EH - Essex > Hebrides...the next step of the adventure?

EssexHebridean

Thanks all - @foxgloves I did recall from your diary that you’d lost your Dad to IPF. It’s a vile disease, I agree, and in case you were unsure yes, I am aware of the progression and outcome - I know it’s always awkward not knowing how much someone understands about something when it’s just been mentioned in passing! Not a happy situation - I’ll wait to see what Mum hears from the hospital today although I suspect there may be little more “concrete” news now until Monday. On another note I can reassure that I am definitely NOT tasering myself - move the bench! 😆

Tests still positive this morning although very much not as solidly so as previous. I suspect I will still be positive tomorrow but “might” get negatives Monday and Tuesday. Need to confirm with my boss that he doesn’t want me back until the two clear negatives. 

A slow start here today - clearly we have no plans although will go for a walk later I expect, people avoiding as always currently. We’re fortunate where we are - we have woodland directly opposite across the road, and that leads us to a network of wide shared cycle/footpaths so we can get a distance without using much if any ordinary pavement and it makes it very easy to maintain a wide berth from the few others we encounter on foot. If it wasn’t for that we’d not be risking going further than just our tiny garden area directly outside. 

Plans for today are unsurprisingly relatively few. We want to dig the compost bin out but will have to see how “hard labour” that is. I did the first bit of digging over the bed which the parsnips will go in yesterday and found that pretty hard going - so we’ll see. The plan is to dig the bin out fully this time and then re-seat it as it’s dropped significantly over the years it’s been in place. There will be some evicted forget me not’s to guerilla-garden to elsewhere in the locality too.  We’ll likely have our financial chat at some stage, and a proper meal plan is needed once I know if Mum is able to get the eggs that were missing from our click&collect order yesterday. I have a rough plan in place but was reluctant to commit to anything more definite until I knew what food was going to actually arrive.  There will be many cups of tea consumed, and possibly a film this evening - although it would have to do well to surpass the truly dreadfulness of “San Andreas Mega Quake” (I think) that we watched last night - chosen by me because I had high confidence from seeing the first minute of it that it was going to be truly catastrophically awful - it didn’t disappoint! 😂😂 We’re also planning to do some work for our volunteer role - if we can get a couple of hours of that done today and again tomorrow it will make a good impact. 

I think lunch today will be jacket potatoes - the bag that arrived yesterday has several good sized ones in it. That’ll be good old beans and cheese as a topping. Undecided about tea tonight - perhaps pizza, perhaps something else. 

Have a good Saturday all! 

savingholmes

Glad you are both now in the recovery phase of covid.

Sorry your Dad is in hospital. Sounds a difficult situation. 

Well done on all your plans. Glad the new yarn arrived in time.

RosaBernicia

Sorry to hear about your dad and glad you are both recovering. 

I love forget-me-nots so I'm sure spreading those around the neighbourhood will be appreciated!

Cheery_Daff

I love forget me nots 😊😊😊 Haven't got any here, I'll have to sort that out!

foxgloves

@EssexHebridean - I couldn't remember if I'd mentioned the name of Dad's lung disease in my diary or not. There's not much I don't know about its trajectory & difficulties getting a prompt diagnosis & drug treatment. 

Digging out compost bins always takes way more effort than I think it will. Love the free finished product though!
F

EssexHebridean

Hey DFW gang - hope everyone’s weekend has been OK! 

SH I was glad about the yarn too - definitely better than having nothing to do! 

Rosa Forget-me-nots are lovely but my word do they spread! We’ve now got all those in the veg bed dug up and a good number relocated, but I know that this time next year we’ll be doing the same all over again! Cheery I wish I could send you some of ours but they’re rather straggly and droopy ones - I’m not sure they’d survive the posting! (And at the moment the packaging would likely be all covidy as well, come to think of it!) 

Foxgloves you did, and I have to say it is strangely rather a comfort knowing that there is someone out there who understands about it - it’s a relatively unusual diagnosis still I think. Dad is at 6 years since diagnosis now but until, the last year he’s not been too badly affected by it. Sadly that’s all changed now, and dramatically so over the past few months.  And yes - the compost bin was heavy going but so rewarding to have a sack of lovely rich (and worm-filled!) compost for use AND space in the bin again! 

I think I may have rather reaped the results of overdoing it a bit yesterday as I woke up this morning feeling pretty rough again - my first cuppa of the day reappeared nearly as fast as it was consumed and this morning’s LFT was more solidly positive than yesterdays was. Oops. Today has, consequently been taken at a rather more measured pace. A walk - shorter and slower than yesterday. Some garden stuff, but MrEH has done the majority of the heavy digging - I got the veg bed cleared, tidied up my lovely Sage bush, cleared back the rubbish he was digging out and generally directed operations. 😁 

We sat down this morning and went through the quarterly review of finances - a new savings account agreed on (the new Sant-and-er 2.5% Reg Saver) and also the means of funding it - withdrawing a lump from long term savings currently paying a lower rate. The funding account is a limited withdrawals one so we will withdraw from that in one go so only using one of our allowed withdrawals. We’d discussed stopping payments to our N@tionw1de Statt-to-save accounts to fund one of the new ones but that’s still earning a higher rate of interest than the one we’re raiding. Other than that everything looks roughly where it should be with the exception of our Household pot which is a little low. This is where the one-off and occasional expenses come from - home insurance, water filter cartridges, bird food - that sort of thing - and with a big purchase of bird food a few weeks back, a new water filter and cartridges shortly before that, and a few other items it’s leaving us a little closer to the wire for the contents insurance in August than we’d like. The solution as agreed to is an additional £10 a month  to be fed in, going forwards. I’ll make the adjustment to the transfer in the next few days. 

Lovely roast garlic chicken dinner earlier - I’ll need to rubber-chicken the carcass tomorrow but I expect to get at least another two meals from that. Might freeze the carcass for stock making in due course too - I break it down so it takes up less space then it’ll get chucked in with another one in the future. I also used last week’s remaining duck fat for the roasties which were gorgeous! 

WM and DW went through last night - a load of towels drying outside, thank goodness for the warmer weather meaning not even needing a 30 minute burst in the tumble drier - when drying indoors I have little choice as it just takes so long to get heavy stuff like the big bath sheets dry otherwise. Definitely want to avoid it as much as possible with the energy prices as they are, though! On that subject I’ve read the electric meter tonight and popped the readings through - I’ve no doubt they will still manage a fictitious estimate at the end of the month but at least I’ve tried! 

Now - a cuppa and some crochet before bed I think. I’m assuming I’m not back in the office tomorrow - I will have a chat with MrBoss at some time during the day I expect to find out how he wants to play it if I have a few more days of positive LFTs. 

savingholmes

Hope you have a clear result soon

Cheery_Daff

Urgh, hope you're feeling properly better soon xxx and no, please don't send me the plague in the post! 😮😂 😊 Glad you got a bit of garden pottering done 😊

EssexHebridean

It’s a hard no from here to postal plague Cheery! 😂😂

Still positive this morning - both of us. MrEH was smugly predicting his first negative this morning so “that’ll learn him”! 😆 most of my symptoms seem to have retreated though which is good, and MrBoss has indeed confirmed that he would like me to be plague free before I return! 

So far this morning a walk - just under 2 and a quarter miles, at a slow-for-us pace. Blueberry porridge for breakfast with a spoonful of peanut butter - using some of the punnet of blueberries from Mum. MrEH has now settled to work with a fresh cafetière of coffee, and I’m debating other jobs for the day. I may well try to get my tomato seeds down this afternoon. They’re late for two reasons - we didn’t want to sow anything until after Lundy because we knew they might well simply snuff it while we were away otherwise, and then I had no windowsill space available to start them off once the other bits were sown. Now though my basil is showing nicely (and has had its plastic bag “cloche” removed, the beans are poking their heads up (10 so far) and are also out from under plastic, and the nasturtiums are starting to show signs of life, so the tomatoes should be able to join in the fun too. 

Two definite jobs for today - a full meal plan, and stripping that chicken carcass. I’m going to freeze one portion of the chicken I think, and the other will make Spanish chicken for this evening. If I strip that this morning there is a chance that lunch can come from it, too - I’ll see how much meat it yields. I’m inclined to think I’ll make a double batch of bolognese either today or tomorrow too - we have absolutely masses of spaghetti at the moment, so that will work well and all the other ingredients are in stock.
- Spanish chicken (rice)
- Duck (freezer) stir fry (noodles)
- Spag Bol
- omelettes - bacon & mushroom (Jacket tatties) 
- Butternut and chickpea korma style curry (basmati rice, flatbread)

I’ve got a couple of small crochet projects to do the sewing in on - another reusable makeup remover pad and a small facecloth - not sure how practical that will be at the size of the pattern but it is VERY pretty. I also want to get cracking on another smaller project to alternate with my blanket. The blanket is lovely, mostly mindless, cosy to work on but ultimately it IS just trebles so a bit dull (remind me of the “bit dull” comment when I come to sew the panels together!) so having something else a bit more challenging to work on alongside provides variety. I’m considering hat using some of the new yarn (that was intended for the blanket…I know! (Easily distracted? Moi?!) I might just do another dishcloth while I think about it though… 😁

Banking checked and OK. Nationwide STILL haven’t got around to applying the payment I sent to the CC on Saturday to the flipping account though - annoying. 

Surveys all quiet at the moment - if Prolific gets to over £10 today I’ll cash out. 

Ooh - the sun has just come out - that will lure a few more of the seedlings to the surface then - all good! 

savingholmes

You sound a busy bee whether stuck at home or not. Glad you are enjoying the yarn still