6 things that my life would be too hard without...

What 6 things would life be too hard without? I like doing these sort of lists, and I have been thinking about ATO Mum’s since she posted it up a few days ago. I had the opportunity to crystalise my thoughts on the drive to my parents this weekend, particularly this afternoon as the rain lashed down and I was trying to use mind over matter to crowd out the sounds from the backseat and/or Rolling in the Deep for what must have been the 37^th time (I mean, I like Adele as much as the next person – assuming the next person likes her quite a lot) but it can get a little repetitive…

I’d like to caveat this post as follows: I know that my life is pretty easy, and that without the things I am going to list, I would still have a lovely, comfortable life, so you’ll have to indulge me. That said, in no particular order, here we go:

would that my freezers were this organised...

The freezer: Actually, we have 3 – the drawers at the bottom of the fridge freezer, a standalone one that sits under the worktop in our ‘utility room’ and a ¾ size chest freezer in the shed. May be this is excessive but the freezer gives us the opportunity to buy meat in ‘half a pig’ or ‘a lamb’ quantities, and to store the bounteous produce that we manage to grow in the garden (or the excess that Allotment Junkie brings us). I’ll also freely admit that I am a bit neurotic about what I feed the kids (and us) and while I’m not averse to the odd fish finger or sausage, I would rather spend more time cooking from scratch than serving up pre-prepared stuff. The freezer allows me to cook in bulk when times are more relaxed, and then pull out meals when things are more chaotic. It’s going to sound really smug, I know, but for the last few years, I’ve nearly always made at least double of anything made of mince or that could broadly be called ‘casserole’. It does really take no more time, it saves time, and, I like to think, a least a little on our fuel bills. I’ll admit that I could be better at labelling what I stash, but I haven’t yet served up gooseberry puree instead of soup, which befell Allotment Junkie once.

Waterproofs: Yes, I know I’m thinking fairly short term, but I have a dog and he needs to be walked regardless of the weather. And we camp. I am currently surgically attached to my waterproof trousers. It’s not a good look, but a practical one.

Internet shopping: I have no need to visit the shops ever again. This generally can only be a good thing. We got rid of our second car a couple of years ago and although we have Daisy (see below), she spends 6 months of the year in a barn, and is fairly heavy on petrol so the internet shop/ supermarket delivery has become an essential part of my life. I cannot conceive of having to re-integrate a weekly shop where I visit a supermarket back into my life, and I do not miss it one little bit.

just looking at them brings me out in a cold sweat

Contact Lenses: I’ve worn glasses since I was about 5 for short sight. I had those hideous national health ones, which only added to my general geekiness as a child/early teenager. Then we moved house. I moved schools and got contact lenses – while this did not exactly spawn an ‘ugly duckling to swan’ transformation, it certainly did something for my confidence. As an adult, I have been though phases where I haven’t worn lenses, but I’ve gone back to them in the last few years and really, they are fantastic. No more steaming up when I come in from the rain or open the oven door, no more crying when I chop onions- It's just a problem if I forget to wash my hands after chopping chilli... 

Daisy the Camper Van: Well, obviously, not having Daisy would really make no difference to my day to day life and probably doesn’t count, but what she represents is escape from the shackles of the day to day, for us and the children, and without something to look forward to and plan, perhaps life would be too hard.

Gin & Tonic: need I say more?