love those cupcakes

Snippets

• Buying a bunch of autumn coloured flowers for Aunty M in the supermarket, only to be given a free identical bunch on the way out.

• Leaving work and all of that researching and document writing a few months ago and being busier than ever......researching and writing documents.

• Making a lemon drizzle cake and realising partway through baking that I'd left out the eggs.

• Making a wonderfully crusty spelt loaf and not being able to get it out of the tin.

• Realising the very noisy cat fight outside the house one night involved one of our kitties who returned home in a very sorry state.  Whilst wounds have since healed, pride has taken a bit of a knock.
  

• Hearing from the mister that one of his friends has had a fabulous extension built at the back of his house and his wife has run off with the builder.

• Popping out for a bite to eat (hummus and roasted veg pitta) yesterday and somehow buying a new car on the way home.

• Remembering there's still time for you to enter the cupcake book giveaway.

 

The sweet taste of opportunity (with lots of words, no pictures)

work (wʉrk)

Noun  

1. Employment at a job or in a position.  

2. Occupation, profession, business, trade, craft, etc.

 

Since leaving university the first time, I've always worked.  Full time, part time, on a sessional basis, day time, out of hours, as a practitioner, as a manager and senior manager, and currently as an academic. Most jobs I've loved, that never knowing what the work day would bring, that drive to try to make a difference. The pay cheques have always been most welcome, too.

Of course my employment path hasn't all been rosy and there have been the inevitable blips along the way, but then, at the end of 2009, came that massive bolt out of the blue.  A cancer diagnosis.  A rare, gynaecological cancer.  Malignant melanoma of the vulva.  (No, I didn't know you could get it there, neither did the GPs at my practice and, if you're wondering, it isn't sun related).

I had the radical surgery and went back to work after 5 months' sick leave. There are regular check-ups and, while there's no room for complacency, I can tentatively say (touching wood and all that) eighteen months on, so far, so good.  Or as my dentist wryly put it "You're still here, you're still breathing, how much better does it get?".  But life, and my attitude to living it, hasn't been the same since.

So, when moving on from a job I've been dissatisfied, frustrated and increasingly unhappy with became a distinct possibility (and it hasn't been about feeling like a square peg in a round hole, it's that certainty that I'm not even a peg!), I threw my hat into the ring, crossed my fingers and awaited the decision. 

The letter arrived eventually and the result is that, in a couple of months' time, I'm leaving work.

For ever.

 

retirement (riˈtīrmənt)

Noun

1. The action or fact of leaving one's job and ceasing to work.

2. The period of one's life after leaving one's job and ceasing to work.

 

Then, whenever anyone asks "What do you do?", I'll be able to reply.......

"Whatever I want".

 

Digging deep to make lemonade

 

I've thought long and hard about writing this post, whether indeed I should even be thinking of sharing any of what's been happening in this place that was always intended to be where I indulged in a bit of lighthearted rambling.  And particularly at a time when everyone is gearing up for the festivities.  I mean, do you really need to hear my troubles and woes?   But it might explain why I've been distracted, preoccupied of late and account for some absences along the way.  So I'm hoping I'm doing the right thing.

To say life has been a bit rocky at Cupcake Towers since returning from the polar bear adventure (you already know about the still missing cat) is a bit of an understatement. I'd had an inkling of something not quite right before the holiday.   Well, I'm now taking a little break from blogging as I face a stay in hospital for some radical surgery following a diagnosis of a rare form of malignant melanoma.

I know.

Bummer.

Scared as I am (scared? I'm petrified), I know I have to dig deep, maintain a resolve to beat this with help from the health professionals, curb my natural instincts and stay positive with the support of my lovely little family, close friends and colleagues.

And I will be back here soon.

Life's lemons, eh? 

Time to make a big jug of lemonade.

Saturday miscellany

I thought I'd share a medley of photographs from a very ordinary Saturday at home.

 

Someone was having a rest in the shade after a morning of chasing butterflies.

 

A new visitor to the garden.  His collar says he's called Percy and he seems to be very pleased to have made the acquaintance of our two kitties.

 

The garden might be in need of some tlc but at least the pots are providing some welcome colour.

 

 

The butterfly bush has been living up to its name and attracting lots of these to the garden (much to the cats' delight).

 

This fuchsia (I had to check the spelling!) is flowering away in another pot.

Sadly, there are very few fish left in the pond after a memorable early morning visit from a heron.

 

Here's Buzz.  You have to pretend you can't see him.  Now shout "Come out, come out, wherever you are".

Inside the house, a birthday present is blooming.

The day ended with a Chinese takeaway and a bottle of the red stuff in front of the TV.

Like I said, a very ordinary Saturday at home.

 

A long and eventful day

  

• Get up before the 5 a.m. alarm to ensure no chance of sleeping through it

• Open the bedroom curtains and note the lousy weather - it's raining heavily

• Spend far too long searching for an umbrella 

• Consequently there's no time to have a cup of something hot before leaving the house

• Realise during the drive to the railway station that my mobile phone is still at home, plugged into the charger

• 2 minutes later it dawns that this means I can't leave the car in the usual car park as payment has to be made by phone text

• From under the umbrella, make several attempts to pay at the station's alternative car park's ticket machine with a £10 note and eventually read "Coins and credit cards only"
  

• Go back to the car to find there aren't enough coins in my purse and return to the machine with a credit card but somehow only manage to pay for 1 hour's car parking

• Try alternative machine and same thing happens.  Now have 2 rather wet tickets giving me an unusable total of 2 hours' parking

• Hear ominous "ping" after which the umbrella collapses on my head

• Eventually fathom the instructions in the relentless pouring rain and breathe an umbrella-less sigh of relief when the machine issues a parking ticket for 24 hours

• No time to buy coffee on the platform as my train pulls into the station

• Once on the train, hang my rain soaked linen jacket on the thoughtfully provided hook and cross fingers it will miraculously dry in the far too cold, air conditioned carriage

• Hope that the damp linen shirt I'm wearing doesn't crease too much

• Try to re-style previously straightened but now very wet hair with fingers as the hair brush is inexplicably missing from my bag

• An hour into the journey am relieved to see a refreshment cart being pushed into the carriage

• Get out purse in readiness to pay for restorative coffee and KitKat

• Observe the somewhat unsteady person pushing the refreshment cart spill entire contents of large cup of coffee over 2 business suited passengers 

• Decide it's probably best to put purse back in bag

• Arrive at destination and dash to check out appearance in station loo mirrors

• Reel in horror at reflected image

• Apply heavy eye liner and lipstick in hope that delegates' attention will be diverted by non too expertly applied maquillage

• Arrive at event venue to find hot water flasks for tea and coffee are empty

• Deliver presentation with apologies for wild hair and assurances that, despite looking otherwise, the clothes I'm wearing really haven't been slept in

• Lots of discussion after the presentation means a dash to the station to catch another train to meet up with the Gorgeous Girlie

• En route manage to grab the smallest/cheapest looking umbrella from display in Boots

• Reluctantly hand over 13 quid to a very smiley cashier and tell her no, I don't have my Boots Advantage card with me

• GG is waiting in her car outside the station we've arranged to meet at and the tears flow as we remember my dad who died a year ago today

• 3 p.m. and I get the first drink and food of the day courtesy of GG and her kitchen

• Attempt to re-straighten my hair with GG's GHDs

• Re-iron my, by now, rag of a shirt

• Heavy traffic on the way to the station 4 hours later means there's no time to buy a drink for the journey home.  The train's refreshment trolley it will have to be, whoever's pushing it.  (I will have that KitKat)

• Arrive at the platform with minutes to spare to find  "an incident " in progress and the train I need to get on taken over by police

• Eventually a replacement turns up and at last we're moving and heading north

• Announcement on the train that sorry, there will be no refreshments available for the entire journey.  Didn't fancy a KitKat anyway

• Half an hour from my destination there's another announcement that, due to severe flooding, the train has been forced to reduce its speed to 5 mph

• More than 18 hours after getting up this morning I arrive home

• And once inside I can't help smiling as I unpack the pre-budget treat of an Osprey handbag I somehow managed to buy on this eventful day

A new chapter

Life is all about choices and change, milestones and significant events, and it seems that we're about to enter a new phase, starting a new chapter.  The Husband finished work today forever, having made the decision (after some hard thinking) to volunteer for redundancy.  Like so many businesses in the current climate, his company were faced with having to make significant cuts in staffing levels if they were to have a chance at surviving in the longer term.  But before you start commiserating, this isn't as bad as it would be for many people (like his colleagues who had the redundancy decision made for them) as he's that bit closer to retirement age than others (including me, before you ask!).  Nevertheless, it does herald some big changes for us as a couple and as a family.

Not least of these will be the impact of losing a (rather decent) salary.  For the first time since we've been together, I'll have the dubious honour of becoming the main breadwinner.  In the past, the Husband has taken on this role several times:  when I was a student, again when we decided I'd be a stay at home mum and then when I subsequently returned to work on a very part time basis. And despite a few, shall we say, tight situations along the way, we always managed.   So now it's my turn.

A starting point has been trying to work out a budget (anyone reading this who knows me will be on the floor howling with laughter at this point) and this means I'm going to try have to curb my tendency (who am I kidding, it's a downright passion, my raison d'etre) to shop, to spend, to continuously splash out.  Now, I'm not expecting to have to resort to moving to a yurt and making soup from other people's vegetable peelings, but restraint will be the order of the day which probably won't always be easy but hey, needs must and it's a challenge I'm up for.  So, please pass on any tips and who knows?  This might turn into one of those blogs devoted to thrift and frugality.  But maybe you shouldn't hold your breath!

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  * 

Of course, there were cupcakes for the Husband's last day at work and the photograph is of what was sitting on top of his cupcake.  The resemblance is, er,  uncanny!   No, not really.  This is more a glimpse into the future.  About a year into retirement, maybe?

The weekend starts here

 

 

Friday.

5:30 p.m.

Starbucks.

Dark Berry Mocha Frappuccino.

 Lemon and Poppyseed Muffin.

Mmmm.

* * * * * * * * * * * *

Enjoy your weekend, whenever and wherever it starts.

 

Ringing in the new

   

2008 was one of those memorable years for us, the kind you never forget because of significant events, and so it was good to ring in the new year.  Throughout the day, I've thought about following tradition and making some resolutions - the usual vague ones like eating more healthily, making better use of my time, reading the classics, generally being a nicer person - but I've decided not to.  Instead, 2009 will be the year I don't set myself any personal goals, plan to make any lifestyle changes or set out to turn over a new leaf.  So, I'll just go where the music takes me.  And see where I end up.  Happy New Year to you all.

Happy weekend

Thought for the day:

                     There aren't enough days in the weekend

                                                                         (Roy Schmidt)

Or in other words, so much to do, so little time.  I mean, it's Saturday afternoon already.  There is the bonus of an extra hour when the clocks go back, so I must make sure I don't waste that!  There will be no time for cupcake making this weekend.  And even if there was I couldn't bake as we are currently sans oven.  Well, sans everything really as the kitchen is in the process of being completely remodelled. But more of that another time.  So I'll leave you with some of the 150 cupcakes I made a few weeks ago to celebrate a christening.  Yes, you did read that right.  ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY!

 

   

All ears

                                    

I've spent the last three days focused on using my ears.  Listening.  To a lot of people with a lot to say.  At the end of the three days I was exhausted, even though I'd been mostly just sitting, trying to concentrate on what people wanted me to hear and understand.  And I realised that listening, really listening, isn't easy. 

We're so adept at doing several things at once that it's become second nature to only half-listen. How often do you find yourself occupied in a task - maybe in the kitchen, at the computer, in the office - or you're engrossed in a TV programme or book and someone - a child, a spouse, a parent -  starts talking to you?  You don't give them your full attention and only half hear what's being said.  How many times do you mutter agreement, only to have to ask "What did you just say?"  Have you continued doing something whilst someone talks to you on the phone?  And do you ever half listen because you're actually thinking about what you're going to say once the other person eventually shuts up?   I 'm guilty of all of these.  Yet we all have a need to be heard.  And be properly listened to. 

So, I'm aiming to get better at using my ears and really listening.  Because....

 "The most basic and powerful way to connect to another person is to listen.Just listen. Perhaps the most important thing we ever give each other is our attention.  (Rachel Naomi Remen)

And, after all,

"Your ears will never get you in trouble".  (Frank Tyger)