Tag: Christmas

The run-up

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The usual mile this morning…

…and it was really cold. Going to have to start layering up a bit more!

I am in unashamedly Christmas mode now. I made the cake yesterday (I’m hoping to be able to share it with Mum and Dad presuming restrictions are relaxed over Christmas, and Geth is very much looking forward to eating it as well!). Usually the cake turns out horribly wrong, but this time (fingers crossed) it looks okay. This is the first time I’ve tried it in my current oven, so maybe the ovens in all my previous homes weren’t up to scratch.

Other than cake-making and general Christmas prep, I’ve largely been focused on my NaNoWriMo project. I’m also trying to get as much work as possible done on my Adventuron Christmas jam project so that it won’t be a last-minute rush in December! I’ll definitely have a lot more time for that after NaNo though, especially if I can get all my Christmas prep done before the end of the month as well.

It’s Geth’s and my wedding anniversary today so we’ve cracked open the first stollen of the year. It is most definitely the year for starting Christmas early.

Christmas cake
The colour of the cake actually looks right this time! I am hopeful…

Today’s earworm playlist:

Traditional – ‘O Holy Night’
The Strokes – ‘Last Night’

Order

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Another mile-ish today…

…as I didn’t have that much energy this morning.

I had a bit of a quiet day in general, just getting on with admin. I always feel better when my lists and logs have been tidied up a bit.

A similar day tomorrow, I hope.

Christmas catalogue
Geth picked up a Christmas catalogue from the supermarket. I’ve not read it yet but it makes the sofa look seasonal!

Today’s earworm playlist:

The Rolling Stones – ‘(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction’
The Wanted – ‘All Time Low’

Limbo

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Just a mile (point two) today…

…and I can’t say I’m that enthused about my well-worn route at the moment, but it’s nice to get out for some fresh air every morning.

Not being able to plan things is getting to me a bit at the moment. Obviously Christmas is the most immediate example, but I also feel a bit empty due to sitting here in my house with a giant stack of rescheduled gig tickets and race entries for next year and not knowing whether they’re actually going to happen or if they’ll all be postponed… again. I know people are making a lot of positive noises about vaccines but I’m finding it hard to believe that it will be possible for life to get back to normal next year. The whole situation just feels endless right now.

I’m trying to find small positives day to day, and I’ve got no shortage of hobbies and distractions. It’s just getting a bit hard now that it’s been so long.

I had a really busy afternoon today with day job work and writing. Looking forward to a slightly more relaxed day tomorrow!

Scented candle
‘Tis the season for scented candles. I’m on my last one, though, so I need to pick up some more.

Today’s earworm playlist:

Lady Gaga – ‘The Edge Of Glory’
Walk The Moon – ‘Shut Up And Dance’

Focusing on today

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Longest run in a few weeks today!

I’m feeling a bit better about my running, but am going to continue to take it easy until I feel fully recovered.

The rest of the day was a combination of writing and day job work, as well as a bit more work on the house. I’ve been enjoying listening to music again too, so am going to do a bit more of that this evening.

Trying to take things one day at a time at the moment, though the temptation is strong to tie myself in knots thinking about every Christmas contingency. It may be that we don’t know what we’re doing until a few days beforehand, so I need to avoid thinking about it. It’s a shame because the run-up and the excitement is my favourite time of the year, but I just have to hope we can all salvage something when the time comes.

Another busy day tomorrow.

Earphones
Music has been a nice thing to get back into over the last few days.

Today’s earworm playlist:

Duran Duran – ‘Rio’
Ludwig Göransson – ‘The Mandalorian [Main Theme]’
Walk The Moon – ‘Shut Up And Dance’
Traditional – ‘Carol Of The Bells’
Elton John – ‘Saturday Night’s Alright For Fighting’

Never enough projects!

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Just a mile this morning…

…as I had a busy day ahead. Run went well though as I’m feeling a bit less fatigued!

I spent most of the afternoon writing and doing day job work, but I’m also trying to spend 30 minutes a day working on the house at the moment. Housework and de-hoarding have taken a real back seat this year (mainly because we haven’t had many visitors, who are usually my main motivation for trying to get the house to look nice!), and I’ve tried various strategies, but none of them have really stuck. One of the ones that didn’t work for me did have a maxim that has stayed in my mind, however: why is it that only visitors deserve to see your house at its best? Keeping on top of the house is really hard for me because there are so many other things that take priority. But I’d like to be more comfortable in my home (especially as I spend 99% of my time in it these days!), and so I’m starting again with yet another online method, despite the many other projects I’m juggling at the present time.

I’ve had a few days off videogaming as there are too many other things going on at the moment. I’m going to carve out some time for it tomorrow evening, though, as it’s absolutely the most relaxing thing I can do for myself.

Christmas loungewear
One more pair of Christmas trousers from the weekend! These are loungewear rather than leggings and they are the comfiest.

Today’s earworm playlist:

Judy Garland – ‘Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas’
Panjabi MC – ‘Mundian To Bach Ke’
Ludwig Göransson – ‘The Mandalorian [Main Theme]’
Duran Duran – ‘Friends Of Mine’

Crawling into the weekend

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About a mile and a half today…

…and I’m still finding it a bit tiring, but I’m doing okay.

I was writing until into the evening today as I got a bit absorbed in my NaNo project. Good to get a buffer in for my wordcount as I’m going to be a bit busier over the weekend. Will update again on Monday!

Christmas leggings, take 3
An especially bright pair of Christmas leggings today.

Today’s earworm playlist:

Duran Duran – ‘Friends Of Mine’

A possible turnaround

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I managed more than two miles this morning…

…and I finally felt like I had my energy back, so hopefully this will continue!

I was able to get through all my writing and onto my admin fairly quickly today, so I’m hoping to be able to spend a good chunk of time chilling out with my videogame this evening.

Great day overall. Similar tomorrow I hope!

Christmas leggings, edition 2
Continuing the Christmas leggings theme! Now with bonus Christmas socks.

Today’s earworm playlist:

The Sisters Of Mercy – ‘This Corrosion’

World to world

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I managed a mile and a half today…

…which doesn’t sound like much, but after recent runs it was a bit of a victory!

I had the usual day working on writing projects today – jumping from fictional world, to fictional world, which can be a bit tiring sometimes – and expect tomorrow will be similar (still hoping to wake up a bit earlier, but my body seems to have well and truly entered hibernation mode now).

A bit of Christmas sparkle creeping into my life now…

Christmas leggings, edition 1
I’ve been very patient but today I finally decided to start wearing leggings from my Christmas collection. There may be a theme to these photos over the next few days!

Today’s earworm playlist:

Marina & The Diamonds – ‘Hollywood’
Ludwig Göransson – ‘The Mandalorian [Main Theme]’

Inside and out

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Another mile today…

…and I’ll probably keep going with that until the weekend.

I’m getting my words in for my NaNo every day, though I’m finding it fairly tough going this year. I’m doing a loose collection of short stories, each set in a different universe that I’ve previously written about, and I’m hoping that the project will help me identify what I want to focus on next in terms of my writing. The nature of 2020 has made it quite hard to write recently, so it’s good to have a daily wordcount target to hit.

With lockdown approaching, the disconnect between my cosy inside world, where Geth and I are always comfy and home, and the terrifying outside world just seems to be getting ever more bizarre and pronounced 🙁 I’m not sure how we’ll ever go back to any semblance of normal.

I’ve got lots of distractions ready for this evening to help me stay calm, though I will of course be following the US election results pretty avidly. I’m not sure what sleep is going to look like tonight!

Another quiet day for writing tomorrow, I hope.

Christmas craft book
My favourite Christmas craft book will be one of tonight’s distractions. Hoping to get some craft projects on the go this month – I usually never get round to it!

Today’s earworm playlist:

There’s been nothing in my head today. Unusual, but it does happen sometimes!

Onto the next thing

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Just a mile this morning…

…which is standard for Mondays, but unusually is the fourth streak saver mile in a row for me as I’m having to take a break from my 10k training due to feeling a bit ill. Hopefully I’ll be able to step it up again towards the end of the week.

Hallowe’en weekend was lovely, but I woke up this morning feeling as though it was time to take the decorations down and start thinking about prepping my Christmas crafts for this year. I’ve started my NaNoWriMo project as well, so I’m well and truly in November mode.

The new lockdown coming in from Thursday in England won’t much affect me and Geth, as we never really came out of lockdown the first time – we rarely leave the house for reasons that aren’t running or supermarket shopping. I don’t have a problem with being in lockdown during November as I’m a total homebody anyway – especially in the autumn and winter – but it does feel pretty gloomy that December is so uncertain. I’m not holding out much hope for my 10k race going ahead on 6th December, or that I’ll be able to nip up to Edinburgh in early December to decorate Mum and Dad’s tree like I usually do. However, so long as I can celebrate Christmas itself in person with them, I can live without everything else this year. Just have to keep hoping.

Tomorrow will be similar to today – NaNo, house tidying, craft planning – as I settle into my November routine. There may be some late night watching of the preliminary US election results too, if I’m brave enough.

Neep lantern
From the weekend: a traditional neep lantern, part of my eclectic array of carved fruit and veg this year.

Today’s earworm playlist:

Dead Or Alive – ‘Something In My House’
Cliff Richard – ‘Mistletoe And Wine’
Mariah Carey – ‘All I Want For Christmas Is You’
Traditional – ‘Carol Of The Bells’
Tom Jones – ‘Help Yourself’