Thursday 12th May - What small DFW things will you do today?!

allydowd

make_the_change wrote: »

What is the Sparks loyalty card? x

It's Marks and Spencers' answer to the Tesco Clubcard. To be honest it's not as good as the Clubcard because you don't get points for spending in M&S. You can't earn vouchers for money-off M&S.

What you do get is the occasional offer of something not available to people who don't have a Sparks card, like "10% off all M&S food today" or "5% off handbags".

This is the first time we've had an offer that was any use. We seldom use M&S, except when we have vouchers.

You can read about the free Sparks card here. (Link)

We also had a free sample of some cordial and a wee piece of cake in M&S. They had a big stand promoting the Sparks card.

HelleBelle

Good afternoon everyone!
Sun is shining again here and I'm wfh so I get to appreciate the sunlight flooding in through the windows (at work, I can't even see a window!!)

La E Thanks for the start
Ally Belated happy anniversary! Sounds like you've had a very productive day. The pool sounds LOVELY!
Legomum Hope you're resting lots. How're you doing?
MTC Congrats on getting started on the non smoking! Hope your DS2 feels better soon. Exploding nappies are horrible.
Ziggy Hugs to you. Try going for a walk if you can, especially in the sun. Walks do wonders for sorting out feelings and helping you feel better.

Today I have 2 loads of laundry on the line
Painted my nails ready for weekend away (family get together time )
All food from stores.
Need to prepare a little gift for my cousin to give her in thanks for the bag of hand me down clothes she has for me - ideas welcome!!

Hope you all have a great day

crazy_cat_lady

Evening :wave:
Hope everyone is more motivated than I am today. I've done literally nothing other than the very bare minimum. Even left work early because I couldn't be bothered to mark books. Means more to do tomorrow but if I get a good night then I'll make myself.

crazy_cat_lady wrote: »

[STRIKE]:cheesy: check banking and PAD[/STRIKE] must ask dh for more £
[STRIKE]:cheesy: use my free time at work wisely[/STRIKE] planned for next week and caught up with a friend who needed a shoulder
:cheesy: mark a set of books
[STRIKE]:cheesy: plan next week's teaching[/STRIKE]
[STRIKE]:cheesy: get dd to cheerleading[/STRIKE]
[STRIKE]:cheesy: help dd celebrate the end of her SATs, which end today[/STRIKE]
:cheesy: make time for exercise no way that's happening tonight. :rotfl:
[STRIKE]:cheesy: crochet[/STRIKE]
:cheesy: do not stress (easier said than done) failed. Had a rant at another teacher who keeps blaming me for bad behaviour from a couple of kids. Got fed up of him telling me off.

Legomum - hope that you're feeling a bit better.
MTC - good luck with quitting smoking.

Bobarella

MTC we'll done on going to the chemist really proud of you! Hope DS settles down soon poor love.

LegoMum it could have been worse yes, but your feelings are still valid. I'd be glum too. Glad your parents have helped you.

I heard an ' interesting' discussion today. A lady was very loudly discussing on the bus why she felt slighted by her in laws who apparently have done hardcore childcare for her partner's brothers kids as in having them all week so the parents can work full time for free. And yet now it's her husbands turn to have kids she feels the grandparents should help out with childcare financially to even the score (apparently they live in a different area) now hows that for a view

foxgloves

Evening Frugalistas,
Just checking back as promised. Managed to achieve a fair bit today:
*Did the ironing......but only those items that really needed it, which meant I whizzed through it.
*Cleaned the whole house using minimal products & washable cloths.
*Topped up the worm composter with kitchen scraps. Decanted liquid worm food into container for using on plants over the next week.
*Watered veggies - runner beans now pushing through, plus an extra courgette I'd nearly given up on.
*Planted out another tray of lettuces. They're still quite small, but it won't be long now until we are self-sufficient in salad for a while,
*Planted out some home-grown bedding plants - all free, as used seed I'd gathered myself.
*Tipped out 4 big tubs of spent bulbs & raked the compost into one of our raised beds to help raise the level a bit.
*Did a couple of surveys.
*Changed towels, tea towels, etc, all gone in washer for cheap overnight wash.
*Did next week's meal plans.
*Wrote shopping list as mr f says he can get the groceries on his way home from work as he's on some or other training course & has an early finish. Wrote target budget on the list.
*Topped up pretty glass decanter with cheapie bubble bath.
*Wrote tomorrow's job list.
*Two baths from one lot of hot water,
*Had a ferret about in my craft supplies to see if I had any fabric suitable for a project I'm working on at the moment - 2 potentially useful things found, so can hopefully avoid buying.
*Entered a competition.
*Chopped the ends of the stems off my birthday flowers again, & put them in fresh water. Still looking good, esp.as birthday was 2 weeks ago today.
*Snipped a couple of interesting-looking biscuit recipes out of a magazine before recycling it......then promptly lost them. Grrrrr. WhatEVER have I done with them?!
*Carry on colouring in a few bits to make half a dozen cards. Someone kindly gave me some adult colouring pages to try. It's relaxing, but I don't think it's for me, as I find knitting both relaxing, but much more productive. I will get 6 nice cards out of this, anyway.
*Checked out new energy bill. We are £236 in credit, despite me asking for a £200 rebate a few months ago. As we're now going into the warmer months & our heating will be well & truly off until October, this will mean we can really get some credit built up again to help with winter bills. Will still carry on doing my weekly meter readings, as it does allow us to spot sudden increases.
*Lots of 'Use-it-up' been going on today - washing-up liquid & hand soap swilled round with water to get a last few uses, more 'Stardrops' solution made up in my spray bottle, last bit of a bar of soap used to clean cat's grubby food tray & bowls, spare pepper sliced & frozen before it had the chance to go manky. Also, ages ago, I won a modest make-up bundle. I've used everything in it except for a lipstick that was just not my colour. Don't like wasting stuff, so gave it a reluctant try today & it's ok. It's more of a lip 'glaze' so it isn't too intense. Also added an extra toothpaste to stores.....have recently tested one for a survey & they sent me two in error.
*All free leisure today & an NSD.
Feel I've got a head start by having done a bit of a job list for tomorrow already. Have a nice evening everyone.
F x

foxgloves

DNMS - Re your furry visitors........We find we can deal with a small number but when we had a big infestation a few years ago, we had to call out the Council pest control man. He charged £40 & it was one of the best £40s we'd ever spent. He visited us FIVE times & supplied the bait boxes & bait. We'd tried so hard to deal with the problem humanely. The humane traps do work well (esp if baited with lumps of Mars bar!) although you do need to go a mile or so from your house minimum to let them go.....no good popping them out in the garden for them to come straight back in through an air brick! Ours were coming up through our stripped wooden floor. They were living under the house & running between our house & our neighbours (semi-detached). Mouse man told us to look at the tip of our little finger & said if we can fit that into a gap or hole, then a mouse can definitely squeeze through. We caught 7 using the humane trap but still couldn't get rid of the problem. Mouse man said if we had caught 7 ourselves, that was a BIG infestation, so poison was the only option. I felt sad about that as the ones I caught & took off to freedom were so cute & whiskery, but the hygiene issues are too great, because of the nibbling, all the poos we were finding in our pantry & worse of all, the fact that they pee continuously, so they had to go. You maybe saw my recent blog post about our most recent mouse & what he ate in the pantry?!!! Unbelievable! Since then, I've put new poison in the bait boxes & put them where our cat can't get to them. I think this may have been just a single curious mouse who popped through the airbrick for a change of scenery, as I haven't found any more evidence this last week.
Some council pest control departments will have been hit by the 'austerity' cuts.....I think ours may now be contracted out & charge more than the council service used to, but it may be worth it. I haven't used them since that bad infestation. I buy bait from a local hardware shop & do the job myself. Hope this helps a bit, anyway.
F x

allydowd

foxgloves wrote: »

*Had a ferret about in my craft supplies to see if I had any fabric suitable for a project I'm working on at the moment - 2 potentially useful things found, so can hopefully avoid buying.
F x

Foxgloves, I read that as "Had a ferret in my craft supplies" and wondered how the cat was taking to having a second pet in the home? :rotfl:

allydowd

Also:

* Free sample of toothpaste from the dentist.
* Harvested spinach from the garden to go with dinner.
* Found three pound coins; they'd slipped into the damaged lining of my wallet.

ziggy2407

allydowd wrote: »

Foxgloves, I read that as "Had a ferret in my craft supplies" and wondered how the cat was taking to having a second pet in the home? :rotfl:

Haha, that is exactly how I read it too :rotfl:

DawnW

ziggy2407 wrote: »

Haha, that is exactly how I read it too :rotfl:

Me too
Hope you feel better Ziggy. You have been bereaved recently, had loads of other stuff to deal with, so it is hardly surprising that you feel low some days Take care xx

So, what have I done today?
Washed the bathroom walls (the area above the tiles) as it was looking dingy. Much better now
Gave the bathroom a good overall clean while I was up there with a mop and bucket
Packed and posted another ebay sale. Used recycled packaging
Went to sales unit while out, very poor sales again so far this month sadly - ebay is doing a lot better. Anyway, I tidied up, added a couple of new items and took out some bits that can go on ebay.
Listed these items
HM meals from stores
Not spent anything apart from postage for ebay item - and the buyer has paid for that
Some gardening - potted up some young lavender plants, planted some lettuce plants bought at the car boot last week into a tub (they will be ready before long), watered seedlings and salads in plastic mini greenhouse (my French bens, cucumbers and courgettes are coming up, yay :T), and sowed a short row of radishes between the broad bean rows
Picked and froze some more parsley and rhubarb - free food for later
Walked dog, walked all journeys come to that - no choice really as our road is still closed for resurfacing
A few surveys for onepoll, still got to check the FPL
And that is about it - nice day today, such a difference from yesterday! A bit of sunshine really lifts my mood