It can't all be good...

Hello, 

'An enjoyable few hours spent in Sheffield on a beautifully sunny afternoon, 

all in the company of elder son.'

'A late afternoon, wintery walk up to The Outwoods - when we came out of the woods

 it looked like Christmas lights were on in the town spread before us.' 

As some of you may know, I reduced the number of days I work each week a few 

months ago. 

There have been some unforeseen benefits of this.

1. I drink fewer coffees. 

At work, a mid-morning trip to the coffee shop provided me with a bit of exercise and a bit of a treat too to keep me going through the rest of the day. Sadly, a bag of crisps often accompanied my coffee purchase - not a good thing for either my expanding waistline or rising blood cholesterol!

2. I've cut my wine intake

I have never drunk copious amounts of wine but I did find that a glass or two, several times 

a week was a particularly satisfying way to relax. I'm not proud of this; it is just the way it was. 

I think in celebration my liver is having a party, but obviously an alcohol-free one and 

most probably a slumber party!

 It's having a long-awaited and well-deserved rest from alcohol!! 

It is said that when you reduce your alcohol intake your skin improves, so in a couple 

of weeks time I'm hoping to look 20 years younger! ;-)

3. I've bought fewer magazines

As with the wine, I've never bought many magazines, but again a bit of a treat for me was

to browse the shelves of the newsagent, viewing all the craft and home magazines, 

dreaming of all the projects I would start (and finish!) when I had the time. 

And sometimes feeling that I could justify spending £5 for a magazine as 

"I'd worked hard this week"!

Magazines are pretty extortionate in price now aren't they? 

It's not uncommon for magazines to cost £8 - and I can't help thinking I can buy a 

book for £8!

4. So, as a result of 1, 2 and 3 above, I'M SAVING £££s

So all in all, this is looking very positive. 

But it can't all be good can it?

I am finding it hard to stick to my resolve to cut my spending on yarn. Again, I don't think I'm outrageously extravagant but I do have a few balls sitting in bags waiting to be knitted. 

And at the moment I'm so tempted by more sock yarn! 

And I can't help thinking that I can justify buying a couple of balls because of the 

amount of money I'm saving on coffees and wine! 

Oo, I can't decide between iceburg, frost or delphinium......

(this is 'iceburg' below)

Well, writing this post has distracted me from the wool website for a little while 

(thank you!), I'm now off to tidy the kitchen and then to bed, 

so delaying hitting that 'checkout' button for another day.

I hope you have been enjoying the wintery weather and the 

excuse it brings to snuggle up in front of a fire.

Best wishes

xXx