Cheery's path to fulfilment - finishing the DIY, looking after myself, appreciating the garden 🌻

Cheery_Daff

Morning MSE chums 😊

Lost 1.5lbs at slimming world this morning (I'm definitely taking the scenic route with 4lbs off in 6 weeks 🙄 but since the scales have just been going up and up and up, anything that starts to turn that round is good!)

There's free parking in a local town today so I'm taking advantage and going to start a bit of Christmas shopping while I'm here 😊 (I don't usually pay for parking here anyway to be fair but I do usually park further away and walk - I probably wouldn't have bothered today given the rain, but this way I can park close to the shops!)

 Going to try to shop local/handmade where I can this year - I usually manage some but then it gets out of hand the closer I get and I panic. Let's see how well that goes! 

First though, taking my treats budget for a coffee while I write a list 😊

Cheery_Daff

So. Some presents have been bought, all in local shops 😊 still plenty to go but I'm pleased with what I've got so far 😊

Popped to Mr L on the way home. Didn't plan to do a big shop, but spent £62 😱 Nothing extravagant, except a new razor, and some blades - I had to get someone to look at the receipt, because I'd picked the blades up from a discounted section, but they came up full price 🙄 £1.44 refunded, total of £7 spent on that, but the rest just food.

Got a book out of the library when I was in town too. 

Traps reset, and one of the kill traps is going in the attic tonight. If we've had no luck by Wednesday morning we're calling in the professionals 😬 Probably not super cheap but I'd like my house back before Christmas!

Tescodealqueen

Does your local authority offer a service? We had a problem our Garden few years ago (we were told possibly  due food available from a pigeon fancier nearby) and the local council came set traps then returned a few weeks later to check , included in the price. It wasn’t that  expensive .

Cheery_Daff

Tescodealqueen said:

Does your local authority offer a service? We had a problem our Garden few years ago (we were told possibly  due food available from a pigeon fancier nearby) and the local council came set traps then returned a few weeks later to check , included in the price. It wasn’t that  expensive .

Looks like they do actually, thank you. We can ring for advice and, if needed, they'll do 3 visits for £125. I'll ring for advice on Monday and we'll take it from there. Looks like they can use more heavy duty poison than we could buy (not that we've tried poison yet).

Mr C's been investigating the trap in the attic - bait has gone but trap not gone off 🙄 Bloody thing. Replaced now, and hopefully it'll go in tonight for its regular snack 🙄

Yawn. Bored of thinking about it. I have NO issue with them being in the garden or outbuildings, but this is the first time in 8 years we've had one in the house and I don't like it! 

Hey ho. Once this is sorted, we'll be able to dismantle (a bit of) the kitchen and see what's wrong with the fridge. Good job the kitchen is approximately fridge temperature most of the time anyway 😂

rtandon27

@Cheery_Daff - we live close to an old church, that has a cemetary & close to the middle of town with a river running through the middle, so the far end of our garden has a rat run through it!  Not helped by the neighbours love of putting out peanuts for the squirrels and seed for the birds! We have the council rat-catchers out every other year to set traps behind our shed and put down poision & they also take away the expired creatures.  It's a great service and very affordable.  Now if only the nieghbours would stop feeding the wildlife, we'd have less of a problem!

Greying_Pilgrim

Cheery - was it you that was talking about a hardbacked book of your own pictures the other day?  Apropos of nothing, I was just watching the TV and an add came on for sNapf1Sh.  They were offering an 8x8 photobook for £10.  I have no idea if they are any good,quality-wise or if it would be big enough for what you wanted.  But just happened to spot it.  I think the offer is on until 18/12, the ad said.  

Greying X

Cheery_Daff

Thanks Greying, yes that was me 😊 (and @EssexHebridean too I think!) Thank you for that - I still haven't got round to even starting mine yet, so the previously mentioned offer may have expired so it's useful to have this one too! 

Speaking of expiring offers - I nabbed one of the National Trust passes for £8 from the Octopods, and remembered today that it actually expires on 12th December. In my head I had until Christmas, but now the only day I can go anywhere (without having to be back early for something else, or starting late because of something else) is next Sunday 🙄 I've asked my sister if she's free to come with me, but if she's not, and I can't find anyone else, then I'll just use it on my own to go somewhere expensive and it'll still be a discount 😂

Cheery_Daff

Right, a plan for tomorrow - Mr C is out and I am in danger of watching back to back Call the Midwife all day if I don't have a plan 😂

FIRST THING
⭐ breakfast 😂
⭐ washing on
⭐ meal plan
⭐ get some batch cooking started 

LATE MORNING
⭐ hang washing up
⭐ flute practice
⭐ empty compost
⭐ pick up little & camping chairs etc from round the garden
⭐ repot a couple of houseplants
⭐put panes back in the greenhouse

AFTER LUNCH
⭐ caulk round ceiling panel
⭐ quick tidy round craft room
⭐ make craft room bed
⭐ quick tidy round bedroom
⭐ change sheets on main bed
⭐ hoover upstairs

MID AFTERNOON
⭐ end of month budgeting
⭐ sort out Spanish bank offer!
⭐ blog post
⭐ ring mum to arrange a visit

LATE AFTERNOON
⭐ band practice 

EVENING
⭐ more food prep if needed
⭐ clothes for tomorrow (working at home)

That'll do, quite probably won't get all that done but it gives a structure. Might end up having a goals meeting with my sister at some point which would derail at least one of those slots.

(Edited to add a few more unrealistic things i forgot about 😂)

rtandon27

The unrealistic things are the best bit!  I always have more than a few hanging around on my weekly list - LOL

Cheery_Daff

Ha, well I think in this case the whole list itself may have been the unrealistic thing 😂😂 quarter to two, and I've only just finished the 'first thing' list 😂😂 but I have got food: 

*  3 portions of sweet potato lattice pie (and I just ate another for lunch)
* 4 portions of baked oats for work breakfasts
* 4 portions of cauliflower pasta bake
* three little puff pastry apple snacks, using up a bit of the pastry (and I just had one with a cuppa)

So that's most of the week's meals sorted, if I can get that into the freezer before Mr C comes home! Might try to get a curry into the haybox before I go out so we can have that for tea rather than breaking into this lot.

Cooking is quite never-ending sometimes, isn't it?! 

Next up - outside. Washing will get a couple of hours which is better than nowt, and I'd like to at least get the plants repotted and the rubbish collected- hard to do in the dark. Greenhouse can wait.