Moving on

Cherryfudge

There is a little story about the joy of daffodils, a very poignant one. My father in law was in a nursing home and one day while visiting him, DH spotted a familiar face: an older man who he had known through church. He stopped to say hello. It turned out the man was terminally ill, but he mentioned he was sad he wouldn't see daffodils again. I remembered I used to buy those little pots of daffodils for my Mum when she was in care, so I suggested this to DH and he was able to take a pot of them to the man. It was lovely he was able to see them before he died, which was only a little while later. I understand they were kept in his room and his family took them to plant after he'd gone.

Cherryfudge

Busy, busy day. I went to the toddlers group as usual and that was all fine. I offered to take some items to wash, so I had a bag full ready to go when I checked my messages and there was a recent one to say baby F had a temperature and had to come home from nursery, and was I available to help out at all? It happened I was part of the way there already so I picked up my bag of washing and called in at the supermarket for some lunch, then spent the afternoon looking after her. A was able to finish work and hour early, which enabled me to get to my work. He offered me a lift but I rather stupidly said no, meaning I walked back home via two supermarkets as I needed a Valentine's card for DH, did a lightening change and out again, arriving at work three minutes late. I'd texted head to explain and the managers were nice about it, but I said I'd work the time owed at the end. By the time I got home I'd done over 21,000 steps which, according to my Fitbit, is over 15km.

I've also had some messaging back and forth with my mentor-to-be, to arrange a first meeting. It will be next Thursday prior to the funeral of the lady I mentioned a while back. It's going to be very well attended so we will try to get there early.

Expenditure:
Housekeeping £8.42
Gift £4

dawnybabes

I’ve always said I need to die in the spring as I want daffs as my funeral flowers.

15 km and work8ng too, I’d need a sleep 🤣🤣

Cherryfudge

Fewer steps today, and that's as well as it's bitterly cold out. DH got the car tyre pumped up and gave me a lift this morning then went and dropped the car off for the new tyre to be fitted. I think he said that was £71. Good to have a working car again!

I had a meeting at ten: various people who are interested in a community garden at church got together to work out some planting. I'd been asked if I could be a voice for the eco team but I can't commit to it as I have quite a bit to do already and I'm not very knowledgeable. However I said I'd report back for those unable to go. As it was, the meeting was encouraging. The bit of land was a total wreck a few months ago and is now cleaned up, fenced off and with some very sturdy raised beds. A couple of people who know about vegetable gardening helped us choose initial crops and there was a lot of other talk about sourcing compost etc, irrigation, little polytunnels and so forth. 

After this I did my part on the cleaning rota, aided by Dh who works a lot faster than I do.

We decided to forgo our coffee out as time was pressured, but DH did us a chicken and chorizo pasta for dinner and I had a 45 minute snooze before work.

I don't think we've spent anything else today.

Cherryfudge

No diary entry yesterday - Saturday - so I'll try to remember everything. It was utterly grey, cold and drizzly outside so I stayed in all morning and did some sewing. The freezer was FRUTB (full right up to bursting, if I remember correctly from 'Susanna of the Mounties') so we had sausages and onion bhajis with out chip shop chips. Nice, but I rather over catered. DH did various useful jobs, particularly replacing the bathroom blind and rewiring the socket for the phone and broadband.

In the afternoon we went out for our weekly coffees - the actual drinks came in 'free' with the garden centre app but DH got a scone as well, then I asked the staff to check a couple of my garden centre vouchers as I thought they might have expired. Good news: neither has run out yet, though they couldn't tell me what the expiry dates are, and I have £65 between them, in addition to a couple of other vouchers not due to expire for some time.

In order for her to process the vouchers and get the data through the till, she had to have a small purchase and right by the till the had sticky tape dispensers for sale (at a garden centre? I know, right). and it happened I was planning on getting some for the team to use on Sundays (lost ends of tape are an occupational hazard). So that saved me a walk in the drizzling rain and was free at the point of purchase as I paid by chipping a little off the value of a voucher. I also had a free packet of seeds with the garden centre membership, so we chose some wildflowers to scatter in the lane at the back and the gate to it. Then on the way out I got a freebie bag of coffee grounds to add to the compost.

I've checked and my current membership runs out on 28th of this month so if I renew then, I will still get March's 'free' drinks on the renewed membership while getting the max from this one. Although at one point I thought I wouldn't bother as their Earl Grey and Cappuccinos aren't enjoyable, we've now found out they do a really good Breakfast Tea or lemon and ginger tea, and the hot chocolate is okay too. And it gives us a date for £1 a month between us. Of course they serve the most scrummy-looking cake, too, so perhaps they know what they are doing with these 'free' drinks!

On the way home we bought a new phone - about £17 I think - as our old one rings four times then cuts off, and if we ring out, the battery drains after a few minutes.

I also remembered I had Mr T coupons to use and that DH needed shaving gel, so we got £1.25 off that. There were groceries too: I'm too tired to work all that out but the total Mr T bill was £12.20. Then Dh went home but I had a freebie pastry to collect in L1dl so I headed over there and ended up spending £6.37 as I bought fruit and ham as well. The fruit was planned, though.

Then after tea I was exhausted so I fell asleep for an hour, then did more sewing and was consequently really late to bed...

Cherryfudge

And Sunday: still cold but at least we got sunshine as the day went on. I was on the rota this morning but as a helper not a leader, and there were only four children present so we had a fairly relaxed time. We have been offered a big 'window box' part of the new garden that's being made at the back but I discussed it with my colleague and neither of us feels it would work, so I've that to hand back to the people running the project, though I do appreciate that they thought of us.

Back at home, DH made tuna pasta for lunch and I was so tired I slept for a good part of the afternoon (and am consequently awake now) while Dh went for his customary walk. I am also eating a lot of junk food so I need to turn that round, but I'm blaming the tiredness and the rubbish food both on having caught a cold. I couldn't make any claims to suffering with it, as I feel okay in myself but the tiredness is extraordinary. I hope it improves soon as the middle of the week is busy.

rtandon27

@Cherryfudge - hope you geel better soon! - take it easy and have lots of liquids!

Cherryfudge

Thank you! I took it so easy this morning that I went back to bed after breakfast and a 6.45 start, and slept most of the morning. I've just had my second cup of coffee: does that count as lots of liquids? It was very nice.

So lunch has been had (ham, cheese and mayo on crackers) and a couple of bananas have been defrosted to make banana bread. Top items on the to do list are said banana bread, handwashing and a start on the homework for the course, which I hope to have done by Thursday when the mentor is coming to see me. This in turn means lots of tidying but I'm giving myself permission not to do this just yet. It can wait till I've cleared the other things out of the way. I'm also saving energy for work this evening but I might have to get some food shopping if I can remember what it was I needed besides brown sugar, which isn't exactly urgent.

Talking of food shopping, and shopping in general, this year so far has had some big bills and the amount we spend on food is rather worrying. Admittedly there are wants galore rather than basic needs but we don't drink or smoke and cleaning materials are bought excessively so the money is going on actual edibles.

I also have the needle and thread out to finish the button holes on DH's coat, and am loathe to put them away without getting it done, but there's probably another hour's work there.

Progress report later.

ETA: that was meant to say 'cleaning materials are NOT bought excessively', before you get any erroneous ideas about me hoarding soap!

Cherryfudge

3.30 update:

Handwashing (laundry) is done, and I added a couple of tote bags and a cow for good measure. The cow, I hasten to add, belongs to the toddler group. It's now pegged on the line and can stay there till I get home from work.

Two frozen bananas used in banana and mixed spice muffins, thus reducing a few larder need-to-use-ups.

I did sit down for a brief rest a couple of times but that was all I needed. I feel less congested and added some turmeric into the muffins in the hope of reducing the inflammation. I'm not going to go off work, as a moderate amount of work from me is more useful to them than nothing and they are still short of staff. Besides, I think the fresh air will be good.

I'll make a bit of a start on reviewing last week's course notes as starting is the hardest part. I have something to add to the course journal, having made the decision on the window boxes. I'll put it as something to do with decision-making and how what seems kind may not actually have been fully thought through.

Cherryfudge

Work went fine apart from a minor annoyance that the chap who was retrained last week was working in the next area to mine and is still cutting corners, though perhaps fewer than he was. It's common practice where areas share a cleaning cupboard to leave out mops and buckets to save the other person making another batch, so I did this and he borrowed one of the cloths - but not the bucket, so did it get rinsed, and what's more, was one cloth used for all areas? I don't know, but it looks like it and then I feel uneasy because that's a hygiene problem. Then he left the lights on in his section and finished before me so I've reported that as it meant I had to finish a bit earlier in order to go round more rooms switching off.

Kind DH gave me a lift home as it's so cold and I accepted because last week I didn't accept a lift from DS1 and the subsequent walking was very tiring.

I have eaten rather a lot of the muffins I made earlier, so instead of a proper dinner I just had granola with yogurt and a banana... and another muffin.

Nothing spent today.