Cherry takes the reins

Onebrokelady

Wow, you have been busy, I have a bird feeding station in my garden and have always wanted a bird table but with the cats I don't think it would be safe. I was woken up by the magpies going mad in the front garden this morning. I went out to discover next doors cat had killed a wood pigeon 😟I had to remove the body so the magpies would be quiet, last week he killed a rook 😟🙀

Sun_Addict

Great news about DS's ward.  It's heartening to finally hear some positives in the news to give us all hope that there is a light at the end of the tunnel after all. The sun shining helps too.

Cherryfudge

Onebrokelady said:

Wow, you have been busy, I have a bird feeding station in my garden and have always wanted a bird table but with the cats I don't think it would be safe. I was woken up by the magpies going mad in the front garden this morning. I went out to discover next doors cat had killed a wood pigeon 😟I had to remove the body so the magpies would be quiet, last week he killed a rook 😟🙀

I replied on your thread but wow! I didn't know cats went for prey as large as a rook.

Cherryfudge

Sun_Addict said:

Great news about DS's ward.  It's heartening to finally hear some positives in the news to give us all hope that there is a light at the end of the tunnel after all. The sun shining helps too.

Thanks SA. Yes, it really feels as though we've turned a corner.

Cherryfudge

Work today was much busier for some unknown reason. We didn't get a break till 1.30 by which time my feet were telling me I needed it. I then had a chat with a colleague who is definitely going on my list of people who came into support work from something completely different. I used to work with someone who had been a property developer, someone else was a builder, another was a hairdresser and yet another, an ambulance driver. This one was a diplomat!

I walked home but that really wasn't a good idea as I was very tired and my feet are suffering. I've googled and it looks as though it's not too serious a problem but it can be very painful. I've taken my running shoes to work as they seem to ease it, being so light and flexible.

DH made tea (southern fried chicken and chips: one of my absolute favourites) and I fell asleep on the sofa. I've got my act together now - I hope I can sleep soon! - and started to make a face mask out of an old sheet. I need to make any mistakes on something that doesn't matter too much! I did have a go at the sock masks but I didn't think the socks were very breathable. Perhaps it depends on the sock.

Dh did a bit of grocery shopping (I don't know what it came to but it won't be a lot) and has started replacing the plaster around the kitchen sink with plasterboard. DS1 is helping with his trusty workbench. He's a natural with DIY which is very useful! The old plaster had to go as it was coming off without help. We replaced the old door with a double glazed one which is so much more solid that it's actually shaken the framework as people come and go and the plaster wouldn't stay put!

So today I'm thankful for the foot problem looking to be solvable, which makes a huge difference. Also DH's injured thumb is doing okay - I was afraid of infection as the screwdriver wasn't disinfected.

ETA: Spending
Housekeeping ?
Household £17.00 (plasterboard)

Cherryfudge

Not much to report today: I had lifts too and from work and the work itself wasn't too strenuous so I'm more awake than usual! Also, I fell asleep on the sofa again after tea!
It's clear to me that I'll have to change something somehow as I can't do this job without a big impact on the rest of my life. I haven't run for a month as I'm too tired, so the health and strength that are promoted when I run are starting to drop away. The walking is causing too much pain in my feet but with some investigation and systematic trial and error I may be able to put that right (though it's not going to be so easy buying more supportive shoes - I wonder how shoe shops are doing when it comes to trying on? I expect they have to quarantine stock for 72 hours).
This evening I met up online with a couple of friends and next week we're planning a walk together, though one of them has just been told she can come off furlough so she may not be available if her work needs her.
I've spent £1.99 on an e-book but that will come off a voucher so no actual cost to me.
I'm also eating too much chocolate and biscuits, which is not a good thing.

This evening I'm thankful for days off coming up, for DH being willing and able to take me to work and for the progress he's making on our new kitchen cabinet. Our kitchen has been a years-long project so this won't be the end of it but it's progress.

Cherryfudge

I meant to say that a muggy, sunny morning turned into the most torrential downpour about three o'clock. The village where I'm working was badly flooded twenty years ago and there was a bit of a flash flood this afternoon, though it was half gone when I came out of work. The garden paths at work were actually submerged and the roof looked as though it was a water feature with a steady cascade flowing down but I don't think it got into the building.

Two and a half miles away, at home, it hasn't rained at all.

Sun_Addict

It’s been lovely all day here until just now we’ve just started with a thunderstorm 😱 I hope you can find a solution to the work situation to get some sort of balance back in your life. Have you got any ideas?

Cherryfudge

Sun_Addict said:

It’s been lovely all day here until just now we’ve just started with a thunderstorm 😱 I hope you can find a solution to the work situation to get some sort of balance back in your life. Have you got any ideas?

There isn't a lot presenting itself, SA, apart from asking if I can go back to my usual team (which is nearer home). I was on Skype this morning for their briefing and it sounds as though they have got busier to the point where they are thinking of recalling staff if someone else is discharged to them over the weekend.  So often, though, potential residents go elsewhere as some criteria aren't met.

I think it will help that I've been able to group my days at work in a way that ensures I don't do too many together. We'll see how it goes.

Cherryfudge

I've had a  productive day, starting with something of a lie-in. Then there was the work call later in the morning and lunch, after which DH went through some potential insurance for Mum's old house with me. He's found a considerable discount over the previous company so we've gone with that. I managed to complicate things by paying it on my credit card and deciding to pay myself back right away out of the estate. I transferred the money to our current account so I could pay the cc but when I went to do that, I realised I've taken the cc off that particular current account as DH is no longer putting his income in there. I've therefore had to transfer the funds to the account my wages go into, after which I discovered it's above the limit for my debit card so I'll have to pay it in instalments after all. Nothing's simple.

I even had DH look through my cc account to try to trace a mysterious minus number which I think must be me overpaying and being in credit, but neither of us can make sense of it. In theory I should look for a different cc account as this one just gives me loyalty points - useful but the layout of the account is confusing and I don't get 0% any more.

In the afternoon we had our first proper 'trip out' since March. We drove to another town (!) and went for a walk to an abbey, taking a lot of photos. There were people queuing for ice creams near where we parked and I was quite tempted by either an ice cream or a coffee but I'm very wary of getting too near people so I resisted. I suppose that saves us a bit. I told DH we'd put the money towards a holiday some time.

I've been money saving in other ways too. DH has had a hair cut but our hair trimmers are very old and getting blunt, and you don't appear to be able to replace the blade so I think it's time to get a new set. Of course everyone and their dog have been doing home hairdressing recently so there weren't many bargains around and so far I've settled for cleaning the old ones out. Then this evening I battled two sewing machines that I'd brought from Mum's house - quite unsuccessfully! In the end I turned to my own one which has caused me hours of frustration and hasn't been used for several years. To my shock and delight, it sprang into action and I've now made two face masks using reclaimed fabrics so no cost. They aren't fantastic sewing but if the machine has finally decided to talk to me (or I've accidentally corrected whatever I was doing wrong), then I'll get it out again and learn to do better.

Dinner was toad in the hole with an assortment of veggies and of course brown sauce. That used up some sausages, mushrooms and eggs rather than waste them.

Late this evening I opened the kitchen door to an odd snuffling noise and was able to watch a hedgehog for some minutes, which was fun even though I couldn't get a photo. It was quite small so perhaps a young one.

I'm thankful for a trip out in the sunshine with DH, for my sewing machine finally working for me and for another day off tomorrow.

Oh, and another £1.99 spent on another e book.