JJJ 20/1/26 - Unspoken

Today’s prompt is brought to us by Maggie. Thank you, Maggie! You can find her blog HERE.

Your prompt for JusJoJan January 20th, 2026 is “unspoken.” Use it any way you’d like. Enjoy!

And if you want to find out more about this challenge and see who else is taking part, our host the lovely Linda can be found HERE.

Well I'm using this post to jump on the bandwagon of looking back on where I was 10 years ago, i.e. 2016.

2015 hadn't been a great year.  It was the year I left my job and lots of things were left unspoken with regard to that.  But I was looking forward to 2016.  Turning over a new page etc.....

It seems a long time ago now but thankfully my blog helped me fill in some blanks.

We didn't have a great start to the year as my MIL fell while staying with us and broke her hip.  A hip replacement operation was done and although initially she seemed ok, unfortunately while in hospital she began to decline and unfortunately passed away on 22nd January at the age of 87.  It was a very sad time for the whole extended family.

We also had 2 new babies in the extended family by that time but one of them, Poppy, became very ill.  It was a worrying time but eventually she was diagnosed with a rare genetic condition and gradually began to improve.  10 years on and most people wouldn't realise she has this lifelong condition although it does still affect what she can and can't eat but she is such a lovely bubbly girl.  A joy to be around.

In April I had what was defined as a minor surgical procedure but the recovery was a very painful few weeks. Thankfully by then I was doing a lot of blogging.  I'd signed up for the annual A-Z challenge which involved visiting lots of London stations.  I'd also started joining in with Susanne's Fridays Fave Five and I was blogging regularly about the weekly news.  Now I don't even want to watch the news!

Our youngest son and his wife moved in with us so that they could save for their own place.  I think they'd planned for a year but we had them for about 18 months in the end but they were easy to have around the house.

Hubby went from full time work to part time (3 days per week).  Having him around for an extra couple of days took some getting used to! (Not really, well maybe a little.)

Our daughter turned 30 in May and we celebrated with all of us going away for a weekend together which was lovely.  We had a chef come one evening to cook a meal for us and we tried out clay pigeon shooting which was actually fun.

Then in June the unthinkable happened - the UK voted to leave the European Union.  That was definitely a tricky time and we're still getting over the fallout from that decision.  Yes I voted to remain.

There were a couple of funerals during the year.  One was a long time friend who died at the age of 50 following a heart attack. That was a bit of a reminder of how life can be short and we have to make the most of it.  (And yet still my cup is usually half empty.)

Things looked up by the end of the year though - our eldest son got married in the August, meaning all 3 of our children were married and by Christmas we knew we were going to be grandparents in 2017.

We saw all of the kids on Christmas Day and we were definitely looking forward to 2017.

JJJ - 19/1/26 - Consistency

Our prompt today is courtesy of running enthusiast Warren. Thank you, Warren! You can find his blog HERE and our host Linda's blog HERE.

Your prompt for JusJoJan January 19th, 2026 is “consistency.” Use it any way you’d like. Enjoy!

Well that's an appropriate word for me because I am definitely trying to find some consistency in my blogging and of course the Just Jot it January challenge is great for kicking off the year to a good start.

Trouble is I probably say something along those lines every year and then things start to slip.  Well I guess that's consistency.

Looking at my stats I did post more in 2025 than in previous years but not as much as my best year which was 2020 with a total of 245 posts.  Hmm I wonder why that year was so good.  Oh yes, we stayed home, a lot! 

JJJ - 18/1/26 - Organ

Our prompt for January 18th is brought to us by the lovely Kaye. Thank you, Kaye! You can find her blog HERE.

Your prompt for JusJoJan January 18th, 2026 is “organ.” Use it any way you’d like. Have fun!

Well I'm just doing a jot today.  My first thought when I saw the prompt was musical instrument so I'm going to link you to Liverpool Cathedral's website here where you can find out about the biggest organ in the UK.

There's even a link where you can hear it.  Enjoy.

Weekly Photos - 11th - 17th January 2026

Sunday we had dinner at my daughter's and enjoyed the company of the grandkids. I did try to join in with this video game but was quickly
exhausted! (It involves copying the dance moves of the characters on the screen.)

Monday I made a banana loaf - a big chunk got sent round to the Grandkids - they love it.

This was a freebie from the Foodbank - it arrived on Monday but it was use by Monday so we couldn't give it out at the Tuesday session and it didn't freeze so Hubby and I risked it on our fish for dinner on Tuesday and it was yummy!

Wednesday involved a trip back to our old borough of Newham to meet up with former work colleagues.  This is the view as you come out from the station and head towards the original shopping centre.

Thursday was another busy day at the Foodbank.

Another freebie from the Foodbank on the left - highly inedible but Granddaughter Ella will enjoy this next Christmas!

On the right is the map showing where I went for lunch on Friday - Cafe Casa in Chingford which was really nice.  I went with the Highams Park lunch group which I'm enjoying being part of but I'll be taking Hubby there at some point.

And this was yesterday - our knitting group did a sale at a local library.
We had a lot more yarn when we started but the first hour (11-12) was really busy.  There wasn't much left at the end and we raised £600 for charity. (MacMillan and the Foodbank.)

And finally, this was also yesterday. (Saturday) It will be 10 years since my MIL passed away on the 22nd of this month so some of us got together yesterday at the social club we're members of to raise a toast to her.  It was mainly Hubby's siblings and partners but there were a few nieces and nephews there too and a great niece.  It was nice to be able to catch up with everyone.

#SoCS & JJJ - 17/1/26 - Favourite Saying

Your prompt for #JusJoJan the 17th and Stream of Consciousness Saturday is: “favourite saying.” Use it any way you’d like. Enjoy!

Soooo SoCS posts are supposed to be done without planning or forward thinking.  It's almost 10.30 pm as I'm starting this and I'm not sure my brain is even capable of thinking right now.  I've made myself a cup of tea which I may live to regret later (although it is decaf) and I'm trying to think of a favourite phrase.

Hmmmmm not coming up with much.  It's been a busy day, well a busy week right now and I think I'm all talked out.  Today I helped out at a yarn sale organised by the knitting group I attend.  We made about £600 which is being split between two good causes, one of which is the foodbank I volunteer at so that was good.

After that I had a brief bit of time at home when I managed to finish one of my book clubs read "Five Quarters of the Orange" by Joanne Harris.  (She of Chocolat fame.)  Pondering over how to review that one.

But then we were off to a get together with most of Hubby's siblings to raise a glass to his Mum who died 10 years ago at the end of the month.  That was a nice event.  It also coincided with one of his sister's birthdays (on Monday) so we had something nice to celebrate too.

But still not coming up with a favourite saying.  Although I do seem to remember that "time for bed" was a favourite when the kids were young and I was looking forward to sitting down and relaxing after a day of parenting.  And now it's "time for bed" for me.  

#SoCS and Just Jot it January are hosted by Linda HERE.

Check out her blog for all the details etc.

Friday's Fave Five - 16/1/26

It's Friday so time to look back on the blessings of the week and blog about them here and then share with other like minded bloggers on our host Susanne's site HERE.

1. Another sociable week.  On Sunday our daughter and daughter-in-law invited us to dinner so it was nice to catch up with them and the Grandkids.  I tried this but after a couple of songs I was worn out lol.

Image of grandchildren playing a video game

2. Tuesday I got back to my keep fit class and had coffee with friends afterwards. It was good to be doing some exercise after the Christmas break.

3.  Wednesday I caught up with a couple of friends I used to work with.  One of them has not long completed treatment for cancer and she's looking well.

4.  Today the local lunch group met up here for lunch.

It's a really nice cafe in Chingford and judging by how busy it was it's clearly popular and doing well.  Thankfully we had booked in advance as they were turning people away.

5.  Some admin tasks dealt with - the boiler was serviced on Wednesday and the car passed its annual MOT test today.

So a busy week, with a couple of Foodbank sessions in there too but I've also managed to keep up with blogging and did some knitting and reading and I made a Banana Loaf which the grandkids love.

I'd like to say I can spend the weekend catching up on chores and laundry but the weekend's looking pretty busy too.  Housework is so overrated lol.

Have a good weekend all.

JJJ - 16/1/26 - Philosophy

It’s January 16th, and time for the 16th daily prompt for Just Jot it January 2026. Our prompt today is brought to us by the spectacular Sadje. Thank you, Sadje! You can find her blog HERE. As always to find out more about the challenge visit our lovely host Linda's blog HERE.

Your prompt for JusJoJan January 16th, 2026 is “philosophy.” Use it any way you’d like. Have fun!

I feel like I should be writing a deep and meaningful post for this prompt but my philosophy for this evening is to kick off my shoes, snuggle down on the sofa with a glass of wine and the latest episode of The Traitors.

JJJ - 15/1/26 - Symbiotic

Time for the the daily prompt for Just Jot it January 2026. Our 15th prompt is brought to us by Sally. Thank you, Sally! You can find her blog  HERE.  To find out more about Just Jot it January hosted by the lovely Linda go HERE.

Your prompt for JusJoJan January 15th, 2026 is “symbiotic.” Use it any way you’d like. Have fun!

Well I was pretty sure I knew what symbiotic means but just to be on the safe side I checked:

1. involving interaction between two different organisms living in close physical association.

   "the fungi form symbiotic associations with the roots of plant species"

   • denoting a mutually beneficial relationship between different people or groups.

     "the reader can have a symbiotic relationship with the writer"
2. 
   

Well I think I have a symbiotic relationship with my husband.  We are definitely two different organisms.  He's an extrovert, I'm an introvert.  He loves music.  I like to be in the house on my own with no noise at all.  There must be something mutually beneficial going on though as we've been married for nearly 42 years.

Wednesday Hodgepodge - 14/1/26

Joyce provides the questions, we provide the answers and then we link up here to share.  Thanks Joyce.

1. What kind of winter person are you-snow lover, fireplace snuggler, winter adventurer, or indoor hibernator? Elaborate. 

Well I'm more of an indoor hibernator than anything else.  We don't have an open fireplace so no snuggling there for me.  I'll be snuggling under a blanket if it's really cold.  Which it has been.  I do like to get out for a walk when I can though but I'm not that adventurous and I do not love snow!  It's ok walking around the lake if there's been snow but in the UK just an inch or two of snow and everything grinds to a halt.

2. The Pantone color of the year is cloud dancer, described as a gentle, billowy off white shade. The color symbolizes 'peace, clarity, quiet reflection, renewal, and a soft reset'. Of the terms just listed which do you need most in your life this winter? 

Probably a soft reset.  The Christmas period was busy and routines went out of the window and I'm struggling a bit to get back into my normal routines.  And I'm also struggling to understand why we need so many shades of white lol.

3. Every cloud has a silver lining, on cloud nine, head in the clouds, storm clouds gathering, or cloud of suspicion...which 'cloud' idiom do you most relate to currently? Explain. 

Probably head in the clouds.  I do tend to hibernate a little bit in the winter.

4. coconut, cauliflower, cottage cheese, mayonnaise, onions, ranch dressing...of the white foods listed, which would be the hardest for you to give up? Do you like all or any of the foods on the list? 

onions - we put them in so many things but mayonnaise would be hard too.  Coconut and cottage cheese would be the easiest to give up as I don't eat them to start with.

5. Thomas Wentworth Higginson is credited with this quote-

"How many lessons of faith and beauty we should lose, if there were no winter in our year." 

Agree or disagree? Tell us why. 

I agree.  There are definitely some beautiful things to be seen in winter but sometimes when a winter is really hard you need the faith that spring will come.

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

Note to self - check the decking outside the back door isn't icy before stepping out on it when it's frosty!  

Yep I nearly fell over this morning.  Fortunately no harm done.  It was wet yesterday but overnight the temperature really dropped so the water on the decking had turned to a sheet of ice which I wasn't prepared for.

JJJ - 13/1/25 - Rubbish

Today’s prompt is brought to us by Di. Thank you, Di! You can find her blog HERE.

Your prompt for JusJoJan January 13th, 2026 is “rubbish.” Use it any way you’d like. Have fun!

And if you want to find out more about the challenge and see who'd taking part you can visit our host Linda's blog HERE.

Well this is good timing because today is our rubbish collection day.

We don't have quite as many bins as this but we do now have 4 bins.

A large green wheelie bin for all our recycling - paper, glass, cans, plastic it all goes in the same bin.

Then we have a large black one for general waste.

There is also a medium sized brown wheelie bin for garden waste and then there is a smaller brown caddy for food waste.

That's all quite straightforward.

But...since they introduced the food waste bins they have only been collecting general waste and garden waste fortnightly.  Not on the same week of course.  So you need to remember is it:

Green & black wheelie bins plus the food waste caddy OR

Green & brown wheelie bins plus the food waste caddy

Of course I could make my life easier and just leave all the bins at the front of the house but that makes it tricky to get 2 cars on the front so the bins live in the back garden and then we put them out the night before collection day.  God forbid you don't have them on the edge of your property by 6am in the morning.  It used to be fine doing it when we got up as the bins were never emptied until the afternoon but now the food waste does get emptied about 6.30 am most weeks.

I have a reminder system in place to make sure we get the right bins out but our neighbour opposite doesn't seem to have got the hang of the new system yet but their work around is to put ALL the bins out EVERY week.  (It's only been running for about 9 months now.)

Thankfully the threatened strike by refuse collectors before Christmas was called off otherwise the foxes would have been in heaven with all the rubbish piling up and the rats would also have been thriving.

Anyway I'll have to end this scintillating post about rubbish now as I need to go and put the bins away!

JJJ - 12/1/26 - Chewy

Our 12th prompt of the year is courtesy of the lovely Liz. Thank you, Liz! You can visit her blog Here to read her posts and say hello. And if you want to take part of find out more about the Just Jot it January challenge go HERE to our host Linda's site.

Your prompt for JusJoJan January 12th, 2026 is “chewy.” Use it any way you’d like. Enjoy!

Well I tend to avoid anything too chewy.  At the moment I still have all my own teeth and I'd like to keep it that way!

I must admit to having a bit of a phobia about going to the dentist.  I was filling in a survey earlier that was actually about our GP service but contained a couple of questions about dental care.  One of which was when did you last visit a dentist.  Hmm that was very embarrassing.  I'm not going to say just how long it is but wayyyyy toooo long.

It is on my to do list for this month to get sorted but as the saying goes - if it's not broke......

My one big fear though is of breaking a tooth.  One front tooth suffered that fate thanks to a piece of french bread and now consists of almost as much filling as there is tooth.  Hence the avoidance of chewy stuff!

Weekly Photos 5th - 10th January 2026

Anyone eagle eyed enough to spot that the date range is only 6 days?

I've decided that I will try to do this post on a Sunday so the photos will be from the previous Sunday through to Saturday.  Well that's the plan.

Last Sunday's photo was posted in the first of these posts so starting at Top left this was taken on Monday when I was tidying up and I came across these under the guest bed.  They belong to my DIL.  I often get left with a souvenir or two when they've stayed.

The other 3 photos on the left were taken on my walk around the lake on Tuesday - the poor birds were all congregating in two patches of the lake that hadn't frozen over.

The centre photo was also taken on Tuesday - I like this idea.

Top right was the puzzle I completed on Wednesday.

Next down was Thursday's Wordle puzzle which I managed to do in 2!  Lucky with my first guess of SLATE.

Celebrations anyone?  We're almost through all our Christmas treats but were still eating these on Friday.

One down, 51 to go.  This is my first book completed this year.  I've blogged a review here.  My opinion* on that book - don't bother.

There I've even slotted in the daily prompt* for the Just Jot it January prompt which today was provided by John who blogs here.  If you're a music lover you should pop over and say hello.

#SoCS & JJJ - 10/1/26 - Don't get me started....

Thanks as always to Linda for hosting this - find her blog, all the rules and other participants here.

Your prompt for #JusJoJan the 10th and Stream of Consciousness Saturday is: “don’t get me started.” Use the phrase in your post or just write about the first thing it conjures in your mind. Use it any way you’d like. Enjoy!

Well I was going to say actually you DO need to get me started because I feel like I've been quite lazy this week.  It's been quite a social week and so I've slipped behind with chores at home and I haven't felt particularly motivated on that front.

But actually I'm going to rant about our water company.  In the centre of our little area of London there is a train station which is very convenient for us.  But this means the trains run straight through our town and there is a level crossing right in the middle of town.  We live on one side of it, Tesco our big supermarket is on the other.

This doesn't usually cause major problems, unless the barriers get stuck which is actually only a problem for cars as there is a subway pedestrians can still use.  It can be annoying if you arrive in your car at the crossing just as the barriers are going down but they're not usually down for long and then you're on your way.

Or not as it was today because....just the other side of the barrier there is a burst water pipe and so the road that leads to the supermarket is closed.  We can drive across the crossing but then we have to go left and there is no way back to the supermarket.  (There is a much longer route there via the next crossing under the railway but it seems part of that road may be blocked - by another burst water pipe.)

These burst pipes are popping up all over the place.  The very cold snap of weather we had last week has not helped.

But the bigger problem is the underinvestment in the infrastructure. And that's because Thames Water (the provider of our water services) is a Private Limited Company!  It was privatised by a Conservative Government in 1989.  As such it needs to make profits for its owners.

It's hardly rocket science to see that this is not going to benefit the consumer.  When the company was privatised it was debt free and has since run up debts running into BILLIONS.

The infrastructure was in need of major upgrades and they are working on that, slowly but in the meantime leaks keep appearing everywhere and our bills keep going up.

I really cannot understand why utilities are not owned by the Government.  They are essential services and require investment.  They should not be lining the pockets of investors, many of which are overseas!

Unfortunately when I sent Hubby off in the car armed with a shopping list today I had forgotten about the road closure.  He was not happy when he got back.  He had to park in a nearby side street and take a long detour to get home again.  Fortunately he wasn't doing a huge shop so he was able to carry it back to the car ok.  He was not happy though!

Right rant over.  It's time for bed here in London.

Don't get me started on anything else.

2026 Book Review #1 - The Power by Naomi Alderman

The Power by Naomi Alderman
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

'She throws her head back and pushes her chest forward and lets go a huge blast right into the centre of his body. The rivulets and streams of red scarring run across his chest and up around his throat. She'd put her hand on his heart and stopped him dead.'

Suddenly - tomorrow or the day after - girls find that with a flick of their fingers, they can inflict agonizing pain and even death. With this single twist, the four lives at the heart of Naomi Alderman's extraordinary, visceral novel are utterly transformed, and we look at the world in an entirely new light.

What if the power to hurt were in women's hands?

Well..... I'm finding it hard to rate this book. The premise of it is simple. Imagine a world where woman, due to some sort of pollution in water, suddenly develop "Skeins" a structure within their bodies that enables them to discharge electricity, to lethal levels. The Power.

There is an exchange between the supposed "author" of a historical work, (Neil) and his friend Naomi before and after the main content of the book which suggests that they are now 5000 years on from the "Cataclysm" that resulted from women gaining The Power and the main part of the book is Neil's version of what happened.

So far so good. But....the events describing what actually happen are told through several POVs and none of the characters are particularly likeable. The slide into warfare between men and women is described graphically. There is a male rape scene that is especially gruesome and graphically described. There is also a storyline that follows one character who takes on the role of a female God. It's disjointed.

The author seems to be wanting to show that having the power and being able to turn the tables on men is not necessarily a good thing.

The exchanges between Neil and Naomi suggest that women are now in control but things are more balanced but there is no real explanation of what happened after the Cataclysm and how things have progressed to where they are and what the world looks like with women no longer inferior to men.

The idea that women could gain power in this way is an interesting one but writing a book on how that would pan out was not very well executed in my opinion. This was a book club choice. I'm sure it will provoke debate.

View all my reviews

Fridays Fave Five - 9/1/26

Still going with the snowflakes - it's been cold again this week and we had a dusting of snow on Tuesday and the lake was frozen over.

Fortunately it didn't amount to much and we've had plenty of rain since washing it away!

It's Friday already so time to look back on the week and find the good things and then hop over to Susanne's blog where like minded bloggers share their lists.  Thanks Susanne for hosting and keeping us all on track.

1)  All my Christmas decorations, tree etc are down and put away until next year.  

2)  Several social events this week - a daytime book group meeting on Wednesday, plus a Knit and Natter session in the evening and then a coffee meet up this morning with another group set up through the library.  This one is for people who are retired or available during the day to meet up for coffee or lunch, very much on an ad hoc basis.  It's been a good way of meeting new people.

3)  I had a phone call from my eldest brother earlier with the good news that he is now in remission from his cancer.  This means he's been put on a maintenance regime with regard to treatment which is less aggressive.  Hopefully that will keep him in remission.

4)  I've managed to blog everyday so far in January and I'm enjoying being back in the swing of it.

5)  Unexpected help at the Foodbank yesterday.  We were short of a few regular volunteers and I was in the stockroom on my own initially dealing with a large delivery but then one of the main Tuesday organisers turned up with "I can spare you an hour".  Well that hour turned into 2 and between us we managed to get the delivery sorted and the stock room ready for the shut down procedure at the end of the session.  It was still hard work though!

Have a good weekend all.

JJJ - 9/1/26 - Celebrate

Well having been described as Wonderful by our Just Jot it January host Linda I'd best get this post done as the prompt was chosen by me.

You can find out what the Just Jot it January challenge is all about and how to join in etc. here.

We had a lot to celebrate in 2025.

3 of the nieces and nephews in Hubby's extended family got married.  We attended 2 of those weddings and many of the younger generation made the trip to Italy for the 3rd.  All the brides looked radiant and everyone had good times.

We also celebrated some golden oldies - my Hubby, one of my cousins and another cousin's husband all turned 70 this year and we spent a few days away with all of them in September near Gloucester.

Our French brother-in-law turned 70 towards the end of 2024 but his celebration was delayed until the summer of 2025 so that we could all get together in France with his family too and make use of his large garden - it would never have worked in the winter inside the house!

We also welcomed 2 babies into the extended family and I wouldn't be surprised if 2026 brings more baby news but we will have to wait and see.

And my favourite celebration:

An empty Celebrations box!

The Galaxy Caramel!

JJJ - 8/1/26 - Stumble

Your prompt for JusJoJan January 8th, 2026 is “stumble.” Use it any way you’d like. Enjoy!

This prompt was provided by Lou who blogs here and the challenge is hosted by Linda who blogs here.

These days I try very hard not to stumble.  Falls at my age could be quite disastrous.  I do not want any broken bones or to be trapped in a boot or worse still plaster cast.

It's surprising that I don't have more falls as I'm not good at looking at what's on the ground and likely to trip me up.  One of my worst falls was due to this - I was carrying a basket of washing and didn't notice my grandson's push along trike on the ground and went flying over it.

Thankfully no real damage was done but you'd think it would be a lesson for me.  After all I used to be responsible for Health and Safety in a school so I know all about risk assessing and trip hazards etc. etc. etc.  Oh no.  I nearly fell over backwards at the food bank today having navigated my way around a crate of food that was on the floor to get something from a shelf.  I backed up and nearly fell over the crate which I knew was there, I'd put it there and I'd just moved around it and then promptly forgot it was there!  That's the sort of thing I do!

Anyway I managed to get home today in one piece.  Long may that continue!

Wednesday Hodgepodge - 7/1/26

Joyce provides the questions, we provide the answers and then we join up here.  Join the party.

1. What are three words you would use to describe your 2025? 

Joyful

Satisfying

Peaceful

2. I ask this question every January, and I always get comments about how we shouldn't be banning words. This is fun and games so just play along : ) 

Every January 1st since 1976 Lake Superior University has published a list of words they'd like to see banished from the Queen's English. Words may be banished due to misuse, overuse, or just general uselessness (go here to read about how the words are chosen). Here's the list for 2026- 

67 • demure • cooked • massive • incentivize • full stop • perfect • gift/gifted  • my bad • reach out 

Which one (if any) do you use most often? Which one of these words/phrases would you most like to see banished from everyday speech and why? Is there a word you think should have made the list? 

Well obviously I would use cooked and I do sometimes find full stop creeping in and I use things like perfect, massive and gift/gifted in the appropriate context.

I'd definitely like to see 67, incentivize and my bad banished.  Can't think of any words I would add to the list right now but I'm sure there are some.

3. What are your nightly rituals? Is that different from your 'ideal' nightly ritual? If so what's your ideal? 

So my ideal nightly ritual would involve a skincare routine that looked after my aging skin. Doesn't often happen.

4. January 6th is/was National Bean Day. Do you like beans? Which one is your favourite? Last thing you ate made with beans? 

I'm not mad about beans.  The ones I eat most often are baked beans in tomato sauce.  Which I probably had with breakfast at the weekend.

5. Are you easily embarrassed? Elaborate. 

I am soooo easy to embarrass and I hate it.  

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

I had lots of good intentions of doing a lot of chores this week as in back to normality after the Christmas break.  I'm not doing well on that front but I have been blogging every day and today I finished this:

Jigsaw of a Fantasy Bookshop - 1000 pieces.

I started it way before Christmas so I was determined to get it finished.  Now I just have to stop myself from starting another one just yet.  But I have taken all the Christmas stuff down and it's away in the loft until next year!

And this definitely counts as a huge jot for the Just Jot it January challenge.

JJJ - 6/1/26 - Intentional

Today is day 6 of our Just Jot it January 2026 prompts—almost a week’s worth already! Our word of the day is courtesy of our very own delightful Dan. Thank you, Dan! Please be sure to visit Dan’s blog to read his posts and say hello. And follow him while you’re there if you’re not already.

Your prompt for JusJoJan January 6th, 2026 is “intentional.” Use it any way you’d like. Have fun!

Hmm Intentional would be a good word of the year for me.  I'm full of good intentions.  Just not so great at carrying them out.

Yesterday was going to be the fresh start of the year.  I know it was already the 5th of January but the time between Christmas and New Year is always down time and then of course you have to start afresh on the first day of a week i.e. Monday.

Well the week did not get off to a great start - getting out of bed proved difficult.  It's really cold here at the moment - we even had a very light dusting of snow earlier.  Anyway:

Get up and start straightening out the house V staying in a nice warm bed?

Well the bed won, for a while at least.

Our daughter arrived to WA(P)H (Work at parents home) and we also got a request to have our grandson for a while in the afternoon. So reluctantly I got myself up and sorted.

But.... I cut myself some slack.  I did get all the Christmas decorations, tree etc down and boxed up ready to go back in the loft.

I did go and collect our grandson and have him here for the afternoon.

I have stripped all the guest beds and washed the bedding.

I did go and collect a food donation from one of the nearby supermarkets and I did do my volunteering stint at the Foodbank last night.

Not totally unproductive just not as productive as I could have been or indeed intended to be.

I think I'm going to frame this Christmas card we received:

It reads:

Hug

Love yourself

Stretch

Volunteer

Walk More

Bake a cake

Smile and be kind

Be less angry

Breathe deeply

Feed the birds

Enjoy the simple things

Be more mindful

Read a good book

Live in the moment

Visit a museum - have a cuppa in the cafe

Do something creative: draw, sew, paint, knit, sing, craft

Write someone a letter

Send a postcard

Turn off your phone

Spend time outdoors

Count your blessings ever day

and overall In 2026 take time to live well.

A great list of things to be intentional about that actually aren't that difficult.  Even I should be able to manage them!