I have been poorly with the world's worst cold-but-not-quite-flu (ok, maybe it is flu) for the past few days and, between my bouts of delirious sleep on the sofa and cuddles from nurse Lily, my mind has turned to things I must make sure to do over the next month. So here they are...
Always have flowers in the house
Flowers can be (though are not always) the cheapest interior decoration you can find and it's amazing what a difference they can make to a home. I often forget to stick a bunch or two in my basket when grocery shopping, but I must make more of an effort to stock up. A Sunday morning trip to Columbia Road is in order, I think...
Learn to play the ukulele
I've been wanting to learn to play the ukulele for forever and, like with most things I do, I gave up too easily. I've finally managed to find a teacher (which was surprisingly difficult in London) which I hope means I'll start to take it seriously and actually learn a tune or two. My goal is to eventually be able to play like
this - looks my teacher has his work cut out for him!
See more of England
I think this is a common problem for most Brits but embarrassingly I have hardly seen any of my own country. Living in London, you'd be fooled into thinking there's nowhere else worth bothering to visit. Oh, how wrong you'd be. After visiting Hastings and Birling Gap a few weekends ago, I've been itching to get in that Zipcar and head out of town. What usually puts me off is that I have to do all the driving (the Texan can't use his Texas licence after a year of being here) but - thank the Lord - that is no longer an issue because the Texan passed his UK driving test last week! Hoorah!
Surround myself with family photos
For a couple who spend the majority of our spare time taking photos and go nowhere without our camera, the Texan and I have (I'm sorry to admit) no family photos on display in our house. It's terrible! The Texan's brother emailed over the photo on the left a few weeks ago and I'd really like to get it printed and framed - it's his grandfather, on the left, and his great-grandparents. And that's my Nana and Nonno in the photo on the right.
Repair our growing collection of alarm clocks
This is really a job for the Texan because my brain does not work properly when it comes to taking things apart and fixing them, but I'd love to see our collection of alarm clocks restored back to their former glory. I don't know why but they always seem to be covered in grease - and the Texan took apart the clock in the photo above last weekend and one of the mechanical pieces inside it even had a thumbprint in the grease! I'd love to know when it came to be there...a vintage thumbprint!
Take more photos of our lovely flat
Some of you have expressed an interest in a flat tour on the blog and I really want to do this (as soon as it's "ready"!), particularly now we've reached the break clause in our lease and I'm conscious we could be turfed out at a moment's notice. I absolutely adore our little flat and I really wish I could afford to buy it. I could manage the mortgage payments (after all, I've paid extortionate London rents for the past 8 years) but where on earth is anyone with student debt and living parents meant to find the £50,000+ deposit needed to convince a bank to lend? It's insane.
Shoot with film
The Texan and I went through a phase of shooting with film but we then bought our beloved 5d and couldn't be bothered to faff around with light metres anymore. It's a shame because we actually took some
real good 'uns with our little film cameras.
Put the moggy on a diet
This little lady has really gained weight over the long cold winter and so, unbeknownst to her, she is going on a kitty diet! She won't be happy when she finds out...
It feels good to sit back and assess some of the non-work things on my to-do list. What's on yours, anything fun?