Its days are numbered ...

DawnW

Up to London today for 2 separate meetings. Still, not too early a start, and not too late back :T

And tomorrow is Friday :j:j:j

In the office tomorrow, with a long meeting in the afternoon (zzzzz...) and a staffing issue to deal with (again )

Not much to report today - bought a sandwich and coffee out as lunch didn't happen

The dwarf quince tree I ordered arrived - one of the neighbours had put it round the back It arrived in a huge box, with a huge cane, which is all very well, but it is less than half a meter high and in a small pot :rotfl: I gave it a water and put it on the patio. I will think whether to put it in a big pot or plant it out at the weekend.

Took mutt out, and made some small boys laugh as she was trying to get the tennis balls they were playing with off them (she is obsessed with the things - she usually has one or two around that she is in the process of skinning / plucking - pulling all the yellow fluff off all over the hearthrug.)

OH back about 6.30 from his nightmare fortnightly job which involves getting up at 1.00 in the morning and loads of driving :eek: All for not much more than the minimum wage. Not sure why he does it :question: finds it a challenge I expect :rotfl:

Had little pots of macaroni cheese with mushrooms I put aside last night, with a salad on the side

Tried to make an online OP but Halifax's web site wasn't playing :mad:

Off to have a bath I think!

pink_poppy

DawnW wrote: »

Tried to make an online OP but Halifax's web site wasn't playing :mad:

Again?! The same thing happened to me this time last month ~ I had fun & games trying to make an online OP as it wouldn't go through as faster payment & only let me do BACs initially.

Hope you have a lovely restful weekend, sounds like you deserve it after your manic week

misscousinitt

Hope you manage to slow down a bit at the weekend and chill.

MCI

DawnW

Saturday :j:j:j

Today's plans:

Managed to make the online OP that I tried to do the other day - £20 off mortgage - every little helps, according to the supermarket I usually try to avoid!

Colour hair - it really needs it :eek: but I hate the mess and hassle of doing it

Bid online for some auction items - tools for OH and garden pots for me

Some tidying up while I am waiting for my hair to be done - see how much I can do in 25 mins challenge

Washing out on line to dry, maybe do another load

Make an apple pie with apples given by OH's elderly friend when he visited him yesterday They are from the trees in his garden, and have kept beautifully since last autumn. I have cooked them down, just the pastry to do.

Wraps for main meal, to use up salad bits and cold chicken - good chance to use some of my chilli jam as well

Bit of shopping to do, but probably will have to wait till after the auction has ended.

DawnW

Done hair, much better now

Did a bit of tidying - though not enough - and haven't made the apple pie yet :eek:

Tidied front garden in the sunshine though

And hoovered and dusted our bedroom,and changed the bed, got 2 lots of washing dry and washed the sheets and pillowcases ready to put out in the morning.

Got some nice pots for my garden in the auction, including a big one for the little quince tree that arrived the other day, without spending much

Took dog for a nice walk in the lovely weather - the poor garden does need some rain though

Chicken wraps for supper, used up some salad bits and fresh chives from the garden

Haven't done the shopping bits yet either, but we have survived, and can do it tomorrow. Don't need much.

DawnW

Got garden, shopping etc done yesterday as planned. Went to DD2's and had a barbecue with the leftovers from the bbq she had the previous night

Back to work today, but went in late and left early to lose some excess hours - and make the most of the sunshine

I had intended to do tuna steaks for evening meal, but the nextdoor neighbour had done a hog roast over the weekend, and gave us a huge chunk of pork. So we sliced off some, and had that instead, with salad. I have cooked and frozen the tuna, and will need to freeze most of the pork as well, in a minute. So much for emptying the big freezer :eek: Still, it all helps to keep the shopping bills tiny

I was also given a large bowl of tomatoes by another neighbour (they have a catering business, and reckoned that these were past their best and they couldn't use them for their sandwiches. Well, I can - they look fine to me, not even that ripe to be honest. So tomato sandwiches for me tomorrow, and if they do go soft before I can use them they will be turned into soup.

OH did a 4 bird roast yesterday, using game birds from the freezer, stuffed with some Lincolnshire sausage meat. We will have that tomorrow. I must say it looks very professional, although it did take hours, cause a huge mess and use nearly a whole reel of cotton to sew it together.

Must go and stuff chunks of roast pork into freezer bags :eek:

DawnW

Realised last night that I had gone and forgotten my little grand daughter's birthday

It completely slipped my mind :eek: I have never done that before.

I must get more organised about writing them down. I will get her something nice for next time I see her, but I felt so upset I hadn't even sent her a card I don't see them nearly enough, and this is not the person I want to be.

What with work being a bit of a nightmare and 3 family deaths in as many months, I think it is all getting to me a bit

Once the mortgage is paid off, I really must reassess my life a bit. I am so tired all the time, I never really get to do anything except chill out at home when not at work. I simply don't have the energy, and anything else is such an effort.

The trouble is, I am really the sole earner, as OH is semi retired, and earns very little on a self employed basis. I will need to make a start on his self assessment next month, and I think it will come as a bit of a surprise to both of us how little he does earn. On the upside, he won't be paying much tax I suppose - probably none at all. All this would make it difficult to give up my relatively well paid and secure job, impossible in fact with a mortgage, but difficult even without any debt at all. After all, the bills would still need to be covered.

I think OH will need to be a bit more self sufficient - I seem to have to do all his admin things, as well as remember all the family stuff. I wish he would take some responsibility

Oh well, onward and upward - better get sorted out for work as I have an early meeting. Needless to say, OH is still in bed - but then it is only 6.30 I suppose.

Tilly_MFW_in_6_YRS

Hi DawnW, losing people is hard and the feelings hit us at strange moments I find.

You are doing an amazing job and I love reading your diary. A year is nothing but perhaps your DH needs to consider his new role in the family. Semi retirement can be seen as totally slowing down, or can be seen as an opportunity to get stuck in to helping run the home and reducing some of the pressure on you. Would it be worth having a chat about some additional tasks he could take on - I was thinking of a birthday/anniversary list, with a plan of buying the cards, writing, dating ready for sending then making sure they are in the post box in good time etc. Albeit a small task, it may help him see how many small tasks go into running a home. As a woman we seem to have an ever ending list of 'stuff' to do.

Good luck, Tilly x

DawnW

Thanks Tilly

I was very low last night, but more positive today. I agree about DH doing more - I am sure he will if I ask him to, but you have to think about it / remember it in order to ask him to do it (if that makes sense).

He isn't good at admin type stuff, and does seem to have gone into his own little world a bit. He has decided to put all the birthdays on the calendar though!

My job is a bit of a nightmare quite a lot of the time, but it is quite well paid, and I do realise I am really very lucky to have it.

Got paid today Probably only very small OPs this month though, as we are going on holiday in mid April, and although it won't be an expensive one, it will involve some spending.

DawnW

I have finally emptied the freezer beast in the garage

Now to make DD tell me for definite if she wants it or not. If not it can go to charity or freecycle if I can find someone it would really help out as opposed to someone who would just want to sell it!

Also to do today:

Make spinach and feta pie, and a plum cake, using ingredients from you know where. Also a huge pork curry! That will be a lot of the cooking done for the week

Put away some clean winter clothes and throws etc in trunks in bedrooms and in the old cupboard at the top of the stairs, with moth repellent to keep them safe till next winter Not ALL the winter clothes though, as it is freezing outside today

Bathroom floor needs cleaning again - I love the traditional black and white tiles, but they show every little mark :eek: