Frugal Living Challenge 2011 - Part 3.

meg72 · 23 September 2011 at 9:57AM

rubytuesday wrote: »

Dizzy my first response was to phone social services as I was absolutely hopping mad at the rudeness and aggression.

The carer even had the cheek to tell me not to visit her at dinner time - which I hadn't, she'd just stuck her meals on wheels in the microwave when she arrived and I was just leaving.
[QUOTE=rubytuesday;

How absolutely outrageous. It is no part of a carers role to be telling
friends and neighbours when to visit. I would certainly report this.

If this were my Mum I would be seriously concerned about this attitude and also extremely worried as to how she was speaking to my Mum when no one else was there.

rubytuesday · 23 September 2011 at 10:59AM

Thanks everyone.

I am going to speak to the daughter first just out of courtesy really.

I did agency work as a Care Assistant or auxiliary for many years after leaving half way through my SRN to go travelling. I'd had a months holiday in India and then I had a month in school and another year and a half seemed like eternity. (The foolishness of youth)

Anyway I would always attend to personal hygiene and make sure my clients were in clean clothes and had any support they needed - I suppose the difference is I was there for a full shift (I usually did nights) - and also I was very well paid but I have always been very professional and taken pride in what I do.

Paidin - that is absolutely terrible about your daughter being reprimanded!

I ended up spending a fortune yesterday I went to Westfield East to get some bits for my daughter's birthday.

It was lovely but I do hate shopping unless I'm rummaging in Charity Shops and I get a bit claustrophobic in those malls.

The Waitrose was disappointingly small too - better at canary wharf but I got a lovely load of Clarins samples and managed to find a few gifts.

I'm feeling a bit guilty now as I should be at dance therapy but I didn't feel up to it.

I've been very very out of sorts lately - weepy for no reason etc so I'm having a blood test next thursday as that age is creeping upon me.

I've felt a bit more chipper the last couple of days though.

Have a good day everyone.

23rdspiral · 23 September 2011 at 12:42PM

Well I've got an oat loaf in the new to me bread maker. It was the only one I had all the ingredients for as it didn't need yeast. The promise of warm bread has dragged OH away from his usual Friday Subway lunch, to come eat it and work from home this afternoon. I'm very chuffed about him not spending the money on junk food, but slightly worried my first ever try will Need to be good! Eek!

paidinchickens · 23 September 2011 at 1:35PM

23rdspiral wrote: »

Well I've got an oat loaf in the new to me bread maker. It was the only one I had all the ingredients for as it didn't need yeast. The promise of warm bread has dragged OH away from his usual Friday Subway lunch, to come eat it and work from home this afternoon. I'm very chuffed about him not spending the money on junk food, but slightly worried my first ever try will Need to be good! Eek!

Now I feel bad as I met DH for lunch to cheer him up!! he offered to pop home but I insisted he needed to get out a little

I am so glad it is Friday :T I was a little bit miserable this morning, I do not know if it is a full moon, that time of the month, the Megga Beast giving DH a hard time or all of the above. On the way back from my lunch

I put ABBA on full blast in the car which has cheered me up a little but also proves I have strange musical taste which I gathered when people laughed when I pulled up to the traffic lights........oh well

Just popped into the charity shop and bought some glittery fairy wings for DGD as I am picking her up from school shortly. I hope she likes them but they were a bargain 50p brand new. I do like my local charity shop as they always have a sofa for sale which I perch on to catch up with gossip :rotfl:

Hopefully Karma will get the blighter's who are getting us down

PIC xxx

dizzy_lizzie · 23 September 2011 at 1:36PM

paidinchickens wrote: »

ruby My daughter used to work for one of these meals on wheels kind of places and they NEVER had enough time to do the things they were supposed to. Each shift would leave things for the next shift so they had double the work or you would get the ones that had the "thats not my job it is not on my list" When you would get a caring one (my daughter would pick up little bits of shopping or hang the washing out) they would get dragged into the office and reprimanded. One day she was at a ladies house who was very poorly so she had to wait for an ambulance to come and take her to hospital she was then dragged into the office for not getting to her other calls on time :mad:
You rock that boat girl :T

Your post is spot on paidinchicks. Years ago when my sister was doing her social work degree she was in a nursing home. She would make the residents cups of tea when they asked her for one. After all it is their home! She was furious when the carehome owner said, 'what are you doing that for, they'll expect us to make them one all the time, when you're gone, and we haven't the time!' I know part of it is as you say they are understaffed and underpaid but Heavens above we're talking about people here not objects, and it IS their home. But that's the way it is for a majority of places now, but of course there are still some amazing people that do care, like your daughter.
And our Ruby.

Ah if only we had a magic wand sometimes.
x

dizzy_lizzie · 23 September 2011 at 1:46PM

paidinchickens wrote: »

I put ABBA on full blast in the car which has cheered me up a little but also proves I have strange musical taste which I gathered when people laughed when I pulled up to the traffic lights........oh well
Hopefully Karma will get the blighter's who are getting us down
PIC xxx

I Love Abba. (even though I'm a prog rock fan.) It takes me back to my childhood. I can remember singing Dancing Queen in a pretend microphone imagining I was on a stage. Ridiculous what you do at 25! :rotfl:I'm only joking. Abba is certainly feel good music. I also pop this one on in the car when I'm a bit fed up, and it does lift my spirits and gives me goosebumps for some reason...?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vvFPlWh1yQY

Hope you have a cheerier day
x

dizzy_lizzie · 23 September 2011 at 1:56PM

rubytuesday wrote: »

I've been very very out of sorts lately - weepy for no reason etc so I'm having a blood test next thursday as that age is creeping upon me.
I've felt a bit more chipper the last couple of days though.
Have a good day everyone.

Aw Ruby hugs to you.

Hope you continue to feel more chipper (great word)
x

rising_from_the_ashes · 23 September 2011 at 1:56PM

dizzy_lizzie wrote: »

Here's the crochet baby blanket.

Dizzy, that is really lovely:D I so wish I could crochet, I've been shown loads of times but always right handed people and I just can't get the knack of doing it left handed. It also seems to be one of the few things I can't manage to do right handed (I'm pretty ambidextrous through necessity).

I am really really :mad: at myself today. For months and months I had the SoW on a pen stick that I updated on the desktop or laptop whichever I was using. Not been using the laptop as much (finished Uni work just now) so I'd saved it onto the desktop and was just updating on there.

Tried to turn it on today and it won't boot up:( not sure what's wrong (not great with pc issues) and can't take it anywhere to get looked at as the router's attached to it and I'd have no internet (about the only thing keeping me sane at the minute as not a lot else to do - there's only so much knitting / reading / tv you can do in a day).

Last saved version I have on the pen stick is April:eek: and I just can't face putting in all my receipts from then again ......

hattifattener · 23 September 2011 at 1:57PM

paidinchickens wrote: »

ruby My daughter used to work for one of these meals on wheels kind of places and they NEVER had enough time to do the things they were supposed to. Each shift would leave things for the next shift so they had double the work or you would get the ones that had the "thats not my job it is not on my list" When you would get a caring one (my daughter would pick up little bits of shopping or hang the washing out) they would get dragged into the office and reprimanded. One day she was at a ladies house who was very poorly so she had to wait for an ambulance to come and take her to hospital she was then dragged into the office for not getting to her other calls on time :mad: A friend has just finished a two week trial at a similar place and when he said about a lady not being particularly clean the woman who was showing him the ropes said "well I can't get round there to do it there is not enough room" (quite a large woman by all accounts) So when reported he was seen as a trouble maker!!!

One old lady sits in fear in her house as she can hear voices trying to get her and the office just says "yeah she is always like that":mad: Well why have they not done something????????? Reported, got the doc in? ........because of course they are not paid extra!!!

As my nurse friend of 30 years says " there is no care in care of the community" It is so very wrong. Families and tax payers pay for half an hour call three times a day and they are lucky if the get 10 mins. There should be more random checks.

Well I think this lady is lucky you visit her Ruby as the care for the elderly is terrible. If you feel something is not right no matter how small it is best to get to the bottom of it. Please remember social workers do not always want the extra work either. There are of course the awkward b*ggers that drive some very kind ladies to distraction.

You rock that boat girl :T

I agree with this. I've worked in care with a number of different groups, and although it's horrible to get complaints, it needs to get back to the managers and if they don't care, to social services. I've been in the situation where there hasn't been the provision for me to do a good job, and you're running round like a headless chicken trying to get the basics done. If the managers know they'll have a duty to do something, and then if they don't do anything you have the basis to go further with it.

dizzy_lizzie · 23 September 2011 at 2:20PM

Hi Rising. Thank you. Don't give up on the crochet. Loads of tutorials on you tube for left handed beginners crochet. I was watching one a while ago for right handed but you just clicked on the screen and it changed to left handed. I can't find it now but did get this. If you can't follow have a peep at the others on there.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L7bB2-2k7wk&feature=list_related&playnext=1&list=SP09F06F391A5E33E5

Honestly it looks hard but once you've mastered one basic stitch the others are simple. Worth keep having a go at.
I know you're getting fed up now but why not use this time to compile a list of all the films you wish you'd seen, or still want to see, or trilogys that kind of thing and have a huge film fest.
Me and DD like watching films with Hugh Grant in so we'd probably watch all those, well the ones we hadn't seen lol
Might be fun just composing the list. Or why not plan for Christmas. Ooh I know I said it but it will soon be here and think how you'd feel knowing you had it in the bag when it arrives

You could at least write your cards out, maybe research stuff for hampers for folk, but in a frugal vain.
Loads of ideas here,

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?t=414524

which you've probably seen but I've bookmarked it now because I could never find it on the forum. Anyway might be fun having a think what you could do, hamper wise and there's some great ideas on there and keep scrolling down, there are pages upon pages of ideas and then when you click on the hamper thread you like there are then more pages of ideas!!!!
Hope some of that helps?

x

Frugal Living Challenge 2011 - Part 3.

Comments

Categories

Get our FREE Weekly email full of deals & guides - and it’s spam-free