Moving on

rtandon27

woohoo - hooray for cheap fixes! - glad to hear it's back and mended!

You sound soooo busy atm - lots of moving pieces - are you coping as you sound uber calm - when I sound uber calm it's usually because I'm overwhelmed!

Cherryfudge

I think I'm coping thanks, @rtandon27 - keeping focussed as it doesn't feel as though there's a lot of wiggle room. There's still no personal email regarding work changes and my boss is off till Monday, but at the same time the trip out with friends will be a bit shorter than originally thought so I have an extra hour and a half this morning and an hour afterwards before work. That gives me time to send a birthday card, water plants (another 30C forecast), make a start on Sunday's work and check back with my work emails. I've decided if nothing has come through that I could legitimately email higher up the management chain and ask whether I'm actually on their list of people to send to. As it's lower hours and a small role it would be logical if they're left it till last.

A small bit of efficiency achieved: downloaded the 🐙app so I can check on things without having to search and log on. Just had a look at the electricity tariff and 31.03p during the day… time we got those solar panels so will take another step with that today, shouldn't take long. Our smart meter appointment is in a couple of weeks.

Cherryfudge

The birthday card isn't written yet and I didn't water the plants but they seem all right. I went out with my friends to a café in a picturesque Dales town: we sat outside under a large parasol for our meal and decided it was too hot to go exploring afterwards, so we crossed the square and bought (expensive but good) ice creams, which probably cushioned us against the temperature in the car before the air con kicked in.

Back at home later, I hastily logged onto the work laptop to check for the promised restructure letter, but it still hadn't come. We are told they are working flat out to get them to us, but it may not even arrive on Monday. At least I've now printed out the expression of interest forms so I can begin to think what to put on them, and tweak it as necessary later.

Work this evening was rather on the warm side: I was glad I'd brought an insulated bottle for cold water and a bag of crisps to counteract the sweat.

Lunch and ice cream came to £21.94 and I think that's all I bought.

The temperature was 31C. I wonder if it's ever been so high in the Dales before?

Watty1

That is high for the Dales. 37 here in the South East so not that different

Cherryfudge

Saturday was lovely: we went to a village fete instead of the usual car boot sale. In all the years we've lived here, we'd never visited this particular area and it was a very good afternoon, and example of how a community can come together to have fun and raise funds. We found the person who had mentioned it to us with her stall, I bought a souvenir or two, DH had an ice cream and I paid to throw wet sponges at someone in the stocks, who assured me it wasn't too bad as it was so hot! All in a good cause.

We watched a very small historical re-enactment, which I think DH would have liked to join in! Those children who wanted to could hold a wooden rifle and do drill. We also saw our local MP, who is good at getting to events like this, and I chatted to some stall holders and got the name of the FB group that advertises it. I hope I pick up on the reminders next year.

Just as we were going away, I heard my name called and there was the tutor from the Thursday class, who had said he might go along. I introduced him to DH and we all stood talking for ages, till his phone rang and we decided it was time to go. We stopped at a countryside café where we've been a few times before and got cold drinks. Mine was raspberry and watermelon, which hit the spot.

DH dropped me off at home to get the church keys then I went to do the cleaning, followed by a trip to the supermarket for various bits of food including some y/s fruit. I didn't get as far as writing the session notes for this morning till late on - and combined the earlier stages with listening to the football, so you tell it was late when I finished - about 2am I think.

Spends for the day were souvenirs (£7), ice lolly, chucking sponges (£1), cold drinks and a scone (about £11) and groceries.

Cherryfudge

Today, Sunday, I've not spent anything. The children's session went okay, then someone asked to speak to me about some proposed changes, which turned into a long but useful conversation.

Dinner was mackerel and I've spent about an hour and a half watering the garden and tidying up bits of it. It's looking a bit sorry for itself after all the dry weather. DH has put wood filler on the bench and the one remaining original window sill so those can now be sanded and painted.

We fitted in a local walk this evening but I was too tired for much and just relaxed. The temperature has dropped further and is very pleasant but I actually put a light jumper on while we were out. I don't think it was really cold enough, but anything feels cool after the extremes of heat we've had recently.

Cherryfudge

The plans for the week ahead - which may be subject to change, especially depending on whether the job descriptions get sent through in a timely manner.

Monday: examine job description, make notes. Take DH's best shoes to the mender. Work from 5pm.

Tuesday: meet DS1's in laws and the grandchildren for lunch, child care in the afternoon. Just possibly meet up with friends in the evening but unlikely as one is unwell and having an op later in the week.

Wednesday - currently closing day for expressions of interest in the new array of jobs after the restructure.

Wednesday, Thursday, Friday - work, pm. DH is planning to go to Auntie's on Thursday after work, returning on Sunday.

Friday: church cleaning.

Saturday - no specific plans.

Sunday - help with the children's activity, go to family BBQ in the afternoon or evening - TBC. DH hopes to join us there.

Cherryfudge

So here I am at the start of what looks like a week spent mostly in the house. I'm busy avoiding opening my work laptop as I don't want to start work on an application!

On the plus side it's about 20c out of doors and last night's cloud has given place to wall-to-wall blue skies yet again. It's not due to get much hotter today. I'm really enjoying working my way through 'heatwave and holiday' clothes that normally are just left on the hangar. Yesterday's was a sage green jersey dress (very airy) and today's is a dark navy linen dress (also very airy).

I washed a rug while we were on cheap power: it's from the children's area at church and was looking a bit sad. Now there's a mixed load in the machine.

Other things to do are my Bible reading, a huge heap of ironing, tidying and cleaning, some receipts to go through and the solar recommendations to contact. I also need to look up the solar equipment I've been recommended as a bit of due diligence. I'm still quite impatient to get the installation done with and be free to get on with the garden. 😊

Cherryfudge

Still no letter/email about job changes… I think I'll draft something for the forms they've sent (which are brief) so I can send that tomorrow if nothing has arrived. Not doing it yet, though! Just thinking through what to put and where to find dates and titles of paperwork.

The washing is just about dried and some of the ironing done, along with the Bible reading and a big handful of receipts. Interesting mixture. I rang the changes by washing make up brushes and closing the sun-facing window and curtains as the sun moved round. I think I'll draft something for the solar queries next: I've read a couple more articles today but I don't think that's moved things forward very much.

I did note there's a webinar for the job department at four, which is cutting it a bit fine for my cleaning job but I'll see if I can log on for at least part of it, as it's a possible source of more information.

Cherryfudge

The webinar turned out not to be for the relevant department, so not helpful, but I emailed my manager and she's given me an idea what to look for, and contacted the department as I'm not the only one who's not been emailed. Meanwhile I've dug out my CV and dusted it off - not a lot has changed apart from that I now have more experience to offer.

Cleaning this evening was three hours and I think I'm likely to have this slot over the next couple of weeks as the usual person is away over that time. I'll try to make the most of that.

Nothing financial today, unless you count employment. I did, however, read an article on clutter (nothing new there) which had the following paragraph that hit home with me:

• Match organization to capacity: One of the most common issues I see is clients trying to maintain organizing systems that don’t match their energy levels or cognitive load. Open bins, fewer steps, and visible storage often work better than complex systems, especially during periods of stress or illness.

Light bulb moment - open bins for filing. The stuff has a place to go but doesn't need to be filed 'properly' on the day. That's useful for me: I immediately found a couple of A4 box lids and repurposed one for printer paper and the other for the oddments of receipts that take more effort than a normal receipt (separating out different budgets on one paper, or needing to note something like the date I bought something).

It also feels like a step towards solving the problem that put me off continuing as a budgeting advisor. I did the training and I can see how it's supposed to work but it doesn't deal with what happened when people are overwhelmed and unable to maintain the good practices we tried to instil. Something as simple as an open bin to gather the papers till you can work through a few - that helps. Of course if doesn't solve the 'who moved my bin' moments, or the fact the cat has taken up residence in it, or it got hidden under two coats and a PE kit. However, the author of the article has put the situation into words nicely.

Article

https://www.msn.com/en-gb/health/mindandbody/how-living-with-clutter-can-affect-your-health-and-fast-ways-to-clear-it-without-overwhelm/ar-AA1Vjg9a?ocid=msedgntp&pc=ACTS&cvid=6a54a41b7ad7476cac6190bd8e9cf01b&ei=15

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