drip, drip, drip

Oh, how things don't go to plan sometimes! And oh, how exciting it can be when they do! March has been kind of like that. The end of March brings the end of the three month goals I made at the beginning of the year. I've updated them each month, but it's fun to look back at what I thought at Christmas I'd be doing by the end of March.

Have I cleared out the entire house, or even half of it? No, but the attic's looking a lot better, and I'm at least on top of the washing most of the time. Do I have a table, a gate, a washing line in the garden? No, but there's all kinds of things growing (more on that later in the week). Have I been running three times a week? Yes, actually, I have! Sometimes only for 20 minutes at a time - but then that's the beauty of vague goals... Have I stuck to my budget? Yes, pretty much, although it's had to be refined a little because of a couple of unexpected things. But mostly it's ticking along nicely, and it doesn't half feel good to be in control.

Am I up to where I thought I'd be with the PhD revisions? Er, not quite, but I'm sticking to the timetable I made in February, when things were a little clearer. Did I look for a job every week, and apply for a total of six things? No, but that's because I was offered the first thing I applied for (tee hee). Is my voluntary project finished? Not quite, but it will be by the end of this week, and also the community garden is progressing nicely too.

And have I posted at least twice a week on my cheery little blog? Er, it seems not. Sorry about that, must try harder...

My goals for the next three months are pretty similar. I'm having quite a lot of success with ongoing goals - make sure you do a bit of this, a bit of work on that, do something several times, doesn't matter if it's not every week, and slowly, gradually, it drips in, and eventually becomes part of life.

So April's goals range from the rather specific, but fairly tedious things that wouldn't get done if they weren't on a list (sealing round the bath, sorting out a washing line, listing a load of old text books on Amazon, clearing out my old office), to the fairly vague but cheery things (er, should I confess on this list is 'start finishing Peter's Christmas present'??), from the measurable but not very arduous (go on two bike rides), to the decision-making (decide whether to continue with voluntary project. Oh, and I really do plan on posting here a little more often...

March felt busy, head-down kind of busy, and has mostly focused on applying for, being interviewed for, and being excited about my new job. April feels like kind of an in-between month - I'm not finishing this old job yet, not starting the new one yet, not finishing the PhD yet, lots of things just trundling on slowly, drip, drip, drip.

On the other hand, April's the month of my birthday, so it always feels like a rather cheery month :)

The ends of May, the beginning of June

This seems to be a bit of a pattern... but hasn't May gone quickly? 

I'll post again this evening with some photos, but I've sat down to do a bit of organising, and remembered that I wanted to write an end of the month post, going over what I've done in May. Thinking about the last few weeks settles me somehow, makes me sit down and recognise what I've done. It makes me think about whether I'm moving in the direction I want to go in, and what needs to shift slightly. 

So, in May, I've done lots of new things :) I've dabbled with making clothes, and sewed two skirts, both of which I wear often. I also made a new bag, and knitted a couple of cotton dishcloths. I've started using the soap I made a couple of months ago - for washing up and in the shower. It's such a good feeling to use something you've made yourself, it really is. 

I've also made some very successful yogurt, so I've got over my slight gloominess about it not working a couple of times. And I made some excellent rhubarb and orange jam - which has now all gone! But our friends said we could have rhubarb from them whenever we liked, so we might pop and get some more tonight, and then give them a jar or two of jam in return. Community sufficiency is a long way off, but we're working on it.

In the garden, I've done a fair amount of weeding, planted out courgettes and cabbages, and sowed a few more seeds. We've had our first salad from the garden too! And I hung sheets out to dry - and since Peter would rather I didn't hang washing in the 'front' garden, he's building me a washing line by the back door :) Photos to follow when it's up. 

PhD wise, I've written some more, still need to write some more. What else can I say? Only that I sat down and counted the weeks left until it absolutely HAS to be handed in - just seventeen. That's 123 days and counting - even I can stick it out for that long. The end is in sight... 

Budget - well. I don't think I've spent that much, but I must confess I haven't kept a spending diary at all. I've had a complete mental block about it - do I just not want to think about it because I have too many other things to think about? I don't know. It has to stop though! I did contact the council about reducing our council tax, but we still haven't received the forms they promised to send. And I've managed to reduce my phone bill by £20 a month - £240 a year! Now, if I can just get that straight into the savings account it can go towards our Christmas holidays... 

Speaking of budgeting, I've applied for three jobs this month. I'm still not sure if I've done the right thing, but time will tell. I had thought I would carry on with my part time job that I do now for two days a week while I let my brain recover after the PhD. But a few things have happened at work, and I don't think that's going to be for the best for me. One of the jobs I've applied for is full time, in another city, which wold involve so much commuting, I'm just not sure I can commit to it. I'll cross that bridge if it happens. The other two are much more manageable, and one of them I'm really excited about. So fingers crossed. I've set myself a cut off point for my current job too, so whatever happens after that date, I'll be moving on. 

It's difficult balancing work and life, isn't it? I've been doing this PhD for a good few years now, and working two days a week on top for the last two years. I'm tired, and I have lots of other things I'd much rather be doing. This blog was designed to help me start doing some of those things anyway - some sewing, gardening, making, doing. Some things - like trapeze lessons and volunteering - I won't be starting til it's over. 

Some might say I'm idle... but I just don't think I've got time to do paid work for 37 hours a week. If I had to, if I needed to, then of course I would, I have done in the past, in much worse jobs than I could probably get now. But the thing is, through accident and more lately through design, I've set up my life so I don't need to. I've never spent huge amounts of money, all my clothes come from charity shops (or are made!), we don't eat much in the way of prepackaged food, don't have an expensive car, and neither of us have any debt (I worked to pay mine off). Our bills aren't expensive, and we can walk to lots of places we go to. We don't have expensive holidays and I'm trying to make all my presents this year. So really, now is the time to be doing all the cheery things I'd like to try my hand at. 

And, quite frankly, I'm a bit worried that if I got myself into a full time job, I wouldn't want to give up the salary... 

So there's my justification to myself, just in case I needed one :) I'm working hard to make my life how I want it NOW, not in 40 years time when I retire. Call me impatient, but I want the pots of jam, the tea and cake, the long walks, the bike rides, the reading, the days out at the seaside, I want them all now. The main cost is time. I'm trying to make sure I have plenty of that, not money. I'm working on it. 

So, June. This year is galloping so quickly I can barely keep up. This month I'll finish the last of the PhD chapters, and right back at the beginning again. I'll get some more salad leaves out in the garden. I'll spend lots of time in the garden, like I have this month, and maybe even harvest some what we've grown other than perpetual spinach and rainbow chard. I'll get the washing line put up (or rather Peter will...). I've got a few ideas for clothes I make, and I've also got a wedding present to make... :) 

I'm promising here to stick to the budget. I'll even put the spare £20 from the phone bill into the savings account. I'll do some price comparisons to cut the cost of the car insurance - dull, but necessary. 

I've started running again lately, so I'll keep that up. I'll also get a bit more spring cleaning done in the house, and a few projects. It never really ends, housework, so I'm working on thinking of it as cheery and nourishing. Or something. 

I'm looking forward to things being quite different at the end of June. I want to see the end of the PhD - not the real end, that's too unlikely, but the end of a full draft would be nice... And I'd like to know the outcome of the jobs I applied for, and make a few decisions about that. And for the garden to be full of food. I'm looking forward to it!  

The end of April, the beginning of May

April has felt like a long month! I've got lots of new and cheery things done.

Most importantly, it was my birthday :) We had a very soggy day out! I got some new audio books, which I love listening to when I'm driving, or walking somewhere uninspiring, or sewing. Peter also got me a pink and blue sparkly hula hoop! Far from being the expert I remember being when I was 11, I actually can't keep it round my waist for more than 3 seconds... But I'll keep trying, we've had so much fun with it! 

I got a lovely parcel in the post today, a birthday present from my auntie :) She sent these gorgeous fabrics from her stash.

I've dropped my camera and broken something, so they all look orange, but there's actually loads of different colours! I've been having fun thinking of all the things I can make with them. 

She also sent these balls of pure cotton yarn.

I'd been talking about knitting dish cloths, and looking out for cotton, and she found these, so now I can have a go. Hooray! 

Other than being my birthday, April has been busy. I've done a bit of sewing and knitting, and I've made all the birthday presents for people this month! I've had a go at making cheese and yogurt. I've made a fair few lovely cakes, and also another batch of soap using coconut oil this time. I've used the face scrub I made all month. 

In the garden, I've planted herbs, and my mum helped for a weekend clearing and brushing and generally sprucing up. Peter built us a compost bin! We've seen a frog in the garden, a mouse, a squirrel, and plenty of birds. My broad beans are doing well, and some of the inside plants are nearly ready to plant outside. 

In the house, spring cleaning and sorting has continued - I've cleared my desk area in the attic, as well as the sewing area (which I forgot to post pictures of, I'll do that this week). All my material is now organised - it's so much easier to do a small project when you can see what there is to use! And most importantly, we now have a shower!! This has been a lengthy and complicated process taking several years, and you just can't imagine how excited I was when I had the first shower this week! 

I haven't quite stuck to my budget this month... I stopped writing things down several times, so I don't have an accurate record, sadly. But I think I only went about £30 over. I'll do better next month. 

I've written another couple of PhD chapters, and have managed to stay cheery about it for most of the month, which is very unusual! I can see the end, it just doesn't seem to be getting any closer...

I've got lots planned for May! I'll be planting more things out in the garden, and spending more time sitting out there in the sunshine. 

I bought this fabulous quilt cover last week, and I'll be attempting to make it into a full length, full circle skirt :)

I've got a few other little sewing and knitting projects on the go, including dish cloths. In the house I want to carry on pottering and sorting and tidying. PhD wise, I'm aiming to write the last couple of chapters this month, and then make a start rewriting from the beginning all over again...

Other than the PhD, which has to be the main priority this month, I'm going to focus on the budget. I'm going to rejig our phone bills to save us some money, and get us our long awaited council tax discount. I promise here to stick to my budget all month! :) 

The end of March, the beginning of April

I thought it would nice to have a post at the end of each month, reflecting on things I've done, new things I've tried, and how things are working out in this quest for a more home grown life. 

I've stared lots of seedlings off, and made space in the garden for all the fruit and veg I'll be growing. (I was going to upload a photo but blogger isn't playing today...). We've already eaten rainbow chard, spinach and some herbs this year. 

I've started sewing again, and I'm enjoying it very much. I'm planning on making pretty much all Christmas and birthday presents this year. 

I've had a go at making soap - got off to a ropey start but it's drying out nicely now, and will hopefully be ready to use in a few weeks. I'll hunt out some coconut oil and try a different recipe this month. 

We've done lots of decorating in the bathroom, and it feels much more homely now. I think this sort of thing is important for feeling at home in your home (if that makes sense), freeing up a bit of space, making things easier to keep clean, and generally more relaxing.  We even managed a good bit of spring cleaning of the kitchen and entrance this week too. 

Money wise, I've checked my cash book today and I've actually stuck to the budget this month! Well, overall I have, although the 'emergency' fund was spent on tea and cake, and the 'garden' fund on food :) I'm learning.... 

I've eaten either at home, with friends, or taken a packed lunch every day this month, no more bought sandwiches for me! 

So overall, a month of trying out new skills, growing and sowing and sewing, and making life easier (funny how it sometimes seems to get more difficult in the process!)

As for April.... It's my birthday in April :) Which automatically makes the whole month more cheery somehow. 

In the house, we'll carry on pottering and decorating and organising. I'll make some more soap, experiment with some more food from the garden, and do some more spring cleaning.

In the garden, I'll clear some more space, build a compost bin, plant some veg out, and regain the seating area to sit out at tea time. 

At work, I'll take a packed lunch every day :) And I'll try not to spend (too much) time resenting my phd and more time actually writing it...

I'll stick to my budget, try more soap making, have a go at another sewing project, and spend more time writing, more time outside. 

And I'll look back at this post at the end of April and see how I've got on.