Moving on

rtandon27

Wow - fantastic blackberry haul! - I usually add a splash of apple cider vinegar to the rinse water to drive any critters out!

Cherryfudge

I've had a couple of really full days and I'm tired! Offhand, I'm not sure how much I remember but on Monday I made a big pot of chickpea tikka then went for a meeting with the person I've been talking to about the changes in children's work. For various reasons she's going to co-lead with me - it's her degree subject and she has a real vision for how the new space could be used, so she'll be leading in that and I'll head the personnel side. I stayed far longer at hers than I expected so I had to hare off home, grab an ice lolly and some biscuits, change into work clothes and hare off out again. I made it to work with a few minutes to spare thanks to a colleague spotting me and offering a lift!

Work was only two hours and there was another odd incident. The other week a certain block was locked up early but without some of the usual security checks and I never found out why. On Monday some people had to finish early as another couple of blocks were locked up early. They will get paid for their contracted hours but we don't know what was happening.

Tuesday was our child care day and the morning was a bit tricky as they were both tired and irascible after a long journey the previous evening. We did out usual library and swings trip and they fell asleep on the way home, which was the right thing to do and left them in a much better frame of mind.

We had expected very hot weather but it was pleasant with a breeze, though hotter later. The girls had the story of Moses among the books they picked and ask me to read it to them, which I think I did four times. The younger one was very puzzled why the baby Moses had to grow up, while the older one loved the idea of a Princess rescuing a baby, so that became our game for the rest of the day!

DH and I had a quick tea (cod in batter with veg and couscous) and watched 'Who do you think you are', then I spent the rest of the evening helping sort out the large amounts of stuff unearthed in preparation for moving the children's group upstairs. That gave me a chance to work alongside someone else from the team and get a better handle on ideas people are having for the new, larger group. I've been able to pass info back to my team this evening, so I'm hoping this will enable them to feel more in the loop.

We've also had a couple of people offer to come onto the team for the little ones, which is amazing as several have had to step back from it.

Cherryfudge

Another couple of crazy days. Yesterday I lost internet access mid way through messaging my co-leader, which probably spared her lots of unnecessary reading. The problem with the computer looked very like what happened a few weeks ago.

I remembered to take my passport as ID and collected three parcels then very hastily got a birthday card and voucher for DS2's partner which I posted before work. Work get rather interrupted by the eclipse: DH went to a viewing point with friends. That was quite a welcome break for him as he's been tachycardic since Tuesday. The most likely cause is either strong tea or pushing a heavy buggy. Thankfully that has gone back to normal today, which is DH's day off.

It's been 33 degrees here today: I think that's the highest I've known it at home. I was very glad of DH offering lifts as it was a full day. I had bloods taken in the morning then went on to church where I met with three others to discuss how we are going to arrange and decorate the hall we will now be using from September. Some good ideas and a few polite disagreements! I left before they had really finished as we were having our main meal (liver and bacon) at lunchtime, followed immediately by having the chimney swept.

The person who does the chimney also installed out log burner a few years ago. He'd had some cardio issues similar to DH's but that seems to have resolved for the time being and he was buzzing about his new-found faith! Really interesting to hear him. It came about through watching the film 'The Passion'. He's going to a church we went to years ago but asked us what else is available so I tried to talk him through the various local options and explained about what distinguishes them. So that was all a very positive conversation, and although I'd thought there wouldn't be much for him to do with the log burner, he found a blocked vent and has taken out the removable bits that make it a dual fuel burner. We can put them back but it should draw better now. He then set a fire with the aim of making a good bed of ash to help it burn better when lit, but DH put that out later as it was so hot!

DH has been mending his bike brakes and later collected my computer: the man says the problem is with the router not the computer. I think this may explain why the smart meter keep losing connection too. I rang up about that yesterday and got a signal again this afternoon. Good to have both working but we are looking into changing broadband as we're paying nearly £50 a month.

Meanwhile I went out with my friends from the Tuesday group - to a coffee place with air con, of course. After this I had three hours at work having at some point realised I'd left my bag locked in a cleaning cupboard yesterday! All was well, which is a relief as it had not only my purse but also my passport in.

That's all been a bit much to fit in one day so I will be off to bed soon.

WelshmansDaughter

My broadband is fibre at £28 a month

Cherryfudge

That would be a massive saving on ours! Trouble is, we need to keep a landline as Auntie can't hear properly if she rings a mobile. Apparently she can hear if DH rings from his mobile but not if she rings him, so we may ask her to text and we will ring back. Nothing is ever simple! 😁

rtandon27

@Cherryfudge - does Auntie wear a hearing aid???

It may be that she can use one of tthese options - which would save you having to pay extra each month!

Amplified Landline Phone
Geemarc AmpliPOWER 50: Corded desk phone providing up to 60dB receive amplification and an 80dB–90dB ringer, ideal for severe hearing loss.
Amplicomms BigTel 1583: Cordless multi-handset option with a 35dB amplified earpiece, big buttons, and a built-in answering machine.
Panasonic KX-TGM420EB: Features a specialized "Slow Talk" mode to slow down live speech and six custom tone settings.
Mobile and Smart Options
Smartphones (Samsung Galaxy / Google Pixel) - Feature native Bluetooth streaming to hearing aids, live captioning, and sound amplifiers.
Doro Leva E30 / Doro 6880: 4G easy-use flip feature phones rated well for hearing-aid compatibility alongside physical emergency SOS buttons.

An elderly friend is loosing her hearing and loves to text with me rather than struggle through a conversation, so when I gave her these suggestions, she decided to use the smartphone bluetooth option when her grandkids call as she has a hearing aid that is compatible.

Cherryfudge

Wow, @rtandon27 , you are a treasure-trove of knowledge! Thank you for all those, I will work my way through.

Yes, she wears hearing aids and as she's also lost the sight of one eye, she is truly amazing in what she continues to do. However, she won't knowingly use internet so I don't suppose the Bluetooth option is for her.

I will see if I can find out what the problem is for her, if it's the sound getting distorted or a specific sound range that's the problem, perhaps we can work around that.

Good news this afternoon in that DH had an appointment with the hearing aid clinic as one of his didn't seem to be working: they're replaced it and he is hearing so much better.

Dakota_Rose

Would your DH drink decaf tea @Cherryfudge? There’s some really poor ones out there but I made the change to Yorkshire Tea Decaf and can’t go back now. If I switch to more than one cup of ‘normal’ tea, I get a racing heart, headache and stomach pains. Now, I can drink strong (decaf) tea by the bucketful. Just a thought x

Cherryfudge

I think it's worth us trying different teas, thanks @Dakota_Rose . He thinks it could be that this was a takeaway one (bought to justify us taking the children to cafe loos the other day) and it was so hot he let it brew for a long time before drinking some. In the end he threw the rest out as he didn't want to make the problem worse. I could suggest decaff next time we're there.

He usually has one cup of Earl Grey a day and this was the second, so that won't have helped. Otherwise he drinks Rooibos which doesn't have caffeine. I do think it's one of those cases where he would rather do without than change, but he's taken to carrying Rooibos around with him as it has anti inflammatory properties which seem to help him health-wise.

rtandon27

Haha - not so much a treasure trove of information, as I am really handy with search engines - I got that info by putting in a very specific question and getting a really good answer!

This morning we treated said neighbour to a McD's breakfast as I had buy one, get two free coupons! It took me a full 5 minutes to explain that we were treating her! and why - I then followed up on whatsapp to make sure she understood, and OH & I had a laugh that her hearing is getting worse and worse!!! I have a feeling she forgot to put in the hearing aids first thing as when I took her the food round the back through the garden, she was holding her own in the conversation!

On the subject of anti-inflamatory teas, I've been drinking red vine leaf tea (grape leaves) which is proported to help with circulation & find keeps my leg cramps and swelling at bay!