Being Mrs C

A busy ten days

A wet November day at Cragside

The only "problem" with having time off work is that I manage to fill my days such that there's no time left for blogging. The last ten days have seen Mr C and I travel to Scotland and back, spending a lovely few days with my family to celebrate my sister's birthday. We've found the time to walk on beaches and through forests, to curl up in front of a real fire reading and playing scrabble, as well as time at home with the never-ending jobs to keep turning this house into a home.

Time has also been found to finally finish a piece of embroidery, pick up some bargains at the wonderful Barter Books, continue with my sock knitting and take a trip to the Country LIving Christmas Fair in London. The latter provides heaps of inspiration, as well as plenty of opportunities to blow all my savings on beautiful things!

Sadly tomorrow means a return to the daily commute into London, but at least it's not for too much longer!

Time without a laptop

For a variety of reasons I've had some time without my laptop this week. I'm not at all sure as to whether or not it was a good thing though. I missed being able to look things up when I wanted to know them. I missed popping in to read other people's blogs and get that insight into their lives. I missed chatting with friends in forums as well. On the flip side though I did get so much more time to do other things. For the first time since we moved here I got to knit properly for long periods of time. The amount of reading I did also went through the roof.

Possibly I just need to be a bit better at time management. In December I am leaving my job. There are a several reasons behind this decision and I don't as yet have anywhere new to go to in January. I am looking, but no successful applications yet. Whilst the idea of some time at home is a fantastic one, I need to really make sure that I don't just fritter my time away. I'm yet to find a way of paying the mortgage whilst just staying at home doing the things I enjoy (although any suggestions as to how to make this work will be gratefully accepted!) Discipline and structure will need to become part of my daily routine yet this may be easier said than done unless I start thinking about it now.

So 2010 is likely to be a year of change, but looking out of the window there's a fair chunk of winter to get through until we're there. One of my knitting projects has been to get into the swing with a pair of new socks using yarn I picked up at the Knitting and Stitching show earlier in the month.

 

The yarn is Regia silk color in shade 0189 (nairobi color). I fell in love with the colours as they felt so warm and autumnal without being the traditional shades of orange, despite the name actually suggesting that they are more African. I think Regia silk is new and it certainly feels lovely to knit with, much softer than the 100% cotton sock yarn I've used before. The addition of 20% silk makes a huge difference. Unfortunately I am so out of practice with the knitting that this first attempt had to be frogged, but luckily after doing so I'm now back to where I was before and loving being back in the knitting rhythm!

So many things...

So many things to tell you about that I'm not really sure where to start. Some fantastic books; a great, although tea-less, trip to the Knitting and Stitching show; exciting knitting and sewing purchases; a new knitting project and a new blog that Mr C and I have been working on as a side project! If you like nature here in the UK then take a look at UK Nature Blog and tell us what you think.

I promise not to neglect here though. In fact there's so much to tell you about that I plan to be back very soon to do just that!

Making a change

I'm not at all afraid of hard work, I just wish I was working directly for myself in a slightly nicer working environment. Possibly one that looks like the above, which is very conveniently located at home. How to make that a reality, whilst still paying the mortgage is what makes it a little more tricky.

Unless someone wants to pay me to stay at home and bake, read, knit and blog! Any offers or ideas considered...

These lovely cupcakes provided some late night snacks at our housewarming party over the weekend. A very simple sponge and then topped with lovely icing made by taking a hint from Jane Brocket's The Gentle Art of Domesticity. Quite simply mix the icing sugar with mainly lemon juice rather than just water. The edge it gives them is wonderful - and had many people asking what made them different.

The big move...

If everything goes to plan we're moving the day after tomorrow. In other words, in less than two days time. Yikes!

For ages it's seemed like such a long time away, but now I can't believe that we're so close. I still feel incredibly disorganised and looking around me tonight there is so much still to do. I have my to do lists, but sadly not much seems to have been ticked off them yet.

I'm in work tomorrow and then likely to be somewhat busy the day after. Due to BT's incompetence in giving customers (even existing ones) a broadband connection in a reasonable time period I may be off-line for a while, unless mobile technology can be made to work in our favour.

I'll therefore probably write next in the new house. What I hope will soon become a proper home. Then the excitement really begins. I can't wait!

Wish us luck!

Country Living Inspiration

How is it that only about 4 months ago I had never read a single copy of Country Living magazine? I have no recollection of even picking up a copy in a doctor's or dentist's waiting room. Yet about three months ago I remember someone writing on their blog bout how much they enjoyed it. Hmmm, I thought, a magazine that seems to cover lots of things that I like. How strange that I haven't seen a copy.

So, the next time I was waiting for a train somewhere I sought out the de rigueur WHSmith branch and bought myself a copy. From that point I have no more recollection at all as to my journey home. I couldn't tell you where I was travelling from, whether the train was on time, or even what the weather was like outside.

I've been devouring the August edition today and am completely in love. The photos are all particularly lovely, and I feel completely sure that I could move into any of the homes that they feature (just not so sure that I could keep them that tidy!) 

As soon as we move I will be doing two things: setting up a subscription, and making a list of all the things from the editions I have so far that I want to try. There are recipes, craft idea, gardening tip, decorating inspiration, and even the series about setting up small country businesses (although the latter may be harder to achieve). I know I'll still be living in a city but I am really hoping that our move will take me so much closer to my own country living.

A life of lists

With just two weeks to go until we move I feel like my whole life is controlled by lists at the moment. Lists of people that we need to inform, lists of things that need to be packed up and lists of things that I just mustn't forget!

Progress is being made though. The final pieces of legal paperwork have been signed and returned to our solicitor. The forms for a postal redirect have been completed and tomorrow I'll queue up at the post office to submit them. 

I've also put things in place to move our telephone and broadband services to our new address. In these modern times what I really don't understand is why the process for doing so is so long and drawn out. The telephone line can be transferred over the same day, but it seems they can only order the broadband when the phone line is transferred over. And then it will be at least five working days until it is actually connected. So, because of where weekends fall compared with when we move, it will be about eleven days in total without an internet connection. I'm not at all happy and really don't understand why it has to take so long. If you thought my level of blogging was a bit slow now then apologies in advance for then.

Countdown

If all goes according to plan Mr C and I should be moving house a month tomorrow.

I'm anxious and excited in equal measure at the moment. Anxious as I've suddenly realised that the next month is going to be full of packing boxes, writing lists, remembering things that need to be done and notifying people of a change of address, and in between all this I also need to go to work every day. Exciting because in just over a month Mr C and I will have our first proper family home, complete with a garden and enough space to do all the things that we want to do. 

The next thirty days are likely to be quite busy...

The sun has got his hat on...

... hip-hip-hip-horray!

The last few days have been absolutely glorious here. Hence the lack of blogging. When I haven't been at work I've been busy enjoying the sun. I'm not yet at a stage where I can multi-task enough to blog and enjoy the sun at the same time. Only just over seven weeks though until that becomes a possibility!

A Year of Being Mrs C

A whole year of writing this blog has now passed and I'm amazed. In a way it feels like yesterday since I sat here and started writing my first post about the things in life that make me smile. After a couple of years of reading about other people's lives I wanted to start capturing the key moments of my life that made me happy.

A year on I think I've been managing that reasonably well, but still wish that I had so much more time to do even more with my life. It's just a shame that work has to get in the way!

When I look back through my archives it's great fun to remember all the things that I have got up to over the year. The recipes I've tried and the baking attempts too. When I look back at my basic knitting just twelve months ago I'm quite amazed at how far I've managed to get on the sock knitting front. I've also had some great fun outdoors, especially down at the local nature reserve. My bird watching skills have increased greatly - although I admit that I've still got a long way to go!

One thing that does amaze me though is how many books I've managed to read in the last year. Forty seven if my counting skills haven't let me down. Nearly one a week. No wonder I need so many books. But having just done a quick estimate as to how many unread book are on my shelf, including the ones my mother in law S passed on yesterday, then I may be busy for at least the next eighteen months. Just don't tell Mr C. A couple may more have sneaked into that number following a charity shop trip on Saturday as well. I didn't start off my blog intending to write about books. In fact, of my old English teacher from GCSE English knew I'm sure she'd fall off her chair laughing! At school I was always someone who preferred maths and physics to English. How things have changed.

One thing that I didn't realise when I started blogging was just how much people leaving comments would mean to me. I've had some great baking and book recommendations, and enjoyed hearing about people's trip to similar places, or their knitting and sewing experiences. Thank you so much. I hope those of you reading have enjoyed the first year of Being Mrs C and that you'll continue to pop into my life. There should be a few changes over the next few months, especially when we move house and finally gain the garden that we've been hoping for for so long. I can't promise just how regularly I'll manage to write, but I can promise that I'll continue to do so as blogging has in itself become one of those things that make me smile!