The last few weeks have been full of uncertainty in terms of my future, which I think, on balance, has been good for me. I’m getting stuck in to the process of exploring what I might do, taking initiative and being proactive, whilst accepting that anything could happen. I’m reading a great book at the moment by Shauna Niequist – Cold Tangerines: Celebrating the Extraordinary Nature of Everyday Life – and just read a chapter which she called ‘Writing in Pencil’. She describes how she always had such definite plans for her life, but things always turned out a little different – not in a bad way but in a beautiful way. I love her suggestion that we should treat our plans for our lives a little like pencilling something in – with flexibility and a willingness to embrace changes to what we expected.

In the meantime, it’s the Small Things that are keeping me content and secure whilst my situation is unpredictable. Here are some of the things I’ve been enjoying recently…

Eating homemade parsnip crisps, Love Hearts and Tiger bread.

Appreciating blue sky and warm sunshine.

Crunching puddles of ice.

Reading Cold Tangerines by Shauna Niequist, as mentioned above. It’s a gem of a book and she has a real gift for writing.

Wearing old dresses – it’s so much fun to ‘shop’ from your own wardrobe, choosing things you haven’t worn in a while and making them new.

Enjoying the smell of freshly washed sheets.

Watching The Grand Budapest Hotel, which was so much fun to watch and really heart-warming, and now I want to read the book.

Writing LOTS of job applications. I used a free Goal Setting Workbook resource from Ruth Soukup to get me started on working out my goals and priorities, and now I’m on a mission, applying, applying, applying.

Trying to get healthy amid a month of family parties. So far this week my tactics have involved lots of salad jazzed up with avocado, cupasoups, chocolate topped rice cakes and brisk walks in the fresh air.

Waiting for the bulbs in our garden to flower.

Refinding How to Steal a Million, which is definitely in my top 5 favourite films 🙂 I think it’s one of Audrey Hepburn’s best performances, though I love so many of her films.

Feeling revitalised after a brisk walk on the coast path just before the rain set in. We could see the rain sweep across from Lundy and got back to the car just as the first few drops caught up with us.

Longing for Lundy as I looked out to sea from Codden Hill and Baggy Point.

Looking through some sweet family photos taken at my sister-in-law’s birthday on Saturday.

What have your Small Things been this week?

This week, I have indulged in uploading LOTS of photos, because they came out so bright and uplifting. Hope you like them 🙂