In Retrospect - Third Quarter

Another 3 months down - I felt I was stagnating somewhat (for various reasons) for most of these 3 months, but I've had some forced forays out of the comfort zone in the last month or so.

Food.  My new favourite green thing is kale.  I now order it for every delivery.  So far it's only been cooked in stir fries so if there are recipe suggestions out there, speak up!  I've been a bit more creative with biscuit flavours too (even more since the previous biscuit post), and have more ideas up my sleeve.  And having milk (and now, fish as well) delivered weekly is wonderful.  I hardly need to go to a supermarket now!  Plus all that feel-good feeling of helping local farmers - what's not to like?!

Domestics - Indoors.  Just little things.  My brother's stereo has been at my place for ages, but I gave it back to him yesterday.  This means I have cleaner lines in that area (good) but no radio (not so good).  I downloaded an app but it appears to have problems in iOS 6...  The radio in my bedroom still works so that might just have to do me for now.  I bought different cleaning products last week, too - I'd run out but forgotten to reorder.  I really like this new variety (brand name 'method').  The new arrangement of the living room has stuck.  It is more open, and all the students and parents seem to like it more.  I guess it's staying.  And I have new pictures by the stairs (although some of them have fallen down - need bigger hooks).

Domestics - Outdoors.  Whoa - garden!  Some of my older outfit posts have photos taken in the courtyard, and you can see the jungle qualities present.  And the shade/lack of light.  Now, it is much barer, neater, sunnier.  Plus, I have green things growing and not just a few square metres of paving.  I like.  This has also brought back my gardening mojo (at least so far).  Fingers crossed for more edibles other than herbs. 

Me.  I feel I've had a bit of a makeover lately.  New hair, new glasses, new goals for life.  I've been contemplating that which was previously inconceivable.  And I've started doing things, like telling people if there's a problem, or asking people to sign a petition for something I believe is really important.

Other Little Things.  I actually downloaded iOS 6 for my phone - I feel like I have a new phone.  This was not a disaster.  I can now deal with chocolate that is not broken evenly (well, usually).  I am a bit more careful what I share on the internet.  You may have noticed the absence of Spending Reports - this is because I haven't bought any clothes or accessories for 3 whole months.  This began as a "let's see if I can do this" and now it's in that "how long can this go on" phase.  I even tried on a dress at my favourite Lifeline last week, but decided against it.  Having just seen my shoe collection en masse I suspect it's time for a wardrobe cull.  I've started ordering things online more.  It seems we've started a dinner party tradition with the group from church (we had one last night - they're fabulous!).  I started another blog.  I can run with far less brain preparation than before - and even do better than if I had more brain preparation.  Weird.  Oh, and I've been reading a book series out of order.  I've read them all before (I don't think I could have coped otherwise), but read #3, then #2, #4 and again #4 (couldn't sleep one night last week at the coast).  Blaming it on the library...

So, although parts of these 3 months have seen me huddled in a corner, I have changed a lot of my surroundings and person and way that I am. 

Monday's photo:

Dinner last night was indeed fabulous.  Dessert was all homemade of course - lemon tart with raspberry and lemon sorbets and (lactose-free) vanilla bean ice cream.

Today's photo:

I am very pleased with this pot of herbs.  The basil has had a resurgence recently, the parsley isn't dead, and the chives (newbies) are still alive.  The whole thing looks like an explosion of green.

The Pictures by the Stairs (2)

Yesterday I added some pictures to the collection on the wall by the stairs.  The four frames already there had only bits of wrapping paper in them, which is nice for pattern and colour, but I thought it was time to put some of my own photos in there.  After visiting the doctor today I restocked my ink.  After my 3rd nap of the day and a computer tantrum, I printed out some photos then added a hook. 

Now, of course, the frames don't look as good as I think they could...

But I am definitely liking having more personal things at which to look!

Having just gone through extensive quantities of photos - and I've been rather slack with organising them this year - I can see some photo organising and cd burning happening tomorrow.

The Pictures by the Stairs

I didn't go to work today - this cold has been hanging around for a while and I just want it gone.  Today, then, I had breakfast and coffee... then I slept for the rest of the day.  One thing I've been itching to do since Saturday, though, is to rearrange the things hanging on the walls.  This was the most energy I could expend today, apart from boiling the kettle and moving from the bed to the sofa. 

Two things prompted this current stage of change: I noticed when my niece's drawing made it to the top of the keyboard, that the frame of the photo already sitting there was sitting lower and lower; and I was given a beautiful (and appropriate!) card for my birthday.

For maybe a couple of years, I've had these 4 frames with wrapping paper near the top of the lower stairs. 

Having now added more personal items, I plan to replace the paper bits with other photos I've taken myself. 

I need to replace some printer ink though before I can print anything.  And from this angle it looks a little uneven...

How nice is this card?!  Thanks Jeannie!

Today's photo:

Pattern.  While having coffee this morning, the sun was lovely, creating sharp lines with the clothes line and the fence.