Cherry takes the reins

Seasidegal58

Thanks very much @greenbee. That's really helpful!👍😃

Cherryfudge

Thanks @greenbee, it's slightly different on my Kindle but I think I may have got there! (Kindle/library/Downloaded/ click and hold/go to three dots in top right/Permanently delete (or remove download).

Different downloads come up with different options at the last stage - and it turns out four of my books are PDFs. 

Cherryfudge

Nothing spent today: I even decided not to go to Lidl for after-seven pm bargains, despite a free evening.

We had torrential rain at lunchtime while I was cleaning out the fish tank. I put buckets under the edge of the back porch (the gutter above needs adjustment, hence DH's search for a long ladder) and had three full buckets in less than half an hour. It's like a waterfall out there! I googled and the water may not be suitable for goldfish, or I'd have filled the tank for him instead of using treated tap water. However, it will keep the houseplants very happy. The rain water butt was overflowing too, so one of the after-rain jobs has been to turn and water the compost heap. That also meant worms for DS2's newts! The other after-rain job was burying a poor dead magpie found at the end of the garden. There's been a family of them this summer: they took a liking to the sun lounger and used to play with the detached headrest. Yesterday they were having a very public shouting match in the ash tree, possibly over their departed friend.

So all creatures have had extra attention today.

Thanks to help on here and a bit more googling, I think I've finally got rid of some unwanted books from my Kindle. I do miss the Kindle I used to have, which died of overuse and a historic dunk in the bath but which was far easier to navigate.

Dinner used up an aubergine, a courgette, a red onion and some tomatoes all cooked in a pan with basil, breaded chicken and pasta. It worked quite well and there's enough for lunch tomorrow. I'm concentrating on using the stove top as it's cheaper than the oven, and DH is doing the same.

This evening I took it into my head to fix a little side table that came from Mum's house but which has come unstuck. That led to a trail of finding things and putting them right: my Stanley knife was a bit blunt so I sharpened the blade but it then took about half an hour to get it back together. The old glue on the table joints was stubborn and too thick to leave in place so I'll wait for the light of day to see if I've removed enough, after which I need to search the shed for the cramp and some old wood to protect the table. Meanwhile DH has repainted the doors from the kitchen cupboards and put new handles on and they look just right, but one of the doors won't go back in its groove. Both of us have tried, and I deep-cleaned the groove it runs in, but no success. I think we need to ask our eldest, who has a bit of a genius for all things DIY.

Work now has four Covid cases, though the earlier ones are at the fed-up-and-ready-for-normal-life stage. My next shift, on Thursday, will be cleaning or admin. Management will then take a look at the situation to see if we can reopen to clients. I'd already told H that I'd look after the baby on Thursday morning, expecting to be working a late, so I'm going to ask for half a day's leave. I logged onto my work emails and discovered we are supposed to be testing daily and I should have done a PCR yesterday, but as I was on a day off and no one told me, I don't think I can be blamed. Logging on when not at work isn't really approved of but sometimes it's necessary - in this case to check what days I have booked off for the coming holiday. I can breathe again - I have more than enough as my new rota gives me three after I get back.

Some MS things: not going to the shops, checking the fridge for things to use up, fixing and adapting rather than buying new (which would have been an expensive job in the case of the kitchen doors but I can't take credit for those), doing the ironing this morning while the power was still on night time rates.

Spending - none by me though DH has spent the money he was given as a leaving present over lockdown.

Things I'm thankful for: another day with real rain, so it's actually soaking into the ground now. Getting a 'frog' job out of the way.

Cherryfudge

An odd day today! Without going into all the convolutions, I worked three hours this afternoon to give me tomorrow morning free, then went for coffee with the friends I usually meet on a Tuesday. Between all our holidays, this was the only time we could get together.

I've also started repairing that little table: the top is substantially back together (it's a shallow box on legs) but the base is still loose and the pins have all pulled out of the lid side of the hinge. I have no idea where I'll find miniscule nails for that, but the next stage is to secure the base.

Dinner was another successful use-up: I had some rather unappetising sausage meat in the freezer so I defrosted a block and mixed it with the breadcrumbed end of a stale loaf. Then I softened minced onion, gammon, tomato, sage and apple in olive oil and squidged the whole lot into patties which I tossed in flour and seasoning and cooked on the stove top. We had that with baked potatoes (microwaved), peas and cherry tomatoes. DH liked it enough to suggest we have the rest tomorrow which is handy as we only ate half and the rest can't go back in the freezer uncooked.

I was pleased that I'd found a non-oven work around. The original plan had been to make a sausage plait, which would have taken at least half an hour of oven use. So it's saved us a few calories too!

The only shopping has been a trawl round for the best bargain apples (I know - we have a bowl of crab apples already). Iceland had some fruits on half price, so I got apples and nectarines. I also resisted an evening visit to Lidl again - ha!

As a matter of fact, this evening there was a downpour and accompanying thunder and lightning. It cleared in about twenty minutes but seems to be trying to make up for lost time.

Spending:
Housekeeping £2.00

MS efforts:
Mending the side table, my friend standing me coffee and a ginger biscuit, resisting buying things I didn't need (apart from the nectarines but DH has already had one of those, so they won't be wasted), continuing to make use of freezer stuff to the point where there's some space in there.

And this evening I'm thankful for more rain, for not wanting various calorific goodies that someone brought into work, for the fact I love cooking (thus making money saving efforts more a pleasure than a pressure), for my friend buying the coffees.

Cherryfudge

An odd day today! Without going into all the convolutions, I worked three hours this afternoon to give me tomorrow morning free, then went for coffee with the friends I usually meet on a Tuesday. Between all our holidays, this was the only time we could get together.

I've also started repairing that little table: the top is substantially back together (it's a shallow box on legs) but the base is still loose and the pins have all pulled out of the lid side of the hinge. I have no idea where I'll find miniscule nails for that, but the next stage is to secure the base.

Dinner was another successful use-up: I had some rather unappetising sausage meat in the freezer so I defrosted a block and mixed it with the breadcrumbed end of a stale loaf. Then I softened minced onion, gammon, tomato, sage and apple in olive oil and squidged the whole lot into patties which I tossed in flour and seasoning and cooked on the stove top. We had that with baked potatoes (microwaved), peas and cherry tomatoes. DH liked it enough to suggest we have the rest tomorrow which is handy as we only ate half and the rest can't go back in the freezer uncooked.

I was pleased that I'd found a non-oven work around. The original plan had been to make a sausage plait, which would have taken at least half an hour of oven use. So it's saved us a few calories too!

The only shopping has been a trawl round for the best bargain apples (I know - we have a bowl of crab apples already). Iceland had some fruits on half price, so I got apples and nectarines. I also resisted an evening visit to Lidl again - ha!

As a matter of fact, this evening there was a downpour and accompanying thunder and lightning. It cleared in about twenty minutes but seems to be trying to make up for lost time.

Spending:
Housekeeping £2.00

MS efforts:
Mending the side table, my friend standing me coffee and a ginger biscuit, resisting buying things I didn't need (apart from the nectarines but DH has already had one of those, so they won't be wasted), continuing to make use of freezer stuff to the point where there's some space in there.

And this evening I'm thankful for more rain, for not wanting various calorific goodies that someone brought into work, for the fact I love cooking (thus making money saving efforts more a pleasure than a pressure), for my friend buying the coffees.

Cherryfudge

I didn't see the events of today coming, or rather I did, of course, but not as happening today when I woke up this morning. I had a lot of respect for Her Majesty and with her passing it feels a constant has gone. A bit of me is pro-monarchy as living history and a layer of influence to temper elected Government (even if there's not much they can do to stop things happening) but someone pointed out that if a certain other member of the Royal family had been monarch, things would have been very different - that made me realise it's the person I admired, not the historical continuity!

Here at home, I got some jobs done then baby N came round for a while. Her Mum had pre-holiday errands to run. I ended up texting for backup though as N, while quite content to be held and fed by me, seems to have realised Mum wasn't in the room and started to cry inconsolably. All my well-practised distraction techniques got me nowhere much, it seems only walking round the garden is enough to calm this one down so when she visits in the winter, I'd better keep my boots by the door! Anyway, by the time I texted, H was nearly finished in town and came to take over again. I had lunch and did an afternoon at work.

I'm still finishing off fridge and freezer items: the sausage meat patties are gone now and there are swede and beetroot in the freezer. There's a list of jobs for tomorrow which I won't all get done but I'm on the late/sleep at work, so will be up in reasonable time to do some on Saturday morning before we go.

I've not had time to get to the shops which is useful in terms of not spending anything, but I haven't given any thought to snacks to take with us and save some of the eating out while on holiday. I've not even looked up the supermarkets where we're going! That's a job for before bed tonight.

Nothing else money-saving comes to mind - did manage a bit more calorie saving as I didn't get started on the treats that had been brought in to work, but I did dip into chocolate biscuits after tea which I suppose cancels it out.

Tonight I'm thankful for the life of the Queen and all the stability she gave to us. I'm also grateful for my time with baby N even though she did scream! And for the extra hours at work tomorrow and for a small commendation at work for using a little bit of sign language during fire drill. I'm proud of that one though I only manage to sign there was a fire, not that the person was safe!

...and a thought. Are we now in a new Carolingian age?

Cherryfudge

Frantic Friday has been and gone again. Last night I just couldn’t sleep so I went downstairs to read till 4, found some bed socks and a fleecy top and finally got to sleep. I was up at 8.30.
The  morning was two loads of washing and a few hours on the cleaning team at church. I came back via the shops where I bought coffee and doughnuts, then found a nice cream linen shirt in a charity shop. I discovered when I got home that it’s actually a size too big but as I bought it to wear with a jumper or slouchy, I can put up with that. A bit sad that the May n reason for buying it is the expanded waistline.

Work has been okay: I was shift lead but nothing untoward happened and now I’m doing the overnight (sleep in) so I’d better get some sleep.

Spending:
clothing £5
housekeeping £7

and I’m thankful for a peaceful day and the weather still being warm - and doughnuts ☺️

Cherryfudge

I see I didn’t make it on here all weekend! On Saturday morning I got home from the sleep in at work in reasonable time, and between throwing our packing together and dodging the rain we had a brief trip to the car boot sale. I was happy to find a small kitchen storage tub (30p) then a table of dolls’ house accessories (I spent £10 and came away with five items, one of which will be for my sister’s dolls’ house).

We had a light lunch in place of our usual Saturday take away (just as well considering how much we’ve spent eating out since) and set off on our travels, stopping en route for a motorway services takeaway. I resisted a drink with it as I had water in the car, and probably ate far too much as the shop assistant got my order wrong and by the time I spotted it, I told her just to give me what she was making rather than waste it - though it was a very large portion!

 We’re holidaying in the UK this year: the first port of call was in the Cotswolds for two nights. We had stayed nearby before and there’s a very large garden centre there with superb food. The hotel receptionist warned us the hotel breakfasts weren’t worth the money so we went out for both breakfast and lunch on Sunday and Monday - with the occasional beverages and cake thrown in. So far I make that £122.71 spent on eating out!

We spent a lot of time on Sunday mooching round the garden centre where of course nowadays they sell everything apart from trips to the moon. I found beautiful greetings cards, a thank you gift for A and H for taking us to the family birthday last week, some wildflower seeds for my sister and bulbs and seeds for our own garden. There was an excellent book shop so I took down a few titles, one of which I’ve now been able to borrow from the library. Some of the others might go on my Christmas list.

Not many things were open in the town yesterday apart from a cookery shop - where I immediately spotted a mug I’d fallen for last year. It had been out of stock when I went to order it. Marvellous to see two of it for sale though there’s only one now: DH got it me for Christmas!

We went for a further look around today but didn’t buy anything, then set off for the middle it of our adventure, stopping for groceries on the way. I’m used to larger, cheaper supermarkets! However every new supermarket is a bit of an adventure for me as I find things I don’t see at home. We bought lots of fruit (ahem! When I counted up tonight, we had 28 items of fruit plus blueberries, greengages and a few apples from the neighbour!)

Getting here has involved many miles of narrow windy roads and the cottage is deep in the country.

Spending:
fuel £43.56 + ?
eating out £112.71
gifts £46.50
garden £8.24
firefighters for our wood burner £3
trolley coin (what on earth does that come under?!) £1
medical £1
housekeeping £39.19

Tonight I’m thankful for safe journeys, good weather, some lovely meals and keeping just about on top of knowing what we’re spending ( some of the meals are DH’s rounded numbers). 

Sun_Addict

Enjoy your holiday. I love the Cotswolds.

Cherryfudge

Day four of holiday. @Sun_Addict, such a gorgeous area, isn't it! We only spent two days there and are now in Dorset. We lived there for a while but in a different part of the county: this is definitely thread-thin lanes between high rise hedges territory!

I had a lazy morning and just generally tidied up and made the place homely while DH went for a walk. He got a little bit rained on and I played on the computer. He also found a give-away box of cooking apples and brought four home. I really felt the benefit of some 'me time'! After lunch we decided to get some food shopping. I know we spent almost £40 on it yesterday but that couldn't contain anything that needed to be kept cold, due to the length of the drive. The lady who owns this cottage had recommended a local farm shop, which was excellent: had I a large delivery vehicle, a few spare hundreds of pounds burning a hole in my pocket and a vast larder at home, I could have done some ambitious buying. As it was, we got cake, fruit juice, a greetings card, smoked salmon (using the excuse that we're on holiday), some fresh fruit and veg and a bag of soup mix so I can at least make an economical meal tomorrow.

We then discovered the vintage and antique shops in Bridport. There's nothing like these anywhere near where we live nowadays. Despite ages exploring, we managed not to buy anything. A nice way to while away a rainy afternoon! Finally, we got as far as the supermarket, which cost us over £20. I'd blame DH for this except that I found they had bags of snowdrop and allium bulbs for £5 less per bag than they had been in the garden centre. Two bags for £4, and the bulbs feel like good quality. I also got a thyme plant marked down to 30p: it smells delicious, and DH had had a slice of lemon, blueberry and thyme cake the other day which I thought would be nice to try to recreate once we're home.

Back to base and DH made dinner - salmon in sauce (yes, in addition to the smoked salmon which is for tomorrow!), with pasta and vegetables. The runner beans given by a friend are now finished and the carrots are reducing but oh, dear... DH found russet apples so the impressive dent he made on the fruit mountain has partly refilled. Then it was Fake or Fortune followed by Bake Off, a good end to the day.

Spending:
Gifts (card) £1.75
Garden £4.30
housekeeping £35.36

This evening I'm thankful for free apples, fun exploring, knowing that I didn't actually want anything enough to 'have' to have it, being able to treat ourselves to treat foods, a comfortable bed to sleep in.