Cherry takes the reins

Cherryfudge

It's market day today so I avoided that end of the High Street. It's temporarily pedestrianised while the market stalls are there so shoppers can walk on the road and do a better job of social distancing, but yesterday, without the market stalls, it was still a bit too busy for me. I did manage my visit to the little shop that I'd promised myself, and topped up on a couple of ingredients and a loofah kitchen sponge (we really like these and the last one is falling to bits after a year - would have been replaced earlier but, you know, lockdown...)

It was worrying to hear that footfall is low at the shop now. It could be that her customer profile is just those people like me who are wary of possible virus exposure, but it could also be that a rebuild just down the road has been completed, and traffic is no longer routed past the shop. I think I need to make a big effort to shop there more.

This afternoon DH and I had a walk of just over 5 km: much the same route that I did with my friend yesterday, but the other way around.

The great lose-a-whole-pound-and-a-half effort was going quite well till today, but my calories for the day are almost gone. We had salmon in pasta and sauce for tea, followed by rhubarb and homegrown blackcurrants, but DH has made a Victoria sponge... It was nice. Some of my calorie counting is semi-educated guesswork, as I don't know how much rhubarb I had or how much sugar I added, etc. Maybe the damage won't be damage at all, said she, hopefully.

Decluttering has progressed slightly, but nothing's left the house today. It's more about a couple of bags of books going up on shelves and finding a notebook of Mum's from 1950 and a photo of my paternal grandfather whom I've only seen in pictures.

DS1 came round today to help us cut the new worktop for the kitchen, which is now tucked behind the sofa till the sink is available: another month. I have still to find final costs for the worktop.

Spending
Housekeeping £4.32
Household £3.20
Toiletries £1.05

And today I'm glad I was brave enough to go back to that shop, and that DH and I can plan walks together any time we like (my work and the weather allowing).

Cherryfudge

DH has gone out for a looong bike ride so I have the house to myself and have had a lazy morning! I have managed to mend one of DH's ties that's been hanging about waiting since he finished work in March. Just a few stitches needed. Somehow the lining doesn't seem to fit as well as it did but the problem is out of sight so that's another bit of clutter sorted.

I'm delighted this morning that the pound and a half weight loss target seems to have been surpassed by a whole pound!  I also found I'd made a mistake on my calorie intake yesterday so there wasn't too much of a problem despite the cake. My next target is another pound off as well as maintaining the loss so far.

It's going to be too warm to run today but I've done a run and two walks in the last three days so a rest day will be good. Hoping to make progress in the garden though: the whole left hand border needs attention.

Sun_Addict

Well done on the weight loss. Good idea to break it down into small goals. Hope you have a nice relaxing day.

Cherryfudge

Thanks SA.

We have just had some worrying news: L's Dad has Covid. Apparently he's not too poorly, which I'm holding on to as it's not news anyone wants. As far as I know his wife is okay, but they were camping last weekend with L and J as well as another of their boys and his partner. Separate tents and out of doors but it's worryingly close. J (DD) is hoping work will send her to be tested but I doubt she's eligible as she doesn't have symptoms. Then they came back from the camping trip and went cycling with DH the next day, though this is much less close contact than spending the weekend with someone.

DH had his long bike ride today: he did 40 miles and stopped for a snack but I don't have the receipt for that, or for the grocery shopping he did later. I've sent off for some masks in readiness for having to have them in shops. We do have a few but DH sometimes forgets and I expect I will at some point, too, but if we have plenty we can keep spares in pockets etc. Other than that I've done little apart from some chopping back overgrowth in the garden, doing some cleaning and having an evening stroll with DH. This time we wandered around some back lanes in town, there weren't many people about.

Spending
Medical £9.99
Housekeeping £1.75 (yesterday), £7.88 (supermarket) and greengrocer today, £2.50? for crisps and pop today.
Unknown at Boyes today: £1

And tonight I'm thankful for the scent of the honeysuckle in the garden: until this year I thought it wasn't a scented variety but it's lovely now. Having within a few yards in our garden abundant honeysuckle, wild roses and perennial sweet peas - these way over my head - is wonderful!

Cherryfudge

I posted yesterday but it's disappeared. I didn't sleep well and was on an early shift so I was quite tired later. DH made chicken and chorizo pasta for tea and we settled down to watch some TV but I managed to spill my drink on myself and now have pick scald marks and blisters across the top of one leg. It's a bit puffy, but oddly not painful. The main difficulty is protecting the blisters from getting rubbed by trousers, so I'm wearing a piece of cling film over them!

Work has been peaceful and I'm on another early tomorrow so I need to get to bed soon. The good news is that L's Dad is asymptomatic so he's just waiting out the time till he can go back to work. J and L have been for a coronavirus test today but results will take a day or two. Everyone feels well, which is encouraging.

I haven't made progress on the house or garden for a couple of days, or done any exercise. I did manage to use up some leftover casserole and yogurt for dinner tonight and put the remains of the butternut squash soup in the freezer for a quick work meal. Our online loo roll and kitchen paper order has come so I think that's about £40 gone out of the account.

Spending
Housekeeping £11.27

I'm thankful that everyone seems to have stayed asymptomatic so far and that the scald is mending well. I'm also thankful for my job and colleagues who stay their sane and reliable selves in this changing world!

Seasidegal58

Hello Cherry - just caught up with your diary after being AWOL. I'm pleased to read that L's dad is ok and the rest of your family feels well. 👍
Ouch! The scald sounded painful but good news that it's on the mend. 

The honeysuckle aroma must be lovely!  Lucky you to have such a gorgeous garden - I'm very envious!

charlies_tribe

Hope the other results all come back OK. Glad that Ls dad isn't having any symptoms.
Hope your scold heals quickly.

Cherryfudge

J has her results back and all is well. L will have to do the test again as it was inconclusive, but my colleague had the same happen to her and it was negative so I'm not too worried.

SSG, thank you for the compliment about the garden. I'm afraid it's perpetually overgrown but it does smell lovely.

Charlies_tribe, thanks - the leg still has a very pink stripe but I've abandoned the clingfilm and the blisters haven't got infected so I think we're winning. It's very odd that it's not painful but I don't mind that.

Work was quite nice today, though politics are rolling round like thunder. The new manager has indicated there will be a change which is supposed to be for our benefit but I worked out it will probably be effectively a small pay cut. People who are better at logistics than I are also saying the current staffing structure won't allow these changes, and I very much doubt there's more money to pay for more staff.

Nothing spent today, and we found some fishcakes in the freezer to use up for dinner. They were really yummy but apparently not very cheap so they will have to be a treat that we have from time to time. The diet is still happening and weight has edged down a little apart from the scald day when I lost track of calories.

This evening I'm thankful for L's negative test result, for finding a new treat for dinner, a little bit of tidying and managing to stick within my calorie allowance despite working an early shift.

Seasidegal58

Isn't it strange that these 'work benefits' come with either a pay cut or more work involved for everyone.  I am certainly feeling the latter these days!

Wish I had a lovely smelling garden!  Even a garden would be nice!

Honeysucklelou2

Honeysuckle is just a beautiful fragrant flower. The lane on which we live has it growing in the hedges and the allotment has quite a bit too. I did notice one was a beautiful milky lemon colour and quite distinctive compared to the more usual wild variety!

Glad that J and L have  had their results back and all well.