Put away your purse & become debt-averse

foxgloves

Pixiehouse55 - Sounds like you have a busy week planned. Yes, it must be very difficult for people with learning difficulties to understand why they can't do their normal activities or see people. Hope you manage to get your tumble drier fixed. I don't know why even quite simple things going wrong just seems even more annoying at the moment. Our washing machine is slightly leaking on its spin cycle & you'd think the entire thing had exploded the way it has annoyed me, instead of making a very small puddle!
Ah well, it feels like coffee time now.
F x

foxgloves

Evening Snowdrops,
I certainly woke up with lockdownitis again, but it receded as the day progressed, I'm pleased to say. I set about my usual Monday tasks - making bread, doing laundry & updating budgets after the weekend, etc. I was wrapping my best friend's birthday presents when I noticed that the sun was shining....not just a feeble flicker, really shining! I think even that lifts one's mood after all the rain, doesn't it? I phoned to complain about having been sent the wrong item instead of the gift I ordered for my nephew's birthday & the person I spoke to couldn't have been nicer. She said she will dispatch the correct item as quickly as possible (I need to wrap it & get everything posted off in the next few days) & just said to return the incorrect item when it is convenient. She has refunded the postage costs, so hopefully I will soon be on track for getting his presents wrapped & posted in time for his birthday.
Well, I stopped for lunch & sat down to watch a programme while I ate it & as soon as I'd finished eating, my dislike of watching TV in the daytime kicked in big-time. I switched off halfway through the programme, put my coat & new little flowery ankle wellies on & headed down the veggie garden to make a start on ANYTHING, I didn't care what! It turned into a really busy intensive hour & a half. I cleared a load of annoying crud from behind the greenhouse, cleared my small spinach bed & dug it over for this year's spinach, then made a start on cutting back the strawberry bed. I usually do this job in the autumn but for some reason, I didn't do it & the strawberries have clearly thoroughly enjoyed creating their own jungle. I ran out of time to get it completely finished, as I had the bread to get in the oven, but I will complete it another day. I potted up the most advanced new strawberry runners as I went along as I will use them to fill any gaps in the bed. It felt so good to be outside in the fresh air. I am sure I will rediscover my mojo if I make sure I get out there for at least half an hour every day until Spring, to get the growing season off to a good start.
Not much cooking tonight......Mr F made a lovely shepherd's pie with his yellow-stickered lamb mince last night & he made enough to feed us for two days, so I am going to sit & read & hopefully find a way to balance a hot water bottle on my sore shoulder!
Hope as many of you as possible have also seen some sunshine today. I think tomorrow is going to be a downpour here, so I'm glad I made the most of it.
Take care,
F x

IzzyBee

That’s a good amount of work cold here but the sunshine has been lovely enjoy your book hope the shoulder feels better soon 

Blackcats

No sunshine here - not even a teeny weeny glimmer.  Glad your nephew's present is being sorted out, good customer service makes such a difference.  

HairyHandofDartmoor

I'm glad you had a bit of sun and some precious garden time 🙂. It's been cold, gloomy and spotting with rain all day here, but hopefully some sun will head our way eventually.

Onebrokelady

So glad you got out into your garden today, it really lifts the spirits doesn't it. We've had the odd lovely sunny day here but it's been raining for the last few days which is annoying. I can't wait to get out sort out my front garden as it was neglected at the end of the season last year. I noticed today that I have been visited by my local badgers again, there are three really big holes dug out of the grass, I'm quite pleased to see it because I haven't seen any evidence of them being around for a while and was getting a bit worried, I've got some worms that the chickens don't like so I'm going to sprinkle them on the grass tomorrow ready for when they come out tomorrow night 😀

foxgloves

HHoD & OBL - Yes, a bit of winter gardening definitely lifts the spirits. I didn't get out there yesterday as it poured with rain in the morning. Then I had workmen in the afternoon, reducing the height of an out of control boundary hedge. Our council garden waste wheelie bin was empty so I asked them to stuff that as full as possible to reduce a skip bag, as the amount of these affects the price. My greenhouse is going to get a lot more light now which should hopefully mean stronger-growing veggies. While all that was going on, I got presents for both nephews' birthdays into a box ready to post. One is an 18th. I hadn't got any suitably celebratory wrapping for his gift card, so I went on a 'shopping from home' rummage, found some metallic card in various colours & constructed a little wallet with a big shiny '18' on the front. He'll be more interested in the contents, of course, but back in the day, I'd have bought some fancy packaging. The company which sent the wrong gift for my other nephew was very good. I spoke to someone on Monday morning & less than 24 hrs later, Postie was knocking on our door with the correct item.
Must get started on my day, as have so far only managed breakfast & washing my hair.
Have a good day, everyone. 
F x

foxgloves

Hello m'dears,
I did think I might get into the garden to finish sorting out the strawberry bed today, but after persistent rain all night, I could see even from the window that the ground is too soggy out there for me to get much done. I'll have a look tomorrow. So, a mundane old day, but I have been in reasonably good spirits. I got the ironing out of the way early doors, as it was the most tedious job by far. I've investigated recently received car insurance renewal documents - like our home & contents insurance before Christmas, I am minded to accept the modest price increase this year, but will shop around next time it it starts to look as though providers are taking the p*ss. I've done a few surveys - Onepoll (so sloooooow to get to my £25, but must keep on as am at £22.40), YouGov - I like those as they are often political & I always have lots to say about the government -  & also Prolific. I only cashed out of Prolific in December, but am already up to over £12 this year, without what I'll be paid for today's 3 surveys. We used to use our survey money to add to debt repayments, then when we became debt-free, it went to savings. Now, we have an agreement that any survey income we make will be added to our individual 'Personal Spends'. It was a really nice feeling adding my last Prolific cash out (£63) to my Spends  - I don't need/want anything in particular atm, so am just leaving it there until I see something. What else have I done? I got on with a few kitchen jobs while listening to my audiobook. I topped up some of my big pantry jars (lentils, rice, etc) so I can see more easily what we've got in stock, I made jalfrezi paste ready for tomorrow's slow cooker curry & got some home made chunky turkey soup & bread rolls out of the freezer for tonight. That is a case of batch cooking coming into its own.....just being able to fetch something out to eat & it feels like a free meal. 
I've also been out on my bike. I noticed it had a problem with its rear wheel & rather than take it into the village bike shop for a service, I asked Mr F if he could give it a lookover first. He said there was something catching & if this was the problem, reckoned he'd fixed it. I just went around the block then up the track by the horses & back and the problem does indeed seem to be fixed, so a big yay to a free repair!
A lovely goldfinch in our garden this morning.......& TWELVE jackdaws! I like corvids - such intelligent birds. I bet they were all discussing who is getting which chimney this year & I said out loud (talking to jackdaws, bad sign, lol) 'Well it won't be ours this year!' as we had a chimney pot cover fitted after last year's mammoth nest delayed our fireplace/chimney work. Well, I had better crack on. I want to take the compost bucket down the garden before the light starts to fade as it is so slippy in the wet & ending up ars* over tip in the mud festooned with old vegetable peelings & coffee grounds isn't an aspirational look......
Cheers all,
F x

marionmgcars

I have to check my diary each day to see what day it is, as every day feels like a Sunday during lockdown and while I am off work.  I have been industrious today unwinding a long aran scarf someone knits me years ago, but have never worn.  Rather than it going to waste I thought I would unwind it, hank the wool, wash it and rewind.  It can go in the stash and maybe be enough to make a garment for my little grandson.  

foxgloves

That's a good idea, Marionmgcars. I used to do a fair bit of 'pulling out' back in the 1980s. I used to supplement my student grant by accepting jumper knitting commissions from friends. Sometimes this would involve pulling out a jumper somebody had been given by a relative & re-knitting it into something a bit more up-to-date.
My very frugal Nana used to re-use yarn all the time.
Agree re losing track of what day it is. The weeks are passing quickly though, despite the tedium of Lockdown. That's the scariest part of the lockdown time-warp. It feels like forever, then you realise it's already February & wonder where January went. 
F x