Cherry takes the reins

Cherryfudge

I had a good two hours with my friends: I bought a round of coffee/tea/lemonade which came to £7.70. Afterwards I wandered round town. The market was on but there weren't any courgette plants and there was nothing I fancied on the discount stall either. I realised I could have a look through charity shops to see if there was a colourful bolero of the kind I have in mind to go over the navy dress for the July wedding: didn't see one but got a white one, a flowered cardi and a summer top for £15 on the understanding I could bring them back if they don't fit. For some reason the shop no longer has a fitting room. I've not tried them yet but I think the bolero may be a different white from the bag and shoes I'm taking, in which case I'll get a refund.

The charity shops seem far too busy now! Maybe it's the economy or the weather.

I was quite tired when I got home so I read for a while then made dinner from things we had in. There's enough to do lunch tomorrow, and I'll defrost some chicken before I go to bed tonight, for tomorrow's dinner. We have what's approaching freezer space, which is very gratifying as it makes for a better turn over of contents.

I also bought a couple of bags of unwaxed lemons the other day when they were reduced. I could have bought ten or more! Only what on earth would I do with them? I finished the ones I bought the other week and started on the new ones and a big bowl of home made lemonade is cooling on the counter.

Spending:
Entertainment £7.70
Clothing £15

in_need_of_direction

Lemon curd, lemon meringue pie, sliced and frozen to add to your summer drink of choice

Cherryfudge

in_need_of_direction said:

Lemon curd, lemon meringue pie, sliced and frozen to add to your summer drink of choice

Oh, I love those! I wonder how long homemade lemon curd would keep? (Not long once my husband starts on it - but it would be useful to know).

So far I've done buns with a lemon crunch topping, and the lemonade, and tonight's dinner had lemon zest and wedges... and I've just realised there are three more lemons in the fruit bowl, so I have eleven...!

If I see any local elderflowers, I'll make sorbet which also has lemon in, but it's a bit early.

Cherryfudge

It's been a good day.

I had my last session with the counsellor this morning. She's been lovely and very helpful in putting into words what's been in my subconscious. I had a quick look back through some notes I've made and can see progress.

I did some cleaning and went out for a run - how productive am I! It was a really nice run though nothing remarkable in terms of time or distance. Lunch was the remains of yesterday's tea (eaten quite late as I'd pre-empted the counselling and the need not to run on a full stomach by having a pastry after breakfast).

After lunch I was ready for a sit down so I read for a while then felt guilty that the garden hasn't seen any progress despite it being perfect weather for it. I turned my attention to the back garden and spent some time cutting back hedge plants (one completed!) and trimming back the rampant damson. I only did a bit of this as it's hard to reach the middle: I had to work my way inwards.

Gardening came to a halt when my KIT call from work came through. I've asked to do the next one in person to help normalise being in the work building - and there was a twist in the tale because the colleague who I thought was going for the vacancy the other week, hasn't, and it's been re-advertised. My initial reaction is that I might as well go for it - at least I get to garden, and I've checked what the handyperson bit entails, which is a lot of health and safety checks and the sort of practical jobs one might do at home. I don't think that's too far beyond me in terms of practical skills and the H&S would be tedious but within my compass. It would keep me in contact with clients and colleagues, use my knowledge of the building and the safeguarding that I know will be in the interview and, well, it's a job. Pays money (less than I'm on now but not vastly), I can leave if I'm not happy. And I get to garden. I probably won't be smiling at that when we get a spell of wet weather.

Tea was late as DH was out till gone six, and DD turned up to borrow the carpet cleaner, which made it all a bit later. It was chicken and chorizo pasta. I made rather too much so I'm still rather full. Then after tea we went for a walk locally to get the steps in.

And now I'm tired.

Spending
e-book 99p

in_need_of_direction

I’d say definitely go for the job.  I’m sure you can always get additional shifts in the old post. Plus at this stage, it’s just about keeping options open. It only requires a decision if you get an offer

Cherryfudge

in_need_of_direction said:

I’d say definitely go for the job.  I’m sure you can always get additional shifts in the old post. Plus at this stage, it’s just about keeping options open. It only requires a decision if you get an offer

Thanks, INOD, that sounds like good advice to me. It helps to get an objective opinion, I find it so hard to see the wood for the trees.

Cherryfudge

I woke up about six and couldn't get back to sleep. There are so many noisy teenage starlings in the trees! I've ordered bird food...

I had (rare) words with DH over breakfast as he suggested - quite reasonably - that I could make a start on the boxes of stuff from the old house today. Of course, he couldn't see I had another agenda: tidy the hall and sort out the food cupboards. I think this is the autism speaking, a form of demand avoidance in the face of being asked to change my plans. Anyway I got my way. I do know the boxes need to be tackled, but I also need to know what foods we have so I can aim to use them, and the hall has become a dumping ground for bags and jumpers (not all mine).

I've appropriated a duvet bag that DS2 threw out and am using it to store his spare bedding. I hope he forgets he threw it out by the time he sees it but it's 100% better than stacking the bedding without covers or even in bin bags. Mind you, I realised a duvet that he wants to keep needed to be washed, so that's been done - and it's raining so up goes the airer...

I'm also making use of Amaz on Pr1me before I cancel it and I've ordered citric acid so I can make more lemonade. I can't find it locally. I know, I know... my overstocked food cupboards.

I'm going to take a break before I launch into jobs as I can see stress building (by mid-morning I'd had two coffees, chocolate and a second breakfast of toast, so now I need to have Omeprazole which I could otherwise have avoided). So a flavoured tea and a computer game are scheduled and I'll report back later once there's something to report.

WelshmansDaughter

The health and safety checks sounds like the stuff you were already doing when you were working during covid. It kinda sounds like they created this job based on things you were doing.

With you on the acid. Went to bed last night dreaming of being able to take nexium when I got up.

Cherryfudge

WelshmansDaughter said:

The health and safety checks sounds like the stuff you were already doing when you were working during covid. It kinda sounds like they created this job based on things you were doing.

With you on the acid. Went to bed last night dreaming of being able to take nexium when I got up.

Hope you're feeling better!

Yes, the H&S things are actually supposed to be done all the time. It includes checking things like emergency lighting, fire points, water temperatures, even measuring gaps between mattresses and bed frames (it's possible for some people to get an arm trapped - it happened to someone I know) regularly in case mattresses have been changed over. We used to have a team leader who just did all that sort of stuff and was so used to it that no-one knew what to do when he left. During Covid there was even more: constantly disinfecting everything from door handles to desks, but thankfully that's no longer required (doesn't hurt to do it sometimes I guess).

There might be others, I'd want for an induction to ensure I'd covered all bases, but after that it's about checking, initialling the chart and reporting/sticking up notices, I guess.

Still haven't emptied the cupboards, starlings are still squawking... I counted seventeen, but I reckon there are twenty or thirty. So much for living alone in the bee-loud glade.

Cherryfudge

It's been an odd sort of day: after feeling upbeat yesterday it was a definite downer. I'm not sure if it was the early waking and being out of kilter as far as planning went, or a niggling not-quite-rightness about that job prospect. I know I'm overthinking it (I over think everything). As INOD says, I don't have to take it.

I think I feel its the wrong time to be going back to work: I'm could probably do it but I'd still be vulnerable to not coping with the stresses, and I also want to process the input I've had, which has been too valuable to forget.

I was cold after lunch and ended up in bed with a hot water bottle, though I didn't get to sleep. It was a rest though - and I had the window shut, unlike last night, so the starlings couldn't disturb me with their shouting!

I eventually got five out of the six cupboard shelves done (the other one is bitty stuff) and I clearly have enough baking ingredients to start up in business. Kitchen Inspectors would put an end to it though, as I'm allowed to use my discretion with out of date products in my own home, but I wouldn't be in food service premises. 'Nuff said.

This evening I launched into the using up campaign and made a rhubarb and ginger cake, and some cheese and chutney scones. The chutney isn't very good on its own (hence being left on the shelf) but was quite a good complement to the (not very impressive) cheap cheese when they were all baked together. If I do those recipes again, I need to remember I substituted 1 tbsp of chutney for 1 tbsp of milk and that wasn't enough liquid. With the rhubarb cake, I used sweetened stewed rhubarb not fresh and it worked, but I didn't add extra liquid. Also I only used about two thirds the weight of rhubarb that they said, because that's what happened to be in the box I defrosted.

Cupboards look better, though there's now a collection of bits waiting for me to make decisions.

DH has had an expensive day as his dental work is completed. There's £1,000 towards the dentist's mortgage. Dh was left the money by his Dad and decided to invest it in his health, basically. It looks as though it's all successful anyway.

Spending
DH (dental) £1,000.
Pets £7.99
Housekeeping £4.77