Busy Doing Nothing

As it is half-term (and almost the end of it), we have spent the week doing very little.  Nothing exciting, nothing amazing, just pottering and letting the mood take us.  H1, being 14, has suddenly grown about a foot in the last fortnight and consequently outgrown all of his clothes.  We had planned to go into town and buy more this morning; not a pleasure I was looking forward to in any shape or form, but something that had to be done.  

I woke this morning with the beginnings of a stiff neck and bad headache.  The reason for this?  I had company in my bed last night in the form of H2, who said he couldn't sleep in his own bed, but gave no reason for it.  As he was already half asleep and snuggled up with his teddies and several pillows too many, I didn't have the heart to drag him back to his own bed, so instead I spent the night sleeping fitfully, waking periodically with a small bear-like paw tucked into my hand and was either too hot, due to his close proximity or too cold due to him stealing all the covers.  He finally de-camped just before seven, and I decided to snatch a few more minutes before getting up myself.
Two hours later, I heard the dogs clattering their claws on the kitchen floor and flew out of bed to be greeted with an aching back and a banging headache.  So much for my selfless deed of last night.

So anyway, I didn't really want to go into town by this time, and jobs were piling up in the house and calling for attention, so we have stayed at home, cleaned, baked and walked.

The cake tins are now healthier than they were and the cottage is, if not gleaming, then at least respectably clean.  The boys both had homework and have, typically, left it until almost the last minute.  They both have work-avoidance tactics, possibly picked up from me.  H1 drifts about looking for pencils and rulers while H2 finds his way into the kitchen, mooches about looking in the fridge and then wanders off to see if the post has been.  Finally he ran out of things to put off doing homework for and settled down to it.

 I was happily baking raspberry buns with the radio on which was punctuated every few moments by H2 yelling a maths question to me from the table in the lounge.  After answering once or twice (at great brain strain, I might add), I pulled myself up and asked why the heck was I trying to answer maths questions when it wasn't my homework?  I have enough to do, thank you very much, and I am not about to make my gorgeous 10 year old a lazy slob who can't even be bothered to think for himself.  I gave him a piece of paper, told him how to work it out and left him to it.  I heard not a whisper from then on, so I have no idea if he has finished or not.  And at this moment, I don't care.  Helping those we love sometimes means leaving them to sort it out for themselves.  It gives them independence and gives us a break.  Every body's happy.

Soon after, cabin fever struck so we all trooped outside for a breath of fresh air and a change of scenery.  H2 amused himself by collecting dandelion clocks and helping nature share the seed across the countryside.  There is something rather delightful in these soft, downy orbs.  The seeds cling to their central pincushion, waiting for a breath of air to tug them free and send them floating far and wide.

Pea made a bow from a blade of grass and she and H1 scared the cows by blowing through thick grass held taught between finger and thumbs.

Even though Spring is a good five weeks late, the hedgerows and verges are thick with cow parsley, bluebells, red campions and buttercups.  The greenery is singing out and all is lush and fresh.

According to the charismatic Chris Packham on Springwatch this week, the jet stream is currently stuck over the south of England, when it should by now be much further up.  Consequently, we are still suffering with cold winds and air temperatures coming from Russia and Scandinavia.  What we want is for it to move somewhere above Iceland, thus giving us a warm and sunny summer.  Until that moment comes though, we just have to make the best of what we get and hope that we can carry on doing not much at all.

I hope you find the time to do nothing today.  Thank you for reading. xxx