Put away your purse & become debt-averse

maryb

I really felt it today.  I go into town on Thursdays to do the shopping at a town centre Lidl which has been pretty empty because they only have baskets not trolleys so people can't buy loads.  It has worked well because it has had stuff you simply couldn't get elsewhere like bread flour.  But now that a lot of the shops have reopened the town was more crowded and it just seemed really depressing with queues everywhere standing hunched up against the weather like in the dying days of Soviet Russia.  And several shops were clearly never going to reopen - Oasis, Monsoon, Accessorize, Laura Ashley, Bon Marche - and it all added to the general air of gloom.

Baileys_Babe

I can relate to your day @foxgloves like yourselves our income has remained the same and many of our outgoing have gone down or disappeared. So all looking good on the financial front and as far as we can tell OH job looks secure for the foreseeable.  But there are definitely times where my focus and motivation are lacking and I have found it is often after a few dark/wet days. You are also grieving on top any other contributing factors.

Enjoy your day out tomorrow. 

Onebrokelady

It's amazing that you have got this far without feeling a tad fed up and you are grieving the loss of your furry friend😢plus it's raining 🙄and Mercury is now retrograde 🙀🙀🙀🙀🙀🙀I think I lasted about a week before I felt fed up with it, then I totally veered the other way and was loving the idea of not being able to go anywhere. I now waver on a day to day basis depending on what has cheered me up or annoyed me.
I too haven't suffered  with any major change while this has gone on. I have a secure job that's still paying me, my house is a secure safe nice place to be,I'm not trying to educate small humans and generally although I do like a moan life is actually good,on balance I think you are doing really well xxx

Tescodealqueen

Hope your day is better. I had my day of Lockdownitus (love that description) last week, though I think it was more to do with it being the day the weather changed too. We dug out paint and decided to paint our kitchen cupboards yet again! We keep toying with the idea of a new kitchen but the cost seems horrendous to me and out of all proportion.
Anyway we asked the chap who was laying the spare room carpet this morning  about kitchen flooring and he gave some great practical ideas so we have compromised by painting the cupboards, painting the very bright tiles we inherited when we bought the house 17 years ago, and painting the walls again. We are going to have new flooring and replace the worktops and sink which was an ill considered choice a few years ago. All this activity has dragged me out of my doldrums and will be paid for by the refund of our holiday that was cancelled while we were sitting in the airport waiting to fly out in March which is a bonus.
 

foxgloves

Thanks all. Yes, it was definitely Lockdownitis, & you're right, I am still sad about losing our lovely old cat. We were very fond of him & I can't believe a whole week has passed since we buried him.
I am clearly not the first to have felt a bit 'Lockdownitissy' & I shan't be the last!
Tescodealqueen - It's a good feeling to have a home improvement project to get your teeth into. It always makes me feel posirive to see projects progressing.
F x

foxgloves

Hello m'dears,
Not the best of starts as I felt a bit dodgy first thing & didn't get my lirtle trip to town after all. No illness, I think it was just my naughty gall bladder playing up. I felt better by mid-morning, which I was pleased about, as Mr F, who had to go into town in my absence to post a birthday present, bought me back a cake!
It was a magic cake because after that, I cleaned the kitchen, the bathroom, tidied & emptied all the bins...... all of which inspired Mr F to vacuum the whole house.
This afternoon, I decided to make a start on one of my planned lockdown projects - to cover an old vintage armchair. I've been putting it off through lack of confidence but oh my giddy aunt, get me last night..... Flicking through a magazine, I saw a little armchair (£438) & found myself thinking, "Oh that would be just right for the conservatory". Well, that's an idea that needed putting back in its box asap. I already have some lovely fabric to cover my existing chair. I also have several metres of matching braid & a new reel of thread. While I do have a ringfenced budget for home improvements, it is very much for those urgent & important works, & those we are not able to do ourselves. It has to cover a lot of projects. What it ISN'T for, is people buying new chairs because they are too much of a wimpy jelly to try renovating their old one despite having bought all the materials AND having inherited a heavy duty staple gun!! So this afternoon, I have removed about a trillion staples/stitches & turned the old covering into pattern pieces. All have been labelled in bright pink marker pen as to what they are, where they go & how they fit. By the time I'd done that, I'd broken the points off both scissor blades & could really feel all the staple-prising efforts in my arthritic thumb joints. But I have pattern pieces! Hopefully cutting out will commence over the next few days.
But not tonight. Tonight is for bums on sofa watching last episode of 'Philharmonia' & starting my new library book.
Cheers all, 
F x

foxgloves

Maryb - We've just lost our Monsoon & Accessorise. We lost our Bon Marche too & our M&S last year. And our branch of The Body Shop a couple of years before that. Superdrug also closed down early this year. It really is getting grim on the high street, isn't it?
F x

PurpleFairy26

foxgloves said:

Maryb - We've just lost our Monsoon & Accessorise. We lost our Bon Marche too & our M&S last year. And our branch of The Body Shop a couple of years before that. Superdrug also closed down early this year. It really is getting grim on the high street, isn't it?
F x

Who knows what the high street will look like when it's finally all open - you're right it is getting grim isn't it.  I got an e mail yesterday saying L0ng tall sally was closing totally in August. 

Well done on the chair thing. It'll be so worth it when it's done. Hope you've enjoyed your evening. 

Pixiehouse55

Feeling fed up!! I've been on the phone today to the assessors re our laminated flooring in our lounge. She is saying we are waiting for the suppliers to get back to us to confirm it's a manufacturer fault. The company doing the work yesterday said we are waiting to get the go ahead from the assessors. Sorry but my patience is wearing thin..  . I will be on the phone again Monday morning.
Wishing you all a Happy Weekend and hope the weather is better than the last few days
Keep Safe 

marionmgcars

I heard about Long Tall Sally, one of my favourite shops, which I shall miss.  Along with all the shops closing my heart goes out to the staff who are having to look for a job in such an unsure time for employment.  Covid has affected everyone's lives in so many different ways.