A Working Weekend the Simple Way

This weekend is a working weekend at home, last week we were sorting out Mum's garage, we got a real sense of accomplishment from that, it's always nice making space.   This weekend we are catching up at home.  No rush to do any jobs, just going about things at a nice gentle pace.  Lovely Hubby is putting down the base for a car parking area at the side of the house, hard work, but broken with long cold drinks and the occasional throw of the stick for Sophie to fetch. 

There is the hustle and bustle of work going on on our landlords oak framed garage, he is staying with us for a week to oversee the roof going on, but we have no part in this, other than supplying the occasional drink for the workers.  It will look lovely when it's finished.

I am transplanting some pea plants to replace the ones that have died in the Veggie Patch, generally pottering in the greenhouse and house,  catching up with all the little jobs that have evaded being done during the week.

Getting round the housepipe ban, it makes life easier for me to have a short hose ran from outside the house into the greenhouse, so I can refill my watering can whenever I need to.  I hope it's legal....I am trying to be good!!

We don't expect to have weekends 'off' every week, we chose this lifestyle and we work hard towards it, everyday we work at it but in a gentle way, we save heavier jobs for the weekend when LH is home from work all day and we can do them together.  We do do some things during these lovely light evenings like cut the grass and other jobs that might have been left until it's cooler in the day when we are lucky enough to have sunshine.

But when you live simply you do slow things down, you take the time to prepare your meals, to plant the plants that give you the ingredients for those meals and to look after them as they grow.  Just thinking about what we do calms my soul, doing it sometimes tires me out completely, but you have to learn to pace yourself.....something I'm still learning!

Lots more planting has been done over the course of this week.

And open freezing of some bought green beans, a bargain at the greengrocers, two large packs for just one pound.  Now open frozen and in tubs in the freezer.  This way I can grab a handful to add to meals or soups and not waste any.

I have two bags of carrots in the fridge that I got for the same price, that I will blanch and freeze later today while they are at their best.

Tomorrow we are (if the weather is okay), doing a car boot sale at our favourite venue, on the village green in Warborough.  The truck is still loaded from last weeks sorting at Mum's we just have to add a couple of boxes of our stuff and the paste tables,  make ourselves a flask of coffee and we are ready to go.

Enjoy your weekend, whatever you're doing, calm it down and think, take time for yourself.

Sue xx