Progress!

Hello,

Gosh, the weather has been warm here in the Midlands of England, but I am not complaining. 

It's so nice to walk out of the house on seemingly endless days and not have to think

 "Do I need a cardigan?" or even more likely "Do I need a raincoat?"

As the title suggests, my post this week is all about progress - 

I feel there has been a definite theme developing in my life over the last few days. 

It doesn't happen very often so please bear with me and indulge me in my glorification

 of recent progresses! Sometimes they are few and far between!

So here goes (but I do apologise for the quality of some of these photos) 

and also for the mundane subject matter of some of them too.

Number 1: Boy, oh boy - when I bought this cute cross stitch kit I didn't realise quite 

how much sky (and snow!) there was to stitch, but I now feel I am making 

measurable inroads into that sky. Only 5 more rows to go!

Number 2: Mr. Gissing, you are a talented writer, constructing complicated sentences and using a

challenging vocabulary which I love to read, but after a day at work I struggle

to read more than a few pages before my eyes close.

 I have been reading this book for what seems an eternity, but I am now over half way! 

I started to read this book several months ago and downloaded it onto my kindle to continue 

reading it while I was on holiday, but it wasn't until I was actually away that I realised the

 kindle version was an abridged version, and no way did I want to read it!  

(OK, diversion here from my progress. My daughter spent the weekend in Oakham and I

picked her up Sunday, while I waited for her I wandered into the town, found a bench 

(and a coffee) and sat to read a few more pages of my book. I then had a short wander 

round. Oakham is a very pretty town. The Butter Cross below first appeared on a map in 1611.)

 (Note the five holes in the stocks! Why? How? The mind boggles!)

(Back to progress)

Number 3: Once home from Oakham I tackled that dreadful chore - ironing. 

Here is just some of the items I de-creased!

 Number 4: Saturday, and a dirty job that has been waiting several years, 

yes I cleared out the garage! 

There is still more stuff to sort out but it is much tidier and cleaner - yay!

We even got one of the bikes fixed on Saturday afternoon. 

Sometime elder son had said he would fix a problem with a back tyre - but 

said tyre and inner tube had languished for months on the garage floor. 

But every cloud has a silver lining, as husband and I we sat outside drinking 

coffee at the cafe next door to the bike shop while the tyre, and a new inner tube, were

 reunited with the bicycle frame!

What more could we ask!

Number 5: Crochet blanket - there had been little crochet on this blanket for many

 months, but some longer car journeys of late has meant that I have added 

several limestone and candy pink rows. 

I ordered more crochet cotton tonight too, desperately hoping that 

it arrives before we leave for a long weekend away in Yorkshire on Friday. 

Number 6: And finally - I am having a bit of a clear out at home. 

We have a stack of jigsaws in the loft and I decided it was time some found a 

new home. But of course I have to check that there are no pieces missing 

before I take them to the charity shop

 (Ok, it's also a grand excuse to do each puzzle one more time.) 

This jigsaw has 1500 pieces - and I like to make it harder by

 not looking at the picture on the box.   

So, there it is. 

Sometimes when life feels a bit busy it is good to feel progress is being made,

 even if in very small ways. 

Thank you for indulging me!

Have a great week.

xXx