My Lovely Husband..

 

Mark..

32 Years ago this evening we went on our first date.

You are the kindest husband.

 

You've shown your love in big ways..

- when you drove all the way to Geneva to rescue me when I was stranded by the Ash Cloud.

- as you've designed a sports car around my 'mood board' as a 50th Birthday present.

- when you drove all over the UK to find the 'perfect baby harp' for my new retired life.

 

But you also show your love in little ways..

- happily searching for fabric bargains in the discount corner of my favourite shops.

- fixing the pedal as quickly as possible on my vintage sewing machine.

- sharing your Salt and Vinegar Crisps.

 

It's not easy being married into a family with HD.

You take on the 50/50 chance of a compromised retirement and a major care role.

You're currently dealing with the challenges of my Mum.

 

I think you're amazing and I love you!

Jx

Back to Normal..

Now you see it...

(sorry about the blurry photo)

 

..now you don't!

I love decorating the house for Christmas,

but there's something rather satisfying about the TIDINESS

of the lounge without the Christmas tree.

 

But what's this large box doing in the hall...?

I'm not in the mood for anymore clutter....

 

 

Mark's bought an exercise bike.  It's gone into the little bedroom above the front door - which we jokingly call "the boys' room".  It's where Mark has his Playstation, car books and DVDs.  It's also where Thomas the cat quite like to sleep - if he can't get into his favourite spot by my pillow!

 

We decided to buy the bike because Mark's job has become increasingly 'desk-bound' and he's struggling to schedule regular activity into his days.  The idea is that he can go for a gentle 'ride' while I'm doing my early evening teaching sessions.  So far he's done about 20 miles of cycling while still playing his favourite PS3 games... sounds like a good multi-task!!

 

I've actually got on it too... when no-one was looking.  I found the 'going downhill with the wind behind you' setting, which completely suits my level of cycling skills at the moment.  3km on the bike, followed by a little Tai Chi seems like a nice way to start the day in these dark winter mornings.

 

Starting Small..!

Jx

 

You Can't Beat...

..a little bit of fabric therapy.

I managed to buy a whole pile of festive fabric from 'Oh Sew Crafty' in Kidderminster.

Some of these 50cm and 100cm pieces were just £2/£3!!

I hope to make a patchwork stocking for every member of the family for next Christmas.

My "Crafting New Year's Resolution" is to schedule 'makes' so that they don't become chores!

 

 

You also can't beat a brisk walk by the River Severn in Worcester on a sunny winter's afternoon.

There's a lovely circuit which takes a path down the back of the racecourse, over the main city centre bridge, back over the footbridge by the rowing club and through an avenue trees to the car park.

 

I guess it must be somewhere between 2 and 3 miles.

Since I've stopped work I try to walk it at least a couple of times a week.

 

It's far more beautiful than the street circuits round the village

- especially in the light of a mid-winter afternoon..

 

While I was walking today I realised that I'd been really daft when I set up another completely new blog for 2017.  Mum's illness is an increasingly important part of my life (and one of the reasons why I didn't post for much of 2016) but essentially my day to day posts haven't changed at all.  So a few tweaks to the header and those explanatory pages at the top should be enough to 'set the scene'.

 

In this house we call these kind of episodes "Blibble Moments".. The rough translation is harmless, but time-wasting, stupidity....!  Do you have similar 'in house phrases'?

Jx

Forgive Me...

I think I've been a little bit stupid!
I started a completely new blog... when all I needed to do was tweak these existing pages.
Duh..................................................................




Give me an hour or so..............................
Jx

Happy New Year!

Dear All,

I've started the new year with a new blog, which deals with the some of the challenges of living in a family with Huntington's Disease.  You will find it at Housewife, 50
I hope that you'll become a follower of the new site!

Best Wishes for 2017,
Jan

Rewarding me... for a complete lack of loyalty!

 

Last week Sainsburys sent me another pack of 6 X £6 off a £30 shop.

This is probably the fourth pack that I've had from them since October.

I think their huge database of nectar point information can't handle the fact that we get weekly fuel points (because Mark likes to put BP fuel in the car) but we never shop at the stores.  As a result, they are desperate to reward my complete lack of loyalty/"entice me back" (depending on your view point!)

 

I am actually a very loyal Aldi shopper - but there are still a small number of 'branded' items that we use and we tend to pick these up anywhere that we see them discounted.  I checked the cupboards this morning and decided that I was low enough on these items to commit to a £30 shop at our local Sainsburys....

 

I approached the whole exercise in a 'super-strategic' way, with a detailed list of things I needed or that could be added to the store cupboard/freezer.  I walked round the store with my vintage Casio calculator and added up everything as I went along.....

 

Goodness only knows what the CCTV and shop security thought of me as I circled the store several times to get my best bargains!!!!!!  Maybe they thought that I was on some kind of 'frugal reality TV show'????

 

 

Anyway, even the checkout assistant was amazed by my £30.30 shopping basket - reduced to £24.30 with the voucher.  Here's everything spread out on the work top when I got home....

 

 

Mostly I targeted items that were already substantially reduced, then had the additional pleasure of the extra 20% off.  There's a bag of frozen chicken pieces (already reduced to £2.50 before the voucher), damaged tins of soup and a premium peanut butter brand with a cracked lid (49p before the voucher), and lots of other sauces and dry goods that happened to be reduced this week.

 

When I handed over my Week One voucher the till went wild with BONUS voucher slips.  I've now got 'Triple Nectar Points' on my week two shop AND 200 Bonus Nectar points without spending anything at all (plus a couple of regular vouchers linked to a cheese purchase!)  If I use all six vouchers then I'll also be entitled to another large number of bonus points.

 

So - am I going to be enticed into a Sainsbury's shopping frenzy?  I'm not sure...

I know that my regular Aldi shops cost me £22 and £25 for a similar quantity and range of food.  It's nice to pick up some items that Aldi don't stock (like wholemeal pasta) and to enjoy that sense of 'grabbing a bargain' from one of the big supermarket chains. 

 

Beyond that, I feel a bit "miffed" with Sainsburys to be honest. 

My parents go to the same shop at least once per week and I'm pretty convinced that they spend about £250 per month there.  What price my parents' loyalty?  They never get these generous discounts and bonus vouchers...  Grrrrrr!!!!!

Do you feel the same way about the 'big' supermarket chains?

Jx

Absence...

I set myself a target last summer.

When I play the harp, I want to sound like some-one who has hours and hours of practice in their fingers.  I want to sound, competent, precise and assured...

 

 

Over the last few weeks I've lost myself for hours in my music.

Typically, I'm practising for 2 - 3 hours per day.

Last Sunday, I performed my first solo of the year - music memorised and rehearsed to a point where every play through was consistent (as close as I can get at this stage to a 'professional' performance.) 

I'm loving the process of giving quality time to something that I'm really passionate about... but I'm conscious of the fact that there's not a lot to post about...!

 

However..

I've kept up my clothes challenge and have completely avoided the jeans/hoodie combination.

My small private teaching practice is growing and I should have a little celebration when I finish teaching this afternoon (the first £1000 through the books).

I'm keeping fit by walking as far as possible every day.

I'm spending quality time with people who matter to me

.....so I suppose that I'm living my dream!

 

I confess that the whole process of blogging sometimes makes me feel rather guilty.

I'd love to be the perfect blogger - responding quickly to all your posts and posting regularly in return.  Unfortunately I don't have mobile access to the internet so all my posts are written on the computer in the study.  This seems to take ages so it falls down the list of priorities.  Then, when I realise that I haven't been near the 'blogosphere' for a while, I feel even guiltier.

In my previous life the comment would probably have been "Could do better!!"

How do you manage your blogging time?

Jx