The summer break is here, and it’s that lovely time when anything seems possible, and I have endless possibilities of things that I could/should/hope to do during the holidays. It’s a time to get organised with practical but necessary stuff; medical/dental appointments, banking and other bits of chores and housekeeping. It’s a chance to reflect on the past year at work and to plan, prepare and refocus ready for the new school year. Aside from these things are all the other things that I enjoy and now have proper time for. I love spending time walking the dogs, and yesterday incorporated a trip to North Yorkshire with walking a few miles across the moors with Wilf. I will be walking both dogs each day, and at this time of year I like to get in the car to take them to different fields and forests. As well as daily walks, I mentioned briefly in my last post that I have recently started running, and as my legs and feet are now feeling stronger, I’m looking forward to continuing to develop my technique and timing over the next few weeks. I’m currently working on running 35 minutes, and will probably do another one before I up it to 40 minutes (I’ve learnt from leaping from 5k to 10k and am now trying out increasing in smaller increments).

It’s a good few weeks since I sewed anything; I’m completely out of the swing of it and need to pick a project to ease my way back in. Running and watching what I eat has meant I’m a little slimmer so I know the first thing to do is to take new measurements, so I can evaluate the sizing of any patterns I choose. I have tonnes of fabric, plenty of patterns, and now time is on my side there really should be no stopping me. The other things I enjoy but often neglect during term time are reading, cooking and blogging, and of course catching up with some of my favourite people. So here’s my plan: to try and fit at least one of the things I love into every day, to make sure no day is wasted – though I’m all for unstructured time and binge watching TV box sets, obviously. If each day I can include at least one – ideally two – of my favourite activities, then I believe it will help me feel both productive and relaxed. So whether it’s walking, running, sewing, reading, blogging or baking, or any combination of those, I’ll be happier, fitter and ultimately will feel like I’m making the most of the holidays.