Put away your purse & become debt-averse

foxgloves

Thanks, CLF. Managed half my cleaning but then stopped as it's painful if I move my neck in certain directions. It does only feel muscular though, so will improve with time & if I'm sensible.
Re neighbours.... think two sets of neighbours were out at work.... which just leaves the ones who like complaining about us! Bring it on, I say. I've composed one or two withering put-downs for next time. Unfortunately they mostly complain to Mr F, which is a shame, as he's much, much nicer than me! 
F x

foxgloves

Afternoon Spring Daffodils,
How are we all doing? I've been keeping busy today......control those things that are still within our means to control & all that! I stopped to watch the 1st episode of 'Noughts & Crosses' on catch-up over lunchtime, as I very much enjoyed the book when I read it years ago and it felt sensible to give this wretched injured neck/shoulder a rest.
I've cleaned the house - I just need to run the vacuum round & put the bin bags out. I've done next week's meal plans, which apart from a joint on Sunday (not the smokable kind) from which I've planned 3 days of meals, is based pretty heavily on 'eating around the edges' of what we have in. I've a Grimsby fish box arriving next week, so could do with a bit more space in the freezer. I've taken out two portions of Quorn chilli for tonight & put the last pot of my home made pesto on the menu for next week, as well as some l/o pork chunks which I just cut up, shoved in a bag & froze last time we had roast pork. I'll use those to make a chilli in my slow cooker. Of course, with supermarkets being the madhouses they are atm, I have had a good look at our pantry & cleaning cupboard & we're not badly off for most things, but there are a few things I could do with, so have made a list, warned Mr F that there will probably be queues & we are likely not to be able to get most of it even if we arrive early. He doesn't do much social media these days - he parted company with it after running out of patience with all the unpleasant far right-wing Brexitty stuff that was flying around, so I don't think he's seen quite as many photos of empty shelves as I have. We have a good market in town where we go for our fruit & veg, so we are hoping our favourite stall will be there & we can put some business their way, as well as to a few other little indie shops. Anyway, we'll see how we get on. We may well have to visit a number of places as we attempt to fulfil our list. 
Other jobs today - well, I will pop out to check on my greenhouse seedlings, so will take the compost caddy down to empty while I'm out there. I also need to mix up a sourdough for baking tomorrow. At least I shan't have to worry about running out of yeast with a live sourdough culture in the house (as long as I can continue to get flour!) Oh & I need to sort a cheque out ready for paying in tomorrow. I shall be very thankful for the post office, as visiting an actual branch of our bank involves a 33 mile round-trip to the nearest major city centre. I do online banking for pretty much everything, but we all occasionally need to pay a cheque in, don't we? It's Mr F's cooking night, he's on a bit of a flying trip out to another part of the county today, as he is preparing his team to shut down at work, but he still wants to cook, apparently & that's fine because he makes much better jacket wedges than me!
OK, I'll crack on with those tasks now, then I can enjoy an early evening working on my big complicated knitting project........with a little easy-peasy pair of socks also by my chair just in case I fancy watching anything with subtitles!
Trying really hard to stay positive - I'm a bit of a news junkie as a rule, but I have cut it down hugely because it was getting me down & making me overthink, & we all know that is the spiral down into stressful thought patterns which get us precisely nowhere.
So I'll leave you to your afternoons. We must just crack on with it, mustn't we? At least that's better than the alternative.
With love,
F x

Kantankrus_Mare

I know what you mean about being a news junkie! We have been watching Boris making his speech each night with bated breath waiting for the inevitable. Restaurants to close so thats me not working for the foreseeable.    I knew it was coming and think its the right thing to do but still in shock. My boss only ever closes Xmas Day, Boxing Day and New Years Day and has even been known to pick staff up in his 4X4 when we had thick snow so he could still open!! Even my daughter has been watching the news as it affects her too. She works in the kitchen of the restaurant where I work.
Excellent news that we will get 80% of wages paid by government but not sure how that will pan out.
I have so much I can get on with: sowing seeds, always stuff to do at my allotment, get back into walking, baking, cooking, reading, writing, yoga, cleaning the house and if I have spare time after all that I have been toying with the idea of learning Greek. Its where we like to holiday and I always liked languages at school though I understand Greek is one of the harder ones to learn.
Before all that though, I am enjoying a large glass of white and relishing the thought of a lay in. 
Hope your shoulder improves Foxgloves.....I was reading your greenhouse escapades with bated breath thinking the roof glass was going to shatter all over you so pleased you are both OK !!

foxgloves

Kantankrus--Yes the news about 80% of wages was welcome to many, although the logistics will need to be sorted out.
I agree that all we can do is get on with stuff on the home front. I shall be making a broad plan today, so I can focus on things.
My shoulder & neck have improved overnight so I should hopefully soon be back to a normal range of activities.
Town first though........ 
F x

Dottles1

Oh Foxgloves,what a palaver, I'm so glad that you are both okay and the pain is subsiding.  I totally agree with you about media overload.  As I've been in I've been watching too much and reading too much social media which only leads to frustration and anxiety for me so I've made a positive effort to do less of both.  I watch Boris' daily updates as I then get the information from the horses mouth so to speak rather than someone else's version.
As for empty shelves, I've found that smaller, local shops seem to have stock available.  I know this isn't very MSE but it does help out smaller shop keepers in these difficult times.  I agree with you about getting on with stuff at home, at least we can feel that we are doing something.

foxgloves

Hi Dottles1, Hope you are feeling better. I wonder if it was a cold or the virus.... I've been thinking that it'd be a real help if people knew if they had defo had it, but I think we are a way off an antibodies home test kit just yet.
Agree about helping small shops. 
And agree 100% that anxiety levels will escalate if we sit around worrying, so I intend to be extra productive.
Will pop back later with my post. I'm going to shift a few annoying small jobs after lunch. 
F x

foxgloves

Hello Diary Readers,
Pleased to report that my neck/shoulder injury is gradually improving. Nice to be able to get out of bed this morning without squealing with pain, anyway.
Well, grocery shopping.......honestly, it's sounding akin to setting forth from our cave with a slingshot to try & bring down a woolly mammoth, isn't it, rather than driving to the supermarket. Now Mr F got work all shut down a bit earlier than expected last night, so when he got home & saw my shopping list, he had a quick coffee & announced he was heading back out to A*di to see how much of it he could get. And stocks were a lot better than we expected. The only things we couldn't get were bread flour & eggs. The hunter-gatherer returned reporting that there was "plenty of loo paper but the cheese section had been well turned over". This morning, we went to town for the market & our favourite fruit & veg stall was doing a roaring trade. We spent £20 on 2 bags for life-size bags full of lovely fresh stuff. We bought a bit more fruit than normal because eating healthily is one positive thing we can feel we are doing to stay well.
Used little indie health shop for a nice bar of soap (smelled so scrummy I wanted to take a bite out of it in the shop, but managed to resist!) & some spices which we were running low on. Lots of our indie shops are doing their best to stay open until they are told to close. As I haven't been out much this month & definitely won't be going anywhere now, except walks & to buy food/essentials, I decided to put some of my remaining March Personal Spends to good use by choosing some toiletries - I just got the things I always use, but there were some good offers on in B**ts today.......Rimmel make-up all 3 for 2 with a free pack of No.7 cleansing wipes which normally cost £7.50. I'd never pay that for them, in fact I don't buy them because they are not bio-degradeable, but they will defo come in useful as a freebie. My hair colour was on offer 2 for £10 & my shampoo & conditioner was also reduced. A moisturiser (not my preferred £26 one this time, I hasten to add!) & a new lipstick completed my beauty buys. It feels so nice these days to buy this stuff without any hit to the budget (not that I used to have a budget back in the Spendy Years) & to know that I will use every single scrap of product, even to the point of cutting open tubes & bottles. 
In view of wanting plenty to be getting on with while we are at home, I also finally got round to buying some furnishing fabric as I intend to attempt to cover an old armchair. I saw the fabric weeks ago & was sure it would have all sold out but I was in luck & also chose some matching braid & sewing thread so I will pluck up the courage to attempt that job over the coming weeks.
I have to be honest & say that I observed very little, really, in the way of social distancing. I ran into some people we know in the market square & stopped for a little chat, but we made a good natured point of standing a reasonable distance away. I used a tissue wrapped round my finger when using the cashpoint keyboard & binned it instantly. I washed my hands & gelled them. Last port of call was Waitr*se........Oh my days, not much social distancing in there. I tried to keep the recommended distance but the aisles were full of customers standing yakking to each other & really the key issue for most seemed to be to procure their food supplies. (still no bloody bread flour or indeed any flour at all). It wasn't as if there were no reminders of the crisis, as the cafe was all closed down & roped off and the coffee bar with the customer coffee machine was closed, but I didn't get the impression anyone was even trying to give other people a wide berth. I did & probably looked as though I was being paranoid or as though I had a weird balance problem causing me to keep walking in sort of semi-circles! I was glad to get home!
I've baked the sourdough I mixed up yesterday & have spent this afternoon doing random Annoying Jobs. Just got a couple more of those to finish & I am going to light the fire & read 'The Guardian'.....then no more news until tomorrow, as news overload atm isn't helping my state of mind. I am setting a framework for what I'd like to achieve over the next few weeks which I will share tomorrow. I think doing this will help me feel that I am maintaining a degree of control over those areas I am still able to influence.
In the meantime, stay safe......& I hope there is more social distancing going on where you live than there is around here!
F x

NorthernSoulSouthernLife

Evening all.
Thanks KM for the warm welcome . 

I haven’t been around on the forum for a couple of days , unfortunately my mother in law died yesterday 😔. In 13 months. I have lost my father in law, my husband and now my mother in law , the only living biological link to the family name is now my little girl. I  Have to wait until Monday to find out what arrangements I can make for a funeral.
I will still be popping on, but maybe a bit more infrequently over the next few weeks.
Also a big thanks for the book recommendations  I did manage to order both the organic veg & Delia books for just over £5 including delivery 
Foxgloves , we have a similar issue trying to locate flour in my area but one of our local bakeries ( small chain) has started selling flour and yeast  to the public so may always be worth an ask if you have any bakeries near you 
take care 
NS

Honeysucklelou2

Sorry to hear of your loss NS.

PurpleFairy26

Gosh NS - sorry for you loss. What a year for you and your daughter. Thinking of you x