Day 6 Me Month

14st 4lb. So, I wasn't punished for the trifle. Phew. I have lost three pounds this week which is great and will, I hope, spur me on to my target.

I made the beetroot and horseradish soup. It is a beautiful, smooth texture and has the most amazing colour (every little girl's dream bedroom). I softened a small onion in olive oil and then added a potato which I had peeled and diced. I then added 1/2 pint of chicken stock and some black pepper and simmered for 20 minutes until the potatoes were cooked. I put it in the blender and whizzed until smooth before adding 300g of cooked beetroot and a couple of teaspoons of horseradish sauce. Therein lies my error - the beetroot were described as sweet beetroot but in fact they were quite vinegary. Add to that the sharpness of the horseradish sauce and the soup was.....horrible! It tasted sour and unpleasant which was a shame as it is the most inviting looking soup I have cooked in ages. I am going to try it again but next time I will boil my own beetroot from raw and only add one teaspoon of horseradish.

So, I said it was my first day to myself and set myself a few targets (or intentions) for the day.
1. Enjoy a good walk - done
2. Design & hand out leaflets - done
3. Clean sitting room well - done
4. Start CV - you guess!
5. Find time to just "be" - I really tried!

Three and a half out of five ain't bad!

The girls were at their Dad's for bonfire night and so I had no one to get off to school. I despatched my partner with his pack up for a day on the moors (he'll be cold, wet and grumpy tonight but the day is mine in between) at 8am. I put the finishing touches to my Advent in Askrigg poster and set off at 8.30am to distribute leaflets and put up posters. We stayed out and did a good walk (just over 3 miles) returning at 11.20am, whacked, refreshed and more than ready for a coffee. The best thing about getting out early is that I can walk in the kitchen without Lucy leaping up and running to her lead - added to the fact that it was pouring with rain by lunchtime and hasn't let up since. I didn't take the camera as, although dry, it was very dull indeed and even the brightest leaves weren't sparkling.

I am proud to say that the sitting room is now gleaming. I have polished the furniture (even the table and chair legs!), washed the skirting boards, hoovered, washed and straightened all the pictures and photos, cleaned the windows and put all extraneous materials away (there were loads). I don't suppose anyone will notice but I do, which is all that matters. I have never been anything approaching tidy in the house but I am rarely actually dirty - but the silt has been accumulating and it gets me down. I have made a start.

I went up to the laundrette to get 3 loads of washing dried (I am not contaminating my lovely room with washing draped around) and had half an hour to kill whilst it dried. I decided to seize the moment and just "be". I went up a little track at the back of Hawes, turned off the radio and the engine and tried "relaxing". Clear your mind. Allow thoughts to pop into your mind unprompted. Hmmm....trying.....hmmm.....what have I got in for supper?....hmmm.....what shall I write in my blog tonight?....hmmm.....I feel really silly sitting here in the rain in the middle of nowhere - someone will walk passed and check a hose isn't attached to the exhaust in a minute......relax for God's sake.....find inspiration.....I try....then....bollocks! I was going to go to the preview of tomorrow's sale to see if they have a small chest of drawers for the landing (instead of the great big one which takes up most of the available space and the drawers don't slide in properly, leaving the kids underwear and uniform escaping very publicly). I left my haven of tranquility and belted to have a quick look (no, they didn't have one) before getting told off for being late for my laundry.

I think the closest I come to true escapism is writing this blog!

I am in a quandry. Tomorrow night we have nothing planned and the girls are away at their Dad's. Should we have friends in for a suitable-for-diet informal supper or should I cook a suitable-for-diet-romantic dinner for two and then disagree on what to watch on the TV? It's a dilemma!

Must dash to cook tea for eldest before she goes to work. Going Christmas shopping tomorrow - not like me to admit to Christmas before December (I absolutely LOVE it but only in the right month) but as October is my mega month at work, November is the only month when I have any money. Better get it over with!

E xx

PS The rate of business insolvencies is up again which rakes up some horrible memories for me - if you know of anyone experiencing business difficulty or failure, I would be happy to let them read my story "It's not all over - a personal journey through business failure" if you think it might help. Just let me know your email address via comments (I won't publish it) and I'll email it through.