Cherry takes the reins

Cherryfudge

Good news today, as DH had another check up (not the results from the heart one, we're still waiting for that) and this particular specialist was considering signing him off. The condition seems stable after several years of small fluctuations. DH thinks it may have been a side effect of a medication he was on for a while. There is residual damage but it's not deteriorating. The consultant has kept him on his books rather than leave the main consultant wondering, but we're thankful that he was considering drawing a line under it.

Well, it's Friday, and pay day. Money has arrived in the accounts, notably my back pay from holidays I didn't take in my previous job. I wanted to pay off my credit card but couldn't pay the whole amount (mostly from the replacement boiler) as it's in the other current account and I found out the cc will let me change banks but not add a second bank, meaning I couldn't do a direct payment. Rather than do nothing, I've paid off all but £1,000, and have paid myself back from the other account. In a few days or a week (I can't remember how long they allow), I can pay the rest, but it looks as though I've escaped credit card charges. I've also earned £4.33 in points, which might end up going towards another rail card one day.

I've started to wade through bank statements from earlier in the year too - our finances looked very different then! I earned more and most things went through 'my' account. Now it's the other way round, but at least I have an interview for more relief work in the second week of January.

Regarding work, I'm generally happier being home-based, though I've been involved in various things so I'm not on my own too much. Plans for the future are a bit vague: hopefully they will run the course I want to do that should update my office skills, but I'm also considering paying for a proofreading course with a view to trying to earn through that. The Digital Skills wouldn't be wasted as I'd need Word for anything nowadays and being confident would save time. It would also give me more choice of employment. The proofreading course I was looking at a few months ago is only available till the end of this month so I would rather take the latest version, which I think starts next week. Memo to self: start looking into that again.

I'm not sure ADHD and proofreading go particularly well together, and I think I might spend a couple of hours a day trying to make myself start, but once I get stuck in, I know I can turn over a fair amount of work. My other concern is generating work, or making it come to me. My original specialism was social sciences, so I may look into proofreading in that area. We'll see how the initial course goes, first. If it's a non-starter, at least I'll have tried. If it goes well, I suspect my strengths lie towards copy editing or freelance writing, but that's a bit in the future.

Other things done today: we went to buy storage boxes as the old cardboard ones that housed the Christmas decorations in the loft are starting to come to pieces. We managed not to have the right loft hatch dimensions with us so the job is only part done but we have a few plastic boxes now for packing away some of what we are using.

We also browsed a few charity shops and bought a few books and a charity raffle ticket, making the shop assistant laugh because DH was so determined we wouldn't win anything, then we went for a coffee, by which I mean an Earl Grey and a Black Forest Gateau hot chocolate. On the way home I went to three supermarkets, mostly on the outlook for any post-Christmas bargains. As a consequence, there are two Christmas puddings put away for next year and two more packets of sausages with three packs of corned beef in the freezer. L!dl also had a flavoured tea that I've not been able to get for ages. I thought it was discontinued but perhaps it's seasonal. Anyway, I bought two packets. Then there was a gift set of mini gins at half price in 1celand, so I bought one to add to presents for J. I can't find a BB date on it so I hope it keeps long enough. I'm not sure gin is something that keeps.

Dinner was an invention: a sort of hash to use up Christmas ingredients. So, I fried a small stray onion and a couple of shallots, added quite a lot of diced cooked potato, mixed herbs and sage, some carrot and swede, an odd cherry tomato that got left out of something else, a piece of red pepper and some Worcester sauce. DH bravely tried it and it turned out to be good enough to have again, but the rest of the meat is now in the freezer.

In not so good news, there's another mouse. An entirely different line of attack from the autumn mice: this one (or two) ate through some items in a tote bag in the hall (foil wrapped coffee and biscuits, and carboard mini box of raisins) and has enlarged the vent in the back of the kitchen bin and attacked the rubbish! Needless to say there's been some disinfecting going on and the humane trap is set again.

Expenditure:
Housekeeping £5.26 + ?
Gift £3.50
Entertainment £6.80
Books £3.75
Donation (raffle ticket) £1

Sun_Addict

Unopened gin lasts for years due to its high ABV. Not that I’ve any experience of this mythical unopened gin 🤣

Boo to another mouse - you need a cat 😆

Good news about your DH’s check up. 

Cherryfudge

Thanks @Sun_Addict, and well done for wading through that mammoth post!

Great that the gin will last. It  can be the first of the 2024 stocking fillers.

I'd love a cat, I grew up with cats always around, but DH gets asthma when he's near them.

tunathe_cat

https://homeandroost.co.uk/blog/hypoallergenic-cats/
have just caught up on 3 months of post reading whilst hubby in hospital x

Cherryfudge

Hello, @tunathe_cat, somehow I can tell you are a fellow cat lover! Thanks for the link, there are some magnificent moggies on there! 

I'm sorry to hear your husband is in hospital, I'm glad the forum is there to provide a bit of a distraction for you in what must be a difficult time.

Cherryfudge

This afternoon I must have been up and down the High Street about three times, trying to find a couple of items. It was dark by the time I had them all: craft materials, mostly. For someone who enjoys craft, I don't spend much time at it. i also went back for another gift pack of pink gin, and in doing so found some excellent food bargains, all half price. Two packs of smoked salmon, two boxes of mince pies (the really nice ones from Iceland), a lot of sliced smoked ham, 6 large apples and a cheese selection box. Meals are planned for the next couple of days, using things from the freezer, so these are treats to see the New Year in.

I have spent the evening making sheep: I'm doing the pre-school group at church tomorrow and we are telling the story of the one lost sheep who the shepherd went looking for. I've therefore made some mini sheep so we can play at finding them, and some sheep pictures to stick cotton wool on. I can't believe that on only the third time with this group, I've already descended to cotton wool. The only worse things are glitter, mince pies and shortbread. Just ask the cleaning team  

I think I will start a new thread, as I mentioned. Just need to think on a bit.

Expenditure:
Housekeeping £16.42
Stationery/craft items £3.48
Toiletries 99p
Clothing (hair scrunchies!) 75p
Gift £1

Cherryfudge

The children's group went okay: they are getting more used to being in a group and as they're very tiny, we can't expect too much from them in terms of sitting still! I did rely quite heavily on one of the helpers to read the story as I wasn't sure I could make myself heard with seven or eight pre-schoolers in various states of attention or otherwise! He said he didn't feel he had their attention either, but about half of them stayed to listen! The sheep activity went down well but it was quite funny because the tiny sheep for the 'hunt the sheep' game ended up being stuck on some of the sheep collages, creating unexpected flocks of sheep. Not a lot of voice left at the end of it.

Dinner was the chicken and chorizo pasta, then DH went for his customary walk while the rain held off, and I slept for a couple of hours. That was because I was greedy and had too much supper last night, so woke up for an hour with mild stomach ache. Of course in the night, mild is still intrusive, but some hot water, paracetamol and playing on my phone enabled me to get a couple more hours in overnight. The knock-on effect is still being felt as I have energy now.

This evening I finished sanding the box for DS2 and girlfriend's 'junk drawer' and I've layered it in varnish, using the little table that's becoming my activities centre: first wrapping presents, then making sheep, then varnishing the box.

DH has accidentally given me a title for my new thread, so I'll get that started and link to it. For the sake of continuity I am going to link to a very old thread too, one I had under another ID.

Happy 2024, one and all - or rather, may it be a year that brings peace and contentment, time with loved ones,  security and opportunity to be blessed by giving. That should all fit nicely in a greetings card, shouldn't it?

Cherryfudge

And here's my new diary

Moving on — MoneySavingExpert Forum