I've spent much of today staring at a slightly more rainy version of this view from the living room window. It's nearly September, which is one of my favourite times of year for plotting and scheming. There's a third of the year left, which gives a sense of hope that there's still time to achieve something, and it's the start of the new school year, which always gives me a sense of promise. I'm in a pondering mood, and have been thinking about plans, both short and longer term. I don't think I really made any resolutions this year, so there's nothing concrete to look back on and try to make a final push of progress. I've got my 20 in 2020 lists of course, but that's more about cheerful little things I wanted to spend my time on, rather than big overall goals. I usually do some planning towards the end of each month, and at the start of each year I create lists, split into categories (home, garden, health, money, for me, for us, and 'other'), and allocate goals to time points (within one month, within three months, within six months). I revisit these throughout the year, and often find myself shifting things down the categories when I haven't finished them. Today I'm doing lots of pondering about these categories, and what the future might bring, and what I'd like it to bring, so I might as well share some of my ramblings here. Don't expect too much coherent thought... Home This should really have been the main focus for this year, but for various reasons it hasn't been, and I'd like that to change. There are two elements: (1) DIY; and (2) general tidiness. In relation to DIY, this has been our kitchen since the builders replaced our sagging, rotten joists at the end of last year. We've become far too used to our temporary kitchen in another room, with a microwave, toaster, tiny oven, and two-ring induction hob. The sink is at the bottom of that small staircase in the left of the picture, and the temporary kitchen is at the top, so it's rather a nuisance to trek up and down to drain rice and do the washing up. Not enough of a nuisance that it's prompted us to do anything about fixing the kitchen though. We paid for the builders to do the ceiling, but wisely or not, we're doing the rest ourselves. Or not doing the rest ourselves, as the case may be. There has been some progress this month - I've ordered everything we need to fit insulation and plasterboard in between the joists, and done an experimental section which I'm delighted to stay is still attached to the ceiling several days later. I remembered that towards the end of doing our old house ready to sell it, I created a separate page on my blog where I listed what I'd done each day. You can see it here - it covers the last year before we sold the house, and looking back now I'm in awe of what I got done (that list was just things I did, not Peter) on top of a full time job. I think I need some more of that energy and focus now, so I've created myself a new page on this blog to do the same thing. We don't have the same sense of urgency (we're not planning on moving again any time soon, if ever), but I would like at least a semi-functional kitchen by Christmas, even if it's not completely finished. We'll see. The second aspect of home is day-to-day tidiness. I've always struggled with this. I'm not naturally tidy, but I do like living in a relatively tidy home - but having a building site in the middle of the house tends to make me feel like not bothering. We try to keep the living room/temporary kitchen/bathroom areas of the house clean and relatively tidy, and the room where I work, but other than that, things are rather a scruffy mess. Washing doesn't get put away, chicken bowls pile up and occasionally go mouldy, bottle recycling accumulates for months before being taken to the tip (I'm blaming lockdown for the most recent incarnation of that last one). I don't really have anything wise to say about this. I've been re-reading Rhonda's blog about housework and homemaking and trying to rediscover the joy, and it does help. I seem to remember it was a lot easier (and more pleasant) to keep on top of things when our old house was finished and all our possessions were stored in the cellar. Hmm... Garden and land Oh I have so many things to say about this! So many plans! So many overwhelming plans! Fencing in an area to use as a veg patch this year was a great idea, and it has gladdened my heart to see at least one area kept relatively tidy and productive. I've not harvested much though, and I'm thinking a lot about what to grow next year that (a) is more likely to grow well (no more sweetcorn) and (b) that we actually want to eat (so perhaps fewer turnips). The chickens have been both a worry and a delight these past few months. The new ones are finally settling in, and they're all starting to behave like a coherent flock. Bessie's feathers have grown back, but now Rusty is limping after I stood on her foot when she sneaked up behind me as I was getting the shopping out of the car. Sigh. Their run now has a roof, but it's not had the weather-proofing effect we'd hoped for, so that's another project that will have to be rejigged at some point. Still, it's safe and warm and relatively dry in there so that's a start. Peter's garden shelter has been a fantastic thing during lockdown, and since we've been allowed visitors we've had plenty of them, and been able to keep them all outside (good job, given the state of the house). It's pretty robust, but it's not likely to last the winter, so we're thinking about how we could make something similar but more permanent for next year. As for the rest of the land, well my head spins when I try to think about it. I've been scything the hay meadow, half an hour at a time, and was hoping to get it finished in these two weeks I've had off work, but it's felt like it's rained all the time so I've got barely any done. Dry stone walls fall down every time I look at them, and there are various gaps that need fixing in the coming months. One cheerful thing that I don't think I've mentioned here is that I've been in touch with a few people, and it looks like we might be able to get someone to plant an area of woodland in a couple of our fields. This is extremely exciting (not least because we wouldn't have to pay for it, or do any of the planting). It's brought up lots of unsettling feelings about land management though, and whether I feel like I'm 'allowed' to make decisions about what we do here (I'd happily make decisions about a garden, so why does a field feel different?) Again, lots to think about, and plenty to do. Health and exercise This is a category I've always struggled with, and it will probably only get worse as I get older. I've got a proper sweet tooth, and have put on a good three stone in the last five or so years, which I'm not particularly happy about. I've done plenty of cycling lately, but I miss walking to work and wandering round the city which used to keep a background level of fitness which I no longer have. I've joined the Joe Wicks bandwagon and am enjoying cooking a bit more healthily so we'll see how that goes. Money Hmm, another category that makes my head spin. I've been looking back on old blog posts I've written about being thrifty, making things, saving money, and realising I've stopped doing a lot of things that I used to take for granted. I have mixed feelings about money. I've spent most of my life without much of it, and the last few years earning more than I feel I deserve (although very much in line with others in my profession). There are two interesting calculators that I might recommend you have a go of. This is the global average salary scale - apparently I earn over 350% of the global average. Then the UK Institute for Fiscal Studies has a tool to work out where, as a household, you fit in terms of average UK income - we are in the top 30%. This doesn't come as a surprise, of course. I'm not one of those people who feels 'poor' despite evidence to the contrary, and have spent enough of my life counting pennies to now count my blessings that I no longer have to. I do still have a rather thrifty gene though, and while I do spend on things that aren't necessary, I also begrudge spending on things I could easily make myself or find cheaper second hand. I suppose all this boils down to spending (and saving) in line with your values. So my house is full of charity shop finds rather than new clothes, mismatched bowls rather than matching kitchen appliances. We rarely eat in restaurants, or go to the pub, but we do spend a lot of time in our local cafe. And of course we've moved out to this ludicrous house (which we could only afford because of past thriftiness, an expensive 25 year mortgage, and because so much work needed doing to it), and now we're here we're doing much of the work ourselves. I don't really know what I'm waffling on about here. We have another 23 years left on this mortgage and to me, right now, that feels far too long. I'm hatching a plot to see where we can cut back on our current spendiness to see if we can get rid of the mortgage a few years earlier. Watch this space. Anyway, this has turned into rather more of a waffle than I'd intended, and I don't know whether I've got any further along in my thinking. But these are the things that have been whirling round in my head as I've been sitting here this afternoon, pondering what the rest of the year will bring, and how I want to spend my time. It looks like there'll be more DIY in my future at least, and probably less baking. We'll see.
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Hello!Sit down and make yourself comfortable. I'm Jenni, and I write here about our new foray into country living, which includes growing food, knitting, baking, wandering around the fields, and seeing which local cafe serves the best cake. Categories
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