What I've been up to lately - February 2025

It's been a difficult start to the new year and my mind has very much been elsewhere - I've not been feeling like blogging or in fact like doing many things. But now I'm trying to pick up some of the things that I've let go, and so here are some of the things that I've been up to lately.

Organising

There's something about sorting through someone's possessions that makes you re-evaluate the things that you have lying around, and I've definitely been feeling in the mood for some decluttering.

Since the beginning of the year I have been working through the clutter in our spare bedroom, mainly old toys. I spent hours sorting out all the old Lego sets, checking them, finding all the missing pieces and then listing on eBay. I've been very successful! Now that I've got the hang of eBay I'm having a good look around the house to see what else I can get rid of. It's not even all about the money (although that's certainly a big motivation!), I also like the satisfaction of knowing that something has gone to a good home. 

This weekend I've been working on organising our new space now that our extension is finally finished. My new bookcase had remained empty for weeks, and I've finally had a big sort through and re-homed books which were lying about all over the place. Now I have fiction books in the living room and non fiction in the orangery and I still have plenty of space to fill!

Reading

I have been doing lots of reading! Here are just some of the books that I've particularly enjoyed over the last couple of months:

Fourteen Days (Various authors)

All Over Creation by Ruth Ozeki

What You Are Looking For is in the Library by Michiko Aoyama

The Beforelife of Eliza Valentine by Laura Pearson

Eating

I've been trying to eat healthily as we all do in the new year, but I'm afraid that I have given up a little bit. I've been eating far too many biscuits and Maltesers, and drinking far too much tea. I'm being kind to myself at the moment but I'll definitely be making more of an effort to eat better food in a few weeks time.

Shopping

When visiting my Mum she introduced me to a lovely new shop which has just opened in her town - Søstrene Grene. She described it as Flying Tiger for grown ups and that's exactly what it is - a shop filled with beautiful things that you didn't know you needed, laid out so that you don't miss anything. I rarely impulse buy, but on my first visit I came home with three rolls of washi tape, a bowl and a jigsaw. The next visit added more washi tape, a bag of loose tea leaves and hot chocolate. I wonder what I'll pick up next time?!

Watching

I've really been enjoying the television adaptation of Earth Abides which is based on one of my favourite books. Although they've changed the time period from the 1940s to the modern day it has a nostalgic feeling to it, and I think that the casting is excellent. It's quite a slow watch which appeals to me, and because I know the story really well I don't need to concentrate too much!

I'm also watching the latest series of Sort Your Life Out which I watch on iPlayer. Every episode is essentially the same but it definitely gives me inspiration to have a sort through my cupboards!

Crafting 

My crafting has fallen by the wayside a little lately, I've just not been feeling like picking anything up. I haven't journalled in ages and I really wanted to get back on with my cross stitch this year. I'll be picking it up again soon but in the meantime I've been working on some jigsaws. I have some that I received for Christmas and some that I bought on holiday so I have a few to keep me busy. The one below is called The City That Never Sleeps by Galison. I like that I can work on them when I have a few spare minutes and it's really satisfying to watch the picture build up.

Listening to

I've been doing a lot of driving recently so I've been making full use of the Spotify subscription. I've been enjoying singing along to the Wicked soundtrack and also listening to podcasts. At the moment I'm liking the Feel Better Live More podcast with Dr Rangan Chaterjee - he has such an easy voice to listen to!

Looking forward to

I'm looking forward to feeling a bit more like myself again and picking up my neglected projects. We are lucky enough to have tickets to lots of concerts this year (including Jason Donovan next week - I can't wait) and we have also booked a very adventurous holiday for the summer. So there are plenty of exciting things to think about!