Simple living in the country - back to basics

badmemory

It is nice to see a clear blue sky isn't it?  But a tad cold out there it think!

Cheery_Daff

Yes, it's definitely chilly out here, I've been proper togged up with gloves on (although I did work up a bit of a sweat with scything!)

Washing is on the line, and a big gang of walkers went past when I was enjoying a nice cup of tea on the swing seat 😊

I've moved a couple of little metal chairs to the space I'm considering setting up a new seating area. It needs a bit of work to shift the old tiles and stones, and some sorting out of pots, but it's definitely more sheltered here. 

Also did a YLive survey - I'd forgotten about them! It took a while, but they gave me £5 - which means I'm up to £26 now - payout is £50. Been going since Feb 2022, so maybe I can get to payout before Feb 2026?! 😂 Will it beat YouGov?? Watch this space! 😂

Mr Cheery wants some kind of social activity, but whether he'll be able to conjure one, I don't know. I'm going to keep pottering in the garden until I hear otherwise.

KajiKita

Ooh, another survey option … <wanders off to goggle> 

I have been enjoying the sunshine here too. Chilly in the shade but warm to work in the sunshine. 😊

KK

Cheery_Daff

I think I'd been confusing YLive and YouGov, partly because they both send me emails 🙄😂 But they are apparently two different things. Similar in that you don't get surveys that often, but they pay you a few quid at a time.

themadvix

YLive used to be Populous. They are quite good, but it takes a while.

 Sounds like you’ve had an enjoyably productive day Cheery! Did Mr C manage to conjure any socialising? We finished our patio and tried to invite BIL and SIL for a drink but they are out. We enjoyed a drink anyway, but have come inside now as it’s rather chilly.

Cheery_Daff

Well I got quite grumpy in the middle of it 🙄 but we did get a few more things done! 

P*seed about with Mr Cheery's photos, and ended up going into town to a photo booth 🙄 They'd best accept them after all this messing around 🙄

Also picked up rawl plugs, and then had a cuppa in the cafe while I got my head back into cheerful mode 🙄

Home now, and I've tried the new stone cleaner on one stone - predictably crap results, same as all the others 🙄 Going to leave it to dry, then they have an alternative method where you just spray and leave it to the elements for 'a week to a few months'  - I was hoping it would be done sooner than that but quite frankly DIY moves at such a glacial pace round here that it'll probably be another 4 years before it gets done anyway 🙄

And anything that involves me on my hands and knees scrubbing LESS is good by me 

Off back out to do some more scything in the last of the sunshine with a new audio book 😊

themadvix

Less effort is definitely a good thing. And we have glacial diy here too - it’s the way it is when you do nearly everything yourself and life gets in the way! But it’s more satisfying, gives you skills and improves resilience 😊

Cheery_Daff

Ha, yes, that's definitely the way I should look at it! 😂

More scything done 😊 Row 14 started and, barring illness and injury, I reckon I'll get it all done this year, for the first time 😊😊 Not holding my breath, but I'm definitely much further than I've ever got (I've started in different places each year so it's hard to tell exactly 😂) We'll see.

Tea made and scoffed, and an extra portion for lunch tomorrow.

Did a bit of decluttering of a shelf in the study, and found the bag of seed packets I was going to take to the communal seed bank in town. No idea if it's even there over the winter, will try to remember if we pop into town next weekend. 

We applied for Mr Cheery's passport online, and put the old one in an envelope ready for him to post tomorrow. Nice to tick something off! 

Busy week for me. Working at home Monday, with LOTS to finish. Office Tuesday, and there's only 2 hours, not consecutive, when I'm not in meetings 🙄 Office again on Wednesday, and the other car is at the garage 🙄 Thursday I'm on a train down south. No plans Friday day, but we're at a gig in the evening (an hour away). Friends coming on Saturday, and a party Sunday afternoon/evening, again an hour away.

Tomorrow evening is my evening home alone, and after I've done some scything in the last of the daylight, I'll be meal planning, batch cooking, and flute playing, as I'm clearly not going to get round to any of that tonight 😂

thara1996

The thrills of country living. I live in a flat in a town park. I love being able to have free picnics and walks with my dog Milo. We do a walk five times a week. I meet friends too sometimes. 

Cheery_Daff

Evening MSE chums 😊

Gosh I feel like I'm wading through treacle at the minute 🙄 No signs of any illness or actual incapacity though, so I shall soldier on and just embrace laziness a bit more 😂

Old passport has been sent to the post office. Provisional date to visit our friends in Germany is just under 6 weeks away 😂 It'll be a small miracle if we get the new one back in time to book that, but it adds an element of mystery and excitement to liven things up 😂 We decided not to pay for the express service - if it's not back in time we'll go after Christmas. It'll only be a weekend trip, and our friends are going away for a month over Christmas.

Bit of scything tonight, got a bit further down row 14. I'll be home after dark tomorrow, and then we're due a storm so I might not get any more done til the weekend. 

Made dinner and tea for tomorrow, and dinner for Wednesday too. Just realised I didn't make breakfast though - I'll do a smoothie i can grab on the way out. 

Finances:

Prolific - didn't check til this evening, £10.26 cleared, £2.97 pending
1P at £23.50, so close! 😂
HW £26.80 today, so back up to £74 for October.

Nothing else to report i don't think. Not left the homestead, so I've not spent anything. 

Office tomorrow, and a ridiculous day of meetings. I think Mr Cheery is coming with me and then heading onwards to visit his dad, but we'll see. 

Had a chat with my boss today about potential new job. Bless him, he's very supportive, despite wanting me to stay (well, that's what he said anyway 😂). Got a couple of useful insights from him too. Also emailed mentor at work to ask for a chat. Just need to get on with filling the form in now - I've put my name and address in, and copied the online form questions into a word doc, but I'll need to do more than that 😂 That'll be a job for the weekend, I think, or maybe some of Thursday's train journey. 

Right, best go to sleep i suppose.