Moving on

Cherryfudge

This seems to be one of those afternoons where I don't have quite the energy I could do with, as I actually feel in a cleaning/ decluttering/ gardening sort of mood. Don't get excited though. Today's decluttering so far has been one small soap dispenser to the charity shop.

I had energy this morning and DH and I went for a run (Couch to 5K, week 2 run 2) which was okay. I think I pushed myself a bit faster than usual as DH has a longer stride than I do, and even though I let him get ahead ('let him', ha ha) and didn't try to keep up, it seems to mean I go a bit faster anyway. Main meal was at lunchtime so we could eat together before work. We had mackerel with veg and baked potatoes.  DH is volunteering this afternoon then going to see the tenant at FiL's flat about some work that's needed, so I won't see him before my work.  

An experimental mend on a pair of DH's 'good' socks has also been completed. The mend I did a few months ago has lasted, but pulled out at one edge so plainly should have been bigger, but the fabric is wearing thin. I cut up some old socks to re-line the soles of these, so they are nicely cushioned now, but it probably wasn't worth the effort. I'm one of those people who has had practice at learning from their mistakes. (I have learned not to try much with thin socks but this was a thick pair).

The only energetic thing I've done is to clean the bathroom and I've tidied the kitchen a bit as well, so Progress Has Been Made.

The running gear and some other washing is now drying on the line (yay! it didn't get a second spin but is nearly dry so we are officially in the right side of the year) and I took advantage of the soft ground to dig 20 plantains out of the lawn. Last year I learned that you have to do this while it's wet as they cement themselves in when it dries out. 20 hardly touches the problem, though, and the bigger lawn at the other side of the house has lots of ground elder, so I could garden all summer and not solve it all. I've also weeded a tub and put some coriander seeds in: the February sowing failed entirely but I'll keep trying.

I'm off to work soon so probably that's all the news for today.

Cherryfudge

milann said:

I think you did right not applying for the new job. You seem to be very busy already. 

Thanks @milann. I did feel a bit guilty not applying, as I'm earning very little at the moment. We can get by but it means using savings for anything above the everyday, which in the long term is a quality of life thing. However, I enjoy what I do, and it gives me time to do things that save money and which I enjoy, like cooking from scratch and looking after clothes (though I think this morning's sock repair may have been a bit much).

Cherryfudge

This week seems to be a bit full: we're meeting with H and her parents for lunch today then probably looking after the girls while H takes her parents to the station. That will be nice and I have an activity left over from my Sunday School group to play with N. This evening we're at my friend's for the Tuesday group: I've made a start on preparation but not honed it at all.

Wednesday is full: another session observing at the debt advice centre in the morning, coffee with a friend/former colleague in the afternoon and leading the evening group - again, prep is half done. Thursday seems to be a quiet day, but cleaning in the evening, Friday is cleaning morning and evening, Saturday is lunch out with family to celebrate both J and A having birthdays and on Sunday I've said I'll help with teas and coffees in the morning at church.

I was hoping to get those last two work courses out of the way, but we'll see. It could be a useful displacement activity! I'd also like to do a bit more in the garden, but it's raining again...

I checked the ISAs and the money still hasn't moved over, though the letter says that happens in two working days, in which case I expect today is the last day. I did a search for any emails about J's present arriving in the shop, and found it's there, it was just that I missed the email. We can't see her today as she's not at work because of it being her birthday and we'd already committed to the middle of the day with H and family, thinking J would be working.

So I have a couple of sessions of prep to get done, and everything else is just turning up for things - oh, and making or buying a salad for Wednesday evening. Tuesday is catered for my the host but Wednesday isn't usually a meal but we thought it would be nice for a change. So two pizzas in two days!  

Cherryfudge

We had a nice lunch out and H's parents kindly paid, then donated the loyalty card points to my garden centre app, which was very thoughtful. It could take a while for me to save to the garden furniture as suggested by the sales person when I got the card (!), but I might get some more plants through it after a while.  H's parents are on their journey home now. I did get to hold baby F for a while but little N was at nursery

We also spoke to a manager to get further advice about the ground elder problem and whatever we do, it's going to be a lot of work. The environmentally friendly expert I had the chance to speak to last year had resorted to a systemic weedkiller for a similar problem, so I was resigned to that, but this person also suggests digging up any plants from the area that we want to save, and potting them up, and also keeping the affected areas of the lawn mown so the growth is limited - then treating with systemic weedkiller and retreating if there's any growth next spring. So basically a big job, but I think we need to see it as an opportunity to revamp that corner of the garden.

J's present has been collected ready to give to her on Saturday: she rang to ask if we wanted to join them for lunch but we'd already committed to seeing the others.

DH is now out at the library and I'm waiting for a couple of paracetamols to kick in and rid me of a headache. I keep making typos so I'm probably not in the best place to prepare a study, even an easy one, but there's not too much choice. I've also tried to get some sense out of the chat bot at the bank, as according to the paperwork my ISA should have transferred several days ago. The chat bot thinks I want to open a new ISA so I gave up for now.

badmemory

I'm not sure I would describe what we are having as rain.  I would not have gone out in it if I hadn't had to.  I didn't realise you could have hail in 7 degs.

Cherryfudge

badmemory said:

I'm not sure I would describe what we are having as rain.  I would not have gone out in it if I hadn't had to.  I didn't realise you could have hail in 7 degs.

Urgh, that sounds thoroughly miserable.

The rain let up here and I went out in the garden which helped lift the headache. I've attacked some of the ground elder with shears as it's too wet to mow the lawn. The idea is that that will slow down its advance. I had to stop myself because my hands were protesting after a while. There's loads left to do but I'm attacking on two fronts: the tidal surge across the lawn and the thick infestation near the house. The edges of the tidal surge were thin and are now reduced a lot, which is more than I can say for the thicket. It's all mixed up up with things I want to keep, but some of those are also invading the lawn so any that aren't easy to dig out will have to go.

I also took another 21 plantains out of the other lawn. Some are very tiny but they all count towards the total. My neighbour has recommended 'Weed and feed' and I'm thinking it might save a lot of work, though I don't know if it would work on ground elder. I had a look at the instructions on the rust remover I bought last year to treat the gates before repainting (never got that far). It looks rather powerful but I found an additional pair of shears that had been at my parents' house and which are very rusty. I wonder if they are rescuable? I think they have potential but I'm rather scared of using something with so many health warnings.

The fresh air probably did me at least as much good as the paracetamols, as I was able to go in and finish the study material and we had a pretty good discussion this evening as well as pizza. 

Cherryfudge

A day out of the ordinary and really quite busy, though it rained a lot and no gardening got done.

I woke up about four with reflux, possibly due to having various bread items yesterday. It's not woken me for a long time, but DH said I was snoring so he spoke to me, so possibly it was that not my throat that woke me! Anyway I went down stairs for an hour and had a drink and a snack to try to counter the acid, and as a result I've been a bit tired.

In the morning I went to sit in on another session at the debt advice centre which again was informative. I'm a bit concerned about how I'd feel having a regular morning commitment, but I think that's the only real potential difficulty with helping out there.

After that it was back via the shops then lunch (baked potato with Coronation Chick peas and a rhubarb muffin) before going to meet my former colleague for coffee. We decided to try the coffee shop that's under new ownership and we could see people inside having coffee, so we went in, only to find it was their staff training day and the customers were in fact family members who were playing the role for staff to practice on! We were about to go out when the manager suggested we stay and have our drinks on the house! So we had a good catch up and free drinks! We weren't the only ones to make this mistake as someone else came in thinking it was open. The new ownership is local and has been running a mobile coffee shop so they know what they're doing.

I came home to wash my hair and finish setting up for the evening. Part way through shampooing, the water went cold and the boiler stopped working, but switched itself on again a few minutes later when I was still trying to work out what to do and whether I'd got all the shampoo out of my hair. The clock by the bed had reset so it must have been a short power cut, but at least I didn't need to use cold water to rinse.

I made quite a few notes for the evening and a friend gave me a lift to the venue. This evening we met earlier than usual so we could have pizza (I brought salad and contributed a couple of pounds to the people who collected Sains pizzas and pop, then we sat down to chat and do the study I'd prepared, and I realised I'd left my notes on the table at home! However, the recent preparation meant I had a fair idea of what we were doing and it was a discussion more than a teaching session, so in the end it was really interesting with different insights from different people.

Expenditure:
Housekeeping £approx 10
Entertainment free!  

Cherryfudge

The new ISA finally has money in! I know they must have a rush around the first few days of the financial year, but the ISA opened on 2nd, I'm not sure what day the transfer was authorised as I suspect I sent two or it, but it didn't move across till 10th, so I've potentially lost about a week of interest because it took them a long time. I know that won't be a fortune and I'm not sure it's worth the hassle of trying to follow it up. The old ISA has closed as per instructions, so that part is done and dusted.

Talking of dust, I have housework to do today, but nothing booked to go to till work at 5. It's sunny, so I want to get out into the garden and battle the weeds again, and perhaps another run before lunch. There are also the remaining two work courses to polish off, which is going to get priority over the Future Learn and proofreading courses as they are overdue and work pays me.  

It rained again early this morning so the grass is too wet to mow but if it dries out I'd like to get that done. Also the spare bedroom is covered in clothes that need to go away - summer ones that still need a keep or donate decision, and winter ones to pack into the loft. I'd like to go back to getting that room nicer, partly so I can get the sewing machine out and try a few projects that have been waiting for months and are cluttering up space and my mind. I was talking to some friends who are accomplished with their sewing machines last night and really would like to have more clue about what I'm doing with mine.

I've also said I'll have dinner of some sort in the slow cooker so DH can eat when he gets in. It could be a curry but I've not given it much thought yet.

Cherryfudge

So far today has been productive in a messy sort of way. I went to get something from the so-called emergency supplies cupboard, and noticed there are gaps appearing because we actually have some turnover of goods in there - perhaps as much as in the kitchen cupboards. That got me wondering whether ease of use has anything to do with it. Things are harder to find in the kitchen as they're lower down. Cue sort out of cupboards. I decided purely on the basis of available space to put four each of the multiple items in the emergency/back-up cupboard and tidy the other. Eventually I ran out of time and had to put things back, but I've put a big batch of chickpea tikka in the slow cooker, which used up lots of tins and some other bits. The cupboards are a better balance now.

Somewhere in amongst this I made a couple of portions of overnight oats and went for a run (couch to 5K week 2 run 3), then had overnight oats for lunch and did some gardening. I've spent an hour of the ground elder so there's a swath cut through and edges cut back, but it's growing apace. Then I took a trowel to the plantain, which is also growing fast and starting to flower.  I'm working at doing an average of 20 plantain extractions a day! So far the score is 80 removed and my initial guess of 200 in total may need to be revised upwards.

I also bumped into a friend from my old job so she's coming for a catchup tomorrow.

KeepOnKnitting

That sounds like such a fabulous sort of day. The garden must be really coming along. I hope you have a nice time with your friend tomorrow.