Cherry takes the reins

Cherryfudge

HairyHandofDartmoor wrote: »

I find DS2's rubbish bags a good source of coins, he chucks away pound coins sometimes .

Do you lend him out?

Cherryfudge

Nothing much to report today (yesterday). Work. Nothing spent. Lots added to the declutter list though!

Now I have a weekend off.

And I'm thankful for some un-Mother's Day gifts from DS2, a sunny day again and a little progress made on the clutter and the non-clutter that just needed a bit of a tidy.

Cherryfudge

It's been a good day off, though if I stop to think I get panicky about DS2 setting off on his travels tomorrow. He doesn't organise things the way I think they should be organised but he will probably manage to work it all out somehow. At least he isn't going alone.

The car boot this morning was quite fun: we stopped to chat with a lady I know from back in the day - our kids grew up together so we have a lot of memories! Further round the stalls we heard our names being called and there was our neighbour with a stall so we had another chat and I picked up a book I liked the look of. When I asked him how much, he gave it to me as I'd given him the flask last week!

I also found the perfect replacement for a favourite saucepan at only £2.50 and a little lamp to put on a timer in the back of Mum's house (£2).

This afternoon was largely spent in the garden: I dragged out the lawn mower, which has seen better days and will probably need to be replaced unless I can find a way to make the handle stay in place. Mowing the grass took probably about an hour and a half, with timely detours to turn and water the compost bins so the grass doesn't go slimy in them. The sky was threatening rain after the lovely morning, but it held off. A couple of loads of laundry also got down, then I cleaned up the old fire grate which has been sitting by the shed for months getting rusty. The idea is to sell it as the component parts are quite dear. It's now sitting by the shed again waiting for me to finish cleaning it - I was grubby enough after my battle with the lawns and filthy after blacking the grate! I'll have another go in full daylight.

Earlier this evening DH and I sat down to go through the information we need for DFiL's meeting on Monday - I'm going as family rep as other people are struggling to get the time off. We had had free advice from a friend who advises on benefits and it didn't seem likely he will get help towards his care costs, but looking through the paperwork tonight we think he just might. I've also been through my diary here and got more information to back up the record of his falls.

I'm being tempted by a book I saw recommended on another thread, but it's £10 and I am reading so much already... it could be useful though as it helps people who consider themselves hoarders, and while I haven't read enough in the freebie sample to discover if that's me, I do have a problem letting go of stuff. I've got a lot better at not buying (honestly!) but it's very hard to know if I can get rid of something and I'm hoping I can gain a better understanding of this.

Spends:
Household £4.50
Housekeeping - I gave the remaining £4.61 (?) of the housekeeping money to Dh to get chips and Sunday lunch and he reckons we are about £1.50 overspent so I feel okay about going back to normal spending next week I know I cheated like mad by scraping up all those bits of change but as I think I said, they were likely to have been from this budget anyway.
Gift (from the other account) - £100 spending money to DS2 for his trip, following precedent set elsewhere.
MS:
Supermarket fish instead of chip shop fish again, thanks to DH.
Really great bargains in the saucepan and lamp I bought.
Free cookery book.
Managed to keep the lawn mower working!
Home made compost is oddly satisfying.
Confession time:
I have lost the hairdressing kit so DH had to pay to get his hair cut (on the plus side, it's pretty much as I do it, and I do a better job on strays and evening it up ).
Decluttering:
A box of paints to DD.
Loads of coins to the supermarket the other day when I did the scavenger hunt for grocery money.
Two lots of packaging.
A tin lid.
A tube of makeup that's gone thick.
6 assorted pieces of paper.
Total 12

I am reminded the clocks are about to change so I shall pack up soon.

HairyHandofDartmoor

I hope DS2 has safe travels on his trip abroad. I would worry too (and do worry ) but each trip away builds up his life experience and keeps him safer. We write DS2 detailed travel notes to try and keep him safe when he goes abroad. It helps to keep our mind at rest anyway.

I was given the Marie Kondo book for Mother's Day by DS1 so I'm looking forward to reading that. I feel like clutter is building up in our house. It's partly lack of time and partly lack of clarity about what we need and want too keep.

Cherryfudge

Thanks Hairy. DS2 doesn't seem to rate my advice very highly but he did take in one or two bits... I think it's a case of leading a horse to water but not being able to make it drink. I was somewhat reassured by the time he left (quarter to one this morning) that he had the things he most needed or at least had the means to get access to them. He packed everything into an everyday-sized backpack so at least he won't be too weighed down. They should be arriving about now but their plane is nowhere to be seen on the flight tracker so, as I looked only about 15 minutes before it was due in, I've concluded it arrived early and the transponder has been switched off by now. I don't have any difficulty with there being enough leeway in the journey as it was about 12 hours and it's easy to be inaccurate over such a long flight.

After I'd seen him on his way I returned to working on the notes for DFiL's meeting today and finally went to bed just before 3! Note to self: do not make a practice of this. However I had five pages of typed notes all in order to use at the meeting, which, as far as I can tell, went well, and afterwards I gave them to the assessor in case she needed them for reference. The whole process seemed fair and thorough so now we just have to wait for the results.

I did the shopping on the way home and was just cooking lunch when I realised I was due at work half an hour before I'd thought, so there was a big rush and I turned up 15 minutes late. However as it wasn't an urgent time of day and I'd made a phone call in advance and had time in lieu to take, it wasn't too much of a problem.

Work had something interesting to offer: our new payscales are through and it looks as though we all get a rise! I don't have the details yet but as I'm likely to lose a pay scale point due to being off sick so long last year, it may be that one cancels out the other. However a couple of people who should know about these things have advised me I may have grounds to appeal against the loss of increment as my health record is otherwise really good.
Spending:
31st - NSD but I gave DS2 60 Euros to spend en route as he steadfastly refused to take toothpaste, saying he'd buy it when he got there. (I couldn't do that - I remember feeling so much better after going to the ladies' at 3am in Dubai specially to brush my teeth!)
1st Housekeeping £15.01
Confession time:
Spent 10p on a carrier bag.
MS:
10th coin savings 55p
Decluttered:
I planted up some bulbs (way overdue) and my magnolia yesterday.
And I'm grateful that:
DS2 got safely on his way with his passport and with his luggage and with my sanity still intact, and my stress levels are down quite a bit even though we won't necessarily hear from him for some hours. DFiL's meeting seems to have been positive, and I can have a lie-in tomorrow.

Cherryfudge

P.S. If he spends 60 Euros on toothpaste, he's in trouble, but I don't think they'd booked food on the flight so I'm hoping he bought some food airside.

Cherryfudge

One of those days off where I awarded myself downtime and have caught up on much-needed sleep but now I need to get something achieved.
It rained this morning and it's not very warm but I now have washing on the line. There is, however, a big pile of ironing, no cleaning done, I haven't visited DFiL for ages and I've noticed the seasonal variation on time zones all over the house so while the computer clock is showing, I'll make a start by putting all those right and doing half an hour on the cleaning and tidying. After that (which is motivated by you all reading this and thinking what a disgrace I am), I will venture forth.

Cherryfudge

So what did I get done? The clocks are righted apart from one which is supposed to be radio controlled but sets itself to very odd times so I'll try it with a new battery.

Two lots of washing and a bit of ironing done, plus random bits of housework, though there's still quite a bit to do. I might follow Wannabe Free's example and do the kitchen floor before bed so it's nice in the morning.

I didn't get as far as DFiL's. DH isn't going as he's coughing and a bit temperature-y and has been for a while. He's been advised to suspend one of his medications which is an immuno-suppressant and see if that helps him recover, but the last thing we want is for his Dad to get it.

We heard from DS2's friend's mother that DS and friend have arrived safely at their destination - she has had no more luck via social media than I have (and DH has tried, only to have his account suspended for 24 hours!) but apparently her teenagers have got through.

I have been to the shops again and got various things including coffee so it wasn't a cheap shop, but not too bad either. Other than that my friends who were going to come round this evening have called off so we watched the final of the Sewing Bee (which was sufficiently enthralling to get me crochetting double-quick and I did a whole chunk of my project! ) and took huge amounts of books out of a bookcase ready for the decorator who is coming later this week.

Spends:
Housekeeping £8.34
Toiletries £2.50
MS:
Coffee half price
10th coin savings £1.50
Decluttering
Remembered to take the spent batteries to recycling, and a couple of other small bits gone, can't remember what.
Counting my blessings, I saw a spectacular dark cloud with thebudding trees sunlit against it. Transcient beauties. . And good sleep last night.

Cherryfudge

I spent some time today clearing stuff from the lounge - even I have to admit I'm not bothered to keep all the books that were in the bookcase there, and some were horribly dusty as brick dust had got under the dustsheet when we had the hearth done. they are all stacked elsewhere now and the room is nearly ready for the decorator at 8 tomorrow.

DS2 managed to get in touch! I am sure he is okay he sent a jokey caption to a photo but we're still a little mystified as the photo didn't come through.

On the downside, DH still has a slight temperature and a cough, he's worn out and headachey, which is most unlike him but he's promised to make a doctor's appointment tomorrow - or rather, I'm to make it for him as he insists on going to work.

I'll be here in the morning as someone is coming to paper the lounge - it's a mish-mash of dodgy plaster and odd corners and we can't seem to get it right. By 'we', I mean DH: he at least tried, I just chickened out completely. In the afternoon I'm at work.

Spends:
Medication £0.60
Housekeeping £11.07
MS:
Wombled 11p while sorting out the lounge.
10th coin savings 2p
Finally finished a moisturiser and was about to recycle the pot when I had an idea: I have a little bit of another to finish then I have one that doesn't have sun protection in (I know, I'm trying to work my way through a backlog and Not Buy More). However I have quite a bit of sunscreen that I bought at the end of summer so I have used the old moisturiser pot to mix the sunscreen and moisturiser which hopefully gets various things used up without compromising my skin care. We'll see. Nothing lost if it doesn't work for some reason.
Decluttering:
Some bits of paper and a couple of leaflets, empty hand cream bottle. One moisturiser finished.

Today I'm thankful we've heard from DS2 and that he seems to be okay. I'm thankful we have the lounge ready for the decorator and the wherewithal to pay him. I'm also glad that when I checked the mortgage account we are a mere £1.03 off the next £500 paid off.

Cherryfudge

The decorators turned out to have been expecting us to strip the old wallpaper before starting - there seem to be three different memories of this so basically they are coming back on Monday and L, who had most of the day off today, has done an excellent job of cleaning up much of the room. I helped a little bit, including a piece of ceiling by a flat roof where it used to rain in: on close inspection it's a mess, warped and flaking so we are going to investigate them replacing the dry lining in that area before papering. So yet another job that will cost more than we originally expected but it will again be worth it to get a good finished product.

I did buy a few groceries including a small edible present for L, and some DIY stuff.

Work went on rather longer than usual as I had a lot to write up but I hope to claim some back or get paid for it. There was no way I could have done the recording earlier as it was about events at the end of the shift.

DH is on antibiotics: I hope they work soon. He's cheered up by the wallpaper stripping being substantially done and I'm cheered up by the doctor having seen him.

Spending:
Gift £2.35
Household £3.50
Housekeeping £3.70
MS:
L did the wallpaper stripping which has saved us a lot in labour costs
10th coin savings 20p

Tonight I'm thankful for (free, NHS) doctors and knowledgeable assessment for DH, me coping okay at work when extra stuff was happening, level-headed colleagues and hot cross buns. DS2's friend's mum forwarding photos from their holiday as DS2 hasn't managed to get any to us.