Cherry takes the reins

Cherryfudge

Thanks HSL .

Today I woke up to a thick layer of beautiful frost that looked like a dusting of snow and has lasted all day. We had online church this morning and went for a walk in the afternoon: a rather hazy blue sky and some wonderful frost patterns so I kept stopping for more photos. The light was beautiful and we could see a stratum of mist along the Vale of York with snowy hills beyond it. We also got a few small logs for free: normally I'd not touch logs as they belong to someone but in this case someone had taken a  chainsaw to a massive ivy that was trying to obliterate an oak tree by the roadside and had cut and dumped log-sized ivy slices to stop the growth. They are now drying out to feed the log burner.

I've spent some of the evening in from of the telly watching the Great British Throw Down (it makes me want to try pottery) then started wading through some study material for my group.

Tomorrow I'm at work in the afternoon and on sleep in afterwards so probably no diary entry.

I'm grateful for: a lovely walk with DH, so many wild birds who mysteriously know it's past the darkest days of the year and they can sing all they like, interesting study material that might be useful to help me cope with the stresses of tackling Mum's old house again and the new hiking socks proving ideal on our walk today.

Cherryfudge

Oops, work got in the way of posting.

Nothing spent for a few days. The weather has been nice and I managed a short run the other day and 6K today, so I feel healthy. My work hours are all over the place: Monday was a shift followed by a sleep in. Tuesday was supposed to be a day off but I covered a couple of hours first thing as someone couldn't come in, then went home all mentally revved up to go on a web-based course. However my invitation to the course never came through so I sorted emails for a bit then spent the afternoon not really getting down to study prep. I pushed on later and had something to offer my group in the evening... one of those days when plans going awry throws things off kilter.

Today was another day off but I had an emergency team meeting in the morning for half an hour, then spent an hour trying to file more work emails. After I'd been for my run I went in for my Covid test, and the manager has arranged things so I can take back a few hours of the leave that I'd booked for tomorrow and probably do the course I missed on Friday - that should give me back a day of leave. It does mean, though, that I've not had a day free of work on what was originally a four days off week.

I did a bit of sorting of a cupboard I never use: amongst other things I found six pairs of DH's socks all neatly folded. They had escaped over the top of a higher drawer. There was also a t-shirt that friends gave me some years ago and on which I was embroidering some lettering, so there's another project to finish.

We have heard from the neighbours at Mum's old house who are worrying themselves about some electrical cables that they think are live and buried en route to the site of an old shed. As we've signed over a few feet of land to them near this site, they understandably don't want to dig into live cables. The buyer's mortgage people also want a fresh knotweed report but the knotweed company isn't replying to them so we will need to make contact. I suspect the email just went into spam as they wouldn't usually get commissions from banks. I've been rather wound up about these things so going for a run and blowing away the cobwebs for a while has done me the world of good. I got a laugh, too: my running app told me I was a 'local hero' as I've done a particular hill three times this month which is more than anyone else! Well, it's been impassable recently so one of the times I went down it was with great caution as it was a thick sheet of ice - of course people haven't been running there as much as usual!

Today I'm thankful for being able to run, for a resolution to the lack of working hours this week and a helpful manager and for the safe arrival of the gift we ordered for H and A, which is perfect. Must get it delivered soon.

Cherryfudge

A rainy day, but J and I met up for an extended lunchtime walk. My wellies put in well over 10,000 steps. I said to her that I'm making the most of it because once they move house we won't be able to wander together, but she said she will still have to come to this area to see clients so she will arrange her time to allow for walks.

I had a mini-shift this evening, just three hours but that sets my annual leave right. Afterwards I went for the shopping while the shops were quite. I haven't done an evening shop for quite a while and was lured by the yellow stickers so once again I have bought lots of stuff and now have to find ways to use it responsibly.

DH collected me and the hefty bags in the car and on the way home told me the house sale has fallen through. Apparently after all these months the buyer's mortgage provider has baulked at the knotweed in the garden, which surprised me as there's very little left and its a long way from the house. However, with it being knotweed, which has incredibly deep roots, I'm guessing there's a risk of some still existing deep down. The buyer had wanted to add an extension and I think that was felt to be at risk. Tomorrow we will try to make some sort of progress on this but at present I'm mostly feeling relief that we have more time to sort things out and don't necessarily have to hare over there next week.

So tonight I'm thankful for respite from having to push on with the house, for another negative Covid test result and for time with DD.
Spending
Stationery £2.60
Housekeeping £46.66
Gifts (a care package for DS2) £10.71
Toiletries 99p

Sun_Addict

What a pain with the house sale but at least you’re happy with the pause. Will you have to get someone in to eradicate the knotweed? I’m not sure I’d know what it looks like. 

Cherryfudge

It's actually very pretty, SA. It disappears over winter but grows maybe 6' tall with bamboo-like stems, largish leaves and a foam of pale cream flowers. I understand it was introduced as a garden plant but the roots go very deep and form huge networks which is why it's not a good idea to have it near a building.

We paid several thousand about seven years ago for a control programme and the plant is all-but gone: the original contract has expired but they check once a year and respray for free in the autumn when systemic herbicide is most effective. What comes up now is stunted and maybe a foot high and gets less every year but they can't guarantee there are no living roots near the house.

Cherryfudge

I've spent a chunk of today doing online training, but I've also managed to get out for an hour's walk and not spend anything. Since then I've pulled myself together and spent a while on one of my paid-for courses where I'd rather lost my way. It seemed to be too much intro and not to-the-point enough but has improved today.

So there's not much to report: nothing spent and a bit of an old sewing project worked on slightly. DH had the day off so he went for a bike ride and has been cursing the wallpaper in our bedroom (because some of the new paper had bubbled, it's not a weird ritual or anything) and paint-stripper-ing the bedroom windowsill, which sorely needed it.

Today I'm thankful for finding interest in my course again so it's not gone to waste, and for having one of my less-favourite work courses out f the way for another year.

Sun_Addict

Laughing at the thought of your hubby shouting at the wallpaper 🤣 It could be a novel way of letting off steam 😆

Cherryfudge

It's been bitterly cold today so I stayed in and did some more of my course while DH was working. I spent long enough in the garden putting the laundry on the line, to convince me I wasn't going for a run.

After DH's work, we wrapped up warmly and posted the care parcel for DS2 then walked over to deliver A and H's gift. H is starting a phased return to work soon: it's good she is feeling strong enough but her basic health is excellent so I have high hopes for her being able to cope so long as she takes it in stages.

I'm at work in the morning but only till just after lunch so I might get some more exercise later. I joined a challenge on an app to walk 100K in January and I have five to go...!

Spending:
Postage £3.20

Tonight I'm thankful for seeing A and H, and a texted conversation with DS2.

Cherryfudge

I've broken the 100K barrier! Apparently that's just over 62 miles walked during January, which I'm rather proud of. I wonder if I can keep it up each month?

My short shift ended up being nearly normal length what with one thing and another so I will need to sort out my hours for the month: I think there will be a few extra hours to claim. I overheard discussion about cancelling a weekend when I'm due to work, so I think some of these might be best saved to claim as TOIL rather than have to work in a different setting. Either that or cancel some of my leave that's due over the next few weeks.

DH and I got our exercise by way of a longish circuit that goes through a nearby village so we added a short detour and had a chat with L and J who live near this road. Nice to see them and they've detoured their walks sometimes to say hello to us so it's good to reciprocate. They are real exercise buffs and had walked 15 miles yesterday, then run 6K this morning.

I had half a mind to show DH the new route that J took me on recently but it would have meant longer in the cold and he doesn't warm up when walking as I do. I'll save it for warmer weather when I've not been at work.

I feel a bit guilty but I threw some food out today: a few things had got pushed to the back of the fridge. There will be more to go tomorrow when I do a thorough clean (if all goes to plan). The freezer is also getting too full so some proper meal planning is called for.

Early night for me tonight: I've only had 4/4.5 hours' sleep the last couple of nights, though I did doze on the sofa after tea.

Tonight I'm thankful for seeing J and L, for a safe outcome of an incident at work, for another negative test this morning and not needing one tomorrow and for a bit of warning that I may need to redistribute annual leave.

Cherryfudge

February's bookings at work are looking worryingly low - our client group aren't eligible per se for the vaccine and understandably it means they are staying at home. For us staff though, it makes deployment to other care settings more likely. I happen to have a fair amount of leave already booked over the next few weeks which will ease the situation for me and possibly for colleagues too as they can take on shifts I'd have had. My colleague told me today that she is taking unpaid leave rather than work elsewhere. I mentioned the situation to Dh when I got home tonight but I'll have to play it by ear. I did notice that a colleague who had Covid some weeks ago has just been signed off for a couple more weeks: she's back on her feet but exhausted all the time.

I had a conversation earlier in the day with the estate agent: we are waiting for a promised up to date knotweed report before they put the house back on the open market but that's likely to arrive tomorrow. I've told him we will be going over Wednesday/Thursday (i.e. don't book anyone in to view the house) so we can get on with the work we still have to do there.

Nothing spent, no exercise done though it's been a nice day, nice enough for a machine load of laundry plus some hand washing to go on the line. Tomorrow is forecast to be heavy snow so I doubt I'll get much done out of doors but I really need to push on with sorting more papers from my parent's house.

Tonight I'm thankful for H's first day back at work having gone okay, a pleasant shift and training done (and we now get rapid testing kits to take home and do twice a week) and days off (lots of them) to come. I think I need to set some targets for those.