Cherry takes the reins

Cherryfudge

Thank you for that link, @greenbee, I had a quick look but I might have to save it till after work tomorrow. I've tried to reduce how much bread I eat and substitute fruit (I know the doctor said veg but while I'm at work, fruit is easier). It's a bit early to tell whether it helps but I always had bread late in the evening so I was probably asking for trouble.

H and baby N came round this morning: N was a lot happier than last week when she had a bug. She's also more accepting of being in the room without her mum, which is timely as I'll have her a day a week from January.

Tomorrow I have a late/sleep-in shift followed by the early on Saturday, so I'll be ready for Sunday off. I managed to get computer time and booked a few days off in February, as the children are treating us to a weekend away. I still have loads of leave left so I'll see if I can take some in March, too.

A couple of small spends today: about £3.50 for a couple of packs of batteries for musical books - N is wearing them out - and 56p for a reduced tub of fruit salad to help my new, healthier diet. Those pre-packed tubs of fruit are so expensive and so bad for the environment but also so handy!

Things to be thankful for: a warm coat and scarf, people from work enjoying an outing, a chance to earn extra over the weekend but still having Sunday off.

PollyWollyDoodle

Also delurking to endorse @Greenbee's comment. I have had really bad acid reflux, at first Omeprazole worked brilliantly but then it seemed less effective. I even had a gastroscopy 😫 but they couldn't find any physical cause. 

One of the side-effects of Omeprazole is nausea and symptoms exactly like those for which it had been prescribed, I began to wonder if it was the cause rather than the cure so I stopped taking it.  A combination of losing some weight, not eating late at night and fewer carbs, especially refined carbs like bread, and I'm hardly ever bothered by it. 

Cherryfudge

A couple of days into the low-bread regime and I think there's an improvement. Too early to be sure, though.

Staff have been thin on the ground at work again, a side effect of the rail strike and personal circumstances. There is also a Covid outbreak in a neighbouring building, so we are testing daily but are all negative so far. Last night's shift was physically hard work for the other two people. I thought I'd got off lightly but this morning, after the sleep in, I work up with a persistent niggle in my arm which isn't quite a frozen shoulder but causes pain if I lift it or try to put any strength through it. This morning's colleagues were kind enough to take on the muscle-using tasks.

Someone also pointed out to me that there are shifts to cover on NY's day. It's my weekend off but I don't have anything planned, and they sold it to me on the grounds of the financial incentives available. So now I know my price. (Normal pay plus £105 before tax - nice to have, though by the time it comes through the shift will be a bit of a distant memory).

I've also made a little progress on the amount of annual leave I need to take. I've booked a few days around events in February and March, and am taking Monday as I'm not needed. It makes sense to give myself a day off in the run-up to Christmas.

I haven't spent anything but DH has bought groceries and is currently about to help keep the chip shop in business. And while I'm thinking about recording spending, several months on from ditching my spreadsheet as clearly meant for more disciplined brains, I'm wondering where to go with financial recording next year. All I learn at the moment is that we spend a lot on food. In general I don't spend enough on transport, hair care, prescriptions and clothes to save much there.

I'll have to give it some thought. I do like a list, but I'm not sure I want to carry on the 'things I'm thankful for' either. Sometimes the discipline after a difficult day does me good, and I like to read @in_need_of_direction's gratitude list. It's often the 'little' things that are the big things. Perhaps it cold be an occasional feature or something.

Cherryfudge

DH was in the queue at the supermarket and someone ahead of him was having to put back item after item that they couldn't afford. Without giving details away, the cashier ensured they could take almost all the basket home.

I wonder if people are leaving money on a similar basis to 'suspended coffees', or if there's a policy or it was a kindly cashier?

I think a lot of us will have either been the person who put something back or will have seen it happen, and many will have been the help the other person needed, but this one was new to us. There are kind people out there.

Cherryfudge

A busy and very Christmassy day. I woke up at half past seven, put the heating on so the house could heat on cheap rate, put my phone to charge (ditto) and took my first medication then went back to sleep for a while. When I got up DH was getting ready for Church, which I then watched online. It's tried to snow during the day but it must be above freezing now as snow has been slowly melting during the day. DH went carol singing on the High Street (a fundraiser with a group) and came back frozen.

Dinner was gammon from the freezer... I added some spiced pumpkin that went quite well with it but I've not saved any significant freezer space.

In the afternoon a friend of DH was having open house so we went and ate mince pies and got to know a few people. It was a nice afternoon, and I had a Bailey's hot chocolate which was an unexpected treat. Day three of less bread hasn't gone too well as I had a cheese sandwich when I got home and I have a feeling the mince pie and alcohol won't have helped the reflux either.

This evening we went to carols by candlelight and talked to various people afterwards, so I felt very Christmassy. (I avoided further mince pies though: tradition has been honoured already today).

The arm was stiff this morning but not bad. Painkillers have kept it in check and I have more movement, but I'm thinking of asking the manager if we can look at manual handling for the person I was working with as I feel that's probably where the damage was done. I've worked a lot with this person and done that manoeuvre loads of times but I think its the culprit and it does highlight how vulnerable staff welfare can be. I felt it had gone really well but now I have a sore arm. Anyway...

It's been a lovely day, and very full. Nothing spent. I'm thankful for meeting new people, treat foods specifically hot choc and Baileys ( ), the weather warming a bit, progress on the crochet and remembering some piano skills albeit rusty ones and being able to share it with DH.

Cherryfudge

Email sent to manager, hopefully won't lead to unworkable work-arounds as has been the case with some other managers! But it needed doing.

I really haven't got much else done yet. DH did a Covid test as he has a sore throat but it's clear. Just another bug, I expect.

Temperatures are indeed climbing: 12 degrees so far! Heavy rain in the middle of the night got rid of the snow and ice.

Jobs for today:
make progress on crochet
list presents yet to buy
list foods needed
clean fish tank - but how as I can't carry heavy buckets? (I think it will have to be half buckets and a filter clean).
Make starry peppermint creams for someone's present, as I've been promising myself for weeks.

Cherryfudge

I've spent nothing today. It's been much milder, I could go out of doors without bracing myself! Not that I went out much.

The fish tank has had a bit of a clean and I threw out a couple of pieces of tank equipment inherited from Mum which have been cluttering up the cupboard but didn't work when tested. Along with them I realised I had a larger version of the tank filter in our tank, so I cleaned that up and it's running alongside 'our' filter to check it's working and let the right bacterial balance form in it. If all goes well it may more than substitute for ours which hasn't coped well with such a large fish. Okay, so that was a displacement activity, but a useful one.

The giant cauliflower has been cooked: several portions of roasted cauliflower are cooling, the first of two portions of cauliflower curry has been consumed and two or three portions of plain cauli are blanched and frozen. I had to add the leaves to the compost as they were yellowing, but the stem went into the curry.

All the stocking fillers are set out and listed, and I've taken the price labels off. This year the 'boys' are well supplied and the 'girls', apart from the baby but including the dog, aren't. I think it's because I find it harder to buy for men, so I snap things up when found.

A few things have left the premises, in addition to some of the huge cauliflower. Some odds and ends of veg, sorbet and ice cream have been used up (wayhay, we have something approximating space in our freezer!), a knitted hat has been donated and there are a couple of books on goldfish awaiting the next charity shop visit. 

I've started the food list and updated the pressies list. Tomorrow we are shopping again. Peppermint creams remain unmade...

Things to be thankful for today: mild weather, washing done (stayed out five minutes before a downpour started, but that's something), free-to-me water filter for the fish tank, plenty of veg into my diet and out of the freezer.

Sun_Addict

It’s great that the weather has turned milder, despite it being damp. I was walking to work at 6.30am and ended up firstly taking my gloves off followed by my scarf as I was too warm. I was even thinking about unzipping my coat 😆

Cauliflower mash is lovely if you have any left or for future reference if you get a giant one again. 

Cherryfudge

Sun_Addict said:

It’s great that the weather has turned milder, despite it being damp. I was walking to work at 6.30am and ended up firstly taking my gloves off followed by my scarf as I was too warm. I was even thinking about unzipping my coat 😆

Isn't it lovely! Especially welcome after all that cold, though I know it goes back to something liek 6 degrees tomorrow.

Sun_Addict said:

Cauliflower mash is lovely if you have any left or for future reference if you get a giant one again. 

Oh, I didn't think of that! Do you add anything to it or just mash it?

Cherryfudge

DH's cold - or whatever it is - is in full swing but being him, he carries on as normal. I'd be huddled on the sofa.

I'm on something like day 5 of much-reduced bread intake and there's definitely an improvement in the reflux. Dh says I'm not coughing as much. Of course with Christmas food around and not really having found a good snacking alternative, I'm not feeling a complete benefit. Mince pies are also a refined food, as are chocolate teacakes! I know I should eat fruit and veg...maybe I'll go back to carrots and beetroot, though buying these in small enough quantities is a problem. Tonight I'll try to use up more from the freezer, but put yesterday's leftover curry by for a work meal on Thursday.

The sore arm is worse today, having been better yesterday, so it will be ibuprofen for me shortly. Then I want to clear enough table space to do some present wrapping. At the moment there are two laptops, my crochet, assorted papers and receipts and some books in the way. I got the baby hat sewn up last night so that just needs an edging and either a tassel or a flower to top it off (not a pompom - my head got caught up in pompom logistics when I tried that idea. How big a hole in the cardboard circles to make a fat pompom without running out of yarn? How wide should the circumference be? I would rather look up a cute little flower to crochet and sew over the drawstring closure at the top.

It's sunny and cold but no longer freezing today. Once the ibuprofen takes effect I need to make the most of it!