NST September 2022 Picture yourself on a boat on a canal

grandmanerd

Hugs beanie. Thankfully not something I had to consider (no-one would have him - most of his 'relationships' were very one-sided, he declared the object of his attention to be his gf and continued to do so despite their denials/ protests/ objections). 

f0xh0les

Oh @grandmanerd how could I have doubted you?  Mea Culpa.  I actually saw the Happy Birthday Newton signs in Mr T's shopping emporium, I saw the selection boxes and chocolates, it made me really annoyed. Then, this morning, I saw a Newton Advert.   - Not acceptable until after Halloween!!

I went around the shops yesterday to kill time, got my steps up, but noticed quite how many items have risen in price, and shrunk in size.  Bought some sausages - got them out of the packet and  did the 'confused-dog-head-tilt', the box is the same size, the product has shrunk, same with the sausage rolls for the kids' lunchboxes, same size box, weight reduced, size of product reduced, price gone up.  Shrinkflation.  Scandalous. 

In retaliation I stocked up on red lentils and dried chickpeas,  at least they grow in size when you cook them  oh, and passata at  19p a carton in The Farm of Frozen F00ds.  I do not regularly look in there.  Maybe 4 times a year, but if you are passing on a canal boat, worth sticking your head in. I found it when I got Healthy start vouchers years ago, as the Big Supermarkets were dead sniffy about taking them - you got them for 6 months or something after having a baby to try and encourage people to buy F&V,  FFF were the only place that did not give you a filthy look on presentation, or call a manager.  They are very good for veggie oven-tray food sub £1. 

Today my plans are a spot of heavy furniture moving (all on ground floor, not doing stairs), making a fruit salad, prepping more apples for crumbles, trying to sell a bath seat lift online.

Laundry on, laundry out, laundry on, second laundry out.  Not quite the h0key c0key but feels like it.

Right, coffee drunk and time to get on with the day.

Thrifty_Taylor

Morning all, the sun is shining on our island today, so it'll be outside jobs on the go 

Yesterday was a good day at work, the sun shone for the first time this week, so I was outside most of the afternoon. Picked mum up after work & we went shopping. Had taken a tin of tuna with me, so we could have tuna, pasta & apple for tea. (can be eaten got or cold & the combination is surprisingly delicious!) Spoke about our upcoming trip, & my cousin being quite ill (was finally admitted into hospital Wed). Then headed to my friend's, we don't see each other as often as we used to, as we moved out to the countryside, & she has more work commitments now she's a head teacher. We went for a walk, then spent the evening crocheting & chatting & had a great time. A lovely full moon when I got home.

Grateful for special friends, Orkney skies, my cousin finally getting admitted into hospital after struggling for 5 months, hoping they can find what's wrong & help him get better

grandmanerd

Saturday 10th September 2022
"Before I was six years old, my grandparents and my mother had taught me that if all the green things that grow were taken from the earth, there could be no life. If all the four-legged creatures were taken from the earth, there could be no life. If all the winged creatures were taken from the earth, there could be no life. If all our relatives who crawl and swim and live within the earth were taken away, there could be no life. But if all the human beings were taken away, life on earth would flourish. That is how insignificant we are."
Russell Means, Oglala Lakota Nation

Today 
I've given you lots of options for activities, we'll take the barges gently down this stretch of the canal so people can get on and off to visit various places of interest. When we get to the second footbridge over the canal we will be next to the bypass - going right gets you to Morries, a pharmacy and the Sports village (gym, swimming baths, 2 stadium - tomorrow it's Leigh Centurions v Batley Bulldogs - good opportunity to see men dressed in hm cardboard skirts if that's your bag), going left electrical goods, Pounds t r e t c h e r, Halfords (for bikes), Pets at domicile, JD Sports (with private gym and swimming pool - basketball court within the store last time I was there), B n M, Al - di, Sainsbugs, M n S Food, and further up Arseda, b n q and the Icyland big packs shop, if anyone needs more supplies. Both sides have pubs with outdoor seating and a kids playspace, to the left there are a selection of fast food outlets.

The bypass runs along the old railway line, the retail park is named after the former pit it's built on top of, the roads around the sports village are named after venerable rugby league players and some of the town centre pubs have murals and printed photo displays of former players (and our Wembley victory). There are junior rugby (league) and football matches aplenty on either side of the canal and in posh Pennington there are rugby union matches and the cricket club. The land alongside the canal has a golf course next to the Country park.

Celebrations
Where do I begin. Cards, wrap and other coverings, decorations
*   Still lots of time for no card/ no present packs to be negotiated - under 18s only, token presents, experiences, hm gifts
*   Craft your own Halloween/ bonfire (lots of baking options)/ festive decorations - plan for half term and inset days
*   Only buy half the amount of festive specific gift wrap that you need - buy solid colour (craft paper comes in a range of colours) or simple pattern (spots, stripes, zigzags, maybe balloons or animals if your children are young) that 'goes' with your festive stuff but can be used up for birthdays and other occasions throughout the year.
*   Really organised or festive mad people (there are groups on here - lovely people but totally insane - they start planning next year before twelfth night) who buy cards, wrap, gift sets in the January sales (if you hold your nerve these now start in December). From experience, 10p rolls of gift wrap still get boring if you are still using them 5 years on. I never buy gift sets, I buy the specific items in the range which people want or need (I spent pandemic isolation using up all the odd bits from the gift sets mum had been bought). Often the lovely packaging forms a substantial part of the price and gets thrown away. I make an exception for pretty tins - I have been known to buy something specifically for the tin (it was gold and heart shaped) but then I've seen fairly ordinary empty tins with prices from £5 - astronomical.
*   Gift bags and longer lengths of wrap can be reused (scraps from really posh ones can be added to the craft box/ used as toppers)
*    Almost anything can be made into decorations. We had a card tree every year. I would be sent out to the canal bank to find a suitable branch which I then painted (white or leftover emulsion, gold or silver spray when there were funds - can also be used for table decorations or gifts). Spent an evening putting hanging loop on the corners of the cards. One year my brother kept buying mum a quarter pound of wrapped sweets which she would eat whilst ironing (from the age of about 7 she would give me the mixed sweets and the nuts for the holidays to hide in my room - if she kept them in the cupboard she would keep dipping into them). One day she handed me a pile of cellophane wrappings (some foil bits) and said what can you make with these. Well I cut each wrapper into 1/4 inch strips and made mini paper chains which were draped amongst the cards on the card tree.
Reminder
There are lots of willow and other trees alongside the canal bank and path. Lots of seed heads, nuts and fallen branches to add to your craft supplies. You won't harm the willow by taking branches - in fact in places the people who 'maintain' the area deliberately break a branch to encourage new growth. Leave some for the birds. If you are into steam punk you could even find a bicycle wheel (chandelier/ photo display?) or chain to incorporate into your designs. Include looking for pine cones/ driftwood etc as a side activity if you are taking an autumn break. If you are not going away you could try pressing flowers from your garden or collecting coloured leaves - you don't need special equipment to press or preserve them.

Self-care Saturday ideas
Make a list of things that make you happy
Watch a favourite movie
Sit outside
Do a small act of kindness for someone

Shrewbie

ldee, greent and grandmanerd you inspire me!!!

I have been so tired this week and I don’t know why, I have been trying to do everything right, eating well,  exercising and limiting booze etc.. and I started to feel better but this week has been a struggle.

I have come to the conclusion that I am probably overthinking as usual, and just need a decent night’s sleep and a lie in. So that’s what I will do tomorrow!

Still on NSD 4. Stuck to the plan yesterday, no booze, no gym as I had an exercise class this morning,  so no lie in.  Will make a meal plan today and do the things on Grandmanerd's list. Spoke to BF and he has agreed to come on board for aiming to make Mon-thurs next week NSDs.

Grateful for this thread, for sunshine, for a lazy Saturday. 

apple_muncher

Today I am grateful for getting my pin unblocked, for dc coming out with me, for finding a set of kettlebell DVDs for 10p (dh will rip them for me), for finding a free parking spot, for my book.

Thrifty_Taylor

NSD#6

A hot & sunny day, midge free until 11.30. Emptied one compost bin onto a raised bed, then moved the contents of the other 2 along to the left. Was moving these with trepidation, as we know they have become homes for large, scuttling creatures with long tails, which I absolutely hate. But I pulled up my big girl pants & got on with it. Did see a beady eye watching me at one point from under a dock leaf 😳
Planted lots of plants in pots into the ground, then cut branches into compost fodder/firewood, then the midges were too many, so came inside. Did the ironing, then the dishes after tea. Finished the hand stitching on a bear & did a row of crochet whilst watching a film with DH.

Grateful for my cousin finally having a diagnosis (the big C in his white blood cells), getting lots done outside, being brave

View from my back garden this morning

Esmeralda2662

Gave in and went to Sainsbugs to buy new microwave. Old one was rusty inside and not heating properly. Couldn't believe price increase since last one I bought! Probably at least 3x as dear! Anyway it's new, black and shiny and takes up less space so I'm very pleased.

Bought a new kettle last week after old one blew up about a month ago. Tried using a travel kettle but never enough water to fill 2 cups at a time so again had to give in and buy new one. So glad I did!

Surprise present of blue and white striped Cornish mug from son and girlfriend for cat sitting last weekend. Really thrilled and it's such a lovely shape!

In the process of emptying and cleaning bedroom before putting it back together. Everything everywhere including spread on landing. Only problem is I need to find clean bedclothes and make bed now!

Gratitudes: lovely new microwave, my Cornish mug present, half my bedroom being clean and clutter free, my mum, sister, niece and toddler having a lovely 1st day on holiday in Devon. X

hazeldreams

Morning,

Yesterday's update;

Gratitude - Getting lots of jobs ticked off my home to do list, visiting the in laws after their long holiday, both girls doing exceptionally well (one at part time job and the other at her 1st maths and science tutoring lesson). Big achievements for both girls. Oh and managing day 3 alcohol free!

NSDs/ Pausing before purchasing still on 4/10 NSDs as we had to buy a battery for the fire alarm which had stopped working.

Yoga/Meditation meditation . My neck is feeling slightly better. OH said last time he had a bad back the physio had told him to "lean into it" and not try to protect himself from feeling the pain. That made total sense for some reason, and so rather than holding myself stiff all day, I loosened up and just let the pain come and go. I guess that's why its feeling better! I did some very basic yoga this morning (gentle neck exercises) and my meditation.

Eating and drinking just focussing on drinking 2L of water a day - I managed just 1L yesterday. Going to make it my priority today. Have already guzzled 500ml!

Happy Sunday!

apple_muncher

Hazeldreams, you won't lose an NSD for buying that battery. It's a safety issue, so allowed! Good luck on guzzling the water today.