Cherry takes the reins

Cherryfudge

A beautiful day here, hot and sunny which means work will be uncomfortably hot later. It's also meaning I can't run as I overheat easily... and have had backache for a few days for some unknown reason. I did some stretches yesterday and have stiffened up a lot so I'll keep those up. Use it or lose it and so forth.

That sounds like a litany of woes but it's not bad really. I'm enjoying watching the progress of my new plants and I've been on Skype to work, where they now have three residents (i.e. half full) and there is an action plan due for getting back to normal. It's also nice having DH at home and L working from our back lawn - so I have company, which makes a big difference to my get up and go.

I'm not expecting to spend anything today.

Cherryfudge

Famous last words.

I realised I didn't have any yogurt to make my overnight oats so I went out shopping and bought yogurt plus a lot of fruit and veg and some ice cream for J and L (which they are going to reimburse me for so I'm not including it, though I was horrified to discover you can pay £3.89 for three ice creams!)

I bumped into one colleague on the way in and another on the way out of the supermarket, which was a fitting start for my shift, though it's been very quiet. I stayed a while after I was supposed to be finished to have a catch-up with night staff because night staff are always somehow above the everyday politics of the job, however politically aware they are. It's one of those things that happens in care, just as every care home has a ghost story somewhere. (I hasten to add I haven't seen any of the aforesaid ghosts, and a bit of me suspects some stories are generated by night staff watching horror films to keep themselves awake).

Spending
Housekeeping £7.01
Tonight I'm thankful for time to catch up with friends, lots of lovely healthy fruit and a really summery day.

Cherryfudge

Nothing much to report today: I've picked up shifts over the weekend and on Monday so am hoping after that to have a couple of days off.
I'm thankful for a busier shift today, and a beautiful tranquil evening (though friends in the Isle of Man are already reporting thunder and lightening so perhaps I need to take my mac to work tomorrow.

Onebrokelady

Cherryfudge said:

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.

Neither did I, he is a large cats though and he blends in perfectly with the shrubs so you can't see him 

Sun_Addict

My friend's cat brought a moorhen back once.  Fortunately it survived and she returned it to the canal. My cat's never been any good at catching birds, it's mice she brings back for the dog. Isn't it funny how despite years and years of domestication and being fed on cat food, they never lose that hunting instinct.

Hope you get your couple of days off next week Cherry.

Cherryfudge

While on the topic of birds, our robin is still missing. Mind you I never normally see them in the summer so perhaps the fledglings were driving him crazy and he just had to get out of the house?

Pidge, the pigeon who held up tree-shaping, has a youngster and is perched on the edge of the nest as the swab is so big she doesn't fit in any more.

Work felt more normal today. Perhaps yesterday was a culture shock, being in my usual setting but with staff I don't know so well and new cleints. Again I stayed on briefly after the shift to spend a bit of time with my usual colleagues, then I came home, showered and dozed off for a while.

DH made us liver and bacon for dinner - oh so nice. I do have a bit of a gripe with supermarkets who sell largeish packets of liver, previously defrosted then frozen so the excess can't be put in the freezer. I might look out a liver pate recipe.

We had a short walk this evening as the thunder storm was brief and not nearly as much electrical activity as the picture on the packet suggested. Only a weak token peal of thunder, too. It did save some watering of the garden though, and will do my neighour's new lawn seed good.

This evening I'm thankful for a warm evening full of subdued light and birdsong, for the long, long light (I was out taking photos at nearly half past ten last night) and for the huge generosityof this year's roses.

Cherryfudge

A spendy day today as the car insurance has been paid. £200.08 of all the odd amounts, and we used my credit card so I get a few loyalty points. I've just paid off the house insurance for Mum's house from the other week so the card is getting its exercise.

Work today felt more like home as it was two of my usual colleagues and a quiet shift. I've also picked up a sleep in for after my Monday shift, and it's sounding as though I may be there all next week.

DH has done the shopping - I don't have the receipt yet - and has also had a drive out to drop off a card and flowers for an elderly relative who has had to go into a care home. I think I mentioned her before. We had a visit planned before lockdown but she rang to cancel as she had had to go into hospital and when we tried to get back to her, her phone was never answered. After some detective work on DH's part we found about the care home. She has closer relatives who live far away so they've had to arrange everything under difficult conditions as she deteriorated very quickly. Anyway DH has now seen the place and spoken to staff and been able to report back that things seem to be going okay.

We've had a couple of torrential downpours: the one just after lunch was amazing. The bay window roof that leaks under certain conditions did its best and produced nearly two buckets of water in 20/25 minutes as well as several sub leaks. We got some thunder and lightening too but couldn't really enjoy them as we were too busy running round with pans, buckets, bowls and towels! There is fractionally over two inches of water in the milk bottle holder outside (the empties were floating): it was almost empty this morning. The air's about ten degrees cooler than yesterday but that means we'll sleep better tonight.

Tonight I'm thankful for DH's trip over to deliver the flowers, for catching the rain before it caused damage, for a shift with those particular colleagues and for my extra work on Monday.

crunchy_time

I love your comments of gratitude at the end of your posts. xx

Cherryfudge

crunchy_time said:

I love your comments of gratitude at the end of your posts. xx

I owe those to the example of InNeedofDirection, crunchy_time. I like your name by the way: it makes me think of chocolate.

Cherryfudge

Another quiet day... I was at work this morning so I haven't been to (online) church but we did have our family video call. It was going to be a meal in A and H's garden but between yesterday's deluge and today's wild winds we decided on a quiz instead.

Dinner was going to be liver and sausages but we discovered liver goes off very quickly so it was sausages and bacon, chips, beans and fried onions. Not a conventional Sunday meal but very tasty.

I've sorted out some bits of banking: I still need to pay off £200.08 on my credit card and all the careful squirreling of loyalty points in June has earned us something like £2.30. Admittedly if this was interest earned it would be good but it's very few pence per expenditure of mental energy. I'm not sure what units mental energy comes in - dribs and drabs? Trickles?

Work news is firming up a bit: I have a rota till the middle of July at my usual place of work and a colleague who went to the same care home as I did has now returned. I gather from my line manager that the new boss is to thank for this. I think she wants everyone available at base, which is fair enough and certainly decreases footfall across different settings, though we are still somewhat under-employed. However I'm told that some shifts could have used more staff a few weeks ago when we were being leant out.

So today I'm thankful for enough energy to keep awake since I've got home, meaning I could join in the quiz, and for the prospect of more settled times at work. I'm also glad of the stormy weather as it will keep people indoors and limit viral spread. It's good to see death rates dropping down but all it takes is one infected person in a crowd to set off another whole wave of infections.