Cherry takes the reins

Cherryfudge

Sun_Addict said:

Sounds like you had a lovely day. How fascinating to own a 200 year old table, imagine the stories it could tell.

I seem to remember DH picked it up at auction. It's a shame that 'brown' furniture is currently not very marketable, there are lovely things out there.

Cherryfudge

Tomorrow - well, later today - we're off to our friends for the weekend then straight on to the old house so I won't be around much for a few days. It will be lovely to have a little holiday, though I think the government is mad not keeping more restrictions with Covid rates growing so fast, and I really hope our hosts don't want to go anywhere busy.

I pottered around doing small jobs before work today. I haven't packed for the trips yet but it shouldn't take too long. The goldfish has a 'holiday block' of food and I bought some juice but we will need to shop locally for groceries on Monday. DH is hoping to get us a table at our favourite cafe: we've discovered you can request an outdoor table if you get in far enough in advance so we'd like to do that. I've also collected a few small sturdy boxes to carry yet more books to the charity shops!

Today's spending:
Housekeeping £1.94
Pets £1

And the things I'm thankful for: a good weather forecast over the weekend, a peaceful shift today, DH's help with the house, seeing our friends.

Sun_Addict

Enjoy your weekend away, great weather for it too ☀️ I’m wary of going anywhere because of the rise in cases. I’m hearing more and more tales of people being pinged and testing positive. 

Cherryfudge

Sun_Addict said:

Enjoy your weekend away, great weather for it too ☀️ I’m wary of going anywhere because of the rise in cases. I’m hearing more and more tales of people being pinged and testing positive. 

I'm waiting for my turn. Someone in the next building just got a positive: we've had a couple at my place of work but they could be traced back and didn't pass it on, whereas this one has been working with some of the same clients as us, and it's absolutely rife in our area. Perhaps I'm better away from it all for a few days!

Cherryfudge

Got home yesterday - it's been soooooo hot! The weekend with our friends was really nice: one of them is the man who has a partially-diagnosed condition but he seemed well and easily kept up with the rest of us (maybe not so difficult as the heat meant that all anyone managed was a gentle mooch). Just as we were leaving he received an appointment for a second MRI as the first and the biopsy were inconclusive.

DH bought lunch for everyone on the Saturday and on the Sunday we went car booting. The car boot sales in that area are always amazing: such a lot and so cheap even for quality items. I spent eight lots of 50p and for that I have:

• Smart M&S mid-weight wool coat (still with dry cleaning tag in it)
• Italian leather sandals
• Mule-type leather sandals
• hardback book
• Miss Selfridge top
• shorts
• Jumper
• Bayliss and Harding body wash

So I was very happy with that. It counts as zero coupons for the Fashion of the Ration challenge, which is an added bonus.

Our hosts paid for entry to a couple of places and I resisted buying plants on three occasions.

The car seems to be running forever on the latest tank of fuel so the trip hasn't cost us extra (not sure whether to claim a little from the estate for the extra journey as we went from our friend's house to work on the old house for a couple of days).

There was some expenditure once we arrived in Lancashire: a trip to the supermarket, lunch out, visits to the greengrocer's and the deli.

Good progress was made at the house, principally I've boxed up a large collection of ornaments - about 70 or 80 pieces which mostly still had their original boxes. I've joined some fan pages on Facebook and it looks as though this may be the best way to sell them. Meanwhile they are in the shed!

Dishearteningly, as so many cupboards there are now empty and a few more boxes of ornaments have gone to charity, I found two cupboards with lots more in. Some of this I'd literally not registered before. I can only think  that sealed up boxes at the bottom of a wardrobe-length cupboard don't attract the eye as effectively as sundry coloured items on upper shelves. Nearly all the boxes turned out to be magazines so there wasn't much sorting: they were largely 1950s and 1960s editions of a magazine Mum used to write for. I think she used a pen name as she did when writing short stories so I haven't been able to fid any samples of her work. Apparently when I was at primary school I got a book from the school library which she'd written but I didn't know that. When she asked what I thought of it I wasn't impressed, so in later years she would never tell me her pen name! To be fair, while her narrative style was strong, I haven't found her poetry to my taste so perhaps it's as well I didn't get to read the short stories.

Apart from that there was a box of the sort of handicrafts that people make for fundraisers: most of the little Father-Christmas-in-a-lace-edged-cushion type things went straight in a small box of Christmas decs to donate. We didn't think the charity shops were quite ready for the five Christmas trees I found, so those will have to stay in the cupboard along with three big bags of decorations! If we still have the house in the autumn I can donate them then.

Among the hand-made items were three tiny baby outfits (sewn not knitted) which I ran through the washer and donated apart from one which was really pretty - if I ever have a granddaughter it can go to her ("Grandma! It's GIRLY! I can't be seen in this! Give me my dungarees at once!")

So a few more boxes have been donated and our car came back so full it looked as though we were headed for Freshers' Week.

DH is supposed to be working this morning but the computer has given up the ghost. He's reported it to IT and has spent the morning waiting for a replacement. We live close enough that he could collect a one if there's one available but as the employer is not returning to office unless absolutely unavoidable, there's no option of going in to work.

I'm back in work this afternoon: they must have noticed I'd put myself down for a couple of sleep-ins in August because I had a text asking if I could do tonight's. I've accepted it: I'm then working lates through the weekend and it's back to the old house on Monday to collect yet more stuff and take another couple of boxes to charities.

Spending:
Lunch out - unknown (DH paid)
Book (hobbies? I can't remember) 50p
Toiletries 50p
Clothes £3.00
Housekeeping £16.06 + £4? greengrocer's + ? deli
Entertainment (meal out) £25.10 + other meal out (unknown)

Things I'm thankful for: improvement in our friend's health, super weather and a relaxing weekend, car boot booty, finding five little embroideries made by Mum (again, three were hidden in plain sight - why did I only just see them?), DH's help carting things back, being able to sleep even though it's so hot.

Cherryfudge

On a different note, I'm gaining weight despite refusing cake and ice cream over the weekend. Part of that has to be lack of exercise but honestly - a pound and three quarters in a week?! I'm blaming bread, biscuits and several days of being too hot to move much.

Today so far I've put two little boxes of beautiful vintage china away on top of a bookcase in DD's old room, and done a load of laundry. I need to pop to the shops despite it being a 'mad dogs and Englishmen' thing because I've realised I don't have anything in for work meals.

Cherryfudge

Two loads of housekeeping spending to report, plus one of household as L!dl had kitchen scales for £10 and mine have done that maddening thing where the tiny rubber 'foot' comes off and is lost and therefore the whole thing can't add up. I tried taking the other tiny rubber pads off to equalise it but it's still not right. So annoying - built in obsolescence. Grr. Anyway I think the old set was £16 so £10 for a known make is okay by me. I just hate sending things to landfill over next to nothing. (Grr again).

Off to work in a minute so, briefly:
Household £9.99
Housekeeping £3.88 + 15.87 + £4.82.

Also popped round to drop something off for a friend who's isolating and ended up with a  distanced conversation (she's fine, her adult daughter and son in law have Covid  but aren't too poorly last I heard). Two colleagues are also isolating. DH and I both did emergency flow tests this lunchtime when separate things 'didn't taste right' but we're fine (my next PCR due is in a few days which will hopefully still be fine

Cherryfudge

So many people are isolating at the moment. Truly a 'pingdemic'. I still have the app, so it might be me one day. Two colleagues are isolating, two church leaders are isolating, my friend has two days to go, a friend of DH is also isolating...

It's been a quiet weekend at work and DH and I have worked out a plan for the week (pings permitting). I'm off for four days and DH is off till Wednesday so we drive over to the old house tomorrow and he stays till Tuesday evening, then I get the train back on Thursday as I'm on the early shift on Friday. That gives me more sorting time than I'd expected but some company too.

It's been a bit cooler so I asked DH to look in the loft for my little green suitcase which is perfect for train travel. He couldn't find it but mentioned a silver one I could use instead. I couldn't picture this case at first then it dawned on my that the green case broke and was thrown out a couple of years ago and the silver one was the replacement. Oops.

Anyway I'm happy with the silver one because it's a great travel companion (it all comes back now - I had another life before the pandemic!) and I also raided the loft for the 'very hot weather' clothes that I'd left up there when I got the rest of my summer stuff down. I now have my pack-a-mack, hat, trainer socks and floaty dresses so I'm ready for most things.

Sadly, one of the pairs of sandals I got from the car boot sale a week ago felt odd when I put it on this morning and after a few minutes I felt something fall off it. Turns out the heel had crumbled! It must have been on the way out before I bought it and I checked the soles but didn't spot the problem.

Things I'm thankful for this evening: DH's company over the next couple of days and extra time to work on the house. 

Cherryfudge

I'm back - I got a lot done in the the four days at the old house though it still isn't finished. DH gave me a lift over but had to be back at work on Wednesday so I came home by train: realised train travel has been part of my life for a very long time and it's nice to have it back. The local line near the house used to be very shabby but they have new rolling stock with USB points and for a while I had a carriage to myself: can't complain!

The ticket was bought through a spilt ticketing site, thus savings about £17, and the rest I can reclaim from Mum's estate as the trip was estate business.

Talking of estate business, DH's tenant has moved in. Her son told DH they would send a list of snagging issues - I don't know if that's supposed to keep us on our toes!

I've spent a fiver on extra data but that's worth it as I'm having fun with one of the language apps and it helped me relax. I was tempted to walk down to the shops in the next village but the weather turned: it was still okay to wear short around the house till today when it cooled to about 16 degrees from 20+. Yesterday was a superb hailstorm complete with thunder and lightening. I dashed from door to door videoing it but made sure I didn't get in the line of fire. Afterwards the air smelled of bruised leaves and this morning there were tiny tattered bits of green all over the pavements, but the flowers seem to be all right.

I've packed up yet more stuff to go to charity and DH also took some bookshelves and a side table to donate, so there is more space. I finally cleared the last of the things that had been left in kitchen cupboards: all sorts of broken china and other things that needed mending as well as some that were okay. The spare plates are going too: no more than we absolutely need! I did sneak out a non-stick pan that I have grown rather fond of: DH won't be happy but we did have to throw out a pan recently. I doubt I'm the only person who feels some pans are friends that have been with me through significant times! This is one of those.

I also brought back some very old magazines I found, including two from 1939. They are interesting reading, the Needlework one particularly so.

Business-wise, I had a catch up with the lady who sees to the house for us and have paid her up to the first few days of September. I also found the letter from the Council about occupancy. I thought I might have replied but it's as well I checked because I hadn't. I had enough bandwidth to do that online. I've also got my flow test and PCR out of the way for the next few days so am okay for work tomorrow.

Talking of work, I've been asked to swap a shift around over the weekend and there's a sleep in with it. I should probably have said no to the sleep as I do get tired afterwards but anyway what's done is done. The habit of checking the rota to see what I can pick up is a hard one to break.

Spending:
Train fare £38.48 (to reclaim)
Data £5

Tonight I'm thankful for safe journeys, a good storm, finding interesting old things and being able to let others go.

Sun_Addict

Sounds like you had a few productive days. There seems to be a never ending amount of stuff to clear in the house, when do you think you’ll be done?