Day Two is Trickier

I'm still working on the whole list thing, and I didn't do so well today. On the other hand, I didn't do so bad. I didn't eat well, but I left the house and went to IKEA. I'd seen a lamp that I wanted for the corner.

It was only £8 and is battery powered and not very bright, but it brings a little light to a dark corner after the crow fell and broke. I called into Aldi as well. They have the Turkish delight that DH likes and I wanted to get some in for Christmas. 

While I was in IKEA, I picked up a couple of frames. One was for a pic of the daughter of good friends and the other was, well, me being odd. 

It's around the size of a playing card, and I thought it looked incredibly striking. The pic doesn't do it justice as it's an iridescent green and gold and I thought that I would hang it somewhere discreet on the stairs. It's actually a card that has the product details from my big lamp I got a while back. 

I missed a few bits from my list, but I'm still optimistic. For example, instead of changing the bath towels when I remembered, I have it on a rotation to make sure that the towels are always fresh. I didn't get the fridge cleaned, but checking the list meant that I had the bins sorted out nice and early. I'm feeling quite positive. 

On another positive note, bear was cleaning out his backpack and said, 'by the way, I got a gold certificate in a computer test.' For him, it's just Tuesday. I was so impressed. It's more than one school and quite a few people took part so I'm really proud. He's been doing this sort of thing since primary school. I used to hear about his achievements from the teachers. He's driving me nuts and making me so proud at the same time!

I also booked myself in to the optician. My eyes feel strained and I wonder if I need new glasses. That may relieve a lot of the symptoms I've been having. 

Writing stuff - a minor note here. I'm starting up with writing prompts again as a way of keeping me writing. If anyone wants to use the prompts, help yourselves. The prompts are here, there are no expectations apart from that you have fun writing and you can take it in your own direction. 

Good First Day of Planning

Some more of my impulse buy yarn came today. I've got this far.

The pattern was on sale and I downloaded for free. You can see it here. It's a very easy sort of top/sweater in chunky, knitted sideways. Apart from the part where I have to pick up a gazillion stitches at the end, it's fairly straightforward and that suits me.

I ticked quite a few boxes today. I didn't tick the 'five minutes in the garden' as it was cold, wet and miserable. I've done a fair amount of online shopping, though. I think that I'm just about done for the holidays. DH and I don't spend much on each other, and bear is getting driving lessons paid for, although we still haven't applied for his licence, so I'm not getting so much for him. I've just got a few bits lined up. And apart from the shopping, I've done all sorts of little jobs that I was just not getting around to, so I'm pleased. Hopefully I'll get a little more done gradually as I go along. I'm feeling sort of good about it. 

I think having the list, but feeling free to not complete the list, has really helped. I think that it's really important that I don't feel the need to be perfect. That has taken a lot of pressure from me. I can see me adding to the list over the next few weeks, but so much of it is stuff that is really small, like checking my bank balance on a daily basis. I can do that as I eat breakfast if I use the app, and it keeps me a little more aware.

Speaking of aware, I'd been keeping the Heinz at Home subscribe and save going. DH really likes Heinz baked beans, so I ordered them direct. I'd planned to skip the next delivery, but I kept thinking that I had time to cancel. However I got a notice to tell me that the beans are on their way. All the other subscriptions that I've had will at least give a warning! I already have a baked bean mountain and I think that it's going to be growing. I've cancelled the subscribe and save and I think that I'll concentrate on watching the sales in the supermarket when we finally run down the stockpile. 

And speaking of supermarket sales, did I mention that Tesco are currently doing a 3-for-the-price-of-two on Yankee Candles and their Naturewick brand. I've found that their Naturewick is pretty good so I plan to stock up emphatically.  

Hugs and good health to all. 

I Finished a Project!

I finished the keyhole scarf that was part of the hat and scarf kit.

It was a close thing. Normally I cast off a row before I need to as I have no faith. This time I ran out of yarn as I cast off.

Fortunately I'd kept the scrap left from finishing the hat, so I joined new yarn for literally five more stitches! There was only a few inches left from the 150g and I'm really happy about it. 

I didn't get out much today. I'd booked a delivery because, according to the weather forecast, it shouldn't be too bad and I went out of the door to get that from the garden. I felt a little bad as I had consulted the weather forecast and today wasn't supposed to be too bad here. This morning it looked like this.

A lot of it had melted by the time the delivery arrived and we gritted the path but I still felt a little guilty. But at least I got out a little and I didn't feel bad that I didn't go out more. 

We spent the day hanging out together and DH and bear made an amazing home made battered fish with baked potatoes and fresh green pea puree. 

I've got the sheets printed off for tomorrow and some notes about plans, so I'm feeling quite good about things. I'll see how I go tomorrow. If I get a tiny bit done, I'll be pleased. 

Hugs and good health to all. 

Knitting Happens

A knitting kit was delivered this morning, around 11am. 

It was just under £10, including everything and I'm very pleased with the service. The hat looks like this. 

And it fits very nicely. I'm around 25 inches or around 65cm into the keyhole scarf and I'm feeling quite relaxed about it. The only thing is that I'm using the needles supplied in the kit (and 150g of ostrich yarn and two pairs of needles for just under a tenner isn't bad) but they are short, plastic straights and I keep forgetting where I put the other needle if I'm broken off. 

I just went out to the bin today and not much else, but I'm okay with that. I've been taking it as thinking time as well as knitting. I feel quite relaxed. It's been great to hang out with the men as well. 

It's still quite chilly. Gladys was still frosted at lunchtime today. We have snow and ice forecast so I think it's the end of the season for her, though she's been remarkable. 

Writing stuff - I had a little bit of fiction on Hazardous to Your Sanity here. It was far too much fun to write. 

Hugs and good health to all. 

Shopping May Have Happened.

I've done a few bits but on the whole I would say that today wasn't very productive. I managed to do things like take vitamins and cook and wash up, but I've not managed spectacular things. 

I managed to get outside for a few steps when I took a cup of coffee to the poor frozen man who fitted a new dash cam on our car. The old one wasn't working well and kept falling off the window. The first thing this did was fall off the window. I can see keeping the darned thing in position is going to be a job of work. 

Gladys is showing the effects of cold and I'll probably cut her right back after Christmas. 

I didn't get many pics, but I took this of the faint trace of snow and definite clear ice on the step to show why I wasn't going to go far. 

I really miss Marriners Yarns. They had lovely inexpensive yarns that had much less guilt when I gave in to temptation. I was feeling low last night and I may have indulged a little. Yarn is heading my way. This would not be so bad if I didn't have enough yarn to knit blankets for all of Yorkshire. I should create a tracker for yarn. 

Hugs and good health to all. 

There May Have Been a Snowflake

We practically never get snow in November here. In fact, we're more likely to get it in February or March. I read somewhere that statistically, England is more likely to get a White Easter than a White Christmas. However at least three flakes fell last night. 

This was NOT forecast. At least I managed to persuade bear to wear a hoodie, although he was a little worried that the buses would be tricky as they faint at the thought of snow. 

I've done quite a few bits today. I've not been following the checklist, but I've done things like take vitamins and empty the dehumidifier. I've eaten relatively sensibly. I even left the house to go a few yards when I was topping up the bird feeder. I also got quite a bit of writing stuff done. There's all sorts of bits bubbling around in the background which won't see the light of day for a while, but I'm hopefully getting a bit further on. 

I'm starting again with the list. I'm adding loads and loads on, but I've decided that I'm not going to stress about everything. I'm just going to try and get some of it done and I'll call it a win. The point of putting it all on the list is to get it out of my head. There's also a risk of me thinking 'I can do this later/tomorrow/next week/next month' and this will hopefully keep me a little more on point. Anyway, I've had another play and here is the start of the daily list and the weekly list, so that I don't give out personal stuff, and I've also added a sort of timetable of what needs to be done on each day. 

I'll keep sharing how it goes.

I'm doing okay at the moment, I guess. I'm feeling a little tired, but I'm sure that I'll pick up soon, especially if I'm taking my vitamins. 

Hugs and good health to all. 

I Failed the Eye Test

My flinch reflex was apparently too much. It was ridiculous. I was so ashamed but I couldn't stay still for them to get the stuff in. It was a three ring circus trying to get the drops in at the start. The consultant decided that if it needs doing then it will need to be done under sedation. It may be that it's better just to keep monitoring it for now. Currently it's apparently fine. The consultant was an absolute sweetheart, though, and I feel incredibly guilty for what he had to deal with. 

I am flattened by it. I was up half the night with what I think was a proper panic attack - weight on chest and struggling to breathe. I was so annoyed at it. I was trying to plan ways of keeping focused and calm. As you may gather, I didn't get so far. 

At least I got out of the house. I didn't go through the checklist properly, but I managed to tick a few boxes. I'm not showing the list as it's so personalised. One example - 4pm prep [DH's name] dinner. DH finishes work at 5pm and I like to have things laid out for him. There are things like 'leave the house' and 'take vitamins' tucked in with 'empty dehumidifier'. I'm not sure that I like the current layout so much, so I may have to spend some more time thinking about it. I know that there's a risk of spending so much time crafting the perfect list that you never actually get anything done, but I think that it's worth me having another go and a long think about things. I need to have boxes to tick, but I was also wondering about a place to record steps taken and words written. I may just need a separate place for those. 

It was frosty last night, and I think Gladys is finally slowing down. 

And it's about time as she's spreading out over the public path. 

I'll give it another day or two so that any insects get the full benefit of the flowers, then I'll hack her back. Hopefully she'll rebound again, just as vibrant and vigorous.

I really appreciate the kind thoughts and good wishes. They have really helped over the last few days and I'm incredibly grateful. I'll keep looking back and reflecting on them.