NST A May Meditation

Thrifty_Taylor

Happy birthday for yesterday @apple_muncher 🎂

NSD#9

Felt quite drained when I woke up. Helped DS2 sort some financial stuff, practiced Norwegian.

A good day at work, the teacher was glad to have me back & my pupil said that I'm still his favourite (no prompting from me!). Managed to do some drawing in the art lesson too, which encouraged some of the children. Think one of the boys was looking at my brown coloured boomerang shape, he didn't comment but I think he must've thought it looked a bit like a 💩! 😂 Maybe I should've coloured it in with a different colour!

Went to visit my friend, the art teacher in her new home. We sat in her back garden, watching bees, butterflies & 2 male blackbirds whilst we chatted.

Got home later than I'd planned. Quickly made myself some tea & phoned my brother. After a bath, I unpicked a long coat zip, ready to replace tomorrow night.

Grateful for condolences from colleagues, chats with friends, DS3 deciding he's going to do 100 push ups per day in June (3000 in total) for charity

grandmanerd

I'm still here but limited access to the internet (it keeps cutting out). Yesterday I managed to get through to the chemist to order my repeat prescription items and continued with 'tidying', getting as much stuff out to the bins as possible. I'm working my way along the base of the bed and have found many useful items. I need to get to the inaccessible side and my targets are my new laptop, all the estate paperwork and packing anything non-essential (stuff I can live without for 3 -6 months). Some progress downstairs as well, including weeding a couple of large pots. I need to get my washing out as yesterday was a drizzle fest.

Grateful for food from stores, making progress even though it's not very visible yet, having a clear direction (lots to do, just need to keep chipping away and hope the internet stays on for more than 5 minutes)

Starlight_at_Sea

Dear Turtles! Sending love to those who are facing tough things or making decisions at the moment. I have been a bit AWOL due to fatigue - hopefully a long COVID blip, but I have been totally wiped out for a while and am now signed off work for a few weeks.

As result progress in most things is very... paced. I had a lot of lovely things happening in May, some I have managed to do in an adapted way, some have been cancelled, some postponed, and some I am looking at and thinking is there a way to salvage some of the joy even if I only do part of the thing. We'll see. 

Some progress made at my house - the one where I don't spend any time!  🇺🇦D has returned safely and is really pleased with the changes I made to her room, a new kallax from IKEA and a dressing table from Facebook marketplace. The stool was a bit tatty but I covered it and the inner drawers in a 🇺🇦 flag and was pleased how it went down. I had done a lot of this before I crashed but am so grateful for dear cousin who helped finish up as it would have been a bit of a disaster otherwise. In sorting her room out I also have emptied it of anything of mine, there had been a few storage boxes under her bed etc. I now know that 2 of the 3 bedrooms have furniture of mine but no 'stuff', and the 3rd is not too bad at all! That's DDs room and the one I sleep in when I am there and DD is off at uni. 

DD has safely returned from her studies abroad, she is home for a month We surprised my dad yesterday by 'bumping into' her at a farm shop mid way between her dad's and my dad's. We weren't due to see her until Friday but I think she wanted to check how I was and I wanted to hug her and we both thought this would give dad something to tell his friends about. He was delighted! And we gave him a proper surprise, he and I were looking at the tanks of live lobsters and crabs and she came up beside him and started chatting about them too and he thought she was one of the staff for about a minute until he realised 🤣

Some great news from DD - she has successfully applied for some scholarships towards her internship this summer, so her accomodation costs are almost covered, and the uni have also provided a travel card for 2 months of her 10 week placement. It's a very low paid internship at a non profit, very different to most of her uni friends who are going down the banking / consultancy pipeline towards high paid jobs in the future. She has found a great apartment to rent for the summer just off campus but owned by the uni, so that will be a new experience for her but still with the organisational safety net. It has a lounge that would be big enough for us to stay over if I felt up to travelling later this summer. 

Progress at the flat has stalled really, it's very dependent upon my energy to move most things on. I have a few things booked I can outsource - the tiler and plumber are coming next Monday to start on tiling the lower part of each bathroom. This is a good thing to get done while I don't have the energy to host paying guests. I've turned the bookings off for now, which also gives DD flexibility to use it either with or without me. 

Dad's house and mum's estate - not sure of much news there. I have sorted a few more of mum's things out for FB marketplace but haven't listed them yet. There is a stack of filing to do that is looking at me each time I go in the study. 

lcc86

Evening turtles

Didn't post yesterday but it was a pretty laid back day. I woke up really early, about 5.30, super annoying when it's my annual leave! Decided to hit the gym for a bit then went to catch up with a friend and spent some time putting the world to rights.

Stopped off at the dump on the way home to get rid of the broken hoover and then just did some tidying including the kitchen and bathroom. Also sent of my S75 claim and supporting evidence, hopefully will get somewhere with it soon and get a refund. Shopping was also delivered yesterday too.

Today I woke up even earlier at 4.30! My back was playing up badly so I went to get my tens machine and went back to bed, managed to sleep for a bit but not much. Got up in the end and mooched about. Went horse riding today instead of Sunday as I have to go to hospital, my back is even worse now, bad timing unfortunately! It was a lovely ride anyway, the sun was out and we managed to negotiate a very scary lawn mower  went to catch up with another friend in a local park, walked her dog and then grabbed some lunch. 

Came home in time for a delivery which has only just turned up, it's our new hoover which is very much needed so about to unpack it and give the house a good clean, then time for a hot bath to see if that helps my back 

apple_muncher

Today I am grateful that being organised (using lots of post-its!) made for a straightforward morning, for Pip waiting and coming home with me at lunchtime, for the sunshine, for 2 neighbourhood cats now knowing where they can be fed!, for the honeysuckle flourishing and providing some privacy.

Thrifty_Taylor

Another unsettled sleep in the early hours, then was woken by DS2 an hour before my alarm went off!

Woke DS1 up for work, did Du0ling0, then remembered to look at work emails, so made me a little late getting breakfast, etc. Still managed to leave the house on time 😊

A good day at work, stopped off to get diesel on my way home. Pinned a customer into a playsuit, then after tea I replaced the long coat zip (thread kept snapping in my machine, but persevered & managed to get it done), shortened a pair of trousers, then messaged a friend who lost her FIL this morning, donated to DS3's charity work next month

Grateful for the sunshine coming back out again, DS3 being home for the night, managing to finish the coat zip

Shrewbie

Happy belated birthday Manzana muncher! I hope you had fun. I haven't posted for a few days. Feel a bit under the weather but have a slog of a work week coming up so trying to keep positive and not slip into bad habits.

I'm in the home stretch of looking after this difficult dog. She can be very sweet but her barking and trying to eat everything is driving me nuts! Yesterday was a holiday here and I did absolutely nothing. Feel good for the rest today though. Yesterday would have been an NSD but I bought a new pair of headphones as mine broke and I just can't do the gym without them (although I have now totally blown my budget for this month  must do better)

I am grateful for being able to use the sauna this week, for there only being six more times that I have to walk this dog (sorry not sorry) and for work not being too stressful. Have a good day turtles. 

apple_muncher

Today I am grateful for having a fairly busy day, for not getting soaked in the downpour, for DH prepping tea, for Pip surviving maths, for the marguerites blooming away.

Thrifty_Taylor

NSD#10

A sunny, warm day. Work went well. The 5&6 year olds keep playing beauty Parlours, so I took in some velcro rollers I no longer use. They had great fun, as did I being their 'customer' 😂 they were so gentle doing my hair, unlike a pupil 2 years older who neatly yanked half my hair out!

Unpicked 2 zips after work, colle ted DS3 from hus friend's, then replaced the coat zip.

Grateful for a beautiful day, my panoramic windscreen, relaxing whilst having my hair combed & curled

Starlight_at_Sea

Ah that sounds lovely Thrifty - the gentle bit, not so much the hair yanky bit..DD used to be so careful and precise when she was a similar age....I'll have to see if my niece and nephew fancy hair styling!

Today has not been a NSD. Slinking in here as I have indulged in a want not a need, and bought a hot tub. In defence, it was less than the cost of a spa day for DD and I that now looks impracticable to arrange. I bought it via top£back and have largely filled it from our massive water butt, but of course, there are running costs on top...it may mainly get used on peak save Sundays for a while!  It's the smallest I could find, 2-3 people (the 3 would have to be very good friends) inflatable, and it just fits in the side patio - it does block the entrance, so it's not a thing to have up forever either. I think we will have a lot of fun and my achy limbs will be greatful.