Books I have read in 2023

 I managed the grand total of 27 books in 2023 which probably is not a lot by some people's standards but working full time, crafting, housework, family and the W.I. means that I am kept busy for most of the time. 

I am not going to go into detail for every book as that would just take far too long but I will do a little about my favourite books of the year. I don't have a specific genre or author that I like to read, I tend to make my decisions on whether other people have enjoyed it, the cover or the blurb. Some of these books I would not have chosen myself as they are the book club choices that I go to once a month. 

So here is the list, let me know if you have read any of them and what you thought. They are separated into books I enjoyed but would not read again, books I did not like and books I loved.

Books I enjoyed reading.

    

          

    

     

   

   

  

  

Books I did not enjoy

Although I liked the overall story I could not stand Tom Ripley. Apparently the film is supposed to be a lot better than the book. 

I just found the descriptive writing was too much for me. I could see why it was once on the English Literature O'level syllabus.

Who could have thought you could go wrong with Agatha Christie? Apparently you can and this book is in the top 100 worst books ever written list and I can see why. (I did not know this before I chose it)

Books I loved

It was the mention of the self cleaning house that hooked me when I was reading the blurb. I love the fact it is not a young woman who is the lead character but a single mum with a teenage daughter who did not even know she was a witch as her powers had been kept from her to protect her. I am looking forward to reading the rest of the series this year.

The Tudors are one of my favourite periods in history to read about. Obviously this is fiction but is was interesting to read a book based on a real character and some real events.

This has become one of my all time favourite books. The blurb  and any description I could give does not do it justice. How the author came up with upper class Victorian ladies who are actually pirates but have flying houses instead of  ships and the male lead being hired to either kill, kidnap or protect the main female lead depending on who hired him is totally remarkable. I laughed out loud at some of the incredulous lines and speeches made. Totally bonkers but brilliant. I am definitely going to be reading the other books by this author.

   

    

   

        

Happy Homemaker Monday -week commencing 15th January 2024

 

Another week has gone by so quickly and it has been fun settling in to writing blog posts and coming up with ideas for future posts. I am also getting used to sticking to my to do list and so far things have gone well and everything has been done. I have enjoyed crossing things off my list. 

So here we go for this week.

TO-DO

- Finish dress

- Go through wardrobe and sort out

- Wash pet bedding and go through her old toys and put into new box

- De-clutter things under the bed.

What I am looking forward to.

I am going on a school trip to Chester Zoo on Monday and thankfully it is not going to rain, just freezing cold. Emma is going to Iceland next weekend and I am a bit jealous that I am not going as well, but I know she will have a fantastic time. Craig is out every night this week so I am looking forward to watching what I want on TV and being able to have the light on so I can knit whilst watching.

On the menu

Monday- YOYO (You're on your own) as I will be back late from the zoo.

Tuesday - Meatzza ( a giant burger with pizza sauce and toppings on top)

Wednesday - Enchiladas

Thursday - Shrimp and pasta

Friday - Chicken stir fry

Saturday - Fish pie

Sunday -Jambalaya.

What I am reading

The book club choice for this month is 'How to Kill your Family by Bella Mackie. My own choice for this month is Agatha Raisin- Pushing up Daisies by M.C Beaton. I want to try and read more non-fiction books so this month is Atomic Habits by James Clear. My target for this year is 36 books (3 a month). I read 27 last year so hope to better it this year.

Wishing you all a good week.

Project 365 8th -13th January

 I am trying again to do the Project 365 where you take a photo a day. I decided to try again after doing the 1sec a day in December where you record a 1 second video to highlight your day. My life is not always the most interesting especially during the week when I am working and it is winter but  here we go for the first week.

I finally got my car back after it had been in the garage for over a week. Luckily it was still under warranty so it did not cost me anything.

I found these in TK Maxx and absolutely adore them. They are just so moorish. I will need to find a regular supply of them now.

We are going away in the February half term and are flying with Ryanair. When we looked at the size of the luggage we were allowed to take as we are not putting any in the hold I realised we did not have any of the right size so I found these in B & Mn which are the right size. I am now going to have fun trying to fit everything in.

Craig in his morning dog walking attire. He takes her for a walk in the morning before we go to work, unless she wakes me up wanting me to take her.

My new tumble dryer has been delivered and put into place. It is a lot quieter than my old one so Matthew shouldn't complain about it waking him up as his room is directly above the garage.

Due to all the bad weather we have had, Matthew has not had a chance to try out his new pizza oven until this weekend. He did a good job making everything from scratch, including the base and sauce. 

I am hoping that things get a little more interesting as we go.

Week commencing 8th January 2024

 

It is hard to believe we are already a week into 2024 and I am back doing menu planning and household planning. This is all in an effort to get organised and stay on top of things. Having a written list of things to do helps me stay motivated as I get great pleasure it ticking them off and seeing how much I have accomplished.

So for this week

To Do

I am out Monday, Tuesday and Friday evenings so the list can not be as long as I would normally do if I was staying home in the evening and this is on top of my weekly cleaning.

-Wash all curtains downstairs (as the curtains are so wide and long they can only be done one curtain at a time)

- Declutter bedroom chest of drawers

- Make a note of due dates for insurances, MOT's etc

In my craft basket

I have 3 projects that I am determined to finish this month. The first is an EPP quilt that I have been making in my quilting group for many years. The top is now finished and I just have the quilting and binding to do. 

The second is a jumper I have been knitting. I an definitely a novice when it comes to knitting and reading patterns and I had put this down for a several months after I made a mistake that I could not figure out how. I eventually got to show the pattern and the piece to my Mum who figured out where I had made the mistake so I ended up undoing the piece and starting again.

The final project is a dress that I started last summer then somehow lost interest in (as I did a lot last year). 

I want to get these three completed so that I can concentrate on starting some new projects next month.

On the menu

As the weather has turned colder this week I have decided to make some comfort food recipes whilst sticking to Slimming World (for the majority of the time)

Monday - Beef and black bean chilli

Tuesday - Mac and Cheese Taco Bake

Wednesday- Don-Air Kebab ( a Slimming World recipe for Donner Kebab)

Thursday- Toasties

Friday - Lentil and Bacon Stew

Saturday - Curried Mince beef

Sunday - Cola Chicken

Looking forward to..

The first W.I. and Book Club meetings of the year. There is a speaker from The Christie Hospital at the W.I. meeting and we will be celebrating our 9th birthday. The book I have read for the book club was 'Lessons in Chemistry' by Bonnie Garmuss which I really enjoyed reading even if it wasn't quite as much about cooking as I was expecting. I have also got the TV series with Brie Larson to watch.

I hope you all have a good week.

Deborah

Word of the Year 2024 - ORGANISED

I hope you all have had a good Christmas and are ready to go for 2024 with resolutions, intentions, plans, changes or just carrying on with what you have been doing.

After a year where I have felt things have slipped I am determined to get back on top of everything hence the reason why Organised is my word for 2024. My motivation to do anything in 2023 was almost non-existent. I am not sure if it is the stage of life that I am going through or whether it was just general dissatisfaction that made me feel that way. Over the last few weeks however, I have felt more like my old self and wanting to get things done so I don’t leave them to the last minute and become stressed.

So how am I going to get organised? For me it is about planning and I have started to use my ring-bound planners again. I am going to use 2 planners. A personal size as a calendar/diary but also having a section where birthdays are listed, a to-do list, a section for passwords and a general notes section for writing down random thoughts or pieces of information that might be important. My A5 planner will be for things to do with the house and family. So at the moment this will include my Christmas planner, addresses & contact details for family and friends, a one stop shop for phone and account numbers for utilities, insurances etc; trackers for books read and films watched, holiday planning and room details such as size, paint colours; and a due date section for things like MOT’s insurances, routine appointments etc.

As well as using my planners I have also bought all the birthday cards that I will need for the coming year and they have been put into monthly sections in a card box and they will be written and addressed over the next few days. Christmas cards and wrapping supplies have also been purchased in the sales and put away In the usual place. I also intend to buy Christmas presents throughout the year and I have designated a place to store them until needed.

Menu planning is also going to come back into my routine this year as I need to focus on getting to my goal weight this year (I didn’t gain weight, I just didn’t lose any). It will also save  money as I can order the items on click and collect so I am not tempted to put any extras in or go browsing in the non-food areas.

A close contender for word of the year was ~Lagom’ which basically means ‘ not too much or too little, just right’. This word resonated with me as I am not into minimalism or maximalism within the house. I am going to spend this year de-cluttering the house and not allowing myself to buy that much to clutter up rooms therefore making them easier to keep clean and tidy. I am also going to use up my craft kits and read the books I have already purchased before I allow myself to buy anymore which will also help with the de-cluttering process as well as saving money.

I have not really made any other New Years resolutions as everything I want to achieve comes under the organisation umbrella. 

Do you have a word of the year or have made any resolutions for 2024? I would love to know what they are.

Visit to Keswick Pencil Museum

I absolutely love stationery and a few weeks ago I visited the Pencil Museum in Keswick. I heard about it when I watched the TV programme with Ralf Little and Ricky Tomlinson where they toured the North of England in a motorhome.

It is definitely not the biggest of museums, in fact I would say it is the smallest one I have been to. It was however, surprisingly the most interesting. I learnt how the phrase 'black market' came about (when graphite used to be stolen from mines and sold illegally) and also the real life person who inspired the character 'Q' in the James Bond films. There was also some miniscule carvings on pencils and the world's largest pencil. Even Craig who only came along to keep me happy enjoyed it.

The Pencil Museum is definitely worth a visit if you are in Keswick and it pretty reasonable in terms of admission costs (plus you do get a free pencil as well:) ) Keswick itself is also very nice to walk around, even on a wet miserable day, and there are plenty of places to eat and drink.

Starting to blog again

I cannot believe how much time has passed since I last posted here. It was never my intention to stop posting, life just got in the way and I completely lost my ‘mojo’ not only for blogging but for a lot of other things. Life is now settling down so I am hoping to be able to get back into the swing of things.

So what has been happening?

I have changed jobs. I am now working in a junior school office and absolutely love it. The staff and the kids are wonderful, the work is steady and not stressful and the bonus of the school holidays as well. The deputy head has also persuaded me to run an after school sewing group for a small number of pupils which I am thoroughly enjoying and the pupils are as well. I am hoping to be able to continue it after Christmas.

We went away to Orlando in April for the 50^th Anniversary of Disney World. It was not the first time we had been and there have been a lot of changes and not all of them for the better. I felt that everything was a lot more expensive than when we went last time and I preferred Universal Studios to Disney (even though that was just as extortionate). We did not do too many rides because I refused to pay for the fast pass and would not queue for more than 1 hour to go on a ride either. There were some good parts including seeing my nephew’s face when he found out he wasn’t going to London for a holiday but was going to Disney instead. I won’t however be rushing to go back any time soon.

Emma then stayed on for another 10 weeks with her boyfriend and travelled around America which she had been wanting to do for many years. She had an amazing time and one she will never forget. She is back working full time again in the job that she was doing before she left.

Matthew is now looking at universities. When I last posted he had just started at college. He has a favourite one which also has the bonus of being closest to home so he could travel there every day. I may make him do one year of living away so he gets that experience, but financially it is better for him and us if he stayed home.

Craig is still fully involved with his Masonic lodges and as the season has now started again, I rarely see him in the evenings.

I am still crafting and reading and attending the W.I. but I have stopped going to my second W.I as several incidents occurred and I felt they were not dealt with properly or with kindness.

Craig and I also managed a couple of weekends away without the kids. We went camping for a couple of days with a new tent, despite after the last camp I said I would not go camping again. We went to the Peak District near Buxton and walked to Thor’s Head. We also went to Lytham near Blackpool and went to Lytham Hall and saw a very funny amateur dramatics production that was in the Pavilion Theatre.

The rest of my life has just been ‘bobbing along’ as normal. I am starting to plan for Christmas and have several Christmas parties coming up. I am hoping to go and see a National Trust property decorated for Christmas but I will be starting the New Year with no definite plans for holidays or days out.

Hopefully, now I have started again I will find the momentum to continue and start reading other blogs again as well. I do enjoy reading what other people have been doing in their every day lives as that is real life not the edited highlights you find on vlogs or ‘reality’ tv shows.

See you soon

Deborah