NST DECEMBER Don't Be a Martyr for Christmas

f0xh0les

No snow in LeShire today, but some forecast  for later and tomorrow.  We are in Tier 4 again!    Wheee!. 

It is very cold, I actually put the central heating on to 'thermostat' yesterday, but could not stop myself from turning it down to 7 degrees when I went to bed. It went back up pretty sharpish when I got up this morning!  Brrrrr!  So the house has kept toasty all day.   Watched the most bizarre film this morning.  Strange Magic - it seemed to be advocating drugging women to get them to do whatever you want them to do -  it was all  elves and pixies and love potions, but my head seems to swap 'love potion' to 'date rape drug' in fairy stories these days.   Great soundtrack though.

Cleaned top and middle floors, stripped all the beds, remade the beds, cleaned the bathrooms, made lunch, not thinking about the laundry mountain (la la la not listening/looking), just got the ground floor left to have a quick whizz around, and really should do the washing up as DH has announced he is cooking tonight (love that man!) and I don't want to leave it all for him to do.

Waiting to see when the kids will be going back to school - it is not looking so good for Tuesday right now is it? .........

NSD 9, the freezer is the emptiest it has been, erm,  probably ever,  it resembles the ice world of Hoth in there, might find the Rebel Base if I defrost it, every cloud has a silver lining!

All still in budget - I currently have £5.79 left  in the bank, now got a free evening as the football has been cancelled, might have a bubbly bubble bath before 0nly connect comes on. Can't spend money in the bath tub! 

ldee2111

Still on 13/15 NSDs. The car seat I wanted to get for DS came back in stock and was 50% off so I couldn’t pass it up. I also bought a stamp. 

Had my 1500ml water today and walked to/from post office - probably less than a mile round trip but it was good to get out of the house for some fresh air. 

Cleared an elderly neighbour’s doorstep and path of snow/ice as well as our own. And did a bit of decluttering our own unused stuff - some for charity shop, some for friends’ new baby (when we come out of near lockdown). Listed some leftover paint on 0lio - hopefully someone can use it up. I also don’t know how to responsibly dispose of the paint if no one takes it. Anyone got experience? 

Grateful today for OH making dinner, my mum taking care of DS to give me time to do jobs at home, and a beautiful clear blue sky during the day and the golden one happening right now. 

lcc86

Evening all,

I've been awol for a couple of days, not sure why as hardly been doing anything! But I've been enjoying my time off work, longest time I've had off for such a long time. 

Sorted out January's budget and it's looking healthy. Been thinking a lot about this year, I got myself completely unnecessarily back into debt to buy a car I didn't need, BUT I've paid almost half of it off and am confident about paying it off next year. 

Today I'm grateful for sunny, crisp walks, poached egg on toast, and news of the new vaccine, which gives a bit of hope in these dark times.

f0xh0les

      Teacher types  and other key workers with kids

We are back in tier 4 - I had to go out to post a letter this afternoon, and was pretty surprised to see the hairdressers busy, and the beautician shop with 3 customers in it.   Now we are in Tier 4 from midnight (it was obvious it was coming so no real surprise) and all the school start dates have changed,

DH just imploded with rage as they have messed with the Uni term dates without telling anyone as well.

Oh dear, I might have to retrieve the Amaretto from the  back of the cupboard and deploy the hot chocolate tonight.

apple_muncher

Today I am grateful for a great muddy walk, for free f+v, for dd's newly acquired lettering skills, for a beautiful pink yawning walrus on the telly, for having an abundance.

apple_muncher

And for WSM too!!!!!

f0xh0les

ldee2111 said:

Listed some leftover paint on 0lio - hopefully someone can use it up. I also don’t know how to responsibly dispose of the paint if no one takes it. Anyone got experience?

There should be a designated area at the local tip - sorry, recycling centre - they then donate it to local community groups that make things out of the woody they recycle / community allotment groups etc.   It is  classed as hazardous waste, so don't put it in the bin.

facethemusic

Wednesday- still NSD 17, had to buy food for animals and topped up on human food as well. Should mean tomorrow is spend free, and I should get a decent run at the start of January without having to buy very much. Cupboards are full! The only benefit of schools not going back, is that swimming  gymnastics etc also won't go back so a few pennies will be saved. I am scraping the barrel on positives there- have had confirmation that DD won't be able to go to school until the 18th at the earliest, I can't work from home, work is too busy for me to be furloughed again so my parents (one over 70 and one over 80) will be providing childcare and school will be told DD will not be completing any online learning. I suspect this will be accepted if schools go back on the 18th, but if they end up being off for months again I can see a few problems ahead! Sorry for the moan, but I can't be the only single parent who has to go to work to feed their child! 

f0xh0les

@facethemusic I have only had confirmation from primary school that DS4 is to be in his classroom on 5th.  Nothing from the secondary school for any of my 3 others.  How they can just spring this on us on a Wednesday night when schools were  supposed to be back next week, and expect working parents to just suck it up, is totally wrong.  Mine have not left the house since school broke up, so I know they are Covid secure.   I am going to have to schedule a daily 1 hour walk/bike ride or they are going to become agoraphobic.  DH is working from home, and I only work 2 days a week (unpaid) so while it is annoying for me having 1 kid in the car in week one, possibly 3 in week 2, and 4 in week 3 - I have trouble remembering to pick up the last one sometimes when I have 4 every day, so who knows how many times I will end up waiting outside a school for a kid who has been at home all day?  I am going to have to start writing numbers on my hand in the morning of how many I am going to have to pick up each day. 

greent

Also flippin' annoyed about schools and the late notice. So many schools around here have Y11 mock exams the first 2 weeks back (so the w/c 4th and 11th Jan) and now this seems to be messed around - such a palaver for the kids and the staff. Meh. My youngest 2 are gutted school is a- delayed and b - there will be online learning before 'real' school (they both want to go back 'properly')

Moving swiftly away from the Covid mess that exists..... today (once everyone is up) is a day of board games, an online escape room, Disney + movies and the like. Simple food for lunch (thinking fresh rolls with cheese/ pate/ bacon/ ham) and a simply cook chicken meal this evening. We still have plenty of chocolates, hot puddings with melting middles, tubs of local farm made gelato and hot chocolate with optional squirty cream and/ or Baileys. A day of hunkering down and chilled-ness, methinks. 

2020 has not been that unkind to the greent household and I am very thankful for this. We have suffered mere inconveniences more than any hardships and I am fully aware of the fact that there are many. many others far less fortunate. 2021 will see both myself and DS2 doing charity volunteering (when able) alongside our usual donations to causes etc. There are some positives from 2020 that I hope the world keeps going forward, even if to just some degree

Anyway, today is DH's payday - so before anything else I should get those Xmas CC bills paid!

Happy NY to one and all x