Rainy sunday

My cable is out today. No internet or tv to entertain me on a rainy Sunday so I have been catching up with my book and watching dvds. I know, very lazy. I should've gone to the gym or done some baking or something constructive instead. I figure that the next few weekends are going to be busy enough as I start my course work so I might as well make the most of all the lazy days I can get.

My garden

My back garden - it's all mine :-)

I have lived in my flat for just over a year and a half and only just discovered that the courtyard garden at the back of the property is mine! This is not, as it sounds, like I was just being blissfully stupid and unaware that there was outdoor space but due to the lack of information from my letting agent.

Anyhow, the area is mine and I am going to do something with it. It would be lovely to grow some things in pots, maybe veg and flowers and have a nice seating area for when the weather is good. There is also a washing line and I so miss being able to hang out my washing! Line-dried clothes and bed-linen are just fabulous and fresh! I think I need to start by clearing out the weeds and growth that has come over from the yard next door. (I say next door but the garden on the right is not really owned by anybody but is just a fenced off space full of brambles).

The wall at the back has lots of possibilities too. Time to scour the bookshops and internet for ideas and how to's as I really do not know much at all about gardening!

Found this link Container Gardening - Container Gardening Design, Ideas, and Pictures: Has some good ideas to get me started.

Salisbury Cathedral - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Some interesting facts about the Cathedral here in Salisbury:

Salisbury Cathedral - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:

'via Blog this'

Re-dedication

I realised today that I have not been true to my first post back in January. I wanted to start an online journal, mostly for myself, chronicling my life and my experiences and I haven't done that. This week has been full of interesting revelations. I toyed with setting up a website instead of a blog but I am not really up for the challenge of the complexities of that with everything else I have to do so I have given my journal a new look and set myself some more realistic goals for my blog and for me which are:

• To try and make at least one entry per day to include a photograph and to make it as interesting as possible for me. This does mean making a concerted effort to find something interesting to do each day which might be difficult but I think it's worth a shot and will certainly be more rewarding in the long term.
• To not put a definite label on this blog and to not over-think everything. It's OK to leave the essence of my blog as yet unknown and always changing. There are lots of things I love in my life and maybe this blog will eventually lean more towards one thing or another but for now it is just my journal.
• To accept that my life is not going to be world-changing and extraordinary but that doesn't mean that I can't enjoy it to the full and try and do everything I set my mind to do. I may not have somebody to share my life with yet but I do have a wonderful family and friends around me. I just have to let them in. I seem to be blocking people out recently and that is not healthy at all.
• To not take things so personally. This is a big one. People come and go in your life. They also disagree occasionally. It's OK. The ones who are worth it will come back.

I am rambling a little now but essentially this is my re-dedication to my journal (I am not going to use the word 'blog' from now on!!) and myself. I will be the person I want to be and it starts now!!

Summer clear out

My shelves went up on Sunday. First step to removing some of the unwanted furniture, done.
It's always amazing the things you find when you are clearing out.
I found a folder of all my dancing and music certificates yesterday as well as £26 in change bags!

My course materials....

....arrived today! The Open University course "Supporting learning in primary schools" officially starts on October 1st by my folders and textbooks were delivered today giving me plenty of time to get familiar with them and make a head start.
I still have to wait for the website to open before I can get the assignments and planner but at least I can get an idea of the reading involved. I have already browsed through the guide and some of the topics and they all look really interesting. I can't wait to put these to use when I start my volunteer work at the school.

My schedule is going to be pretty full but hopefully it will be worth it!

Summertime

I am on my summer break now. I have no actual holiday plans but instead I am spending two weeks sorting, decluttering and generally doing things that I love and spending time with myself and my family.

So far, my days have consisted of early morning gym and swim sessions, food shopping for the weeks ahead and planning for my flat clear out. I have some newly stained shelves that are all ready to go up on the wall for my books and I am still deciding what to do with my DVDs that at the moment are living on a set of shelves that I want to get rid of. 

Tomorrow, my sister is bringing my nieces to Salisbury on the train so I'm looking forward to a nice wander around the town, taking in the sights. I will take my camera with me. I am seriously lacking in photographs of the town I live in.