Light the fire...

woodfired

Good Morning all.

Up bright and early on a beautiful Sunday morning, just finished the re-stock order for the shop that will be delivered tomorrow morning and now the day is my own.  

We've had a lovely weekend so far, a day of pottering around the house yesterday and plenty of time relaxing in the sunshine.  We were supposed to go out to an 80's night at the local pub but changed our minds as the weather was so lovely and instead spent the evening on the patio with the chimenea lit, looking at the stars with a glass of wine and later, cup of tea.  It was a wonderful evening and we talked about how grateful we are for where we live and the lovely life we have.  This is something I say on a daily basis though, I'm always very grateful and thank my lucky stars.

Today's plans include a football game for DS this morning and collecting a spare gas bottle bought from FB marketplace this afternoon.  I shall dig some beef out of the freezer and will raid the garden for potatoes and veg to go with it for dinner.  Back to normal tomorrow with school so tonight is BATH NIGHT! Ha!  

savingholmes

Good luck with the school stuff. Glad that is behind me.

woodfired

Finished my VAT return today.  I hate that job.
I then decided that my desk was a tip so I tidied all the old paperwork that had just been shoved in drawers and then that escalated....  so I'm now relaxing in my lovely DECLUTTERED and CLEAN office. ha!  It does feel a lot better as it had become a bit of a dumping ground and after tea I found I wanted to come and sit in here as it now looks lovely. It's also one of the coolest rooms in the house which doesn't hurt in this weather.

I'm having a bit of a nightmare week, it's been so busy but will hopefully calm down a bit now.
Staffing issues meant I was at work Monday morning and then all of the evening shift, then my normal shifts Tues and Weds plus working with DH on top of that.  I had today off from DH but instead did my VAT so still no rest.  Also, of that the children are back at school and we're all just getting back into the swing of all that entails.  Phew.  I have poured a cold glass of prosecco, I feel I've earned it this week!

In MSE news:
I've had a no spend week so far - much too busy for spending!
The VAT was a small payment - always good news.
Food all made at home, including lunches.  Leftover roast dinner, pasta bake made from smashed up broccoli cheese with extra cheese was a hit, and a quick dinner of marinated chicken whacked in the AF served on flatbreads with HM coleslaw and chilli & garlic dressing was really yum and summery in the hot weather.  
We are eating lots of home grown tomatoes - finally.   Still waiting for a glut to make tomato sauce with but we will get there eventually.
I started a little envelope of cash savings a few weeks ago, I take part of my wage in cash and have tried to save as much as possible and it's adding up nicely in my (now tidy) desk drawer.  It's not really earmarked for anything but will come in handy at some point I'm sure.
I cashed in £49.20 of vouchers that are an incentive linked to the shop, took ages to find somewhere that paid these out but finally did and added them to my cash savings.

I think that's all I have to report, bed time now.  WF xx

savingholmes

Well done to DH on the VAT return.

woodfired

A wet couple of days here after a boiling week!

We made the most of the weather this weekend and held a huge end of summer BBQ for our friends and family.  It was fab, we carried the dining table out onto the patio so there was loads of outdoor seating and it made space for a 'dancefloor' just inside of the big sliding doors across the back of the house.  We had a wonderful day eating, drinking and dancing!  We strung fairy lights and globe lights all around the garden and later when it went dark it felt like a Mediterranean courtyard, such a special night.  I'm still smiling now at the memories, I love hosting and gatherings like that were the inspiration for much of the design of the house, it is very much a 'party house' and I love it!

In less happy news poor DH was battling a kidney infection, he wasn't too bad on Saturday, some paracetamol helped so we went ahead with the party but sunday/monday he was really poorly bless him. I got him into the docs last night and he is now on antibiotics and feeling a bit better but still not well and is sleeping a lot.  Hopefully tomorrow he will be on the mend.

Work is ridiculous at the moment, I caught (another) member of staff stealing cash from the till last week so I am now even more short staffed and have been picking up a lot of shifts myself.  I had a nice man in for training this morning and another staff member's daughter is also being trained up so hopefully we will be ok in a week or two but it has been a juggling act and I'm quite tired.  I've been working evenings and also going in to restock early mornings before we open, the hot weather increases the workload hugely too as it really affects how busy we are.  

In money news; we have been spending less so cash savings are increasing nicely in the bank and in my little envelope in my desk drawer.  I've started to add to my S&S ISA again as I have quite a cash buffer built up now and so can begin to focus again on longer term savings in shares, it has taken 12 months after finishing the extension but we're on more of an even keel now.

New recipe for dinner tonight, well more of a combo of different-but-similar recipes which is how I tend to cook new things , gnocchi with chicken thighs and bacon in a burst tomato and cream sauce.  I've had some gnocchi in the fridge for ages after seeing a recipe 'reel' that I fancied, I need to use it before it goes out of date!  

lucielle

Party sounds great, invite must’ve got lost!  Boo to the light fingered member of staff. Hope OH feels better soon
L

savingholmes

Sounds pretty full on. 

Gutting about the staff member. I'm gob smacked it's so prevalent.

Hope your DH recovers quickly.

woodfired

Good morning!

Oooh it was a nippy one this morning, I'm amazed how the temps can drop so quickly from so sticky, hot and humid on Sunday to see-your-breath chilly by Wednesday!  So weird.  

I was feeling a bit 'meh' this morning, had enough sleep but still tired and a bit miserable somehow.  Anyway I took a coffee into the garden, hung out my washing and pulled a few weeds and past their best plants and a bit of bright morning sunshine has done me the world of good.  Fresh air is the best tonic sometimes.  I'm going to try to get back in the garden later as this kind of weather makes me want to start getting it ready for winter, the leaves are already coating the driveway and we will soon be into the twice weekly clearing which is a bit of a nightmare for a few weeks.  The sunny weather isn't going to last beyond today I believe so i'll try to get going clearing some veg borders and having a general tidy of the other borders.

In other garden related news, we had some HG tomatoes in my gnocchi recipe last night and it was quite nice.  Homegrown tomatoes don't compare to shop bought ones for flavour, I love them.  Although there are a couple of varieties I'm not as impressed with and will leave them off next years list for growing.  Every year is an experiment and a learning curve.

DH is feeling a bit brighter thank you, antibiotics are starting to kick in but he's still sleeping a lot of the day.  He's going in the right direction though which is the main thing. Thanks for your well wishes Lucielle & SH xx

lucielle

Love the smell of tomatoes growing. My grandma used to grow them in ice cream tubs, a dollop of cow muck in the bottom and some compost and they produced amazingly well. 

L

savingholmes

Sorry you're not feeling great. I'd still be upset about the thief. Horrible when you trust people and they let you down.

Glad your DH is on the mend.