Cherry takes the reins

Cherryfudge

Train ticket purchased and this time it came in at under £50 which is miles better than the over £70 a few weeks ago. I've claimed the money back from the estate already, minus the £22-odd that was the excess on the more expensive ticket. I couldn't justify claiming that as it was purely an add-on to enable me to do a bit of city-centre shopping.

This time I'm just doing the basic journey but I need to have a look at the grocery lists and see if I need to put in an order. As I'm going for three nights it's quite difficult to carry enough fresh food and the choice locally is expensive and not very varied. On the other hand, that walk into the next village saves my sanity! However, I've just remembered I said I'd contact DH's auntie about meeting up at a local tourist spot so I might try to get to the shops there if she can make it on Tuesday or Wednesday. I'll text her in the morning.

I've also waded through my CC statement and paid stuff off. It was quite hefty due to the dental bills and train fares. I really must give some thought to either getting dental insurance or setting up some sort of pot to pay for the next lot. My teeth are generally fairly okay but old fillings sometimes need to be replaced. I suppose if I put aside a little each month to give me the cost of the annual check-up, there would be less of an impact if additional work was necessary.

Anyway, time I went to bed!

Cherryfudge

Busy day today! Church in the morning then a wander round the local food festival which is getting bigger and busier each year. We bought lunch and snacks there which came out of spending money but there was still a bit left in the food budget too.

Work for me this afternoon, so I missed DFiL coming for Sunday dinner for the first time this year.

I've just been online putting in a food order for my forthcoming visit to Mum's old house. The lady I was hoping to meet up with can't do this week so no sneaky supermarket trips for me. It would have been at least half a day away from working on the house, though, so maybe it's as well. I resent paying the pick and pack plus a £4 surcharge for paying less than £40 though, so I hastily added a couple of big jars of coffee and an extra jar or two of things that will keep! That lets me off the £4 though it will take me a while to get through that coffee! All this to ensure I have fresh food and don't have to strain any muscles lugging heavy things across the country.

Spending:
Lunch/snacks 3.75
Housekeeping £43.80

Nothing in the way of decluttering or money saving today. However, I'm thankful for the wherewithal to do a big shop, a cheaper train fare to get there and three days to work on the place in nice weather.

Cherryfudge

I'm back! Got loads done at Mum's old place, mostly in the garden but some painting on the outside of the house to improve the view from the street, and a couple more rose cuttings as I discovered a rose there that I don't remember at all but which is really pretty. (A pale pink floribunda, unscented and quite likely from a major rose grower whose site I've just searched without finding anything conclusive). This prompted me to check the cuttings I started a few weeks ago: two have died but the rest seem to be hanging in there with the possibility of root growth, which is better than I've managed in the past.

I did some decluttering while there as well... if I were counting weeds I would be able to add hundreds to my total but as it is I will count everything I had to make a decision about, whether it's a single piece of paper or a whole wodge of papers. My list for the last few days goes like this:

Mop head, plastic bags (4), drawing pin, gift bow, broken dustpan, damaged scarf, broken planter, tights (6 pairs), 2 belts, 5 artificial flowers, bag of curlers, skewer, dried up tube of glue, 3 leaflets, plastic bowl, 10 packs of obsolete posters, empty hand cream, empty deodorant, coat hanger, pieces of paper (15), copper olive from when the heating was installed, battered cardboard box, comb, battery, end piece of a strap.

And 400 grass stems, give or take. Actually two separate areas cleared of rampant long grass and sundry weeds, so two on my decluttering list, plus a tan and tone up.

I bought a coffee on the way there and a few groceries too but most of the food came from the online shopping.

Then - a big piece of news! J and L have a flat! They are hoping to move in next week... not too far away either. I did try to declutter various things in their direction but without much success and I'll confess here and now to bringing lots of bits and bobs back in my suitcase. I reckon things like pencils, pegs and paperclips won't be noticed if I bring them in a few at a time, and then there are always books, though I went through a cupboard of cookery books and only kept a handful, which surprises me. Most were about freezer food, which was the up and coming thing in the 1970s but doesn't really interest me now. I only kept one of those which had some nice ideas for freezing ahead when entertaining, but wasn't too dated.

I'm back at work tomorrow and for the next few days so I had better get to bed soon.

Spending:
1st.
Housekeeping £1.75
Coffee on journey £3.00 (and I was completely caffeinated afterwards! I had the coffee mid-afternoon and was still hyped at midnight. Goodness knows what they did to it, I've had coffee from the same place before and not had a problem).
2nd, 3rd, 4th.
NSDs
MS:
When my online grocery order arrived, the peaches weren't available and were deducted, and the driver told me they couldn't do me two individual bananas so they gave me a bunch instead! Then when he'd gone I found it was a bunch and the two separate bananas... I'm not worrying about that though as I never got a refund for something more expensive that was wrong on a previous order, so I'm setting one against the other.
Lots of free books from Mum's huge stash. There are still more I'd like if I can find space.
Rose cuttings doing well, and some seeds which I think are hollyhock.
Managed to avoid buying coffee on the return journey.
Decluttering:
See above.

Today I'm grateful for a productive visit and safe return, lots of books and a cleared cupboard, and especially for lots of gardening time.

Cherryfudge

Another NSD. In a quest for the missing 'foot' off the ironing board (which I never found), I tidied under the stairs, which is what my Grandmother used to call a 'glory hole', probably as in 'glory be, what on earth is that?' I threw out the remains of a board that had had key pegs on but which has long since come to pieces, and some plastic pots of chocolate sprinkles which were quite a few years old. It looks better, for now.

Other than that I've been at work. Not all that exciting really.

NSD.
Nothing money-saving unless you count finding a better head for the vacuum cleaner.
Just the two items decluttered.

Today I'm grateful for steady, competent colleagues when I'm shift lead!

Cherryfudge

I've spent a bit today: groceries, a train ticket and a car boot sale. I'm about £11 over-budget this week due to the online shop, though that means there's £15 worth of coffee at the other house waiting for me to bring it home. So I suppose in a way I'm not over budget, as I'm not consuming that coffee for some time yet...

The carboot sale was fun: I was looking through some wool on a stall and was offered the lot including the basket for £3, which I accepted (not much good at haggling and the wools were worth more than that). I have given the ones I know I won't use, with the basket, to a friend who is a great knitter, so I haven't accumulated as much clutter as I might have. I did, however buy a recipe book and a couple of other oddments: a craft knife for 50p and some fabric for £2 (which doesn't look right now I've got it home but I think my sister may be able to use it).

I went on a split ticketing site this evening and got a huge saving on fares back from London in August (my birthday treat from months ago). £38 instead of the £184 it would have cost on the day. We have to change twice but that's not a problem and we should be back nicely in time for tea.

Other than that I've paid the milk bill and got some food for meals at work over this weekend.

Spending:
Housekeeping £18.11
Hobbies £5.50
Travel £38.00
Book £0.50
MS:
£146 saved on train fare
Yellow stickered rhubarb at a third the usual price.
Some I think I forgot from going my trip during the week: a bag of daffodil bulbs from a planter I emptied, and what looks like iris roots. A handful of pencils, some paperclips and some pegs from Mum's things, two kitchen knives and at least half a dozen books.
Decluttering:
Gave the car boot items that I don't really want away asap.)

Today I'm thankful for not having to shift lead, time with Dh and bargains, and my phone righting itself after some problems with being really full and not updating.

Cherryfudge

Yesterday was an NSD but I managed to forget I was doing the overnight at work - until I got in and saw who was doing what! Cue a text to Dh to rescue me with pyjamas and makeup .

It was quite a late night but went okay, then this morning I've been asked if I'll help out on Wednesday as a colleague has been injured (not terribly but enough to limit what she can do for a while). So that's MS as it will net me another £40 or so after tax, but means I'm losing a day off. However, my annual leave requests (that I put in when this seemed like a good time to take a couple of days) appear to be in a complete mess so it may be that I'll get an extra day at the end of the week (or not). I must remember not to do too much!

I'm just off to the shops then back to work...

Cherryfudge

Nothing much to report. I never got to the shops but got some curry out of the freezer for tea so that was quite money-saving.

DH isn't happy that I've taken on the Wednesday shift so I haven't mentioned that I'm going in tomorrow (day off) to get some of the garden done! I will get paid for this, but it's more relaxing than work.

A nice little money-saving thing: our raspberries are cropping beautifully so free raspberries on tap!

No decluttering today.

My thankfullness list: raspberries, gardening, chocolate.

Cherryfudge

It's been a rather full day though I lazed about most of the morning. I'd bought one of the Kindle Daily Deal books last night and it's a real page turner, so I was up late reading. It might take a few days, as I'm only a quarter of the way through (when you consider I read one of the longer Harry Potter books inside 48 hours, this makes my new one a long story). I had scheduled myself in to do some gardening at work and made quite good process though I spent longer than I'd planned and can't claim for the extra. Still, it's not all about the money. I wouldn't do it if I didn't enjoy it!

After the gardening I assembled all the bits and pieces for a number of errands and got as far as taking old medicines to the chemist when I realised I'd left my purse at home and had to double back for it. Eventually I got the shopping and some birthday cards then made my way home. Dinner was my favourite lentil & chorizo soup which I've missed over the last few weeks, then my friends came round this evening and we ate cake (it was someone's birthday) and watched Matthew Bourne's Swan Lake for free (it's on You Tube). I've seen it three times now, plus snippets that I've seen more, and I still think it's brilliant.

So, groceries and cards have been quite expensive today but there were some basics needing to be topped up and some discontinued lines that seemed like a good opportunity. I bought some frozen fruit to go in my oats for work meals too: that will last me a while.

Spending:
e-book £1.35
Gifts (cards & cake) £2.75 + £12-something, I can't find the receipt.
Household £19.74
Toiletries £5.03
MS:
£2 coin for jar
10th coins saved: 40p
An hour and a half extra work to claim for.
Extra portion of soup now in the freezer and packed lunch ready for tomorrow.
Free film this evening with my friends.
Decluttering:
6 items to chemist for disposal, 8 containers to the eco shop for recycling.

I'm thankful for work and colleagues I like, the chance to get to the shops and friends to spend the evening with.

Cherryfudge

I ended up staying at work an extra two hours (and this time I'm claiming for them). Just one of those days I suppose. I went straight to the shops when I got in, in case I sat down and ran out of oomph!

I got slightly excited about a £5 note as the serial number had the first six digits of one of those engraved fivers that could potentially be worth a fortune (their numbers are AM32 885551 to 885554, in case you are wondering). Mine was two and a half thousand earlier sadly.

Spending:
Housekeeping £5.42
MS:
10th coins saved £1.20
Dropped a good pair of secateurs off to be sharpened... will cost about a third of what they cost new.
Treated us to a favourite cook-in sauce for tea while they are 2 for £3. I needed to get out DH's (untouched) Moroccan cookery book, of course, and learn how to make it for tuppence ha'penny.
Decluttering:
Nothing as such but I've washed a load of jars and found lids for them so they can go to the eco shop.

Today I'm thankful that I've had extra hours of work, for a nice text from a colleague, and for Moroccan-inspired dinners!

VelvetFreak

Hey Cherry, I just spent some time catching up on your diary seems like things are going well for you and your family. Am jealous that you get paid to garden