Moving on

dawnybabes

Dried pulses last for years 🤣🤣🤣🤣

amber03

Good job they last for years as I tend to buy them, then forget about them.

rtandon27

I never use dried pulses and the red lentils we do have must be from pandemic days as I can't think of why else I'd have bought them!

Cherryfudge

Change of plan - the yellow split peas will be another day older when we come to use them, but I don't suppose that matters much when they were BB 2018! In fact, they've softened nicely.

Catching up on some emails, I noticed a one-month-to-go announcement for the wedding at the end of this month. It's as well I checked it as there's a dress code that I hadn't noticed: the bridal party are wearing navy blue, copper and burnt orange, so please will guests not wear these colours, or white or cream. I had ready a navy blue dress to wear, and I know of two other people planning to wear dark blue, so I've WhatsApped the family to warn them. I spent a while looking at dresses online but didn't feel too inspired.

The rain gave up mid-afternoon so I got my Olio/Iceland half price bargains. This time it was sausages and grapes. I then went round a few charity shops in case there was anything suitable for a wedding and have bought a couple of dresses which I need to try on tomorrow, and can return if necessary. One is too casual but I loved it when I looked in the mirror, and the other is maroon and more wedding-y. If it fits and suits, I've then to work out what to wear over it as neither of the jackets I got to try with my navy blue dress will go, and I have difficulty finding suitable shoes... 

I finished off the shopping trip by going to Iceland to use my free veg coupon before it expires. I got the big bag of potatoes, which would have cost £4.08, but which was of course heavy to carry home (I don't drive). However, as I started walking back, a gentleman offered to carry them for me. I didn't know him so I thanked him and said I wasn't going far, but he said he was going the same direction so eventually I accepted his offer and we had a very pleasant conversation till we got the end of my road and I said I'd take them from there. He works in the big police building so I would kind of like to let a manager there know how helpful a member of the staff was, but I'll have to see if there's a way to do that. A friend of mine works there but I doubt she would give away personal details.

We had toad in the hole for dinner, with fried onions: that saves clogging up the freezer with sausages, and uses flour, milk and eggs that needed to be used. I also experimented with a teaspoon of garam masala in the batter, and it worked well.

This evening was my church group, and DH was helping with another meeting so we've not seen a lot of each other.

A couple of things while I remember: the shoulder pain of a couple of days ago has gone. I'm not complaining, just surprised it arrived so inexplicably and went so quickly. My sister and family are supposedly back in the UK but she's not replied to my message so I expect they are waiting to connect their Internet. What a week to arrive back after years on the equator! Almost straight into a named storm...

Expenditure:
Housekeeping £15.09
Clothing £12.90
Hobbies £2.92

Sun_Addict

Oh that's a pain with the dress for the wedding although the CS shops finds sound like possibilities - would the more casual one you love lend itself to being dressed up with a nice jacket?  My DS is getting married at the end of the month and fortunately the only dress code we've been advised of is no puffa jackets 🤣

Cherryfudge

Sun_Addict said:

Oh that's a pain with the dress for the wedding although the CS shops finds sound like possibilities - would the more casual one you love lend itself to being dressed up with a nice jacket?  My DS is getting married at the end of the month and fortunately the only dress code we've been advised of is no puffa jackets 🤣

That sounds like a sensible dress code! Could get rather cosy if everyone wore them!

I've tried on both the new dresses and I'm keeping both. The casual one is quite boxy so probably wouldn't work with a jacket. The maroon one is nice, and fits, though 'just fits' would be more accurate. I need to watch what I eat over the next few weeks, which is a bit of a challenge but if I can lose a couple of pounds and keep them off, that's a long-term benefit. I am wondering if it would look okay with the pink jacket I ordered, that's out for delivery today.

Today is dry and quite warm, so I've got one load of washing on the line and another in the machine, and there are several handwash items too. There's the curry to make too, and I need to tidy the fridge, the bathroom needs cleaning and I need to get a birthday card for DH. I have work later and am slightly in danger of getting overwhelmed and not getting the important things done, so I might pop back to be accountable.

Cherryfudge

I managed a huge amount of laundry, the disadvantage being that most of it is nearly, but not quite line dried so it's hanging up around the house overnight. A couple of summer dresses and both the new dresses were amongst those washed. Why do the nicest things often seem to be the ones that require special care?

It was one of those days where one thing leads to another: there were some tins to take out to the recycling, which meant fetching the green bin back from the collection point and sorting out the bedding plants that had been dumped in our recycling bin by some unknown person. Garden waste in recycling bins is very much frowned on so I had the bin to upend and the old plants mostly went into a box to take to the compost, apart from about four little begonias that looked as if they still had life in them, so I stuck them in the bed that I'm working on. They won't last past the frost, but it's quite a sheltered spot. Then I put a couple of the lobelias near the soakaway as I suddenly had an idea of how I could line that area. If they revive enough to show colour, it could help plans for next year. The rest of the plants are still in the box in case I find a use for them - they may be past it as bedding plants but I've known some go on for several years in the right circumstances and besides, I have a soft heart for struggling plants!

Eventually I got both bins and a bit of gardening sorted out. The place by the lawn where I started to replant is looking okay: it's nice to have some colour, and I have to keep weeding as lots of grass and wild geraniums keep coming up as do, funnily enough, quite a lot of tomato plants! I can only assume birds have carried seeds or some were in the compost. Of course, I could have done with this happening in about April next year, as they won't come to anything.

I did some cleaning indoors, but not the bathroom, and I didn't get to the shops at all. I made the curry but it was still cooking when it came time for me to go to work, so that will be lunch for both of us tomorrow (DH's day off).

D and E have confirmed they are coming to DH's birthday, as are J and baby A. Unfortunately A and H have to be away and L is working but at least that makes catering fairly straightforward.

Oh, and the pink jacket arrived but it won't go with the maroon dress: I don't even like it but I don't think the seller accepts returns. I'll either sell it or donate it.

Work was two and a half hours: I could have had more but there really wasn't much to do. I did get some more cardboard boxes for mulching the garden, and some small ones for the children to build with.

Watty1

No idea why the nicest clothes need special care, I tend to just chuck in the machine and hope.  So far, with CS bargains it has turned out really well.  

Cherryfudge

Watty1 said:

No idea why the nicest clothes need special care, I tend to just chuck in the machine and hope.  So far, with CS bargains it has turned out really well.  

I was tempted - but there were signs of the colours running for each one!

badmemory

I would suspect that them needing special care is why they go into the charity shop.