fEAsible – Page 6 – where the journey takes me 2

September is upon us already and I think like most people who have made comments on this and other blogs I am not ready to give summer up just yet and so my autumn will not start until 23rd September in line with the astronomical calendar!

The weather is still warm and sunny here – not the stifling heat we had earlier but quite a pleasant warmth. Still pleasant enough for picnics and eating outdoors; still pleasant enough to take an evening stroll, and just right for foraging in the hedgerows.

The evenings are certainly cooler though – I keep reaching for a cosy throw whilst I am sitting watching TV rather than turning the fire on to take off the chill. In my notebook I have been planning September – all our commitments have come to an end; school starts on Tuesday and my mum has returned home…September is all mine.

Like at the beginning of the year I am turning my intentions once again to the home – some of my good intentions and routines have been abandoned during the carefree summer months and the house is looking a bit neglected. Cooking, cleaning and neatening always feels deeply satisfying to me and September is the perfect month to begin again – preparing the home and garden for the coming winter months and getting back into a routine – albeit for me it will be a new routine now I no longer working.

Recently I have been having a serious clear out in my kitchen and dining room. I began with the food and then moved on to the crockery, pans and all the oddments that are held in the drawers and at the back of the cupboards. It is not an easy task. Decisions have to be made. But space is created.

I find that once I have been over everything it is good to go back again and I will often find more items to discard.

So for as long as the weather holds I have many plans for September…

mEAndering

Stillingfleet, Hartington and Glazebury all have gardens or well dressing events. There is also Heritage Open Days on 13th to 16th September. So much to choose from. We will certainly be having a few days out.

A trip to Scotland to our cottage

homestEAd

buy a new shed and erect

reinstate the compost bins

source a new front door

source a new garage door

hire a contractor to renew the driveway

revamp the front garden

nEAtening

the kitchen cupboards – continuing the decluttering and simplifying

crEAting

outdoor sketching and card making

fEAsting

meal planning for late summer early autumn meals

baking with my homegrown apples

rEAding

I have an extensive library of books by my bed and I intend to read more on the subject of simplifying and living with less.

trEAsury

looking at our new reduced budget to make ends meet

So that seems plenty to be going on with – I will be back with pictures of my declutter- it is very much an ongoing project at the moment.

Today has been one of those days when you feel you are on overload and I spent the day dashing around trying to fulfil obligations.

The day began quite well – I woke early at 6am – it felt a little too early, I could have slept more but decided, as it is cooler at the beginning of the day, I would get up and just have a bit of a potter around the house putting oddments away. I had little piles here and there throughout the house and an ironing pile that must be reaching a metre high – but although it is annoying me today was definitely not a day for ironing.

Most of my birthday flowers are still hanging on despite this heat – I have changed the water several times and removed any dead ones. I love having so many about the house. My daughter had also surprised me and put a tiny vase with a sprig of flowering lemon balm and thyme by my bedside yesterday.

Once the house looked a bit straighter I had a few errands to do in town. I would not normally have chosen to go to town on a Friday, a very hot Friday too – the roads here are busy and congested – but I had to get cards, flowers and fairy wings (don’t ask!).

I also had to do a favour for my friend and neighbour who has just come out of hospital after a hip operation and after lunch I had planned a visit to see her.

Once in town I headed for Claire’s Accessories to look for fairy wings for my granddaughter’s birthday next week – they had an offer on of buy two items and get one free. Even so they are not very cheap for what they are but will be just what is required for Little L’s 4th birthday next week when we go on our Fairy and Pixie adventure (can’t wait!)

I popped into Clinton’s and the Card Factory to look for cards. I needed quite a few for different occasions – a 70th birthday, a moving house, a wedding card as my new neighbours are getting married, and a wedding anniversary, (actually I should have bought two of these – one for my own anniversary next week – but I forgot my own!).

Passing Waterstones I had a quick look at their cards and came out with a book (I know I shouldn’t have but after the week I’ve had I really felt a treat was a good idea to cheer me up). Then it was across to Sainsbury’s – a quick check for fairy wings in case they had some cheaper ones (but nothing doing), picked up a bunch of flowers and the paracetamol for my neighbour, a couple of loaves of bread and a number 4 sparkler for Little L’s cake.

On my journey home the heat and heavy traffic was almost impossible to deal with and I am so thankful for the air conditioning in my new car. I had to take a bit of a detour and stop by a friend’s house to deliver a birthday card for her partner – I was actually thankful they were not at home and I was able to put it through the letterbox and get back home sooner.

It was 2.30 pm when I eventually arrived home to find the telephone ringing – it was the heating engineer asking if we had decided on a date for them to come to change a part in our boiler (we hadn’t – but finally agreed on 17th as we have to work around having my mum and granddaughter and go to Scotland in August).

So it was a very quick lunch and then straight round to my neighbours – not forgetting to grab the bunch of flowers and paracetamol to take with me. At least I always get a welcoming cup of tea there – this time made for me by her hubby who is acting nurse at the moment whilst she and her new hip are recovering.

After a bit of a chat I came home wrote all the cards, delivered the wedding card for my immediate neighbour and then at last sat down for 5 minutes and fell asleep for over an hour hoping that everyone had been given the right card for the right occasion!