Cherry takes the reins

Cherryfudge

Back again - and the house is on the road to being on the market! In spite of the sad feelings as it's where I grew up, I'm relieved. I've had enough of this too-ing and fro-ing, and it feels as though closure is in sight.

We went out for a meal yesterday (£37 spent, but well worth it), but I think that's all we've spent - unless you count Estate Agents' fees, but we don't have to pay those yet. Good news in that their fees are a quarter of a percent lower than they were.

I still have the tail end of the cold - sneezing occasionally - but I feel generally more like myself (yesterday I was wiped out and had to rest quite a bit but that seems to have helped). Just tomorrow left and I can be back at work for a whole one day.  

Sun_Addict

Mixed blessings about the house going on the market and getting some closure, completely understandable. Glad you’re starting to feel better 😁

Cherryfudge

I feel better still today - no anti-inflammatory meds apart from nasal spray, though I did make a turmeric/black pepper/peanut butter paste which is anti inflammatory. That was just to stop the stuffed-up-ness and sneezing. Anyway this afternoon and evening I've been almost back to normal.

I texted a colleague too, only to find she's isolating as her son has Covid. Thankfully he's asymptomatic.

We 'did' online church complete with chat this morning. Services start in the building next week but you have to book so I shall stay online as it's going to be relayed. Lunch was toad in the hole, then we had a walk in the afternoon. I've not run for two weeks so I wanted to see if I'm ready to start again, which I think I am. We walked 10K - a little over 6 miles - and the sun came out to celebrate with us.

As things are getting more lockdown-ish (our area has gone from low to medium risk), we had another family zoom call this evening and think we have possibly managed to arrange both DH's birthday and Christmas. Of course it's not certain as we don't know whether people will be able to mix but it's nice to have dates in the diary. And DS2 has grown a tache!

Nothing's been spent today, and nothing's been decluttered, but never mind. I did find some more blackberries in the garden, but it's colder out there than it's been for a while.

Tonight I'm thankful for returning health, seeing the family and for my colleague's son not having symptoms. Also for an enjoyable walk and knowing I haven't lost all the fitness ground I'd gained recently (though I might not like what the scales say tomorrow as my calorie expenditure has been very low recently).

Sun_Addict

Good to hear you’re almost back to normal 👍 I think my running will now be on the treadmill with the mornings being darker. Normally run at 6.30 before work but might have to revise this to after work. Good that your friends son hasn’t got symptoms 👍

Cherryfudge

Thank you SA.

I've contacted another colleague as I suspected there might have been changes at work, which there have been. Things will be a little more normal, thankfully. Normally I'd just check my work emails or attend an online briefing, but the app that gives me access has packed up,  been reinstalled and now wants me to scan a QR code that I can only get through the very emails I can't get access to because I don't have the QR code. Honestly, it feels like Fort Knox. Tomorrow I hope to be able to catch up using a work computer and reset the code.

Cherryfudge

Back at work has been okay: everything has been low key since forever, and will be even more so from tomorrow when our last patient leaves. We then have nearly a month before our usual clients start to filter back in. The time will be used to deep clean and prepare for them, but if there isn't enough to do we may be sent to work elsewhere, which is what happened back in May/June.

A nice surprise today in the form of a text from DS2 - could he come to stay overnight? So he's here and I'm trying to keep everyone distancing and surfaces disinfected - though he's already had Covid and is no longer working on that ward, so the chances of him bringing it must be fairly low.

There have been a couple of routine spends: £5 to the window cleaner and £5.84 for the milk bill. (How delightfully 1950s. ).

And this evening I'm thankful for feeling better, sunshine and DS2 being home.

Cherryfudge

A couple of forgotten expenditures from yesterday: 99p on an e-book and £2.50 phone top up.

I also ran 5K which was much more tiring than I expected but I feel the benefit today.

It's been all quiet on the Western front apart from a stray sneeze or two, so I braved restarting my course, and it's been a lovely sunny day so DH and I went for a drive to a local beauty spot and had a walk and an admire of the views. DS2 has been for a run (twice!) but I don't think he's done much else unless you count buying food and borrowing some chorizo off us. He has a week off then it's back into the hurly burly of the NHS, so he might as well relax for now.

I'm planning a bigger shop... we are getting a bit low on a few things, especially bread. My friend texted to say she couldn't make it tonight so I've an evening off my group. Other than that there's not much news - oh yes - a someone from the village where I grew up texted me to say she'd seen the Estate Agent's board go up at the house and could she have a look around? She grew up next door and has always liked it, so it would be lovely if she puts in an offer.

So today's thanks are for another sunny day with a walk and stunning views, DS being around part of the time and interest in the old house.

Onebrokelady

Cherryfudge said:

Onebrokelady said:

I read lots about the Danish concept of Hygge and it changed how I view winter completely. It's still not my favourite season but I don't dread it like I used to. I have made a head start by buying my lovely fluffy slippers, I've washed all my scarves and gloves and my favourite blankey is ready and waiting on the back of the settee 😊

There's a book I refer to as 'The Hygge Book' - I gave copies to my daughter and daughter-in-law and I have it on Kindle. It's there to dip into every autumn! I also joined a Facebook group about hygge which is fairly quiet till autumn, then springs to life with pictures of woolly socks and tawny leaves!
The other thing I'd like to chase down preparatory to winter is an online group I read about on the BBC a few weeks ago and of course I can't find the article again. It's people sharing the view from their window, from all over the world. It brings me exactly to that holiday point of particularly nice accommodation where I imagine I actually live there. It's like a host of holiday views to pick and choose from, but complete with houseplants, cat etc.

I have a few books about Hygge that I dip into plus one called The Year Of Puttery Treats that I like, it's not exactly about Hygge but it's got lots of ideas to do throughout the year 
The first book I read that got me interested in all things Scandinavian was How To Live Danishly which is atually more of a memoir, it started an obsession with the lifestyle and a yearning to move to a scandi country somewhere which is bonkers because I don't like the cold😀
I love the sound of the FB group and the BBC group too,I'm on instagram and I follow apartment therapy which shares photos of peoples apartments,I love it because
A I'm nosey
B I love interiors and seeing how people use the space they live in
C I like to imagine living there myself 

Onebrokelady

Glad to hear you are recovering from your cold,there's a lot of viruses going round at the moment. I've just bought that book you mentioned on my diary, I love Gabor Mate 😊

Cherryfudge

I haven't read anything else of Gabor Mate's but I'm finding this one interesting. I also started reading a book called 'Gut' which was on Kindle daily deals but it had gone back on full price before I decided to buy it. One for my Christmas list, I think.

Today has been grey and rainy but I ventured to the shops for various bits and pieces including treating myself to some skin care products. My skin generally feels course after a cold and, having treated myself to a face mask the other week from the free toiletries at the hotel, I think it's good for moral to take better care of it. I do the usual 'cleanse, tone and moisturise' that I grew up with, but a quick look on t'internet has shown me I'm way behind the times and I 'should' be using all sorts. So I have a new cleansing oil and some serum and other bits... but I'd done some homework so I got them at a discount.

Would you believe I'm still sneezing, especially morning and evening? I'm wondering if there's an element of seasonal allergy. I've also discovered something that will probably save a fortune in the months to come: how much worse glasses steam up in wet weather when wearing a mask! As I can't see too well without glasses on, I think I'll miss a lot of potential purchases.

I pushed on with my course earlier today and I'm really pleased with the progress I've made. I also heard from the estate agent that they have a viewing booked for Thursday - wow, this is all (potentially) moving fast! DH managed to get through to the building society to say the house is on the market so they are giving us a week's grace period to tell them when the advert goes live, after which we get six months of not having to pay the mortgage. I expect they will get it back from the estate but at least we aren't seeing it draining out now.

My summer clothes are now in the loft and I brought down a few winter ones. I have far too much stuff up there, mostly books and clothes I'm fond of but never wear. I also found a bag of blankets we don't use but I'm sure we can find another home for those. We also checked the winter coats and found a hoodie of DS2's and a heavy jacket of DH's, both of which had been forgotten. My trusty puffer jacket is ready for wear, and so is my 'neat but not posh' coat. Then there's a posh one that I had from a friend a few years ago but that will only work if I shrink a bit more! It was lovely this morning as I'd accidentally left the heating on and we woke up to a cosy house! It's been on a few evenings recently and I think we're going to need it on more this year as DH will be at home and he feels the cold despite layering up.

I've done a food shop: this evening's mackerel and a whole lot of ingredient-type things that were getting low. Ridiculously, it seems to be impossible to buy wholemeal plain or SR flour, yet there is a big choice of white and bread flours. I'm making an effort to eat healthily and cook from scratch but this will limit the home made baking as white flour disagrees with me a bit. I did find rye flour though.

DS2 was here till 6: it's been nice catching up with him and we hope to see him next weekend. We had been planning to be near where he lives for DH's upcoming birthday, and by changing this by one day we can meet him on his day off, and still celebrate the birthday with the rest of the family the next day (DS2 has a shift he can't get out of).

Lastly, my sister tested to remind me I'd 'promised' her daughter a certain soft toy that we found in the old house. I was a bit upset as I didn't promise it and had hoped she'd forgotten she'd liked it. The trouble is I had it set out on the bed I use there and my sister asked me in front of my niece if she could have it! She never seemed to think I might want it. It sounds a bit ridiculous, a grown woman vying with a youngster about a soft toy, but I was dreadfully lonely when I worked on the house on my own and the toy meant something to me as a 'friendly face'. I was put on the spot and all I could think of to say was 'You can have it when I've finished with it', hoping that after a while she would forget. My sister has also given my niece a few bits from the house that I rather liked and had arranged to make life a bit more homely while I was there - I don't think it even occurred to her that I might want them, as I hadn't taken them away.

I've come to the conclusion that this isn't my niece's fault and she should probably have the toy rather than there be bad feeling, but I'm wondering whether to say anything to my sister about how hard I've found it. Nothing tonight, though: it's too late on to think clearly and I know I will react less emotionally after a rest.

Spending:
Toiletries £12.75 (including £2 multibuy discount)
Household £3.00
Housekeeping £34.69 (including 46p loyalty card discount)
Medical £0.40
Gifts (birthday cards) £6.98 off a gift card so free to me plus loyalty points.

And after all that, I'm thankful for DH being level-headed, at least where my upsets are concerned! And his taking on the phone calls for Mum's estate, as I always feel pressured if I have to make decisions over the phone.