viewing she took Sam and we're going up in the week to view a couple, to give another opinion. When the right house comes along, and it will, it'll have been worth all this stress and emotional upheaval but at the moment it's an additional burden she doesn't have the capacity for..

Jeff says we'll never move again!! We've been in this house for 9 years now, and are only now finding the motivation to tackle the stairs and landing. I was supposed to do it last year but my frozen shoulder got in the way of that. No excuses this year, we've no where to be, it's not great weather, it was supposed to be just the two of us, so not bothered about exposed gripper rods as a painful trap. Somehow the kids have us booked in for next weekend, so they have been told to bring home their crocs!! The carpet doesn't actually get fitted for another couple of weeks, as the paint needs to harden off, so the hazard will remain!! 

My other surprising motivation, has been staying focused on my Italian countdown health kick. Despite the cold weather, I have pretty much been eating well, no real carbs other than my Valentine pizza date and a couple of slices of sourdough.  I actually managed to lose 2 and 7/8 pounds, so near enough 3lbs!! Half term makes things slightly trickier with Jeff at home, enjoying carb'ier lunches, possible days out, kids coming home at the end of the week, but!! I do not want to waste this weeks efforts, so I must do my best to remain focused, 5 weeks to Italy and counting.

I'm going to continue to drink plenty of water, have my veggie starter, focus on fibre, protein, and good fats. Might not walk as much as I'd like, as we're decorating this week, but see how I go!

And it's at the mention of decorating, that I must love you and leave you and crack on. Jeff's just finished pulling up the carpet. I now need to sand down all the wood work, wash it it all down, hoover up the mess and then I can start actual painting!! I always think the prep is the worst bit. Just need to keep reminding myself it'll be worth it in the end. Hopefully I'll have something to show you next week.  

A busy week

A beautiful sunny morning to kick start the new week, but not the best start for me, with the dentist for a check-up, first thing on a Monday morning. I do have an old root canal that needs re-doing, with an additional new crown, but at nearly £2000, I will take my chances!! 

To cheer myself up, I met my friend and old Store Manager up at Middlewick, to take her on her first outing up the Tor. You couldn't see it when I left home, but thankfully the weather improved! Was nice to see her and have a catch up, now she's retired!!

I went into school on Tuesday, to help hang the new exhibition. 

I loved it, right up my street. 

Derek did all the hard work, I was just his assistant! It's looking good. I am looking forward to hosting it after half term. It's the 90th year of Millfield School and there are a lot of extra things in the pipeline to celebrate, hence I'm helping out and freeing up the others to do the extra work! I popped in for an hour to add all the description labels later in the week, and am in again next week to help print, frame and hang 90 portraits!!

I wasn't needed on Wednesday, so I took myself off, over to Ham Wall. I love it there. 

I don't have the patience to sit for hours but I do occasionally get a good 'accidental' shot!

It is so beautifully still, peaceful and calm. 

My second 'happy place' after Stockhill Woods x

You can always guarantee a good capture of a robin, great tit and a bonus wren on this visit.! 

On Thursday morning I met up with Lynn before work. 

It was a frosty one, so we headed up Wearyall Hill to take in the views. 

There's still so much water on the Levels.

I came home to the most cheerful delivery waiting for me. Emily Powell is the artist I visited back in November, on my way back from Cornwall. She is the most colourful, creative talent, and if I ever won the lottery, I would fill my whole house with her work. She has a new exhibition opening soon down in London, at the Portland Gallery. This is the catalogue of her work 'Paintings on Prescription'. The next best thing to going to the exhibition in person.

Friday and Saturday were awful weather wise! Grey, dull, damp, cold, just plain miserable! I was supposed to be meeting my friend Claire on Saturday over at the Newt, but we cancelled! She was going to be coming from Cheltenham, so not worth it. I spent the day instead, sorting myself out!!! It's just 6 weeks until Sophie and I got to Italy for a few days and I want to be at least half a stone lighter, if not more!!

I have to watch a few podcasts, look back through some meal pics, just to motivate, inspire myself to take action. I hate a countdown but sometimes I need it! It's still a little cold to completely come out of hibernation but I have to make a start!

So I decided to get out and walk this morning! 

One leap too many!! 
Was too far into my walk to turn back!
And one muddy backside to show for it!

I had initially gone up to school to take a few photos of the spring bulbs flowering...

...then got distracted by the sculptures! 

It was such a lovely morning, I decided to do the loop across the fields!!! 

That was my mistake!

 Everywhere is still so wet and muddy! 

But I'd got to a point, where I was too far in to turn back. I did actually land where I'd hoped but my foot slipped and that was me, in a muddy heap!! Still, it's all been washed and been out on the line. No harm done, other than my bruised ego and bottom!!

I cheered myself up with a healthy lunch.

 Toasted sourdough, topped with avocado and soft boiled eggs! 

All in all, a good, positive start!!

So, another week done and another beckons. 

I have kept next week relatively free, so I can help up at the gallery once they are ready. Jeff breaks up on Friday for half term and I am meeting Sophie in Bristol in the evening for a theatre jolly! We've kept half term relatively unplanned too, as we're taking up the old carpet and I have to focus on painting the staircase and skirting boards before the new carpet arrives in a couple of weeks time. S&S might come home for the end weekend. We have a coupon to use, for a free National Trust visit and I'm meeting a friend one evening, but the rest is open to whatever!! Let's hope the weather improves.