A Day Off

"There was no possibility of taking a walk that day." Jane Eyre (Charlotte Bronte, 1847).

Have a look at my rainy backyard winter garden.

Every week I get the gift of a day off from work.

As well as studying at my local university, I also have a day job four days a week. I usually plan to cram as much as I can into my day off, but when I woke this morning to the sound of rain on the window, those plans are quite easily shafted to another day in the hazy, far away future. Procrastination is easier on rainy days because I like to stay home and enjoy those feelings of being sheltered safely and warm and cosy in my house while the weather is grim. Hot drinks, comfortable clothes, a little moment for reading and watercolours in my journal and the ever present need for study and online zoom tutorials. 

There were plans in my day to take the dog for a walk around the neighbourhood nature reserve but those have been quashed by the weather. Instead she lies contentedly at my feet. My dog does not like the rain so she won't mind missing her walk today. 

Zoom meetings can be problematic, but my Linguistics class is one I look forward to every week. The content is challenging me enormously, but our lecturer makes the class so interesting it's quite fun. It continues to amaze me how the limitations of language influences our culture. 

Plum Tree sprouting pre-Spring buds.

I made lemon muffins for the kids when they got home from school and sat down with a latte to do a little nature journalling which has been sadly lacking from my life lately. The little rosebush outside my bedroom window grew rosehips this year and I always think they're so cheerful in the winter. I recently learned that during the Second World War when Germany cut off England from food imports, and unable to grow their own citrus, rosehips were gathered and made into  rosehip syrup which is very high in Vitamin C. I remember my grandmother making Rosehip Jelly and it has a lovely flavour.

Now that the evening is drawing in and the children are home from school, with dinner out of the way, I'll work a little on my assignment and then I will settle down to do some more of my jigsaw. Jigsaws are so relaxing to me and I often put something on to watch or listen to while I'm doing it. 

At the moment my newest entertainment obsession is Mudlarking.

If you haven't heard about this before it is an old, old profession that goes hundreds of years back in London where people made a living off finding valuable items in the mud along the River Thames. Nowadays of course, it is just a hobby but it's so interesting the things that people find. Some things date back to Roman times. If you're curious about it, here's a little introduction video. In a couple of months I hope to review the book mentioned in the video. One day I hope to try it out for myself in London!

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