Cherry takes the reins

Sun_Addict

Glad you’re managing to fit in some outdoor runs, mine have been confined to the treadmill. As much as I love summer, I enjoyed my walk with the dog in the swirling November mists today.

Onebrokelady

Congrats on the job for your DH, how annoying that the prospective buyers dropped out of the house purchase, hopefully someone will turn up who can see potential, I am also glad your tests were negative, the gingerbread muffins sound lovely,I actually bought some black treacle a couple of weeks ago because I was intending to make a sticky gingerbread cake but I still haven't done it,every time I think about making it I feel sick so I'm leaving it for a while 😟

Cherryfudge

Another very MS day. Church this morning then a run in the afternoon. @Sun_Addict you are right about walking in the mist (or running in it) - it has a certain appeal and getting out of doors is important if at all possible. I think I'm becoming more out-doors-y as time goes by. Today I ran the same route and DH came too. Not much of a view and fewer fellow-travellers than on a sunny day but it was about 10 degrees which works well for my running. I was really pleased that I'd cut my time by about thirty seconds till I realised I'd been a lot faster over the same route a few weeks ago.  

We have reinstated the family Zoom, and that was nice (all us females elected to appear in blankets or dressing gowns ). DS2 was too busy to join in - we never find out what he's busy about - so the rest of us discussed where he's now living, which is pure conjecture as he's not provided an address! I'm not too worried though as he's still checking his phone. We have reinstated Christmas on 28th December even though DS2 can't do all day. Let's face it, none of us knows what the rules will be by then so we might as well stay with something that looks like a plan and if we have to change it, so be it.

OBL, it's not worth even thinking about the gingerbread if it makes you feel sick. You'll know when you're ready to make it and treacle has a good shelf life (I once looked up why there is a strict instruction to throw it away once out of date. Apparently it can explode when opened. I opened it anyway, and it didn't). I do hope your sense of taste returns soon.

Today I'm thankful for my run with DH, another viewing booked for the house in a couple of weeks and online time with the children. Oh, and the quality of light in some photos I took the other day. November has beauties of its own.

Cherryfudge

Very pleased with today's news that they are a good way to a vaccine - even if it's not 100% effective it should bring the transmission rate right down.

I met up with a friend for coffee this morning (her turn to pay ) but I was a bit nonplussed as her toddler grandchildren and their mums came too, which wasn't in the original plan. We were outside and managed the distancing quite well but I would have been happier with just my friend. Will try to make a clearer arrangement next time. Then when just the two of us walked home, we kept bumping into her friends - quite a few of them! The social distancing was easier on these occasions though.

Arriving at work I was met with the news that another colleague has to be off for a family member with health problems. No one from the team has had a Covid positive (though it's possible some had it before tests were available), but an unbelievable amount have had family members with serious health conditions recently, and these have mostly meant my colleagues have had to take time off work. Today it got to the point where our manager was asked if she wanted to shut the unit, but those of us who were in a position to help have piled in and covered shifts rather than be shut down and moved to other settings. There weren't many places I could help but I'm doing either one or two extras next week, depending on other people's availability. I wonder if it's like this in other workplaces? I can't help wondering if some of these serious health conditions are things that might have been picked up earlier if health care hadn't been necessarily slewed towards Covid.

The shift itself was quiet and I caught up on some of the material we have to read and sign for - oddly enough I discovered in doing so that we could legitimately go to work on Mum's old house to prepare it for sale. However, my next available gap in the rota is only a couple of days so I think I will wait a few more weeks.

Nothing spent, though DH had to get groceries and a part for his bike and a neighbour helped him fix it. We've also been given yet more apples! DH has offered some out to the family and cooked a pan of them too.

It's been a mixed bag of a day: I'm a bit concerned about having (accidentally) met up with more people than I intended and not being able to think how to back out, also DH is feeling inexplicably queasy and I always worry about him, then there's my colleague whose relative was taken ill.

However... this evening I'm thankful for time with my friend and getting to know her daughter in law who I hadn't met before. A friend from our Tuesday group has decided to give a new plan a try so we may be able to keep our group going. Also for plenty of exercise, a very mild evening and free apples, lots of laundry done and a couple of days off to come.

Cherryfudge

I'm really not getting much done today, partly because it's a day off and I'm making it a rest day from running too, and partly because I for some reason didn't sleep much last night.

For the record, though, I've disposed of another 62 'paper decisions' from a box of Mum's stuff (meeting minutes from the 1990s with the odd newspaper cutting thrown in - I only kept the record of Mum leaving the committee, which just serves as a memento of how she spent her energies. I finally remembered to pay £40 out of her estate for the energy rating on the old house and in a minute I'll get round to paying the lady who is keeping an eye on house and garden for us.

Annoyingly, among the papers I found £24.50 in expired loyalty card vouchers and having checked the website they are well and truly done for. I'm going to put them in the log burner and be done with them!

Cherryfudge

It's been a really lazy day and poor DS2's room is covered in piles of paper but I've got through most of a box of Mum's papers and 134 have been decluttered. There are probably more to go one day but at least there are less and I know what else is there (just not what to do with it, LOL). Amongst the letters I found the condolence cards sent when my brother died, and some of my Dad's wartime letters including from his Nan - I don't think I've ever seen her writing before.

I had a 45 minute chat with my Tuesday friends via video and I think that worked a lot better than our longer chats. I've also been talking old knitting patterns with someone who posted some on a Facebook group. Why are there always more interesting projects than time and energy to do them?

No spending - I must think about Christmas, I must think about Christmas...

Tonight I'm thankful for a day indoors, chats with various friends via text, finding my great-Nan's letters and DH cooking salmon for dinner, which he does beautifully.

Sun_Addict

What a lovely find with your nan’s letters. When I cleared out my mum’s house I had to be strict with what I kept. It’s bad enough decluttering your own stuff without having to do someone else’s. I bought a big storage box and kept the best of it in there. You’ll get there.

Cherryfudge

I'm sure I can cut down further, SA, but at the moment I'm just getting rid of the 'easy-wins', hoping to see the wood for the trees! I'm glad I sorted through things carefully from the start as my parents seem to have had a knack of putting sentimentally precious things in amongst worthless ones. So minutes of old meetings can go, personal letters are boxed up (or read: there have been some cracking finds there!)

I've not made any decluttering progress today.

Cherryfudge

It's been a really spend-y day. I've sent off two online orders totalling £133.90, a mixture of household things, clothes and Christmas presents. We also drove to a local beauty spot and went for a walk, then called at a neighbouring town where there is a much cheaper supermarket.

That's:
Clothing £38.50
Gifts £25.40
Household £79.00
Housekeeping £39.82

The high expenditure on household items was actually really very good value, provided the items are suitable. There are big curtains for the hall door, a fleecy under-sheet for our bed, a new hair trimmer as ours is blunt with extreme old age and a small jug that I liked and which looked useful.

The idea of this was to get Christmas presents but I find I'm more cautious online so I haven't done very well, though I found glassware for DS2 with his favourite animal on, a top for DH and some socks for H. For a personal shopper I make a very good savings advocate.

I've also had my latest Covid test and I understand my job will be one of those who get the vaccine sooner rather than later. I'd sooner big care homes with a lot of beds got priority treatment - maybe they will - but I've no idea of time scale as this possible vaccine doesn't yet actually have the go-ahead.

This evening I'm grateful for the subtle colours of the countryside under a grey sky; the ability to get out and about and the health to enjoy a walk with DH; visiting a cheap supermarket - always a treat!

Cherryfudge

My mental health has been suffering from November but today was sunny so I've no excuse not to get a better night's sleep and make a good fist of tomorrow.

Today I got very little done and just about arrived at work on time, only to find I was shift lead and hardly paused all evening. However that's got me back to speed and proves it wasn't an unavoidable blip: I perhaps could have bestirred myself the last few nights and got to bed at a decent time instead of drooping over stupid stuff on the computer.

Yesterday's Covid test came back in record time (negative). Last week's took a week. No idea what that was about.

This evening I'm thankful for a free booklet that came through the post from an organisation I used to support, and which lifted my spirits. Also for a fairly smooth shift and a mild night.