This and That

In the morning I have a cup of coffee - Jarrah Vienna Velvet usually.

I'm not a "wake-up-and-bounce-out-of-bed" type.

More like "just-let-me-wake-in-my-own-time-and-please-don't-bother-me-till-then" type.

As little noise as possible.

Boar likes the radio on.

He'll leave for work, leave the raido on.

I turn it off :)

Once I've woken a bit more I think about food.

For quite a while now this has been my breakfast. 

A bowl of porridge with milk and brown sugar. Yum!

Seems to fill me up better than anything else.

Just have to remember to not have the heat too high when it is cooking. . .

or I have to deal with a pot that's harder to clean!

Once breakfast is over I think about the day.

Actually I'm usually thinking about it as I wake :)

But not too hard.

There is always something to do.

Generally a certain amount of housework.

Even though there are only two children living here now there is still a fair bit to do.

I don't mind housework, but I don't love it.

When the children were younger and more were at home it would often seem as though there had been a stuff explosion! A huge one. Or several of them.

The place was clean enough but it wasn't so easy to keep it tidy.

Stuff, clutter, mess seemed to follow me.
Creations. . "No, Mummy, I need to keep it!"

For a long time I thought it was all me. . .some defect

or lack of a "cleaning gene" perhaps.

Then one day a few images appeared in my head.

Of my room growing up. . .tidy.

Of my room when I was living at the nurses home'. . .tidy.

A lot of the girl's rooms weren't I discovered.

Of our house when we were first married. . .tidy.

Even when we had only a couple of children. . .still tidy.

There are photo's to prove it :)

It dawned on me. . .it wasn't actually ME! 

There were 7 other people in the house.

And none of them were that tidy!
The one who showed the most in-built tidiness was the youngest - Locket.

Which wasn't a great help when she was little.

But is now :)

One day when I was out shopping I was perusing some fridge magnets in a book shop.

One took my eye and so I bought it.

It's been there for a few years now.

This Christmas I got a cheeky surprise.

Smurfette's gift was an interesting shape.

When I opened it I cracked up laughing.

Cheeky girl had found me a sign.

 

The house is sure tidier than it was. . .but a serious de-junk is in order.

Especially after helping to sort out Mr & Mrs P's house.

57 years worth of stuff.

Yesterday I boxed up a whole pile of video tapes.

Mr P thought they might be useful to someone.

Or sell on Trade Me.

I had a look. No-one selling old video's taped off the TV.

I didn't think so but had a look anyway.

So they are heading to the tip.

I boxed them up when Mr P was busy elsewhere.

Boar will move them to the van.

Mr P will discover they are gone.

But because they were Mrs P's he seemed to be a bit sad,

or upset about the idea of no-one wanting them.

It is not an easy thing to have such a huge change late in life.

Deciding what to keep and what should go.

Memories, papers, letters, keepsakes.

Family have been able to choose items they want to keep.

The rest has to go.

As much as possible will go to bless others.

I took a load of things to St Vincent de Paul yesterday.

The proceeds will go to help others.

Better than it all going to the tip.

A few things will go on Trade Me.

Can try to sell them on Mr P's behalf.

The whole process has given me much food for thought.

Among the things to go was this.

I had to chuckle when Moneypenny didn't know what it was.

Can you guess?

A potty! 

Splash guard at the front, handle at the back. 

Has been in the bathroom cupboard for a very long time :)

Time for it to be retired now.

Actually I just now had a thought.

I could turn it into a planter pot!

It woud make a pretty unique one.

Can't be too many of them left around.

I shall retrieve it from the rubbish bag and give it a new lease of life :)