Go long and nap hard.

Is it spring yet? I’m looking round our home and I can see a huge amount of stuff that needs a new home, whether it be at the tip, recycling or to give away. I think that I’ve now reached capacity with it all and I want to purge this place right out.

That’s even before I paint everything in sight with a fresh warm cream colour, white is nice but can be a little stark with direct sunlight in my opinion. So, cream is clean, fresh alternative. I’m actively looking forward to starting, the only frustration is getting to it for all this stuff and having to wait until it’s a little warmer to aid the paint to dry.

So baby steps I guess, first things first, go in sequence, it’s just that my mind races to what needs doing and I want to do it all in a few days, that’s ok I hear you say, except I’m not twenty anymore and I’m sure your heard me say it before .... when I get up I’m ready to vacuum the world but by lunchtime I’m ready for a nap.

So, limited by this carbon unit I call a body I will be forced to pace myself, bit by bit, trouble is I’m an Aquarian and I love to get everything done, I never lack motivation, ask my poor family I go all out, I’m driven to get it done then have to rest for two days because I’m exhausted, that’s ok. What they don’t know is I’m actually more relaxed inside, knowing it’s finally done.

I’ve got plants to start this week, tomato plants, I’m going to plant them off with my grandson when they are big enough and then he can see them grow and hopefully we will get some nice tomatoes, it will be nice to do that with him. I have a nice hessian planter that will look smashing on the deck and with a few pots of flowers to call the bees in, we should be in business, hopefully.

I love the joy of growing something, I understand that I’m getting older and can’t dig a full field of potatoes anymore. So, I go for pots, they are easy to manage and easy to harvest things like potatoes or peas, beans etc., and I love the way they can be moved around till I get the colours looking right in my display. Grow bags another favourite and are very versatile. I might even be persuaded to grow our own pumpkin this year, that would be fun for the boys. That leaves herbs, mint, lemon balm and rosemary are firm favs, always good by the door. Oh, I am so excited to think that the plants will be growing soon.

But for now I have to be content with clearing this place out, getting rid of stuff I feel is choking me. Just my stuff, that’s the problem with being a pack rat I guess, and you know what really burns me is? The very next day after I throw something out or rehome it I need it, now I might have toted this item around for 30 years and never needed it, but as sure as eggs are eggs as soon as it’s gone I need it, that messes with your head. But I’ve decided if I need it after, tough, it’s time for a clear out, I don’t know if it’s the time of year or just my age or what it is, maybe it’s both. It’s got to go, so watch out everyone, whirlwind coming through, at least until lunchtime anyway.

This afternoon I’ve promised myself to write some more recipes in a hard-back book for one of our boys, he wants the family recipes handed down and the ones he grew up eating. I’ve done one of these for three of the children so far, I’ve got a few more to complete, sure, I could photocopy them, but I feel there’s no heart or love with that, I want it to be more than just a book, I’d like it be a memento, something to remember me by. I wish my mum could have done that for me, sadly she’s no longer around.

So, I’d like them to have a little bit of me and then, they can re-create the tastes they love and miss when the need arises. It’s nice for them to introduce their families to different dishes. Some may be the same, some not, they can experiment. A taste of their growing up at home, wherever it was. It’s true we moved a lot when they were small because of my husband’s job, that’s ok, we bettered ourselves each time, nicer house, more room etc., it didn’t matter how many times we moved, the food was the same, so I guess it’s a sort of stability for them. Lots of recipes and a few laughs when they remember things, like where we were living then or who’s birthday it was, that’s sort if thing, it’s all good as they say.

Back to today I’m now going to start tackling that wall of stuff to clear, I almost need climbing gear and pitons, that’s ok I have a box for our daughters and one for take it or leave it, marvellous. Let’s get it done before lunchtime arrives and I need a nap .....