Ernest Shackleton helped me change my attitude

I've struggled a bit with my attitude recently - that's been an outcome of being at home for six weeks and not being able to be physically active - no cycling, no walking up or down hills, no tramping - pretty much no anything. This has been a struggle for me and consequently I've been pretty grumpy. Quite sick of being told to rest up, enjoy my time off work, don't do too much, etc etc as well as being asked "How are you?" - I've found it almost impossible to answer that question with anything positive.

While a few have pointed out things could be worse, my brain wouldn't accept that comment as being helpful. That was until I was given a specific example of what could be worse. Imagine this : being in an open boat in the rough seas of the south Atlantic Ocean, the only food available is dog food, the temperature is freezing and you have a bout of diarrhea. In addition, after each bout of diarrhea, you get to wipe your bum with a piece of ice. That's what faced the men travelling with Ernest Shackleton. In a nutshell the story goes like this : Shackleton and his men on the ship Endurance were trapped in pack ice on 14 February 1915. Their ship was then crushed by the ice and sank on 21 November 1915. They camped out on the ice until 8 April 1916 when they took to their three lifeboats which they rowed to Elephant Island arriving there on 15 April 1916. It was during this time rowing to Elephant Island when the above scenario happened. The journey didn't end there. If you're interested, the book, Shackleton, by Roland Huntford is a great read about Shackleton's polar expeditions.

The whole experience they went through sounds dreadful but that one description about the diarrhea sunk into my grumpy brain and made me think that my situation is certainly not so bad. So I am on the up mentally but, please, resist the urge to ask how I am or tell me that the time will pass quickly - words like those could see me sink back into my grumpy quagmire.

Update to 101 things to do in 1001 days

At the beginning of 2010 I posted a list of 101 things to do in 1001 days. I posted a couple of times with updates but that was ages ago. Today I dug out that old post and had a review of what was on it. Many items no longer have relevance to me. Quite a few others have been completed. Here's what it looks like now.

1. Write a letter to myself to open in 10 years
2. Go vegetarian for one month - I've been vegetarian for over a year now - can tick this one off.
3. Walk the Milford Track - we're booked to do this in December this year
4. Spend a holiday exploring the top of the North Island (everywhere north of Auckland) - had a couple of trips to Northland which is a great start but also have a vague plan to continue with this item in the future.
5. Visit the Coromandel - not yet
6. Visit Tauranga - not yet
7. Make a quilt - not likely - craft work just isn't on my horizon these days.
8. Go to 3 music concerts - Womad twice and the Joe Cocker concert - done!
9. Invest in a decent sound system - have a functioning stereo setup - done!
10. Downsize my house and my mortgage - sold the house, have no mortgage, am renting - done!
11. Blog at least once a week - a bit of a fail on this but maybe on the improve
12. Have a massage once a month - not so important to me anymore
13. Declutter my house - I did that when I moved. This is an item that needs to be executed on a regular basis
14. Clean out garage - as per #13
15. Stick to my budget - I threw the budget out when I sold my house. This hasn't resulted in any issues for me and I'm saving a decent amount per month and have no debt.
16. Track all expenses - nope, see #15
17. Try 50 new recipes - I won't try list all the new recipes I've tried but I reckon it would be getting close to 50. Going vegetarian and needing to cook gluten and dairy free regularly ensures I try new recipes often.
18. Listen to one new musician / band every month - fail! But I also don't feel this is important to me anymore.
19. Buy a piece of art - this is also not important to me anymore. I'd rather be out looking at the great outdoors which is the best piece of artwork around.
20. Find a great cupcake recipe - I've finally decided that cupcakes are overrated so this is off the list!
21. Replace my lounge suite - nope.What I have is perfectly functional so won't be replaced anytime soon.
22. Make new cushions for the lounge - nope. The cushions I have are just fine.
23. Increase mortgage payments - no mortgage anymore.
24. Go skiing - done!
25. Compile my favourite recipes - all my favourite recipes are in a folder in the kitchen. Done!
26. Give blood regularly - I give as regularly as I can. It seems that blood donation time often coincides with me getting a cold sore or a cold.
27. Become a volunteer for the Samaritans - nope. This is still in the back of my mind to do but not a priority right now.
28. Go sky-diving - hmmmmmm. Why is this on the list? It can stay for now but it seems doubtful I will rush out and do this.
29. Only buys clothes / shoes for replacing existing items - this is pretty on course. The exception is specialised clothing for outdoors / alpine environment etc as I am still building up what I need for that.
30. Take 3 cooking classes - I did one and now my cooking classes tend to be via youtube.
31. Complete Christmas shopping by October - hahahahaha. Whatever.
32. Attend a yoga retreat - maybe I will do this one day but I would rather be climbing a mountain or camping by the beach than doing this.
33. Eat less red meat - done! I eat none.
34. Eat more fish - done! I eat fish on a regular basis.
35. Donate $10 to charity for each task I don't complete - Will do this.
36. Go camping - yes. Often.
37. Go on an unplanned road trip for a weekend - I do end up doing quite a few last minute trips into the outdoors. Road trip? Not likely.
38. Put together an emergency kit - I've done this although I think all emergency kits need regular review and updating.
39. Take a dance class - nope. It's possible I might try swing dancing though.
40. Do yoga three times a week for a month - I probably got close to this a year or so ago. Now it's more likely to be three times a year.
41. Go to a live comedy show - done! Have been to several.
42. Buy fresh flowers once a month - nope. Not important to me.
43. Make 25 different cocktails - nope. But I've tried lots of different pinot noirs and a fair few whiskeys. Does that count?
44. Try out a new restaurant once every two months - nope. Eating out isn't a priority. I'd rather cook something different at home than pay through the nose for mediocre food.
45. Make a winter dress - nope. I don't need any more clothes and when I do it is likely I will go buy something rather than make it.
46. Spend a rainy day with someone in bed - still working on this one. There's always so many other things to do.
47. Sleep under the stars - done!
48. Read a science fiction book. Really? Why did I put this on here. I am so far behind on my reading these days it's unlikely I will force myself to read a genre in which I have no interest.
49. Prepare and have a romantic candlelit dinner at home. I might have to do this sometime. This can stay on the list.
50. Read at least one non-fiction book a month - like I said above, I am very behind on my reading. When I do read it does tend to be non-fiction these days.
51. Complete a sudoku every day - I have been doing this recently as it helps keep my brain active.
52. Go to a wine and food festival - this can stay on the list but not sure if it will be achieved.
53. Go to 10 plays - since the list began I have probably been to 2 plays. I'd like to see more though.
54. Go white-water rafting - done!
55. Menu plan every week - nope. This can come off the list. I am now into planning each meal around what we have in the fridge and cupboard. I buy a ton of in-season fruit and vegetables every week and this forms the basis of what we eat.
56. Reduce grocery spend to $70 / week. I'd have to look at this. I'm not too focused on cost at present, more interested in quality.
57. Review goals once a week. Oops. Once a year maybe.
58. Make soap. Maybe one day.
59. Take a bubble bath every month. I jump in the spa on a regular basis so this one is replaced by "Soak in the spa.".
60. Build something out of wood. Really? Like what? What was I thinking?
61. Buy a "round town" bike for running errands. Since moving into a house on the hill it makes more sense to stick to a bike with good gears. I tend to just use my road bike.
62. Set up spare room as a real guest bedroom. Nope. Off the list.
63. Go on holiday to Japan. That would be great but I think there are other countries that would come before Japan. Would be cool to go to Nepal. Malaysia.
64. Donate 100,000 grains of rice on freerice.com. I did do this for a while. Not sure where I got up to. Might have to look into this and get back into it.
65. Create a cleaning schedule. hahahaha Cleaning happens when it happens. Usually not often enough.
66. Take a class and learn something new. youtube is my classroom. I learnt how to make homemade corn tortillas that way. :)
67. Donate food to the local food bank once a month. Nope. Hmmmm. Will think about this.
68. Do a random act of kindness once a month. Haven't kept track of this. Seems doubtful. Although I do think I do acts of kindness often anyway.
69. Knit something. I have been thinking about doing this. I wonder if it will get past the thinking stage?
70. Make a loan through Kiva. Nope. Have to look into this further.
71. Go see a 3D movie. So not interested in this.
72. Keep in regular contact with my brother. I think I fail with this one although it's easier these days with him being on Facebook more often.
73. Sew Christmas stockings. Nah!
74. Go to an art gallery every month. Not every month. Need to do more of this.
75. Get involved with local Transition Towns group. Nope. Can't see that happening.
76. Take a pole-dancing class. Done!
77. Assemble a first aid kit for the car. Great idea! Need to do this.
78. Have a productive vegetable garden year-round. I wish. I did notice that my broad beans have sprouted over the last few days which is a progress.
79. Complete a scuba diving course. Let's replace this with "Take up rock and ice-climbing."
80. Learn to garden organically. Still to do.
81. Reduce food wastage. I would like to think I've done this but I think I still fail as I find containers in the fridge with yucky stuff in them.
82. Visit my parents twice a year. Big fail. I never seem to have any annual leave as I'm always off on outdoor adventures.
83. Write an “if anything ever happens to me” letter. Need to do this.
84. Clean out and organise my filing system. Still to be done.
85. Check my car's oil and water every month. hahahaha Once a year perhaps!
86. Change the oil and oil filter at least annually. Oh. Did this. Once in the last 4 years is ok right? Plus, apparently the bung in my sump is.... um.... bung and can't be removed easily so may never happen again. I am sure the car will die before it needs to be done anyway.
87. Once a month meet a different friend for lunch. Not doing too badly on this.
88. Clean out the dreaded box of cables. Nope. It sits in the corner glaring at me. One day.
89. Swim in a lake, a river, the sea and a pool. Done!
90. Wear matching underwear at least once a week. hahahaha I reckon as long as I wear clean underwear then that is good enough.
91. Put $10 in a jar for each completed task. Not done.
92. Try geocaching. Nope. Maybe.
93. Donate to one new charity each year (ongoing). Nope. I am rethinking charity donations.
94. Take more photos. Yes!
95. Take an art class. I did this!
96. Visit a waterfall I haven't been to before. Done!
97. Write a positive thought down every day for a month. Nope. But I do think positive thoughts every day.
98. Kiss in the rain. Done!
99. Mid-winter swim. Done!
100. Write my name in the sand and take a photo of it. Done!
101. Bake bread once a month - new recipe each month. I now bake bread several times a week. Same recipe every time because I found a gluten free recipe that works and don't want to go back to producing bricks.

Not bad I reckon. I wrote this list at a time when I needed to figure out some direction to go in. These days I am so happy with the life I have and enjoy what I have got and what I am doing, that I don't know that I need a list anymore. I reevaluate life often and I think that's the key.

New Year resolutions?

I've never been one to make New Year's resolutions and this year is no different. But, I have to say I have been pondering recently on what I expect this year to bring me.

I think that I am more uncertain than I usually am due to needing to sell my house. Until that is completed a lot of other things are on hold. My bike accident has given me time to think (too much time!) but that has been quite beneficial.

One thing I know for sure is that I want to be fitter and stronger and take any opportunities that come my way to get out and about. I joined a tramping club before my accident with the intention of tagging along on some of their trips. As soon as my finger has healed sufficiently I will be putting that into action. I've been trying to get out walking as much as possible to retain some level of fitness. Today's walk was up Mt Climie - a 12km walk with a 615 metre climb. Here are a couple of photos taken from the top.



I intend to do a lot more tramping plus I have a season ski pass for the upcoming winter so want to get a lot more skiing in. Fingers crossed for a good snow season.

I've also recently read a book entitled Prevent and Revers Heart Disease by Dr Caldwell Esselstyn (no, I don't have any heart problems - I heard an article on the radio about it and was curious). The premise of the book is that by following a plant-based diet with virtually no added oils and fats heart disease (and other illnesses) can be prevented. That's made me think seriously about my diet so I intend to head towards vegetarianism if not veganism this year. Yesterday was the first time since Christmas Day that I slipped from being entirely vegetarian - I had fish for lunch. I'm not missing meat at all and am enjoying trying out new vegetarian recipes. So I will see how this goes. I figure it certainly can't hurt - I'm eating loads of beans, etc to provide the nutrients I need.

I have a simmering feeling that I'd like to travel this year - I have no specific destination in my mind at this stage so will need to mull over it a little more.

So that's it on my subject of resolutions. There's an underlying one of sorting my finances out but that depends on the house sale so I'm letting that one slide for now - apart from being as frugal as possible in the meantime.

One-handed posting

I've been feeling guilty in recent times that I have not been posting as regularly as I've wanted to. Apologies for that.

Sadly I now have a decent reason / excuse for being slack. Actually there is a chance I will post more regularly but the posts themselves may be a little shorter than usual. And the reason for this? Well, I came off my bike 10 days ago and have damaged my right index finger putting my right hand completely out of action for a couple of months. I'll not make you ill by posting a photo of the damage I did but basically I cut through the tendons on the underneath of my index finger as well as losing 90% of the nail and some flesh from the fingertip. An ambulance to the hospital was followed by loads of waiting, xrays (no broken bones!) and finally plastic surgery the day after the accident. Now I am in a splint for 6 weeks and have a lot of therapy ahead of me but will hopefully end up with full use of the finger in the future.

Anyone who knows me well will understand how frustrated and bored I am currently feeling now that I am down to one hand. I will be off my bike for a couple of months and, post-surgery, my energy levels are lacking. My house is nearly ready to go on the market - as soon as the photos are ready the ad will go on the internet. Luckily my sons and their girlfriends have been helping me out big time to get everything ready to go.

So, that's my news. For once I have plenty of time but this injury means I can't really take advantage of that free time. My usual sunny attitude is being sorely tested but is still (surprisingly) there most of the time.

Where things are at overall

As some of you are aware I've been working through a legal issue in recent times. While this caused anxiety and upset when it first came up I quickly came to terms with what I needed to do - namely focus on dealing with the legal aspect and ignore the questionable morals (or distinct lack of morals) involved.

The upshot of the saga is that a very good friend lent me some money to pay out my ex-husband. I'm extremely grateful for the financial assistance I have received from my friend as it meant I now have some breathing space and time to prepare my house for sale. I need to repay the loan by February so I am working hard to get the house tidied up ready for sale. Funnily enough I am ok with having to sell the house. I had planned to do this in the future anyway, although I would have preferred to be able to wait for the market to recover somewhat.

Today I have builders in renovating the bathroom. Months ago I had purchased everything needed for the renovation so it made sense to me to get that job done before putting the house on the market. I've also started painting the hallway so that job is more than half done. The other significant piece of work needed is to get the lounge ceiling and walls painted. My neck problems won't allow me to do that job by myself so I will be putting a call out to see if I can get some help from my friends. The only job I need to do is tidy the section up. It's pretty rough around the edges, a bit jungle-like so will need a bit of effort put in.

I've decided to market the house myself without using a real estate agent. This decision has been made from a pure financial perspective. There is so little equity left in the house I simply cannot afford to lose 3-4% of the sale price to an agent.

In a nutshell, that's where I am at. Anyone who is handy with a paintbrush / roller please let me know. :)

Back in the land of blogging

Humble apologies to all for the lack of blogging in recent times. It has mostly been a deliberate move as I needed to get a few things sorted in my personal life before I continued with my blog. That is all done now so I am free to get back into it.

So, while you get a new entry today it's going to be short and sweet. Obviously I've been doing all sorts of things over the past couple of months so my next few entries will be reports of various trips, progress on things around the house, some moaning about broody chooks (again!) as well as a well-overdue update on my 101 things to do in 1001 days list.

Life remains very busy for me but I am having fun, getting out and about and moving on. Be patient with me and I will fill you in on ski trips, alpine training, tramping, camping, my trip to Australia and all sorts of other adventures.

Attitude!

Life has had its ups and downs in recent times. For a while there was some mid-level stress in my life with one of my sons looking for work and my other son's girlfriend looking to change jobs. I've been doing what I can to help both of them with the result about ten days ago that my son started his new job and my other son's girlfriend being offered a suitable job. That was a relief and I could feel myself relaxing. That no-stress feeling lasted for two days. I should have known it was too good to be true.


I'm not going to go into the latest cause for my stress - those who are close to me know the story and are horrified. This blog post is more about attitude and how I am coping with it.


For a few days I went through the whole gamut of emotions - disbelief, anger, betrayal and sadness. I could feel the stress of the situation dragging me down, my energy levels dropped, I started drinking more than was good for me, my mind was completely consumed with trying to figure out what to do. In short I felt like my life had been ruined. My friends and family all tried their best to provide advice and support through these days and I am really grateful for that. After talking with a lawyer and understanding the process and likely outcome from a legal perspective I made the decision to turn the stress off.

I have steps that I need to take involving accountants, valuers and lawyers and I am working my way through them. But I absolutely refuse to let the actions of one person to affect me as a person. What is happening to me may be correct from a legal perspective but it's immoral. Promises were made to me on numerous occasions and I trusted that those promises would be kept. For those promises to be broken is an abuse of that trust. I know that when this mess is over with I will still be a person of integrity. I certainly can't say the same for him.

The big question for me ongoing will be how will I know if I can trust others. Should I stop trusting people altogether. I think not. That's not the way for me to live my life. Certainly I will protect my assets (when I have some again) to ensure I don't end up in this particular situation again.

So how am I now? Fantastic actually. Soon to be broke and potentially homeless but, you know, that's ok. I am fit, healthy, happy and, most importantly of all, I am a good person.

Winter activities

Wellington has been getting an early start on winter weather in the last week or so. Loads of rain, plenty of wind and some very chilly days! Today has been particularly cold with rain sweeping through at regular intervals. It's very easy on days like today to turn the heater on and settle down in front of the television for the day. Instead, this morning I headed into town to meet a friend at the weekly market. While the weather didn't exactly make things pleasant I found it energising to be out in the fresh (very fresh) air. I certainly didn't need to have bothered brushing my hair this morning and a hat would have been a fine idea. Sampling various yummies at the market was fun and the cheese and spinach crepe I had was a welcome warm-up!

After a hot cup of tea we headed off to one of my favourite cafes in Wellington - round at Scorching Bay. After a light lunch it was back outside for a walk along the beach. I'm really glad I didn't just shelter at home for the day - it was wonderful and invigorating to be out there in the wind and the cold. As we head into winter I am sure there will be plenty more days like today.

Next week we have a three-day weekend and I'm off tramping. That will be a frugal and energetic way to spend a weekend and I am looking forward to getting out into the bush. I'll take my camera along and try and get a few photos - but that may depend on the weather,

101 things in 1001 days

I have been catching up on my blog reading recently and several blog authors have mentioned the 101 things in 1001 days challenge. That has piqued my interest and I have decided to partake in this. I will report on progress from time to time so you can see how I am getting on with this.

So here goes :
1. Write a letter to myself to open in 10 years
2. Go vegetarian for one month
3. Walk the Milford Track
4. Spend a holiday exploring the top of the North Island (everywhere north of Auckland)
5. Visit the Coromandel
6. Visit Tauranga
7. Make a quilt
8. Go to 3 music concerts
9. Invest in a decent sound system
10. Downsize my house and my mortgage
11. Blog at least once a week
12. Have a massage once a month
13. Declutter my house
14. Clean out garage
15. Stick to my budget
16. Track all expenses
17. Try 50 new recipes
18. Listen to one new musician / band every month
19. Buy a piece of art
20. Find a great cupcake recipe
21. Replace my lounge suite
22. Make new cushions for the lounge
23. Increase mortgage payments
24. Go skiing
25. Compile my favourite recipes
26. Give blood regularly
27. Become a volunteer for the Samaritans
28. Go sky-diving
29. Only buys clothes / shoes for replacing existing items
30. Take 3 cooking classes
31. Complete Christmas shopping by October
32. Attend a yoga retreat
33. Eat less red meat
34. Eat more fish
35. Donate $10 to charity for each task I don't complete
36. Go camping
37. Go on an unplanned road trip for a weekend
38. Put together an emergency kit
39. Take a dance class
40. Do yoga three times a week for a month
41. Go to a live comedy show
42. Buy fresh flowers once a month
43. Make 25 different cocktails
44. Try out a new restaurant once every two months
45. Make a winter dress
46. Spend a rainy day with someone in bed
47. Sleep under the stars
48. Read a science fiction book
49. Prepare and have a romantic candlelit dinner at home
50. Read at least one non-fiction book a month
51. Complete a sudoku every day
52. Go to a wine and food festival
53. Go to 10 plays
54. Go white-water rafting
55. Menu plan every week
56. Reduce grocery spend to $70 / week
57. Review goals once a week
58. Make soap
59. Take a bubble bath every month
60. Build something out of wood
61. Buy a "round town" bike for running errands
62. Set up spare room as a real guest bedroom
63. Go on holiday to Japan
64. Donate 100,000 grains of rice on freerice.com
65. Create a cleaning schedule
66. Take a class and learn something new
67. Donate food to the local food bank once a month
68. Do a random act of kindness once a month
69. Knit something
70. Make a loan through Kiva
71. Go see a 3D movie
72. Keep in regular contact with my brother
73. Sew Christmas stockings
74. Go to an art gallery every month
75. Get involved with local Transition Towns group
76. Take a pole-dancing class
77. Assemble a first aid kit for the car
78. Have a productive vegetable garden year-round
79. Complete a scuba diving course
80. Learn to garden organically
81. Reduce food wastage
82. Visit my parents twice a year
83. Write an “if anything ever happens to me” letter
84. Clean out and organise my filing system
85. Check my car's oil and water every month
86. Change the oil and oil filter at least annually
87. Once a month meet a different friend for lunch
88. Clean out the dreaded box of cables
89. Swim in a lake, a river, the sea and a pool
90. Wear matching underwear at least once a week
91. Put $1o in a jar for each completed task
92. Try geocaching
93. Donate to one new charity each year (ongoing)
94. Take more photos
95. Take an art class
96. Visit a waterfall I haven't been to before
97. Write a positive thought down every day for a month
98. Kiss in the rain
99. Mid-winter swim
100. Write my name in the sand and take a photo of it
101. Bake bread once a month - new recipe each month

Phew, that was much more of a mission than I thought it was going to be. And now I have to start working on achieving tasks from the list. Gosh! I will print this off and make sure I review it often and start checking things off.

Day 11 - fail on no-spending

Well today is day 11 of my no-spend month and I failed! Luckily it wasn't a big fail at all. A total spend of $2 so I am not kicking myself too hard. :) Basically I caught an earlier train to work this morning and then a later one home - I chose to travel on the "comfortable" train (the Wairarapa one) instead of the usual electric unit. Travelling on that train costs me an extra dollar each way on top of my train pass.

I am pretty happy with my progress on this no-spend thing. It has really made me think about the choices I make.

We are moving towards summer here in New Zealand and I was thinking about my summer wardrobe - or lack of it - there are some really yummy fashions in the stores at present and I spotted a few things today that made me drool. Then I thought about the clothes I already have and realised that I am not wearing most of my summer skirts because they are too big for me (a bonus in some ways as it means I haven't put on the weight I lost at the beginning of the year). So I decided today that I will drag my sewing machine out this weekend and alter my skirts. I figured that I used to sew the majority of my clothes in the past so I am more than capable of taking my skirts in to extend my wardrobe. Yay for me!

What are your priorities?

I have plans to have a No Spend month in November. To me this means I will not spend money on anything that is not necessary. In reality this means no dining out, no outings (that cost money), no clothing purchases, no treats.

When I was considering doing this I realised that for this to be successful I needed to figure out what my priorities are. Of course I could spend money on a meal out but that would mean less money put aside in my savings account. Please don’t think I am one of those people who save, save, save and never spend their money. That is definitely not me. I have some goals to achieve and to be able to succeed with those goals I need to save money. So, for me, it is a no-brainer. If I want to be able to have my lounge re-plastered and painted I need to put money aside. If I want to upgrade my ugly, aging bathroom I need to put money aside. If I want to landscape my front garden I need to put money aside. Getting that work done is more important to me than going out for a meal.

Having a No Spend month should boost the coffers quite nicely and will provide me with an incentive to look at what frivolous spending I can curb without too much pain.

All those small expenses add up to significant amounts of money that could otherwise be saved for those higher priorities. If you are a coffee drinker and spend $3.50 each working day for a takeaway coffee, that mounts up to $840 annually (calculated at one coffee five days a week for 48 weeks of the year). I’m not a coffee drinker so my estimate of $3.50 for a takeaway coffee may well be incorrect but you get my drift right?

Consider what your goals are that require money. Would you like to buy an investment property? Would you like to upgrade your home or car? Would you like to take time out from work? Would you like to rid yourself of debt?

Write your goals down. Work out how much you need to save to achieve those goals. Figure out which goals are most important to you and review your goals regularly. Consider what you are spending on items you could live without. Next time you are about to spend money think about your goals and consider whether the expense is necessary or not. If it’s necessary is there a cheaper option?

For anyone who thinks my bathroom upgrade is frivolous here is a photo of the current bathroom. I’ve lived with it for 8 years and fervently hope that I can upgrade it within the next year.

Attitude wins!

The forecast for the weekend was for rain. It would have been easy to plan for a sleepy, laidback day today. Instead I decided to go full-blast and ended up having one of my most productive days for ages.

Groceries were first on the list and were all over and done with before 8am. First thing Saturday morning is my favourite time for getting my weekly grocery shop out of the way. The bill was nice and low which made my day!

I put a load of laundy on and then had scrambled eggs on toast for breakfast (yummy fresh eggs from my lovely chooks!) while reading the newspaper and was at the gym by 9am. After a good cardio workout and some weights I was done with exercise for the day and headed to the library. I selected myself a good mix of books and a couple of movies to watch and then it was off to pick up chook supplies. I put my order in for wheat, laying mash and oyster shell then wandered off to get some cash to pay for it all (the store was having difficulties with their POS system). I managed to get a wee bit waylaid on my way back in the local craft store. I picked up a pattern and some wool to knit a baby jersey for a friend who is expecting. After picking up the chook food I headed for home.

It was raining on and off but it wasn't cold and it wasn't windy so I decided to get out in the garden which is what my original plan for the weekend had been. I finally planted my seed potatoes - I had been feeling guilty for not getting them in earlier but noted that some potato plants that had self-seeded in last year's potato patch had been badly frost burnt during the week so it was probably a good thing I had been a bit slack. I then planted my blackcurrent bushes that a friend had given me - I can't wait until they start producing but apparently it will take a while for that to happen. Once that task was done I got to work in the greenhouse and planted the following seeds : silverbeet, lettuce, sweetcorn, sweet peppers, zuchinnis, squash and chillis. My eldest son had ordered some super-duper hot chilli seeds off the internet so I planted those along with some other chilli seeds (not so hot) that I had bought. I spent a bit of time weeding the herb bed and planted some basil.

That was all the gardening done. I am in the process of having my house painted currently - the painters came the other day and waterblasted the house leaving lots of paint flakes around the place. I hosed the deck off and finally tidied all the miscellaneous junk off the deck that had been there for ages.

By this stage it was mid-afternoon so time to have a lunch break and get some inside jobs done. I spent some time sorting my bedroom out - general tidying up etc then it was time to have a bit of a relax so I watched one of the movies I got out from the library. Once that was finished with it was time to get dinner sorted - tonight we had homemade burgers followed by caramel dumplings - yum! And the evening has been spent getting my knitting underway - it's years since I knitted anything so I had a couple of false starts (of course I had chosen a tricky pattern!) but it's now going nicely.

So, reflecting on how my day has gone I realise today was all about choosing my attitude this morning, getting my body moving and working through my to-do list. Now I am happily tired and very content. Hope you all had a good day!