Cherry takes the reins

Cherryfudge

Summat's wrong with our Internet/landline: it disappeared altogether for a while, as did the landline, and we've been told it will be Tuesday/Wednesday before they can send someone out! However as you can see, it came back, albeit slow and hesitant. DH had just arranged to work another day, too, but I suppose if it's not reliable then he can't risk not being able to work at the last minute.

I've now done 3/4 of my course and I can always use phone data for it if I need to - I'm just spoilt with ease of access on a laptop.

DH is in the process of removing furniture from DFiL's flat, which is to be rented out. He discovered peeling paper and attachment points for lights behind a cabinet, so this afternoon has been spent putting the first of the wall lights in. He's also brought in the new-to-us vacuum cleaner that he bought the other day. We were rather torn as there are newer models that would deal with the hair I shed on the carpet (!) but this one is a workhorse and shampoos carpets well so for £40 plus petrol we got it. Still boxed! Needless to say the old one is going the same way as so many other electricals round here - worn out and limping along. That will go to the flat for the time being.

Talking of wearing things out, our replacement bathroom blind is now fitted which is a lot better than shoving towels into the window closure!  

I don't know what DH spent on the wall lights but I think that probably comes from DFiL's estate. I haven't bought anything today. I did turn down an offer on Mum's old house which would have been a  big drop from the asking price but if they really want it they will have to raise their offer. I do think we will probably have to take less than we'd thought, though.

It's been another grey day in lockdown, but it made a real effort to be interesting, what with sudden showers alternating with bright sun at five minute intervals, and a sharp wind, but this afternoon it calmed down and we went for a walk. I'm hoping in a few days it will be gentler and I'll be out there with the tough souls who I see running with various degrees of efficiency along the pavements. Some are enviable as they bound along at a fair lick with a bounciness that suggests they aren't even trying. I'm not in their league. Still, I'm not in anyone's league till I get back in my running shoes, am I?

This evening I'm thankful for the internet coming back on, for the feeling I'm on top of the material in my course and for all the daffodils that are the brightest thing around by far at the moment.

Honeysucklelou2

Daffodils are so wonderful for raising one’s spirits and just spreading cheeriness! 

Cherryfudge

Honeysucklelou2 said:

Daffodils are so wonderful for raising one’s spirits and just spreading cheeriness! 

Aren't they just!

Sun_Addict

Glad the internet came back on. How did we ever live without it 😆 Daffodils are my favourite flowers, they are just so bright and cheerful and herald better times. 

Onebrokelady

I have one lonesome tête-à-tête daffodil that has flowered  in my front garden, the mystery is where did it come from because I have never planted any 😀I'm thinking Squirrels 😀 it has cheered me up though 😀

HairyHandofDartmoor

Daffodils are my favourite flowers too, they are so cheery . I have a bluebell in my front garden that self seeded itself.

Cherryfudge

The daffodils are well any truly out now - but no bluebells yet! That will be about May up here.

It's been sunny today but cold out: the washing made it onto the line but I've stayed in most of the day. I didn't even want a run - but on another level I need to get out there again, it will do me good.

I've nearly finished my course but run aground: the last section is on different methods of getting groups to form creative solutions and I can hardly tell one method from another. I'm taking a break but I think I'll need to wade in and look these things up. It will take time but it's not explained enough on the course. From other student comments I can see I'm not the only one struggling with one particular method.

Both our internet and our landline are currently working, so perhaps the problem has been fixed at source.

We had a visit from L this morning! Lovely to see him. He dropped off my Mother's Day gift (tulips and chocolate) and returned our wallpaper stripper so DH could work on the flat this afternoon. We keep finding more things that need to be done here at home too: DH shampooed the downstairs carpets today, our draughty back door could do with replacing, the front path has lifted a lot over winter, the shed leans rather dramatically... I'm sure there are plenty more!

I went to Mr T this evening while it was quiet and picked up the groceries: £53.82. That's better than recently even though most of the frozen veg had needed restocking. We also had fish and chips for lunch which was about £8.

Today's thankfullnesses: seeing L (who after all used to live here!), my favourite fruit bread on yellow sticker , managing to be 'good' and resist buying some unnecessary socks that I don't need, some time to myself this afternoon (much as I love DH, we are both at home most of the time at the moment!)

Cherryfudge

I see I've missed a couple of days. H'mmm... Sunday was Mothering Sunday marked in their different ways by each of the offspring. I was at work in the afternoon but managed to see H and A who have bought a new hedge and were setting it out in an icy wind... no chance of a viral upsurge when the air is moving like that! I also had texts from the others and gifts.

Yesterday I had swollen glands in my neck. Of course that was a bit of a worry though it can happen when I'm tired and my sleep has been inadequate for the past few months. Anyway I did a flow test and got a clear negative so perhaps that trip to a rather busy M&S last week hasn't come back to haunt me.

I didn't feel up to running but had a walk through the fields where I ran a lot last spring. It's muddy, despite recent dry weather and I didn't see any hares, but there were several larks above the fields. Wonderful sound.

Work was a little stressful but only in the sense of things I had to get done and some of those are cleared away now. I've even submitted my January timesheet, after turning all those little bits of extra time into leave to cover days when we had to shut, then turning them back into annual leave as I can't fit actual leave into the financial year any more. Then filling in a hefty form with anything from a quarter of an hour to four and a half hours in overtime... it's nice to have it out of the way and I might even do February's soon.

DH is papering DFiL's flat preparatory to renting it out, so I have the house to myself today and it's forecast to get quite warm (14 degrees) so it would be nice to get some fresh air.

Cherryfudge

DH and I went for a run yesterday afternoon - oh my goodness I need to get back into running. It really took it out of me!
Today I had a walk with a friend and we had blue skies and lovely warm sunshine. Later I spent an hour or so in the garden cutting back last year's brambles and this evening I can feel I've caught the sun a bit: that slight soreness of the top lip I get on the first sunny day every spring! The garden looks a bit tidier for my ministrations but the wheelie bin soon filled up so I've stopped for now.
Nothing spent though I have been looking longingly at some jumpers I saw on sale. I don't need them at all, but the colours are so nice... anyway if I return to them I've decided fabric is going to be a factor in choosing as I have too much acrylic due to intolerance to wool. They might get bought if they are cotton, but the colours looked too strong to be that. I don't want to be sending too much stuff to eventual landfill to stay around for centuries.
We've had internet problems again: lots of work has been going on with local junctions boxes and I don't think it's over yet, then in addition a major broadband provider went down locally. I'm having long texted chats with neighbours as we try to find out what's going on.
I got unstuck with my course after a couple of days of stressing about it, and now I'm nearly at the end so I'll buzz off in a minute and do some more.

Things I'm thankful for: walking with my friend, real warmth in the sun, blossom starting to come out on the trees and regrowth in the Bleeding Heart vine I inherited from my mum. Last year it was flowering for Mother's Day so this winter must have been a lot colder.

Cherryfudge

And a spend to declare: £21.39 clothes shopping.