Cherry takes the reins

Cherryfudge

Yesterday was a really good day. I'd finished the tiny toy and H arrived just before I had to go to work so I handed it over. DGD was kind enough to smile at it! Poor H was exhausted from having to be out of the house so much: hopefully the work will finish tomorrow and she's at a friend's today with another young baby, so plenty of peer support.

At work I got to meet my new manager properly and it turns out she's worked with not only a former manager of mine but also with DS1! Small world. The best bit is she is a very positive person and DS1 speaks highly of her. Then I had my first shift with another brand new colleague who seems both pleasant and knowledgeable. I left feeling good about work and no longer needing to look elsewhere, though obviously one shift is a bit of a sound bite, not an in-depth experience.

No personal spending though I did some work shopping and had to top it up by 8p which I should get back when there's change in petty cash.

The garden is very green now but it's cold! Heating has been on the last few days... the good side of this is that the tulips are still going strong and we don't have frost so the beautiful apple blossom next door should eventually be a mass of fruit.

So all the above are things to be thankful for, especially the lift in spirits at work.

Cherryfudge

I forgot to add a couple of things for DH: his work rang him with a complicated story about reviewing who is allocated where and him being on the wrong pay grade for the department he was recently assigned to. He's been moved to a much more interesting sector with immediate effect and is happy with that as it's what he would have chosen had he been asked. He also has wider experience that he can use in this role, so hopefully a good move all round.

The other thing occurred while he was at his voluntary post: someone wanted to donate a bike but the manager had to turn it down for H&S reasons. DH said he would take it and make a donation, and the person was apparently delighted with what DH offered. The shop manager was in agreement so Dh took possession of the bike and the charity has money it wouldn't have had but for a timely meeting. DH was thrilled because although he couldn't do more than a cursory inspection of the bike, it's exactly what he wanted to replace his (well used) bike. I don't know how much changed hands but when he researched it later it seems people are asking a higher price on the open market for the same model. Perfect timing for all his summer bike rides, too.

H and baby haven't been here today but I did find some baby clothes I bought for DGD which will be more nearly her size now. I've put them aside for her and this time I'll remember where they are! I had to go into town before work to return our iron which, since last August, has done sterling service but suddenly started throwing out water and not steaming. It was exchanged without any problems and the shop assistant commented that this model is now £60, not the £40 I paid less than a year ago! I don't remember if I bought it in a sale but I don't think so, so that's a truly huge price hike.

I bought a few groceries too: coffee, stem ginger and toiletries meant I paid more than usual though two of those were priced lower because I used my loyalty card. It does seem unfair that we have to sell them our information in order to get reduced prices. After work I went to L!dl for a few bargains which included four oranges for 99p - Dh usually pays around 50p each but he's happy with these and so am I - might try to get back there for another bag full in the next few days!

Spending
Groceries £16.66
Toiletries £3.50

Tonight I'm thankful for Dh getting a new-to-him bike of exactly the type he wanted, for him having a more interesting role at work and for light in the sky at ten to ten. Also for oranges!

Cherryfudge

I'm weary this evening but not enough to sleep. The last few days have been okay, so I'm evidently on the mend. DH tells me I've started to snore worse than usual, though! That's not what I want, but might mean I'm more deeply asleep.

It's been a day off today as I'm working on Sunday. I managed the whole of a small project, embroidering over a fault on the sleeve of a tiny dress I'd bought in the sale for DGD. I decided it was time to do it before she outgrows it! I won't see her for a few days but it's ready. I also wanted to complete the blanket I've knitted for her but have searched high and low for the backing fabric. At one point I'd decided against adding it and put it away... it's not with my knitting things, but where is it? Otherwise on the fabrics front I've found a few projects I'd completely forgotten. I think I'm getting sucked into a black hole of fabric projects, though my skills have increased since I set some of these aside so perhaps they aren't as massive as they look when they all come creeping out of hiding.

I went looking for a particular brand of yarn locally to check how the colours look before using an online discount code to buy some, but nowhere here seems to stock it. I ended up buying a few gifts for family members, nothing huge but am wondering about having a small basket of toys for DGD's future visits. We had one grandmother near us when we were little and she'd always buy us sweets and let us choose something from the soap drawer (I later realised this was so Dad could hand over cider and cigarettes without us seeing!). I don't remember my parents or my husband's parents having toys for my children but they lived at a distance so visits were more of an event. I'm sure as DGD gets old enough there will be a dressing up box and old books will come out again, but toys...? Anyway I bought sensory building blocks for her and a book for my sister.

I also had L!dl coupons so I got a free pizza slice and discounts on other stuff. Unfortunately I treated DH to three jars of nice honey on £1 off only to find out when I got home that the coupon had been switched off so I'd paid £3 more than I intended. I don't think I'm in my rights to take it back and buy again using the discount. On a more positive note, I got DH two more bags of oranges which saves us about £3 so that's not too bad. What else? A pack of tennis balls as I've heard they are the thing to put in the dryer to keep padded coats fluffed up! I hope the colour doesn't run. I can give the spare ones to DD's dog. And some chocolate because I was hungry.

I've found a pack of Polly Pockets (the plastic wallets not the dolls) which saves me buying more, and a bag of chocolates that went missing at Christmas (still in date) and chucked out some cardboard but looking for the missing fabric has shown me what a lot of stuff I have that needs to be dealt with. I find decluttering very hard and there are a lot of boxes of my parents' stuff still not touched. I came across a 1965 parenting magazine and have copied a pattern for a baby cardigan which could have been designed yesterday. I know I didn't need another project but it's cute...

Spending:
Gifts £9.99
Household £1.49 (annoyingly I didn't spot this: the shelf price was £1) + £5 window cleaning.
Housekeeping £14.21

Things I'm thankful for tonight: the return of warmer weather! 

Cherryfudge

Looking through papers I also found I can have free accidental death insurance through the union so I've applied online. Reading the letter they sent I've overshot the postal application dates but it looks as though online may still be valid and as I don't have to pay, it sounded like a good idea. Took two minutes and could be worth £5000 (not that I'd see it but DH might find a use for it).

I've put the papers in the desk with a note of the date - can't have those details following the Christmas chocolate or the bag of fabric!

Cherryfudge

PS to the above - I've told DH this applies only to accidental death!  

We had a lovely sunny morning with our usual trip to the car boot sale. Having DGD in mind, I noticed all the baby stuff for sale. I used to love that when mine were little. Today, I've avoided the clothing but bought quite a few toys and books either for outright gifts or to start to fill the toy box for when she's here. I also bought a small cross stitch for myself which someone had already started. I threw out the rusty needle and spent around three hours unpicking stitches that didn't all face the same way, which gets me to a starting point. I also found some scissors in with it which I expect were left by accident but I can't return them as I don't know the vendor.  DH spent £2 on some old photographic slides, purely out of interest.

When I got home I was tired again and actually fell asleep later. I've got a slight sore throat and the metallic taste came back for a while - this Covid doesn't go easily even after nearly three weeks! It's as well I've been able to take it easily today.

Lunch was chip shop chips but fish and mushy peas from stores which saves a bit. DH has been grocery shopping this evening too.

I had a look at one of the mending projects I unearthed yesterday and decided it's not going to happen. A nice jumper once but the yarn quality wasn't up to much so it was starting to fray randomly. I've also thrown out a handful of out of date bandages. It seems a shame they are going to landfill but they aren't recyclable as far as I can tell.

After lunch we had a text from J to say their latest niece had just been born! All going well, and lovely to hear the news.

DH has the new-to-him bike back from the shop with new pedals and is thrilled with how well it goes.

Spending
Housekeeping - done by DH so I don't know
Bike repairs - DH again
Gifts £13
Hobbies £1

Things I'm thankful for this evening - safe arrival of baby P, good score on my Duolingo (:D), goodies for DGD.

Honeysucklelou2

What a lovely idea to have basket of toys for your DGD at your house! My parents have a box of toys for grandchildren’s visits which means they are “fresh” to them and they get a lot of play out of them.

Cherryfudge

Honeysucklelou2 said:

What a lovely idea to have basket of toys for your DGD at your house! My parents have a box of toys for grandchildren’s visits which means they are “fresh” to them and they get a lot of play out of them.

I'm hoping this will be what happens here.

L came round for Sunday dinner yesterday as J is away for a few days. Lovely to see him and the dog and catch up a bit. He's still getting the post-Covid fatigue but otherwise seems okay. I know we've got off a lot more lightly than many people.

Yesterday I was on late shift and ended up swapping today's late for an early, due to staffing issues. I thought at least DH and I could do something with the afternoon, forgetting he'd tole me he was working. The morning shift was quiet but I'm rather short of sleep over the past couple of days so I ended up going back to bed and sleeping for a couple of hours after work.

Nothing spent by me... I think DH has probably done some grocery shopping but we used some chicken left over from yesterday to make a chicken and chorizo pasta for tea so that was a plus. DH said he's got all the meat off the chicken: I can't resist that sort of challenge so I found enough for a couple of sandwiches.  

I've started to knit swatches for a baby dress. I'm on my third so far: I've gone down a couple of sizes of needles and it's still coming out slightly large. I'll recount tomorrow and maybe move down another size. Why is it that my common sense tells me this is a good idea but I have a mental block over going so far from what the pattern says? When I've got the tension right it will time to try a swatch of the lacey pattern which is new to me. I don't want to take on something I can't handle!

Today I'm thankful for time with L yesterday (and the exited dog who hasn't seen us for a few weeks!), for my friend bringing iced buns into work and free packets of crisps as some had been bought for work which turned out to be out of date. Also for a good rest this afternoon to help me feel better.  

Cherryfudge

Day off today: we had intended to do something with the day but as it was, the high point was DH downloading the L!dl app so he could get cheap pastries this evening! Only joking, though he did download the app after holding out against loyalty cards 'cos of the data harvesting. I think he was really pleased he'd bought two pastries for 63p.

It was too cold out to do much but at last I've booked some annual leave to cover various significant birthdays, a trip to London, DD's wedding and a week off for our anniversary. It's good to have those done and dusted. I'm not good at going away and it took me a while to adjust mentally to being back to my old rota, which I realsie afresh is actually a nice one with a four day break every third week, one weekend and two mid-week 'weekends'. The trade off has been working two weekends out of three but this may change (in which case the hours I've booked off will all be messed around too).

We decided a bit of exercise would be a good thing so went for a local walk, then afterwards I went to the supermarket. I found it pretty tiring but was able to cook the dinner and that, with a rest, revived me. It could be Covid still directly affecting me or it could be that I've not exercised much since I caught it so my general fitness is down. I'm hoping gentle exercise improves it, and more attention to my diet which has been favouring chocolate not vegetables.

Yesterday's knitting project isn't going far. I don't think the yarn is right for the project... 

Spending:
Housekeeping £14.00

Things I'm thankful for this evening: DH told me his friend who is undergoing cancer treatment rang up sounding upbeat (he always does but he got blue-lighted to hospital about a week ago so the phone call is extra-good news). Also a close encounter in the road with the tiniest mouse (who I fear may not be long for this world because it came up and sniffed my hand before stopping to eat a cherry petal - not the way to behave when you are the half the size of a finger) and at least three larks singing above the fields when we went on our walk.

Cherryfudge

A lazy-day-off morning here though around lunch time I somehow drifted into a deep clean of a window which lasted about an hour. I'd read elsewhere on these boards that dirt in the hinges can affect the closure of the window and neither the window cleaner nor I had done a depth clean of the bits that aren't easy since time immemorial. Lots of jugs of water, an old toothbrush, soap, bleach and a water spray and I'm very proud of the result. Bonus: the window shuts better. Next in line is the bathroom window which is also suffering since it's open so often.

I had a quick lunch then H and her parents collected me and we all went out for scones and coffee with baby, a very pleasant afternoon. H bought the edibles so my only expenditure while with them was a greetings card. I asked them to drop me in town on the way back as I'd noticed W!lkos had plant troughs a lot more cheaply than the garden centre. I will have to take back the one I bought, though, as I found it had a piece of veneer missing (the one at the top of the pile had a finial missing so I'd focussed on not buying that one). I went home via the supermarket to take advantage of some coupons.

I'm stuck between knitting projects now. The yarn I was given for the baby dress just isn't right for it somehow (and I still have 10% off the recommended yarn so I've been doing some investigating...). I made a start on the little embroidery this morning but if I don't use the magnifier I'm just going to get eye strain from it so it can't be as casual a project as I was hoping.

I felt fine all afternoon but weary when I started walking. I want my fitness back! DH cooked salmon for tea so I'm well nourished and that's half the battle.

Spending:
Gifts (greetings card) £1.67
Garden £21.00
Housekeeping £5.14

Things I'm thankful for: getting the window back to tip top form! (A lot cheaper than replacing it!) Enjoyable time with H and her parents. Evening light on the trees behind our house. Magnificent clouds that didn't rain on us!

Cherryfudge

I've exchanged the damaged planter for an okay one. The poor assistant was coping with a long queue and varied demands so I must remember to leave her some positive feedback. When I said I'd do that she said they get in trouble if they don't get feedback, which I think is wrong - I know I don't often think to give feedback and how often is something out of the ordinary enough to prompt it? So they are at the whim of the public.

I went to a couple of shops on the way back as I was low on cappuccinos and wanted something cooked for dinner. In the second shop the cappuccinos were a bit cheaper so I got another packet, plus some half price peppers and a £1 ready meal that filled me up nicely later in the evening, so it was a successful trip.

Unusually, shift lead fell to me this evening but it wasn't a difficult one and the other staff seemed happy with how I allocated things. The new manager was there so we had a chat too - the former manager is still authorising leave and had turned down the request for DD's wedding date so I explained why it was needed and she's said she'll make sure I get the actual date! I did explain I don't necessarily need all the dates I'd requested. I've also had a request for DGD's birthday turned down but I think that's because it's immediately before Christmas and I expect I can engineer a swap nearer the time. I don't mind working the half of the day when we aren't celebrating! The other requests have been honoured.

Spending:
Housekeeping £ 4.90

Things I'm thankful for this evening: seeing a hedgehog in the garden last night, a puddle of daylight in the north at nearly ten tonight, a short day tomorrow followed by a weekend off, my post-Covid tiredness switching off mid-evening so I feel like myself again.