Cherry takes the reins

Sun_Addict

Thanks for the app info Cherry. I've got an iPhone too and couldn't find one for 10k so will look for this one. I live my life via apps on my phone, I've got one for everything 😀 I ended up running just over 5k this morning as I felt so much better and feel really energised now.

Hope work goes well and you get some sleep x

Cherryfudge

Thanks SA, and well done on running. Isn't it weird how a good run makes you feel more energetic even though you'd think it would tire you?! Or maybe I'm just not pushing myself. I'd rather go further, which I can't do if I go faster (except that most recent run, which was a push, and tiring, but was still worth it because it showed me I could do it).

This morning has been taken up with a webinar, but it was a refresher so it wasn't too taxing. There was a funny moment when the voice to text facility misread what the tutor had said and transcribed it as mending a wound with wood glue.

I'm off to work in an hour: I had everything planned so I could fit in a run at this point but it overran and there isn't time. I must admit I have misgivings about this afternoon's shift as yesterday's was rather distressing, but every day is different.

So what can I be thankful for? Um... a compliment from the course tutor , salad cheese for lunch, DH supporting my learning with coffee, a promise of some good walks from Mum's old house as well as work when we go over there.

Cherryfudge

Last night's shift went okay and I had a reasonable sleep. After this coming shift I'm off for two whole weeks! There is so much annual leave and sickness at the moment that they have turned down a couple more admissions and we are on track to close down from Monday, and prepare to revert to our usual service, albeit modified. We still have two patients in but that will eventually change...

At home I've been busy washing curtains and my house elf (AKA DH) has been ironing them. He has also cleared more of the access lane which looks a lot better. Only one family said they had let the weeds grow to deter people from getting in! Another said they had petitioned their landlord to clear it but as it's unclear who owns the land, nothing happened. Having seen the deeds once long ago, I think it's up for grabs and we could all do as one neighbour has done and grow things on it, so long as we don't impede others' access. The lane used to lead through to somewhere else but that was closed off at least 25 years ago so it's mostly between the householders what we do. Our trees are too big for us to plant much there but we used to keep our section mowed.

The curtain progress is as follows:
Lounge - washed, ironed, re-hung - but need putting back in the right order!
DD's room - washed, ironed, DH about to attempt to put them back.
Dining room - washed.
Our room - about to be washed.
The other rooms have blinds, which is just as well as curtains do make quite a lot of work! (But I loathe cleaning blinds).

I think we've decided to revise our plans for the coming weeks and not leave for Mum's old place till Monday, so I get tomorrow as a rest day. Then we will go straight from there to the hotel and mini break we've planned for our anniversary. We decided to try to book a second night away depending if we can get anywhere. We'll be back by next weekend and away to Mum's house again the week after. DH has arranged for the estate agent to meet us there at the end of that week, by which time I'm hoping the solicitors will have sent the letter to the building society to hurry them up over permission to transfer a small piece of land to the neighbours. We've waited months for the building society to get back to us and it holds everything else up. The solicitor doesn't see any legal reason not to do this transfer, but it's best done before the house goes on the market.

Time I went - I'm off on a run again. Weight loss has gone much better this week and I know this will help it along.

charlies_tribe

enjoy your 2 weeks off. Hope everything goes okay at your mums house. 
Well done on the running and weight loss too.

Onebrokelady

Enjoy your two weeks off, well done on the run 😊

Cherryfudge

The two weeks off have got off to a good start with lovely sunny weather and a few garden jobs done. The latest blackberries are picked and frozen, and we finished the greengages, stewed with dinner. They were delicious as always!

I've pulled up some ivy from the lane at the back and cut down the finished bits of the brambles, and DH has got the curtains back up, so our world is a little bit tidier. I'm a bit down about going away (never my strong point) but feel better since talking to DH about it. I suppose it's because we are working towards selling the house I grew up in and I couldn't find many motivating things apart from once its done I can keep chickens and a rabbit! However DH has pointed out that there should be money from the estate, which I know in theory but with interest rates being so low and travel being limited, I wasn't getting excited. I do have a greenhouse in my sites one day, though.

Talking of money, my colleagues tell me we are getting a pay increase! When I told DH, he didn't look very enthusiastic so I asked if he'd heard and he said 'Oh yes, 100%!' I pointed out it wasn't 100%, which made us both laugh.

A colleague and I looked over the rota at work last night and found several 'holes' where there isn't enough cover so I wrote a long email talking through cover and possibilities for each shift. I left that with the morning staff: I hope they can sort something but I am ready for this time off and it won't do anyone any favours really if I keep working. I haven't had a holiday yet and am feeling the need of one.

DD is now back from Greece and did one of these bucket list walks with L today. They are apparently exhausted but looked quite happy in photos, which she explained are all from valley bottoms as they went up above the clouds! Now A and H have flown off on their own last-minute holiday - to the place J has just left, and inspired by her.

We've been catching up on the James Herriot and I think it's going to be a regular watch though Siegfried was never so negative, surely? Lovely to hear some good Yorkshire accents, though I am still expecting to see Claude Greengrass on one of those farms. Or did every other farmer really look like him back in the day? I've also done more of one of my courses but I'm still rather behind.

Tonight I'm thankful for progress on the course, sunshine, blackberries and managing to stick to the diet. Also for the first family zoom call for ages: just us and DS2, but it was good to see him after a long stretch when he and I couldn't be around a the same time.

Onebrokelady

I think you might have picked a good time to be on holiday looking at the weather forecast, it's beautiful here today😊 we haven't managed to get any blackberries this year due to our usual supply being cut down quite aggressively and then fenced off 😟 Yay to the pay rise that's good news 🎉🎉

Sun_Addict

Sounds like your time off has started well. I keep meaning to take a bag with me on my runs/walks out to collect blackberries as they are everywhere even growing at the side of the pavement on the main road. Great news on the pay rise, always welcome however small 😀

Cherryfudge

Here I am again - I'd actually lost track of when I went away, though it's only been a few days.

Working at Mum's place was a bit of an uphill struggle though we had a couple of good local walks. We'd planned to go to the café we discovered last time but they weren't open on the days we were there so we went to the chippie: rather a lot of calories but overall I think I'm just winning on the calorie front, despite hotel food yesterday and today.

We picked the cooking apples at the old house: that tree is probably approaching a hundred years old. DH kindly painted around the front windows and I weeded the path so it will look nice for the photos. I sorted yet more papers - they are never-ending. I also found some women's magazines from the 1960s (interesting!) and we cleared the last two boxes from the attic. One was empty jars so they've gone in the recycling. The other was an assortment of old magazines dating from the 1930s to the 1970s. They are amazing and I'm determined to hold on to at least the older ones, though we are running out of space. Then I found a box of old children's books which I thought my sister had wanted but when I messaged her she didn't. These included one that had been inherited by my Dad from his Dad's cousin who I know from old photos that we found recently saw action in WW1 and never came home.

So there have been some treasures found but we also got coughs from trying to extricate my Dad's toy railway which it turns out my sister wanted but thought was in a shed. It was on a top shelf in a room that the rain had got into: a corner of the ceiling was actually resting on the box! After we got it out I thought the next thing would be the sound of falling ceiling but it's just leaned onto the top of the shelving! Anyway the dust didn't do either of us any favours: and we were tired from the uncomfortable bed and me straining my eyes with reading off my tablet with the wrong glasses... I think what I'm trying to say was we got tired and I didn't feel well.

We then had our mini-break of two days and a night in Northumberland, which put a lot right. The hotel was so comfortable! Today we walked part of Hadrian's Wall which was both challenging and beautiful. I'd certainly recommend it, but only to people with a head for heights. Those Romans chose their vantage points cleverly and must have had amazing leg muscles.

Tonight I was determined to wash my hair (that feeling when it's overdue - bleah) and gave myself a bit of a facial as well so I feel much more civilised. I have some spending to account for but haven't done very well keeping an account, so, roughly speaking:
Clothing - bought two pairs of trousers in a charity shop while trying unsuccessfully to find a scarf to complement a particular outfit before we went away.
Gifts - some chocs and a voucher for a friend with a birthday, three cards, biscuits for our goldfish sitters (J and L).
Eating out - two coffees and an ice ceam on Thursday and a coffee and tea today. Meal at the hotel yesterday. Fish and chips on Wednesday. Loaf of bread from local shop on Thursday - £2.65 (yes really!) Pint of milk from local shop - I think 75p. Three bottles of pop for our walks - £3.35.
Entertainment - a year-long ticket each to some Northumbrian attractions (we reckon we might be able to get back there) - about £30.
Hotel - £120 - but we got a free upgrade as the lock was broken on the room we'd booked. That will probably end up coming out of our holiday account as we aren't planning any other actual holiday.
Car parking - at least 2 x £3.
e-book £0.99 from my voucher.

So I'm back for a few days. There's a bit of unpacking left to do and then the plan is nice normal things like the laundry and the garden tomorrow.

Tonight I'm thankful for finding the old books and magazines (in remarkably good condition); time away with DH, particularly today's superb walk; managing to keep the calories down; glorious weather for our break.

Cherryfudge

And just for the record as it's not news to anyone: isn't it awful about the increase in Covid? There seem to be so many more places with restrictions as of last night. I think it's wearing having to be vigilant whenever I'm outside the home but it's best to accept it and just get on with it.

However, J got her few days in Greece with her friend the other week and H and A are on their way back home from their holiday right now, so most of us have had time away which will set us up for the time to come.

The other piece of news is that DH was offered an interview for one of the jobs he applied for, but we'd already booked the time away and he'd let them know he couldn't do that date. So they offered him the date regardless? When he got back to them and explained, all they said was they'd bear him in mind if they don't appoint. Anyway it's past now and it's encouraging to know his application was good enough to get their attention (even if they didn't bother about the details).

Oh, and the family is back to discussing Christmas. DS2 had to give his preferences for Christmas shifts and as none of the others is around for Christmas Day itself he's now offered to work then and we will attempt to get together a Christmas on a different day which will be a bit weird but at least we can hope to see each other. I don't yet know whether my work is open at Christmas so I can't make any commitments for Christmas week yet.