Cherry takes the reins

Cherryfudge

By way of money-saving - I'm starting a jar of lemon zest as I end up buying fresh lemons and having skinned ones in the fridge. The idea is to dry it so it's there for use. I also saw a short clip on the internet about grinding washed onion skins to make onion granules - I wonder if it's genuine?(I'm a bit suspicious in the days following April Fool's day!)

WelshmansDaughter

Good to know gw is that expensive, I paid 10 euro for it here and got a shock 

Cherryfudge

Another granddaughter day. This morning, having woken at first light to worry about work but managed to get back to sleep, I slept till a quarter to ten. I still managed to get laundry on the line before going to meet DH and DGD, who started with a preschool group at a nearby church. That seems to have gone down quite well, so will probably become a fixture.

I had some lunch prepared but still wanted to buy stuff when we went to the supermarket for DH's milk. The power of association, I suppose, and also a tendency to treat myself if I'm needing to be out of my own house. I'm pleased to say I resisted, though on the way home we got some necessary shopping.

It was a lovely spring day. It's so nice to be able to go out with a jumper not a coat! We called in at the garden centre in the afternoon, DGD on her trike and me clutching a voucher for a free plant. I found a healthy little armeria which will remind me of Mum, who had one for many years and knew it as 'thrift'.

Dinner was another helping of yesterday's soup. I've explained to DH that just because there's enough for two days, doesn't mean we have to have something on consecutive days, but I caved and admitted it was easier than cooking again.

Spending:
Garden - nothing!
Housekeeping £6.55  plus whatever DH's milk came to (£1.89?).

CRANKY40

You surely can't get more MSE than a free plant called "thrift"  😁

Cherryfudge

CRANKY40 said:

You surely can't get more MSE than a free plant called "thrift"  😁

How did I not spot that!  

Cherryfudge

Coffee with my friend this morning: she helped me decipher the preliminary autism assessment form but between us there are still a couple of questions we couldn't answer. Even without that, though, I'm still scoring above the mark that indicates possible autism, which is encouraging. I may have said before that it would make sense of so much if I'm autistic, and it's nice not to be wondering if there's a psychological explanation. I'm hoping to get referred to the doitprofiler website so I can have an assessment of reasonable adjustments for work, and for life in general.

And on a completely different, equally not-money-saving tack, I spotted the sweetest old tea set in a charity shop and my friend made encouraging noises so I have come home with it. The pattern is exactly the one I have on a few remnants of a set my parents were given for their wedding in the late fifties, though it's a different maker. I said I'd make scones one day and ask my friends round.

I took it straight home because I didn't trust carrying it around, then had another trip out to get routine bloods done, followed my a bit of shopping. I hunted in a few shops for DH's toothpaste but got it for a fiver a tube which I think is less than he paid, so I got two. Yes, its expensive, but so is the dental work he's having done.

A few sundries bought: a gift bag, a blackboard (am I allowed to say that? It seems silly not to when you can have a whiteboard, or am I missing something?) and chalk for DGD who wants to write but can't stay on the paper too well. A cheap brow pencil for me - will I regret that one and wish I'd researched something more expensive?

I was sleepy by the end of the afternoon, but revived in time to make tea, which was supposed to be toad in the hole. Then the door fell off the oven! DH will have a go at mending it tomorrow: it's quite heavy and over the years the hinge has warped (this is the second time this has happened). It's not a quick and easy repair, so we had fried sausages. There is cous cous and onion left over for another time (along with one portion of rosemary and sausage soup and a small portion of lentil and chorizo soup - and no room in the freezer).

I went down to L!dl this evening in case there were any good meat or fish bargains but there weren't. I resisted a few other things in the treacherous Middle of L!dl though I got a dough scraper. It was supposed to be £2.49 but wouldn't scan so a member of staff let me have it for £1.50. I had another mark-down in another shop when the total sounded wrong so I paid then checked the shelf edges and found the price there was lower. I took a photo and was given a refund so it was worth doing. Oh, and I went on to Mr T in the hope of amazing evening bargains but there wasn't much - though I did get an avocado for 19p.  

An odd thing today - two people have effectively said to me 'Oh, come and work where I am - we have vacancies'. I'm still torn - whether to go through the difficulties of getting back into my job, where my skills are best used, or opt for something less demanding. 

Spending:
Medical £9.98
Toiletries £2.50
Gifts £2.98
Household £21.49
Entertainment £6
Donation £2
Housekeeping £10.38

Cherryfudge

I had a really useful talk with the counsellor this morning: it's worked well having a couple of weeks between sessions as progress and change are slower now. Later today I'll have a further chat with my manager: let's hope I still feel as upbeat after that! She will have been talking to occupational health so it will be interesting to hear how they are thinking, as I have some very specific things I feel are necessary for me to return to work, and it's becoming evident that if I'm to continue in the longer term, it needs to be on my terms. I think that's fair enough, as the problems arose from work situations.

It's lovely and sunny today and DH is cooking tea, so I plan to be out in the garden for a while, then do some prep for my work call and wrap DS1's birthday present. At some point I also need to clean up that oven door hinge so we can decide how best to get it back together!

Cherryfudge

My manager was unwell so the call was postponed. I've been at home all day but managed about an hour in the garden. The grass is mown and a lot of small branches from the green bin have been extricated and chopped to dry for the log burner. The remainder is back in the bin, which now shuts.

I don't feel I've got much else done: the phone call was really positive at the time but an hour or so later I was tired out. However, I'm having a bit of a tidy of DS2's old room (still full of his stuff till his house buying completes) so the boiler repair people can get in tomorrow. 

Cherryfudge

An NSD so far because I've been in too much of a rush to go in a shop. I did the church cleaning and bumped into a friend so my 'spare' time evaporated in catching up with her. We do normally stop for coffee so I still managed about as much cleaning as usual but had to text the eco team to apologise for not having time to water any of the plants. I'm hoping the forecast rain over the weekend will redress that, but they did say if I hadn't time, to let them know.

I've now let the boiler repair man in - not the team who came last week and fitted neatly into the narrow space by the boiler, but a really tall guy. He and I had to spend a few minutes moving DS2's stuff onto the bed and into another room so he could get access, but he was very nice about it.

I'm now house-based for the rest of the afternoon. DH decided on salmon for tea, so it won't be a totally no-spend day, but we have the ingredients apart from the salmon itself. I could usefully do a bit of menu planning. We have reduced the store cupboard items a bit, but there's still a way to go. I could also usefully get some ironing and general housework done (thankfully limited while the water is switched off ).

Cherryfudge

The boiler is mended, I don't have the bill yet but at least it's working and likely to continue so for a while (I asked them to replace all three of the components that they mentioned might be compromised by unjamming - after all I want it to keep working as long as possible).

Housework: I've done cleaning and polishing. I noticed some wooden furniture was getting dry-looking so I used Will Kirk's tip about rubbing a walnut into the surface. It's not cured things like damaged veneer, obviously, but the wood looks a lot happier. It's almost as if the walnut oil goes on nourishing after the initial application. Perhaps it sinks further in. I also cleaned some delicate china ornaments I inherited off mum and had a stroke of inspiration there. When an old, soft toothbrush is too big, use a clean mascara wand. In fact, I used a miniature brush off the end of a brow pencil, which is thin and flexible. If I find I need anything even smaller, I suppose I could try an interdental brush! Anyway, wood and china are looking proud of themselves, and I've cleaned some windows too.

I waited in this evening for the weekly call from work but it never came which is probably as well because I was getting really upset over the prospect of returning to work. I'm coming to the point where I don't see how I can return, but I'm not deciding anything in a hurry, as I'm aware I may feel differently in a few days.

I don't know what DH spent on food today, but we decided not to go for fish and chips tomorrow: we've just had them too often recently so they stopped being a treat. I intend to look through recipe books in the morning and find a new adventure.