Cherry takes the reins

Cherryfudge

We splashed out on a day out! Lovely June weather to dry the washing while we admired a display of owls, had lunch, went to the museum, had cake and drinks and mooched around some shops. The museum ticket lasts a year so we might make use of that again, it was interesting.

I'm not sure of all the costs as DH paid for lunch and diesel but I'll try to get everything in. The news said the average family car now costs £98 to fill up! I'm glad ours is cheaper to run but it must be horrendous for those who need to run two cars just so they can continue to work.

Spending:
Diesel £20
Parking £12.50
Lunch £25? (£22.50+ service)
Museum tickets £17.50
Afternoon cake + drink £10.70 (would have been more but I had loyalty points so my coffee was free)
Clothing £10 (hair accessories for the wedding - though I've rather fallen for the £14 pearl clips that I didn't buy)
Gifts £12.97 (stocking fillers for my sister and niece and DD).

This evening I've done some overdue updating on the computer which I'm hoping might help it to boot up at a more reasonable speed, and while waiting for that to complete I tried out a crochet pattern just out of interest. One thing lead to another and I realised I have the perfect coloured yarn to make myself some sort of wrap to go over the wedding dress. There isn't time to knit one but something in openwork crochet might just happen and if it doesn't, I still have the wrap I'd planned to wear which is much lighter weight but might not be warm enough in the evening.

I also did my nails this morning, a rare event as I have them short for work but have been growing them for a few weeks. I texted DD with a picture to show her I'm getting ready for the wedding. I've also given her a cake stand that she borrowed ages ago - I never use it and she does. It came from my parents and I think it may have been a  gift to them at their wedding in 1959, so it's nice that it can then be part of their grand daughter's wedding.

Things I'm thankful for this evening: lovely day out and an idea for the yarn that's been taking up storage space for rather too long. Being able to pass on something that I don't use but that DD loves and will use as a 'present from her grandparents'. Evening off from my usual Tuesday activity because I needed a rest after a good day. Shiny nails! Another day off tomorrow.

Cherryfudge

A cloud came over yesterday evening! One side of the house was blue sky and sunshine and the other had those dramatic tones that signal Weather. It covered the sky in minutes from when I noticed it but the rain didn't start till much later.

Today... in theory I have the day off so I am sort of avoiding starting on The List. Here it is:

• clean goldfish tank
• do ironing
• order bag - DONE
• I'm sure there was something else that I really need to get done.

The bag was paid for with an Amaz*n voucher - I found I had at least three of them and they are a *!*@? to apply to the account without accidentally signing up for Pr!me, which I managed to avoid having learned the hard way to search the small print. It's far too easy to end up paying them £7.99 a month.

Rant over.

There is a list of jobs of secondary importance too but they need to remain out of sight (though I admit to a small start of trying to copy a crocheted shawl I was given long ago and which should in theory be copyable).

Cherryfudge

So far I've lost my diary, had a small tidy up while finding it, sent out the rota for the Tuesday group, got a bit further arranging a walk with H and baby, and discovered I'm working Friday morning not afternoon. I also found yet another Amaz*n voucher and we don't know if it's DH's or mine so it's been earmarked towards a sun lounger, our old one having broken after many years of neglect  faithful service.

Sun_Addict

Hope you managed to get what you wanted to done on your day off. I have Prime but I do use it a fair bit and Mr SA watches a lot of the TV aspect of it. 

Cherryfudge

Sun_Addict said:

Hope you managed to get what you wanted to done on your day off. I have Prime but I do use it a fair bit and Mr SA watches a lot of the TV aspect of it. 

I usually resubscribe a bit before Christmas and unsub some time in the New Year - this way it covers a few family birthdays as well as Christmas but somehow I just don't use it much - possibly because I'm such a  bargain hunter! That said, I got a real bargain in phone charger leads off Amaz*n a year or so back. I lost one, am still using the second and haven't opened the third yet. They're very durable. I do get a lot of Kindle books but I don't need Prime for those.

I did a deep-clean on the fish tank and half the ironing, and other than that I cleaned out a cupboard, ran cleaning programs on the dish washer and washing machine (and half wish I hadn't: the smell of artificial lemons is strong!) and popped to L!dl for a few groceries. I even fitted in some weeding in the garden which hasn't seen much action for the last month and a half.

The crochet is coming along nicely, though my fingers need a rest now.

Spending:
Clothing - bag for wedding - £21.99, but this came off a voucher.
Housekeeping £7.26

Things I'm thankful for tonight - having got the tank cleaning out of the way! Lovely blue geraniums outside the back door. So many gardens full of flowers. The goldfinches singing in our trees.

Cherryfudge

I've had a very full couple of days: I met my friend for coffee yesterday morning (her turn to treat) then went on what started out as an errand to buy toothpaste and ended up with some drinking glasses and an armful of children's books for DGD. These last were from a charity shop but were pristine or very good condition. Then I was at work in the afternoon and finished quite late: it was one of those shifts that just keeps on taking.

Today was an early shift which was also quite demanding, but my team leader and temporary manager were determined I should get my supervision in - I'm not sure how long we were in there but two and a half hours at least! Very constructive. It meant, however, that I left work really late and had to ring H to apologise for missing our walk.

By the time I went home I was ready for a rest but on the way I spotted a cat lying in some long grass and realised there was something wrong with it. Long story short, DH and I lured it into a pet carrier with the aid of some tuna and it was hungry enough to be caught. The RSPCA were worse than useless ( after 20 minutes in a queue to them the chap didn't seem able to hear me and just said 'Hello?' twice before hanging up) so I took the cat to our local vet who sprayed it with flea spray and removed a colossal clump of matted fur that had completely deformed it's appearance. They've posted about it on social media but I think it's been stray too long for that to find the owner. no response so far, anyway. We can't keep it due to allergies but it's the friendliest, sweetest natured cat so I'm sure it will eventually find a home. Meanwhile we have care of it over the weekend and on Monday the vet will sedate it to remove the other matts on its coat.

Spending:
Gifts (books for DGD) £13.??
Household £5
Medical £1.25
Pets £3.17
Housekeeping £1.54

Tonight I'm thankful for safe resolution of an emergency at work, management giving me the leave I need for DD's wedding and generally being supportive, being in a position to help the cat (and Dh helping me with it), weekend off.

Cherryfudge

It's been a  nice day off though I think the weather made a mistake: wind and cloud all day long. Doesn't it know it's June?

I didn't sleep too well which is partly my fault for being late to bed. I'm also wondering if it takes a few days of rest to get past a week of busy-ness. I went through the local Facebook groups when I woke up and can't find any 'missing cat' adverts that could possibly be our visitor, right back to October last year. Nothing from the vet's post, either, but the cat seems to be accepting the chicken coop and is eating well. He or she swept what I had thought was a tiny but obsolete wasps' nest away with his or her tail when I was stroking her and two wasps fell out so I had to keep kitty from standing on them till I could get them and the remains of the nest out! Good job I know I don't react badly to wasp stings, and even better that neither the cat nor I got stung!

In the late morning we went to the next town to collect a high chair that I'd seen in a local ad. The lady showed us how to fold it and alter the height, then charged us £20 instead of £30 as she had seen some damage on the cushion, so that was nice. She also had a pug who wanted to be friends: he was adorable, and this from me who has strong feelings about not breeding animals into shapes that cause suffering. I did offer to take him home with me, he was so cuddly! So we are one high chair better off, ready for DGD's visits (but no extra animals today).

We had some time free after that so we wandered round the charity shops where I bought books for DGD and books for me, then we shared a portion of fish and chips out in the town square, along with what looked like half the town. The pavement cafe, which I think grew up over the pandemic, is a fixture now and it's so nice to be able to eat out in the fresh air (also somewhat sheltered from the wind). DH was MS-minded enough to bring drinks and fruit from home but we had those in the car before going on to the car boot sale.

Car boot entry is £1 apiece, and I didn't think I was going to find anything to buy as the things I was on the lookout for - a purse and a crochet hook - didn't materialise. The zip on my purse is failing and I thought I'd replace with a pre-loved one to save something from landfill, but I must have rarified taste in purses as there was nothing liked enough. The crochet hook was due to my dropping one down between the car seats, but DH managed to find it later. Towards the end of the stalls, however, I found a single-cup cafetiere with copper edging and I know DD wanted one so I bought it as a gift for a whole £1.  The stall holder threw in a Kilner=type jar which I'm happy about. I allowed myself some chunky knitting needles which will save a few pounds somewhere down the line and also a little ornament to go in my dolls' house garden.

Back at home this afternoon I gave DH a haircut and we both spent about an hour on the garden, mostly cutting back a tree that's making the house dark.  DH invested in the extendible clippers last year and reckons they've paid for themselves, but on the other hand he's thinking of paying the Council fee to have garden waste collected instead of making multiple trips to the tip. I'm inclined to agree, at least for the rest of this year. There will be a few small logs to dry for the log burner from today's work but most of it is twigs and foliage.

Spending
Books for me £2
Gifts £5.99
Hobbies £1 (me), £5 approx (DH)
Entertainment £2 (entry to car boot sale)
Housekeeping £8.50 approx (F&C)
Household £20 (high chair)

Things to be thankful for/look forward to: some nice things done and bought today (and the free Kilner), being able to do the tree trimming ourselves as it wasn't cheap getting  tree surgeon out last year! DD's pre-wedding meal out tomorrow.

Sun_Addict

Bless you for taking the stray cat in for the weekend despite allergies 😇 We’ve taken in a couple of poorly strays ended up in our garden. Probably dumped 😡 RSPCA are no help whatsoever better off trying small local rescues as we found. 

Cherryfudge

Interestingly that's almost what our vet said, SA!

The cat is still sweet and beautiful and we still can't keep it!

Some more spending to declare as I went to buy groceries and cat food and bought a replacement purse online.

Housekeeping 37p + Tesco
Pets £1.08
Clothing (purse) £11.99

Honeysucklelou2

How kind of you to aid the cat.  Agree that locally we have cat rescue places that have been set up by local people rather than the RSPCA.

How long until the wedding?