"Isn't it nice to think that tomorrow is a new day with no mistakes in it."

greenbee

The stress of not doing stuff is worse.

Ironing still not done.

No clue what’s going on with work.

greenbee

Very productive week, but I seem to have ended up with even more work to do! Need to unpack, do laundry and repack for next week's trip.

Washing on, robot hoovering (I've already had to empty it once.

Forgot to ask someone to put the bins out on Thursday - annoyingly my neighbours usually do this when I haven't asked (and sometimes when I'm here and haven't put them out because they don't have much in them), but this time, when they're full, no one bothered! Thankfully it was recycling this week, so not a major issue (apart from being full). Next week is rubbish, so I need to ask someone to put it out for me.

This weekend is going to be busy. I have an appointment this morning, and want to try to see my brother & family (and do the CS drop off on the way). I also have to do the laundry, wax the utility room windowsill and work surfaces, try to get the mower working and do at least one cut as the grass is very long, plant the rest of the bare root shrubs before it's too late, do some paperwork and deal with a whole lot of work stuff that should have been done while I was off.

So I should probably get dressed and strip my bed...

greenbee

CS was closed when I went, despite the website saying it would be open, so my car boot is still full of stuff and will be for a while! Mower refused to work, but my brother thinks he can fix it - hopefully sometime soon otherwise it won't be able to cope with the grass :0

Laundry is done, more ivy has been removed from the hedge, more things have been planted in the hedge (including fruit bushes that I've been neglecting and some raspberry runners!). I've also sprayed the gravel and various other bits and pieces of the garden. I had to wait until the conservation group finished clearing the stream down the side of the house as I'd have felt guilty! The did confirm that the holes in my lawn are water voles - in fact I have one of the largest populations in the village (nice for the water voles, slightly annoying for me!).

Lovely afternoon with my brother's family yesterday. Lots of laundry done yesterday and today. Haven't packed, nor have I sealed the utility room surfaces - I still can't decide whether to wax or oil them.

Packing needs to be my next priority, and making a list of all the stuff I need to do for work a. before I leave (like printing) and b. before I get on the plane (emails, updating my EOY review etc).

Saw a neighbour while I was gardening who is going to put the bin out this week. Hopefully she can move it as it's actually full for once!

greenbee

Work trip was productive and very busy. Came home and went away for the weekend pretty much straight away. Lovely weekend with friends, but am very tired. Was really pleased with myself as I woke up early (and without a hangover...) this morning so went for a 5 mile run along the beach. I'd intended to do 2.5 miles to get coffee and walk back, but the takeaway place was closed and I didn't want to go into the restaurant all sweaty and horrible! By the time I'd (mostly) run back the coffee place near the hotel was open.

Home this afternoon and have been alternating resting with unpacking and laundry.

Some of the veg in the fridge is decidedly second-hand, so I'm in the process of making a huge veggie thai curry.

Garden is looking fabulous, but the grass desperately needs doing, so I need to talk to my brother about when he can come over and help me sort out the mower. Hopefully it'll work otherwise I'll have to buy one in a rush.

Water bill has gone down again (now about £6.30). Pity electricity and oil aren't doing the same!

I'm home for a week and a half now which will be nice. Hopefully I'll manage to get out running, get to Pilates and do some gardening. After that I have another gum graft, which I'm not looking forward to, a week away at my mum's over Easter and another week of leave which I'm not mentioning to anyone (I do actually need to go into the office for one day of it anyway). It'll be nice to have some downtime, although I'm sure work will keep me busy.

I need to try to stay awake until my curry is cooked and eaten, and ideally have a bath and get a bit more laundry done!

Tried to do a CS drop off on Friday but they seem to have changed the rules on what they'll take. Lots of stuff they now only take new/sealed. So I'm going to have to find somewhere else to take things in future as I'm not prepared to hang around while they go through stuff and spend ages explaining to me what they will/won't take and why their website says different. Explaining that I was in a hurry didn't make any difference to them telling me what they would/wouldn't take so I just put it ALL back in the car. And have managed to rehome some of it with friends anyway...

Hazelnutty

What a pain about the CS, greenbee - I hadn't realised they'd gotten so picky! It's a shame from an eco perspective too as then presumably, unless people can Freecycle, stuff just goes to landfill.

greenbee

I suspect that the larger recycling sites probably pull a lot of decent stuff out for resale as most of them work with local charities to upcycle/repair stuff. However, ours is tiny so most stuff just goes to landfill.

I will make a proper list of what I've got and see what I can offer to other people. I've contacted the local men's shed about the decorating stuff, and will see what other opportunities there are for direct donation (I send a certain amount of stuff to the night shelter every winter).

My water butts have arrived, so I need to fit those this weekend. My brother is going to come over and see whether he can get my mower started and help me service it, but I think the engine might have seized, in which case I'll need to get a new one. The car is also misbehaving, so he's going to bring the code reader over as well and then I can work out what to do about it.

Haven't run, or been to pilates (need to email about next term). I need to actually go outside today and get some fresh air and exercise! I might visit a neighbour this afternoon for a chat if I get enough work done.

Made it to the bottom of the laundry basket (although of course there is always more!) and have done all of the ironing bar the kingsize fitted sheet which I hate doing. I also descaled the iron which was unpleasant - there are a lot of iron deposits in our water. I think I'm going to start using distilled water, although I'm not happy about the additional plastic use. For now I've switched to filtered water, but I use that in the kettle and it still gets limescale in it!

Robot is hoovering downstairs and I'm still not dressed, so I need to get on with some work as I have a report to send out today.

Electricity is going to be expensive this month as I'm switching supplier and despite today being my last day with EON they've taken the full amount. I'm moving to Bulb who take the full amount up front - I need to query the amount once it is set up as they're taking significantly more than the switching tool suggested the monthly payment would be.

I also need to work out what of the CC balances is coming out of this month's payments. I find the apps quite confusing as I can see the balance but not the bill! Expenses should be paid soon which should cover the majority of it anyway.

Really should do some work...

greenbee

Having a break after a busy morning!

I spent most of yesterday in the garden, and got a lot of weeding and mulching done (I'll do the last of the mulching shortly), which makes things look a lot better. I also moved quite a few seedlings from overcrowded spots to empty ones. There was a bit of pottering about in the evening to tidy up as I knew family were visiting today. Wrapped my SIL's present, wrote the card and put the packaging in the recycling. Did laundry and finally finished the ironing which has been hanging about for a while.

Today I managed to clear up the kids' room enough to make the bed (which in itself makes the place tidier). I do need to swap the underlay around between there and the spare room as I obviously put the wrong bits down in the spare room. Having intended to get rid of the rocking horse, they then spent all morning playing with it and were wailing about how much they love it when they had to leave!

Not only is the kids' room looking OK (although I do need to source some kind of small wardrobe and have a really good think about where to put what furniture), but I finally cleared the dining room table, and the rest of the house is looking pretty much OK to.

Mower is up and running again, although my brother has taken the blade to sharpen (I managed do one cut of the worst of it before he left). Lunch at the pub for the 4 of us came to about the same (possibly less) than sending it away to be serviced, so he's said he'll do it every year. :beer: I just need to order a new oil filter.

The sun is shining, so I should go out and do a bit more in the garden. If I can finish the mulching and transplant a few things that should be enough for this weekend.

greenbee

Work has gone well - I've been away again (bet that's a surprise..). Sweden is still cold, although the snow has melted and grit has been removed from roads and pavements. It did snow while I was there though...

I've left a pair of boots out there again, as I've realised I really do only wear them in the office there, so it makes sense not to cart them back and forth. I just need to remember that my packing needs to be based on things I can wear with those boots (at least until summer) and that I need to take a suede brush at some point to clean them up a bit.

Online delivery this morning, so I have food (and more importantly, milk for coffee). First load of laundry is in. I'm still feeling rather lazy, so sitting on the sofa thinking about what to do. I know I need to change the oil filter on the mower and get the mowing done. I also need to get some more compost and mulch, but might wait until Monday when other people hopefully won't be in the shops. I also need to drop off some dry cleaning.

It's a lovely sunny day, and the garden is looking good. It's cold out there though! And obviously I can't mow until the grass has dried out a bit. There's more ivy in the hedge to deal with, and my garden waste bags are emptied, so I need to start refilling them. If grass clippings are going to be used to mulch the hedge, then garden waste should be more manageable. I'm also wondering about starting to empty the compost bins and use that for mulching the hedge as well (it's probably full of weed seeds, so I'm not keen on using it on beds) and then consider whether I bother with composting in future or just plant something prickly against next door's boundary instead.

I due to have another gum graft next week (although I think I have an infection, so I'm not sure whether they'll be able to do it - I must call on monday), so I need to turn most of the contents of the fridge into soup over the next couple of days. I'm hoping that this graft will be more successful, so I'm determined to stick with soft food for longer this time - Christmas was two weeks after the last one, and it got rather difficult. This time I'm just going to have to be difficult, even if it means inconveniencing other people.

Better go and find my gardening jeans and start thinking about going outside!

greenbee

Grass cut all over with the mower on the highest setting. It looks much tidier already and is MUCH easier with a sharp mower blade

Grass clippings used to mulch under the hedge, and lots more ivy roots pulled out - it seems to be getting easier. About half the hedge is pretty much cleared now (and the ground elder and horsetails are enjoying it...). Hopefully if I just keep doing a bit at a time eventually it'll work. As the leaves are appearing I can now identify dead bits of hedge too, and there's the space to deal with them. I'm going to focus on the ivy by now, otherwise it'll start growing back from one end before I've cleared it all, but I can see progress.

There are masses of primrose in the lawn, so I'm going to try to get round to digging some up to plant on the bank under the hedge as I clear the ivy.

I hope the mulching with grass clippings works, as it's a great way to get rid of them!

Karmacat

Leaving the boots sounds a good idea, greenbee, much less weight and bulk to cart around. And "lazy" is not a word I would **ever** associate with you :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl: thats a long way away!


Er, gum graft? That sounds, dunno, awful! And painful! If you're putting yourself through that, then yes, other people can be inconvenienced! Take care.