2017 Goals ~ Let’s go with Healthy, Wealthy and Wise… and a couple donkeys

I absolutely adore that the advent of the New Year gives one a sense of renewal, a chance to reflect and consequently focus on ones short and long term goals.  We have lots of changes planned for 2017 and, I must say, yes, I must, that we are very, very excited (and a teeny bit scared).  We will be putting all our eggs into our  entrepreneurial basket and focusing our time specifically ~ Pumpjack’s to our new wine business Terroir au Verre and me, Piddlewick, to my Pumpjack & Piddlewick  Shop and the life that goes on behind it, so our blog will get a bit of a face lift too this year.

Welcome 2017! It’s make or break time.
(Hmmm, maybe not a good euphemism when talking about entrepreneurial eggs.)

Morning Coffee – time to rejuvenate and rehydrate my skin

I wrote a post about this ages ago, but decided today that anything worth doing, is worth doing again. And yesterday I treated myself to just this concept, making the time to make my luscious coffee scrub again. This time of year, dark, dank and muddy for us, just begged me to cheer myself up with this treat. My skin has been feeling so dry, what with the heating on and lots of wool clothing, so needs must, and my goodness I feel rejuvenated, rehydrated and ready to take on the rest of winter.

Walkies! Walking our dog, cats and ducks

I am new to having a dog, and new to the ritual of dog walking. With the advent of the grape harvest and Pumpjack working as an Oenologist in Chablis it fell to me to walk our young Chewie in the mornings. I wasn’t looking forward to this, particularly as the days closed in and the weather turned colder, potentially wetter, not to mention the time it would take away from my day.  Turns out, I must say, I love it.I have always wanted to be a morning person, and the animals have definitely cemented this  reality with their dawn (if not earlier) to dusk lifestyle.

Wardrobe change over day has finally come! Getting a whole new wardrobe.

As springs pushes into summer, there is something I really look forward to, my own special Change Over Day. It is something I have been doing for goodness knows how long, and still it is a true treat.  Such a treat in fact that I think it should be nominated as it’s own day, like National Hug Day (January 21) or National Cat Day (October 29). Trouble is it’s fluid. It is never the same day year to year, sometimes not even the same month. You see it all depends on the weather.

Chamomile has taken over my garden – tea any one?

Last year I planted Chamomile, with no great success. I tried it in various places and had a little grow in one of my pallet planters. It produced one really good bunch of flowers, which were duly harvested and made into Chamomile tea.

But what I had forgotten, when I had been, with desperate conviction, trying to get my chamomile to grow, was that I had ‘lost’ almost half a packet of seeds that had spilled out of the envelope. Fast forward to a little over a year later and I now know where the seeds have gone.

Stealing healing time – take 20 minutes

When we changed our lifestyle almost the first thing I noticed was ‘time’. I suddenly seemed to have lots of it. And that is something to savour.

I have found that when one changes location, job, etc. it gives you a sense of having more time. Maybe that is why I like to embrace change. And I have also found it takes time to fill time. (Sounding very profound here.) That once I settle somewhere, after a fashion, after one has started to make friends, started to understand the new needs of work or found new projects to undertake, that time seems more fleeting.

So every now and then, fairly regularly really, I like to steal time back.

Time is not a Good Excuse for Eating Bad Food. Recipes included.

This day and age everyone seems to be time poor. Too busy doing things to, well, do other things. But honestly, there is no excuse of too little time when it comes to eating real food, good food, even (dare I say it) healthy food.

Downsizing – How or Where to Start? Open your Refrigerator

I love downsizing. I love going through my things and getting rid of any thing I can. There is something so very therapeutic about it, like a weight cast off your shoulders. Some of the items I give away, some I sell. It depends on the item. But where do you start if you have never downsized before?

What’s to like about Menopause? I’m no longer allergic to cats.

What’s to like about Menopause? Honestly? Not a cotton picking thing. Well… there is one thing. I am no longer allergic to cats. My allergy to cats has been something I have had to contend with all my life, and, since I absolutely adore the little fur balls, I have simply learned not to put my face in, or even near, their fur. But all that has changed.

5:2, Bullet Proof, Paleo, Gluten Free – Diet or Lifestyle?

I am not a great proponent of diets. I am a firm believer that if you deprive yourself of something, particularly a yummy something, you will inevitably go back to it and then more so. So although a diet may give a quick fix, I think it is not sustainable. *And by ‘diet’ I mean something you do for a bit, hopefully reach your goal, and then stop, or give up in most cases.  Now a lifestyle change that is far more healthy sounding to my ears.