Ninja Saving Turtles Challenge August 2025

grandmanerd

I've started collecting things to throw and things to donate. It got to 3 pm and I decided to take the 3 full bags to the cs as the excavation was going rather slowly, I'd just hit the pile of ex-laptops. Went directly to the shop as one ankle is wrapped up and I was limping slightly. I was tempted by the hospice shop as I want a bed that's ready to slot into my house but I resisted.

Carried on along the cs street and across the pedestrian zone to the cash machine. I was thinking that if my ankle got worse I could hop on a bus to take me the one stop nearer to home or even cross the bus station to the taxi office on the other side.

Turned away from the machine and could see the hairdresser's so crossed in a diagonal and went in. A young man was cutting another man's hair but he said the woman would soon be back, so I waited. All new personnel but she started on my hair as soon as she came in. It took a lot of work and I'm unsure how I feel - mainly because my hair is now grey (very nice grey and I've got away without much grey for the past 17 years since the hairdresser said I could expect to be 75% grey at 50). However it cost twice as much as last time I had it done. Probably saved money as I've missed 4 or 5 haircuts in between. I feel much lighter.

Thought about catching a bus but settled for a long slow hobble - the welly was cutting into the back of my wrapped up leg. Wellies came off and I've been slumped on the couch ever since. I have some heavy items to move but think I can do them in stages - 2 are near the kitchen and I'm thinking I can move them through to a unit in the kitchen (just across the bottom of the stairs). Then I can move them onto the worktop and slide them across to the far side of the kitchen.

Grateful for decluttering, my new haircut and getting stuff done whilst injured without making things worse.

beanielou

Happy new hair @grandmanerd 

grandmanerd

I've deleted a post. I thought the article was on topic but was worried about the writer's mental health by the end. You can't control everything in life and trying to do so feels like 'busy work' to avoid the problems in your life.

grandmanerd

More plodding progress. Really need a big push - I can almost see the next donate/ discard items but there are a couple of heavy items in the way. I'm also aware that there are some jobs I need to do and I'm managing to run out of time/ energy each day 

Grateful for food deliveries (coming around teatime today and yesterday's small order included 4 large barm cakes which I'll fill with tinned tuna - one for lunch and the others to be frozen), engrossing books (need to work on my sleep again, yoghurt for my throat.

KajiKita

grandmanerd said:

I've deleted a post. I thought the article was on topic but was worried about the writer's mental health by the end. You can't control everything in life and trying to do so feels like 'busy work' to avoid the problems in your life.

Thank you for 'filtering' this for us. 
I notice this in novels too - you can 'see' the writer's mental state in the way they write and sometimes it's really not a good place to be. I put the book down at this point for the sake of my MH. There was one book I came across years ago that was ostensibly on Buddhism that I found in a CS that was so bad I tore it up and put it in the bin as I didn't anyone else being exposed to it ....

grandmanerd said:

More plodding progress. Really need a big push - I can almost see the next donate/ discard items but there are a couple of heavy items in the way. I'm also aware that there are some jobs I need to do and I'm managing to run out of time/ energy each day 

Grateful for food deliveries (coming around teatime today and yesterday's small order included 4 large barm cakes which I'll fill with tinned tuna - one for lunch and the others to be frozen), engrossing books (need to work on my sleep again, yoghurt for my throat.

You are doing better than you think, from what I can understand from here. You are working against (unintentional) opposing forces and still making headway. Could Builder and Mrs Builder help you get to these big items and then shifted? It sounds like that might free up a lot of space?

Enjoy the food when it comes.

I've had an odd week.
Good in that I have a new team member in work who is as keen as mustard (the alternative would have been to be let go from the business) and I have had my thyroid medication increased, which I wanted.   
Not so good because I have been underdosed for three years (looking at my blood test results) which helps explain why I have been feeling 'below par' for so long. If I hadn't challenged it I would still have been underdosed. It has dragged up many bleak memories of being rushed off / neglected / ignored by medical professionals repeatedly over the years.    

In brighter news though - I have finally managed to master crocheting granny squares (Very chuffed about this).

KK

grandmanerd

Tired but happy. Mrs Builder went home early last week because she was ill so today she did 3 hours to catch up. She cleaned the kitchen and shower room and put all my washing on the line in the first hour, then asked if I wanted to do anything in thee front room today, I said yes, I want to move furniture.

First of all, I must say that Mrs Builder was responsible for all the sweeping and mopping, especially the kneeling on the floor bits. I sorted things into bags and piled them up on the couch I was sitting on. I also had a further cull of photos (just a few but it all helps). 

We cleared all the area in front of the couch so we had a clear path. The coffee table moved in front of the chimney breast. The doll's house moved from the chest of drawers to the table. We moved the assorted homeless bits in front of the window nearer to the electric meter (there's a bag of chinchilla sand, a 50 l bin also full of chinchilla stuff, a steam cleaner, 2 kitchen chairs and the net curtains. We moved the tv (analogue only) out of the corner alcove, then the chair it was on. Mrs Builder mopped to pick up all the plaster dust (next phase of renovations), then we moved the chest of drawers across the room into the alcove (fits perfectly) after taking the meter reading.
The tv went back on top of the drawers.

All the miscellaneous items moved back nearer the gas meter, with each patch of floor being mopped first. We put all the cans of paint in the kitchen (I later found that Mrs Builder had put them all in the unit under the stairs whilst waiting for Mr Builder to collect her). 

I moved the couch forward, parallel with the chimney breast (first moving my laptop and book). This revealed all the litter from under the couch). Mrs Builder dealt with that whilst I moved items from on top of the bureau desk into the kitchen. I put the table legs behind the table top (Mr Builder had needed lots of stuff moving quickly the day the electrician came). That will need further attention at some point but today I had specific things I wanted done. We moved the bureau across the room to in front of the electric meter (again after reading the meter).

We discussed various options for room layouts (DS3 recently disclaimed the 3 seater couch so hoping that can go soon). I have a chair, my book and my laptop so I'm fine. I asked if Mrs Builder was out of time but she said she'd mop the last little bit of floor. I sent her home with sweets and unsuitable drinks for her grandchildren and 2 rolls of tinfoil.

Both couches are piled with stuff but a lot is divided into categories (SM bags have already been returned to get my credit). I've already made a nest on the couch to rest my leg and should be able to make it possible to get it fit for sleeping. Hoping to get lots of sorting done tomorrow but not expecting to be very mobile. 

Grateful for everything we got done, my food arriving (only the freezer stuff away), a place to rest with my book.

Thrifty_Taylor

Glad your medication has been sorted @KajiKita. Congratulations on mastering crochet 🎉

Wwll done on all your acieivements @grandmanerd & happy new haircut 😀

I've been back at work since Monday. I overdid things on the first day - exercises, du0lingo before breakfast, walked 3 miles after work, then loaded my large car boot up to do a dump run before work on Tuesday. Nodded off in the bath that night! Tried to do less, so I wouldn't run out of energy. Car loaded up again Tues night, ready for a dump run before work on Wed. Was absolutely shattered last night, slept like a log!

Felt a bit anxious today, as the pupils returned to school. All went ok with my pupil, had them all day for the first time. They did pop in at the end of the day yesterday & mum told me that if I was struggling one day, or couldn't face going to work, she would keep her child off, which I thought was very good of her to offer. The head teacher checked how I was doing before I left today too, & was pleased with how well the day had gone with the pupil.

Walked 3 miles after work, then paired socks, collected DS3 & friend from the bus stop & did some knitting.

Had a couple more NSDs this week.

Grateful for people being kind, my day going fine, a nice walk & good music

weenancyinAmerica

@KajiKita - congratulations on mastering the granny square - I am still trying.

beanielou

You are doing so well @grandmanerd..Do you have a garage the chincilla stuff could go in my any chance? Or could DS3 not take it upstairs? 

WEll done on your first day back @Thrifty_Taylor.  xx

KajiKita

weenancyinAmerica said:

@KajiKita - congratulations on mastering the granny square - I am still trying.

This is the video that helped me finally master it:

https://youtu.be/euqnRKNJaXo?si=IK7VNgDR5XhyZbdg

😊

KK