NST: February 2023 Freedom

ditty1234

Grateful for walking dog in golden sunshine after work. Do people realise you can hear everything when they are parked and on their phone? Very entertaining. I live on schools streets so lots of parked parents am and pm. I think I am on nsd 12. And I have exactly enough for last bill on bank account and under budget. Worried I have forgotten to list something. Happy hump day.

f0xh0les

ditty1234 said:

Do people realise you can hear everything when they are parked and on their phone? Very entertaining. I live on schools streets so lots of parked parents am and pm

Oooh yes! I remember sitting in my car near school listening to one of the mums talking on the hands free that sounded like it was routed through her car speakers - all about the man at work she was having an affair with!!!  Broadcast nice and loud to anyone within screaming distance.   Madness!

Really enjoyed being a single parent today, noodle soup for lunch (as requested), spot of light laundry drying on the line, chick*n burgers for tea (as requested), and drawing bad floor plans of the house to see what is possible (not sure any of my walls are not load bearing!!) and having a lovely relaxed lazy day.  Kids finally seem to be getting over their coughs and sore throats - the nondairy mini-milk ice creams were greeted with great delight, even by the 20 year old -  honestly, they don't grow up, they just get bigger.

lcc86

NSD 13 today. Put the slow cooker on before bed and woke up to a yummy chilli! Although woke up at about 4am and really struggled to get back to sleep

Went to spinning class at 7.15 that was a shock to the system but felt better for it! Still can't get booked onto pilates, the classes completely book up before 7am! May not join this gym at this rate as that was one of my main reasons for wanting to join.

Busy day at work but managed to get on top of things. Need to start putting my case together for ending my secondment early but will work on that tomorrow. 

grandmanerd

Went for my blood test first thing (appointment was 8.45 am but I took a taxi because I was afraid of eating something) and one of the volunteers said it was okay to go straight there. From phlebotomy I went straight to the little cafe and ate a bacon barm and two toasted tea cakes (it was 12 hours since I'd eaten, I intended eating some oat cakes just before midnight but fell asleep. Came home and have spent most of the day assisting DS3 whilst he put the records into a data base (nearly half way through the classical section). Best of all, I managed to get them all into the space I'd cleared under the stairs.

Still lots to do but I can see parts of my couch, parts of the floor I haven't seen in months and I have lines of sight across the front room (the stuff was piled higher than my head in places). I walked back and forth taking the records a few at a time and have also washed my quilt, brought the bin back, rounded up a few stray bottles, emptied the soil from 2 x 40 l tubs into the tree tubs (soil has compacted a bit since I did them and the soil level was lower than I wanted it to be. I also talked with DS3 about saving (he thought he couldn't have 2 savings accounts?)

 3 of the large boxes the records arrived in have been flattened. I can't chuck them out because they may be needed when the records eventually leave but I think they can go behind the kitchen table. Someone suggested using a storage facility but we don't have a car and I think the nearest storage units are about 10 miles away.  If I can get the house a bit clearer, I have a plan that will allow me to 'hide' the records in plain sight (tucked away in corners so they aren't  in my way).

Grateful for lovely nurses,  making space, moving things into place slowly.

BadBookkeeper

Evening turtles, here’s todays update

F - Freedom - nothing here today

E - Exercise - 5000 steps 150 skips

B - Budget - got caught up out here!  on 2 things!  1st is a 1st Match birthday that needs to come out of Febs budget not March as won’t have time. 2nd DH asked me to take DS to his sports thing as he had to work late.  He usually takes & pays for him but I had to this week!

R - Rules - Had 3 loads of washing today so instead of an hour wash each load, did them at 30 min quick wash instead. 

U - Unburden tat, using up things.

A - Advanced planning - nothing here today.

R - Refuel - Kept to my plan but shocked to realise how many calories are in sausages!! Drank water and no alcohol. 

Y - You - self care - nothing here yet but will chill out and watch tv tonight.

2 - 2 trips out - Looking forward to one of them tomorrow. 

0 - 100 days - on track  

2 - Read 2 books - nooooo

3 - Gratitudes x 3 - Finally getting ds haircut, easy tea, money in pots to cover unexpected spends.

Still 10/15 NSDs 

thriftylass

DH is away, heating is off (living room went to 14C in no time as we only had it one for an hour) and we're all tucked into bed. 

Grateful for cheap cozy new clothes, kids not even noticing the cold (it's DH that would've complained), lovely chat with mum (putting the world to rights and/or just us moaning about this country's state of affairs and the misery in the rest of the world and little bright moments like my auntie's 90th). 

Esmeralda2662

Shambles at work today with too many people off and another section taking 1 of our team as they were 2 people down. My boss is very good and used to organise holidays so that there was enough cover. Now someone higher  has taken over and it is chaos. I know my boss is under pressure/stressed to get components built by Friday so may go in tomorrow morning for 4 hours to help out.

Just put a frozen apple strudel in the oven but it won't be ready till 9pm. Not helping my diet!

Have booked a water colour painting day with my friend and my mum would like a trip to the theatre to see an Agatha Christie play if we can manage it.

Have managed to read 1 book in January and started 1 in Feb. Think 2 books this month might be asking a bit much the speed I read at!

Checked mum's car and topped up oil and windscreen wash for her. Just need to check tyre pressures for her.

Keep thinking about going to the seaside. Need to have a look at getting a few days booked and get some sea air. X

apple_muncher

Today I am grateful for getting some tadpoles sorted, for a reduced bunch of tulips and hyacinths from liddle, for time to breathe, for a quick check of the car before tomorrow's MOT not throwing anything up, for finishing an online book before it had to be returned, for fish for tea.

facethemusic

NSD 11. 
Had an NHS health related appointment, definitely progress with my damaged joint, a few new exercises to do- but I will need to buy a bit of equipment. I've had a look and it should cost less than £20 so will sort that at the weekend. 
Also got the fish tank sorted with a new filter that's been in the cupboard waiting for me to sort it out so that's a job ticked off I've been procrastinating about. Only took 10 minutes once I decided to get on with it. 
Have also managed to get DD to sort a pile of stuff- almost all recycled so that's a win. 
Grateful today for lots of laughs with DD, less painful joints, and making plans. 

pollyanna_26

GMN I haven't caught up on posts been phoning backwards and forwards between our local hospital and the Ormskirk  one in the trust

Both are totally overwhelmed. After a while the woman on the switchboard cut  in to say all lines were too busy. I remember  that happening with youngests appts at the start of the pandemic.

The pain from the rotator cuff tears is.keeping me sleepless and is the worst I recall since  the toxic ex caused it in 2012.

Still don't have any idea what damage I caused to my ribs moving the very heavy mattress destined for my bed . I'd ordered two a few years earlier mainly because they were No turn so that was a positive.

Youngests went straight on her bed thanks to the delivery men taking both upstairs no rules back then. Mine went in a  spare bedroom with a protective cover over it and stayed there until a while ago when my bed just wasn't comfortable and I was struggling to sleep at all.

One night I deciced I could move  it on my own forgetting how thick and  heavy it was.After negotiating a number of doorways and a small bookcase on the landing I was exhausted but needed to finish  the job so very unwisely gave one final heave to pretty well throw it at the bed and spent a sleepless night in pain with just a duvet I'd covered myself with and had to face making it up properly the following day;

I'm glad to read your blood tests went ok and read your post re my questions. I do recall you talking about why beloved left her home and came to your area. I remember thinking the mother seemed a bit of a money grabber and wondering why social services would leave a vulnerable little boy in her care. As you know dd2 is a senior child safeguarding officer and nothing like that would happen on her watch.

I think you spoke about that when you did the habitual smoker house thread wondering whether you could rent or perhaps buy the house next door. A number of replies had different views. It would be a bit of a money pit but with everything stripped out to get rid of the nicotine could mean you would be in your home and  they next door with the chinchillas and nocturnal lifestyle.

It doesn't sound as though beloved is getting the help she expects now back in her home area and living near or with her parents doesn't sound a  very good idea.

I couldn't find your thread about the habitual smokers house but if anyone still has ownership of the property and is prepared to sell or rent out it could be an idea. Lots of work and cash but now the vinyl is on a data base and neatly stored out of your way and ready to go it might work for all three of you and eradicate the weed trees once and for all.

Something I have been meaning to ask you lately is what Bolton Flat Cakes are like . From a picture they don't look very appetising. I don't recall ever seeing them in the market or shops when visiting my sister and her familt in Bromley Cross. I used to like the very buttery, flaky Eccles cakes available here not just Bolton but didn't like Chorley cakes at all.

At the start of the 80s Sainsbugs started to sell small as in narrow hardback cook books for 99p each and I used to buy one a month . Still have them. Lots of different subjects I've been rereading  Tea Time favourites by Brian  Binns and there are some really good recipies in there and in all the other books in the series .

It's a long time ago so no idea if any are still out there on the bay or similar but they were a good buy at the time with savoury sweet and many different types of recipies. I looked on them as my monthly treat and bought most of them on a one each month basis. I seem to recall  one on seafood which wasn't popular which I didn't buy living near the shrimpers and others working close by. None of us were keen on the famous shrimps or other offerings. 

Superdoc is supposed to phone me after morning surgery when he has tried to discover what has happened about my appt . I'm hoping he'l get some joy from our local hospital.as I don't fancy Ormskirk and Wigan Road . It's a long time since I was last there though youngest was there for tests a year or so ago though her boyfriend and her Discworld Emporium friend went with her.

The friend drove her to Bolton theatre pre pandemic to watch a performance of The Witches. She was very anxious but loved every minute. She would take herself to the loo whenever she felt panicky at the meal they had after  the play lots of people she knew from the Emporium online chat but not in real life.

She was emailing me fron the Ladies and I was sending her Winnie the Pooh quotes. Always remember and so on. She arrived home very happy to have faced the fear. It realy is so sad that so many have had plans disrupted by the virus and poor management of it .

All I recall from my childhood is a mass outbreak in the 50s of Polio that led to Mary Berry needing to stay in one of the hospitals where beds were pushed out of the wards into the air outside every day She and others were far from home and it must have bee pretty scary for a youngster.

There was a TB outbreak at the same time and a really nice boy I knew caught that . He survived but had to wear a very ugly built up boot on one foot which made him a target for bullies. That's when I discovered how cruel some children can be.

There was a mass vaccination and we all had to line up with our mums or suitable adult outside the school clinic.

The head school nurse always frightened us even when she'd arrive with her nit comb and pretty well yank our heads off our shoulders in her desperate search for vermin .

She was like MIss Trunchbull in Matilda. Even the teachers were wary of her. She came at me as she did with the others with  needle in each hand and realy jabbed hard leaving me with a needle phobia.No polio vaccine on a sugar lump as it was when I took my own children  to the surgery for their jabs over the years.

I felt panicky going to the vaccination hub at our centre of health and wellbeing for my 1st  jab against the virus but both helpers and NHS staff were so reassuring I walked out of there in to briliant sunshine headed to the shopping area to buy a cold drink and sat in the sunshine on a bench outside the pharmacy talking to youngest on my phone and feeling I'd climbed a mountain.

I'd always resisted flu and other jabs offered at the GPs  though youngest had always had them and didn't seem bothered.

I had all needed jabs including top ups and mentally waved goodbye to MissTrunchbull  and the 50s.

pollyx