Moving on

Cherryfudge

I actually wrote the above on Monday evening and the computer hit a gigantic go-slow so I couldn't do a thing. It's taken till now (Thursday) to solve it, but I seem to be £20 poorer and it is vastly faster, but I have a backlog of things to do, so not too much writing for now.

Cherryfudge

Today has been packed: two loads of washing on the line, two loads of ironing done, most of the prep for Sunday completed and a shopping trip fitted in, along with collecting a parcel. Between those I did some paid work and chased up the 'missing' pay. I'm pretty sure it's not missing as one of the unexplained sums in my main job is for the exact amount of hours I claimed for, but while today's reply from payroll at least attempted to answer mine (the one earlier this week was away with the fairies, as they say), they've still not explained some bits and pieces that need to be put right.

So anyway, we are both worn out and are going to prioritise sleep, as the solar people are coming at eight tomorrow and at lunch time the family is descending to celebrate DH's birthday. I made DH's birthday cake this evening but he didn't hear the timer and I was in the bath, so it's rather overdone. At least he has a cake! Then I went to prepare curry for tomorrow and the ground coriander looked strange and didn't smell of anything. I use it quite a lot so I hope it's not dangerous, but I've thrown it out and will have to get more in the morning once the solar people have gone.

Meanwhile the house is not tidied and I have too much stuff, but I'll pack my work things away and the session notes for Sunday can go in the relevant bag, and that's a couple of things we don't have to deal with in the morning.

Cherryfudge

I'm yawning now! It's been a very good day though I was up before seven to decide whether to make DH another birthday cake! I didn't: I did a cream cheese frosting and the finished cake, while not showstopper-stylish, tasted okay.

Once DH was up, we put our backs into tidying and by the time the solar man arrived (about 20 to 9, but they texted to give an ETA, so we were able to work to that), the place looked better.

The man was lovely, spent most of his time outside, including flying a drone to get the photos he needed, and helped me sort the loft ladder so he could check the roof. Between times I did things like cleaning the bathroom, and DH got the rest of the food shopping. I had a small decluttering triumph as I suddenly saw that a few toiletries had been hanging around and it was okay to let them go. This isn't stuff that someone else could use, it's pretty ancient so I've emptied the containers and recycled them. That 'S1mple' moisturiser that wouldn't come out of the bottle (mentioned back in the spring, I think), was still not coming out after several months upside down, so I filled the bottle with hot water and gave it a shake to rinse it out. Guess what? The remaining moisturiser came out in a blob, which I scooped up and added to the tub I've been using as a more accessible container. 😁

The solar man discussed things like the best placement for the equipment, so they are going to send us a write-up and we can make a decision. Unless anything else comes up, I think we are going to go with this company, though the scaffolders aren't in our area till November, so to keep costs a little lower, we've agreed to work with their timing. I wonder how many people will be putting solar panels up in the third week of November? Still, we will probably be enjoying seeing the benefits creep up by about March!

Once he'd finished, we each made our curry (one chicken and one chickpea), I tidied around the garden a bit and then the family arrived. Lovely to see DS2 and his fiancee, and admire the ring! We had planned to put those with children around the dining table then, as that isn't big enough for everyone, the other four of us in the lounge, but one couple arrived a bit late and we'd just started to eat, then DDiL found a way of moving up so everyone could eat together, which was crowded but good.

DGD1 was much more relaxed than previous visits. She now knows how to wind the grandfather clock and where to find things in the sideboard, and she helped me carry Grandpa's birthday cake in.

The children are now able to play together, with the eighteen-month-old determinedly toddling along like a good 'un. I need to think again about a safety rail by our entry step! I had to dive to be there when the youngest went close to the edge, and it's a hard landing if anyone goes over. I was thinking of an elegant barley sugar twisted rail, enough to provide something for an adult to use on an icy day, but now I can see there needs to be something closer to the ground as well.

DSiL wasn't able to come due to work, and DD left first as she's fitting things around baby naps and they are going out tonight. The rest of us walked down to a local park, where the children could run round and go on the swings. DGD1 got me to go on the roundabout with her: I was so dizzy, I had to sit on the edge of it recovering for a while before I attempted to get to my feet.

It's amazing that it's been tee shirt weather, though it's October. The park is a tiny corner of a field and quite sheltered, so we were enjoying the heat despite the phone saying it was 16 degrees. Making the most of it!

Everyone else went home around 5.30 but we've sent photos on the family WhatsApp to keep the day going.

This evening I thought I needed to take action as my bank is taken over by another and I've yet to do anything about choosing a new account. However, it turns out I have till the end of the month. Meanwhile I've discovered how to download statements and they come out as a nice spreadsheet, so I've done a couple, choosing to do them as annual statements rather than monthly. A lot of figures but less paper.

We have enough curry for another meal and quite a few naans. Right now, though, I think it's time for a bath and bed.

ladybird1106

Sounds like it was a lovely family day, creating memories.

Love 🐞

Watty1

I love reading about family days like that. Such joy!

Baileys_Babe

Sounds like a lovely day

Cherryfudge

It was indeed a lovely day. Thanks all for reading!

Today I'm still yawning, but not so much. I was leading the children's session this morning and fifteen children came, which I think is the most we've had. Three were tiny babies whose mums stayed, so the team wasn't really responsible for them, but there was also an older child who'd not been before. I tried to give her extra attention and I think she eventually enjoyed herself. I'm seriously considering whether we need five on the team each week, though, or at least as often as possible. There's no legal requirement for that ratio but it would mean the children get more adult input, and in an emergency it would be that much safer.

Back at home, we'd switched dinners so our habitual Saturday fish was today instead. It's easy to prepare so we can eat in good time. We also finished up the courgette we'd been given, and I made coleslaw for probably the first time this year - determined to get it in there somewhere!

I slept half the afternoon, but didn't shake off the headache that's been around quite a bit today. I think that's too much computer time. At dusk we went for a local walk. It's still mild and I'm sure that was better for me than staying at home. We've watched the Throw Down with a lot more appreciation for the difficulties of throwing a pot, now that we've tried it! I'd quite like to try again, but DH is wondering what else we can try.

Nothing spent, nothing financial at all today, in fact.

Cherryfudge

I forgot to plan the week, so here goes. I've not been offered any cleaning shifts, which is probably as well because it gives me a physical break, and I've been quite tired. However, all the computer time I've been spending with work stuff is giving me eye strain so DH has loaned me a spare monitor and keyboard in the hope that a big screen will make it easier. I've still to plug in and try it: at the moment it's looming darkly at me and I'm finding other things to do in classic avoidance mode.

Monday (today) - DH's birthday. He opened presents over breakfast and genuinely seems to like a jokey one from me: he always says how good his mum's iron was so I've got him one that looks as though it comes from the sixties, complete with original wooden box, but modern wiring. He also has a book on Monet from me and three varied history books from the children. That will keep him busy for weeks. Work refused to give him the day off, but he's put in a complaint as when he requests A/L, they keep arranging his week so his normal day off falls on the day he'd requested leave. Of course, he would eventually run out of opportunities to take leave, so it needed to be addressed.

I've an online meeting at 4.

This evening we are finishing off the curry from Saturday and going to see Sense and Sensibility at the posh cinema where you can sit on sofas.

Tuesday - will be child care and the Tuesday group agreed not to meet up so it's an evening off for me.

Wednesday - I can't remember if DH has a day off, but I think that's Thursday/ Friday, in which case I need to get ahead with CPD on Wednesday. In the evening there's a church business meeting.

Thursday - in the classroom all day.

Friday - DH is going to visit Auntie for a couple of nights.

Saturday - babysitting DGD3 in the evening. During the day I really need to push on with tidying the spare room.

Sunday - change of plan at church so I don't need to be on the team and can redeploy people to future weeks where cover is thin. DH is bringing Auntie back to ours for a few days.

Cherryfudge

I got some useful stuff done while procrastinating this morning, including emptying the dishwasher and sorting out some drawers of summer clothes ready for when the weather cools down and the woollies come out of the loft. Ashamed to say I had completely forgotten a couple of items, I definitely have too many. I spent a little while tidying the garden, as an excuse to enjoy the sun. 20 degrees in October. Nice.

It was quite hard to settle to anything, as the house two doors down is having a replacement roof, and I'm not used to the banging and shouting.

(But on a more positive note, following the overflow of clothes, two carrier bags of textiles went to recycling last weekend and someone has finally bought the silicone Christmas tree mould I had on V1nted).

Once I got down to work, it went okay, though I've not yet made myself fight the battle of attaching the monitor and keyboard to the laptop. In contrast to my cleaning job, where I only find I've got a new contract when pay is missing due to managers moving on mid-cycle, the new job has sent me my contract, all ten pages of it. Very early on I spotted that they'd got the wrong original starting date, but that was rectified within hours. I also emailed back to explain to payroll (who have, to be fair, sent a reply to my second email that indicates someone has actually read it this time) that my cleaning pay has been paid to the wrong job.

DH has had a good day at work, and we had more of Saturday's curry for tea before heading off to the cinema. Sense and Sensibility was the best film I've seen in ages, helped by a very comfy sofa and a hot chocolate. I've treated myself to the Kindle version of the book - 22p.

Sun_Addict

Boo to DH's work not letting him take his birthday off but it sounds like he had a lovely family day at the weekend to compensate.