It wasn't an easy start to the year for me. I have found that I've been struggling to get back into my old routines, especially when it comes to taking care of myself with healthy eating and exercise. But I have plenty to be grateful for, I've been enjoying the sunshine and I'm really looking forward to the coming months.
We have some exciting things coming up, and these are just some of them.
A beautiful new garden - work is well underway and I can't wait until we are able to use our new outdoor space. Fingers crossed for a lovely warm summer!
Seeing my plants grow - my tomato seeds have become seedlings, I have some new houseplants from my Mum which are flourishing, and our new lemon tree is flowering beautifully.
It's a year of concerts - we've cut down on the holidays this year to save some money, but we have managed to secure tickets for some amazing live music. Having started off the year with the fantastic Jason Donovan, over the next few months we are lucky enough to be seeing Supergrass, Kylie, Pulp, Oasis, Blackpink and Coldplay. Buying the tickets for all of these was pretty stressful at the time, but of course it's forgotten quickly in the excitement!
An exciting holiday - we do have one holiday booked this summer which is mainly funded with Avios points and my husband's hotel reward points. We are spending a few days in both Seoul and Shanghai which are both new and exciting destinations for us.
The end of the school year - I know that we have a way to go yet, but once the summer term starts it always seems to finish quickly. Even quicker for my son, who only has one week back after Easter before he leaves school to begin his study leave for his GCSEs! It will mean a change in routine for all of us with only one to take over to school and back, and things will change even more when he starts Sixth Form in September and makes his way under his own steam - it will be a really exciting new start for him.
What are you looking forward to in the next few months?
I know I'n not the only one with an inner voice that is constantly narrating what's going on around me - practising anecdotes, imagining difficult conversations and arguments, worrying about different scenarios, or worst of all repeating the same catchy lines from a song over and over again! Sometimes it's helpful, but most of the time it's just constant chatter that makes me feel more anxious and overwhelmed.
So here are some of the ways that I try to keep that inner voice at bay as much as I can:
Keeping away from social media and news websites - This is probably the biggest one for me. I often find myself scrolling, particularly Reddit or Mumsnet, to try and soothe anxiety. It can help in the moment, but over time it definitely makes it worse. If I make a commitment first thing to avoid it for the day then I find that I can keep to it quite easily, and I really do feel much better for it. I have enough going on my head already without needing to fill it with a multitude of voices and opinions from other people!
Writing it all down - I like to write in my journal, but I also find that writing a blog post can have a similar affect, although I end up going back and heavily editing it. Just getting all those thoughts out of my head and down on paper. If I'm worrying about lots of things that I need to get done or that I need to remember then I write them all down in a long list in my planner.
Making a hot drink - I don't drink a lot of tea or coffee, but I do like a nice hot chocolate. I'm working through a stash built up from Christmas as well as some fancy varieties that my husband brought me back from a work trip. I like the process of making the drink - find a coaster and mug, heating up the milk, stirring. Then sipping it, and really focussing on the taste and the experience as well as they physical warmth.
Photo credit Prophsee Journals via Unsplash
Going outside for a walk or a run - Although sometimes the inner monologue does follow me while I'm running, it doesn't bother me so much and I do sometimes find that it helps me to get my thoughts in order.
Reading - In particular reading something light with an interesting story that I can really get into. Concentrating on what I'm reading really helps me to focus my mind and feel calmer.
Doing a stretch or yoga workout - I have a few exercise videos saved in my playlist that always make me feel more relaxed and calm. They aren't long, only 8-10 minutes, and feature peaceful music in a scenic setting - I find that I always switch off when I'm doing them. I've linked one of my favourites below. Although it's titled as a stretch for splits it's just a really good way to stretch out the leg muscles.
Doing a jigsaw - I'm currently a bit obsessed with completing jigsaw puzzles, I have a large one out on the dining table that I'm working on every day. The initial sort through of the pieces is really relaxing, and then building the edge so that you can see the area you are working with. My favourite moment comes about two thirds of the way through, when I'm familiar with the picture and I can easily start slotting the pieces in place. It's really satisfying every time you put a piece in place, and I can get lost in a jigsaw for ages. Even if I get interrupted, when I come back to it I always find a piece that I'd been looking for straightaway!
Lighting a candle - I don't know why but having a lit candle nearby always makes me feel relaxed. Maybe it goes back to caveman days, gazing into the campfire at the end of a long day.
Mindfulness - I've put this at the end, because it's something that I'm still working on. It's something that you really need to practice, and I need to try and work on it a little more. I've tried various apps for inspiration but I prefer to just work on it by myself. I like to imagine the inside of my mind as an empty stage, and every time a thought comes I send it off the stage and back into the wings! It's also a really good way to learn to focus on steady breathing rather than the inner voice.
At the end of last year we completed our fantastic orangery extension to the back of our house. We are so pleased with it, we spend so much time in there now and feel really fortunate that we were able to make such a lovely addition to our home. The only thing that isn't so lovely is our poor garden! It was never exciting to begin with, and after all the work it has been pretty much destroyed.
We wanted to wait a few months before getting started, to make sure that we knew exactly what we wanted and also to get the finances in place. I know a lady who works as a garden designer, and so we commissioned her to come up with a design for our blank canvas garden. She has produced a beautiful design which really makes the most of the space, and I'm so excited to see how it looks when it's finished!
We are going to have a large patio at the back which will come out at the same level as indoors and uses matching tiles, so when the weather is warm we can open the bifold doors and it will feel like one space. There will a second paved area in the back corner for some seating, our fire pit, or hopefully a place to get our hot tub out again and a small lawn in the middle, surrounded by lots of plants and trees.
When it comes to planting I'm a bit hopeless, but I think if we can get a planting plan designed and set up then I'll be able to maintain it. We just need advice on what to plant and where to plant it!
The front garden has always been a bit of a mess. The grass doesn't get any sun, so it's mainly weeds, and the hedge is old and overgrown and looking very scruffy. I love my apple tree but it needs a bit of attention, and it's too tall now for me to easily prune it. We are going to use the same patio slabs to make more of a feature of the front entrance and to make a path leading around to the back, then use pebbles to make a beach themed planting area which should bring to mind our local pebbly beaches.
We are using the same landscaping company that we used to build our extension as we were so pleased with them. The work started with the first of several massive deliveries of building materials, I do feel sorry for our poor neighbours that have put up with all our disruption for a little while now. At least once this project is done we won't be doing any more work like this to the house for years - probably not ever!
If you’re considering moving house with a family, then you might be tempted by the idea of moving into something that’s been built in the last year or so – or even something that hasn’t yet been built. New-build homes tend to offer a number of special advantages, which families, in particular, may appreciate. Let’s take a look at a few of the more important upsides.
Energy Efficiency and Lower Running Costs
New-build homes are designed from the ground up with the needs of a modern household in mind. They are well-insulated, but won’t run into any of the ventilation problems that come with insulating an older property. They also tend to come with modern boilers (or heat pumps), double-glazed windows, and secure doors as standard. As such, you won’t need to worry about paying extra for upgrades in years to come.
Modern Design and Family-Friendly Layouts
The interior layout of a new build property also tends to be shaped to the tastes of modern families. That, for the most part, means wide open spaces, and combined kitchens, diners, and living areas. This might contrast with the multitude of smaller rooms you might find on the inside of, say, a hundred-year-old cottage. If your family has the same needs and tastes as the average one, then a new build property might provide exactly the kind of interior you’re looking for.
Photo credit James Feaver via Unsplash
Lower Maintenance and Fewer Repairs
Newer homes haven’t yet had time to experience wear and tear, which, generally speaking, makes them cheaper to run. You won’t have to put money into replacing or refurbishing your interior – and you can often have a say in how the place is decorated, which will save you the time and energy that comes with making changes to the interior. As such, you’ll be able to put more money into the changes that really add value to the property, like extensions and loft conversions.
Safe, Secure, and Well-Planned Communities
Many developments filled with new homes have been designed to function as self-contained neighbourhoods. You probably won’t have to deal with through traffic, which might lower the risk of crime, and help to ensure a safe environment in which to bring up your children. With that said, there can still be considerable variety between new-build neighbourhoods, and it’s worth checking the local crime statistics to see exactly what you’re moving into.
I've been buying books secondhand in charity shops for years, but even though I love jigsaw puzzles and find them expensive to buy new, until recently I had never considered buying one secondhand. But it I've been doing some browsing in local charity shops recently and I thought I would give it a go.
I find that prices range from around £3-4 which is a fraction of the cost of a new jigsaw, and when I expect pieces to be missing I'm less worried than when I've paid a lot for a new puzzle.
Here are all the charity shop jigsaws that I've completed so far - and I'm delighted to announce that none of them had a single missing piece! Some of them even had the edge pieces pre-sorted for me!
Spring on Park Avenue - Galison
Minifigure Puzzle - Lego
Space Hoppers and Scooters - Gibson
The Artist's Desk - Ravensburger
Shiny Summer - Andrea Tilk
The Fantasy Bookshop - Ravensburger
Cats and Plants - Corner Piece
There are a few things to be wary of with a secondhand puzzle. I have one jigsaw in my to do pile which has quite a strong smell of smoke. I'm hoping that as I work on it the smell will dissipate, but it is putting me off making a start. Another couple have had a slight smell of perfume, and one had quite a few cat hairs in the box. Not a problem for me as I'm not allergic, but I have to keep hoovering my jigsaw area.
World Wonders Panorama - Ravensburger
My current puzzle is a charity shop find that I was really pleased with. I was looking for some jigsaws with a larger piece count as they can be very expensive to buy new, and I love maps. I found this Ravensburger 2000 piece World Wonders Panorama map jigsaw which I was delighted with - I paid just £4 instead of the £30 or so it would cost new. Ravensburger is my favourite jigsaw puzzle manufacturer as I find that the pieces are sturdy and fit together really well. I've barely started but I'm working on it with the assumption that there will be pieces missing - it will be amazing if it's complete!
We are really pleased with our new orangery, and we've slowly been adding the finishing touches. The one thing missing is some greenery, and my husband was very keen on the idea of an orange or lemon tree. I wasn't sure at first because we aren't the most green-fingered people, and because we go away a lot I was a bit worried about how we would look after it. But a friend recommended a local citrus nursery, The Citrus Centre in Pulborough, and so we decided to go along and take a look.
We were really impressed! They had a huge selection of trees in all shapes and sizes, and the lady was really helpful. She could see that we were beginners and so she recommended that we start with a lemon tree. It's a four season tree, so there will fruit and buds all year round, and they are the easiest type of citrus tree to start with. We agonised over a few that were a similar size and shape before settling on an Amalfi lemon tree.
We transported our tree home like a newborn baby, going slowly around the bends, gently over the bumps, and with me sat in the back to look after it.
The tree will live inside over the winter and then move outside over the summer when the orangery will be too hot. It's almost time to move it outside, but we are having work done on the garden over the next few weeks so it will live inside until that is finished. I was surprised to learn that they only need to be watered every couple of months or so, and then when you do water them you give them lots all at once along with some feed.
We've bought her a pot and have named her Lily. We will be leaving most of the fruit on the tree for decoration, but as it had six lemons when we bought it we did harvest one which I used to make a delicious lemon drizzle cake.
I really hope that Lily is with us for a long time to come!
Recently I read this quote - "A puzzle won't solve all of your problems, but a puzzle is a problem you can solve" - attributed to Rachel Miller. It helped to explain why I've spent the last few weeks obsessed with doing jigsaw puzzles, it's a brilliant way to calm my mind and to feel that I'm keeping things in order.
I go through phases with my jigsaws, sometimes I'll be working on one after another after another, and then I'll put away my jigsaw board for months at a time. Recently I've been doing some book shopping in charity shops, and I decided to try my luck with buying some jigsaws, deciding to make peace with the fact that they may not be complete.
Although the local charity shops do stock plenty of jigsaws, I'm quite fussy about what I like. I prefer a modern illustrative image rather than a photo, and I'm not keen on the cutesy, nostalgic scenes that seem to make up most of the offering. For my first purchase I was delighted to find this New York street scene jigsaw, and when I found that it was in good condition with no missing pieces I went searching for some more!
It took a bit of browsing, but I came home with a small haul. I couldn't resist starting with this Lego Minifigures jigsaw which wasn't nearly as difficult as I was expecting. It was really fun to put together and not that difficult at all - I loved all the different figures. It was a nice alternative to all the actual Lego that I've been building recently to sell on Ebay!
Lego - Minifigure Puzzle
This jigsaw with an illustration of nostalgic toys is as far into the nostalgia theme as I'm prepared to go! It was a sweet collection of different childhood toys, one of those puzzles that you can't really sort into sections you just have to lay out all the pieces and hunt for them a few at a time.
Gibsons - Space Hoppers & Scooters
This puzzle from Ravensburger I borrowed from my Mum, I suspect it was another charity shop purchase as the edge pieces were neatly sorted into a little sandwich bag inside! I don't mind that at all, it saves me a job and it also suggests that the previous puzzler cared about making sure that all the pieces were present. I think that Ravensburger is my favourite jigsaw manufacturer when it comes to the shape and fit of the pieces, and this one was a lot easier than it looked!
Ravensburger - The Artist's Desk
Finally I'm currently working on the last puzzle in my stash, another Ravensburger called The Fantasy Bookshop. I've been admiring this one for a while online, so I was really pleased to spot it for just a few pounds. It's quite a tricky one because there are lots of similar looking pieces, but it's coming together nicely. I'm really enjoying making the most of our extension and working on my puzzles in the sunshine under our beautiful lantern roof.
Now that I've reached the end of my pile I think it's time to do some more shopping, and this time I might see if I can find one with a few more pieces than my usual 1000 - maybe then I won't be getting through them quite as quickly!
