Put away your purse & become debt-averse

foxgloves

@Tescodealqueen @Baileys_Babe & @CRANKY40 - I could not agree more with you all. Tomorrow I'm seeing pretty much the only family I have left for the first time since Christmas 2019. We have purposely chosen a 90% outdoor venue & will be taking a picnic so as to avoid sitting near strangers in the cafe. It will be so lovely to see them in person instead of skype, but we are determined to be sensible. I don't think it is just young people being cavalier with safety - recently seen two people prob well into their 70s, so in theory a good bit more vulnerable than me acting as though there was no pandemic whatsoever! One came out of a loo cubicle at the Swedish Emporium & went straight out to the cafe...... no handwashing or sanitiser gel whatsoever! Lovely for the people choosing their bread roll after her! The other was outdoors but still annoyed me. I was waiting for my market shopping to be packed & a woman came right up close to me & shouted her order out diagonally right across me. I made a comment about poor spatial awareness & she moved about 2 dolly steps away from me. You'd expect that general safety precautions would be pretty much dinned into folk by now.
F 

foxgloves

A no-spend day today. Mr F has had to work to cover somebody's holiday so I don't have the Wheels. Have had a pleasant morning baking sausage rolls & cheesy squares. The latter are the 'Lentil & cheese wedges' from the original Cranks cookbook. I use a square tin as they cut into pieces much easier. Cheap savoury which is v portable for picnics, lunch boxes, etc. Have also got one of the bargainaceous gammon joints I bought yesterday in the slow cooker. There will be plenty for filling picnic cobs. The surplus will do for some of our lunches over the coming week.
Have even got all my sister's presents wrapped & packed ready to take, despite her birthday being a month away! Feel we've spent a fortune on parcel postage over the last 18 months so didn't want to waste the opportunity to hand it over in person.
Right, I must crack on. Lots left to do, including filling two dozen cobs. My nephews (& Mr F) are specialist food destroying machines!
Cheers all,
F x

CRANKY40

I hope that you enjoy tomorrow's picnic. It sounds like a lovely idea. I haven't seen my sister since 2019 either (she lives in Ireland) but we message back and forth most days. 

foxgloves

Thanks @CRANKY40. Yes, I do skype my sis each week & we message each other frequently. We have made more effort since losing Dad & Mum in 2017 & 2018 respectively. Both our parents were an only child so we have no cousins, aunts or uncles. She's not as far away as Ireland but it is still about 130 mile journey between our houses so pre-Covid, we were meeting up every few months somewhere reasonably equidistant. It will be lovely to catch up with the Neffs too (18 & 13) as they can be very amusing when they're not attacking each other! A picnic feels safer from a Covid point of view, but it's cheaper than a cafe & both sides of the family are contributing. 
F

Baileys_Babe

CRANKY40 said:

I don't care how much less vile it is if you've had the jabs, I still don't want it. 

I neither want it nor to spread it, particularly to those I love, I just hope most people will feel the same and be sensible.

Onebrokelady

I was queuing the other day and a girl came and stood right next to me,I moved up and so did she,I had to say something in the end 🙄

Four_Seasons

Living on the east coast is lovely but after being into town at lunch time (hospital appointment) and seeing so many people I was amazed masks were very few and far between!  Called at the strawberry stall queued with mask on turned around to see who was behind me and thank goodness for the mask or I might of ended up kissing the man (no mask) behind me he was so close!  No strawberries for tea I left the queue and came home! x

Sun_Addict

Yesterday an old bloke kept touching my arm and then patted me on my back 😱 Never seen him before in my life so a tad overfamiliar in normal circumstances!

Baileys_Babe

Your picnic sounds fabulous, yummy food, saving money, avoiding crowds, good company.

I am fortunate, my sister lives less than 5 miles away and we are in a child care bubble so we have been able to see each other regularly, but there are still times when it has been more than 6 weeks since we have met face to face and when we do we try to meet outside where possible, including a one time a while back sitting outside under a temporary roof wrapped up in our winter wear drinking cocoa, whilst the children played together in the heavy rain 🥰 

I am sorry to hear of the people lacking social distancing awareness most you have encountered when I am in shops with trolleys I often get one even if I am only getting a few bits so I can use it as a barrier between myself and those who don't see/understand the risks.

marionmgcars

Your family picnic sounds like a brilliant idea.  I might steal that idea and organise one with my family at the local beauty spot which has picnic tables etc.  I visited my friend's mother who is 91, but did a covid lateral flow test before I went, I would hate to think I carried anything into her house.  Stay safe everyone x