Cherry takes the reins

Cherryfudge

@Seasidegal58 , you are welcome to come and sit in my garden. I might even supply socially distanced tea and cake!

Yes, 'work benefits' are strange beasties. I woke up this morning to a headline about a 3% pay increase for public sector workers... but it doesn't include care workers so it doesn't apply to me. I don't begrudge it to the others but it is a case of a positive headline that hides the reality of many thousands of people (just like lockdown easing isn't for everyone).

@Honeysucklelou2 a milky lemon honeysuckle might be worth rooting some cuttings...?

Another quiet shift at work so I did some gardening and (amazingly) was joined by two colleagues and a resident. People don't seem to go into the garden unless there's someone already there.

Today we are headed over to Mum's old house again. Not sure what we'll get done: it's partly a fact-finding mission. Back on Thursday.

Spending
Housekeeping (20th) £4.21, (21st) 18.90
Medical £0.80
Toiletries £1.50

And I'm thankful for a really healthy day yesterday: a good run, healthy eating and good sleep. Not often I get them all in at once!

Cherryfudge

We've been away for a couple of nights working on Mum's old house: not a lot of spending to report though I need to remember to reclaim petrol from Mum's estate.

We bought £6.10's worth of greengroceries and stopped for coffee on the way home: £5.10. That was our first post-lockdown trip and our first post-lockdown 'eating out', though it was so chilly in St@rbucks that we sat outside!

I found a bundle of those plastic bags that you plant full of flowers and hang up. I can't remember what they are called but I'd thought of getting one and now I have nine! Will save till next year. There's also a small wall basket that will probably go on the shed once I've decided how to plant it up.

We did go for a walk while there but it came on to rain and I got soaked to the skin. Good job it was quite warm but I spent the rest of the day in pyjamas and helped DH sort the contents of two huge suitcases that had been stuffed with random paperwork. I've thrown out over 1,000 'paper decisions' ranging from tiny (one-item receipts) to chunky. The highlight was DH finding two precious pieces of paperwork that he and I and my sister have been searching for, for over three years. We had come to the conclusion that all traces of this person apart from some photos were lost and must have been destroyed or given away, but now we have them - they were just bundled up among old car documents and minutes of meetings. There are two personal possessions still missing but I have more hope now that I know they aren't all gone.

So that's part of my thankfulness list for tonight, along with safe travel and better weather now I'm back home.

Oh, and it looks as though J and L may not get that house after all. The mortgage valuation came in quite a lot under the asking price and the vendor has asked the estate agents to put it back on the market as J and L can't afford to bridge the gap and even if they could, they feel it would risk them going into negative equity. 

Honeysucklelou2

1,000 paper decisions is a lot of sorting  out, well done. 

Disappointing news for J and L. Hope they are able to find somewhere soon.

Cherryfudge

Thanks @Honeysucklelou2 .

DH did the food shopping today: £22.02. We don't seem to have much that actually makes a proper meal in the freezer so we've planned a few days' worth of meals.

Work was okay: I was supposed to finish at one but I ended up staying another hour to support someone while others on the team grappled with a horrendously complicated lot of medication - the bane of our lives. Obviously medication can change while a person is in hospital, but I think this was old and new all mixed up together, and a great deal of it and of course it has to be right by the time the patient takes any. I've also been asked to cover the sleep in on Saturday: it's in the middle of my weekend off but I've decided I'm okay with it just being the sleep in (and it's extra pay). I won't have to be in uniform and might even dare not to wash my hair afterwards unless I have contact with patients. We are so far a Covid-free setting so the risk should be lower than going to the shops.

I'd planned to go for a run straight after work but gave up on that as I was pretty thirsty after wearing a mask for hours, and ready for lunch as I was later than planned. In the end I dozed off before dinner, which DH cooked. (Mackerel and new potatoes).

I've been messing around seeing if I can repair a jumper I found at Mum's old house and which is a gorgeous colour. I can see why it was relegated to a carrier bag though - there's some serious unravelling gone on, and some of its too worn just to be knitted up again. Shame, though I'm having fun and learning from it, as it would have suited me.

This evening I'm thankful for days off coming up (again) and for the extra shift. Maybe I'll treat myself to some boots I've rather fallen for but don't actually need... you know when you spot something that's perfectly 'you' and never regret buying it? I'm wary of buying shoes online though in case they don't fit.

Cherryfudge

I'm off to work in a few minutes... spent much of today catching up on my latest course and learning a lot. Poor Dh is constantly being asked to read some article or other.
We had a walk this afternoon to a local beauty spot and treated ourselves to ice creams. Ice c ream and coffee in one week - the entertainment budget is obviously awaking from lockdown! The calories aren't looking too clever but the last two days I completely lost track so at least I'm back on the wagon.
Spending
Entertainment £4.50

I'm thankful for more interesting new stuff to learn about, and a slightly strenuous walk with super views which proves I can do it while carrying a melting ice cream!

Sun_Addict

Could you return the boots if they don’t fit? I hesitate to buy footwear online because styles vary so much on the fit. 

I’m glad you’re enjoying the learning. Walking and ice cream also sound good 😁

Cherryfudge

I think I might do just that, SA. I still like them. It will be clearcut as the size above mime has sold out so if they don't fit in a five, they don't fit, full stop. I'm hoping to persuade DH to let me order him some tee shirts at the same time - he hates clothes shopping but he still needs clothes!

Yesterday was pizza on the lawn at A and H's. Super evening, not only because of the pizzas. It's just so nice to spend time with family, though DS2 couldn't come. I had actually heard from him in the middle of the night on Saturday. We were both meant for owls.

We walked to A and H's and the shoes I was wearing chose that time to break. They aren't anything like the boots I like, so it's not an excuse to buy those. A bit of a nuisance as the shoes were handy both in and out of work, and won't be easy to replace.

Work today was fraught. Stressful situations were getting to people, and I've just found out that a younger colleague has gone sick for a couple of weeks (and I don't think they're self-isolating). I'm glad I have a couple of days off.

On the plus side, DH has assembled most of the parts for the new kitchen surface and sink and if all goes to plan we might have it installed in a day or so. A is coming over to help cut it to shape. He's just made a storage unit for his garage so he's the best person to ask!

DH has done some grocery shopping and also had to replace the windscreen wipers on the car, so money has gone out.

House keeping £18.73
Household £7.18 (parts for sink unit)
Car £40 approx
Tonight I'm thankful for the family meal yesterday, a walk with DH this evening, days off coming up and DH bought me watermelon!

Cherryfudge

It's been a nice day off. DS1 (A) came round before and after his work to help with the new kitchen worksurface: it isn't finished yet but it's looking good. We also had a twenty-minute phone call with the couple who may be interested in Mum's old house. I have some hopes for this but I know house buying can be fraught with problems so I'm not holding my breath.

I met my friend for coffee after lunch: we sat outside the café chatting for ages then went to search for wool for our latest projects. I was restrained and didn't let myself buy until I've double checked the shade I need.

I then had a walk over to another friend's house to drop off a book I'd promised, then back via some more shops. I'm used to wearing a mask as we have them at work, but the friend I was with this morning was really struggling. I noticed her mask was a very dense material and she hadn't really got it pulled to full extension so it was probably harder to breathe through. She's going to try a different one next time.

I've been grocery shopping and really I shouldn't be allowed as I bought various things that we could have done without. It's nice to have a bit of variety, though. Dinner was liver and bacon cooked by DH so I had a lazy day all in all. the weight loss is progressing slowly but encouragingly.

This evening my friends and I were supposed to have a video chat but only two of us were available and we'd just been out for coffee so it only lasted five minutes! 

Spending
Entertaining £5.00
Housekeeping £17.45 (that includes coffees on offer)
Pets (wild bird food) £3,00
Household £4.40 + £32.45 (breakfast bar legs for the kitchen worksurface)

Tonight I'm thankful for time with my friend, seeing A and the progress on the worksurface, getting my steps in and (just about) staying within my allotted calories.

Cherryfudge

A productive but expensive day. I had a Skype meeting with work but nothing dramatic there.

Dh and I went for a run this morning. It's the first time he's been okay to run since doing something to his ankle a while back. He managed a couple of miles, which is what I'm doing nowadays, and no twinges till close to the end.

We also tidied J's old room which had become a dumping ground, largely for photos from my parents' house. There are two small boxes of sorted, labelled photos, and goodness knows how many bigger boxes of jumbled ones. Both my parents were keen photographers. A few albums have been left intact either because they are older ones (the sort with black pages and white writing) or because the plastic film securing the 1980s photos was stuck too hard and the photos would be wrecked. I have a big job to do there but they are all put back in some sort of order and the room is rearranged a bit so it's more accessible.

There are books and miscellanea too, including a big bag of yarn that I haven't yet found projects for... oops.

Quite  a lot of laundry has been done, but no ironing. DH's Wednesday evening meeting gets in the way (that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it).

DH went shopping this afternoon - I don't know how we've needed 3 trips in three days but this one sets us up till Saturday. The coffee I got on discount yesterday is back at full price but my cappuccinos are still discounted, so there are some more of those. Dh also made us a sausage casserole for dinner and I was virtuous and used up ends of loaves, milk and eggs to make a very big spiced bread pudding. I braved working out the calories and came up with 276 a slice so I'm doubly glad I managed a run today!

We had a surprise visit from J and L - out cycling and scrounging a snack! Nice to see them though.

This evening, after a lot of faffing about with a website, I ordered the boots I've been admiring and some clothes for DH. He doesn't like clothes shopping and I don't want to go to the retail park that I used to enjoy pre-Covid, so my idea was to think ahead and plug gaps in the winter wardrobe. It turns out he wants to save the High Street (which is probably wise as society would be very different without it) so we've compromised and ordered a few things but not all the things I thought he could do with. Anyway the postage is £4.99, presumably because clothes are bulky, but they offer a year's postage for £9.99 so I've signed up for that, plus a returns label (£2.99) which I can use on future orders if not this time around.

Shopping
Housekeeping £23 approx
Clothing £70.94

And I'm thankful for a supportive Dh who helps tidy my mess without undue criticism! Also for getting some shopping done (I won't count the 'coupon value' for the fashion on the ration thread till I know if I'm keeping the boots) and unearthing the spare wool so I can start a project.

Cherryfudge

I somehow spent a lot of today cleaning bathrooms! Never mind. I started with ours at home and continued at work... otherwise quite an uneventful day.

DH did yet more grocery shopping - this time for items he can't get at the nearest supermarket. Oh, and two very famous politicians turned up not only in our town but almost on our doorstep. We only found out because DS2, who is miles away, was on the ball, but DH saw the limo and Police outriders while cycling through a nearby village. Apparently the cavalcade was fairly small - we were amazed once to see a video of Trump's retinue.

Spending
Housekeeping £2.77

This evening I'm thankful for the swifts screaming in the sky earlier and the scent of buddleias drifting through the open window here and now.