NST February Forgiveness

Rowan9

Friday! And an extra gratitude -  have day’s holiday! We are off to see DSS and littlest DGD tomorrow for a few days. So looking forward to it. 

Gratitudes
Meeting with our wider team yesterday and lots of catch up chat. Good meetings too. I feel very blessed to enjoy my job so much and to work with good people 

Lots of steps and stair climbing so it all counts as my exercise! Also good amount of five min bursts of exercise
Lovely easy tea of roast beef from deli counter, really good local potatoes and then a pile of salad to use up before we go away

grandmanerd

I was ill (irritating coughing and sneezing with blocked sinuses), lots of me was aching and I felt zero motivation to do anything and the miserable weather didn't help. However I still managed to do a few things. I wrestled the larger merino blanket onto the bed, folded it lengthways and then rolled it up to sit behind my back. This meant that the protectors can come off 3 pillows and be sent to join the washing queue.

It also gave me access to the floor and a bin bag and a takeaway carrier bag have been filled (still a bit more to do). persuaded DS3 to take one sack of cans downstairs with him and the few collected since are in a bag for life with a bowl and a few bits for washing up (mainly cutlery). I  did a few orders on the previous evening but they wanted me to use the pinsentry machine (which I'd taken out of my bag the day before). By the time I found it, I was undecided about some orders (I'd survived another day without needing them) but will go back through and complete any necessary ones (toilet rolls).

Very frustrated by the rapidly growing list of bits I need as if I could get as far as the middle of the pedestrianised bit I could pick up most of them - going to write a random shopping list in the back of my diary so if I get near to a particular shop I'll  know what we need from them. 

Lots of sleep, lots of reading plus some puzzling and laptop pursuits seems to have restored my equilibrium. Lots to do, so I need to make a plan for the day and prioritise, as I won't get all of it done. Spent some time yesterday looking at paint offers in a diy store sale but will need to compare prices elsewhere against the buy one, get one half price offers (thinking my younger niece might do the work if I paid her as she only gets minimum wage). Really need to get in touch with the gardener as atm rubbish is trapped in the house with no way to get to the back gate (or two of the bins) and can't take it out the front and round until I can get a key for the gates blocking access to the backs from the Council.

Grateful for my bed, some pampering (face ccream and lip salve, both much needed) and my pods.

Thrifty_Taylor

Got out of bed without putting glasses on, to check if the schools were closed again today. Unfortunately NO, so put my glasses on, got dressed & went out to clear the drive. DH had got up to put the bins out, so took over the shovelling, so I could get breakfast.

Had no patience with the 5/6 year olds, we have some whiners & having to either help them into or out of waterproofs & too small wellies 8 times throughout the day, made it a long day! The time in between passed quickly though.

The roads weren't too bad to drive on, but our carpark was very deep. Needed a push to get me out my parking space.

Headed to town, got a chippenese (Chinese from a chip shop) for mine & mum's tea, then my cousin had gone to visit mum's sister in hospital, & phoned mum to wish her a happy birthday, which made her day as they'd not spoken for s few weeks.

We went to see a local production of Footloose, saw mum's ex-boss, who she was very close to. She's declining in health now, but had been taken with a group of other frail ladies. As we left, mum told her she loved her & she replied that she loved her too, it brought a year to my eye. The roads weren't too bad to drive home on.

Grateful for helpful people to push my car, mum speaking to her sister & the sentiments of mum & her ex-boss

Thanks for the recipe @f0xh0les, will definitely be making that! 😋

Toni'sfriend

Soup sounds delicious,  F0xh0les. You know how I love soup!

I had a bit of a day yesterday. Plucked up the courage to book our bus tickets online. All well until I tried to print them off. Printer wouldn't work. Tried everything I could which admittedly isn't much and still nothing. So emailed them to my cousin's husband to print them off for me only to find the company had only sent one not two. After numerous phone calls now have both and am collecting them tomorrow.

In between times the hairdresser phoned to change my appointment from today till tomorrow. Not exactly convenient but never mind.

Then I got a phone call from the hospital wanting me to go for a pre-op assessment on the same day as I have another appointment with another doctor at a different hospital. The secretary was really nice and went out of her way to fit me in another day. So all being well booked in for surgery on 11 March. Although Himself knew this was going to happen he got quite upset. I calmed him down but after he came to bed later he was violently ill. Don't know if it was nerves or not but he's confined to bed at the minute.

So I'm going to finish my coffee and get started cooking and cleaning.

I hope today will be a bit calmer. xxx

f0xh0les

Sounds like you have a lot of painting  @grandmanerd .   Community Re-Paint projects are good, there are quite a few around now.   I got 4 big tins of paint for £22 from our local one.  Much more fun than The Big Orange Wh*rehouse, and much cheaper too.  (Plus the promise of F&B for £5 a tin) and it is recycling. You do need to sieve it before use though.  In case anyone is going to give it a go. I would recommend it if there is one near any turtle.  G00gle 'community repaint'.  Don't Shop - Recycle!

Today was more wallpaper stripping, wall painting, cleaning, and sanding.  I made progress. I can see where I am going.

apple_muncher

Today I am grateful for Pip breaking up for half term, for my gym session, for some tête à têtes peeping through, for Magnum PI, for not getting wet when out and about.

Starlight_at_Sea

Ah @Toni'sfriend, that does indeed sound like a day and a half. I hope that today has gone smoother. 

It was me @F0xh0les that needed prompting re expenses. Embarrassed to say I still do! Was all set to do them this afternoon but found other (worthwhile but other!) tasks to occupy me.

Greatful for feeling less exhausted and jaded today than yesterday, for a great work colleague and a unlocking of a tricky problem, for making it to the gym and surviving the session, for mums computer proving reliable when I had a bit of admin for dad to do, for tracking down dad's energy bills so we can do some comparisons as his very low energy lock in ends soon! 

Not a NSD. Used voucher towards but needed to invest my pennies alongside it, but ordered a heated airer for the flat. Conscious I have first guests coming to stay next week and have said there are drying facilities! Pleased to get one thing off the list! 

grandmanerd

f0xh0les said:

Sounds like you have a lot of painting  @grandmanerd .   Community Re-Paint projects are good, there are quite a few around now.   I got 4 big tins of paint for £22 from our local one.  Much more fun than The Big Orange Wh*rehouse, and much cheaper too.  (Plus the promise of F&B for £5 a tin) and it is recycling. You do need to sieve it before use though.  In case anyone is going to give it a go. I would recommend it if there is one near any turtle.  G00gle 'community repaint'.  Don't Shop - Recycle!

Today was more wallpaper stripping, wall painting, cleaning, and sanding.  I made progress. I can see where I am going.

I don't have any painting f0xh0les - whatever happens it won't be me doing it. However I did look at some of my favourite paints,  ones I've used in the past that don't upset my chest (or my skin), cover easily (less contact if one coat covers easily rather than cheap paint that needs 2 or 3 coats and satincoat for the skirting boards that always gave beautiful results. My nearest repaint centre is Emmaus in Bolton (8 miles away so would need help from someone on in a car as lugging it back on the bus 2 cans at a time is no longer an option (did this with the fence paint at the big house - there was none online but the local store gave me details of cans held in 'nearby' stores so did a round of Bolton, Wigan and elsewhere). 

They only sell the re-engineered paint, you can't drop off paint (only donations from stores and large organisations). The nearest drop off point (there's still a can of dark purple 'wizard' paint somewhere under the stairs) is my local tip (only 1.4 miles away) but of course I'm not allowed on  as a humble pedestrian.

Finally took the toiletries to the food bank trolley in the library, picked up another 2 large print books from the withdrawn ones and carried on to the shops (it was drizzling slightly but got heavier whilst I was out) and picked up eyedrops, paracetamol and a better washing up  bowl (the yellow monster can go to grandma's house). Was  heading homeward, resisted the blandishments of the CRUK chugger (she was nice, I  was nice but I didn't say yes). Then decided to double back to get the eye cream for round my eyes - I had a tiny bit left but think it was nearly empty and I may have finished it off. Heart palpitations as I could only find ones that were £24  and upwards (we're talking 15 ml tubes) and had all those vaguely sciencey words they use of cosmetic adverts. Further up I found the ones I wanted - only £4.50.  My whole day's shop cost less than one of the expensive tubes. 

Came home,  sat on the couch with a drink (DS3  told me off for getting 'his'  couch wet) and then came back upstairs (wiped out again, not helped by 3 drivers splashing me as I waited for the lights to change).I forgot to phone the gardener (found her number by going slowly through my bag checking each piece of paper). Bin bags and toilet rolls are coming today and I've put them on a subscription so I don't have to think about them. A weird lots of suggestions have come up in related products but then I twigged that the toilet rolls are for people in caravans and boats and those with septic tanks so camping lights on large caribineiere clips, wool firelighters, liquids for cleaning your septic tank. never mind, as long as it stops those two blocking the drains (no glue loo roll) I don't mind.

Grateful for finding the things I needed, getting out of the house (even rained on and drenched by careless cars) and early nights

Little wins - the records have been collected and gone to the auction house.  Going to count it as 650 items out of the house.

DawnW

@grandmanerd great to hear of the departure of the records!

@Toni'sfriend hope today goes better for you.

Dog walk and gardening done this morning, as it is nice for a change. I planted rosemary and polyanthus in the front garden, OH moved logs from the garage into the logstore and cut back a large privet bush.

I rescued a self sown foxglove, a forgetmenot and a viola from where they shouldn't be, and planted them elsewhere - free plants!

NSD 5 for me today if I remember rightly.

Grateful today for decent weather, getting some tidying done and free plants.

Sweetbriarrose

Good afternoon, this thread moves quickly snd everyone is so busy it feels like a virtual coffee morning every day. 

Thanks foxgloves, I’ll enjoy my nutty choc spread on my  pancakes on Tuesday without any guilt, my self-care for the day.
Busy, spendy day yesterday, not planned, I needed to go into work for training, it was a waste of time as the computer wouldn’t allow me access, one hour and 45 minutes later I gave up and had to resort contacting the IT department, who will reply in due course.  

Work is near a Baltic supermarket, they sell very nice varieties of preserved Herrings, which I love and I found a bargain, herring fillets 59p reduced from £3.60, I bought 2 they will keep in the fridge.
 Also nearby are two large Asian supermarkets, more bargains, butternut squash. large 50p it will go in the freezer and popped rice 500g £1, no salt or sugar added, I add this to my home-made granola using the Gordon Ramsay recipe, and 49p 500 g of green lentils.
it’s cold and miserable, forecast says for the next week, so today I’m day dreaming about Spring, i’ve noticed a few people mention they have already started seed sowing and so making a list of what to grow can be added to my list of things to do. I like to grow flowers and veg, last year‘s successes were dahlias, hollyhocks, Lupin, tomatoes and courgettes, although I planted lots of seeds, most didn’t get past the 1st leaf stage before damping off. I used shop bought compost, so hoping to do better this year with my home made stuff.