NST Amazing August

f0xh0les

Blimey Ditty I'm knackered after reading all you have 'only' done!

I got up and out early with 3 kids and did all the shoe shopping and was home before 11.15.  Town was not busy at 9am and it was relatively painless apart from the kids pointlessly bickering (it is like sparrows chirping, they can't help it).  Then came home and made lunch, then took DS1 out for a merry 90 minute c/s wander and I bought him 4 shirts for college.  Home to watch a football match and then made vegetable stew for supper and everyone ate it and nobody fell to the floor clutching their throats and pretending to die (honestly, it has been known to happen).  So the school shoes / school trainers torture is over until they manage to lose one or all of them.   All food from stores (budget is shot due to shoes, shoes, shoes, shoes and more shoes - in all 9 pairs were bought today), menu planned for tomorrow involves no spends either. 

Roll on payday on Friday!

Kerry_Woman

NSD today - 17/20.
Grateful for:
Spoke to brother and sister on phone.
Ordered face masks from my favourite shop.  Used a voucher I have for shop so they were free.  Will be collecting from shop.
Read some of a book.
Did some of the cross stitch kit.
Watched episodes of man who travels in a police box with my favourite doc.  2 episodes had the things that liked to exterminate.  They always scare me.

apple_muncher

Today I am grateful for enjoying the wind blowing things around, for fresh rasps, for discovering a mobile greengrocer who set up a couple of mins' walk away, for dd going to an outdoor youth event, for my neighbour cutting my hair.

Fmess

Hi all!
How are you all? I’m sorry I’ve been absent for so long, it’s so long I can’t remember how long it has been!
I’m hoping to join you all again in September as I need to get sorted and life has changed so much that I hope to be able to make some indents in my debt.
Trying to get used to the new format on here, can someone please point me in the direction of how to amend my signature? 

Have a lovely day all

greent

And so the haemorrhaging of money in August continues..... took DS2 into town yesterday for rugby boots and PE trainers (had attempted to foist DH's boots onto him - whilst they fitted they're degrading slightly (must be 20 years old....!) so sucked up cost of new ones. Took a trip to M1keA5hley's emporium - really not a fan, but prices in there are usually pretty good. Sadly, all of the cheapest pairs either has fixed plastic studs (a no for his school), weren't in his size or (the one pair with proper studs and in his size) were very narrow - it's the brand (3 stripes) he's worn until this year when his feet have always come up as a 'D' width. However, since March (so less than 6 months!) he's not only gone from a 6.5 to a 8/8.5 shoe size, he's also gone to an F width. £99 later on rugby boots, white trainers (have to be all white with white soles - no coloured stripes or logos) and the cheapest black skin/ base layer available @ £14 (I refuse to spend £36 on the school logo-ed one from the 'approved' supplier - it gets worn under the rugby shirt, for goodness sake!) Also picked up DS3 some shin pads @ £5 on top of that.

More school shopping - have order new PE top and rugby shorts for DS2 @ cost of £50. Still need rugby socks and logo-ed trackie bottoms (other sorts are not approved and on days where they have PE/ games they are expected to wear kit in all day to avoid congested changing rooms (C0vid) - so trackie bottoms in the cooler weather going into Autumn/ Winter are a must..... but these are both out of stock with only/ approved supplier. And as they have changed their kit I cannot get it from the 2nd hand shop @school as this is now not accepted - clearly they think all parents there are loaded (tbf, many are.... classmates of DS2 have luxury villas abroad, holiday for a month in the Summer in places like Dubai etc... different world!) I also still need to get him new trousers (black or charcoal) - have tried MnS, Debnums, N*xt, A5da, Tesc0, Sainz, J0hnL3w1s.... all to no avail..... really struggling here Small sizes (up to max age 13) are possible, not larger - not helped by the fact that he is a stocky lad and can't fit his thighs into skinny fit and slim fit is skin tight on them - which are the only ones I have found in his age range! (or teh correct size - but in navy..... sigh.....)

On a more positive note, I have now reached (actually, passed) the 1.5 stone lost point - another 1.5lb will see me down into the next stone bracket. However, this coming week sees a bbq at someone else's house (so no control over what is there), a meal out for best friend's 50th and a meal out for our silver wedding anniversary..... I'm sure cake and dessert will be involved with these, too....  Best up the activity this week to hopefully counteract it all!  

DH has this coming week off work (his first time off this year other than 2 odd days earlier in Summer) - plans are such excitement as cleaning carpets and painting bathrooms! and a couple of gym trips. 

In slightly more exciting news, we have sold our BTL to first person who looked at it - and for the asking price - was sold so quick the EAs hadn't even done draft details, let alone got it on their website! Goodness knows how long it will take to complete, though. 

Thankful for - getting some more school prep done (will be glad when all finished!), for a quick sale of BTL (fingers crossed it goes smoothly), for tomatoes and pears from the garden

PurpleFairy26

Good news on your BTL sale greent hope it goes through quickly and smoothly for you. 

f0xh0les

I feel your back-to-school pain @greent .  Sounds like we did the same thing in different towns yesterday.  

Good idea to bail on the btl while the stamp duty is on hold.  Glad it went quickly, hope the rest goes as smoothly.

Today I managed a short run (no chest pain) have done 3 loads of laundry, hoovered and tidied all the kids rooms and drawers - 2 of them were complaining they needed new thick socks for their boots, 2 minutes and a quick look through their bedroom drawers later, 10 pairs of thick socks magically appeared.  Why do they not just flippin' look?? 

So the top two floors are sparkly clean, and dh is in the kitchen making spanakopita for lunch.  Not bad for before 12 on a Sunday.  It will not be a NSD as I am going to buy sticky labels for shoes as I am sick to death of them losing their shoes and just expecting me to replace them.

mothernerd

Hugs Toni'sfriend and ditty. I don't know what to say ditty - there are things I could say but don't know how useful they would be, so just keep being supportive and look after yourself as well as your son. He does still have plenty of options, keep positive. I think we should all also remind ourselves that we never know what burdens other people are carrying, many disabilities and health conditions are not clearly visible and living with a long term health condition can be exhausting, debilitating and at times depressing.

Greent much sympathy on the uniform costs - one year DS1 needed larger shoes 3 times. I could have kissed the shopkeeper who took pity on me and took off the VAT when I was replacing the hardly worn second pair - well into adult sizes though clearly for school use.

Welcome back Fmess. I have wondered and worried about you but thought that if you needed to take a back step for a while I should leave you alone, as that is what I need to do sometimes. Hope your changes are good ones.

I've had a challenging week both physically and mentally. I nearly went to sit by the canal yesterday as mum is driving me up the wall (I'm calmer today as I just keep telling myself it's hard for both of us, we both thought the 'living together in the same house' stage was a long way off and it's only the CV19 that's forced it on us - that and keeping to my room, being in the yard when possible, and reading, sewing and watching tv is keeping me sane).

Early in the week she decided that the lemons needed to be used (I'd bought them for lemon drizzle cake, haven't had time for leisure activities like baking and they had been buried under a pile of other stuff for 2 or 3 weeks so were tiny wizened things - normally I'd use them for cleaning if they had reached that stage). She's never made lemon cake so scoured through multiple recipe and cuttings books and produced something dry, flat, more or less tasteless (was far too tired, shouldn't have been doing it at all and lost patience and dumped all the ingredients in the bowl). Half her problems stem from insisting that a, b or c 'has to be done', then wondering why she feels ill for days. I just let her do it because I was too tired and weary to do anything and I didn't want to end up shouting.

Painting the old bin last week (not so much the painting but dragging an old bin full of soil and a tree) and general garden tidying left me very weak (feet, ankles, knees, hips and back) so I spent about 3 days mostly resting with small bouts of activity aided by arch supports, ankle supports etc. I also managed to clear most of my room (all the floor but some stuff still on the bed) including re-doing the stack in the second wardrobe (unstable because it was packs of dried fruit and breakfast cereals and drinks and various other things were needed). All completed in time for the food delivery (twice delayed) on Wednesday, which mostly came into my room (due to possible rat in the shed situation - no sign since I cleared up), so felt like I had done a full day's work before 10 am. Thursday worked on accommodating the new food (the fridge part of 'my' fridge -freezer has lots of drinks and a generous salad drawer) and on Friday the large metal bin (bucket sized, lidded) and the even larger plastic bin (food grade, 'rat-proof') arrived so all the wild bird seed and mealworms are now back in the shed rather than in my room.

Yesterday I had plans to go into town. I need to make two trips at least. One to bring the other plastic bin from my yard along with the remaining lengths of link-a-bord (under the garden table covered with plastic tarpaulin) to be painted and work out which bits need replacing (10+ years old and some of the joining pieces have been broken) when I order some new sets next month. I also have a lengthening shopping list of items I want to 'grab and go' as well as wanting to deposit some of my 'savings' into the bank (brought savings tins and pots here and have exchanged it with notes from mum to make up money for milk and veg deliveries and window cleaner). Mum had realised that despite writing out birthday cards nearly to the end of the year (has to do it when her hands are in reasonable working order) she had not taken note of the date and had 3 cards in urgent need of posting.

So I was up early, showered, dressed (and multiple stages in getting myself ready for the day) and working on motivating myself for a minimal run (cards to a post box with collections between 7 am Saturday and 9 am Monday, puzzle book for me, pies for mum, + if I had anything left to give) using mum's walker, not going home at all (half the back yard still needs clearing) and coming back in a taxi if needed. Heard mum complaining about me again on the telephone (she was going to tell me to move all the stuff off the couch).  It's mostly food but as the kitchen is still stuffed with gadgets (many have been relegated to the shed) any food that won't fit lives in my room and emerged to find that the cards had been sent off with the 'vague' relative who brings the tv guide - so the recipients will be lucky to get their cards next week.

So demoralised and thoroughly demotivated, I went to make myself a bacon butty, took down the 'rag bag' to cover the chopping board (3 clean rags on the worktop, used that bag because the 'bag of bags' contained the bags from Wednesday and wasn't sure they were sufficiently decontaminated), moved all the random items from the couch onto my bed (could not bear to have to pick them back up off the floor) took the bacon rind for the birds (or possibly the rat - I'm dying to see a rat being dive bombed by starlings and wood pigeon) and took my bacon butty back to my room to think calming, soothing thoughts. Went back to start the bacon soup cooking - no bag or knife. Asked casually where the bag might be - back on the coat hook with the rags inside (accompanied by hand flapping, tearful voice and a lament of "I can't bear all this untidyness'. So back in my room (this is the point where I considered making a break for the canal bank) and didn't emerge until it was time for Dr Who fest - well gave myself 5 minutes to transfer drinks and make a sandwich. Luckily mum slept on and off for most of the afternoon.

So, no more whinging, I will continue to do as much as I can, when I can and not get worked up. I will rest (going to try for 9 pm bedtime all week), read, drink lots of water and eat properly and pamper both myself and mum.

Today I am grateful for the rain which has saved me hours of watering this week, for the periods of sunshine that dried our washing (helped by rapid flapping in the wind), for having shelter and a bed to sleep in, food to eat, water to drink, for all the the things growing in the garden (except the rat), for books and games and tv series (special mentions to Harlots, Spooks, Dr Who and Red Dwarf - half-way to converting mum).

apple_muncher

Mothernerd - you are a saint Sending you lots of hugs. Hope you get that pampering done x.

Fmess!!!! Wondeful to hear from you!!! Your post was (probably deliberately) vague, but I hope things are ok with you and that you get your ninja turtle kit on with us in Sept.

Btw, anyone up for September? I have another inkling of an idea (more an inklet, really) so am happy to set it up unless someone else has a great burning desire to run it...

Toni'sfriend

Oh, Mothernerd, I really feel for you. I had a difficult relationship with my late Mother. She could sulk for weeks if she didn't get her own way and immediately at that. She didn't speak to my aunt for years and couldn't even remember why she had fallen out with her. It was something totally trivial, I'm sure, and undoubtedly her fault. In saying that it's no comfort when you are doing your best and going beyond only to hear her being so ungrateful. I suppose we can't choose our family though and I for one think you are an absolute saint. (and whinge as much as you like. We're hear to listen).

NSD No 15 (I think)

Sneaked some more rubbish into the bin and did some of those really annoying fiddly kitchen jobs that would take minutes if you did them at the time but take ages because you keep putting them off. I suppose that counts as getting rid of some frogs. Himself very kindly hoovered the entire house. He's a treasure (sometimes!).

Goulash in slow cooker for the three of us. It's the Boy's birthday on Wednesday but he says he'll celebrate it with us next Sunday and get his presents then. He's working from home and I think he's just too tired at night to do anything. He and his best friend are going to the cinema next Friday to see some film that I will never have heard of. He hasn't been anywhere since lockdown (apart to visit me and his dad occasionally) and his friend has only been to work (he's a nurse). Should be interesting to hear what that experience is like now).

Been a pretty quiet day here. Weather is a bit grey. Himself has started watching football on TV so something important on tonight apparently. I'll be watching Versailles upstairs. Oh the intrigues and poisonings. It's better than Game of Thrones.