Trying to slow down

I've decided it's time to try and slow down at work and attempt to concentrate on my own workload,  not someone else's on top. I'm also going back to my regular hours. I know I'm only doing an extra 3 hours a week but it's created a mindset that makes me feel I've agreed to take on -  and must complete - a much bigger workload and I need to constantly go like the clappers to get it done. It also makes the managers think everything is okay because I'm doing extra and therefore, the job is getting done. Well it isn't okay and the job isn't getting done and it isn't doing me any good at all! In the past three months I've done an extra 24 hours. That's all. My colleague who is off sick works 24 hours a week. I don't stand a chance...

I walked into town at lunchtime one day this week and I could see my colleague Emma just up ahead and I thought "oh, there's Emma - I'll walk into town with her". I opened my mouth to call out her name so I could catch up but in that split second my mind went blank and I couldn't actually remember her name... Even when I caught up, I still couldn't remember what it was...
I also think about almost nothing but work these days and boy, do the days fly by! I hardly ever make time to see friends, or even get in touch with them and when the weekend appears out of nowhere, I feel completely unprepared for it and end up doing very little, rather than making the most of it.
So I think maybe I'm getting a bit too stressed! And maybe it's time to at least try and put myself first and slow down. Just a bit.

So I started the weekend with a trip out to Romsey with a friend so she could pick up her daughter's fabulous birthday cake.(Sorry, I don't have a photo.) Remember Emma? Well, she's just turned 7 and it was her I had been making the cushion for.
And she LOVED it! Apparently, the colours on the second side - the one I made up the pattern as I went along - were very similar to the Stripey Blanket I made for her 4th birthday (click the link in the side bar). Her Mum had suggested she'd like some bits and pieces for card making too, which she also loved and dashed off to start making everyone a Thank You card! Here's mine. She's very good at art. And reading. And writing...
Such simple pleasures really do lift the spirits.

The sky was surprisingly blue this morning, so I popped out for a very short walk at Woodmill while it lasted. Which wasn't long! The photo below doesn't actually do justice to the sunlight the tree was bathed in. And the buds on the little bush were the colour of lavender. The photo, also, does not do justice to them. They really did stand out as being fat mauve buds in the sunshine. Ah well. At least my phone still takes photos. It's 8 years old now. For a phone, that's ancient!

   

I din't walk very far. Just to the little stone bridge at Mansbridge and back. There's some lovely lichen that grows on the bridge -

Shame I didn't have my camera with me - my macro lens could have got up really close to all the wrinkles and creases in the lichen. Another day perhaps.

There was quite a cold wind blowing and going back it was behind me - I was quite glad my cost had a hood I could put up! Especially when it started to spit with rain.

And finally for now, I took the little Pocket Love hearts to work on Friday and put a flyer about them in some of the pigeon holes. And I finally remembered to measure them - they're 3cm or 1 1/4 " at their widest point. I made about two dozen of them in the end. 

I'd carry on making them as they're quite enjoyable - another simple pleasure of gentle hand stitching - but I think I'll wait and see now if anyone is actually interested in buying them first. I'm anticipating a repeat of the Christmas Fayre! I'll let you know next week...