May has the wonderful thing known as TWO Bank Holiday weekends, plus I took a day off mid-month. That means that this month has had no less than THREE four-day weeks. Two have been used for house "stuff" and the one-with-leave was for a much-needed collapse break. I'm also hoping that this month will be good for my weight loss. I've finally started losing again, and with the current heat (I die over about 20°C) my appetite is going too. Long may that continue!!
I've also been trying to get a better handle on both my executive dysfunction (ExD) and brain fog. For the latter, I consciously have been cutting out gluten as much as possible. I'm not coeliac in any form that I'm aware of, but I do seem to have some difficulty digesting a lot of bready products. I've been only eating GF bread this month, and I'm definitely feeling more alert. My theory is that because my body isn't using extra spoons digesting something "difficult", it is freeing that up for me to use elsewhere. I've also just been informed by the doctor that I'm Vitamin D Insufficient. That's not as bad as being deficient, but they've still recommended supplementing my intake and getting outside in daylight more. I've only been taking the pills since Saturday, so we shall see what effect they have, if any...
For ExD, I'm using some tips from a few ADHD people. While I don't have an ADHD diagnosis, my ASD symptoms overlap a lot, so I've found it beneficial to take advice from both communities. The main bit of advice I am trying to incorporate is the idea of looking at problems (the example given was forgetting to put rubbish straight into the bin) and then trying to "fix" the issue by forcing yourself to be neurotypical, i.e. trying harder and harder to remember to use the bin. Instead, you look at the problem and find the root cause - in this case, the bin is in a location that's not near where the rubbish is being generated. When you identify the root cause (and not the "because I'm crap" variant of Root Cause), you look for a practical solution to the problem. In the example given, the bin in that room wasn't in a bad place for some tasks, so needed to remain where it was, but the narrator went and bought other bins to be close to each refuse-generating site. This principle is proving really revealing for me - instead of berating myself internally for being crap at achieving things in the "correct" way, I am now trying to force myself to consider new ways around problems. I now have two separate bins in my room - one for paper/card, and another for actual rubbish. This makes it far easier to control the mess I create!
The last part of the above process was one I hope to start working on in June. Under this process, you make a note of areas where your ExD gets in the way across a week (or longer) and then at the end of the period you look at the specific issues and seek solutions to those. The idea is that it can help identify the actual issues that are causing the issue (like "can't find paired socks easily" or "keep falling over X") and then look for a solution to that.
Last thing for May into June, is that my parents are hoping (Plague permitting) to come up and visit for a few days during June. This is going to affect my plans for June accordingly, as I need to have certain parts of the house truly clean by the time Mum arrives!
Completed in May
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Crafting
This month I've done a lot of planning, and shopping, but less doing.
Bought - some wool (for a sarafan), some cotton print (?Regency dress?), some not-silk (for a bonnet covering), and a small amount of cotton to line the wool. I also picked up some trimmings because SALE!
Made - I've mostly been planning my Sarafan Project*, which has involved figuring out elements of the outfit, and then planning and making pattern shapes.
Drafted - sarafan
Pattern pieces - pincushion (to represent the Doll in the Vasilissa story) Baking
My baking plans were for the second bank holiday weekend, but that proved to be too nice and sunny to spend in the kitchen! Oops-
House stuff
House stuff has been mostly yet more box clearing runs, and selected deep cleaning.- Bathroom wall tiles steam cleaned
- Bathroom floor steam cleaned AND scrubbed
- Bathroom window and sill steam cleaned
- Loo window and sill steam cleaned
Yes, I love my steam cleaner!! - Bought and built a cabinet for underneath the sink, a box to store cleaners in the loo, and a wire basket for bath/shower stuff
- Cleared most of the junk off the windowsill and put away in the new cupboard
- Found all the various cleaning bottles and put in the box - I apparently own FOUR half-used bottles of Cif...
- Cleared the windowsill in our bedroom of crap - this job is one to continue this week, so is only partially a May completion
- Put some books on display on my windowsill
- I'm not sure I'm happy with this, so I want to look into a way to put up some bookshelves in here. The Ginger One isn't confident putting up shelves, so I've either got to find the spoons to do it myself, or find another way to store them. I know what I'd like to do, but I don't know if I can do it. I want to add a single shelf all the way around, going over the top of the door, and above the window. The main negative of that would be finding a way to keep them clean, so mulling this over for a few weeks. - Arranged and put away fabric
This might seem like a small task, but I apparently have a lot more than I thought! In the process of sorting various boxes, I found some long lengths of red wool (used in the coat I wore at my wedding), tons of scraps of the silk from my wedding dress, and about 1x10m of nice black velvet! I now need to buy mothballs or lavender to ensure they remain in good condition!
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Books
I seem to have unintentionally focused on the same authors this month. I'm also in the middle of listening to the audiobook of FrankKISSStein, but I've not quite finished it so I'll log it for next month. I've also read another chunk of Who Fears Death, but not quite finished it in time for May.- If at First You Don't Succeed, Try, Try Again by Zen Cho
- The Angel of Khan el-Khalili by P. Djèli Clark
- Head of a Snake, Tail of a Dragon by Zen Cho
- A Dead Djinn in Cairo by P. Djèli Clark
June Plans
Crafting
Challenge inspiration: ~Sumer is icumen in~
- Victorian / Edwardian walking outfit
- Edwardian Hat - sunhat!
- Hat decorations - floral probably
- Parasol - if I have the budget space to buy a frame and fabric
Other stuff
Baking
- Finish off bread mix - either bake or dispose of
- "Christmas" cake
- Variation on Cupcake Jemma's Healthy-ish breakfast muffins
Books
- FranKISSStein - bookgroup book for June
- Who Fears Death - finish
- The Fifth Season - finish
- Into the London Fog - finish
- The House of Aunts - short story
- The Perseverance of Angela's Past Life - short story
- Chicken Chicken Bang Bang - short story
- A Death in the Family - Secret Readers
Draft Plans for 2021 forwards
- Hats
- Regency
- 1890s/Edwardian
- Fan-skirt
- Wool blend
- 100% wool
- Stays
- Breast cups work - adaptation from D cup to my more copious HH/J cup size
- Mock-up
Because needed for Regency dress mock-up - Buy wooden busk
- Final version
- Edwardian blouse / shirtwaist
- Mock up
- Final
- 1818 Dress
- Petticoat
- Mock-up
- Final
- Decoration
- American Duchess cape, but with a hood
- 1890s men's three piece suit
- 1830s men's three piece suit
- 1950s dress(es)
- Circle skirt
- Princess Charlotte's Russian Dress
- Cycling shorts (modern, padded)
- Cycling trousers (historical, to accommodate modern PADDED underneath)
