NST July 2023: Jurassic July

Thrifty_Taylor

Thanks for all your hugs & good wishes. It must've helped cos I had some great news, will come to that on a minute 😃

NSD3
Walked to the village in the morning to get supplies for DS2. Helped DS3 weed the raspberry bed, then I did around the asparagus & some more of a border. Made an early tea before DS1 started his evening shift. Phoned DH & my brother. Did the dishes, then had a relaxing bath & started a new book - 2 chapters in & I'm loving it already.

Wednesday
DS2&3 were up til stupid o'clock, so kept waking me up. Woke DS1 at 7, ready for his breakfast shift, then thought 'stuff it' & went back to bed for an hour. Just about to get up when there was a knock at the front door, it was a customer dropping off some sewing. Think it got a shock at my dressing gown & bed head 🤣 Once I was dressed, I went out to get the washing in, that I'd pegged out late yesterday. The poppy in the raspberry bed has opened 



My fantastic news is that DH is flying home this afternoon!! It'll be so good to have him home again 😍

Thank you all for your support, especially over this last month when DH was in hospital x

Grateful for nature, saving a bee on Tues, you lot & DH coming home 🎉🎉🎉

f0xh0les

Fantastic news!! Congratulations!  

Toni'sfriend

Terrific news, Thrifty Taylor xxx

grandmanerd

I think on the whole yesterday was a very good day.. In the morning I was filing away all my 'categories' (starting with putting them in order so I could later slide them all into the lever arch file in one go. I was sorting 'death stuff' (certificates, probate, house sales, deeds of variation and accounts -for my father, brother and mother) and scrabbling around taking plastic pockets off other things to keep multiple copies of the same document together and then decided it was ridiculous. So I got myself ready and went off to the stationer's armed with a list (plastic pockets, analysis accounting paper and screen wipes - I found mine when tidying but the last few were all dried out, I think they're about 2 years old).

I hunted among the 'specialist' papers for the analysis paper (I have been using the last few blank pages in my old cathedral book but they get very tatty if I need to take them out - to pass on copies to my brother). I was only going to buy A4 cash paper but there were only 2 columns. Then on a higher shelf I saw analysis pads - A4 multi columned, I had a similar one which I used for my household accounts when I first moved into this house and A3 (so beautiful, so many columns). I put one of each in my basket). Bought 50 plastic pockets. I want enough (hunting down strays from the thousands of pre-used ones I once had gets very tedious) but no so many they spill out and hide in odd places. Found the screen wipes/ spray bottles/ cloths etc. Was looking at some expensive kit but then saw packs of 10 individually wrapped for 50p, so settled for 2 of those.

Paid for those (an assistant took me out of the general queue as I didn't need the PO bit and she opened a till for me and a woman in a wheelchair) then walked 2 shops further up, to get the baby's birthday card. Found one in the special age section which had a set of stickers inside (grand-daughter, great grand-daughter, special girl etc), more than I'd normally pay but now I  buy so few cards it's only a minor expense. It had been worrying me, how I was going to walk to a shop that had more than a few generic birthday cards. I'll try to post it today, the presents can wait until we meet up.

I went in a couple of my favourite clothes shops - one had lots of pretty things, some more practical than others but they had some of my favourite sundress (bought last year but it's a lovely soft cotton and it has a thumb hole on either side - I must get hold in the same place every time I take it off or lift it away from my knees to kneel) and copies of the one I was wearing in multiple fabrics. Nothing bought but filed away in the back of my mind in case I need something.

The second shop lent heavily on a violent pink (it was beyond shocking, it was radioactive) and a similar orange hue (in places they combined and the border between the shades was blurred). Of course the 'green' stuff was on the back wall - I nearly gave up. Not very impressive - a couple of linen pieces but not sure I can cope with linen any more and a beautiful top I remember seeing earlier in the year, a crocheted one that would really dress up my plain blue/ green/ turquoise t-shirts. However they no longer had my size in stock and I'd forgotten all about it until I saw it again so it obviously wasn't meant to be. Glad I went in those shops but know I'll pay for the extra walking later in the week.

Walked further up the mall as I intended to walk through the market and emerge facing B00ts (I had enough points for meal deals and they have caffeine free coke so I had little bottles to take to my brother's rather than lugging a 2 l bottle around). Stopped for a sit down for the umpteenth time. The nearest bench was occupied so I sat on my chair looking in the Werks window. Then I ventured in and that was my downfall. I saw some paper pads I'd seen online - they sell 12" square pads for £4 (other places they're much dearer). I picked one in light blues and beige/ coffee browns - all tiny patterns ideal for dolls house and the other is rich exotic deep greens (vaguely tropical but no yellow and orange flowers). Not a 'need' certainly not right now, but I had a hard time limiting myself to 2.

Carried on to books (with a brief look at jigsaws), gave in to buying 2 sets of wooden 'cut up' veg and fruit (told myself I wouldn't buy any more toys but these are something I'd earmarked on lots of sites online, these were cheaper and the veg was the only one on the shelf). I bought a small hard back (board book) of the Gruffalo (I have a cardboard playset for when baby's  older) and Room on the broom for £4 each (I'm trying to give the baby one book each month but prefer to buy bargains when I can). 

Went through the market and picked up food from points (added 2 x 30p items from the reduced bargains). I was getting worried about how long I'd been out but it was only 1 pm when I got back to the house. Next door are having a stair lift fitted and their workman offered to help me get inside but I said I just sit (on my by the bins garden chair) for 5 minutes, made sure to thank him for offering.

Back in my room, ate a sandwich, had a drink, over the course of the Afternoon I decanted most of the little piles on the bed into the lever arch file (and checked one of my lists to see which box file I needed from the bureau downstairs). I was worried that I didn't have 2 full versions of the accounts (wrote them out in Dec/Jan when we were originally supposed to meet (no meeting when any of us has a cough or cold as it could kill my brother - niece's bf had covid at one point so big exclusion zone, then various other things happened). I finally worked out that there was a different set of information on the back of one page and in the end I gave in and went to the library to get a copy (explaining things to my brother would be enough of an effort without having to share pages and keep saying 'now turn over'). 

That meant I used up more time (I sat on the walker and scooted backwards down the length of the library and did the same coming back across the car park) so in the end I scooped up handfuls of random bits of paper that had information on them.
Packed everything into a large bag for life and a small one. Sat by the door with both bags and my walking stick waiting for my brother. He'd asked on the phone if I could step up into his van (I thought it was a little one but it's a posher version of his old camper van with a sink, cooker, fridge and tv). 

The meeting was amicable. I think my niece understands how exhausted and overwhelmed I am and has offered to help (I have to wait until she sees if she's remembered how to use her scan facility on the laptop and then we'll try and sort out the life insurances). I've handed the box with the deeds to grandma's house to my brother (so he can't complain about having nothing to say it's half his). I took out all the bits about the family graves and a few family history bits - the newspaper advertisement with the auction details when they bought the house from the landlady's estate. This led to a discussion about house prices (niece's grandparents' first houses). 

We did all the accounting bits first. Niece has written lots down so that when my brother asks her something next week (and probably another ten times) she has notes to refer to. I handed over various parcels of money and made him sign receipts (some were put together months ago and I took the saved up rent money out of my drawer).
I was concerned that I hadn't been able to find some receipts for other lots of money I've given him (basically his half of what was in mum's bank account after all the funeral costs, bills paid and other costs) but remembered giving my niece some packages when I handed over the Council Tax letter I needed him to sign. She remembered having 3 envelopes and I later found the receipts and envelope the letter was in. We're also up to date with his half of the rental income and I've written a list of what entries he needs to put on his tax return. 'Where do I get it?' - at the address or phone number written in the middle of the page.

He's finally got his new bathroom/ wet room after 2 1/2 years of struggle - latest incident the plumber drilled through an electrical cable twice so the electrician wasn't best pleased. We're inclining towards selling the rented house but don't want to push the tenant out or rush him (they're both a bit unhappy about the rent , which is below the market rate - maybe a lot unhappy but they don't want to say anything). I'm going to speak to the lodger (brother said wait until he pays next month's rent but he asked for as much notice as possible so I'll do it in a few days when I feel okay with it). Not rushing mean they're happy with it taking 3 - 6 months for the lodger to sort himself out but don't want it to drag on for another couple of years. 

Brother didn't want to speak to the lodger (niece and I are aware that basically he doesn't want to do anything and will keep being 'the baby'  that everyone else looks after until he dies). We swapped family anecdotes and then I was brought home. I put a RM into the microwave and sat next to DS3 on the couch. I didn't finish my meal - so tired it was an effort to put any more in my mouth. I asked him the time and was shocked - I'd been at my brother's for nearly 6 hours. I thought we were going to stay at my niece's but brother has a downstairs toilet (she and I will meet at her house when we're ready to do the scanning).

I brought my small bag upstairs with a 2 l bottle of drink, a box of salad and my breakfast yoghurt.  I asked DS3 to bring the green bag upstairs sometime (it has all the work in so I can sit here guilt free and rest). I left the deeds with my brother (with all the grant improvement paperwork that needs to be with it for selling). He has a special fireproof envelope which he put them in and then tried to give me the box file back. Sorry - it's gone out of my house, it's not coming back in. I read for a little bit and completed a puzzle when sleep eluded me - may have gone past tired - but I slept well. I was concerned that I hadn't managed to nail down every scrap of paper but I think the level of organisation I'd achieved overawed them.

Grateful for family stories, an easy resolution to a frog that's been bothering me, DS3 bringing drinks upstairs for me (I can move a lot better than expected but not up to the extra effort of going to have a shower yet). 

Doing things to make your life better - I was wasting money on buying in game purchase so I uninstalled some of them. I still have some very simple games that I like but not enough to pay for anything. I'll probably have saved enough by the end of the week to cover yesterday's shopping (and the analysis pads are coming out of the Estate). 

I'm going to have a think about spending money. Years of grinding poverty mean I habitually reuse old tatty things that I didn't buy in the first place (other people's cast offs) but it's not strictly necessary any more and the time/ money equation needs to come into force more often. I remember reading something where the woman said 'If it's going to take less than 10 minutes or $10 dollars to get a  replacement, then it's not worth the house room/ shelf space it's taking up' I would always keep leftover paper plates but this woman wouldn't. However I once made party hats and party bags out of newspaper using a 50p roll of robot wallpaper border to decorate them. I need to find a balance. 

grandmanerd

Apologies for the mega post but at least my MH must be in good order.

grandmanerd

What good news Thrifty Taylor - missed it last night. I have enormous self seeded poppies in a lot of my bigger pots. mum had the small Welsh ones in her garden. I love poppies (will keep the seed heads and scatter them for next year.

thriftylass

Hello, did another 2 hours in the conservatory after work and it's NSD 3. Big shop tomorrow. 

DawnW

Fabulous news @Thrifty_Taylor

Hope your side effects soon ease @Toni'sfriend

@grandmanerd you must be exhausted after all that. Hope it all gets resolved without too much more effort on your part!

NSD 1 for me today - better late than never     

I have been really busy today - started with cleaning the bathroom and kitchen floors, washed the bedlinen (twice because after the first wash the white sheet was covered with streaky grey marks, my fault I think because I washed my trainers in the machine the other day and didn't think to do a rinse afterwards). Dried them out on the line.

Then,  with OH, we dug up the rest of the new potatoes and reseeded with carrots. Also summer pruned an apple tree that we wouldn't be able to get to later once the carrots have grown.

I made a big pot of Bolognese sauce.

And sowed spinach, chard and lettuce in pots for transplanting, potted up the new tarragon I bought yesterday, as my old one had died, and planted some Welsh onions in the garden.

Cleared some peas that had finished, cut back the wild rocket, put netting around the blueberries as the birds are starting to eat them, and composted some lettuces which had sadly gone to seed.

Off to work tomorrow for a rest

thriftylass

put netting around the blueberries as the birds are starting to eat them

Since we have cats again the birds leave the berries alone 😸 which saves a lot of hassle as I hated netting them all

Downside is we can't grow root vegetables anymore 💩

grandmanerd

Something brother recalled (I have no memory of the incident but it sounds believable). I had left DS1 with my mother for the first time and I had written her a list of things she was not allowed to do, including rubbing brandy on the baby's gums.

Grateful for a chilled day, DS3 has only just brought my bag up and it's too late to look at paperwork now, food from the fridge, a new detective series (set in Mussolini's Italy before WWII)