It's not that I'm fed up with blogging, ot that I'm intentionally taking a blog-break;
It's more that the past 2 weeks have become increasingly admin / computer keyboard tapping heavy as I deal with ALL the paperwork relating to selling my father's flat. My word, it has become so much more complicated since we last bought or sold a house over 45 years ago.
By the time the evening comes I tend to slump on the settee in front of Antiques Roadtrip or Richrad Osman's House of Games, or similar undemanding fare, and blogging just doesn't happen.
However, today I managed to load the crockery pot with the ingredients for soup;
Chop some carrots and an onion, cook in a little sunflower oil until beginning to look a little golden brown (I bunged them in the airfryer 190C for 10-15 minutes). Tip into crock pot along with a chicken stock, finely chopped celery, water and tomato puree. Cook on high for 3-4 hours. I will say the the cooking time does depend on remembering to switch the crockpot on... blend with stick blender, add more liquid and adjust seasoning.
How many carrots and onions? How much stock and tomato puree? It depends on the size of your crackpot. It doesn't really matter, it's bound to be good. As long as you did turn the crockpot on...
Lunch was a real cheat; frozen vegetable stir fry mix, cooked chicken slices, 'straight to wok' noodles, with a stir fry sauce concocted from a glug of dry sherry, slurp each of sweet chilli dipping sauce and tomato ketchup and a decent glug or three of soy sauce. Ten minutes from start to finish.
52 tiny changes... set alarms on your phone to remind you to do things, instead of trying to remember them... I already do for one med that is easily missed (I also write the dates on the blister pack by each pill so I can check I've taken it).
It's a matter of choosing which alarms would be useful, and which would only clutter your life even more!
52 tiny spiritual changes; make a point of praising God every day, maybe for something, or maybe just because he is God and worthy to be praised.
I remember when we used to sing this short blessing before meals. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteI loved singing it as a round.
DeleteI do hope you get your dad's place sorted soon. I remember when my sister was taking care of Mum's flat sale. There was so much to it! I'm surprised it didn't all drive her crazy
ReplyDeleteIt all seems to have dragged on for so long; just as you think 'ah, I can relax' something else crops up...
DeleteWhen my father went into sheltered housing in 2020, bang in the middle of Covid lockdowns, it was up to me and my OH to clear his house and sell it. It was utterly exhausting and all consuming in time and energy. We had no help from family at all. I feel for you!
ReplyDeleteMy husband has helped, and my brother did the main part of going through the flat and the lock-up.... boxes of papers and rows of files and heaps of random papers... but he lives 3 hours away. My part has been finding solicitors, surveyors, estate agents, filling in their forms and all that part. He wore himself out with the 'brawn' side of things, and my brain is pretty much worn out too!
DeleteAfter my last 2 ops I had so many tabs to take my husband drew a grid with tab names and times, it worked for me. These days I have AM tabs and night tabs.
ReplyDeleteThat's a good plan, I did the same for my husband's eye drops after two cataract ops two days apart; the number and types of drops change in frequency and type every couple of days and it was all a bit complicated!
DeleteThe best recipes I know involve 'some', as in 'take some carrots and onions' and I think I shall. I have an abundance of both.
ReplyDeleteWhen bear was at primary school, I lived by my phone alarm. It went off when we should get up (bear was already up before me), when we needed to have finished breakfast, when we needed to be dressed and when we needed to leave the house. It meant bear knew what was going on and kept him focused. After that, phone alarms were for 'I need to leave the house to pick up bear' and I've even got an alarm to go off weekly for 'sort out the bins'.
That book you recommended - thank you!
I used to have a checklist pinned to the front door for son and daughter for what they needed for school each day... sports kit, lunch, violin... that saved time and brain. I'm beginning to think I need a daily schedule for myself pinned to my sleeve!
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