Cherry takes the reins

Cherryfudge

A hugely unproductive first half of the day - it just looked as though it was going to pour down and there was no one else at home, which makes a difference to how much I get done. So I did virtually nothing. Then I pulled myself together and tidied up yesterday's socks which were all waiting to be sorted, then went shopping.

I tried a new recipe for tea - Spanish chicken. Lovely roasted veggies but the chicken was the weak point. I might have a go at redesigning it with butter beans or quinoa, which would give very different textures but either might just work. Does rather limit it as a chicken dish but I spent the supermarket trip feeling sorry for the chickens so maybe that's a plus.

My boss rang this morning to say a place has come free on a course I wanted to go on, so I'm off there tomorrow instead of a day off, but I'm better off working if I get nothing done at home. A friend is also going so I'll have someone to talk to.

Now I'm trying hard to remember what I bought besides food... toothpaste (the £1 shop had a nice one), glue (DS2 hasn't told me why he needs it but I'm going to have a go at repairing an ornament I found at Mum's) and ...what? Oh, eyebrow pencil. Got lots of change so there should be something for the poor hungry 10th coin pot.

Spending:
Toiletries £2.19
Medical £1.00
Household £1.00
Housekeeping £10.55
MS:
Am likely to get paid for the course time instead of having to take it as time in lieu
Enough yogurt and salad for a few days (which should also pep up my health)
£2 for the £2 jar
10th coins £1.05
Decluttering:
None that I can remember (not counting carting out the recycling)
And I'm thankful for
Mild weather, not being overworked and a friend to go on the course with.

Cherryfudge

I should be in bed by now but a quick update so I don't lose track.

Today's training was very good but I went from there to do some shopping (need to sign DH's Valentine's card before I go to bed!) and ended up really tired. Why are courses so much more tiring than ordinary work? Anyway I made soup for tea so we were healthily fed, then A and H gave us a gift voucher as a thank you for having them to stay. I know I must have said this before, but I'm going to miss them, even though their new place is within walking distance.

I had a relaxing evening and finished my 2nd knitting project, then started on a small item that I intend to use to learn picot edging. DS2 then came in and asked me if I'd transfer some money to his account if he gave it in cash, so I went online and discovered two payments pending for @mazon, one of which was nearly £40! After a bit of brain-racking I realised I had got a £1 magazine as a cheap intro to a subscription and hadn't realised the actual subscription was nearly due. The other was Pr!me, so after some searching I think I have managed to cancel both. I have also transferred DS2's money and some from Christmas for a couple of his gifts that had to be returned for refunds.

There is also the small matter of some material I had intended to read in preparation for an inspection at work tomorrow, but I am going to have to busk it. Can't stay up ha,lf the night then go in by 7.30 to start a shift. Thankfully today's course was relevant.
Spending:
Gift (card) £3.00
Housekeeping £4.72 (of which £2.50 was coffee while on the course - usually supplied for free but not this time. Make a note for next time!)
MS:
£2 coin for £2 savings jar
10th coin savings 10p
lentil and chorizo soup for dinner - cheap and healthy!
Pr!me membership cancelled (savings £7.99 a month)
Magazine subscription cancelled (£38.45 I think).
Decluttering:
One saggy shower cap
And I'm grateful for
all our time with A and H, a good training course, finishing the knitting.

Cherryfudge

A lot seems to have fitted into today! I was short of sleep, but got to work to find the promised inspection wasn't till after I'd finished, so the shift was actually unexpectedly relaxed and I had time to clean the goldfish out! When I got home, it was a really beautiful day so I wanted to go out in the garden but was pretty tired and there are several hours' worth of weedy places looking straight at me, so that didn't happen. Instead I deep-cleaned my own fish tank! Normally it takes an hour (which is why it doesn't get done as often as it should) but this was quite a bit longer and the fish seem very happy.

DH and I had dinner out, which was nice and the waiter gave me a rose as I left. Aw.

A and H were loading up the car when we got back and have been spotted since behind moving stacks of boxes, towels and the like. They turned up later to fill hot water bottles, and have now departed to their new place... DS2 has taken possession of the room they've been in for a couple of days. It was his to begin with but he had to move out as the only other room available is a box room that wouldn't fit a couple. He will have to go again in a couple more days as L and J will be moving in. Apparently they visited a few days ago while I was out and there was some sort of upset. The only bit I'm clear about was that J wanted to decorate that room but DH said no and I agree. It's DS2's room, if she changes that it will be like saying it's hers. I think she sees it as she is offering something she thinks is needed, but doesn't appreciate that people don't like to be told how they need to be helped. I think she's still upset as she didn't communicate for a day or so, but hopefully given time this will iron out. I can find other things they can help with but we do operate quite differently, which is one of the reasons she moved out.
I haven't managed any decluttering today but made progress on my new, small project: a kitchen towel with a fancy edge. It's very MS as it's an offcut of a big towel and using very cheap wool but it will help me learn a new stitch and should be useful in the long term.
Spending:
Housekeeping £3.50
MS:
10th coin savings 50p
And I'm thankful for beautiful, spring-like weather, clean goldfish and a red rose!

WannabeFree

All sounding very busy!

The weather has been much nicer here today too. I noticed how much later it was light too. It makes me so much happier.

Do you use a recipe for the soup? If so would you mind sharing? I can never get lentil soup right x

Cherryfudge

NSD.

For the soup, I use an onion, chopped and saut!ed, then add a tin of chopped tomatoes, about a third of a chorizo all skinned and chopped up, 150g red lentils, about a teaspoon of smoked paprika, a veg stock cube and then water to thin it to whatever consistency you like. As the lentils absorb the water you may need to add a bit more. Cook for 25 minutes or until the lentils have gone really mushy. I like it blended but I don't think that really matters.

I think you could possibly get away with less chorizo if you add a bit more paprika, it's one of those recipes I sort of made up as I went along and made a note of what worked. I've also made it with chopped cauliflower stem that I happened to have, and that worked well. It makes 3 or 4 adult helpings.

NSD
Nothing particularly MS either.
Decluttering:
Finished a small crochet project so there is less stashed fabric.
Cleared the twigs from the front lawn and trimmed the cotoneaster that's trying to get in the window.

Cherryfudge

it's been a pretty good day off, particularly the lovely weather; I have been weeding the garden, though progress is very slow. To my delight I found that some late-planted crocuses which I thought I had lost are fine, though they may not flower this year. Elsewhere, quite a few purple crocuses are in bloom and all sorts of things that have been lying low are growing again.

We went to see A and H's new place after lunch. It's super. They've been working really hard at setting out their things while combatting all the new house dust and finding out how their new appliances work. Hopefully by this time they have done a food shop too.

Talking of food shopping, we thought we had done really well with this week's budget but now I have gone 25p over my share as I remembered we were out of milk and nearly out of other essentials and I needed a bottle of wine to make tomorrow's Sunday lunch. However the bread and milk will last a few days into next week. I have also mopped up a few things we needed in town, but the sunny day and the smell of the earth obviously went to my head as I bought some plants too. I hope to make further progress on the border tomorrow then they can go in.

L came round this evening with some of their stuff: it looks as though moving in day is definitely tomorrow. Apparently J is at a hen do today so I had a chance to have a talk with him and I think we have substantially cleared up last week's misunderstanding. I hope so anyway.

Spending:
Housekeeping £21.77
Pets £4.50
Garden £10.00
MS:
10th coin savings 50p
Wombled 1p
Remembered to get supermarket fish instead of chip shop ones
Checked bank account and have received both @mazon refunds
Remembered to add some loyalty card points online
Decluttered:
Some weeds from the garden
And I'm thankful for beautiful weather again, a good talk with L, seeing H and A's house, enough money to be okay despite being over budget, new plants

Honeysucklelou2

Will have to try the soup recipe...I usually make lentil and bacon but lentil and chorizo sounds good. Thank you for sharing that.

Cherryfudge

Just noticed what time you posted, Lou - I hope you get a good night's sleep tonight!

I spent much of today feeling slightly off-colour, which I think was down to tiredness. I managed a short run, but I'm so unfit! However I pulled myself round enough to try a new recipe for Sunday dinner, which we ate while sitting around in the lounge as DS2 had found a strange smell in the dining room! We never found out what the smell was, but it seems to have gone now and the meal was very nice.

DFiL is unwell... still. He hasn't been right since he came out of hospital three weeks ago. Back to the GP tomorrow, which means DH having to take time off work again, but we think DFiL has been understating his symptoms, and the GP may not have the full story.

J and L have arrived and moved their stuff in. They are missing the dog from where they stayed before! We played board games after dinner (they dressed for dinner - in pyjamas) and had a good laugh.

Nothing spent today unless you count £650 paid from the estate for a replacement window at Mum's old house.

And I'm grateful I can still run, even if overtaken by two slugs and a caterpillar, and for a lovely chicken recipe for dinner, to treat us all. (And a spare glass of wine for DS2 afterwards).

My hair will be messy and curly on the early shift tomorrow as I've just washed and towelled it and I can't run the hairdryer in case I wake the household!

HairyHandofDartmoor

I hope you've sorted out the disagreement. I always find it upsetting when family have arguments.

I hope you feel less tired soon, you need to go to bed earlier .

I have some yellow crocuses flowering in pots in my garden, but I feel hard done by because on the packet there was a photo of purple crocuses so I was expecting them to be purple :mad:. Isn't that misselling? :rotfl:.

It's nice now that the spring flowers are appearing, isn't it?

Sorry to hear that Dfil is unwell again. I hope they can find out the cause.

Cherryfudge

Exhausted! Yes, I definitely need to get to bed at a reasonable time... have been up since 20 to 7, the drama started about ten minutes later with a call to say DFiL had fallen. DH got him up and back into bed but the carer called about half past 8 to say she was concerned about him. He's now in hospital and looking somewhat better but on a drip to rehydrate him. They can't find anything clinically wrong apart from known conditions that wouldn't account for his symptoms so he's staying in for a few more tests tomorrow, then has agreed to go for some care for a while to see if he can get back on his feet. He is eating properly and his voice is stronger, which are both good signs.

Work, meanwhile was uneventful and I got some admin done. One funny point was, having managed to organise a quiet hour with my supervisor, he asked me what leave I had booked and I leafed through my diary only to find I had asked for today off! Needless to say I now need to rebook. The manager who okays leave has been off so it had been missed by everyone. It's quite nice to know that I have it to look forward to at some point.

I think the disagreement is largely sorted: more a case of someone not being assertive when put on the spot and then people jumping to conclusions. A and I had a useful talk which will hopefully go some way to clearing it up/avoiding further problems.

Now I think I need to get to bed!
Spending:
Gift £1.00
Housekeeping £9.52