Getting Back to Normal W/E 6th July 2024

We got back from our holiday in the early hours of Monday morning. We had a late flight home and spent our last day in another villa up the hill that didn't have incoming guests. It was a Godsend really, as otherwise, we would have had a long day to kill and no amenities to freshen up or get showered. As a consequence, we were able to spend our last day sitting out in the sun and wind and swim in the communal pool that we hadn't used all week.

It was a great last day, but it felt so good to finally get home and sleep in our own beds. I slept well and woke early on Monday morning. We'd literally got in, watered some plants in the garden, dropped our bags in the hall and then gone to bed, so when I got up I started the job of unpacking and washing dirty clothes, etc. I managed to get most of the unpacking done, get an early lunch, and do one wash before I headed out to do the weekly shop, as we had very little fresh food in the house.

Talking of food, OH visited the allotment on Monday morning and was surprised at how well it looked. He came home with berries, cucumbers and lettuce, so at least that was something I didn't need to buy.

I'd put on about 4lbs whilst on holiday, which wasn't too bad. I'm sure it will come off pretty easily once I get exercising again. I was very much looking forward to getting active again, after doing very little exercise on holiday, save a little walking and a bit of skipping. I took a skipping rope and a few resistance bands that I used from time to time. I also did a few weights on the beach using rocks instead of dumbells. It worked quite well. I probably looked bonkers though.

When I got on the scale, I seemed to have gained muscle mass whilst away, probably due to the rest and increased protein intake. I'm not complaining, I'll take whatever improvements I can get. OH isn't convinced by the scales, so I don't take their measurements too seriously.  Going away and eating different things was lovely, and gave me a much needed break from my normal routine too. It made me appreciate coming back and getting back into a routine of being a bit more careful.

To be honest, my first day back felt a bit grey and it was a bit chilly, I almost wished I was still on holiday. I got some not so good news by email today too, which didn't help my mood. I'm sure I'll settle back into things once I get back to the gym.

I managed to get into my usual class via a last minute cancellation on Tuesday morning, as it had been full, as it always is.  I made myself a breakfast wrap for breakfast with egg, chorizo, tomatoes and grated cheese. It's my new favourite breakfast on the days I exercise.

LB is currently looking for work over the summer, but finding it difficult to even get an interview. I know that feeling, from when I was looking for work last year. It's very demoralising. I'm hoping she finds something, as the job she really wanted and interviewed for didn't come through.

I was back at work on Tuesday evening, which was a bit of a shock to the system. I'm sure I'll get back used to it in a few days.

On Wednesday morning, I decided to go for a run. It was a late morning run in the end as it was raining earlier and I got distracted online. It was a pretty slow run too. I enjoyed it, but I am thinking that maybe running is not for me at this time in my life, as I spent the rest of the day overeating. I may do the occasional run, but I might not make it as regular as it has been. I think I may go for long walks instead, as this is also much healthier for my joints and muscles.

In the afternoon, I felt really tired as I've been waking up very early since we got back from holiday, so I went to bed for a couple of hours, after which I got up and LB and I decided to start painting the front of the shed. It needed two coats of preservative and then one coat of a sealant, so we got on with the first coat. It needed 12 hours between coats too, to properly dry and absorb into the wood. We managed most of it, but had to leave a couple of tricky bits for OH, which he did later.

On Thursday morning, I had a bit of a lie in after waking early again. It was a lovely sunny morning, so after breakfast, I decided to go for a 4km walk. It was the day of the election here in the UK, but as we'd already sent in our postal votes, we didn't need to go to the polling station.

After lunch, LB and I put the second coat of preservative on the front of the shed.  It just needs a coat of sealant on it now, which we will do when we get the chance. There's still work to be done to the inside though, before it's ready for us to use.

I was working on Thursday night and it was quite busy at work. I was glad to get home though and check out what was happening with regard to the election. I tried to stay up and watch the results come in, but i kept falling asleep on the sofa, so eventually took myself off to bed at 2am.

On Friday morning, I spent a few hours watching the election coverage. Afterwards, OH and I went over to the allotment to do some harvesting. There were lots of gooseberries to pick, as well as peas, beans, lettuce, blackcurrants and raspberries.

When I got back home, I made the berries into some jam, as we've only got one jar left from previous jam making. It made 2 1/2  jars of mixed fruit jam using what I'd harvested, plus some more fruit that I'd frozen a couple of weeks ago.

Talking of fruit and jam making, I did notice on my walk on Thursday, that there will soon be lots of blackberries to forage in the hedgerows, so I will make a point of doing that in the coming weeks, time allowing.

I also podded all the peas and chopped up the french beans and froze them together, so I had a lovely slow afternoon. Podding peas always reminds me of my childhood, as it was something I did a lot in the summer months.

On Saturday, I headed to the gym early and enjoyed the session. I then walked into town to do a few errands. I needed to do a top up shop for food as we seem to get through it more quickly now that there's three of us at home.

In the afternoon, I had a nap as I was feeling tired, then I did some mending of some clothes that had been lying around for a while, so that felt satisfying. I also dug some fabric out of my stash to make partition curtains for the new shed. I think I found some fabric that will work for this. I just need to buy a curtain pole now. I also did a bit of sorting through stuff here and there to try to thin things out. We've got visitors for the next two weekends, so I need to get the house in order. I made very small inroads today, but something is better than nothing.

Later, I had a relaxing shower and a bit of a pamper night, which is rare for me, but it rounded off the week in a positive way. 

I hope you had a good week this week.