NSK; The August Fairwell

mothernerd

Spend day - £2.60 on bus fares and another £2 on the food budget. Phoned the patient choice helpline and decided where I want to go to see the hip surgeon. Furthest away (2+ hours on 2 or 3 buses) was a 3 to 4 week wait, next furthest (1 hour + on 2 or 3 buses) 6 weeks, local infirmary (where my doctors surgery is, 2 bus hop each way but starting at bus stop facing my house) 6 weeks +. So longest wait but simplest journey.

Also noticed signs/ symptoms in my hands. Not sure about my embroidery. There will probably come a time when I have to give it up but it could also be beneficial meantime - sure I have read somewhere about activities like piano playing being helpful and the embroidery should be similar.

Let's concentrate on the positive. DS2 has an interview for a job (local) on Monday and a friend is helping him re-vamp his cv for a job (that actually uses his degree) that would mean him moving. He went through a list of possible accommodation with me last week. Thankfully he does not expect me to find the deposit/ first month's rent etc.

DS2 is taking his grandma to watch a rugby match tonight - I have warned him that she yells and screams when watching it on tv, she has never been to a live match. Thankfully again I still got the rent money (including the 1/2 week he couldn't pay last week). A year ago he accused me of 'ruining Christmas' after I refused (couldn't afford) to let him have two rent free weeks so that he could buy my present. So progress.

Went to mum's. Cut short discussion about whether the exercise had made things worse. No point talking about what caused/ contributed - this is where we are, this is how it is, we start from here and go forward.

More good news- going on a canal boat with food provided in a couple of weeks. It's mum's birthday treat and they asked her who she wanted to invite and she said me - she was worried there might be steps onto the barge. I checked the challenge rules at the beginning of the month. Kat put in a rule which I think was supposed to stop people avoiding the no takeaway rule by having it bought by their partner. Was going to ask for clarification as mum's partner often takes everyone (usual Friday gang) for a meal when it is her birthday and it didn't seem fair if I couldn't go - it's usually more his side than hers (last year she asked her lodger's daughter along to beef her numbers up).

Today I am grateful for buses, the prospect of fun and to DS3 for buying me a bar of chocolate (I am following a policy of having food in that he likes - trying to wean him away from his takeaway habit, but have not bought any sweets/ biscuits/ cakes and this has forced him to go to the supermarket and buy his own - he gave me a large bar of chocolate but made it clear that everything else in the cupboard is his and I am not to touch it. He also said he knew I shouldn't have it, so should save it for another day - think I will put it out of reach and forget about it for now).

Fmess

Wow chez a DF and MF life is in sight! You must be thrilled

Today has been a spendy day and I have broken most of the rules in one day! But I have had a lovely day doing what I want and it cost £21.60 in the end.

Tomorrow, I will try to behave!

L_D

Evening folks, hope everyone has had a good Friday.

I'm so pleased with all the chat of blood donating, all very exciting & it really does make a difference!

So another spend day here, but with my Morries voucher I only paid 12p for 5 bananas, 3 apples, 2 red onions, a bunch of spring onion, a butternut squash & a huge tub of blueberries. Very pleased with my haul. No exercise today but I have a lot of walking planned for tomorrow.

Still thinking about my legacy, think I might finally be getting somewhere.

SFD 1/12
Exercise 3/16
Food £36.66/£100
Petrol £25/£50
eBay 2/20
Weight lost 0/4lbs

Siouxsie32

Evening everyone Just a quick check in before bed. Had two spend days since I last reported, but I think that must mean 2 SFDs too. I'll have a look tomorrow when I'm spreadsheet updating! Budgets still on track and yoga challenge a little behind but almost on track. I'll update properly tomorrow.

Goodnight

speakingofart

Quick check in - spendy day today and probably tomorrow as I need some veggies, but lots of studying and hopefully a fun evening out in there as well. Totals are still:

SFD 5/12
Exercise 4/16
Food £43.59/ £80 (till 15th August)
Petrol £20/£20

Hope everyone has a great weekend.

apple_muncher

mothernerd - you go for that meal for your mum's birthday! And just ensure you don't wobble off the canal boat!

dolly84

mothernerd - the canal trip sounds like a nice treat. Good luck for your son and his job interviews.

Me and DS went blackberry picking yesterday and filled a large ice cream tub in just 5 minutes, we ate some at lunchtime with yoghurt and they were delicious. On the way out of the field DS found £1, he was very pleased. Last weekend he found 85p in his coat pocket (hadn't worn a coat for ages) then £1 in Boots, on Thursday this week he found 56p in various places, his eyes are always scanning the floor.

I am hoping to buy the kids their new school shoes this weekend from the Clarks outlet, I have budgeted for it and won't really have another weekend when I can get there before school starts. Monday sees the start of their 4th week of the holidays, I like to keep reminding them of that:rotfl:.

TiptoesDB

Hey guys

Sorry I missed yesterday - DH and I started the first of our new weekly 'date nights'! mostly we'll be doing something free / very cheap, but last night we did treat ourselves to a meal in a restaurant in the nearest town that we have been talking about for over a year... it was very lovely. Obviously lost us a NSD though, but gained us a very nice evening where we just focused on us.

I did squeeze a swim in before on the way home from work, so exercise totals doing ok so far. I have started pestering people at work for sponsorship for the duathlon now so I really have to do some proper training this weekend. I am planning to try a 35k bike ride then a 5k run straight after - wish me luck!!!

I am inspired by the blackberry picking Dolly84 but ours are not quite ready yet - we must be further north than you. I do think the ecotherapy that we've all been talking about does really make a difference - getting back to nature and what's really real.

I totally agree with you Calling and Mothernerd, the practical side of things after a loved one dies is so hard, and I found that because I was the person having to (and still having to) do all that, it has delayed my grief which is only just hitting now. That, and the shock which kicks in straight after.

Anyway, I am feeling good today after a lovely night with DH, and some sunshine this morning after all that rain last night.

Have a good day everyone x

abundant1972

Yesterday was an unplanned spend day - as just couldn't face my packed lunch when I was at work! Bad I know - but I'm within budget and I needed cheering up!!!

I'm away all weekend and so won't be a SFD today either... will see if I can rake one back tomorrow.

Have a good one folks x

mothernerd

Claiming a NSD cos I ain't going nowhere. Still aching a bit from yesterday (stood up for both the bus rides - there's a high back rest intended for wheelchair users to park themselves against, it's just eaiser than having to stand up after sitting down). Spending a lot of time in bed resting. I am a bit in limbo now as to what I am/ am not allowed to do and resting helps me keep painkillers use to a minimum.

Have written another room by room jobs to be done list and also ripped up a piece of (already damaged) green card to use as post-its to highlight mini-bits that need attending to - not trying to be picky or fault find but now that everything in my life seems to be such a production, I don't need to be having to phone people up to come back and put in a screw or missing bit of wood.

Been thinking about names (if we are to continue as a group) and thought of Ninja admirers club (thought followers sounded too stalkerish) but that would make us kNACkered which isn't helpful. Then thought I really enjoyed the the Hare and the Tortoise month and following the ninja theme, perhaps we could be ninja turtles - middle-aged (apologies to the younger end) mixed-up (as in our assorted talents and strengths/ maxed-up sounded raring to go but also a bit close to maxed out which is where we do not want to be, ever again) Ninja Turtles. Feel free to play around/ improve upon it.Or reject it.

Thinking about legacy I too want to leave all my paperwork in order and hopefully enough money to leave each of my three sons enough for a house deposit. This has been the position for most of my life - I had the old house and a £100,000 life insurance policy which ran until DS3 turned 18. Just gone downhill in the last 6 years juggling 2 houses, lots of house repairs, failing health and DS1 and DS2 going through university. DS3 is a lot cheaper just refusing to leave the nest. As always I will continue to be reliable, conscientious parent to make up for !!!!less parent.

In the past few days I have decided that if I want to do my own embroidery designs (don't know if it my eyes or my hands but my typing has gone to pot) I really need to get on with it - a different sort of legacy, leaving a body of work.

I also need to start on some of my favourite baby/ children's designs so that I have the things I want to do for any potential grandchildren - Christmas stockings, Baby afghans (very soft fringed blanket with squares that can be embroidered eg if you wanted to do the letters of the alphabet in animal designs), birth samplers. A Christmas stocking (the size I make them) is a very big project (I usually do them over 2 or 3 years), doing other things in between. I never sell them, only give them as gifts because very few people could afford to pay for them if I included my time - I estimate an hour of work to complete a 1" square (10 holes each way so 200 stitches) Recently I have been working on 18 and 20 count fabric so lots more stitches to the inch. This is just a guide to see how many hours I have to put in if I am working to a deadline.

Not that I am broody or anything. They know the rules - over 30, degree, full-time permanent job before they even think about it. Sadly we are the exception in our town - met an ex-neighbour last week who is now a great- grandma twice over.

Sorry for the long post (you are used to my epics by now). I feel like such an old lady today. I want one of those little tables with legs so that I could have the laptop on the bed straight in front of me - realised that having it to the side is twisting my shoulders and spine in a potentially harmful position. Currently got it balanced on the good leg with both legs bent at the knee.