Saturday At Home - One Time Only!

I rarely have a whole day at home so I thought I'd write up a blow by blow account. Just this once. Don't worry I won't do it to you again.

Woke up later than usual, 5.45. Tried to lie in and go back to sleep. Couldn't. Got up and went downstairs. Cat complained about being kept in overnight. I let her out and gave her instructions to avoid the traffic. Turned on the computer. (Me not the cat.) Woke up whilst reading emails, replied to a few.

Made a cup of tea. Took some painkillers. Naughty hip and back are bad at the moment. Lay on the sofa and looked through Zephaniah. Tried to figure it all out. Noted parts of it I liked. Not a great method for reading the Bible but the way I'm doing it at the moment. Prayed. Lots. Mainly asking for God to change me. Moved on to others and prayed for their protection. Lay still and quiet and asked God to tell me where I am going wrong and give me direction for the day. Tried to listen, but the cat came in and angrily demanded breakfast. After I scratched her back she lay down on my chest and purred loudly. Tried to work out if this was God's answer to me.{g}

Back to the computer to blog about the Activity Day the day before. Took tea up to Jamie who was going out to the church's men's breakfast. Showered and changed. Resisted the impulse to wake the kids. They are really tired after their day and the evening out at the rehearsal last night.

Started laundry. Basket is overflowing, as is the ironing pile in our bedroom. Need to try to tackle that, so pulled emergency items out for ironing. I sneak the easy ones out of the pile, kids' tee-shirts, tablecloths and straight trousers and sneakily leave all the complicated blouses and skirts for Jamie to do. Did I mention I'm sneaky?

Jamie leaves for Men's Breakfast. I shower and eat Vogel's sunflower bread toasted with butter and marmite. And orange juice. Turn on the radio. BBC radio 4, mainly a news and current affairs station. Wash the dishes, sweep the kitchen floor, do another load of laundry. Hang the wet washing up outside in the mist. Decide I won't get much dry by that method today and use the tumble drier for some towels. The first time I've needed it in about 6 months.

Take out the list of songs and the music which we're going to use at One Voice for church next week. I start to practice, hating how my voice has become decrepit over the years. Jamie says I just need more practice. I didn't use to need practice. I just used to win competitions/eisteddfods (Welsh music competitions) without trying.

Go and wake the groggy kids. Rouse them. Check morning chores get done in their sleepy state. Make a couple of phone calls with friends I'm trying to keep up a relationship with but who don't use email much. More laundry and ironing, vacuum downstairs. Jamie back from Men's Breakfast. We have coffee. He has high octane cappuccino, I have dandelion coffee. Supposed to be good for women experiencing Meno..Mmmm...Menopau...nope, can't bring myself to say it.

Sit down to finish reading three books from the library.
Hitchhiking Through Asperger Syndrome by Lise Pyles...the book is depressing, but I'm so glad my name isn't Pyles so that it cheers me up.
Menopause by Heather Currie...depressing, but luckily I don't know anyone who's experiencing that.
Stay Fit After 50 by Rozalind Graham...This book managed to be both boring and depressing. OK, that's enough reading. Now I'm depressed.

Have lunch (banana, apple and pretzels, weird huh?) Jamie plays geetar and I practice some of the songs we're doing. I'm trying really hard to get the intros and timings right. Not succeeding yet, but I am hopeful. The kids clean their rooms and then settle down to peaceful creativity. Jack is assembling airfix models and painting them. Grace is drawing and listening to music.

More tidying up for me and sorting through the kids' ASDAN files and Jamie is doing some work for One Voice, mainly checking up on why so many people hadn't shown up for the rehearsal last night. 4 of them 'just forgot'. Frustrating, but at least they all still want to be involved. Jamie goes off to put posters up in the Library. I settle down to more ironing. I'm not making much impact on the huge pile. I find a couple of pillow slips to iron. There, that's so much better. {g}

I make dinner, which is vegetarian Cottage Pie, roasted butternut squash, red stewed cabbage with apple with sultanas. Grace and Jack grimace at the cabbage but I remind them it helps prevent cancer.{g} They are so not impressed.

Jamie, Grace and Jack go to pick up two other teens from church to take them to a gig in Oxford- Christian bands, testimony etc in a huge building in the middle of the city. I fall asleep on the sofa whilst watching tv when they are gone. They get back and wake me, we all troop off to bed, except Jamie who decides to stay up and pray for our Youth Pastor who resigned this week and write a little blurb about One Voice he has to give at church next day.

Saturday ends