Bonus Day.

The worst storm of the winter blew in last night. I lay in bed in the early hours listening to the wind howling through the trees. Scotland had the worst of it but even here in the South West we had gusts up to 80mph with roads blocked by fallen trees and flooding. Fortunately I had a bonus day at home. For some reason, even though my diary shows an inset day for tomorrow, I had got it into my head that we had to go in for 'tidying up' today. Luckily I contacted a couple of my work colleagues yesterday who put me straight. Even so, Peter has gone back to work and I needed to get into an organised mode. I get so annoyed with myself if I get to the end of a day and feel that I have achieved nothing so I make LISTS. Even if I don't get to the end of the list being able to cross off each task makes me feel really motivated and I can see at the end of the day how much I have achieved. This saves me from leaving those little jobs for days, weeks or even months which is a real possibility with me. I have gone back to writing my lists in a notebook, that way I can plan ahead for the next day instead of simply writing my list on the whiteboard in the kitchen.

Something else I found worked really well for me was a tip I found on a blog a while ago. This is good when your time is limited and there are jobs which are boring or daunting. It is to simply resolve to spend 10 mins a day doing that job. The sneaky thing is that after 10 mins you quite often feel able to spend a little longer at the task. And if 10 mins is all you can spare then at the end of the week you have spent an hour on the job and probably done something you never thought you had time for. For me it was housework when I was teaching full-time and then having school work to do in the evening. 10 mins was enough to hoover a room, do some ironing etc and by the end of the week I wasn't faced with mess and a load of housework to do. (Please note I am not obsessively tidy as anyone who visits will know.)
I got through my list of jobs today which included some outdoor jobs. With all this rain the gutters and my various dams needed checking. It was much drier in the afternoon and I was able to weed and tidy up a small scree bed. More leaves will no doubt be blown on to the stones but the weeds and moss have been banished to the waste ground. Indoors I did some sewing and got into a recycling mood. I wanted to extend the straps on a small backpack we use on our walks so I cut off the straps from a worn out big back pack that is beyond repair. Then I thought the zips from that might come in useful so I unpicked the 2 main zips and saved some clips as well. Finally I started putting a new lining into a small shoulder bag that I am very fond of. I have had it so long the plastic coating on the inside of the fabric is all flaking off so I am lining the inside with some nylon scrap material to give the bag a new life.
I heard on the news today that the UNESCO has designated North Devon a Biosphere Reserve which means that the natural environment here is one of the top 500 places in the world. Wow! The Biosphere extends from Lundy, across the whole of this area (Exmoor) and down to the top of Dartmoor.

Photo from yesterday of the buoy that was washed up on Woolacombe beach.

AN Irish “visitor” caused a stir on Monday when it was discovered washed up on Woolacombe beach.
The large buoy, part of Ireland’s marine weather buoy network, had broken free and drifted some 270 miles. It is normally chained to the seabed off the Emerald Isle south west coast and collects a range of data for weather and marine observation, including wave height, sea temperature, wind speed and direction.
Its owners, the Marine Institute in Ireland, told the Gazette they had lost contact with the M3 weather buoy more than three weeks ago.
“The buoy was torn from its mooring during severe weather on December 10, when it ceased transmitting,” a spokesperson said.
A wave buoy was washed up on the beach at Woolacombe on Monday morning.
“Following efforts to re-establish communication, a radio navigational warning was issued. Nothing was found until Monday when the Argos system on the buoy began reporting positional information from Woolacombe Beach.”
A technician is travelling from Galway to assess the damage and the Marine Institute is working with Swansea Coastguard and beach owner Parkin Estates to recover the buoy.
The Irish Weather Buoy Network is funded by the Irish Government and run by the Institute in collaboration with Met Eireann and the UK Met Office.
It has taken a battering recently, with waves of eight to 10 metres plus a giant of 20.4 metres recorded on December 13.

(Article from the North Devon Gazette. )