NST April 2022: April opportunities

DawnW

Busy at work this week, doing extra hours. Still, this has meant extra NSDs, and I am currently up to 5 / 16

Grateful for a busy morning at work (the time passes sooo much quicker when we have lots of customers in). Unfortunately it was dead (and boring) this afternoon.

Spring flowers - wish the weather would warm up though!

OH cooking tonight

ditty1234

Grateful for catching up w family, visiting my mum, travelling w ds1. As soon as we got off the plane, he started speaking 'other language'" and grateful for updates on nieces and nephews and  beyond.

beanielou

Out with my lovely friend.
I had a lovely chocolate crepe.
My lovely friend brought me lovely tulips.

firsview

Evening Turtles. Just a small spend today on a birthday card for mil. Made a couple of quiches for her party tomorrow and surprisingly they came out of the flan dish without sticking for a change!
Took naughty kitten out into the garden, turned my back for a few seconds and he had disappeared. Found him about 5 feet up in the hedge trying to get into next doors garden. Had to plunge my entire arm in and drag him out by the scruff of his neck, he was not impressed.
Today I am grateful for not being responsible for losing DD’s kitten, my quiches coming out really well and a message from DS1 sounding a little better.

apple_muncher

Today I am grateful for time with dc, for getting some school prep done, for dc loving bouldering, for a good book, for just 30 mins of weeding making the front look tons nicer, for Ponyo.

Thrifty_Taylor

So pleased you're all having a good day ☺️

Took the armchair to the dump, bought coal & plasterboard things for the new wall, then picked up mum & went shopping. She bought a new mattress (it was delivered within the hour & old one taken away), nipped in a couple of charity shops, found a dvd & cd that DH wanted & a few books for me. Then went to the supermarkets. Used my free bakery coupon in L1dl & got a Jaffa doughnut - delicious (we had half each), didn't spend as much as other weeks, there was a shortage of milk. On my way home I saw a toddler in wellies & a waterproof suit, jumping in the biggest puddle while dad stood & watched. It made me smile. Had an earlier tea, washed up, spoke to my boys, (they travel back to our island tomorrow night) & did some knitting & watched TV. Sleeve neatly finished now.

Grateful for toddlers puddle jumping, doughnuts, good time with mum

Esmeralda2662

Thanks Deni. It's so special when your children say they love you! 

Took OH to collect serviced motorbike. Luckily it was less cold/windy today. Persuaded him to go home on the motorway rather than town and city ring road so that I could follow him. No fried breakfast today, lol!

Went for a walk to see where new footbridge is being installed by the river. Talking to a nice chap who knows about it and I started having a wheezy coughing fit until my eyes streamed. I was mortified! Straight up to the chemists for what my mum calls 'horse wee' medicine - unless it tastes vile it won't work! Fingers crossed for a quick cure. Also got Vitamin C with Zinc tablets to help shift the cold.

Paid the balance on the holiday. Renewal letter came for car insurance. Must be the only bill that is less than last year!

Planted a small Mahonia plant that i bought off the charity stall last Sunday. Hope it survives as it already has a couple of new leaves and when it flowers it will smell lovely. Helped tidy the garden and put things away.

Gratitudes: A sunny day, getting the holiday paid for (and really looking forward to it), getting the Mahonia planted. X

weenancyinAmerica

DawnW - be careful what you wish for. Someone must have asked for it to get warmer here and it has - 38 degrees Celsius toay (101 degrees Fahrenheit). We have no air conditioning at home, in the car, or where we are working to set up for next week's book sale. Feel too hot to move now and cleaning bags of trash out of young roommate's room and sorting books for three hours at the library. Bring on the cooler weather.

mothernerd

I did my accounts - accessed my bank account, wrote down on the transactions for past month and a half and then entered anything for mum's estate in the big red ledger , with a bunch of receipts beside me, because the utilities bills and the pension money that had to be repaid were all done with cash. basically I have no money or it's probably wisest to act as though I don't. Should have separated out my spending for this month but was very tired and cross (it was nearly 10 pm when I finished) - may redo the accounts because I got them in the wrong order and it's not up to standard. 

Made a few quick decisions. Was thinking about booking a coach trip holiday - there's one, staying at a lovely hotel I'd like to revisit and one whole day is spent at RHS Harlow Carr. There are similar trips but this is the only one that includes Harlow Carr. I'd earmarked this trip and a Lake District one that includes a visit to an owl sanctuary when the catalogues first arrived. But maybe this year is the year of rebuilding and next year is the year for venturing afar. 

Done a rethink on the 'big' diy things for this month and have a partial solution to the back fence. I've been without a back gate for a few years but with the remains of the hm fence panel gone it feels so open - we're shielded from general view by the car park wall and our yards slant to the right and the car park to the left but it looks very bare without all the greenery. Not terribly worried about burglars and we don't seem to get people coming to do drugs in the corner (silted up with rubbish) but I'm not totally comfortable with it.

Yesterday I did the final cut on the pyracantha (did too much the day before, was awake for several hours in the middle of the night because of the pain in my shoulder) and chopped up another 3 buckets of side branches. Made many trips to the bins, did 3 bowlfuls of washing up. Started to 'make up' one of my kitchen trolleys - any of my clean dry plates are on the top layer with my new chopping board on top, cutlery and kitchen tools are in a 2 mugs and a glass and I've hidden my new manual 'soft grip' can opener under the chopping board too. Put a pan lid holder hanging from one narrow end. Working towards a mini work station with all my kitchen stuff, crockery and cutlery in one (very small) space. I'm not doing bowlfuls of washing up and having them take all my clean plates. It's on wheels too. That's another okay for now solution - was very tempted by a lot of kitchen drawers on the bay of E - had been used as art room storage so lots of life in them but no money hat firmly on now.

Cleared a small area of kitchen floor, packed all their remaining canned drinks onto shelves and took the cardboard tray and plastic packaging to the bin (I know it can be recycled now but getting as far as Tessimo's makes my heart quail) plus a carrier bag full of tins of water chestnuts. DS3 and Beloved do not unpack, other than freezer stuff and possibly fridge stuff. When they unpack they leave the bags on the floor and things that made it into the kitchen are still being left on the floor in carrier bags. Self-preservation made me put them away, sick of stubbing my toe on bags with tins in them. 

Made food for the day, using up leftovers and made up most of a loaf into tuna butties, ate 2 and 4/5 are frozen for later use. Brought a drained tin of peaches upstairs and my boxes of celery and carrots sticks. Just eaten most of those for breakfast (about 4 carrots worth and half a head of celery). Need something more but can do a bit more up here before I go downstairs. Need to think what other standby's I can bring upstairs - hard boiled eggs, crispbread or crackers (not very diety but need using up).

Took some books back to the library and got more. Had got as far as the back 'gate' (space where normal people would have a back gate) when I felt the need for the walker but was too stubborn to go back - I'm so used to just 'nipping out' across to the library (my nipping days seem to be over for now). Three non-fiction - a cross-stitch one I saw last time which includes Babar and Celestine (easy make because Babar always wears that emerald green suit, no shading), a vegan cookbook (if I'm going to the trouble of learning new recipes I might as well head in the beans and veg direction) and one telling me how it's not my fault I'm fat, it's malfunctioning hormones.

I hadn't realised how central food is to my life - I'm obviously using it as a substitute for all the things I don't have. I've been through umpteen schemes and I know most of the nutrition and I have tried but not been able to carry it through the way I did after my initial diabetes diagnosis. Need to work on all the things that are blocking me.

Did well on fiction as well (3 more recent books in a series I loved but had read the ones the library already had so many times). Think they are very limited on space with the new safe layout - may have sold a lump of older stock and replaced with new. Anyway can hold off on rebuying my old Rose Elliot and a few newer ones (must have a list of things I will buy when I have some money). Want more S-hooks but know I have a pack with a few new ones in and there may be some which are salvageable.

I woke up happy.  Amazing, feel so light, so hopeful, serene and invincible, full of joy. Maybe I'm not meant to have money, not having any gets my creative juices flowing. I will get on to the UC people - entry in my diary. They still haven't replaced the money they were deducting because I was in receipt of Carer's Allowance (bereavement) even though it ended on 3rd March. was a bit shocked by how little has gone into my account. Armed with my borrowed cook book I will attack my stock of tins and frozen veg with gusto. Well I'll commit to doing something - there are 3 large bags of potatoes in the kitchen. Beloved obviously couldn't find the ones she'd already bought (on the floor, covered by carrier bags - I kondo folded 17 yesterday). Will bake any that are large enough (middling size), boil my tiny ones (stew and salad with yoghurt and mint) and probably do a large pan of mash (skins included). Not really supposed to have mash but if I portion and freeze it, it can be an occasional thing. May do corned beef hash - again not super diety but won't use oil and it can mainly look after itself with a stir now and then, just have to have more red cabbage than hash.

So will find some clothes (put washing on line as well yesterday, still 2 loads to do) as my medicinal creams should have sunk in by now and go and do some food  - some to eat, some to freeze (found three SW ready meals when I was putting things away. May count my penny jar and start haunting the ys shelves for a bit of variety. Any ideas for things that go with mushy peas as I'm not going to be buying fish (planned shop)?

Suggestions for rainy day activities for children. Indoor picnic - eat sitting on the floor, picnic food or just use up any bits (my friend's son loved pickled cucumber when I substituted it for the onions I hadn't been able to go to the SM for.
Sharks - the floor is the sea, shark lies on it's belly. Furniture is safe (boats/ land/ jetty) but dangling legs or moving from one safe location to another means the shark might pull you in and turn you into a shark too (vampire sharks).
Make a tent - if you have a gazebo type thing to put up in the yard to keep some ground relatively dry or hang a sheet over a washing line or lines or just put a sheet over a table (gatelegs are the best). 
Pretend you're stuck on a train (read this as a plot line in a child's book). Organise dining chairs into seating, train has broken down in the middle of nowhere, there will be no heating, is there a buffet car, is there anything left - how will you keep warm and entertained (watching the men repair the train has limited possibilities if you're stuck for 3 hours - the brakes were faulty or the train behind could have pushed us).
Copy the toddler, dress for the weather and go and splash in the puddles - plan for hot baths and hot food when you get back in case people get muddy.
Craft session - Easter themes (I made different coloured bunny cards to play snap and pairs with children who couldn't all read). Treasure hunt (for the boys birthdays I used our Spot the dog cards and made easier hiding places for smaller children and fiendishly difficult ones for the older ones - they had to find the 'treasure' that matched their card).
Cardboard boxes (we nearly all have them hanging about) can be made into loads of things. My youngest used to make cat adventure playgrounds.

Grateful for being alive, feeling good, the flab getting looser (pat it, thank it and say goodbye), good books, sunshine but not too hot. 

ldee2111

Enjoyed our cinema trip last night. Film was really good, we took our own drinks and snacks, and OH’s choice for dinner was a pizza restaurant so that expense was far lower than I had anticipated and budgeted for. 

Today was grocery delivery day and I also put fuel in the car - staying on 3 NSDs. 

Saved a few pounds on this week’s Saneberries grocery bill using nectar points. Despite increasing our weekly food budget, I’m still trying to keep to my self-imposed challenge of £50. If I didn’t live with two fussy eaters, I’d smash that. 

Grateful for a lie-in this morning, for DS being home, and for car passenger snoozes.