NST June 2026: Onwards and Upwards

beanielou

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82025821#Comment_82025821

Worth the ask though 🤗

Rowan9

Did the food shopping between Lidl and Sains for best prices and was the basic top up. Have enough in for my work lunches for week as well as teas every day. I don’t eat breakfast now and feel that works for me. I do drink lots of tea though.

Gratitudes for today:

Clapping both DGSs as they ran the park run. One was fast despite his shoe falling off half way round. The other, younger, was swinging his arms like a helicopter as he ran with a pal. Fun had.

Being proud of DD as she was a park run volunteer

The Sunday paper. V glad of it today and have read main section in depth. Good distraction

Take care all and hope as good evening ahead as possible x

Sallyp2

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82024943#Comment_82024943

it would have to be a considered purchase - something that gives joy over many days

i adore a cup tea so a few packets if decent dunkers

grandmanerd

Yesterday started well but petered out later. I identified some urgent/important ongoing tasks most of which had many layers (so make a start/ do part of the task/ identify the best order to do the stages).

Tasks: CLEAR the bed, CLEAN the CPAP hose. WEED the yard (with a side quest EASY Food strategy or the week), PREPARE for Monday (appt).

First pass. Took a bag of cans and a bag of paper to the bins. Filled the emptied bag with wild geranium leaves avoiding the nettles and bramble runner. Stopped when I couldn't breathe or bend any more but did a couple of bits on my way back to the house to rest.

Second pass. Took small quantities of food, rubbish and soft plastics to the bins (only small volume but eg the soft plastic was at least 30 items squashed into a bead bag). On the way back I cleaned out the sink and bowl and ran hot water into the bowl for washing up and rinsing items for recycling.

Third pass. Moved a few larger items from the bed. Took off the duvet cover whilst watching taskmaster. In an advert break I added the duvet cover to the WM load and set it off. Pulled one of the tangled sheets back on the bed

It was raining too hard to do more weeding. Ate items from the fridge (cheese spread on wraps with various toppings will be a stable of this week's food plan). Also have a number of RM with no artificial ingredients. Had a long session with DS1 who messaged me.

Various small tasks before bed - hung up some clothes, tackled my toe nails, dropped items into the bowl to soak, had a shower, took the items out of the WM.

Today might have been a disaster but it's been lovely. Did the pills, food, shower early then slept again. Hadn't prepared for today and still don't have any cash so started the process of accessing my bank account to sort out my card. Lined up my purse, the card reader and my phone and started to enter my details. Compared the card in my wallet to the one on the table and they matched. The new one should have an indent. The card I needed was hidden behind another card. The reason I couldn't get cash out was because I had used a card with a completely diferent pin number.

Tried to move the piled up boxes to get my walker out but then just folded the walker and took it outside. Went to the cash machine, third in the queue. Successfully got cash out. Went round the corner and as far as the furthest edge of the car park and phoned to book my taxi. Carried on to the library and returned 7 books. Back to the house, gathered my book and handbag and sat outside on my walker until the taxi came.

Deliberately early to my appointment. I was very anxious this morning (meeting people) and out of breath when I got there. Sitting reading my book was wonderful (I've been tired the last few nights and only read for a short while). Appointment time came and went. Looked through my notebook again and it was the wrong day (the details didn't make sense yesterday but I couldn't find my original note). I let the building, sat down round the corner in the shade of a tree and had a conversation with a man who was asking what time the chemist reopened.

After he'd gone I slowly worked my way across Tessimo's car park and went in to use their loo. Sat on an inside bench or a while but decided against walking round the store. Came outside, up the small slope to the crossing and then into the mall. Found a space on a bench, considered several shops (not been there since January) but instead cut through the market (tempted by pot herbs and flowers…. and at one point I considered making a proper day out of it and getting a bus somewhere).

The weather was lovely warm but breezy so very pleasant and I found it easy to find shade. Went to B00ts for meal deals - their pasta salad is now cheaper than the SM (sizes now equalised) and you get a drink and a snack included in the price). On the final leg I diverted and am now the proud possessor o a proper yard brush - wooden head and steel and real bristles. I noticed them a couple of weeks ago but was too tired to cross over to buy one. I did ask about spare steels (I have a couple of brush heads without steels) but carrying 3 items would have been unwieldly.

Made it back home, utterly exhausted but triumphant. Really pleased with myself. Back on the bed, peeled my shoes off, ate, slept for at least 2 hours. I'm going to prioritise getting my repeat blood tests done because if that is causing/ contributing to the confusion, tiredness and other problems it's the quickest and easiest to sort.

Grateful for time to read and get myself calm, sorting out the cash problem, real yard brushes.

beanielou

So you should be pleased with yourself @grandmanerd 🤗

apple_muncher

That sounds like a Grand Day Out, grandmanerd!

weenancy, your purchases sound like what I would get, so I totally approve of your choices (except I can't crochet, so I'd get knitting needles).

I did a local school fair on Sunday afternoon and the organiser likes me so much that she waived the table fee of £30. 😎 I was very pleased as I only came home with £48 after 4 hours. I was also very grateful that it was the one day in yonks without any rain at all.

Not sure if I have already mentioned that Pip got awarded his disability freedom pass. He is well chuffed! And he put it to good use over Friday-Sun as he was trying to sort out a friend's wheelchair tyre that had numerous punctures. Eventually, after a long saga of issues, he found a bike shop open on Sunday who mended it for FREE in 45 mins - the owner's wife is in a wheelchair and they don't charge for wheelchair tyre repairs. So lovely! And Pip said that all the workers there seemed to fully understand the cost of a wheel and treated it well.

I am so pleased to be nearing the end of the exams season. Once more, I overcommitted to invigilating and instead of sticking to the plan of working 3 days per week, I stepped in to cover other people occasionally. Getting up at 6am 4 days a week was starting to lose it's shine! Next year I must be more firm, as if I earn too much, I lose my CA, and I'd rather not keep doing that.

And once the invigilating stops, the marking follows soon after. But I do that at home when I want to, and don't need to get up at 6am unless I want to.

I did a big curtain swap recently - took our curtains down and removed the blackout lining and the header tape. Then removed the fleecy blanket lining from Pip's curtains and put the blackout lining up. We had new curtains but they had no header tape so I laid my hands on some and sewed that on, turned them up and rehung them. Our original curtains had been there since we bought the house, over 20 years ago… Oops!

DawnW

I have curtains that we have used in 3 houses @apple_muncher - and we have been in this one for 13 years. A friend made them years ago, from a lovely silky traditional floral fabric, beautifully lined. I love them, and they are still in good condition, so they stay 😊

Shopping done today and I forgot cooking oil, as OH had emptied the bottle, recycled it and didn't tell me or write it on the list 🙄 A bottle lasts us ages, so I didn't think of it. So I will have to do a 'top up shop' which I never do, to buy a bottle of oil. I have EV olive oil, but that is too pricey for general use.

I made a spinach and feta pie for tomorrow's dinner, as our boiler is being replaced and I won't have use of the kitchen while they are doing it. Hopefully they won't be too long after I get in from work, but who knows? For dinner tonight we have pasta with bacon, tomatoes and camembert, quick and easy, and will use up last week's rather wrinkly leftover tomatoes. I picked some parsley from the garden to chop and sprinkle over it.

We had heavy rain this morning but it has brightened up this afternoon. There is still a horrible strong wind though, which is blowing things around in the garden and doing damage 😡 but at least the washing dried I suppose!

Rowan9

Well done @grandmanerd you achieved a lot

gratitudes

Lovely lunch. YS sourdough bagels in my locker at work so brought in a slice of gammon and some cheese and made that up at my desk.

a friend leaving half an avocado on my desk. Was delighted

A good wider team meeting in which we were praised hurray for that I say!

Also had some lovely messages which have really helped. People are very kind

Have as good an evening as possible turtles. You have so inspired me over my years of lurking x

grandmanerd

A bit creaky today. I wanted to get the weeding done. I've been out 3 times (never for longer than 10 minutes) and ended up aching and short of breath each time. The heat and the hayfever defeated me. But I have done 3 bits and took the green bin to the collection point.

More paper and cans out and will do the same tomorrow morning (if possible I will get outside early before the sun gets up but not promising). I've been putting magnesium oil on my feet and wrapping them in a small towel to keep the bedsheets clean. Sun cream everywhere else.

Grateful for puzzles, my latest book, resting indoors when it got too hot.

Sallyp2

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82029322#Comment_82029322

Babes we are all creaky. The teacher at stretch / relax class this morning is 47 and has arthritis. just keep going and do what you can when you can. I'm 53 and had an afternoon nap 😴

what is the magnesium oil on feet? have you tried armchair yoga? I'm doing a meditation class friday this week - a move on from sound baths that I've started doing regularly which have resulted in very bizarre & abstract dreams