From debt to freedom...

savingholmes

You inspired me to make some veg soup with loads of YS veg. May go and have another bowl. Hope you get to make your last.

Honeysucklelou2

Thank you SH - yes the soup is lasting me well .

Friday was busy but not terribly productive. The weather was too inclement for a walk with friends so we ended up going to a cafe for lunch. It must be some time since I went out for lunch because I was quite shocked at the prices. DS3 was very well behaved especially since we'd not been for a walk. I took a pen and small note pad in with me so he was quite happy to draw and practice a couple of letters. I spent more than I'd have liked but tried to keep to the simplest meal choice.

Yesterday was more productive. I got the books all wrapped up in bubble wrap ( thankfully scavenged from around the house) , boxed up and taken to a particular Post Office. I'm not very confident at selling things. I've tried EBay a couple of times but have either not sold things or it's sold for a fraction of the price paid. Maybe I should enrol DD2's help. She is quite savvy at buying from EBay - perhaps her savviness might transfer to selling things:rotfl:. I've requested any money from book sales be sent to an account that I don't use on a daily basis so it doesn't matter when it comes in. When it does, I plan to make an overpayment on one of the window accounts.

DD2 and I, buoyed up by the enjoyment of last week's walk, decided to go for another " find a public footpath" walk. DS3 came with us this time and I did remember a map. We headed for 2 villages away in the opposite direction to last week. It's a small village but is situated near a river. Being so close to the sea means that the river level can rise and fall with the tides to some degree. When we parked, some of the fields were completely covered in water with the sun reflecting on the water, causing everything to have a golden hue.

We set off down the lanes - I had planned a triangular walk based on taking particular public footpaths. Just as well I had the map as the public footpath sign was missing. We had to go down a track which led to a farm whereupon we found the next public footpath sign, so knew we were on the right track. The farm had quite a ghostly abandoned air to it. The path took us right through the yard. Unusually there were no animals in barns, no tractors, no trucks or vehicles of any kind. The porch looked boarded up, no curtains at the windows and nothing on the walls. Looked really sad. We carried on through a couple of fields, going quite gingerly, as the marks on the ground suggested cattle had been in the field fairly recently but we couldn't see any and the contours of the field meant we couldn't see the whole field. The mud was inches deep in parts...DS3 looked up and said "We're going on an adventure". That's what I love about exploring new footpaths. You never know what you are going to find or exactly where you'll be but the whole walk is memorable. My dad often rolls his eyes and mutters something about another marvellous trek if I suggest a walk and even declined my offer of a pair of wellies for Christmas. Can't think why...:rotfl::rotfl:! Thankfully DD2 is quite happy to join me and these walks remind me of the muddy treks my grandmother and I used to do. . After getting through two muddy fields, quite marked with deep hoof marks, we reached a footbridge crossing the river, which took us on a wooded path running next to the river. We saw swathes of snowdrops which were beautiful. It was so peaceful listening to the water gurgling by, a cockerel crowing on a distant farm and the odd snap of a twig as we walked past.

On our return, I baked a couple of lemon drizzle cakes and a batch of rock cakes. It used the oven at the same time as cooking tea. The temperature dropped last night so we enjoyed having the fire lit. I got work tasks finished so should be able to be fairly relaxed today.

lucielle

Wow! That sounds like you were going on a bear hunt!
L

crazy_cat_lady

I would love your motivation to just go wandering and not know where - but alas I hate being outside :rotfl: It always sounds amazing though

Cherryfudge

I could see you writing a Walkers' Column for your local paper...

enthusiasticsaver

I love the stories about your walks. I walk as part of several walking groups and walk the coast path but am less brave about public footpaths I don't know for fear of getting lost or coming across cows which I avoid like the plague due to horror stories about them attacking walkers. Not happened yet though. Debating going on a walk today but icy here so may leave it a few hours. Nothing like a good walk to blow the cobwebs away but sadly My DH thinks a good walk is maximum 3 miles. I have to walk at least 5 before it feels like a walk rather than a stroll.

Honeysucklelou2

Thank you CCL, Lucielle, Cherryfudge and ES.

I must admit winter walking is far easier than summer for the public footpaths. If I have a dog with me, I avoid any obvious cow filled fields for precisely that reason. A few years ago a woman in a nearby village was charged at by cows so am always careful!

One day I walked the children to school and was walking back with DS2 and DD4 in a double pushchair accompanied by my old dog who must have been 11 at the time. A local farmer has his milking parlour next to the road and was sometimes in the habit of letting the cows wander down the lane to the field they were grazing in. As I rounded the corner, I saw the first cows plodding along so did a u turn and walked as fast as I could to a t junction and went in the opposite direction only to realise that they had seen me and were coming after me:eek:. Just as I'd got to the point of wedging the dog into the hedge and as out of sight as possible and was wondering whether I could get over the hedge with the little ones, the farmer turned up! I laugh about it now but it does make me cautious with cows, especially those with calves.

It is very cold here and we've had a hard frost. The poor camellia that has been flowering gloriously will lose quite a few flowers. Hoping to get a walk in later, between picking children up from various places.

I did smile ES...5 miles is a nice distance!! DD2 and I both have Thursday off so we're hoping for fine weather to tackle the next part of the coast path:). Are you a member of the Ramblers Assiciation ES or iare they more informal groups? I'd love to join a walker's group, perhaps when DS starts school!

Honeysucklelou2

Sunday afternoon ended up being quite hectic. I thought I was collecting the 2 children that had been at a sleepover each, on Sunday morning but both families asked me to collect later. I set off on a journey that I thought would take an hour and fifteen minutes tops but in the end took 2.5 hours :eek:. I turned up to collect DS2 and his friend plus very muddy equipment, which took 15 minutes to dis assemble and another 15 minutes to reassemble when we got back to the friend's house. DD was somewhere else, which as the crow flies wasn't that far, but the way the roads work, was quite a way. I'm glad they both had the opportunity to try new activities with their friend and family but the racing around trying to collect them made Sunday evening quite rushed. Add to that I asked DD3 to put the potatoes on to cook ( I'd prepped them beforehand) which she kindly did...unfortunately switching on the wrong ring, so we had a warm kitchen but hard potatoes!! Ah well...

Work is busy this week, sleep patterns are awful. I paid £100 off nursery fees yesterday and gave DD2 £40 towards her petrol costs to get to college. She takes it in turns to drive to college so doesn't need or use the bus pass I had been paying for. I got home so late from work yesterday ( Tues) that I confess I overspent. I bought a pizza , deviating from the menu plan, but something that could be done quickly as it was so late.

Cherryfudge

It all sounds very busy and complicated. I hope it's back on an even keel today, and that you get a better sleep.

Buffythedebtslayer

Wow your Sunday was complicated.

I was recommended this Nighttime Phenergan apparently it is over the counter in Tesco.

hope you sleep better for the rest of the week XXX