Monday, 27-02-23

 Good morning, everyone.  A new week and pretty much the end of this month.  I've been doing end of month-y sort of things - reconciling bank statement stuff, etc, over the last few days and it feels odd that the month has gone so very quickly.  I know it's a shorter month anyway but even if it ended Friday or Saturday, it would still feel shorter.  Maybe it is because the days are picking up, the post Christmas slump has vanished and there's an urge to meet spring head on.  Maybe, what do you think?

It's certainly nice to have these earlier dawns and later dusks again.  I was checking when the clocks go forward but it's not for another month, March 26th, that being the last Sunday in March.  By then, the mornings will be so much lighter, we won't notice the later sunrises much but we will certainly notice the longer evenings.  Won't it be lovely!

Yesterday was a really good day.
I pottered around first thing, getting everything ready for a 'proper' Sunday roast.  This week it was turkey; last Christmas - or was it the one before that? - I ordered a rolled turkey breast as well as the proper turkey and cut it into four much smaller joints for the freezer.  Yesterday was one of those and it was as delicious as Kelly turkeys always are.  I had some stuffing balls left over from this last Christmas and frozen, and I did all the usual sides apart from pigs in blankets.  Beth had a bean crumble.
I was very happy that, apart from the turkey itself, there were no leftovers apart from a bit of cranberry sauce and gravy.  Good-oh!

After dinner, the three of us clustered round the computer and we booked a holiday together at Center Parcs.  This has been in the pipeline for a quite while now.  We all but booked a week just before lockdown but covid put the clappers on all holidays for a while and, since then, we have talked about it but not done anything.  Yesterday we did - we booked a Monday to Friday at the Elveden Center Parcs in the autumn in one of their 'new style executive three bed lodges' which sounds ever so posh.  It even has a sauna!  Wow.
Even with a bedroom each, it really wasn't terribly costly per person although, of course, there will be food, etc, on top of that.  When we have been before, we have used the hotel but it feels really nice to be back in a lodge/chalet/whatever again.
I feel really excited now.

Alex and I talked about our meal out in about ten days' time.  He's lost a considerable amount of weight and now looks amazing so we will be going on a clothes hunt after our meal.  I'm looking forward to that very much too.  Isn't it nice to have things to look forward to?

In the evening, I sat down and went over the finances and was really happy that the savings I have made this month, added to last month's, has paid for my part of the holiday so I don't have to dip into savings at all.  Most satisfying.

I nearly forgot - I also changed the sheets and got them washed and dried outside - that was satisfying too!

Today, the diary tells me that it is Circuits so I'm looking forward to that.  I have neglected my 'running' over the weekend so I must do some of that, probably earlier this morning and using Lindsey's Energiser Snippet as my warm up and, as it's quite chilly, as soon as I am dressed, I will get the freezers defrosted which really will take no time at all.

There's lots of little things to do at the change of month.  Sharpen my knives, for example, and check over my February goals and think about new ones, just little, achievable things, nothing mega!  Also, I am doing my next shop on Wednesday morning so I must check the fridge and make the list - I want what I get to last for ten days to a fortnight.

Time to get moving, I suppose.  It's been nice chatting, thanks for reading and have a lovely day, everyone.  xx