Operation Tidy-Up Begins!

The weather doesn’t appear to be too bad today, as everyone gets up for their first day back at school, and Mike heads off to work after a week of working from home. Our eldest daughter isn’t scheduled to be on shift today, but is getting up anyway as she promised her youngest sister she’d walk down to school with us this morning. Our son also has a day off school- one of the scheduled teacher training days, which I didn’t know about until last night! He too is getting up though, as he’s off to a friend’s house to complete an art project, so it’s a busy house once again after the laid back week we’ve just enjoyed.

Standing in the playground though, waiting for my littlest to start her day, I notice how dark it’s becoming. There’s a real bitterness in the air too, which had gone last week but is now biting through my gloves. The first drops of rain start coming down as a teacher comes rushing out and starts rapidly ushering the children inside into the warm and dry. It’s all very nice for them, but as we walk the short distance home the rain turns to hail, which then turns to sleet. By the time my eldest daughter and I reach the house we are soaked through!

I have a lot of plans for today, but even so I’m aware that I need to take things a bit slower than usual or I’ll end up wearing myself out completely and be right back where I started! The kitchen is a complete tip, and most likely very unhygienic as it looks as though literally every plate, mug and the entire cutlery drawer is cluttering all the available space. I’m not too sure why it has ended up in this state (apart from the fact that my usually useful husband seems to have gone on strike while I’ve not been myself!) but that has to be my first job of the day.

My eldest girl heads off to catch a bus to town for an opticians appointment just as my son’s lift arrives, and suddenly the house goes quiet. It’s been a while since I had the house to myself, and was fully conscious and it feels very odd. It’s not long though before I’ve loaded the washing machine and done the drying up from whenever the last lot of washing up was done, and I’m set to begin my day.

Several hours and three draining boards full loads of washing and drying up later, with the recycling from the last three weeks sorted, the bins emptied and the remains of the shopping from two weeks ago put away, I’m ready for a sit down. It’s time for a late lunch- a fancy sandwich which my big girl has very kindly bought from town for me, and then I need to get on with some sewing.

The weather has continued with the winter theme all day so far- one minute hail, then dark with heavy snow, followed by brief periods of bright sunshine before starting the cycle all over again. I’m cold, but compared with how I’ve been feeling recently I’m surprisingly able to get on with things. I have some cutting out to do for the next order on my list, so I do that first and then measure out the remaining fabric I currently use for the little pyjamas.

I’ve not quite got enough to make a final pair in this design, which is annoying until I remember to look through my fabric boxes in case there’s any left over from a previous purchase. It seems my luck is in today, as I find one piece which happens to be just big enough to complete the set. It’s a very slightly lighter shade than the newer fabric, but I can fit the back of the bodice into it so it shouldn’t really show too much. I’ll sell the pair at a bigger discount than my usual clearance price, with a description of the fault so they should sell with no problem.

With the pyjamas now showing as the last pair, and with the description updated, it’s nearing time for dinner. It’s only a simple tea tonight as I knew today would be hard going, so my big girl offers to sort it for me giving me an extra half hour to start sewing my next outfit. With the top ready for me to add the popper to tonight in front of the telly, I pack up feeling very satisfied with my day, and looking forward to a nice early night.