I don’t often write about my work here, mainly since a large purpose of this blog, for me, is to give me an outlet to write about other things. But I thought I should give it a little space, at least. I did write a draft post entitled ‘How My PhD Is Going’, thinking it Read More…
Author: Jennifer
Autumn Plans
Autumn came in quite abruptly at the start of September, and this weekend is the official first day of autumn. I always have mixed feelings about this season. On the one hand, like many people I certainly love the changing colours, the excuse to start baking, and, yes, a seasonal Starbucks latte. Those blustery days Read More…
Charity Shopping
I’ve already posted about my recent plan to try my hand at refashioning clothes from charity shops, both for the creative satisfaction but also as a thrifty way of adding to my wardrobe. Of course, much of this goes back to my discussion, much earlier in the year, about finding ways to save money. As Read More…
Timed Tidying
One problem I routinely encounter, working at home, is something I can’t remember reading about anywhere in all those blogs about work-at-home productivity. This is the problem that, when I’m trying to work at home, any sort of mess at home bothers me much more than it otherwise would. I never like waking up to a Read More…
Methods of Work
One trick I learned early on in my master’s degree, both from experience and from the advice of others, was to treat my degree like a nine-to-five job. That is, I would set certain working hours for the day and they would form the default framework for when I started and stopped working. I’ve sometimes Read More…
Make Do and Mend
One trend I’ve noticed in recent years is that of ‘refashioning’ clothes (or ‘restyling’). This is different from simply altering clothes which don’t fit, but usually involves making some significant style changes to the garment as well. If you start looking online, you’ll find dozens of blogs chronicling the transformation of old tops, sweaters and Read More…
Applesauce
A while ago, I found some Kilner home canning jars on sale and bought six of them. I then resolved to lie in wait for the apple season to start and see if I could obtain some inexpensive apples to make applesauce. I had begun to contemplate which weekend to buy my apples when, serendipitously, Read More…
How Worry Becomes Anxiety
I’ve usually thought of worry as a normal thing for most people at some point, and a more frequent occurrence for people who would be considered ‘worriers’. I differentiated that from anxiety, which seemed a more chronic condition allied to depression and panic, and required more serious addressing like counselling, behavioural changes, or medication. And Read More…
Some Thoughts on DIY and Natural Beauty
I started this post at 9:30 last night, when I had just cleaned up from making coconut oil moisturiser and hair oil, with all the oily measuring spoons soaking in baking soda. I have, perhaps inevitably, drifted into the DIY beauty trend for homemade lotions, lip balms, and acne remedies.
Six Months
Today marks six months that we’ve been married. (Don’t worry, I’m not spending our six-month anniversary writing this. I wrote it in advance!) I thought, when we got married, that by this time I’d have some profound thoughts to offer, some deeply nuanced reflections – you know, ‘this journey’, ‘this wonderful adventure’, etc. To my Read More…