NST April 2020: Fools we are not!

Siebrie

Husband has dug over a 2mx0,5m flowerbed (grassbed...) for veg. I spent some time removing the weed roots yesterday, and will continue today. I have a weak spot in my back and have to time myself to 10-minute physical/bending/lifting tasks.

I planted the mizuna seedlings in a veg bed (an existing one; our old sandpit) and hope they will grow a bit taller.

We have made a tour of the village last night and the night before; husband and I on foot, dds on rollerskates. The first night, we hadn't been paying attention to the time, and no-one in our street claps for the health care workers (plenty of other support signs on the houses/road), so we came through a street at 8pm where they all did! It was as if they were applauding dds on rollerskates, which was funny (the people clapping had a broad grin...). The second night we left home earlier....

apple_muncher

toni'sfriend - don't worry about other people seeming busier than you. We are all at such different points/levels of confinement, work, age, health...

I had a call from a friend yesterday and she and her husband have hardly left the house. She goes out to shop for the neighbours, but that is about it.

On the other hand, I am busy teaching from home, dd is busy learning in real-time, and dh is constantly doing work for church - editing videos to put together the Sunday services takes aaages when there are about 12 pieces to piece together and save, upload and do whatever needs doing with them.

We can still chat with neighbours over the back garden fences - I had a chat with a neighbour 3 doors down this morning without shouting. We're in a terrace and they are not v wide at all! And see people passing if we are out the front of the house.

In many ways, our lives are not hugely different from before! I guess we are just unsociable creatures in teh apple household!!!

f0xh0les

Mothernerd - huge sympathies, I know how much stress those envelopes hitting the mat cause, even more so when it is their error. You can ask they take whatever you owe at £1 a week (or whatever) from your claim as it will leave you in severe financial hardship otherwise.      Just breathe (and swear a lot) and then laugh.   It will all get sorted out. They will be understaffed for a good while right now anyway.  Take your time.  and tell them that they are affecting your mental and physical health with their ridiculous system of dispute management....and  don't forget to breathe.

Toni'sfriend-  the battle of the butteries seems to have been going on for years!

Siebrie - Mizuna is great, the kids were totally unimpressed but it was fab in a noodle stirfry. Ours kept flowering and so we had it for years, all over the place.  The only way to keep it in control is to eat it often and don't let it dry out too much or it bolts in seconds.

Well, I have already had dealings with 2 teachers this morning asking where their homework was (grrrr) so that is sorted.

NSD 17 I think.  Just did the weekly inventory and I think I can get away with not shopping today either.  I am down to one food trip a week now, no top ups, no fripperies. Lunch was using up all the bits in the fridge, so the bowl of pesto is gone, but now I have tomato pasta in there instead.  It is going to return tonight along with a chinese fried rice and some hummus and crackers.  They can choose which bits they want to eat, and there is enough salad left for me to graze on.  Then the fridge can have a jolly good clean before shopping.  No waste in my house! 

Finished 3 books so far this week. Will start another one later on. My to-read pile is going down nicely. Will soon have to go back to the bookshelves to hunt for something to read.....

Toni'sfriend

F0xh0les - It really did feel like that. I couldn't believe it when I found there were no more lurking anywhere. Now we have to tackle the bread and then the cheese mountain.

Apple - I guess we have all got to deal with this in our own way. I haven't been out for four weeks now and I felt that everyone else was making some sort of contribution and I wasn't but, low and behold, I was speaking to the lodger of my next door neighbour today (from a suitable distance, of course) and he told me he had nothing to read and the library is closed. Well, we have literally hundreds of books so I asked him what he liked to read and Himself found some books for him. He's delighted and I've told everyone else if they need a book we can find something. Now we have become the unofficial lending library for the block.

I was just thinking today that one of the things that has changed is I'm not using actual cash for anything since what I do buy is online. I usually take out the food budget in cash every Friday because I don't overspend that way. All the money I had four weeks ago is still in my purse. It's been so convenient getting things delivered, especially if they are heavy, that I wonder if my shopping habits might have changed forever. I will still go the the local butcher for meat no matter what.

My neighbour, Mother of the two little ones, chalked out an "obstacle course" on the long back path today. The object is to follow the chalk following the instructions to walk, run, jump, skip, walk backwards,clap, touch your toes, do star jumps, etc, etc. It's hilarious  - especially when the adults attempt it. Think it was really meant for the children but it was funny.

My compost arrived today and I can't wait for my seeds so that I can get planting. Herbs are doing really well.

Have a good evening.

apple_muncher

That obstacle course sounds fab toni'sfriend! Congratulations on your new post as librarian

Today I am grateful for my sandbag, for birdsong, for drying clothes outside, for exchanging some lovely emails with work, for arnica, for all the people out there who are helping others.

BadBookkeeper

NSD 15/15
DS finally caught up with homework so we can chill over the weekend and do a little each day next week to keep on top of it.  Strange how just doing this makes me feel happier for next week!
Tomorrow we are making lemon drizzle cake and flapjacks.  

Sunday DS is doing our window picture the theme is smiley faces so he’s drawing emoji faces should be easy enough so he’ll enjoy it!
Have a nice weekend turtles 

snowbird20

I have 8 absolutely NSD under my belt and even tho I spent today, i don't count it as it was necessities from budgeted categories-groceries, prescription for me (that was a whole $1.91) and i spent some of my allowance on paper supplies. So I count it as NSD if I don't go overbudget or purchase something not necessary (or from my allowance).   We saved probably about $50 by not going out to dinner for our anniversary yesterday.
I am grateful for my sister today and my husband-he is a good one and my physician =she is also a good one.  I am, oddly enough, also grateful that i have to drive to another state (about a 4hr drive) for some medical testing so I will get out of the house for the first time in over a month, I will see my children (with masks and appropriate no touching) and dh and I are going to take a 2 day holiday down to the sea and restore our souls with the wind and water and salt air.  There are lovely no-contact cottages in that town, we will take our own food, and we won't interact with anyone there.  

lcc86

Morning all, just checking in to report I'm now on 20 NSD's. Looking forward to a nice relaxed weekend, just doing some DIY bits, cleaning, reading. Really pushing the boat out 

Got paid yesterday but as I prefer to run my financial month in line with the calendar month I've just finalised the budget and moved all the money to a different account until 1st May. Haven't got my pay rise yet and have started paying back my student loan this month so am about £50 worse off than I was in March but it won't be for long. Plus I finish paying for my braces in July so that's another £120 each month to play with.

greent

No money spent yesterday. Had 'expensive' ready meal curries for Friday night food - still cheaper than a takeaway, though

Thankful for: getting more windows/ doors cleaned (and some guttering!), more sunshine, family meal time, family card games, finding a couple of items in airing cupboard to donate to scrubs bags appeal, more seeds growing

mothernerd

Finally finished 'the letter' yesterday and nearly finished the copy (as no access to a printer - they'll have to find one of their older workers to read it as apparently younger people are losing the ability to read handwriting). Part way through breakfast, paused to answer two phone calls and did a bit more of the letter. I've 'killed' two pens and used up two more (some were good ones but getting on - including ones that DS3 used to use for drawing fine lines - so used those up on early drafts, trying to get a timeline drawn up etc). had to count how many pages were left in the pad of A4 maths paper to see if there was enough for the final version (think there are a few loose sheets around somewhere). Will celebrate by carefully setting aside my copies of both letters (one about reversing the decision, one to the repayment enforcers - different location) after taking the original to the post box and ripping all the drafts, timelines, references to all the different letters, awards, etc up and adding them to the paper collection. It's enough to make me wish I still had a cat so they could be mixed into the litter tray.

Then out to the wonderland of the polytunnel, the still to be erected tiny greenhouse, the shed/ decontamination zone and the pots and soil/compost of various ages.

Today I am grateful for the sunshine (even if I had to take kryptonite level precautions), good food (curry made including a bendy courgette and butternut squash I put in the freezer at 'C'mas), yoghurt (helping with the pollen grain throat), DS2 and everyone who helps us keep safe, DS2 who was 33 on Wednesday (he can have his long-player party in 4 months) and DS3 who was 30 yesterday (I asked him did he feel like a real grown up yet) to DS1 for sending photos and captions of the grandpuppy (was trying to move a stick thicker than his own leg and longer than his body which he had to keep putting down every 10m to try a different method of holding it. After negotiations he accepted a replacement stick) and for all you lovely turtles. Normal service will be resumed asap - once I've got this blasted letter out of the house I shall return to being a beacon of serenity and the fount of all wisdom regarding gardening, sewing, making something out of nothing and living happily in abject poverty.