NST April 2020: Fools we are not!

BadBookkeeper

NSD 7/15
a normalish day yesterday, tidied garden, emptied and took down DS old playhouse I’m counting this as decluttering!
Tydied a kitchen drawer, I was looking for a birthday card but it was full of junk!  Now nice and tidy.
DS made a den in the conservatory and sat there so quiet so he could say up late 💕. We had thunder & lightening which brought a bit of excitement!!
Received our gas/electricity bill they want to increase our payments by £40 a month!!

mothernerd

I put a tin bucket out on top a bin and put the bin up to the gate, so the milk man can put the milk in without me leaving the gate open or anyone coming into the yard. It's paying for it day today so I put the envelope with money in, inside a small clear plastic bag (mostly reusing the ones mum's blister packs come in) with a small stone to hold it down in case it's windy (and can't be seen by passers-by). Mum has also written a lot of birthday cards over the past few days (still comlaining about lack of 'men's' cards - I thought I'd overdone it when she sent me to by some as they were 10 for a £1 in the first shop and 20 for a £1 in the second, but she's used them all). We've put them into bundles by family (each of her partner's children) and are giving them out as and when we can.

The person who brings the tv guide (extended family member) didn't ring last week. I went out just after 8 am and the milk hadn't come and when I went out a bit later the milk and eggs were in the bucket along with the tv guide. So last night I put the package of birthday cards for him to pass on in a separate bucket, another wee plastic bag and a note telling him what we wanted to do). All before 9 pm lockdown (door alarm goes off if we open the door later than 9.30 pm - originally put in to stop mum's partner wandering off and getting lost but still connected up as it also connected to the control room in case mum needs assistance). Then it rained.

Boy did it rain. There wasn't a single raindrop on the window, it must have been coming straight down. So have been waiting for door curfew to be over and went out expecting to find a soggy mess floating in a bucket of water. It's all okay (was dreading telling mum there were more cards to write). Little plastic bags and waterproof pens have passed the test (card bucket did have drain holes). Then I went to feed the birds (they were queuing).

I really do apologise but I'm really enjoying the lockdown (week 3 successfully completed). I'm nearer to living the life I always wanted than I've been in years (when I bought my house, paid for by the time I was 25, my intention was to live alone and be 'an old lady'. I would wear hats and lace gloves and grow a garden around me, sit quietly in a comfortable chair and read and sew and smile enigmatically at those who considered me eccentric. I just need to keep a grip on those bits where I still need to interact with the outside world.

Sort of done my budgets. Wrote down the amounts for my standing orders (added a bit on as some will be going up and not noted precise amounts yet) and multiplied my Carer's allowance by 4.5 and what's in the bank will cover the deficit for some time (EF inc.). This is only because I'm not spending anything on food atm.  However things will change. Even if I browbeat the WTC into submission I do owe some money for the past two years. If I can't get them to re-instate it and they still want everything they have paid me in the past 2 years, it's far more money than I have. However (this is a worst case scenario) that would mean the only income I could guarantee would be the Carer's Allowance (still doing my work hours but can't send completed work out or find new customers so No business income) so any repayments should be commensurate with that.

DS3 is still ahead with his contribution (but goodness only knows what the gas and electric bills will be like without me keep turning things off). His business is mostly conducted online but he may get into difficulties further down the line. He told me last week he is four 'scenes' from finishing his latest game and was starting on a £500 commission (I think that's with a much more 'known' game maker so could be a game-changer).

Mum' s budget is fine (had to get the bank balance slip last week as 'I' am spending all this money on polytunnels and plants - I've been right all the way through this crisis, mostly due to normal winter preps and it's so gratifying when the experts tell her exactly what I've been saying). Her money will rise steadily and we won't be paying for any holidays anytime soon, so she should start to relax.

I'm counting any days when money is spent (even if it's mum's). I still need seeds and growing 'future food' will be the main expenditure but there may be some other things (not got a Netflix subscription yet, may see what I can find on that-tube to keep mum entertained first).

The last two days of cooking/ chopping/ peeling mean that I am now 'on holiday' for the next few days - anything that needed using up has been incorporated, some of the dairy/ deli items need eating (have been saving them as little treats - these are the items I bought as I prepared to come into lockdown) and have several ideas up my sleeve. No desire to go into a SM ever again (or a post office or anywhere with a queue). Must get into the polytunnel today and start shed reorganisation sometime (there are some of my old metal shelves in there, one or other of the steps could make further staging and the two mini filing cabinets may end up with the drawers being 'mini raised beds). I can also use the 'bags for life' as growbags if I need to.

Today I am grateful for sunshine (but not too oppressive), having a better sleep (probably due to filter change - CPAP machine has a foam pad filter and a small flat one for hayfever and other allergens which should be changed monthly), fruit juice (stopped drinking this because of the high sugar content, only have it on holiday, but thought it would be a useful addition as I am letting mum have most of the fresh fruit), smoked salmon pate (when I went to the SM over 3 weeks ago some shelves were stripped or nearly empty so I picked from what was available, but may be able to 'replicate' this using a pack of 50p for 4 kippers), a leisurely start to the day (enough food, floors could do with sweeping/ mopping but no other chores - slowly eliminating 'need to' from my vocabulary). Quietly relieved that I have no symptoms. Have put it mostly to the back of my mind but still worried about the encounter at the cash machine.

Deni_debt-free_dreamer

Hi everyone
Quick catch up - i did achieve a NSD yesterday.  Will have to spend today as DD2 only drinks oat or almond milk and we've run out, also run out of bread.  Going to make a roast dinner tomorrow /veggie one for DD2 so would like some more veg so will just see what the shops have.  Virtual book group was fun and so lovely to see everyone.  Big thanks to DD1 for tech support We had takeaway pizza for tea.  Then i remembered that ITV were showing back episodes of Vera so lay in bed watching that.
Deni x

abbi_aurelia

Afternoon all. My neighbour keeps having visitors and he’s in his 70s (by visitors I mean his family but they don’t seem to be helping they just sit in the garden chatting and playing)
Went for a walk this morning with OH and LO. Let LO down for a waddle, she kept trying to escape to see a dog so had to put her back in the carrier ☹️. Planning to go food shopping as we don’t have enough milk to get to Monday. Grateful for the cuteness of LO wanting to say hi to dogs even though I had to stop here, the thrush we saw collecting nesting material and the new Red Dwarf for being amusing 

apple_muncher

Bbk - £40 more?!! That's a bit steep!

mothernerd - I know what you mean re enjoying the lockdown. You are still super busy, but have so much less running around to do. I love hearing your solutions.

f0xh0les

BadBookkeeper said:

Received our gas/electricity bill they want to increase our payments by £40 a month!!

Oh no! mine just emailed me to say I can have £20 off a month, down to £72 a month for gas and electric combined.  Yay!

I just spent 2 hours scrubbing a 1mx2m section of tiled flooring on my hands and knees.  I should send myself to the naughty chaise longue.  On the plus side I can tell where I stopped.    On the minus side, there is plenty more to do, but I was losing the will to breathe.  Will do another section tomorrow. I had already hoovered the whole house, and cleaned the bathrooms, and mopped the bathroom floors, all before lunchtime.   Yep, I am that bored.  I am officially a nightmare.

Finished a book this morning, so hoicked out another one to start this evening.

Diet is going well, apart from me having to constantly distract myself from thoughts of baking, or eating, or cooking, or falling face first into a vat of caramel, or custard, I really am not fussy. I am trying to get to the next 'stone bracket' asap. 3lbs to go.

Is it me or is the tv scheduling pretty darn dire this Easter???

My wedding anniversary is 1st May, and I have the feeling this lockdown will still be in force, so give me some Turtle ideas of how to make it special while we are sandwiched together 24/7 with a 4 kid audience (the diet can s0d off that day ).  Give me some suggestions, please!

NSD7

dolly84

More washing done and line dried today, also washed four pairs of Converse which are still out there.  DH has washed and polished both cars, I've pottered around planting up some seedlings into a pot a neighbour gave me the other day, I then decided to build a fire pit, collected loads of wind blown sticks from the garden and cooked an early tea on it - DH did burn his hand but apart from that we survived. 

mothernerd/apple - I'm finding plenty to keep me occupied but I am not enjoying this at all, I am missing walking on the moors and in the hills and the kids need to see their friends and DD her boyfriend, it just isn't good for them.  One of our neighbours normally works 6 days a week and sometimes 7, he does at least 12 hours, he goes to the pub 5 times a week and just doesn't seem to be able to sit still, so far he has decorated his hallway and lounge, ripped out his kitchen and fitted a new one, replaced all his radiators and is now decorating his conservatory.  He must have done loads of click and collect ordering.  One of our neighbours is in his late 80's and his family are there nearly everyday, they do his garden, take him shopping etc but what are you supposed to do just leave him on his own, some things are more important imo.

lcc86

Afternoon all, what a glorious day it was again today. Managed to get more DIY done, got pretty much everything I wanted to do so I'm happy with that. Went for a walk at lunchtime and waved at my friend who works in the local hospital, she called me and said she's so worried about some of the things they are having to do and a lack of equipment... 

Not much else to report, another NSD (up to 10 now) and another day hitting my steps and also doing my rehab exercises. I have an MRI booked tomorrow at the hospital, they called today to confirm the appointment, I'm a bit surprised it's going ahead tbh but apparently it's in a separate building to the hospital itself. 

I also downloaded the freeletics app and am going to start their 12 week programme on Monday. If I enjoy it I'll subscribe to the paid version in lieu of a gym membership moving forward. 

apple_muncher

Ooh, I was looking at freeletics too lcc, so I'll be interested to onow how you get on with it. I hadn't realised there was a free 12 week thingy.

But I'll not be doing anything for a while as I fell off a kerb today and mangled my ankle and I had to go to a+e! There's nothing broken (ish - they're not 100% sure!) but it is soooo swollen and purple. And painful. Sigh.

Dolly - I'm okay with staying mostly at home so far, as I had to transition quickly to online teaching for the first week, and then I've had my usual school hols. Then I'll be back to online teaching soon, so I know there's an 'end' to my non-structured days. But I do agree with you re the kids. It is very hard for them to be cut off from others. I know there's tech, but it is not at all like hanging out together.

Today I am grateful for being able to collect my new specs and do an aldee shop before I fell off the kerb, for the 2 surveyor men who responded to my calls for help as I couldn't get up and dh was still in a shop with dd, for the lovely people who looked after me at the hosp, for not having to stay over at the hosp, for chilled water, for frozen peas as an icepack, for a lovely catch-up with my sister.

f0xh0les

Oh Apple!  do you have any chamomile tea in the house?

Make up a bowl and soak a flannel in it and wrap your ankle. It brings down swelling and will reduce the purple bruising- honest. Also it will defrost your ankle after all those peas.     Hope you start to feel better soon. Keep it up and off it as much as possible, but you know that anyway.