Cherry takes the reins

Cherryfudge

A few spends to record:
Saturday's main shop £22.55
Milk bill £5.84
Groceries via neighbour £7.33
All from the housekeeping budget.

The car is in for its MOT this week but no major expenses expected. DH has also booked the chap to reroof the bay window but that will be next week. There can't be any rain left to fall between then and now, surely? It's very grey and windy today.

I'm off to work shortly and am in overnight.

My thankfulness list: the extra pay for tonight's sleep in, a good night's sleep last night and our lovely supply chain: my neighbour uses her online shop to get things for her mother in law and me, I have got stuff from town for her a couple of times, and her mother in law shopped for both of us today! One of the items was dark brown sugar, for the first time since lockdown.

Sun_Addict

In this current time of gloom and doom it's easy to forget that there are a lot of things to be grateful for. That's lovely how you, your neighbour and her mother in law all help each other out with shopping.

Cherryfudge

Monday night's sleep in at work was uneventful: in fact I've had three good nights' sleep. I also discovered I'd not put my May timesheet in, so that's sent (not that there was much on it) as well as June's. Basic pay goes through automatically so we're not going to be without.

Yesterday I had a bit of a shop for yarn, soft toy stuffing and stitch counters as I'm making a present... some of the colours come from stash but I needed extra. I bought a cheap pillow to use for stuffing as it works out cheaper and less left over than a bag of 'proper' stuffing and I reckon it has to be safe as it's bedding.

In the evening I met up with a friend and had a walk and catch-up. She knows an extension to the route I ran a lot earlier this year and it was interesting to see the area in its summer garb. A blue-tinged field of flax with occasional crimson poppies was a highlight.

Today DH has made progress on his Dad's estate (the bank account is slowly getting sorted) and my Mum's estate (a phone call to find out how we go about requesting permission to sell a small amount of the land to a neighbour).

Today's big news is a visit from J and L to say they've had an offer accepted on a house! Of course it's early days but there's no chain so I'm hopeful. They have to give two months' notice on their current property but I've no idea how long it would take them to complete a move.

Spending
Gifts 5.84
Hobbies 2.10

Cherryfudge

We braved the rain yesterday afternoon to look at the house: it's on a modern estate about half an hour's drive from us. I spotted a herd of alpacas on the way, which was fun! We could only look at the front and peer through the windows (no one in residence I hasten to add). It's a pretty house with gardens front and back. 

I finished the knitted gift late last night and am making a similar one for DS2 ( a personalised nurse doll) so at the moment I'm fighting my way through an intarsia section and have packed all the not-currently-in-use wools away. How come using bits of stash results in more stash? The black trousers are doing my head in as it's supposed to be joined with an invisible seam and it's actually easier to do it by touch than try to see the black threads separately. The end product is cute though, and it's a change from computer games.

This morning I'm making a tea loaf - it's been really hard to get the dark brown sugar for it but that was found for me by my neighbour's mother in law.

It's chucking it down outside but DH is out doing a call for the charity he volunteered for, and picking up the car from its MOT. I don't think the damage is too bad.

It occurred to me that I'm somehow conforming to the lockdown stereotypes: baking, knitting nurse dolls, going for a run or a walk, gardening! I suppose there hasn't been much else to do. At first I felt I couldn't join in these trends because I was working but I've got there in the end.  

I'm off to work this afternoon so I'd better go and iron my uniform.

Cherryfudge

DH did the ironing for me, bless him.

Work was quiet despite now being up to a grand total of four residents. I was asked if I'd change to tomorrow afternoon from morning, which suits me very well. I think I actually have the weekend off too.

I found we had bread about to go off this morning so I made spiced bread pudding as well as the tea loaf, and finished off some chilli from the freezer for my main meal. All fairly money saving.

The MOT came to £55/60 (DH couldn't remember) Other expenses were £3.22 housekeeping and £8 donation.

So tonight my thankfulnesses are finding interesting talks on the internet and time spent with a friend who is relief staff where I work. The relief staff just aren't getting asked to cover at the moment and I expect this is widespread as our service is undersubscribed at the moment so we haven't seen some for months . I'm also thankful for not having to get up early tomorrow!

Cherryfudge

I wish banks and credit card companies would make statements easier to read! I've just been updating my cc payments and I think there's a £100 payment still due but as I've paid over the minimum this month, it's down to my reading of the account, memory and maths - it doesn't say what's owed in so many words. The bank has also changed its layout so I can't see a straightforward table of what's in all accounts any more.

DH went shopping earlier and got some food bargains - he's getting good at it! I did forget to ask him to get fruit though. We need a colour cartridge for the printer but there aren't any in the supermarket. DH had the bright idea of fetching the printer from DFiL's flat to see if there's a working ink supply in there. Yes, the flat is still on the market: viewings are forbidden by the company that manages it. I've also had to pay for postage on some unknown large letter that was underpaid. This should now be delivered on Tuesday.

A quick look at the main bank account shows a few small payments that DH has forgotten about so I'll have to weave them in at some point (not when I need to be getting ready for work).

I've chased up the joiner for work on Mum's old property. He says early next week... here's hoping.

Spending
Housekeeping £13.81
Postage £2.00

Today I'm thankful for the perfect opportunity to start running again. I only went for ten minutes of actual running, with a brisk walk each side and some stretching as my calves are still tight. However with a cool wind to keep me comfortable and poppies in the fields by the track, it was a lovely thing to do.

Cherryfudge

'Super Saturday' - no, I've not been to either the pub or the hairdresser. I did see a neighbour who's been cutting hair all day and she looked all in.

DS2 turned up this afternoon so I was able to give him his knitted nurse doll and he seems quite taken with it. I'd personalised it in his colours and with a headband like the one he has to protect his ears from the elastic on masks, so it was sort-of recognisable. I've also been for a walk to deliver a couple of birthday cards and my friend's birthday gift.

Dh has been fighting the kitchen sink as the new cupboard has to accommodate some plumbing that doesn't want to be accommodated. I have largely left him to it apart from listening to explanations... I did do some weeding but the garden is winning, especially the ground elder.

I also saw Martin's mention of the Fashion on the Ration thread and have fallen into it. I love things like that (social history, frugal challenges) and it turns out to be a treasure-trove of good advice. I've hardly bought any clothes this year, though we did get given uniform tops at work so I've decided that for the purpose of ration books, those are boiler suits and wouldn't have cost any coupons. I might have been sitting at the computer too long, though, as the sciatica that's been hanging around for a week or so decided to come back and I'm sitting with a hot water bottle to ease the ache. It's not agony, I hasten to add, but it's making itself felt.

I haven't done any shopping today, but there are a couple of supermarket bills somewhere from DH to add when it's not bed time.
Spending
Housekeeping £10.43

Tonight I'm thankful for another a day off tomorrow, time with DS2 today and being able to give him his present, and seeing my friend for a chat when I dropped her present off.

Sun_Addict

My only nod to so called super Saturday was to see DS and the GKs. Trying to go to as few places as possible for the time being. 

I love finding new threads on MSE with good advice and ideas for challenges. I follow the Fly Lady one to keep on top of the cleaning.

Honeysucklelou2

Great news about J and L’s house. Hope the conveyancing is quick for them.

Cherryfudge

We had a lovely Sunday, with a very engaging service 'at' church then unexpected visits from DS2 (again) shortly followed by A and H. As we don't really know what the rules are any more, we sat out in the garden for a catch-up. I'm sure that should be okay: A and H are actually just back from a visit to friends in Birmingham but were combining exercise with a visit to drop off our grass rake and A's old toolbox for me.

I was going to use the tool box for garden tools but the pockets are a bit small so plan B is to take it over to Mum's old place and gather up 'my' tools that I've found there. I think my sister got quite a few of them but I've found others and there's something about old wooden-handled gadgets that have been used over years... and if they're all together I can sneak them back as a job lot.

I harvested our red currants (all 2.6oz - takes a bow ) and cut the bush back as it was leaning over the lawn. I know it's not the time for pruning but it's been neglected for years and that old wood had to go. I'm hoping it will put on some fresh growth in the remainder of the season that can harden up before the summer ends.


Yesterday was another running day then work in the afternoon. They've produced a new rota for us but there's very little change to my current hours. I was also on the sleep-in and unfortunately woke up about 2am and slept badly after that though the unit was fairly quiet. I'm about ready to go back to bed right now but first I'm going to have a quick look at some of my course work. I did some in the middle of the night but didn't have enough bandwidth for the video!

Today's thankfulnesses: visits from the DCs, a garden to grow some of our own fruit and a sight of a near-full moon setting in pink-edged clouds at some unknown pre-dawn hour.