I am probably one of the only people in Britian that actually welcomes this first day of winter.  To gain an extra hour is a luxury beyond belief.  To make sure I don't waste my extra hour, I keep it till later in the day.  To spend the extra hour in bed would have been an unnecessary indulgence so I made sure I got up the same time as I would any Sunday.  After going through all the normal routine chores it was already 1 pm and time to prepare some lunch.  But instead, I turned the clock back to 12 noon  - just enough time to go to the gym and be back in time for lunch.  It is absolutely unknown for me to get to the gym at the weekend so, although this wasn't exactly a treat it was an achievement and I hope a productive use of time.  From this point on, of course, I will thoroughly dislike the dark nights but I really would love an extra hour every day.

I started this blog at the beginning of the year to report on my resolution of managing my time so that I can actually get more done.  Three quarters of the way through the year and I have to say it is not going well.  I just seem to gain more and more things to do in the same amount of time.  I keep reading that we babyboomers are having the time of our life - loads of money to spend, winding down on the work front and enjoying a leisurely lifestyle.  Travelling the world and all that!

Well it's not happening here.  Not that I am complaining but it seems that I have more and more work to do as time goes on.  I really do like to be busy so that is welcome.  But I am truly a member of the so called 'sandwich generation' - having responsibility for the welfare of a parent as well as still supporting an adult child.  Again I am not complaining and I feel it is my responsibility to look after ...

I have just glanced at a blog I wrote back in April and find it hard to believe.  I was complaining away - at the first sign of the glorious summer I was anticipating - about all the extra chores the summer brings.  Well I have certainly got my just desserts.  No extra tasks to complain about - in fact all I can complain about is the weather.

I don't need to paint my toenails because it is not sandal weather, ditto the summer clothes that need me to put fake tan on my arms and areas of exposed skin.  Hanging out the washing is not a drag because I am still finding the tumble dryer the only way to get the laundry dry.  As for the garden, not only does it not need watering but I haven't been out there for weeks.  So no need to clean the garden furniture, sweep the patio or tidy the flowerbeds. 

I it ever does stop raining, cutting the lawn will be a major task as it ...

Haven't had much to say for a while as I simply haen't had time and things are about to get even more critical.  Tomorrow my daughter is returning to the nest after being away at uiversity for four years.  I have missed her desperately and it still moves me to tears to think how said I have felt when I have had to say goodbye to her so many times.  But the prospect of her cominig back home for the foreseeable future is really quite scary. 

She will be missing her uni friends and the fun life that she has grown used to.  It is going to be difficult for her to pick up on her old social life here and to have to adapt to the disciplines of living as part of a family again.  She also has the daunting task of finding a job, at which so far, all her attempts have been unsuccessful. 

I have got used to a house where everything is where I lfe I left it.  When my da ...

For some-one who is always time poor, like me, the NHS is not a good experience.  So taking my mother to one of her regular hospital check-ups yesterday was, as always, a stressful   She attends one of the London teaching hospitals and I would be the first to applaud its medical excellence -its just the general inefficiency that goes with it that drives me mad.

We managed to get across London to be in good time for a 9.30 appointment  The receptionist didn't arrive until about 9.35 and by the time she and her assistants had sorted out the records the appointments were already running late.  Mum's consultant, probably for good reason, also didn't appear until nearly 10 a.m.  Combine all this with some double booking, lost notes and appointments running well over the allocated time and we had a wait of an hour and a half. This is not unusual - it's sometimes worse.

By yesterday evening, I felt the need to lie down in a darkened room. My mother has been staying for the weekend!  Now I must preface this with the statement that I love my Mother dearly and then there is a big but.  She is turning into Nana from the Royle family.  As I mentioned last week, she is declining physically and mentally - although she is only in her seventies and still believes she is very active.  She has always been amazingly helpful when she comes to stay but now she is a major liability.  While I was cooking lunch she was dithering around in the kitchen, getting under my feet, she insisted on doing some ironing and broke the iron and then left the freezer door open and I didn't notice.   I finally persuaded her to sit still in the kitchen while I cooked and she eventually agreed.  Unfortunately, I was a captive audience for a lady who has always loved to talk and could now be a national champion.&nbs ...

It has occurred to me that another reason I have less time as I get older is that I can no longer ask my parents or my in-laws for help.  When they used to babysit our children they would also happily help out with the gardening, ironing, decorating or whatever needed to be done.  They were all absolutely amazing.  If I said I needed help they just used to appear on the doorstep. Sadly now only my Mum is left and in the past couple of years she increasingly absorbs a lot of my time.

She was diagnosed with a progressive illness some years back and until recently she has carried on as normal helped by a liberal amount of medication.  In recent months I have noticed a mental and physical decline which means I am becoming more involved in helping her to cope with day to day living.

Of course, I am more than happy to do this.  But as she lives an hour's drive away and we also have ...

Barbara's comment on one of my earlier ramblings has, I am afraid, triggered another blog on the subject.  She asked me wether my partner could possibly help me.  She also suggested I get a window cleaner - the subject of window cleaning will need to be addressed separately.

When it comes to help from my husband I am afraid that his Mother trained him in domestic chores very badly and I have continued her bad work.  When we were first married, not wishing to nag as my Mother had always done, I obediently cleared away the mess he left in his wake. Now I am afraid, not only is he not a new man, he is an old man and far to set in his ways to suddenly take on half (or even a tenth) of the domestic chores.

When we started out we divided our labour along the lines of him looking after the car and the finances while I did everything in the house.  I took on the finances when we nearly had the gas cut ...

After causing mayhem and disruption in my life this past week, my daughter has returned to university.  I have now collected all my possessions (the DVD player, crockery, make up, clothes etc.) from her room and should now be appreciating the return of a sense of order.  Yet I found it as difficult saying goodbye to her today as the very first time I took her to uni.  Returning home, the sight of her empty bedroom makes me feel so bereft that I close the door.  Of course, I will get over it and life will return to normal in a day or so.  All will jog along quite happily till the next time she is home and leaves again.  I think this is one of the most difficult periods of parenting.  Living with adult children is not easy  but neither is letting them go. Looking  back on those days when they were young it all seems so easy!

Although I am enjoying this glorious early summer sun I find that the moment the weather warms up my workload increases.  For example, before I could think about putting on my flip flops yesterday, I had to paint my toe nails and I will have to pay regular attention to my feet from now on.  Pedicures didn't feature when I could hide my feet in a pair of boots. Applying fake tan will also have to be fitted into the routine, as will applying the Factor 15 when I step outside the door I have got to swap my winter wardrobe for the summer gear that I have stored away in the spare room which is always a major exercise. And guess what, when I got took a look at it yesterday I couldn't find anything I liked to wear - so there's a shopping trip to schedule in.

However, personal maintenance pales into insignificance when compared with the regular tasks that will now need to be done in the house and garden.  The gard ...

I really do forget how disruptive life is with a twenty something in the house. I had been planning to cook a casserole for dinner when my daughter announced that she would be meeting friends in London.  She needed to leave by 8pm and we were not planning to eat until at least 8.30 to 9pm  Having forgotten her erratic social arrangements I no longer had a supply of convenience foods in the fridge or freezer.  The only food I was able to provide for her was a couple of soft boiled eggs and soldiers!  Then I felt really guilty that she went out without having had a proper meal.

Despite four years at uni, I still worry desperately about her staying out and can never sleep before I hear her key in the lock whatever the hour.  I was relieved, therefore, when she said she would be staying with a friend.

At about 3 am we were suddenly awoken by the telephone.  It was a mixture of r ...

I've been rather smug of late and have convinced myself that having become reliably punctual that all my time issues are solved. 

Entertaining friends to dinner last night has shown me that I still have a way to go when it comes to getting my timing right.  For some reason I think preparing a meal takes about a third of the time that is actually needed.  I was in the kitchen by six, to prepare and cook a three course meal for six people arriving at eight.

That was ambitious enough and it certainly didn't take into account all those little things that didn't go according to plan. Like the vegetables still tasting uncooked after the required amount of time in the oven or the cheese cake collapsing dramatically when I removed it from the baking tin or getting the lid stuck on the food processor when I was preparing breadcrumbs.  Still my rather hungry dinner guests all very goo ...

My daughter arriving home for the long Easter weekend has shown me that my house is not quite as disorganised as I had thought.  After just two days I am realising that I usually live in a state of  comparative tidiness and order.

I hadn't quite finished cleaning her room when she phoned to be picked up from the station.  I thought I would hoover the carpet when I got back.  No need.  After she had been home just ten minutes I couldn't see the carpet for discarded clothes.

There are no longer any neatly folded towels in the bathroom.  Just a soggy pile and a few more draped over bannisters and bedroom furniture.  Crockery which is suddenty in short supply in the kitchen can now be found in her room, along with the piles of unwashed clothing.

And when I look in the bathroom cupboard where my make up is always kept, there's just ...

Although I love this time of year, I find this particular week very stressful as the extra hour of daylight has taken an hour out of one of my days and it sets my to do list back weeks.  I should, of course, have put the clock forward an hour before going to bed but I didn't.  And, as usual, I languished under the duvet reading the Sunday papers.  Getting up late is bad enough but then realising that it's actually an hour later is a nightmare.

I spent the rest of the day trying to catch up and eventually admitted defeat when we started eating dinner after 10 p.m.  That meant a fairly late night and a reluctance to wake up this morning and so it goes on.  By the end of the week, I will be operating in the same time zone as everyone else.

My punctuality is getting excellent (well normal anyway).  What I really need to concentrate on now is time management.  I need to clear some more time if I am going to be more productive. 

One thing that is making me increasingly annoyed is when other people and organisations have absolutely no regard for my time.  For example, yesterday I went to my GP for a routine check and she wanted me to go for a blood test to check my cholesterol.  My heart sank as past experience has taught me that waiting for a blood test is a long process.

Arriving at the hospital at the time suggested by my GP (about 3 o'clock as this is the quietest time) I find the queue is snaking out of the door.  What is worse - much worse - is when I try to take the ticket from the machine for my turn and I see a sign saying  'No more tickets being issued today - come back tomorrow).  'Goi ...

Well saved a lot of time over the weekend as I shoe-horned myself into that dress and avoided any last minute shopping trip.  Can't say it was a comfortable experience and breathing wasn't an option but I managed.

Socially life has been so busy that I am honing my new found punctuality skills.  Was ready on Saturday night with a good fifteen minutes to spare before the cab arrived. Admittedly I felt I was wasting time pacing up and down waitng but it beats the usual scenario of the cab turning up early and me not even being dressed.

We are out for the next few evenings which means a much shorter working day and that's helping me to sort out the priorities of what needs to be done. I tend to schedule loads of things into my day and usually run out of time.  Today, when I know I only have a few hours to get stuff done, I could really see that I was being over ambitious. 

Time and organisational wise, life is much improved.  I have arrived on time for all my classes, meetings and appointments for a couple of weeks now.  I am beginning to quite enjoy the relaxed feeling of driving somewhere knowing I have time to spare. I hadn't realised how I was always cursing traffic lights and jams.  Now I am on time it doesn't matter.

What does matter, and is going to throw everything into chaos is that my lbd for the dinner at the weekend is proving very difficult to get in to.  I had a trial run yesterday and, even, with husband's help it was impossible to zip up.  Will try again tonight but not. sure what will have changed. I don't think a massive diet would help - my body shape seems to be changing.  I think I am turning into the incredible hunk.  Middle age is a very disconcerting time.  I thought I knew my body parts down to the last detail.  I ...

At last a piece of disorganisational serendipity - although I have to say it doesn't quite equate to Fleming and the discovery of Penicillin.  I rushed out yesterday to get another of those forgotten items from the oh so efficient weekly shopping list to find that Sainsbury's were selling off some electrical stuff left over from Christmas at ridiculous prices.  I got an amazing super steam iron (someone had mentioned how good they were on the forum here) at a discount of about £50.

Equally amazing, when I got home my husband, who I didn't think would even recognise an iron, immediately wanted to know what was in the box.  Before I knew it the iron was set up and steaming away on the ironing board.  He actually drew the line at trying it out (that could be a dangerous precedent) but eagerly hovered while I ironed a shirt or two.  Well in fact, it was so efficient I got rather carried away and ironed stuff that ...

Considering the number of people I entertained over the weekend I feel that everthing is in remarkably good order.  I am finding the weekly shopping list really efficient but my husband disagrees because I have so far forgotten one or two things.  Yesterday was a case in point when I found I needed some french bread so telephoned by daughter to ask her to buy some on her way.  I then kept phoning her with a succession of things I needed even as she was walking around the supermarket.  By the time she arrived she had a couple of bags of groceries.   I almost got away with the frozen desserts I had bought, but stupidly I did not destroy the evidence and one guest saw the packaging in the bin.  That wasn't so bad but she felt compelled to share the information with everyone else.  Oh well, they tasted good anyway!

The VAT return is done and my accounting records are up to date.  The ...

Just when I thought it was all going so well I manage to sabotage myself.  Everything is on track and making final preparations for lunch for 16 tomorrow (not 12 as I had thought).  Went to the supermarket this morning to get the food in for tomorrow and the rest of the week to find that my credit card was not in my purse.  Fortunately my husband was with me so he could use his card but my timetable from that point was really thrown out of gear.

I went home and checked and double checked my bag, my car, every room in the house, the rubbish bins and pockets of clothes I was wearing yesterday.  I then telephoned Sainsbury's where I had last used it on Friday and I never could get through to customer services.  A guy there promised to call me back but never did.  I finally had to admit defeat and report the card as lost as I was worried that someone could well be enjoying a shopping spree on my credit.

Still doing ok.  Got to an appointment fifty miles out of town with time to spare, despite parking being a real problem.  I nearly sabotaged myself though.  One time saving device - painting nails in bed before going to sleep last night - didn't work.  I must have put them under the duvet before they dried and my nails looked like the moon's surface when I woke up.  It took all my restraint not to strip them off and start again.  I had to persuade myself that it was more important to arrive on time than with perfect nails (which no-one else would notice). I had not realised before how much time is lost through my preoccupation with appearance.

All is pretty much on course, but I am sure it will all go pear shaped tomorrow.  I have a lunch for twelve on Sunday and don't even know what I am going to feed them, let alone shop for it.  I always start off with intentions to p ...

Everything in the study is tidy and it makes me feel so much more in control.  I have dealt with my post and I arrived at both my meetings in plenty of time and with all the papers I needed.

Called in at the shops on the way home and resisted the temptation to buy a glossy magazine that offered me the only strategy I will ever need to be organised.  Part of my strategy to be organised is not to buy magazines. At last have managed to buy a gold chain on which to hang my glasses.  This could potentially save me hours a week.  Very often they are perched on my head and I forget they are there and still search for them.

I have made good progress with my accounts.  If there's anything that can sort out my priorities it's Inland Revenue and the VAT office.  I  am paranoid about filing returns on time in case a delay puts my company in line for a tax inspection.  N ...

Last night the chaos had reached such a point that I decided instead of sitting down with a glass of wine, I might find it more stress reducing to get control of my office.  I spent a couple of hours sorting out the stacks of papers and at last can see the carpet again and my desk is clear.

I filled a couple of recycling boxes with old newspapers, catalogues, magazines and junk mail.  They had all been kept to be read when 'I had the time' which of course never happened.  I chucked out loads of Sunday colour supplements, Christmas recipes, review of exhibitions that I never got round to seeing and loads of other stuff whose significance has long since passed.

The rule from now on is not to buy any magazines - I don't have the time to read them and I can find most information I need on the internet.  I will not tear out recipes from newspapers/magazines unless I try them out within a day or two ...

The Monday morning weight check shows no improvement and the tape measure is clearly showing an extra inch around my waist.  I am going to an event in a couple of weeks and I have only one very expensive little black dress that will do for the occasion. That's the problem it is a little black dress and there's no room for that extra inch.  I will go to the pilates class at my gym today but I am now looking for a miracle.

I am quite accomplished at leaving the house on time now, and I arrive in the gym car park with ten minutes to spare.  As I get out of my car, I see class mates picking up speed as they wave at me.  They think they must be late if I have arrived!  When I walked into the gym reception, I cleared the entire coffee lounge in seconds as each of the women glanced at me, grabbed their exercise mats  and almost ran to the pilates studio - obviously thinking t ...

I read in the Sunday Times this morning that a woman called Judith O'Reilly  has just been paid a £70,000 advance by a publisher for her blog which is basically lamenting about her move to the North of England, her children and her ageing parents.  And she's only been blogging for six weeks.

Perhaps I could hit the big time here, if I get a bit more expansive and add some interest to the content of this blog.  Would introducing a selection of my mother's malapropisms help?  I don't think I could be persuaded by even a million pounds to say I hate my children but I probably could stretch a point and whinge about my husband.   I am sure he won't mind if he gets a cut of the profits.  Perhaps I will just continue with the theme which I definitely have in common with Judith - my life is disorganised and my house is a bloody mess!

Also in the Sunday Times today, is a ...

Today I have gone into melt down.  The tip about value added makes sense and I will try to assess what I am doing in that context.  Starting with today,its quite simple -  nothing  I have done has moved me any nearer to my goals. 

My own fault, I got up late yet again.  I was awake at six, but as usual couldn't be parted from my duvet and got up a couple of hours later.  Perhaps the six o'clock wake up call is God's way of helping out or at least reminding me that I am not yet retired.

My husband has an appointment at the hospital today for a bit of mnor surgery and it suddenly occurred to me that he may need  me to drive him back.  He agreed that would be a good idea and so I now have another commitment this afternoon.  I really don't mind at all, but I am not sure how I am going to fit this in with the other ...

I am delighted to be able to report that my punctuality is improving.  Arrived fifteen minutes early for a meeting this morning.  That is a record.  The 'leaving the house drill' might seem daft but it works.  Laying my clothes out ready to wear the night before saves all the time I fritter away on indecisiveness and last minute repairs.  Also being focused on leaving on time rather than multi-tasking helps enormously.  Most of all, facing my fear of wasting time through being early is producing the best results.

Anway enough smugness.  My productivity for the rest of the day was hopeless. I nearly didn't get out on time because I couldn't find the papers I needed for my meeting.  They were at the bottom of a mountain of papers, magazines and other clutter.  I ran out of potatoes and had to go shopping yet again - so the weekly shopping list needs to be a bit more comprehensive.& ...

Didn't make an early start and so haven't made up any lost ground.  Did get up early enough and was disciplined enough to get out of the house on time.  Had an appoinment in London and allowed bags of time.  Even enough time for the train to be cancelled - which it was.  Then I got to Victoria and there was a security alert and the tube was suspended and we were told to use alternative means to get to our destination.  Generally  don't use buses so didn't know where to go. Decided to get a taxi and, of course, as everyone else had the same idea I couldn't get one.  Started to walk and eventually finished up walking all the way to my meeting at St James's.   I don't go to London often but when I do, I always seem to have a problem with the transport.  And this is the city that plans to host the Olympics.    Needless to say I was late for my meeting - which was infuriating.&am ...

If I wake up at seven then I stay awake.  If I wake up at 6.40 like ths morning I go back to sleep again and then don't wake up till 8.  Brilliant start and then compounded by the fact that I spent the next half an hour complaining to my husband about how much I have got to do.  I am knee deep in paper in my office and I am horrified to find that some of my accounts records haven't been updated since Christmas.  I discovered at breakfast that we are fresh out of raisins - a situation that I cannot live with.  So after the shopping routine on Saturday, I still forgot something essential!  Take myself off to the supermarket for raisins but, of course, discover loads of things I need while I am there - like a duvet, some pillows and an iron (well they are having an amazing sale).  This has now turned into a major shopping trip.  Decide to blast a bit more time away by calling in at the gym on the way back.  Time ...

Thank you for your interesting comments.  I am glad to find a soul mate on the carrier bags.  I went out shopping with my husband on Saturday and insisted we take carrier bags with us. He hates this and feels its penny pinching. In fact, when I am not watching he will throw carrier bags away.  This is so wasteful - never mind about what it's doing to the planet.  So I was quite pleased that I didn't acquire any more carrier bags on Saturday, just to add to the rest of my clutter.

Today, I haven't done so well.  I was wide awake at five o'clock and, if I could have hauled myself out of bed then I would have got the day off to a brilliant start.  Why is it that I just couldn't do that - choosing instead to toss and turn for a couple of hours.  Of course, I fell asleep at about 6.30 and then overslept till 8. Always a good start to the week.

I had gained another pound t ...