Moving on

liselle

Wow,another busy day for you!

I know what you mean about time-constraints with a job, and others not being aware.I volunteer at a Foodbank where the church hall needs to be empty at a certain time for another group.A couple of our volunteers just leave the women to clear everything away whilst they chat.It’s really annoying, being placed in the ‘nagging women’ category…..

rtandon27

We too have a hard time using up peppers & they are cheaper in bulk than individually. Like you we also freeze but do them in strips for fajitas or stir-fries - They add such a bright flavour to food especially in the winter!

Cherryfudge

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81931770#Comment_81931770

Almost tempting to show them the door, saying 'Sorry ladies, we are closing now unless you want to stay and help'. I gather volunteers are tricky to manage!

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81931842#Comment_81931842

DH is less than economical when cutting them - quite often I've snacked on the leftover bits after he's prepared dinner, whereas my version ends up with all sorts of odd-shaped bits so that I don't miss any. I was looking at the one I prepped today, wondering whether to plant some of the seeds, but it was an orange one, which I'm not so keen on. I heard that the green ones are just immature red or orange, so I have my eye on seeds from the luscious red ones in the hope I can grow some of those (Northern summer permitting).

Cherryfudge

It's been absolutely beautiful weather today, and the first car boot sale of the year. The downside has been DH's health: in addition to his normal condition (which is playing up), he suddenly and inexplicably became very anxious a week or so ago and is constantly fighting it now. He has appointments to come with the GP and mental health nurse, but is concerned in case it's a side effect of the medication (he has a history of severe side effects so that's understandable, though mental health is way down the list of possible effects).

At the moment we are coping day to day and picking up help as we can get it (knowledgeable family and friends). Today was about distracting ourselves, so we had a drive out and a lengthy mooch around the car boot sale. As I said, it was a really beautiful day: warm sun and misty blue sky above big trees that are in bud. I bought a couple of books (£3), two pieces of 1960s dolls' house furniture to go with some I had as a child (£3) and a pretty little tin (50p) to store the medication I keep downstairs. It's better than strewn over the table and can easily be put on a high shelf when it needs to be out of the way. It has to be somewhere I can see it, or I forget.

Lunch was tuna pasta (using one of the peppers but this time I forgot the garlic) then I put the washing machine on, hoping for enough drying time. After a while it made distressed noises and we investigated. Turns out another makeup pad had blocked the filter. It took quite a while to empty the machine, using the V4x to suck up the water as the filter drained. Cheaper than a call out or a new washing machine, but a bit of a hassle. Makeup pads go in a bag nowadays so this one must have been missed as I sorted the laundry. Now they will have to go in the bag as soon as they are used.

My winter coat is now washed and I have to admit it's probably wearing out. I'll have a proper look later. I grabbed five minutes while waiting for it to spin, and finally potted up half a dozen yellow wallflowers which I bought in the autumn and which have very generously not died on me, in their too-small pots, but are flowering again. At least they have space now.

We still had time to go for a walk out to the fields where there was a lark singing and plenty of new green growth. I was quite tired and suspect DH may have been, too, so we didn't go far. DH then had a wander into town to buy groceries for tomorrow. I went to get the lawn mower out of the shed and can't find it so I think it's in the garage, but couldn't find the key. Absolutely no progress on the lawn, then.

So it's been a fairly gainfully occupied day, some fresh air and exercise, not too much spent (and I resisted a lampshade and I forget what else). DH and I just had a talk about coping with anxiety as a couple, which has helped me (I have a history of anxiety over other people's health, from a couple of long term concerns about people close to me).

Tomorrow DH has a role in the service at church and I have a day off. The plan is to make another vat of chickpea tikka masala so we can have that tomorrow and it makes a quick meal during the week, when I'll be at work most days.

Watty1

Sorry to hear your DH is struggling. Glad you have friends and family close by. Hope you can manage it for both of you.

liselle

Yes, as above.

Thanks Cherry but the ‘holders up’ are the ancillary people - housing support, etc.When they’re not engaged with clients, they have long conversations with the regular volunteers.Going to speak to the manager about it this week.

Cherryfudge

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81932657#Comment_81932657

Thanks @Watty1, today has I think been a bit better. The morning was busy and he went on a walk in the afternoon - a favourite one to make up for lack of exercise while desk-bound during the week. He;s also decided which of the drugs to stick with for the time being, so the angst over what is best will reduce. (He was prescribed one by the consultant but chose not to use it when he was asymptomatic. The other was prescribed when the condition flared but the anxiety kicked in shortly after so he wondered it that was cause and effect. That's the one he's taking for now, as he was fine with it last time he was given it).

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81932748#Comment_81932748

What a nuisance! DH has similar in one of the places he works: the building is too noisy and his team don't have a dedicated area, so they have to cope with a lot of background chat while trying to focus on clients. I hope the word with management gets a good result.

Cherryfudge

Quite a quiet day really, though DH had a role in the service this morning and afterwards was doing a promotional thing with a team he's on. I went to help clear up after the children's activity as I could see a lot of children and parents headed that way while I was in the service. We are going to have to find a way to be more efficient at clearing up quickly, as the room is going to be used after the service about once a month. It's not easy when there's a room full of little 'uns: having 'tidy up time' still involves a lot of adult activity!

We had the chickpea tikka again for lunch and I accidentally put a bit too much chilli in, at which point I discovered the yogurt wasn't looking too good despite being in date. I ended up having a side of cottage cheese with my tikka!

DH had a good walk as I mentioned above, and I fell asleep! I was so comfortable when I woke up that I stayed reading my book for a while and when I got up, DH discovered the heating wasn't working. It turned out to be easy to fix: the boiler needed to be repressured.

I've done a lot of Duolingo this evening: DH's niece added me on a free three days of 'super' (I did the same for her last week) and, rarely, that coincided with me having time and energy to do extra.

Nothing spent.

The plan for the coming week is as follows:

Monday: Meeting a friend for coffee in the morning, work in the evening. All else being equal, I want to bake a cake in the afternoon and make toad in the hole again for tea to use up ingredients.

Tuesday: childcare, older two DGDs. Perhaps my friends and I will be able to meet in the evening though this often depends on one person's work.

Wednesday: childcare (youngest DGD) during the day while her Mum gets a hair cut. Work in the evening.

Thursday: work in the afternoon and evening.

Friday: church cleaning in the daytime, work in the evening.

Saturday: probably car boot again.

Sunday: I'm taking the children's session in the morning.

Cherryfudge

No diary from me yesterday as the computer went on strike!

I had coffee with a friend in the morning - I'd arranged it and said it would be my treat but she let my swipe my loyalty card then paid for both of us! It was good to have a catch up. In the afternoon I indulged in some cooking: I'd made yogurt the night before as some milk was going out of date, then I made a cinnamon cake (new recipe) and a big pan of spicy parsnip soup. The fridge is too full for as much as a lonely sprout.

Work in the evening was three hours. There was a funny moment when one of the bins turned out to contain a bottle of beer. As staff aren't allowed to drink on or before the job and the area wasn't public facing, this was a first and I wasn't sure what to do. In the end I handed it to management at the end of the shift and between us we worked out it had been a raffle prize and had gone out of date. Like me, they didn't want to appear as if they had alcohol for consumption, so the last I saw of it was on the side in the office with a sign to say it was for the bin.

DH had his GP appointment and the GP think the anxiety is probably caused by the medication, and will probably subside as it leaves his body over a few days.

This morning DH had a long appointment with the specialist nurse who seems to have listened well and has said he can stop the medication. There isn't much else they can offer him so if he has a flare of his underlying condition, he could be hospitalised, but given that he had about six months without it, there's obviously some degree of control to be had without it - and even when he was on medication long term, there were occasional, inexplicable flares.

DH is very tired so we both did all day looking after the grandchildren: DH ducking out for his clinic appointment, and later for the dentist (fillings needed). I had a lovely time with the girls: we all went to the library in the morning (DH is incapable of not wearing himself out so we went while the rain held off) then while he was at the dentist I played with them. They have a TV break at lunchtime so I plugged myself in V1nted as a way to disengage my brain. How much do I want a cute little cross stitch project, given that I'm not good at finishing them? Quite tempted, but conscious that it's the cuteness rather than a love of doing cross stitch that appeals. I did spot some lace-making equipment and sent a screenshot to my sister who used to make lace, which turned out to be quite constructive as at least it got us communicating. I've not been able to pin her down to a visit and now she's hurt her knee so I'm hesitating to push the issue.

DS1 spotted something was wrong with DH and has given him some good advice and lovely support.

We've had a quiet evening: DH set a restart point on my computer and it's working again. Phew. It seems from an error message that a driver had stopped working so now I need to find out how to keep them updated - not all of them do it automatically. I washed my hair and had an early bath. DH has another day off tomorrow, but I've said I'll look after the smallest granddaughter, so if he wants peace and quiet, he may have to go out.

Nothing particularly MS to report. Some small grocery spends but between grand daughters and weather I've not spent a lot of time shopping.

itsthelittlethings

You’ve been quite busy! Hope you get a chance to rest and relax soon.