Cherry takes the reins

HairyHandofDartmoor

I hope fil gets better soon and congtatulations on becoming a great aunt :T. I become one too a few months ago. Good news about DS's placement too, but not the parking ticket!

Where are you going on your trip? I'm sure you've mentioned it but I have a head like a sieve at the moment .

WannabeFree

Hope Physio went okay and you got to visit FIL.

x

Onebrokelady

Hope your Fil recovers soon,my friends mum had a fall just before Christmas and broke her pelvis,she is 91 and has now elected to go into a residential home,I think the fall dented her confidence quite a bit
Congrats on the new baby too:beer:

Cherryfudge

FiL is staying in hospital till they can identify his infection. He told me there is a possibility of his permanent medication being reviewed too, which sounds right as it's not been done for a year. He is quite lively but struggled with remembering a few things which makes me think he's better under observation for now. Normally his memory is good and he's very with it but he struggles more out of his usual context.

The CC is paid up to date.

I'm off to spend a few days working on Mum's old house tomorrow, which is why I'm late tonight: getting everything ready!

I will confess here and now that I'm intending to stop en route and go to Primarni in the hope of getting the work shoes I didn't buy last time, if they still have them.

I bought some things for DFiL today and a little book for myself, but managed to avoid the supermarket, though I remembered to get muffin cases in the pound shop.

Physio was very heartening - she's really pleased with my progress and doesn't need to see me any more. I have to keep working on the exercises, though. I have most of my mobility and range back, but need to get stronger.

Spending:
Travel £60.90 (reclaim most of this but not the extra caused by my shopping trip) done
Gifts £5.78
Housekeeping £1.00
Book £1.00
MS:
10th coin savings 20p
Packed lunch and dinner ready for my trip but I can't carry a flask as well so will buy coffee (and raise my paper cup to Wannabe a few towns away!)
Decluttering:
10 items - nothing massive but am now free of some cracked lollipop moulds that have been getting in the way for years.
And I'm thankful for
New baby has a name I like
A nice evening with friends watching a favourite movie (Babette's Feast, in case you're interested).
Lentil and chorizo soup again
Chat with DFiL

HairyHandofDartmoor

That's great news on the physio and I'm glad you like the baby's name .

WannabeFree

Hope you enjoyed your paper cup coffee, I raised my (not paper cup) back at you

Hope everything is going well

x

Cherryfudge

Hello everyone,

I'm back a day early as there are no trains to my stop tomorrow. None at all! Progress made but I'm pretty shattered this evening after all the travelling so more of an update tomorrow.

DFiL is staying in hospital over the weekend while they get hold of a case worker or something, but is doing better. DH thinks they may recommend a mid day carer as well as morning and evening, but we'll see.

Cherryfudge

What a grey January of a day! Brrr. I've just about recovered from travelling and have been researching a better cabin bag as I think carrying an assortment of bags just makes these trips harder. I don't pack much but there's always an assortment of stuff to bring back, shoulder bags slide off my winter coat and are hard work on the train and my old cabin bag isn't stable so tends to fall over if I have to stand about waiting. I thought of a backpack but the coat is too bulky and slippery... haven't yet pressed the key on the order.

The journey both ways was problematic. I wanted to do some city shopping so I got the (slightly more expensive) ticket that I used to buy before I found the split ticket route. Turns out I should have double-checked, as I got to the city with no trouble (bought a coffee en route), then found the onward train didn't go till late afternoon. I got the Primarni items I went for then found my train - and it pulled out just as I got there! Thankfully there was an alternative not long after so I got that, but it was dark so I tried to work out what time the train would arrive at the village in order to book a taxi. No luck. My phone informed me the train I was travelling on didn't exist. There were also no announcements on the train so I had to rely on peering through the darkness and my knowledge of the route to get out at the right stop!

Of course with no taxi and no more public transport I then had the sort of walk I advise people not to have: half a mile of it was a country road in the dark. I did think of ringing the neighbours for a lift but their answerphone was on. I got to the house safe and sound, though wet - possibly the rain kept marauders away?

I was all set to be there till Saturday (today) and hardly knew where to start but actually I got a few jobs done, including arranging for a new window to be put in. The builder has also shinned up the ladder and replaced two bricks that came out of the very top corner of the house last year! I thought it would be a scaffolding job that cost a fortune but he had it done in no time, also redirecting a down-pipe that had gone out of alignment and unblocking a gutter. That man is a gem.

The biggest job achieved has been sorting a cupboard of china - some pieces came apart in my hands, possibly because they had been there when the house had no heating and that room went below zero! However I've saved some very pretty 1950s/60's/70s bits, goodness knows what I'll do with them. I've wrapped a box of assorted unwanted crockery for charity. I found a folder of Mum's knitting, sewing and embroidery patterns which my sister and I will share.The lady who keeps an eye on the house helped with some wallpaper that needed fixing, and some more that needed to be ripped down. I had a coughing fit after that, but at least it's gone. 2 loads of laundry - it was a beautiful day so it dried on the line and I had a chat with the neighbour. I found Mum's compilation of recipes and had fun sending some to my sister and reminiscing. I also found a tin of videos of my kids when small! Real treasure, so long as they haven't broken down. Other than that there was a certain amount of cleaning around the house and a walk to the next village for supplies (I tried the deli there is nice but expensive). It doesn't seem a lot of work but the idea was I'd save some energy as I was there an extra day - then when I walked to the village again yesterday morning - internet searches having produced only PDFs that my phone won't open - I discovered there were absolutely no Saturday trains, so I had to come back on Friday (yesterday).

I had four hours in hand so I tidied up and had the joyous task of putting an entire box of old newspapers of no personal interest into the wrapping paper corner! I won't need it all but it's been neatly divided into single sheets so it will make wrapping ornaments easier and the rest can go to recycling. Meanwhile it snowed. I cleaned the kitchen and felt rather satisfied with the results then I packed up and the neighbours gave me a lift to the train... which was cancelled. Not having time or inclination to go all the way back to the house and the neighbours having left, I tried out a little cafe that's opened near the station and a cup of coffee warmed me up nicely. That was as well because the train I got next had no coffee. I then had another two trains which meant a lot of standing (East Coast doesn't seem to believe in adding coaches for peak traffic. It was so crowded I could read my book without holding on to anything as there wasn't room to fall over). Bloomin' exhausted by the time DH collected me from the station! It was snowing again, too, and A was just headed out to football practice, so I hope his shorts were warm!

So that's a potted history of the last few days.
Spending:
16/1/19 Entertainment (coffee!) £2.60
Toiletries £4.00
Donation £5.49
Housekeeping £2.59
17/1/18 Housekeeping £4.45
18/1/19 Entertainment £2.45 (more coffee).

I'm managing to run stocks down in the food department there but can probably cope longer with small supplements to what I have in. DH and I have sat down with the calendar to work out some holiday dates (will work out details like where to go at some point, hopefully) and have booked in for him to come and help me in March - with the car we can collect the little pile of boxes labelled 'Cherry to collect'.

Today as I said has been cold and grey. I've been busy crochetting, as I took today as annual leave until the vaguaries of the rail system scuppered my plans. DH and I went to visit DFiL in hospital and he's still poorly and confused - probably due to the infection and a reluctance to drink. (We poured him a shandy in the hope he'd absent-mindedly drink it). Supermarket shopping was done... overspent. Total £20.82. Probably overspent by about £15, but we pooled our resources so I don't know exactly.
Not sure where the food money has gone this week: I spent nearly £5 on coffees but that comes out of the entertainment budget, and I did spend £3.20 on a couple of items at the deli. (Pasty wasn't worth it, bread was fabulous). I bought a couple of bits in A!di in the city but it was basics.

Back to work tomorrow.

WannabeFree

Trains sounds stressful - do you come local to me? There's been no weekend trains going out of here to certain places for several months! I find them stressful anyway but I can't even imagine what I'd do being stuck to walk in the dark (I'd probably cry :rotfl:) We went to Mr T earlier and it was just dark and I felt so uncomfortable and I was with the smalls so not even alone!

Hope FIL starts to improve soon and they get rid of the infection

I went over budget too I think 'things' are just getting more expensive!

x

Cherryfudge

I think I do, Wannabe, though the trains seems to vary their route so it isn't every time. I did think of you this time as I saw the station sign! They let me buy the ticket over the counter and never even mentioned I couldn't get back on that day when I mentioned it! Good job it was an open ticket.

The walk in the dark is definitely not to be recommended but I didn't have much to carry at that point and I do know the route very well (and prayed hard!)

Thanks for the good wishes for FiL, if they can get the fluids up it will help.

You may well be right about prices going up - and the area I went to is more expensive too. I think we are just going to have to re-write our food budget, though I need to remember that one of the things I'm supposed to be doing now I work fewer hours is cooking more from scratch. Last week's soup stretched a very long way and was lovely so I need to make another soon.