Moving on

Cherryfudge

I was tempted to try to fit in another sale, but noticed a mark on the dress so, nothing doing till I can somehow fix that.

It's been a tiring couple of days! I decided to get the spare bedding washed, having used that room while I had the cold (which is all-but gone, thankfully). It washed all right but wouldn't pump out or spin and the online manual instructions haven't set it right. The machine must be 16 years old and has been a perfect workhorse so, unless I come up with some solution, we will be replacing it soon.

Then when I was clearing up ready to go out yesterday, I discovered there's been a mouse in the kitchen bin, so there's another trap to set, but not yet (will explain).

Yesterday we were at A and H's, looking after the children (and borrowing their washer to spin the duvet cover, etc). It was fairly low-key as F, now fully recovered from her hospitalisation, had a Nativity at nursery which her Dad was able to attend, leaving DH looking after a grumpy N while I fought the washing machine. N was tired after a weekend away, so she went in the pushchair to explore the new A1di with DH. She cheered up as the day went on and seemed to enjoy some left-over craft/colouring from my Sunday group, happily explaining to me that she was Mary in her Nativity (I can see in a photo how proud she was! I remember her Dad, with another super-blonde child, being Mary and Joseph 30 years ago. Traditions die hard!)

After we left there we had a quick change-round at home then it was off to dinner and to stay the night with J and L. They are still getting woken frequently by baby A: I think I heard her five times overnight. However, she was lovely to look after today, while J had a day's CPD/catch-up at work. She has another three months of leave but this seems to have been helpful to bridge the gap.

DH had to go into work yesterday for the Christmas bash, but I gather it was all quite light and relaxed. Today he had another doctor's appointment for the ectopic heart beat he's developed but the doctor said it's quite common and is happy for DH to elect not to have medication so we will just monitor it. This evening he's off to his church group's pre-Christmas 'do': the last one led by him and his friend after ten years. There are replacement leaders in the wings which, knowing those people, will be interesting and could signal changes. Safe hands, though.

From tonight, we are dog-sitting for J and L till Saturday. The dog is lovely and always happy to come to us, so apart from juggling tomorrow when I'm out, this shouldn't be a problem. I suspect she will be a natural mouse deterrent, hence no trap yet.

Nothing spent today, and I really want to get some sleep!

Cherryfudge

The sleep was welcome, and now I need another one - 18,000 steps, including two dog walks and two jobs. I'm glad I don't have to do this all that often! Though a dog of our own would be nice. Just saying'... I'd have to be sure I had time and energy.

The one we are looking after is so funny. She's happy enough to go in her cage with her blankets and toys but I do let her on the sofa and last night she was curled up on some squashy cushions. The look on her face when I asked her to go to her crate! She didn't need words, it was very clearly 'You can't mean it! But... the cushions! They are the best thing ever and I thought they were mine while I'm here!' I admit I gave in and she got to stay there. (She's not a breed that sheds hair, so that's not been a problem).

As for mousing - no success there. A mouse has clearly been in and recent damage includes my welly socks, a chestnut and the bottom of a bin bag. I am Not Pleased. 

After this morning's dog walk (I'm amazed I fitted in half an hour before succeeding in catching my bus, and all that while it was still morning), I set off for a few hours of work in the next town. There were a few minutes spare so I bought a couple of books for £1 in a charity shop and got free coffee for downloading the Gr3gg's app. I'd found a sandwich in the freezer for lunch but threw it out as it tasted really odd, so lunch was a small chocolate bar and coffee. I had a lift back to my cleaning job from the tutor mid-afternoon, and had time in hand which I used to order a couple of small gifts that aren't needed till 28th. I had crackers, water and Quality Street during the evening's work then dropped into T3sco for cheap Christmas veg (and an incidental tub of hot choc, the one that went up to about £5 but today is £3.50) but that took longer than intended as I bumped into two people I used to know well, one after the other, and of course stopped to chat. I also bought a candle (discounted but nice smell) for a stocking filler.

Following this I called into L1dl as there was a free bakery item about to fall off my coupons. There was also a medium chicken for two pounds something so I bought it - yes, we've just had chicken but I reckoned I can cook this one tomorrow and put spare meat aside in the freezer for several meals.

Christmas cheap veg so far: parsnips 5p and shallots 5p, both L1dl. Couldn't carry all the ones I would have otherwise bought, due to also having three books (including a £1 one that may be worth something if flipped to someone with a specific interest), a spare set of clothes, two umbrellas, spare trainers (for the rain that barely materialised), cleaning gloves, water bottle, etc, etc.

When I got home, DH had saved me some of yesterday's 'chicken and...' pie for dinner, which was eaten late but welcome. He had an interesting day: flu jab (so glad he's finally got that), early finish to let the dog out then cut his finger on broken china while doing the church cleaning and bled rather gorily. A colleague cleaned and covered it and it's going to be brought to people's attention not to put unprotected breakages in the bins - it went right through the gloves he was wearing.

I'm not going to total up a bloomin' thing tonight. I think sleep is more important.

Cherryfudge

We have sun again to day and I've test-driven the washing machine - without a load in it seems to have spun and drained so I'm debating putting a few items in a wash in the hope that it works okay or if not, I don't have too much un-spun washing to cope with.

We have a plan for the chicken: I'm putting the lot in the slow cooker ready for when DH gets home. He will then turn some into a curry and the rest can go in the fridge or freezer. Meanwhile I'm watching the little flock that's coming to the birdfeeder - blue and long-tailed birdies that the censor wouldn't like me to write about.  

There seem to be loads of small jobs to do: walk the dog, put the washing in, clean the kitchen and bathroom, feed the cake, sort out all the bags that I've been carting round various activities over the past few days, send my sister's birthday card (her present will have to be handed over in person), tot up what I spent yesterday... while I'm at it, I need to add an e-copy of The Hogfather and some books bought on V1nted for the little ones this morning.

amber03

Would love to have a L1dl by where I live especially after reading all the comments about it. We don’t even have the other one just Mr T nearby by. They have both said they want to build round here but can’t find land. Amazing that housing companies can find land to build hundreds of houses tho.

Cherryfudge

I think we only got Ald1 and McD's because of the new estates in that area, @amber03. We are quite well served for supermarkets and I forget what a difference it makes, but we are also geographically just that bit far from large towns so we have to have a bit of everything.

Cherryfudge

Friday started off slowly, mostly because I just couldn't get going. I think that's a reaction to doing too much this week. By about lunch time I was feeling I needed to have something to show for the day, but a bit overwhelmed and didn't know where to start. I got the washing done but once again it didn't drain so I hauled it into the sink then had to wring some of the water out in order to bag it up and clean out the slow cooker which I discovered hadn't been done! Yes, we've been very tired and busy.

Eventually all that got done and the poor dog hadn't yet been walked, it was mid-afternoon and she'd had a couple of games in the garden, that was all. I hastily wrote the cards for my sister and her family and dropped them in the box, discovering as I did so that the 5pm post no longer exists and they won't actually go till tomorrow morning. By then I'd already sent a message to say they were on the way.

I think the dog enjoyed her walk till we got to the crossing near the supermarket at which point she refused to go forward. If we weren't going to Tesco, she wasn't going anywhere! Well, we weren't going to Tesco, there wasn't time. Eventually we turned round and went back as we'd come rather than what I thought would be an interesting route for her. That gave me just time to do a quick turn-around and get to work. Three hours this evening and it's party time in the offices. Some offices had left a tray of sandwiches with a sign for us to help ourselves, which was considerate. Another floor had dumped all their left-over party food in the recycling - guys, that stuff doesn't recycle. Your building doesn't have food recycling and even if it did, why would food go in with milk bottles?

I have these conversations, sotto voce, all the time!

On the way home I shopped at L1dl and this evening's cheap Christmas food haul was potatoes, a swede and sprouts at 5p a bag. No carrots left, though I expect those will be re-stocked tomorrow. I also got more frozen fruit as I had 15% off (and now almost no freezer space again).

DH made the rest of the last batch of chicken into a curry but I didn't have much room, being full of sandwiches! He was out at the Christmas choir rehearsal when I came in, and the chicken I put in earlier had just about finished cooking and is now in the fridge. I tried a small portion of the curry but it was really too hot for me so DH can finish it with chips tomorrow. A and H couldn't do our laundry as one of the girls was sick so they had a lot of their own to get through, but our neighbours kindly lent their machine.

The other things that I listed above - sorting out bags, feeding the cake and totting up expenditure - will have to wait, though I did the ironing. The kitchen got a partial clean and the bathroom got a spray with de-scaler. It's headed in the right direction.

Cherryfudge

Another lazy morning from me, but DH was in the mental space that I was in yesterday: rather overwhelmed by all that had to be done. His default is physical movement so he took the dog for her morning walk then got some bits from the shops. I did some tidying which was desperately needed so sanity began to seep back in. Then when he came home, DH started the list of things that could be wrong with the washing machine, and almost immediately found the filter was blocked by a makeup removal pad, which in turn was absolutely disgusting and has been binned. In future those need to go in a net for washing.

So the washer is working, and that feels like an early Christmas present. We've had it so long it's almost one of the family and I didn't fancy limping by on borrowing machine space till we could get a new one.

DH then helped me with the spare room duvet cover so now that bed is respectable and I can once again use it as a sorting office for presents. Lunch was very peculiar, in the interests of using up oddments. We had chip shop chips and DH had curry with his, which he said was great, but I roasted the last of a bag of kale and added a small tub of hummus! I can't say it's grand cuisine but it was edible.

In the afternoon we had a rest then DH took the dog out again while I went present buying, having realised that tomorrow is a good opportunity to give gifts for inlaws to their various offspring to pass on. Those are all bought - no sparkling originality but hopefully pleasant stuff that won't cause clutter (biscuits and tea). While I was out, I had a few thoughts on stocking fillers for family so hair gel, scrunchies, chocolate for the adults and a colouring book, pencils and glitter glue for the children. While being amazed at the early cream eggs, I noticed they now have b1scoff ones so L has one for the toe of his stocking.

DH has kindly decorated the Christmas tree and I filled a few of what I perceived to be gaps. We were both glad I'd packed the decs away according to colour in labelled boxes, as it's made things easier! Red and gold this year.

thriftmonster

Oh @Cherryfudge exactly that happened to me with a makeup removal pad and my WM last year. I was so proud of myself putting my big girl pants on and solving it -and all mine now get washed in one of the gauze bags from Wool Warehouse. 

Sun_Addict

I’ve had that happen to me before with a make up sponge a few years ago so I always put mine in a zip up net bag that you use to wash bras. 

amber03

Yep, I’ve noticed the crème eggs in the shops. Don’t mind as I love them.