Just Jot it January - 4/1/24 - Captivating

Today's prompt for Just Jot it January is "Captivating" - chosen by ME!  If you've no idea what Just Jot it January is all about go here to find out more.  Thanks to Linda our host.

Captivating - holding your attention by being extremely interesting, exciting, pleasant, or attractive:

Well I make no secret of the fact that I find my Grandchildren captivating and I love it when they're captivated by me - especially when I'm reading to them.

But there are other things that I find myself captivated by - the birds and squirrels in the garden for starters.  I can watch them for ages, especially the birds establishing their pecking order.  We had a fox in the garden a few days ago which also caught my attention.

Similarly the wildlife on my lakeside walks - interesting to watch the interaction between the pair of swans and their cygnets this time of year as they start to persuade force the offspring to find a new home.

I definitely find books captivating too - easy to while away an hour or two (or more) if I'm into a good thriller or mystery.  And that transfers to the TV too - if I find a good series to watch I'm likely to binge watch.  The joy of being retired! 

I don't find music as captivating, certainly not as much as my Hubby does.  He would probably have music on all the time when he isn't watching TV or making his own music on the guitar.  That's not something that captivates me either.

Challenges can be captivating too - e.g. I love doing the Just Jot it January challenge and the April A-Z challenge for blogging and I definitely like doing puzzles.  Reading challenges keep me busy too.

What captivates you?

Just Jot it January - 3/1/24 - One Liner Wednesday

No prompt for the Just Jot it January challenge as it's Wednesday when Linda usually hosts "One Liner Wednesday" the rules for which are:

1. Make it one sentence.

2. Try to make it either funny or inspirational.

3. Use our unique tag #1linerWeds.

4. Add our lovely badge to your post for extra exposure!

5. Have fun!

Here goes:

I was babysitting Granddaughter Ella today.

Not particularly funny or inspirational but I had a good time.

Just Jot it January - 2/1/24 - Gregorian

Day 2 and I'm still here!

Go here to find out more about the challenge which is hosted by Linda and here to visit Willow's blog who provided today's prompt - Gregorian.

Well, according to Google, Gregorian relates to Pope Gregory, yep he's the one who gave us the Gregorian calendar except he wasn't #1 he was #X111.  

Of course checking anything out on Google tends to lead you down a rabbit hole especially if you take the turn to WIKI.  There've been lots of Popes including 16 Gregorys although the most common name to date is John, twenty three of those.  You could forgive the next Johns for using 2 names to stand out from the crowd, oh except they both chose the same 2nd name!  (John Paul) Or maybe it was because John Paul 1 only served for 33 days and they wanted continuity.

But that's not the shortest term.  Pope Stephen or currently just Stephen died 3 days after being elected in 752 and never received episcopal consecration.  Subsequently he was included in the list in the 16th Century but in 1961 he was removed and is no longer considered a Pope. 

Hmm not sure I started out with the intention of a History lesson.  Talking of intentions I did not manage a walk today.  The weather has been atrocious thanks to Storm Henk!  Lots of rain on and off all day and very windy.  Still we got off lightly here - some areas are totally flooded.  

However, I was active for big chunks of the day.  All my Christmas decorations are down.  My lounge is almost back to how it usually is.  The floor is clean too and all the lovely playmats have had a wash too.

This photo was taken a while ago but we still have the playmats in place - when all the grandchildren are here they come into their own but they do get grubby, especially with my son's dog here over Christmas and rainy weather.  When the kids are all a bit older we plan to get rugs.

I've also been tackling the washing created by running a hotel having all the family here at Christmas.  Lots of towels and bedding to get through.

There might be a window of dry weather for a walk tomorrow but I'm babysitting Granddaughter Ella during the day so it might have to wait until the evening.  It's Knit & Natter time tomorrow evening.  Hmm might be tricky fitting a blog in - thankfully tomorrow is One Liner Wednesday.  Less waffle needed!

Just Jot it January - 1/1/24 - Train

It's that time again.  Just Jot it January is hosted by Linda here.

The plan is to post a blog every day following the prompts listed on Linda's site.  You will also find the rules there although to be honest anything written counts as a Jot!

Today's prompt is Train.

Well I need to train myself to blog more regularly.  Discounting January and April 2023 when I was completing challenges (Just Jot it January and The A-Z Challenge) my average number of monthly posts last year was 5.9.  Pretty pathetic.  A report card would say "Could do better!"

In other news I did manage a 30 minute walk in the rain today.  Another habit I'm trying to resurrect.