Time management

I'm the first to admit, and it probably won't come as much as a surprise to any of you that I'm a fairly organised person.

In a previous life when I used to head off to work each day I would have my routines and to do lists and get through my days easily and happily (mostly), even if there were deadlines or last minute changes.

So when you finally realise that a big chunk of your life isn't organised and your time management skills in that area are pretty crap, then it can drive you a bit batty.

That area is between the hours of 9am and 3pm each day when the kids are at school and is something that I usually just flit my way through trying to fit in all the things I need to do, procrastinating on a lot of things (mostly housework) and not getting to the things I really WANT to do because I tell myself I can't start them until I've achieved some semblance of order elsewhere.

(Valentines flowers my lovely hubby surprised me with)

A few weeks ago I had another one of those light bulb moments.  It was an idea that seemed so obvious that I wondered why it has taken me so many years to work it out.

I've decided to treat my day like a work day.  Just because I'm a stay at home mum, which is something that I really, really love, doesn't mean that I can't look at it as a job.  I mean, when it comes down to it, it IS a job that you do 24/7.

So I decided to get myself organised and use my time better during the day in the hope of creating a little more order and a little less chaos.

Virtually the second I thought of this I headed straight down to the newsagent to buy a diary because I knew that was going to work best for me.  I need something visual that I can scribble in and I found the perfect sized one that I can look at one week at a time.

I'm not putting appointments in this diary but crossing out sections when I'm not home.  It won't be intricate, flash or detailed.  Most mornings I walk the dog after I take the kids to school so I'm not home until at least 10am.  So my day really doesn't start until after then.

Each week I first cross out when I won't be home and then I look at what needs doing and pencil things in.  I'm not filling my days up either so that I feel like I'm rushing around all the time.  What would be the point of being your own boss and managing your own time if you put pressure on yourself by saying that you just have to get things done.

The other day I had pencilled in just two things that were my priority for that day.  I had procrastinated on them for months and in the end it took me a little over 15 minutes and I had both jobs completed.  I then had the option of starting on one of my other jobs for the week if I felt like it or dipping into my crochet basket and working on a project I had been putting off.  (I bet you know which one I chose to do).

So now I'm finding that I'm getting more done, I'm procrastinating less and I also seem to have more time to do other things.  Oh and it's not like I sit around all day when I've finished something either.  There's still washing to be done, floors to be swept, toilets to be cleaned, grocery shopping to be done and the hundreds of other little things that are a part of home life.

I'm a lot less stressed about things because I realised that the only person who was putting pressure on me to get things done was ME.  Now I know that it's okay, that things will get done even if I don't do them right now and the bonus is that I'm a lot calmer, not as frustrated and definitely not as cranky (the kids are loving this one!).

(My new tealight lamp that sits in the middle of my table)

I'm not organised to an inch of my life and my new schedule leaves a lot of room for change and is working for me.

The best thing I can say to others is that nobody knows you or what works for you better than yourself.  Work with what you already do most days because when you really look at your life, you'll find regular routines everywhere and you probably don't even think about half of them.  

(The buds from my Valentines flowers that I can't throw away but have no idea what to do with)

Thanks for listening to me ramble.

The cyclone which was heading our way late last week ended up heading away from the coast so the torrential rain that was predicted didn't eventuate.  We stayed true to our plans of doing not much at all over the weekend and loved it.

I hope you are all having a good week.  I've already had a few changes to my schedule with hubby being home but I'm okay with that as I'm just re-arranging things in my planner. :)

xx Susan

What to make with some of my stash?

I'm slowly going through my house decluttering at the moment.  I say slowly because I don't want to crash and burn as I have in the past and am trying to get into the habit of maintaining the clean areas before I head onto the next section.

More on that in another post but I have started to go through my yarn stash.  I did last year too and made a good dent in it and then of course ended up buying more yarn to add to the stash.  I know I'm not alone in doing this as we all seem to have a magic stash of yarn that never seems to go down no matter how much you work your way through it.

I've pulled out 4 lots of yarn that I want to work on before I buy any more.  Wishful thinking maybe but I've decided to give it a go.  The only problem is that I have no idea what to make with them.  I know inspiration will come to me but I am getting close to finishing my other projects and really need to start working out what to make next.

I have one 200g ball of 8ply yarn from the Bendigo Woollen Mills.  I can't remember if this one is pure wool or is a mix so I might have to do a bit of research as I've lost the tag that came with it.  I love the colours and am thinking that a scarf may be the best option.

I vaguely remember buying the next lot of yarn years ago.  I know I started making something with it as I'm sure I had about 6-8 balls of it but I can only find 3.  I can't even remember what I made and who I gave it to, if I even did give something away.

I do like the colours though and will ponder on what to make with this for a little longer I think.

I have 4 balls of Drops Delight which I think will make a lovely shawl so I might have to work on a pattern which will highlight the lovely colours.  It is a sock yarn (I think) so you never know, maybe I'll have a go with the pointy sticks and try and knit some socks.

I'm not sure if I'm that brave yet but you never know what I'll end up doing.

The final group of yarn that I'm wanting to work on are 5 balls of Stylecraft Special DK.  They're not my usual colours and are leftover from yarn packs from other projects.

I really want to make something with this first, mainly because they're the ones that take up the most room but I'm stuck for ideas.

I've looked through Ravelry to get some inspiration and find a pattern that I think will work up well in these colours, as well as making sure I have enough yarn for it.  A couple have caught my eye but I haven't been able to decide on anything yet.

Hopefully inspiration will come soon as we have a cyclone coming our way and are expecting it to be raining a lot over the coming week. It's really windy here today but we've only had a couple of small showers of rain early this morning.  That will change in the next 24 hours no doubt.

So since it looks like it's going to be a bit of a wet weekend, I'm hoping to snaffle myself plenty of crochet time and will be ready to start on a new project.  

I'll keep you posted on what I decide.

xx Susan

A picnic at Kenilworth

On the weekend we decided to head out for a picnic which we haven't done in ages.  One child was happy but the other whinged and moaned quite a bit about it all.  As they grow I'm starting to think that happy family outings maybe a thing of memory so I'll soak up and enjoy these days while they last.

Hubby is a bit notorious for taking us on picnics and some 7 or 8 hours and 500 kilometres later, we get home.  (Perhaps it's the memory of those days which prompts the whinging).

Anyway, we decided to just go to one of our usual and favourite spots.  You know, the place you go to when you have no other place in mind and where everyone will enjoy it.

For us that is the town of Kenilworth which is about an hours drive away up over the range through the town of Maleny and down the other side in to the valley dotted with dairy farms.

I did attempt a bit of hooking in the car on the way over but the winding roads of the ranges soon put a stop to that when I started to feel a bit queasy.

The photo below is one of the views of the valley we're about to head down to.  It's taken from the top of the range community of Witta which is near Maleny.

Our first stop was the picnic ground at Little Yabba Creek as there's a short walk through the a small section of sub-tropical rainforest there.  Even meandering along taking photos it took only 20 minutes although I'm pretty sure Miss R did it in 10.  She just marched through not taking in much at all.

From the car park you cross the bridge over Little Yabba Creek then onto the walk.  It's a very easy one with no steep inclines and has either boardwalks or bitumen to walk on.

The creek doesn't have much water in it right now as we really haven't had a lot of rain but I remember having plenty of picnics here growing up and in summer it was a perfect place to cool off in on a hot day after a game of cricket.

The walk itself is one of meandering paths...

...odd looking fungus...

….and more spectacular fig trees.

I have many photos of my kids standing next to the tree below at various stages in their lives but we now seem to have reached the stage where they don't want to be photographed.  Ah well...

It was then back to the bridge with the troops already across and waiting for me before I'd even finished the walk.  I do like to dawdle and look at my surroundings though and not rush.

In this instance they were happy to wait as there was something waiting in the picnic area near the car which caught their attention.

Can you see it in the photo below?  My Australian readers will probably know what it is.

It was a goanna that was wandering about the grounds.

After that it was just another 10 minute drive and we were in the town of Kenilworth itself where we had lunch and a play in the playground.

The Kenliworth Cheese Factory is opposite the playground and has some beautiful cheeses to try.  We didn't go over there or buy any on this particular day, mainly because we didn't take an esky with us and also because our local grocery shop stocks a good range of the cheeses if we have a bit of a craving.

We then drove home the same way we got there which was back over the range to Maleny again.  There are a few different roads you can take to get there and we often take a different one just to break up the view but today we were happy going back the same way.  Why not though, it is a beautiful drive.

I hope you are all having a wonderful week wherever in the world you are.

xx Susan

Eighty

My Dad turned 80 on Wednesday!

He didn't want a big fuss or a party or anything but just a few quiet celebrations with family and friends.

In the morning we headed into Caloundra where we caught up with some very good friends of my parents.  We worked out that they've know each other for 47 or 48 years (before I was even thought of), and their friendship is still going strong.

It was a completely hilarious morning as it always is when we catch up with Aunty J (second from the left).  My parents are the two on the right.

That evening Dad just wanted to meet at one of the local parks for dinner with his family instead of having a party or a barbeque.

We managed to get a rare snap of him with his younger brother.

...and here he is with his 4 grandchildren.

I took 35 photos of Poppy and his grandkids, basically just pressing the capture button continuously in the hope that I would get one good photo.  There are lots of silly and absolutely hilarious ones but this is the best of the bunch that I have.  My sister was taking photos too so I'll have to see if she's got any good ones.

Happy 80th Birthday Dad, lets hope there's plenty more to celebrate.

xx all my love... Susie xx

A finished scarf

I can finally say that I've finished a crochet project in 2019!

I probably could have finished this one much sooner as it did work up quickly but I was also working on my secret project at the time and of course family commitments always get in the way too.

I LOVE this scarf and made it using Rosabella Threads Prima yarn in Rose.  It was gorgeous to work with and the end product is so soft.

As I was making this one for me, I wanted it to be a lacy scarf rather than a denser, bulkier scarf.  I rarely wear bulky scarves because it just doesn't get cold enough in winter where we live.

I used 3 skeins (25grams each) of the yarn and worked up the Marielle stitch using a 6mm hook.  It's really pretty and if you want instructions on how to work up the stitch just do an internet search on Marielle stitch or Marielle lace stitch.

The beginning chain is made up of multiples of 4 until you reach the width you want.  I'm pretty sure I chained 28 to make this scarf which, when blocked, made the dimensions of my scarf 22cm wide and 175 cm long.

...and just to prove that I do wear some of the things I make....

Have a wonderful week my friends.

xx Susan

Crochet WIP's

These days I try not to have too many WIP's (work in progress) on the go at once.  At one time I did and it would often take me years to complete something.  It would get stuffed in the back of a cupboard or shelf to be forgotten.  Then when I found it again I would often forget what hook size I was using and sometimes the pattern which is why these days I take a snapshot of the yarn, hook and pattern when I first begin a project.

Lately I have 3 projects on the go but one of them I'm happy to work on only occasionally.

It's an easy light, sparkly shawl that is my current portable project.  I'm only working on it if I'm out and about somewhere or if I'm between projects.

I haven't touched it in about 2 weeks now and that's okay with me.  I know I'll work on it again when I'm in between projects and because it's a basic treble crochet (UK), chain, treble pattern then it works up pretty quickly.

It's a nice soothing project that I'm happy to go slowly with.

I'm also working on a scarf for myself in the Rose coloured Rosabella Threads yarn I bought a few weeks ago.

As it's been sweltering and really humid here lately, I couldn't bring myself to work on a dense kind of scarf so decided on quite an open lace pattern.  This will be perfect to wear during our winters too as it really doesn't get that cold here.

I've actually worked on this a lot over the weekend and it's now getting close to being finished so once it's done and blocked I'll show you the finished product.  I'm really loving this one.

The other project I'm working on is a bit of a secret project as it's intended as a gift for someone.

I can't say more until it's finished so you'll just have to make do with a sneak peek for now.

Some of you may also remember that my husband's Aunt gave me a number of crochet books at Christmas.

I've decided that I will SLOWLY work my way through the book and make a small sample of each of the stitches to see exactly how they all look as it's a bit difficult to tell properly with the black and white photographs.

I started off with my first sample of 10 rows of 10 double crochet stitches (UK terms).  In fact I've decided to try to make all of my samples 10 rows of 10 stitches to see just how different they all work up.

The photo below shows the sample of Double Crochet rows on the left.  The middle sample is made using Ridge stitch which is more widely referred to as DC in the back loop and the sample on the right is Albanian stitch which is working the double crochet in the front loop. 

 I didn't realise they actually had proper names but now I know. :)

Just making those small changes to a stitch can make such a difference.  Even though I've used a light coloured yarn, you can still see the prominent ridges of the middle sample and I was quite amazed how flat and tall the fabric became when working through the front loop only.

I have done one more sample so far, this time using Russian stitch which is working rows of double crochet but all from the right side of the work.  I ended up only working 7 rows of this stitch and not 10 for a reason....

You have to cut the yarn at the end of each row since you're not turning your work.  I ended up with 14 ends to tie in just on this small sample!

The photo below shows the difference in working rows of double crochet, the one on the left is what results when you turn your work and the one on the right results when you work from the right side only.

I do like the look of using Russian stitch but I would need to work on a large project like a blanket or something so I wouldn't feel like I was constantly having to tie ends in every few minutes.

So that's what I'm working on right now and they're all coming together nicely.   I was quite prolific in finishing projects in the second half of 2018 that it feels a little weird that I'm still slogging away at some now but that's okay.

My family is my priority and I made sure I spent as much time with the kids before the school holidays ended and we're now getting back into the school routine and all the adjustments that need to be made there.  We'll get there and things have started off so much better and less stressful than the last few years so I'm hoping for a good 2019.

Have a wonderful week everyone and stay cool, or warm wherever you are in the world battling these extreme temperatures we seem to be having everywhere.

xx Susan