NST May MISCHIEF AND MAYHEM

mothernerd

Yesterday was fairly productive but I might have overdone things and turned an amber day into a RED one. In no particular order:
 I pulled out all the veg in the fridge and cleaned it (mostly drawer, shelf above it and the base of it) but my legs were aching a lot (stood by the sink cleaning the shelf).

Pulled 5 things out of the washing machine, hung them on the line (it's only short so that was maximum load) brought in later

Cleared the front room window sill, all the candles now on a bookshelf (2 largest on top of bookshelf). Wiped ledge.

One 10 l tin bucket filled with compost and one of the 2 remaining tomato plants rehomed (the 4 I did 2 weeks away are romping away on the kitchen windowsill but the two I didn't get done were half dead). Put on window ledge.

Remainder of that bag of compost used to fill mushroom boxes, took seed box out to the garden table and planted some - all transported 2 by 2 into the front room (DS3 moved the net curtain and suggested I push them to the end he was at, so it got easier as I got more tired).

Ate from the fridge and made more room
 
Took lots of rubbish and recycling to the bins and picked up a few bits in the backs.

Emptied the dishwasher (only onto the dish drainer which is on the floor next to the DW - it's Ds3's job to get them back in the cupboards). Put away cutlery.

Started to refill DW from bags I have brought down (mixture of green waste, recyclable boxes that needed rinsing and pots.

DW 'waiting' pile from worktop moved, odd items collected from around the kitchen, some DW, some rubbish

Put fridge drawer and shelf back, Unpacked salad and delicate items into drawer and fridge (+ chopped up veg from Friday)

Frequent rest breaks but still very tired and had a caffeine drink mid-afternoon because I was still waiting for the recipe box.

It came near the end of it's allotted one hour slot. I put it away then came upstairs and had a nap. Felt much better afterwards. Was hoping I might get back downstairs to start on cooking but stayed upstairs reading and relaxing.

Had a SCARY INCIDENT in the bathroom this morning. Stood up from the toilet (probably too fast, sorry if TMI), lurching dizziness, started to fall backwards (over the toilet and bath - no way), grabbed out to save myself. Left hand on back of a kitchen chair (shouldn't be in there but very glad it was), right hand wrapped around the solid metal cylindrical handle on the pull cord for the light. Beloved asked did I need help, said I was okay but could she come anyway. Sat on my stool which was in front of the sink. Asked Beloved for my toothbrush and toothpaste, brushed my teeth and sat for another five minutes before getting up slowly. Toothpaste and brush are still by the sink, didn't risk bending down to put them away.

Have written up the incident as part of my PIP prep (trying to write things down so I can give details on what a 'bad day' is like) - 7 pages (took nearly 2 hours). Damage assessment : initially left leg throbbing due to serious jolt, since separated out into top of hip (hip/ pelvis), side of hip (bone, muscle wrench), big toe and where it joins my foot scraped -probably from the underside of the stool, not bleeding but will check it later. Noticed later (took painkillers before starting on my other pills0 back pain (compensating), mid thigh muscle, outside of foot feels 'scraped' and inside of foot (did I twist my ankle when throwing myself forward) plus other generalised pain. I am not going to spend all day thinking about where I hurt (but I don't want to go anywhere near the top of the stairs for a few hours and it may be a day for going downstairs backwards using all four limbs). have a list of possible causes/ contributing factors and steps going forward.

I'm up here for now and will do what I can from here (been wondering where the big red accounts book was and saw it yesterday). DS3 brought me yoghurts, I have a carrot (one eaten), some apples and crackers or crispbread somewhere. May have to write  list (with map?) if I can't get downstairs for lunch.

Positive Head on - disaster averted, no serious injuries although it will be an interesting week. Start where I am, use what I have, do what I can. I need to sort my personal finances as well as the Estate (posh word for a bungalow and my grandma's house - where the tenant lives).

My energy provider got in touch with their 'suggested' adjustment. In January my DD (gas and electric combined) was £109 and I was @ £400+ in credit. I halved the DD to a straight £50pcm, knowing it would have to go up at some point but in the immediate aftermath of mum's death and not knowing what support I could claim, lowering my living costs was essential in the short term. The new DD is for £212.41.

Which means my finances (mine alone) INCOME UC £321.37 (per 4 weeks?)  OUTGOINGS Energy £212.41, Council Tax £116 (offset by £150 rebate - cost of living), Internet £60 and then food. I am dependent on DS3's financial contribution (+ extra towards the superfast broadband they need). I have been receiving rent from mum's lodger (my brother didn't want to take responsibility for him and now wants to 'share him'?) but I've been accounting for that separately to date (because it's still 'Estate money' not personal money).

To some extent I've been subsidised by mum whilst living with her (she paid for most of the food and I didn't pay her any 'rent') but in exchange she had a level of care that would have cost £3000 pcm if she had been paying for it (either in a home, perhaps slightly less for carers coming in to the bungalow). My inheritance gives me options but for many years the figures above were the way I lived, bills took most of the money, food spending very low (in June 2014 my food budget was £50pcm, reduced slowly from £100pcm, following Kat's rules). I only escaped by selling the 'big house' at a loss but had enough to pay off my debts and a bit left over for essential repairs and a new bathroom (the kitchen got a bit of a facelift/ finishing off touches that didn't get done in 2004). 

So if people on benefits seem ungrateful for the government's 'help' it's because they're the ones who've been paying for the Banks Bail Out, fat cats and friends of government minister's making a fortune for detective PPE and useless IT 'systems'.

I'll get down off the soapbox now. I'll do the accounts, decide what date I come off UC and let them sort out the rest. Then do the work on realising all those 'assets' for my brother and I.

ditty1234

Well I havent done much this month, but it seems I have actually stayed on budget which is a miracle. I am elated to be off work for the next week. Have been out for a walk, done some gardening and went into town and splurged on some plants yesterday!
Off to see ds2 tomorrow, ro fuelled car up a bit, and taking ds1 to see a friend later in the week, apart from that, it is me at home. I have such a list of stuff I want done, decorating, tidy garage, exercise, what not! But I will see how far I get. 
Mothernerd thanks for running us the week, and sorry my prescence is patchy. 
Happy almost June everybody.

greent

apple_muncher said:

And the winner of the most smilies in one post is.... (drumroll, please)... greent!!!!

🤣🤣🤣

Not so many in today's post.

Went to a1d1 and l1d1 this morning (some things oos in one so went ro the other after), baked rolls, did some weeding ready to plant all my sunflower 🌻  seedlings later this week, put an old rusting wheelbarrow out for the scrappy van (counts as decluttering), planted up a pot my mum gave me with my last begonias, 1 load of laundry done and now cooking a YS chicken for dinner 😋

Thankful for some sun (not too much today), a good night's sleep, some very pretty tulips 🌷 I bought myself in l1d1 🙂🙂

Thrifty_Taylor

Take care @mothernerd, sounds like quite a jolt you gave your body!
Happy holidays @ditty1234.

NSD#15
An overcast day today. Still very achy from all my activity yesterday, but managed a walk with DH. Some young cows ran up to the fence & followed us down the field, as we walked along the road. It made me smile.
Spent the afternoon sewing for folk & decluttering programmes off the box. Read about a couple of apps that track your steps each day & give you points which can be exchanged for vouchers/goods from different places. It'll only be vouchers for the big River shop that I'll likely be able to use, don't have many chain stores or eateries on the island! Stuffed a couple of smaller memory bears after tea, while I waited for my turn in the bath. Had a really long soak with some Epsom salts & read lots of my book ☺️

Grateful for inquisitive cattle, getting jobs done & good books

(Forgot to mention yesterday that I phoned my old bank & discovered that the txt & email I received were scams. Felt like a weight had been lifted, as worried they'd taken money from the account I have in trust for my son!)

Toni'sfriend

Yesterday should have been an NSD but I forgot a birthday. Don't know how I managed to do that but luckily I had a suitable card and put some money in it. That will teach me to check properly at the beginning of the month.

Made some sauce with tomatoes which were becoming rather squidgy. finished off the ironing and got out a new notebook planned next month budget, etc. Three birthdays. I've doublechecked and a gift for a new baby born yesterday.

Take care, Mothernerd.

mothernerd

Monday 30th May 2022

It's Your Life - YOU Write the Script
Mundane Monday X
Motivation Monday
Mindful Monday
Mindset Monday
Me-time Monday
(Our MindfulLife.com)

What area of your life needs a little love this week

Too many people spend their lives being dutiful descendants instead of good ancestors. The responsibility of each generation is not to please their predecessors. It's to improve things for their offspring. It's more important to make your children proud than your parents proud.
(Adam Grant)

What's something you've done lately that's made you SUPER Proud of yourself.

End of the Month Reset (Not more To Do, just some suggestions)
Reflection Reflect on what happened and what you've achieved. ANY Small Wins man it's a good month
Clear your emails and junk folder They can build up so quickly
Finances and Budgeting Look at your outgoings, put reminders on the calendar, set targets, identify unnecessary spends and try to improve next month.
Clear your Social Media DMs 
A Paper Clear Out You collect paper through the month - To Do lists, receipts, odd items of mail. Sort, file the important bits, recycle/ shred the no longer needed
Brain Dump Have a notebook or document where you declutter your brain. Good ideas to explore, flashes of inspiration, 
Clean and Organise Your Space A clean environment, a tidy workspace
Make a list of incomplete tasks Finish off any partly done ones next month for easy wins
Set new Goals and your Focus
(Bournemouth Girl)    Great ideas can I have an extra month between may and June to do it all (mothernerd)

May your clothes be comfy, your coffee be strong and your Monday be short (digitalmomblog.com)
 

wishus

Hello everyone, I started to post the other day before my holiday, but the page jumped and I lost it all...

I was thinking I was on NSD 12 and that would be my last, but I've managed to squeeze in another day. So that's 13! Not quite 16, but I was silly going in hard on a holiday month I think. Still, I think it helped.

I'm so tired today. Trying to recharge batteries ahead of another couple of busy days, including the funeral. I have a freelancing thing first on the coast tomorrow, then the funeral on Wednesday. So we are determined to do zilch today and just recharge batteries. My few days in Scarborough were ace! We saw dolphins!

I'm not going to be able to drink after the funeral which will be strange, but necessary. I don't really drink much but my liver is not great from the last blood test and I need a scan in a few weeks. Something else going wrong with me!? Hopefully not. But let's look on the bright side... no hangovers, glowing skin, potential weight loss, no late-night chicken shop temptations... oh, and no rounds!

Resetting for June. I have another camping trip planned as I have tickets for a gig at Eden in Cornwall! Bought the new car so need to be building the savings pot back up.

firsview

Afternoon Turtles. Spoke too soon about not catching OH’s cold, I feel decidedly ‘off’ today. Went to Mr T for emergency cold rations as DS2 also has it, but other than that it has been an NSD.
Tackled the frog that was my Self Assessment return this afternoon, so that is out of the way now. Just need to phone house insurance bods and point out I did not get a boiler service last year, so hopefully they will refund me as I pay extra on my policy for it.
Naughty kitten escaped the garden yesterday and again today (only went 2 gardens down) finally realised he was climbing an old fence panel propped up against the fence. Had to send DS2 into the undergrowth waving a piece of ham, the stinging nettles are huge so as he is so tall, less of him would get stung than if DD or me went in (that’s what we told him!) Offending ladder has now been removed.
Today I am grateful for naughty kitten not disappearing forever, a sunny if a bit cold day and losing another pound, yay!

Deni_debt-free_dreamer

Evening turtles

Spendy weekend, DD1 and I visited DD2, I paid for lunch out, plus a small shop for Saturday's tea and to stock DD2 up with a few essentials.  We had a lovely time.
Today has been a NSD.  I went into the office, took my lunch and have eaten tea from supplies.

Gratitudes - lovely weekend spending time with DDs and no work at all for 2 whole days , walk at lunch with my work friend, WfH the next 2 days

Love Deni x

mothernerd

Wrote a to do list and it was just completely overwhelming (and it had little boxes and bubbles and arrows everywhere. Worked through picking out things I could do to move things on. Spent the morning on accounts (will have to write a copy up for my brother anyway) and then submitted the result to UC and it wouldn't accept it, so I split it in 2 (half is my brother's) and put that in, so I think I'm still on UC (but the amount will go down) for now. Brought a roll of tape upstairs later as II want to get all the receipts tied down (gave up last time and just put them in a wallet envelope).

My link worker phoned to see if I wanted to cancel our appointment because of the weather. I have never thought of cancelling an appointment like that but my body has been thinking of increasingly inventive ways to say how much it hurts (and I would have got extremely wet) so I agreed, which made the day a lot simpler. 

Phoned PIP and have a further 2 week extension -hoping to get it done this week and ask DS1 and DS2 to check it over before I send it off. New arch supports have been delivered (can throw all the old ones out) and some sale price plants.

I found a paper version of the CBT exercise I should be doing this week so took it to the library and had it photocopied. Took a book back and renewed the 2 that are due back this week, ended up renewing them all. Picked 3 more books. Carried on to get more cash for my brother and then decided to go a little bit further (to the £ emporium) to buy antiseptic cream. I usually get it from HB but they are being refurbished and don't look ready to reopen yet. Thinking I might have enough spares/ ends of tubes to put together a toiletries bag for Sun- Tues and leave the ones I'm using in place. I also bought a baby gym from the cs for £4.

Very tired so came back home and had lunch. Have phoned the hotel and booked breakfast for both Monday and Tuesday, booked my free one hour spa session for Sunday and Monday and booked a back, neck and shoulder massage on the Sunday as well. Checked out the on site restaurant - the Asian street food one looks as though it has options I could eat.

Went online to check out train times (N-l-W must be closed on Sundays or the trains don't stop there - only the ones going to Mc). So will be going from Wigan. Have booked an open return, planning to get to Abergele by 2 pm Sunday and back to Wigan by 5pm on Tuesday - want to meander a bit but not too long a day (hoping N-l-W is open on Tuesday and I'll be home even sooner). Going to collect the ticket from the station on the day. My seat preferences were a forward facing aisle seat near the toilet in a quiet carriage.

Ordered the inks for the printer online and a pack of cardboard boxes, added a pack of sticky labels to take it over the free p&p threshold. Thinking we may not have a lot of notice to pack up the kitchen (certainly not enough time to shuffle what we have in order to free up enough boxes) to facilitate installing a new one. They can use them afterwards to pack for moving.

Toddled to little Arseda and have 55p grapes, 2 mushroom stir fry and 3 chopped onions for 10p each and late supper was a 20p pearl and black barley, chickpea and cranberry salad. Grateful for ys bargains, link worker rescheduling, getting the *!!grr accounts done, feeling satisfied that I've achieved something, not hurting as much. thanks to everyone who has taken part this month (I know we still have tomorrow).