NST May MISCHIEF AND MAYHEM

ditty1234

Mid day update - have signed up with a fitness app and am about to start calorie counting, it should be an easy time of the year to lose a couple of lb. I hid 3 lost potatoes in a felt growbag from last year that also have some ornamental strawberries in it - pretty pink flowers, but the birds tends to get the strawberries first!
Laundry is out drying and I finished chopping up the christmas tree for green recyceling and sawed the trunk for my insect pile, so you could say I am a bit behind with chores. To  my dread I found a lovely mossy tangle in the Christmas tree, but luckily no eggs - so I guess the little bird gave up. Never realised it was such an attractive piece of property. 
Happy sunny Saturday.

mothernerd

You're the inspiration Beanie. I'm still learning. Yes lots of things I didn't like about the bungalow but no stairs and a walk in sit down shower count for a lot - hopefully something even better is on the cards. 

f0xh0les

The cheese and potato pie is in the oven, so I have 20 minutes to catch up.

NSD 3 today I think. Thought about going to the big Orange Warehouse to look for orphan plants, but will go on Monday after dropping the kids at school as it is 5 minutes away, and I am rationing car journeys.   Told DH there would be a rolling 'shopping list', and no special journeys to the supermarket, things will be bought if it is on the list, and I am passing that way anyway.  He looked a bit scared, but seems to be onboard so far ......

2/3rds of the house was cleaned this morning and all the bathrooms scrubbed. 2/3rds hoovered too.

Really need to list some stuff on t'interweb.  Cant be faffed though.  I should just get on with it.  £1max fee on Fleabay this weekend. Somebody give me a push!!  Maybe later.

All washing is on the fast eco setting, and on the line. So far 4 loads in 24 hours.  How can they wear so many clothes???

Hugs to all struggling turtles...  more hugs to anyone who just fancies one.  

I'm off to abuse some broccoli.

firsview

Evening Turtles. Today I am celebrating having lost a pound, that’s a pound 3 weeks running. It has been hard won though as I am nearing the end of my weight loss journey and has required some serious changes to my normal diet to get there. Less than a stone to go though.
OH and I went to a local nature reserve and had a nice walk, a cup of tea and an ice cream (non diet!) so no NSD but had a lovely time. 

Today I am grateful for watching our little sparrow family going in and out of the hole in our wall (where the toilet overflow used to be - they have been coming to us for years now) feeling relieved when thinking naughty kitten had caught a rat but it was actually only one of his toys he had taken outside to play with and DD feeling better after having a bit of a MH wobble.

mothernerd

Today I ate all the calories - poor choices but not the worst. Another 3 sacks of leaves and twigs cut up and binned, books returned to the library and a bag of clothe and books dropped off at the cs.

Grateful for simple food, getting some things done, peace and quiet.

apple_muncher

Today I am grateful for finding a new passiflora in liddle after our one just fell apart recently, for chats with neighbours, for having a working washing machine, for our library, for Tom Baker as Dr Who.

Apologies to those who are awaiting the English results of the votes. Apparently my borough only counts them on the SATURDAY after the vote, as they use a school!?!?!?!

Thrifty_Taylor

Good luck with the job application @apple_muncher
Happy anniversary @wishus
Sending hugs to you & your DD @firsview

Thank you all for your congratulations, I'm still smiling about it 😃

What can I celebrate this week?  Being asked to do the smaller jobs for another busy seamstress. New customers recommending me to others. Having good sections of time at work. DS2 being happier.

What brought me joy? Time spent with mum last night, we shared fish & chips by the sea. Time this afternoon in the garden. Chats with friends.

How am I feeling? Tired, but have been busy in the garden this afternoon, after doing a big shop this morning

What did I learn? To sit quietly & pupil can calm down my himself & be in the mindset to learn new things. Not to dread time with another pupil, cos it can actually go ok & be fun. 

MazzieD

Had a lovely picnic yesterday, we just took our own food and drink but it was more about catching up with each other.  Just as well the paddling pool in the park was closed otherwise I would have waded in.  No sandpit either .  

Spoke to my Niece who is a real character, tact is not her strong point.  Very much like my late mother who was blunt to the point of being rude.  I don't have children so my niece and nephew are very special and think my love of sandpits and paddling are hilarious particularly as they are older now but it was a great excuse when they were young!.

The other relationship I need to work on is my Sister.  We aren't close (geographically or as people) but I don't have any other close family now.  Thankfully we get on reasonably well but room for improvement.

Yesterday was NSD6 as already had picnic food.

Grateful for my friends, for warm weather and the sun coming out when we met up.

mothernerd

Sunday 8th May 2022

Self Care Sunday
Self-care is different for everyone. You don't have to be a vegan eating, yoga doing, meditation practicing Buddhist.  Self-care is simply making time for yourself to do the things that make your soul shine. Whatever those things are. (Dominee)

Exercise
Don't have much to say on this (yesterday my knees were creaky and today my back's complaining too) but there's always something you can do - ankle circles, shoulder shrugs, pretending to be a cat and stretching when you wake in the morning (it's comforting to see all the different ways your body can still move). If you have a firm mattress, floor exercises can be done on the bed (getting down on the floor and up again can take longer than the exercise).

Maintenance (putting this here because the second part follows on from yesterday's entry).
Having a house maintenance notebook is useful and can save you money. It's 5 years since I had the last lot of house improvements/ fixed all the bits I couldn't do/ did some of the things I could do as I'd sent DS3 to his gf's. I wrote down the paint colours I'd used - at that time it went where the rest of my 'saved' information did, in the large address book. I picked a couple and used them for most places. Think they were on 3 for 2 so big bedroom needed more than 2 as did the front room. Stair wall, 'landing' and other bits were done in the leftovers, I actually finished the small stair wall using a test pot. I still have a half can of something which will be used to cover a couple of places which are covered in handprints, when I'm up to it. So find a notebook to use (or a file if you have one spare) and make a start. It doesn't have to be done all in one go but 'future you' will thank you when you need to remember something - how many rolls of wallpaper you used, if something is still under guarantee, the contact details for a workman you trusted.

The other sort of 'maintenance' is about not letting things slide into chaos when you're too busy or too ill to move things on. I've been watching U tube declutter videos, my favourite is 'Clutter Clarity' but I'll talk about her another day. This idea is from the 'Clutter Fairy' and it's about holding on to the spaces you've cleared. It's about 5 minute 'maintenance' tasks to keep things in order. 5 minutes to hang up the clothes you wore today (I tend to wear them 2-3 days and then add them to the wash pile, depending on how active I've been but if you change when you get in from work, this might help), 5 minutes to take things up or down stairs (to where they belong), 5 minutes to take out the trash, 

wishus

@mothernerd - great point about the clutter fairy. I spent most of yesterday clutter clearing. It felt great! There was a brisk walk to the shop, but my Fitbit has recorded lots of bits of "moderate activity" 101 minutes fat burning, 4 cardio. I've told OH, if he were a 90s indie rock band, his name would be "And You Shall Know Us by the Trail of Wrappers". Or receipts. Or nails from work. Or mugs...you get the picture. Oh crikey, sometimes banana skins!