MeandO's money-shuffling

MeandO

Morning all,

I hope your weekends were lovely and Monday is kind to you.
I had a really nice weekend of time to myself and time spent with others, it was such a welcome balance and despite the tiredness of not sleeping well, I feel grateful for the past few days.

DS isn't normally with me Fridays but was this past week which was a nice change. He had a training session which I took him to and picked him up from, then cooked some of his favourite food. He chilled out in his room, did some homework and came down occasionally to say hello/get more snacks. 😁 I relaxed downstairs, weeded the front garden and pots (finally), did some reading and then went to bed reasonably early.

I cooked DS some breakfast on Saturday morning before his dad picked him up, dropped OH at the train station as he was going to an event (which I wasn't interested in) with friends, then had a hair appointment for 'de-greying' and a trim which was paid for from the 'hair' savings pot. THEN, I had the whole afternoon to myself, which is unheard of if I'm not working! I took myself off to my favourite shop (Danish shop, translates as the Green Sisters😉) which I have never actually had the chance to have a good, unhurried browse around on my own before, and I spent ages looking at EVERYTHING in there. My lovely Sister knew of my plans that afternoon and so kindly put £25 in my bank account and insisted I spent it on myself. I felt guilty, but she insisted. 💕 I bought myself some completely fingerless gloves (basically, sleeves with a thumb) to wear whilst working in the Winter as my hands get freezing being at the keyboard/mouse all the time and I can't get on with fingertip-less gloves. I have started to suffer from Reynaud's now too so I'm hoping these will help as they are 100% wool which should keep me nice and toasty. I also bought a few things for the house and some gifts to put away for people for Christmas.

I parked in a free car park a little way out of the town to save on paying for parking but regretted it slightly on the walk back as I was really hurting and aching. I was so glad to see the car! I had some leftovers for a late lunch when I got home, had a lovely long phone chat with my Mum and Dad, then did a few little jobs around the house.
I put a pretty new decorative seashell hook up in the downstairs loo that I bought in the shop for a couple of pounds, replacing an ugly paint-covered one that had been there since we moved in. I also washed down the front door and downstairs windows with a bucket of water and long brush, removing all the spiders hiding under the window frames, waiting for their chance to sneak in! The front of the house looks so much tidier now, it feels like a job well done. On Saturday evening, OH returned and we were invited over to dear friends' for beef stew and a TV night in front of the fire which was just lovely.

I was hoping to lie in on Sunday but didn't sleep well, so was up early. We went to 'Tosco's' to buy something DS likes that I can only get from there. I had a £5 voucher which covered the cost of that and bought some blueberries there as they looked fresh and were reasonable.
Then off to &sda for the bulk of what was needed to take advantage of their 'app' mission and earn £'s for planned spending to go towards Christmas groceries. OH also used my app so I reached the threshold for another £1 back. :)
Two loads of washing, one load in the TD, a dishwasher cycle and cooking of a pear and almond cake was all completed whilst the electricity was half price.
I set to and continued tidying the utility room, moving a summer jacket to my wardrobe and utilising an empty storage box and space on a high shelf for hats, scarves and gloves. I re-purposed the 'ugly hook' and put it up inside the boiler cupboard door to hang backpacks (of which DS seems to have loads) and threw out one which was worn out. I also found a few more bits to donate to charity so have started another bag which I will donate when filled.
DS came home for an hour, I got hugs from him 💙, then OH cooked us something small for tea and we met friends for an hour and distributed cake.

Three bundles of DS's clothing also finally sold (and was quickly collected) via FB over the weekend, so DS has £85 in his bank he didn't have before and I have a huge space in the cupboard in my box room. I don't know which of use was more pleased! I was just glad to finally sell it without having to resort to using OH's 'minted' account as there was no interest on fleabay and I'm loathed to use 'minted' after their recent behaviour.

I bought DS a new rug in HB for his bedroom at the weekend too, replacing a more 'tweenish' one. He hasn't seen it yet but I hope he likes it, it looks really nice and more grown up. Money has been taken from the relevant savings pot for that. I also bought loo rolls, kitchen spray and some replacement loo brushes whilst there as much cheaper than the supermarkets for those items.

My Mum is having her surgery today, so I am really worried but trying to keep busy as a distraction. I'm concerned for my Dad and Sister too who are both not in good health but have travelled an hour away to the hospital with Mum and will be there until this evening, longer if needed. I know they will be exhausted and my Dad will be in pain. It's just such a worry.

Not much else to report for now. Hopefully I can find some ways to pay a few more £'s off the 'debt' this week, I shall report back.

Much love to you all x

debtfreewannabe321

Positive vibes for your mum's surgery and recovery 💓💓💓 I hope your dad is okay too waiting around that long.

DancingInTheRain

Wow what a busy weekend! How kind of your sister to treat you, the gloves sound ideal.

Hope all goes well with you Mums op x

Mrs_Money_Penny

Sounds like a lovely weekend. Hoping all goes well with your Mum.x

Newstartforme

Try not to worry too much Meando , hopefully you get positive news regarding Mum soon xx

Skint_yet_Again

I’m glad you treated yourself & hope the gloves help. When I was working from home I chopped the fingers off an old pair of gloves to try and keep my hands warmer but still be able to use the keyboard and mouse. They did look a bit tatty but really helped.

Hope your DS likes his rug. Best wishes to your mum for a speedy recovery