Moving on

milann

That sounds like a lot of yoghurt cake 😳😁👍

Cherryfudge

I fitted in 26,539 steps today! H came to collect me this morning and we went back to hers and got the girls into the buggy for a local trip to look at a nursery. I don't know much about nurseries (unless you count the plant ones) as our children did playgroups and I was at home, but today I looked after the baby and tried to be observant about things that might be useful. Then we walked into town as H had won tickets to a children's activity and was meeting a friend for lunch. I meandered round some shops and got an eyebrow pencil and a couple of greetings cards, then went home for lunch.

As part of my continuing effort to use up foodstuffs, I had baked potato and blue cheese - yummy, but hard to get rid of the smell afterwards! I also demolished another of the lemon and blueberry muffins, then set off back into town where I met up with H and we walked to another nursery. Both these are on industrial estates near where she lives and both were nice, but she took more of a liking to one of them so they are applying there. There's a month to go before the current nursery closes and it seems all the parents are scrabbling for places elsewhere.

H was going to drive me home but the girls were tired and it would have been a disruption so I said I'd walk, hence all the steps. I then had a snack and set off for work. It was just two hours today, but in a separate building with a very irregular layout over two floors, so it's quite hard to get a reasonable amount done. However, I got confused with the time and accidentally gave them extra!

It was definitely an Epsom Salts bath night tonight: my back is telling me I have done too much mopping and carrying babies!

H sent me a link to an app where you can claim points for putting in lots of steps, and eventually cash them in. I couldn't have started on a more rewarding day! It's not something I'm used to doing but I thought it might bring in a bit of pocket money.

Expenditure:
Toiletries £2.50
Gifts £1.98

Cherryfudge

Very little done today, though some down-time was necessary after yesterday's walking.

J and L came round this morning to deliver the pooch for a sleepover. They were very glamorous as they were on the way to a wedding. L had been on a 13 mile run with the dog before coming out: marathon training. Last year I seem to remember the dog ran with them to the 18 mile stage, then slept in the afternoon! Today you'd think she'd just had an ordinary walk so she's been playing tug with me and had a walk with DH. I did let her have a tiny bit off my fish at lunch (spaniel eyes!) because I'm sure she'll have burned the calories off.

DH was looking at getting new-to-us dining chairs as the faux leather I used to reupholster then a few years ago is disintegrating and one chair got very wobbly. However, he decided we hadn't given repair a reasonable trial. I think he's turning into me! He's been trying to pull the wobbly chair to pieces and re-glue. The mallet strokes were so loud that next door's dog started barking! However, one joint just wouldn't separate so he's eased Gorilla glue in and we'll try it tomorrow to see if it did the trick.

He's also got some shopping and emptied the soft plastics into recycling, and we've put 6 or 8 boxes/bags into the loft for when Auntie comes to stay next weekend. The room isn't clear of boxes but it's improved. Meanwhile Our occasional delivery of toilet rolls and kitchen paper arrived and DH took them up to the loft, too - only to find there's a forgotten box of kitchen towels up there already, so we probably have enough for over a year!

My one bit of industry has been fixing a seam on a cardigan and de-bobbling it. Better daylight shows up winter wear! It's one of those useful cardigans that goes with things so I want it to keep going. I also began to fix some tiny holes (moth holes?) in an aran waistcoat I made when I was 20. The embroidery thread trick doesn't really work as the thread's too shiny, but the nearest match I've found is a bit too springy and is opening the holes so that what was almost invisible is now a problem. I've left it for now as it's too complicated and needs consideration.

Onebrokelady

Happy belated Birthday Cherry 🎂 the yogurt cake sounds yummy 

milann

That’s a lot of walking 👏👏

Cherryfudge

Thank you @Onebrokelady, and @milann, yes, it certainly was!

A nice day today, and I managed to pay very little attention to the weather. I'd ended up on tea and coffee duty at church with one other person: it takes four or more so I mentioned it to DH and he kindly manned the dishwasher (one of those super-quick ones that does a whole load in a couple of minutes). This is apparently better for the environment than recyclable paper cups, and also freed us from having to crew the actual kitchen. Then two other people came to help so apart from losing the sugar and the rather techy milk flask being hard to operate, it all sort of worked out. Who would have thought a milk jug would fight back? Next time, I'm getting a couple of china ones out.

I remembered to drop my friend's birthday card round to her house and have had a few nice WhatsApp conversations with various family and friends. 

Back home for a light lunch and a tidy up, then J and L arrived. They'd enjoyed the wedding - a former colleague of J's - and visited L's parents overnight. We wrapped up against the weather (damp chill) and had a good walk with the dog after which I made dinner (chickpea tikka followed by plum and cinnamon crumble).  In MSE terms, there are two spare portions of tikka for another day and we offloaded a gillet that's been in our hall for ages and a book that I thought would interest J. Hopefully they will enjoy both! Goodness knows where the gillet is from: I'd thought it was a detachable liner from a man's coat but when I looked properly, it's shaped for a woman, but wouldn't fit any of the women who've lived at our house. I'm wondering if I bought it and forgot it, but if so, I haven't missed it.

Anyway, it was good to spend time with them, and after they'd gone we watched the rest of Crufts and the final of Throwdown. Poor DH is feeling a bit under the weather so he had an early night.

milann

Hope dh feels better soon.

Cherryfudge

milann said:

Hope dh feels better soon.

Thank you, it just looks like an ordinary cold so hopefully won't last long.

Talking of cold, has anyone removed Spring from the calendar? The daffodils are blooming, the snowdrops seem to be finished, there's a haze of green on the cotoneaster but it's cold, damp and grey, and has been for what feels like weeks. I've turned the heating up and am running the tumble drier. The sun hasn't appeared for more than five minutes in a while.

DH has the afternoon off as the shop manager is doing something else and they don't leave the volunteers to run it on their own. I think it will do him good to have quiet time, though he's done a couple of trips into town so far today. (This is typical: four or five wouldn't be unusual. At least he walks or cycles most of the time and thus gets exercise and doesn't use the car).

DH has also paid for the hotel at the airport for our May break: £65. I'm thinking we need to investigate going to the airport by train to avoid parking charges, but the hotel is still a good idea, as we don't return till late evening and don't want to be trudging back through our local town at gone midnight.

Cherryfudge

The train fare works out reasonably well but we can't get the best rates till Saturday when they go on sale, and then there's a difficulty of timing as those trains can get really crowded (crazily crowded: why the company doesn't add more coaches I've never known, I've just come to the conclusion it's not physically possible to have the rolling stock where it would be needed).

I had a couple of hours at work this evening: not too strenuous either as whoever had done that area before me had been very thorough, so some jobs didn't need to be done. We had slow cooked chicken for dinner and I sauteed onion, peppers and tomatoes with it as well as some of the big bag of carrots I bought the other day. That slightly makes up for not having many veg recently. My tea has been the rest of last Tuesday's pizza out of the freezer, which makes a tiny bit of space.

Poor DH - the voice is going now.

Nothing spent by me today but DH has bought some bits and pieces.

Cherryfudge

DH is still battling the cold, but I think he's improving. He's intending to be in work tomorrow, so I hope his voice lasts out!

He didn't take DGD to the toddler club today as the family is visiting H's parents, so he had a quiet morning while I was at work. In the afternoon he wrapped up and went for a walk, and I dozed off on the sofa with the aim of getting myself awake enough to do the prep for the Tuesday evening group's study. In the event, however, one of the group had to attend to a family hospitalisation, so we just got together for a shorter session to support her and I've not even typed up the bits of the study I've prepared.

Dinner was chicken and gammon pie with plenty of veg (more room in the fridge) and I've kept away from the shops again, though DH bought tea and pastries.

That's about it, I think. J has forgotten to bring back our big hoover, and the little one remains broken, though I had a quick look online with a view to getting a small one that runs off batteries. It's what I'd call an investment as they are so much easier to use than clunky great things that trail flexes!

I also said I'd do a training course from church on Saturday morning. It's safeguarding, which I've done mostly from a vulnerable adults viewpoint so I want to be more sure of myself with regard to safeguarding children. It's also the start of the car boot sale season and I was thinking of getting the bus there as DH will be away, but this way I'm out of the way of temptation. Spending for a hobby is not the way to be MS or to reduce clutter!