Summer Project Review - Part 2

The wooden cupboard -

When I moved into my house in Newbury, the bedroom had some furniture left by a previous tenant.  There was this cupboard, a sort-off dressing table with mirror, and a wardrobe straight out of Narnia.

Being a little short of furniture, I adopted it, but it's all solid wood and heavy as...  So when I came to move away from Newbury I decided to take only the wooden cupboard, as the most practical and the only thing I thought we had any chance of moving without significant trauma.

(As an aside, when my landlord came to inspect the property as I moved out, with the furniture already gone, he asked about the bedroom furniture.  I said that the wooden cupboard hadn't been there when I'd moved in...  And glossed over the fact that it was, by now, safely stored in the parentals house in Shropshire. 
I completely bluffed over the obvious grooves in the carpet where the cupboard had quite obviously stood until fairly recently, and I fixed Mr landlord with my most polite and innocent smile.
I also failed to mention that the front of the oven was no longer attached to the oven, but balanced against the wall above it.  The landlord didn't spot it, and I didn't mention it.  The thing fell apart in my hands, honest gov.  What a shit-heap that house was.)

Anyway...  In Newbury it held mostly clothes.  But when I left Newb, I had a massive clothing purge and now had empty space.  In the move to Northampton it ended up holding a motley assortment of things.  My satnav, Christmas things, birthday cards, fancy dress stuff, amongst others.

During the summer, I purged the contents -
1:  I sorted out my extensive birthday/other occasion cards collection.  They are now sorted into 2 boxes.  "Birthday" and "Other".
2:  Fancy dress stuff is bagged up tight, along with Christmas stuff.
3:  Everything else in there now has its place.


The other plastic drawer unit -

It was purchased when I moved in, due to the need for more storage.  It's the ugliest thing, and my long term plan is to replace it with something better looking.  Probably a wooden drawer unit of some sort.  It mostly holds school stuff, cables for electronic things and all those little odds and sods that aren't kitchen things.  There's a lot of stationery stuff in there as well, as well as printer paper and my laminator.

During the summer I purged the stationery considerably.  Every pen was tested and judged on how easily it could be replaced/stolen from work, should I need another of its type.  I also came to the conclusion that I no longer needed 100 colouring pencils of assorted lengths and quality.


The current project -

For a while I had been internally debating this.

Getting rid of my DVD boxes and storing the discs elsewhere.

I'd seen pictures of other peoples systems of storage, and it appealed.
You see, my DVD collection was completely dominating an entire wall in my living room, as well as a small wooden bookcase that could be much more usefully used to store home office supplies.

So now, all my discs are in 2 storage boxes underneath the TV.  Neat, tidy and categorised into the following categories:
Drama
TV
Comedy
Musical
Cartoon/Childrens

And the system has plenty of room to grow.  All the discs are kept in individual plastic wallets.  Discs of special features and the like have been moved to a carry case I already owned and used at university.

The only DVDs that are still in their boxes are my "24" boxsets, "Game Of Thrones", and the family home movie DVDs.
The rest of the DVD cases are currently cluttering up the second bedroom.  I've made a decision to keep them until Christmas, in case I have a change of heart about the system.  If I don't, I shall begin the process of throwing them out/recycling them.  Unless someone has a desire to take 200 DVD cases off my hands.
I'm rather pleased with the outcome!

Summer Project Review - Part One

This past summer holidays, I made it my mission to "sort out" my second bedroom.  Because the people who built these flats decided that "people don't need or want any cupboards outside of the kitchen" (not true), there is zero storage, apart from a very small coat cupboard.  Which is only big enough for storing coats and a hoover on the floor.

As a result, the 2nd bedroom became a dumping ground.  Because, like every household that's established for long enough (5 years now in my case), you accumulate "stuff".  Things like wrapping paper, Christmas decorations, sellotape, printer paper, mugs, envelopes.  All things that you need at certain points through the year, but all of which take up space and require storing.

And of course, my line of work comes with its own clutter.  Those puppets you use for circle times, those resources you spent time and £'s to produce can't be thrown away, those costumes you wear for World Book Day, those teacher manuals and children's books.  All have value and have to live "somewhere".  Not to mention all the day-to-day stuff that you carry to and from school every single day.  All that stuff takes up room.

So...  The summer holidays was going to be the summer of "sorting".

First I started with a 6-drawer unit that mostly held art resources and scrapbooking stuff.  I was big into scrapbooking 5/6 years ago.  But for a long time I didn't have anywhere to store it, and so got out of the habit.
Then when I did have room to store it, I thought "hurrah!  I'll use it!"  Then it sat, basically untouched for 2 years...  So I went through all the drawers and sorted everything into 3 piles:

1:  Things From The Past - Old birthday/Christmas/thank you cards with meaningful messages, old notebooks, things from secondary school eras.  Not things I particularly love, per-se, but things that tell a story from the past.  I'd feel like I was throwing away a piece of history if I got rid of these things.

2:  Things That Are Crap - Part-used sticker sheets, dried up pens, empty & unattractive notebooks, ugly things in general.  These all went into a bin bag to join the great landfill in the sky.

3:  Things That Someone Could Love - I filled a large supermarket fruit box with arts & crafts supplies.  Then donated the entire box to Adele's younger sister Louise, who loves all that sort of thing.  About 3 weeks later she gave me a sweet hand-made thank you card.
So, OUT:  A whole box of stuff I didn't want.
      IN:  One thank you card.

Already my burden on the floorboards is lighter.

Those 5 empty drawers are now used for excess food storage.
You see, when it comes to food, I have my hardcore favourites.  And not always the most expected of things.  Possibly one of my most favourite foods is a tinned chicken curry from Tesco.  It sounds many shades of awful, but is possibly one of the most delicious things I have ever eaten.  And now I have it at least once a week.  Sometimes more.  It takes 10 minutes to prepare (most of that is rice cooking time), so I eat it usually on a Thursday when I don't get home until nearly 7pm.  It's the ultimate in ease and tastiness.
But then I worry!  What if Tesco stop making it?!  My delicious and easy tea will be goooooone!
So now, quite often, when I eat one, next time I go to Tesco, I'll buy 2 to replace it.  Or if it comes up on special offer, I might buy 5 or 6.

So now, a whole drawer of this unit is devoted to tinned curry.  ;)

Another drawer has toilet paper in it (it was on special offer).  I have my favourite brand (Andrex Quilted if you're interested!  You're not, I know), so when I know I need more in the next month, I watch out for it being on offer.

Another 2 small drawers have Quavers in.  I love Quavers, have done for many a year.  I have flirtations with other brands, like Monster Munch, Walkers Hoops & Crosses, or Wotsits, but it's always Quavers I come back to.
Things like Quavers are MUCH cheaper to buy in bulk and have a decent shelf-life.  So when they are on offer, I stock up.  But those 40 bags of crisps have to live somewhere...  So now they have a home in a drawer unit.

Another drawer is mostly empty.  It only contains (I just went to look), 2 boxes of boil in the bag rice, and (randomly) some beef gravy granules.

And so, a drawer unit, filled with stuff I neither needed, nor wanted, is serving a useful purpose again.


This is such a nerdy post...

Join me tomorrow for part 2!  The Wooden Cupboard and the Other Plastic Drawer Unit.

And so she emerges...

I'm alive!

Having been missing for the entire month of September, I'm back! 
My excuses are that September is notoriously busy for me.  It's "back to school", which comes with its own challenges and keeps me busy.  But as I settle into the routine again, I start to come out the other side once I'm in October.

Normally, weekends are my blogging time, but the past 3 weekends have been very busy with various significant commitments.  First up was my cousin Diane's wedding to Shane in Aberystwyth, Wales.  Now, Aberystwyth is a long way.  It's pretty much as far west as you can go on the mainland UK, without falling into the sea.  It would be a 4-hour drive, and not a very easy one.  Not so bad when still in England, but in Wales, they "don't do motorways", thus making a long and slow journey.

On the day itself, it rained, blew and was downright cold at times.  Only really cheering up when the wedding was drawing to a close.  Such is life.

After many long and boring hours on a train, I got home at midnight on Sunday.


The next weekend, I spent the best part of my Saturday at an open day at school.  Our attendance was expected.  I spent 3 hours with that stupid fixed smile that you have to give people when you want to create a good impression.  It was mind-numbing.  Then the visitors just Would Not Leave.  Even as I "tided up" around them, they continued their social chats.  In the end, I had to announce, in my best teacher voice, "so who's going to help me tidy everything away for home time?"  Give me strength.

Weekend 3 was my birthday weekend!  But it was mostly over-shadowed by my marathon walk for Shine!  I have raised £357 I think, which I'm pleased with.  Thank you to everyone who contributed!  It was a great atmosphere on the night!  Everyone was chatting and friendly, and there were LOADS of us! 
I did fine until mile 14, but from then on it was pure stubbornness.  My feet hurt, my upper legs felt strange, I felt light-headed and kind of queasy.  But I soldiered on!  Finishing shortly after 7am I think.  NEVER AGAIN!
I'd do the half-marathon again, no probs, but not the full 26.2.  So if anyone wants to do the half with me in the future, let me know!  It's a fab atmosphere and the bragging rights are good. :)

I will say though, it's taken me a while to recover.  I had 2 epic blisters on the backs of my heels, but they weren't really painful.  Monday my legs and knees were very stiff and sore, but I was fine by Wednesday.  What has taken longer to recover from was just the absolute and total draining of my resources.  I felt really quite weak and blah for quite a while.  And it was only really Thursday before I felt relatively "back to normal".  And this was on top of carb-loading, which I did for the whole week prior to the event.  I hate to think how I'd have been without that energy store on-board.

That night, after a bit of sleep, Hazel, Brian, Adele and Ed took me out for birthday tea at TGI Fridays.  I had a fajita and it was exactly what I needed!  I got sung to by the wait staff and got a balloon hat.  It was a good night. :D


What else have I done...?

Oh.  Tuesday I was off on strike.  Mostly because Michael Gove, the education secretary, is a massive shit.  The way I see it, if you don't strike, you've got absolutely no leg to stand on with regard to moaning about anything in the future.  You had your chance to register a protest and you didn't take it?  Well shut the hell up.


On Thursday I went to Birmingham to see 'Jesus Christ Superstar'.  I've never driven in Birmingham before, so to drive through the city centre at rush hour was a slightly nerve-wracking experience!  Driving home was worse!  Mostly because I am a bad night-time driver.  I don't think my night-vision is up to much, and it's definitely worse than it was a few years ago.  And then I spent an hour crawling along the M6 because of roadwork-related lane closures.  Eventually got home at 1am, when I should have been home at about 11:30pm.  Sucks.
That being said, it was a fantastic show!  I mostly went in order to see Tim Minchin, who I slightly adore, playing Judas.  And he was kick-ass brilliant.  As was the whole show really!


Umm...  I think that's it!

YES!

Every so often, I stumble across something on the internet that genuinely impresses me.  Lots of things I like, but it isn't that often that I'm really blown away.

This video is a perfect example of someone with a serious talent.

The first few seconds you think "what on earth have we got here?"  Then she starts to play...

Wow.

Nearly time...

Tomorrow it will be September.

September is exciting for many reasons:

1:  It's my birthday month.  This year I "celebrate" it with a marathon night time walk around London in aid of cancer research UK - specifically focusing on their leukaemia research branch - after that horrible disease took my grandma in the 1990s.  She was someone who I would very much have liked to have known better.

I am after sponsorship, so if anyone is so inclined to do, or feels as strongly as I do about beating cancer, please do make a donation.  It's so easy and completely secure.

http://www.justgiving.com/SallyNicholson2013

2:  It's back to school!  Now, whilst I enjoy the 6 week break very much, I don't really mind the fact that I have to go back to 6:45am get-ups.  I'm back to teaching Reception, which is my very favourite year group.  They are so much fun at that age, but I literally have to teach them everything.  Just something as simple as forming a straight line to walk down the corridor is something I have to actively teach them.  Each year I forget how much they don't know.  But they change so much, and so quickly.  It's amazing.

3:  The change in seasons.  September is always the month when you step outside for the first time and feel that very distinct chill in the air.  It's very distinct, and quite different from just a "cool" summers day.  I really like the first day I notice that.  Generally the weather through to Christmas, although cold, is pretty harmless.  It's Jan/Feb that really suck.


In all, September is just the month of "new".  It's a bit of New Years all over again.

So, I went on holiday...

I wanted to see how Movie Maker worked, so over the course of a little mini-break to Somerset(ish), I took a few short clips.

I put them together into a little movie.  It's really, really easy to do!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZxWNjV-NzPI&list=UUAPuZgufVews8lNwsnRZ02w&index=1

You can watch it here.  If you want.

Am I Old?

On a forum I visit sometimes, there was a thread asking "what have you done this weekend?"  This is what I've done -

Yesterday I watched an online screening of the opera "Billy Budd", which I've been looking forward to for quite a while. After watching it through once, I went back and re-watched some of the best bits. Then had a craving for my "special mashed potatoes" so made them. Then washed my hair and watched a LoveFilm disc.

Today I finished a book I've been enjoying "The Orphan Master's Son", whilst drinking coffee and eating bourbons, then I watched the Tom Hardy documentary about poaching on ITV Player. Plans for the rest of the day involving making tea next, having a bath whilst starting on my next library book. Then I may watch a DVD as there doesn't seem to be much decent on TV tonight.


And then I realised I must be getting old.

Reasons Why:

1:  I watched an opera.
2:  I liked it so much I went back to watch some bits again.
3:  I got excited by mashed potatoes.
4:  I read a book.
5:  I watched a documentary about rhino poaching.
6:  I borrow library books.


What my weekend should have been like.

Wellll...  Saturday day time I went up town and spent £60 on clothes and had a McDonalds Happy Meal.  Then I went to Tesco and bought a shit-ton of alcohol and got ID'd.  Then I went to Adele's house and we got good and drunk and then went up Wetherspoons and then Embryos nightclub. 

Today I have a stonking hangover, so went to McDonalds for a mcmuffin.  Then I went back to bed.



I'm just not cool any more.  Or perhaps just not 18 any more.  Those were the good old days.  ;)