WOYWW 650

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

This is my desk as it was yesterday evening as I was catching up on my diary. My laptop is taking up much of my desk and you can see my transfer stickers, my diary, my mug of tea etc.

These are the latest two pages so I am nicely up to date.

This week has been busy as I was preaching at our Remembrance Day service on Sunday to a completely packed congregation including our uniformed groups and children's' choir. Always a challenge to make things accessible to all but a challenge I enjoyed. This stunning display is outside church and is made from plastic bottles by a member of our congregation - amazing, isn't it?!

We still don't have a kitchen floor down which is making life challenging but I have been assured that we will have one tomorrow - we have completed all the insulation which makes it more likely! I did as much as I could manage and then the builders finished off today.

It wouldn't be me without a mention of swimming and I have had some lovely swims this week both in the local plunge pool and a lake up the road from me. The temperatures are around 9oC at the moment so not too bad!  That's all from me for now, I hope you are all keeping well.  Take care and stay safe,

With love & God Bless,
Caro

xxx

WOYWW 649

 Another week has flown by and it is time to show my desk again for What's on Your Workdesk Wednesday, hosted by the lovely Julia.

This is my desk as it was at 10pm last night when I was working in my journals.  I am often asked how I keep my journals up to date and the answer to that is by having 30 minutes set aside at the end of the day to fill in the days events and to write my to do list for tomorrow.  On my desk you can see an empty cup of tea (even I don't drink tea this late), my three journals (the one that isn't open is my prayer and gratitude journal - a journal where I write my prayers of thanks and requests for family and friends and things coming up in life), a couple of pens, a to do list on a blue pad, and my little box of stickers being used for this month.

My only crafting this week was a fun evening with a Girls night out, a group of ladies from church and our local area who get together once a month. This month we were hand sewing Christmas decorations.  As I have often said, I am rubbish at sewing, usually end up with the thread in a tangle and generally get frustrated so I was quite impressed that I had success with this!  Mine is the tree with the gold ric rac on it.

The reason there has been little time for crafting is that Tim and I have been trying to sort out pipe insulation under our kitchen floor so that we avoid the risk of freezing pipes.  This has involved me crawling under the floor to much hilarity (and subsequent stiffness) - it might look like a good fit, but there is a small wall under my thighs that left some interesting bruises, and I nearly got my shoulders stuck trying to insulate the pipe in question!

My swimming challenges are off to a good start... I have swum 5 times so far this month, not wearing neoprene at all, and the temperature is now down to 8.5 degrees in some locations. It is harder to swim during the week, due to the shorter days but I am hopeful I will be able to complete my challenges!

I will leave you with this photo of the three of us celebrating Tim's birthday at the weekend.

Take care and stay safe,

With love & God Bless,

Caro

xxx

WOYWW 648 (possibly!)

 Hello, and welcome back to my blog for another edition of What's on Your Workdesk Wednesday.  Apologies for missing last week, but I was down in Somerset with my family to see Mum (a few photos later). Anyway, you are here to see my desk... 

A somewhat busy offering this morning (for me anyway) consisting of a mug of tea, my various journals (bullet journal, main mini diary journal) and a tray of stickers sat on top of various other notebooks.  At the front is my mini book with an on going to do list. 

These are a few of my latest journal pages... one is a record of my swims for the various winter challenges I have entered.  This year I have entered the Polar bear silver challenge (swimming 250m twice a month outdoors in only a swimming costume, no neoprene) which is probably going to be the most difficult one.  Last winter I swam using neoprene socks and gloves and a woolly hat which was fine.  The feet and fingers may find lack of neoprene too difficult but I wanted to set myself a new challenge this year. The Antarctic Penguin challenge is to swim 3000 metres each month, but I can use my previous outfit (gloves, socks, hat) so I am more confident of achieving that.

Yesterday's first swim of the challenges. I thought I would finish with a couple of photos from Somerset - Mum's garden looks stunning at anytime of year... photo overload warning!

That's all from me for now. Take care, and stay safe,

With love & God bless,

Caro

xxx

WOYWW 646 (maybe?!)

 Welcome back to my blog for another edition of What's on Your Workdesk Wednesday - as I don't have a clue what actual number it is, the title is my best guess! Apologies for missing in action the past few weeks, Alex and I have both been ill - not with covid fortunately, but with the rather nasty fluey bug that is going round. He is now fine, but I am still unable to talk without coughing which is a problem for teaching - I have had to move all my uni lectures to next week in the hopes I will be able to deliver them then.  Anyway, enough of that... here is my desk!

As you can see I have actually been creative, sort of, for a change.  Tim bought me a set of pouring acrylics for my birthday and I have been playing/making a mess with them.  I have a silicon mat down to protect my desk, a straw, a palette knife, plastic cups for pouring, the paints and my cup of tea. 

I have a lot to learn but I am having fun making a mess... so far we have an attempt at fire, the sea and some brightly coloured stripes!

I did manage to get in some beautiful group swims before getting ill - this is my favourite place out on the Derbyshire Moors. It is a beautiful walk across the moors to a disused reservoir where we swim. 

I will leave you with this photo of Harry who fishes above the waterfall plunge pool where I sometimes swim.  I hope you are all keeping safe and well,

With love & God Bless,

Caro

xxx

WOYWW 644

 Hello and welcome to my blog for another edition of What's on Your Workdesk. Today is actually my birthday so I will have more to talk about next week, but for now here is my desk as it was yesterday, busy making a card.

You can see my glass mat, inks, stencil, and stamps as I made a couple of cards along a very similar theme. Don't panic, there is a mug of tea off to the lefthand side!

These are the finished cards - quick and simple due to lack of time. I quite like the combination of colourful background with black image and words on these.  With the exception of keeping my bullet journal up to date that is all the crafting I have managed.

I have been swimming though - I am a member of the Bluetits Chill Swimmers and earn badges for various activities.  This week (1st October) was World Bluetit Day when they asked as many of us as possible to celebrate by dipping or swimming in outdoor waters... I was of course happy to oblige!  I think in the end there were over 3,400 people all celebrating this round the world. 

My most magical swim though was on Sunday in an old disused reservoir in the moors outside Sheffield where I swam listening to the bellowing of stags.  

On a less pleasant not, for those of you asking for an update on my RAT situation we have video evidence of it, and it is pretty big....(Argh!). It has stock piled some poison blocks so we are fastidiously putting all food into plastic tubs so it can't get at it, in the hopes that it will eat the poison as its only source of food.... fingers crossed!  That's all from me for now. I'm off to celebrate my birthday with a day off work, so I will be eating, crafting and reading. Take care everyone,

With love & God Bless,
Caro

xxx