Reconnecting in March

It is time once again to reflect on my word "Reconnect" for the last month.  I'm quite enjoying actually thinking about what is happening and breaking it down into categories.  Anyway, enough guff, this is how I went for March.

READ MORE BOOKS

I still haven't finished "Wind in the Willows", but I will.

One book has been completed, though.  I took a couple of books to Nundle, but they didn't see the light of day.  However, when we were at the little antique shop in Nemingha the lady was going to have to find $1 change.  It was easier to find a $1 book.  This old copy of an Agatha Christie classic fit the bill.  Yes, I've read it before, probably in my teens, but I couldn't remember the outcome, so it was good entertainment. Don't you love the 50s dust jacket.

EXPLORE

Yes, I think our trip to Nundle fitted this category nicely.  We are so pleased we had the time to have a good look around, seeing as it turned out to be the last Girls Day in the Country.

CREATE

I really am not having much to show for this since the beginning of the year.  My efforts for March were my little swap project and my project that I worked on at Girls Day in the Country.  Better than nothing I suppose.

ORGANISE

There have been two good finishes in this area.

Firstly, my office at work has got somewhat out of control.  There never seems to be time to finish filing etc.  Anyway, I spent a weekend in there, in the quiet, and had a big sort out and tidy up. It is so much nicer to be in now. There is an ulterior motive for this, but more on that later.

Secondly, we attacked the garage.  The plan is to have the car, a couple of bikes, stuff for the swap meet and a bit of other stuff stored here.  Well, there were two dressing tables and a treadle sewing machine taking up a lot of space and boxes of "stuff" from Mum's had just been dumped wherever it would fit.  What a mess!

We took everything out and started again.  One dressing table was moved to a bedroom and the other taken to the charity shop.  When we could get to the cupboards around the walls, most of them were empty or didn't have much in them.  Mick had a set of shelves not being used in his shed so they were put together and it turned out they fitted perfectly over the top of the sewing machine.  The machine will get moved inside eventually.  Things were put away in cupboards, chucked out or some moved elsewhere.  We ended up with a sidecar and a bike fitting in and being able to move and get to things.  A great result.

It also proved timely has we had a huge storm which blew rain in under the roller doors.  I had boxes on the floor in that area and the contents would have been ruined.  Phew!

NURTURE

I suppose the garden has been the main feature here.

We planted eight climbing bean plants in spring, only to have black birds destroy all but two of them.  They grew well and flowered profusely during the hot weather, but no beans.  Finally, in March, once the weather calmed down, we started to get beans......loads of them.  Thank goodness we only had the two plants.

This is only a small portion of them.

We planted sweet peas, both perennial (in the garden by the shed) and annual (on the other side of the arch to the beans).

The little garden out the front is thriving, especially now the sting has gone out of the sun.  Lots of pansies have been planted to provide winter colour.

Mick didn't want any roses in the garden, not wanting to get scratched while mowing.  I wanted at least one rose.  We compromised.  One standard rose in a garden not near a lawn.  But what variety?  We chose "Peace" in the end. Mum had one in our garden when I was little and Mick and I had one in our first garden.  It has taken a while to get established, but it is really doing well now.  Lots of growth still coming, but the cold weather will put paid to that before long.

This red rose is a miniature.  There were two straggly specimens in the front garden when we arrived and they were unceremoniously pulled out.  Well, we obviously missed a bit of root as this little rose has come up.  It has the sweetest little blooms.  The colour here isn't a good indication.  They are a much deeper red, not pink at all.  Anyway, we will keep it pruned to a nice shape and enjoy it.

I did bake some Anzac biscuits one day as well.

NEW EXPERIENCES

This year has turned up some surprises.

Firstly, a recap on my bicycle,  We have been using them a lot and really enjoying it.  Mick has put a rack on the back of the van and we took them to Nundle.  They travelled well and it was a great way to explore another town.  They will certainly come away with us on a regular basis.  We are having a little break at the moment, as Mick has had knee surgery, but when he feels strong enough we will be out there again.  It will probably be mainly on weekends now, as the days are closing in.

Now, for the biggy...Da Da Daaaaa!

After Mick and I had a little chat about Mum needing a bit more help and me ducking out of work to go to appointments etc, I've approached work to see if I can work three days a week and make my job a job share role.  To my delight they have agreed and they are in the process of recruiting someone.  I will be working Monday to Wednesday, which will leave time to spend with Mum, give us the opportunity to go away for long weekends and maybe even enjoy some stitching time, or horror of horrors, get the housework done.

I'm quite excited and nervous about it all.  Hopefully, the new person will be trained up by the end of June and I will be able to go to the shorter hours then.

ENJOY FRIENDS

Well, Nundle features here as well.  We've also spent time with friends at home too.  An unexpected lunch with someone you haven't seen for some time is always a nice treat.

CARAVANNING

Nundle again.  Fancy that.

TAKE TIME

And once again, Nundle.  It was a lovely few days spent together.  One thing about going away with the van is that you have to take time.  We travel relatively slowly, so you get to really enjoy the scenery, rather than just have it whizz by.  We just have to factor in extra time to reach our destination, but that is just fine.

Now we just have to see what April brings.  I can't wait.