NST November 2025: NOWvember

dustydigger

Thanks for your kind and understanding comment Nancy,I appreciate it. 
Since my heallh is bad I dont really want to go out anyway. Only to the surgery! lol.
Greatest gratitude is the laptop. I order all food to be delivered so thats  a great blessing. And all household and clothing needs can be done online too. I have am*z*n prime  paid yearly which works out  roughlyat about the cost of 3 deliveries a month and make so many orders each month.it works out worthwhile.I order all sorts of things. Recent orders include fly spray(we got an infestation of fruit flies from a pear that looked fine on top but was bad underneath}, bath mat set,toilet brush,radiator bleeding key,several kindle books,pillow cases,trousers, slippers,incontinence pads,kitchen curtains. The litst goes on!
Better start organizing group deliveries or I will have.no NSD at all.

dustydigger

Oh,must put in a word of praise for ordering our medications online too. Our local chemist business was replaced by a company called Seaside pharmacies last year. What a change. They are so much more efficient,delivery is much quicker. And accurate. The other folks made so many mistakes,or had to run out and check other chemists  in the town to see if they had any in stock.   Mr Dusty uses eyedrops,specified certain brands but still repeatedly we were sent some brands that had harsh ingredients that burned his eyes painfully. Took years to get it through therr heads that any note on our file was important,not optional to follow!.#Hasnt happened once with this new company.I use the NHS app to order our meds,and we have no problems with it. The old systmonline used at the surgery is a bit clunky to use but the NHS app is great
No trotting off to the pharmacy these days. 
Oh and our old company has taken over the pharmacy attached to our surgery and is as incompetent as ever. 30 minute waits in line for prescriptions,mistakes galore. People are really annoyed. So happy for the new company and their competence and speed. That will be a recurring gratitude every month I think.

thriftylass

Can't wait for November, love the dark and cold. Especially recently I started cherishing things again that I loved/did as a kid which fit this month's theme. Rustling through leaves (the lovely smell!), listening to music (the 90s were so good), reading and crochet (I started working towards my little etsy store as I finally found a niche object to make, people know it but googling it doesn't give any results - yet, perfect), baking etc. 

The past is a double edged sword, the far past has loads of lovely memories, the more recent past I try to skip. Both shaped me but the far past was me, the recent past was hiding my true self. Time to live in the NOW again as my true self. For instance as I kid and young adult I was a saver and great with money, then I went of the rails. I have got it in me and will get back to it.

I will aim for at least 12 NSDs, cook from scratch at least 5 days a week, and take my lunch every day. 

@dustydigger wishing you loads of strength. We recently cared for FIL (Alzheimers and cancer) till his last days at home. It is tough and every little support helps. Do what feels right for you and Mr Dusty. 

dustydigger

Thinking about NOW,this month,we will continue to live in the present as much as possible,looking for gratitudes where we can. Poor Mr Dusty often cant remember things we did yesterday,but enjoys me reminiscing about our long life together. 54 years married so far! We have 4 children,all with families of their own,established in stable jobs,. We all live in the same town,except for DD2 who lives 7 miles away, and the family  all get on well so thats good too.
I am realizing that I need to simply the life of me and Mr Dusty. Big changes are inevitably ahead,but for now we try for a peaceful daily routine.
I need to simplify finances and declutter the house. I have no wish to leave any issues for my children in the future.
Being a NST could be a big help in all the goals.
But starting slowly.
1.A little tidying,a little cleaning and decluttering are advisable.A very bad health year for me,and the deterioration of Mr D meant I focused only on the necessary things. Now I have much to do to get my home better.
2. No Spend Days.I have quite a lot of bill paying days,subscriptions,charity donations,food deliveries and buying things online which all lead to spending,and I may have to think more about these,but I will happily start off with 12 NSDs and see how it goes.
3. More focus on self care for me and Mr D..Less worrying about the state of the world and spending far too much time and energy looking a the woes of the USA. I have a stepson and 3 stepgrandkids there and worry about them fruitlessly.After all I cant do anything to fight against a crazy corrupt govt. More interesting health posts,cookery, nature, informative things,less obsessing on politics.
4. Keeping my mind alert,which I prioritise anyway. My health issues often bring an onset of depression,lethargy etc,I keep alert as possible by reading,studying various topics and  running a few little book challenges and reading groups. Been very weak lately,plus the eyesight problems,but I have good friends in my groups who have taken a share of the admin work.Used to read about 16 books a month at one time,but thats gone down over the last 5 years.Only 8 books in September,10 this month.
5. Another thing I do now to keep my brain working is using YouTube to revise my old O Level maths. At the moment I am really having fun relearning thngs like surds,factorising,and algebra. Had almost completely forgotten about how to complete the square. Think I will have to do many many examples to get my old ,not mathematically great, brain around the subject.
So I'm eager to start. Will spend next couple of days sorting out details.Also sorting out sweets and coins for trick or treaters on Friday..Last year I was all ready but surprisingly didnt get even one visitor!. Very odd.

apple_muncher

The NOWvember challengers:

1 apple_muncher

2 weenancyinAmerica

3 beanielou 

4 grandmanerd 

5 Dr Carrie

6 BadBookkeeper 

7 thriftylass 

8 dustydigger 

9 leftatthetrafficlights

18 f0xh0les

19 Esmeralda2662

weenancyinAmerica

@dustydigger - agree wholeheartly with #3.

leftatthetrafficlights

Can I join please? 

7th November is my 'new years day' - it's the astronomical mid point between the autumn equinox and winter solstice which fits in nicely with this months theme! 😁 At this astronomical point, it's the beginning of winter, so its time to dispose of all that has burdened you in the past year,  clear the decks for the year ahead and start to plant the seeds of growth you want in the forthcoming year (it has the same focus as the pagan festival of samhain) 

NSDs. Aim for 12 this month - I'm hoping for a few more than this 🤞 the main thing is to keep dh from just 'popping' to the shop for random stuff!! 🙄 I did a full inventory of my ambient food stores yesterday and will do the freezers today then I'll be making a meal plan (and trying to stick to it!!) for November 

Out and about - I started walking my son's dog three times a week recently but it's been a bit disrupted over the last couple of weeks due to a variety of reasons 🤦‍♀️ I'm starting again on Monday though 🙌 I'd like to do more at the weekends with dh too - we have free entry to our local wildlife trust so need to make the most of that.

Winner winner, Christmas dinner - I don't actually celebrate christmas, I celebrate solstice but this year we've been invited to go to relatives over the holiday period so I'm not having family over for solstice. That means a lot less work for me! 🙌 I already have stuff in the freezer to take with me for christmas day lunch (I'm the only vegan although dh eats vegan 99% of the time) but I'll need to get some alcohol sorted for the trip (I don't drink but everyone else does) Normally, the supermarkets have a 25% off 6 bottles of wine at some point so I'll keep an eye out for that deal 😉 I'm giving my kids the solstice money for their kids this weekend so that they can buy their pressies from us - I'll do the wrapping but really don't want to be buying stuff they may not really want so this seems like a better strategy 😁

Veggies. Get them down yer gullet - never a problem for me! 😂 Unfortunately though, our homegrown stuff didn't really work out this year so for once I'm going to have to buy winter veg from the shops 😔 By the way, kale is beautiful if you cook it in rosemary and lemon juice 😉

Enjoy your NOW. Pause and breathe. Let us know your daily gratitudes - I do daily yogic practices so this is a constant for me. Gratitudes are many so I know I'll be able to update those daily 😁

Make time for things you enjoy and things that benefit you - see above! 😁 

Bring your own… lunch to work, snacks when out and about, spare food and drink to keep in the car - I don't work but I'll take stuff on any outings 😉

Exercise your mind and your body - I do wordle daily and read all sorts. Dh has a library card so I'll make more use of that this month.Physical exercise will be increased though - I need to move more! 🤦‍♀️

Remember those that have less than you. Donate if you can - I intend to donate to food banks - I keep forgetting every time I go to the shop so I'm adding it to my shopping lists from now on. I need to clear out my wardrobes too so I'll get any reasonable stuff to the charity shops 😁
 
Good luck everyone! 😁

thriftylass

Good morning,

yay payday, second last one before the C-word  . I'll shuffle my money round today, do a little food inventory and top up shop list. We won't need money for Christmas dinner this year as my mum is cooking, but we need to get a few more pennies together for the trip to see my parents in Germany. 

See you later

apple_muncher

weenancyinAmerica said:

@dustydigger - agree wholeheartly with #3.

Where this appears in the list of posts, made me do a double take as I thought you were referring to beanie. Who, of course, we all do totally agree with wholeheartedly!

dustydigger

Whew,got a busy evening ahead. Mr Dusty has been rather trying all day,annoyed and restless,wouldnt have a nap,so I couldnt cope with all the stuff I needed to do today.He has stubbornly gone off for a nap at 5pm,and in such cases he often gets up at 9,wont go back to bed and wants my attention fully on him. So its now I should sort out as much as possible. 
I did package up 10 little goody bags,a few sweets and some silver. I save them all year rund and can hand out jingling coins without breaking the bank.Then after a dry afternoon would you believe it it started raining exactly on school closing time,and now its dark. Last year was first time ever I had no trick-or-treaters,could it happen again. Could be we are now living in an area where all the kids have grown up. Certainly on our neighbouring 2 blocks there is only one child,and she is 14 now,so might have given up on door to door. One child only on our block too,and she is a teenager too.