WOYWW 608

 Hello and Welcome back to my blog for another edition of What's on Your Workdesk Wednesday, hosted as ever by the lovely Julia.

This is my desk, looking fairly neat and tidy at the end of the day on Tuesday - you can see my nearly empty tea mug, and my various journals as I fill them in at the end of the day.

This week I have endeavoured to get my diary style journal (a Hobonichi weeks) up to date so here are the most recent pages.

I have also finished the journal page I started last week - I can't draw faces so didn't even bother trying! The stamped words are from a Dina Wakley set as are the little fish which are deliberately pale to make them look like they are under the water...not sure how well you can see them in this photo.

Alex took these photos of me at the weekend... they are of the moment I submerged my whole body (except my head) in the cold water - a sharp intake of breath accompanied by an exhalation of 'hoooooo', and then the broad grin a moment later as the joy kicked in.  The cold prickling against my skin  can be a little uncomfortable but it makes me feel alive. This swim was about 2.6 degrees, but the air temp was -3!

So Alex and I had a good walk in the to warm me up after the swim.  I am enjoying the time we spend together, he has a wicked sense of humour and I am proud of the young man he is becoming. 

I will leave you with this photo of snowdrops in our local park - a sign of hope that Spring is on the way despite it still being freezing.  There are increasing signs that we will eventually emerge from lockdowns and restrictions, but we have to be patient a bit longer and stay positive where possible.  If there is anything I can do to help anyone, do let me know. In the meantime, please know that you are all in my prayers. Take care and stay safe,

With love & God Bless,
Caro

xxxx 

WOYWW 607

 Welcome back to my blog for another edition of What's on your Workdesk Wednesday hosted by the lovely Julia.

My desk has actually seen some crafting action this week, rather than just work.  This is last night when I was messing with acrylic paint effects in my art journal. I think it needs a focal point in the water but haven't decided what or how yet so I am leaving it like this while I think about it!

I have also made a card for my nephew's birthday - the outside is relatively straightforward...

But the inside is pop up.  He is into Minecraft in quite a big way and Alex often plays online with him.

This week saw Sheffield covered in 5 inches of snow much to Alex's delight - lots of sledging made him happy.

I was declared officially mad by my family because I was desperate to swim in the snow, but couldn't get the car out so lay on the lawn making snow angels in my swimming costume!

I got my ice swim a couple of days later. The snow has all gone now and we have torrential rain and lots of wind so no swimming for a few days sadly.

I will leave you all with this photo of Alex having cooked a pizza from scratch - it was a scouts session, which was remarkably successful, although the kitchen looked like a bomb had hit it in the end.  I hope you can find things to make you smile over the coming week - you sometimes have to look hard, but I find there are always a few things to be grateful for at the end of each day and it makes everything feel that little bit better.  Do take care everyone, and if you fancy a chat or if there is anything I can do, let me know.

With love & God Bless,
Caro

xxxx

WOYWW 606

 Hello and welcome back to my blog for another edition of What's on Your Workdesk Wednesday courtesy of the lovely Julia.  

This is my desk at the end of the day yesterday so all that is present is a pencil and my bullet journal. There is no mug of tea as it was just before bed, and the mug was downstairs and all washed up ready for today!

I promised last week that I would show a flip through of my journal from 2020 when I finished it.  This weeks crafting was essentially finishing the final pages so this video (if it works) is the flip through. I hope you find it interesting - I wont be offended if you don't!!

The weather this weekend in Sheffield was officially freezing, with air temperature at 0 or below, with wind adding a chill factor. It didn't stop me from swimming though!  This is about 30 minutes walk from home and was beautiful - there was ice on the branches of the trees, and the water was around 2 degrees. 

On Sunday I dragged Alex for a walk with me to an alternative swimming spot where he had fun smashing ice while I attempted to make a big enough hole to swim in! Officially mad, but such fun.

That is all from me this week. I really hope that you are all keeping well and staying safe. Do shout if there is anything I can do, from a friendly chat to anything else. You are all in my thoughts and prayers.

With love & God Bless,

Caro

xxx

WOYWW 605

 Welcome back to my blog for the first 2021 edition of What's on your Workdesk Wednesday, hosted as always by the wonderful Julia. Happy New Year everyone, I hope that you are all staying safe and warm. 

This is my desk as it was yesterday evening - pretty empty apart from my trusty mug of tea and my journals. From left to right my journals are 1. My prayer/spiritual journal 2. My bullet journal (to do lists, appointments etc) 3. This years diary style journal and 4. last years diary - note the difference in volume due to sticking loads in it!

These are some of the most recent pages from my diary.  At the back of the diary are a lot of blank pages which can be used for planning, notes, decorating etc. I have nearly finished most of them in last years journal so will do a flick through video in a few weeks when they are complete.

This is a brief insight into my bullet journal set up. This journal has a page per date and I add a little bit of decoration to each page, have a to do list, an events section, an exercise section (to try and encourage me to exercise more!) and a thankfulness section.

I am still swimming regularly and had two of the most magical swims of my life over the past week. This was on New Years Eve and was my first ever ice swim. Water temperature ~2.5 degrees, air temp 0 degrees, but the air was so still it didn't feel as cold. It was such a thrill!

This was like swimming in Narnia, another truly beautiful swim. Air temp 1degree, water temp 2.3 degrees. Magical!

I will finish this rather picture heavy post with a picture of sunrise yesterday, the first day of our third lock down here in the UK.  I could almost see it from my desk, and ended up running up the road in my slippers to get this shot.  We need to remember that after the night comes the day, after the dark comes the sun, light defeats the darkness and we can have hope that we will eventually get through this - we just need to hang on in there and support each other through these challenging times.  If there is anything I can do for anyone, please just shout. Take care and stay safe,

With love & God Bless,
Caro

xxx