NST JOYFUL JUNE

mothernerd

KxMx said:

@mothernerd So glad you had a successful trip, after the kerfuffle with the cancelled train.

I was a little concerned to see you are taking on furniture on behalf of DS2/ ex's family, even you admit you have no room for the pieces.
Why is DS2 not taking them straightaway or paying to store them elsewhere as he is the one that wants to keep them?

You've said before you are already living in difficult conditions and that it isn't safe for grandbaby-to-be, why add in more stuff which will cause even more stress for you later?

Please know I mean this kindly, with the best of intentions, I used to live in absolute chaos too so I understand well how stressful it is living like that. It sure doesn't go well with ill health either.

I have used this company to sell vintage items before, very easy process, and they take cameras: 
www.vintagecashcow.co.uk/items-we-buy/cameras

It probably was the pepper giving you orange fingers, I get those if mine get to a certain stage, and i've given up trying to clean it off, I just wait until it fades

Thanks for the camera info. It was DS2 talking about paying for storage hat made me offer. I do like the drawers and the bureau and they are plain and simple, very well made. I'm having a serious think. Sent DS2 some information about an auctioneer with a camera department who could do a probate valuation in a format the Inland Revenue like. DS2 just went on about documenting everything properly and I was thinking this specialist could look through it all in a couple of hours and point out which are valuable and which are camera club fiver apiece ones (I used to live with shelves full of those). 

Anyway he seems to have got a sense of urgency (but not over the boxes that will be stacked in their conservatory. the skip is booked for Friday and they seem to have a few friends who will help for a day or half a day so will be having a little convoy of 3 cars going back and forth over the weekend (which is when the records and furniture will arrive.

I've told DS3 and asked when his convention is (he will be having a stall). It's not until August but I suggested he could take the badges and other merchandise, drawing materials and the box he uses for his float off the downstairs cube shelves and have everything ready to go to convention. So he's taken my newly emptied suitcase and gone to do that. I've seen a couple of places I could move specific pieces of furniture to where they won't be in the way and if necessary I could chuck my oldest and least favourite set of drawers (the veneer is peeling off in places). I was going to do a round up books and other things to go to the cs and I can do a bag or two for the food bank.

 Other than that it's start by the kitchen door and the front door and work my way along binning stuff and wiping things down - i may need to put the kitchen on hold but the soil stack and back gate and fence can still be done. Have a list of paperwork to sort tomorrow and a phone call I should make..

Grateful for getting a fourth meal out of fridge bits, for DS3 doing as I asked and having some ideas for making progress for getting the laptop control pad working.

Toni'sfriend

NSD  No 4. It was too wet to go anywhere so I just pottered around the house. I really must try to find some motivation and give it a thorough clean.

Got some sad news yesterday that a close friend's mother had died. She was a a lovely lady. Aged 95 and as bright as a button. Unfortunately it's sent Himself on a bit of a downer as these things always do.

It's looking like rain again but I've promised to go see the Boy so I better get myself together.

Have a peaceful day.

ditty1234

Right sorry to repost hangups:

"Hangups:
book summer holidays
Complete some marking Done
Complete some feedback
Review of feedback - done
Complete another group of Marking - done
Translate a text back into English - done - well needs proof reading and posting. Done.

Write a creative project grant application. This really is a priority as only 3 weeks left to write. Finish writing feedback so I can finally do this!
 
All overdue since last week. Then elbow and general anxiety about deadlines - yes it is re-occuring. 
I will try to continue a couple and mainly wrap up a couple today."

There not giving up until all sorted. 
Grateful for sunshine, will go outside once I have completed one or two tasks. 

mothernerd

Ditty  anything that helps you keep track of where you are up to is fine. I am jotting down a list of stuff which will all basically end up as other lists. Things to do at mum's house (but will be outsourcing gardening and cleaning), need to go see brother - I have cash for him and want to repay his festive present money which I borrowed, check if my niece has asked him about  having mum's washing machine, write any letters that need both our signatures

mothernerd

Sorry the keypad is sticking again- anyway brother is one item on my list (the rest is all stuff I need to sort before I go to see him). He lives in the most inaccessible place. He's basically half way across the borough but you go to the top end of town (western end) then turn off away from the main road and swing bridge over the canal and along a ribbon road that runs parallel to the canal (but don't go thinking the canal is straight). When I was Branch Secretary for my local Labour Party I once tried to hand delivery notices to the two members who lived on that road (they must be fairly near my brother - 200 and somethings).

Well after an hour (mum and her partner were taking the boys somewhere and dropped me off at the start of the road) I gave up. I hadn't got past 24 (some of the properties are farms) and a huge dog was hurling itself repeatedly at the fence containing it, trying to get at me and shaking the very high fence. Can't remember what sort of dog it was, possibly a mastiff, it was brown and black and very solid - the size of a fully grown pig or possibly imagining a bull with very short legs gives more idea of the power and muscle bulk of the animal. I love dogs but don't think I could have tamed that one.

My veg box delivery is between 10.53 and 11.53 so that's the target for getting downstairs (although I'm okay as long as DS3 is down there) so will do as much as I can up here. I already had rubbish, recycling, paper and pots for washing bags set up. I'm working from the little bit between my room and the bathroom and so far (several short spells followed by resting when my legs hurt, I go dizzy from bending down or my breathing gets heavy) I've thrown down things for washing (yesterday's wash load needs to go out when I get down there) clean clothes are folded on a chair in the bathroom, sheets on the stool/ storage box in the bathroom, found a bag, labelled it food bank and started to add items.

In the bathroom I put drain sticks down the sink, started to pull hair from the bath plughole, went dizzy so asked if either of them were awake. DS3 came so I directed him to continue dragging hair out, put drain sticks down and repeated that they must always use the little strainer to stop hair going down there. Told him to put hair/soap clumps in the bin bag I brought him and told him to dump the bathroom bin in. he tried to empty the bin into the bag but when he found the ancient rubbish welded to the bottom third, he did as I'd said and put the whole thing in. I've been back to the bathroom, since and sat down to go through the bathroom cupboard (3 items binned, 2 part used put in a more prominent position in the hope that they will get used and new packet of wipes taken out. 2 boxes decanted into one and have made space for more items. Scooped stuff from the floor as I came back into my room and have separated it into rubbish and recycling. 

Thursday 9th June 2020
Yesterday was World Ocean Day (Turtle Day is this month as well - for us it's Turtle Day every day) and if you haven't read this week's e-mail, it's Open Farm Day this weekend - so if you have children of a certain age (or are married to one) check out what's happening near you - I saw a poster for Cheshire Steam Fair on the way home, we took the boys a couple of times when it was at Grappenhall but they hold it somewhere else now.

I may be spending some money but will try to make it a low spend. Reusing my old A4 files and the cs purchases and noticed the contents are escaping so the rings must be bent or broken. I have a little money (legitimate estate purchase too) and think a small spend on whichever items suit me best will help - I know it won't do the job for me but better than stuff I thought was safely corralled escaping and adding to the chaos. Might be worth buying some matching boxes and put the deeds, legal stuff and other paraphernalia for each house in it's own box (I have set aside any receipts for work/ improvements done on the bungalow to one side as they need to go with the house sale stuff and the new boiler receipt for grandma's house (the rented one) needs to go in mum's final tax return - that should be fairly simple, good to have something simple to do in between the difficult ones/ long and convoluted ones.

Okay time to do a bit more then back on the bed for application of medicinal creams - currently using antiseptic cream, bite cream, ibuprofen gel, hydrocortisone cream, eyedrops, eardrops, vick's and use up moisturising cream on various parts of my body (+ sun cream if I'm thinking of stepping outside). 

Hopeful signs. DS1 posted a picture of my grandpuppy sitting in DS1's suitcase, so I liked it. He had also posted a GNU for his dad so I did one in the Terry Pratchett group and then added that I had done so, onto his original post. DS3 had also commented - no replies but neutral is better than an angry retort. They go to Greece tomorrow for the first time in years - d-i-l's brother postponed his wedding for a year because they couldn't go because of the pandemic and they still couldn't go last year, so I will message them both separately wishing them a good holiday/ restful break. Keep in contact but keep it low key.

Thinking of burning or disposing of a (nearly finished) wedding sampler. It was originally intended for one of the boys' cousins -  I was verbally invited to their wedding when I attended their nanna's funeral. I had to find one with wording suitable for a same sex couple (the Irish ones were all 'your children and your children's children' and they were definitely fur babies only). I found a Native American one with lovely wording and made a start (using the pattern colours for once because I had no idea about their house decor. The wedding had to be downsized and I didn't make the final cut and my brother died at the same time (Nanna was buried on Halloween, my brother died near the end of March, 3 days after his 47th birthday) so it was put away in a drawer.

A few years later I recommenced it but they split up before it was completed - I only noticed because the partner disappeared from my friends list. I currently have my sons, their partners, ex-husband, darling d-i-l's mum, a niece on each side of the family, girl who was DS1's Best Man, Mrs Builder (very useful if I want to check out a particular tradesperson or advice in an emergency) and a woman from mum's street (part of the resident's group and very supportive, especially during the pandemic) and mostly don't need or want any more - occasionally see posts from people who are on the boys' friends list whom I know. Ex's baby bro had his take on the split at the wake but then he's a racist, sexist, (homophobic if you believe his daughter) pervy old man so his version is very subjective.

Fast forward to DS1 and his then gf (now darling d-i-l) getting engaged. Out came the sampler, work recommenced (but paused frequently when I had paid stuff to do). They married in 2018 and it's still not finished (very little to do but it needs good strong daylight and I'm struggling - hate having to follow the pattern all the time. Coincidently the  Best Man used the poem to conclude her speech. I'm not sure if I can or want to carry on with it and I'm wondering if a bit of sympathetic magic (in the form of destroying the cursed sampler) might help their marriage.

I know he's struggling financially - he finally got a permanent civil service post one week before the decision to randomly cut 1 in 5 of them. He's still trying to get back to the position he was in prior to his 2 previous redundancies (not sure how bad that is and how much his wife knows, I think they have joint and separate accounts so he may have been hiding how bad his  position is from her). He lives on 3-4  hours sleep a night and has serious back pain and other health issues. She wants a baby, he's never wanted children. Now both their brothers and their partners are having babies, darling d-i-l's baby wanting is in overdrive. I knew his wife was sad when we met for the meal but I didn't get a chance to speak to her on her own and I've always said decisions on having children or not were entirely up to them. I love them both. I'm worried that the break up of their marriage would be the end of him. Very glad he's handed over the estate stuff to DS2 and DS3.

Her brother's wife gave birth yesterday so this holiday will all be very baby centred. It seems to be a boy, I thought her mother said we were both having grand-daughters. The card on the cot/ incubator is pink but all the writing is Greek letters and I think me translating it word by word would be major procrastinating. Parcels have arrived. I had just asked if DS3 was still downstairs 
(he was in bed) but they knocked whilst I was in the bathroom and Beloved asked him to go to the door. Need to make progress here then go down to sort lunch, putting washing out to dry (very limited on clothes options atm) and make improvements.

Need to quit stalling and get things moving, starting with ME. Later Turtles.

mothernerd

Word of the Day
Spuddle : a useful word from the seventeenth century which means to work feebly or ineffectively, because your mind is elsewhere or you haven't quite woken up yet. To be extremely busy whilst achieving absolutely nothing.

ditty1234

mothernerd said:

Word of the Day
Spuddle : a useful word from the seventeenth century which means to work feebly or ineffectively, because your mind is elsewhere or you haven't quite woken up yet. To be extremely busy whilst achieving absolutely nothing.

I'm a bit of a spuddle at the mo!

beanielou

mothernerd said:

Word of the Day
Spuddle : a useful word from the seventeenth century which means to work feebly or ineffectively, because your mind is elsewhere or you haven't quite woken up yet. To be extremely busy whilst achieving absolutely nothing.

This is so me.

abundant1972

Good Evening 🌞

Well, after a day of changeable weather from downpours, to overcast... am now enjoying glorious sunshine through my window. It reflects pretty much how I have felt...

Being back at work was on one hand lovely to see colleagues - but along come all the old pressures and upsets associated with it. Am really trying to create some space and distance between those things that I cannot change - and be brutally honest about just how long tasks take. Several choice emails went off today already - in a constructive manner - and it's only day 2 back!

Today was a spend day and topped up on milk and a few other bits and pieces. Also grabbed a haircut 💇🏻‍♂️

Today I am grateful for:
1) Seeing colleagues I haven't seen in a while and for lots of laughs
2) My Oracle decks and Spiritual books (and for the people that made/wrote them)
3) A lovely walk out in nature and the evening sunshine

Enjoy the rest of today everyone x 

Deni_debt-free_dreamer

Evening turtles
Spendy today and yesterday - paid for exercise class last night, nearly didn't go as no parking in sight but found a spot and glad i went.  Been into work today as they were offering free health checks.  Popped out at lunch and bought a hot water bottle to replace a leaky one.  Also dropped off 2 bags at the CS.  Paid for tickets for DD1's birthday treat.  Been to pilates tonight so feel nicely stretched out.
love Deni