Wednesday, 05-04-23

 Morning, everyone!  It is stupid o'clock this morning - well, it isn't now, it's after five, but I've been awake for ages, darn it!  Maybe it's the exciting life I lead (if only) but I'm going through a spell of restless nights.  I go to sleep easily and quickly but then wake after a while and it's hard to get back to sleep again.  A bit of a nuisance really.

It's coming on, isn't it?  There's still plenty to do and they're not sure if they will finish by Friday afternoon which means it will go on into next Tuesday (Monday is Bank Holiday) but not to worry, it will all be done eventually!

I had a bit of good news yesterday - my Premium Bonds came up trumps again.  Not a mega amount but enough to put a smile on my face.  It's all reinvested, of course, but it makes me feel I can sort of justify maybe a bit of spending on plants to make the front border look nice once the paving is finished.  They've been very careful but, inevitably, the edge has taken a bit of a battering.

Tim from the solar panel company came round earlier (not a problem as, fortunately, the Groove class had finished), had a good look round, said they would be able to use my extension roof as well as my house roof, measured, looked in the attic and the cupboard over the stairs in the third room (the dumping ground) which they will use for the battery gubbins (highly technical word there!) and it really didn't matter if it was all done before or after the smart meter was fitted.  So there you go!  Given that we are entering the sunnier months (hopefully), I might be selling electricity back to the grid reasonably soon.  Yeehah!
(no, I don't expect to really but I do expect that my bills will go down considerably and that is what matters.)
Now I am just waiting for a date.   It's all happening at long last.  😊

Once he had gone, I was inspired to start in on a bit of clearing in there.  Like a lot of things, it looked a lot worse than it really was.  I emailed my friend who replied saying yes, please, she did still want the stuff so I think I will move all her stuff into the shed.
I know that sounds counter intuitive seeing as I'm clearing the shed, but it's very temporary so should be fine.
There's a lot of stuff in that stair head cupboard but Tim said most of it can go back in there once the work has been done.
So that's something almost off the April list already!

It was such a lovely day that I took advantage of the sunshine to do my load of coloureds and dry them all on the line.  That's all been ironed and put away and happiness is definitely an empty washing basket (among other things)

Finally, I think I've finished the granny blanket squares!  I need to attach the last few and pop it on the bed to check the sides are long enough.  Then I just have to crochet a border (which will take ages but never mind) using the same stitch, nothing fancy, and it's done!

On to today.
It starts with a circuits class at Lindsey's.  Yes, I am released after my self imposed sort-of-isolation having remained fit and healthy all the way through and hoping that's not Famous Last Words!

Then I want to move my friend's stuff into the shed, clear the last remaining bits and bobs in both shed and bedroom and then start on my jumpers.  

Quite a lot of you said you needed to do something similar so we could make it a group effort.  If you can, join with me in giving it just half an hour today.  That's manageable and we could get a surprising lot done in half an hour.  Let me know how it goes . . .  

Time to stop rambling and do something useful like empty the dishwasher and/or make another coffee.  Have a great day, whatever you have planned.  xx

Tuesday, 04-04-23 - long post, ooops!

 Good morning, everyone.  Yesterday was such a beautifully sunny early spring day.  Not all that warm but so much sunshine.  Fingers crossed for today's weather but it looks as if it is going to be bright and sunny again but quite cool - same as yesterday, in fact!

Isn't it funny how the simplest things can give so much pleasure.  I just loved watching two loads of whites (including my bedding) billowing out on the line and, later on, slipping into a bed with sun and breeze dried bedding smelling all fresh and spring-like was a highlight  of the day.

The paving work is coming on.  At least, they have stopped taking stuff out and are putting different stuff in!  

Looking one way . . .

And the other.

This was taken before the one above - I have no idea why they have come up in that order!

I'm very glad I'm not the one who has to try and lift this lump of concrete up.  Phew!

The gardener's friend.

Blossom is just so lovely, isn't it?

Most of the daffs are nearly over now - a shame, thay have been lovely this year.

This year's later fruiting raspberries, just starting to show.

There weren't all that good last year so this is their year of grace.

The mint is just in time for the Easter lamb on Sunday.

Pimms, anyone?
(Must look up that recipe for mock Pimms)

The online circuits class was good.  It's not so easy to deliver this sort of thing online so Lindsey did a sort of HIIT session which was very satisfying.

April's goals:  It looks like a lot but, really, it isn't and all much of a muchness.  I just need to get into the tidying zone again

1.  Declutter garage
In the light of no longer having an allotment, there's stuff we no longer need and the gardening shelves are rather a mess anyway.

2.  Lower my spending this month after rather a spendy March.
This doesn't include things like paving the front, etc, it's just my normal day to day expenses.  Need and want are totally different - I need to keep telling myself this.

3.  Finish the shed sorting.
There's actually very little to do here, just a few odds and ends.  I'm keeping the garden chairs in the shed until the autumn and then they can go into the (decluttered) garage before the garden room work starts

4.  Re-do the freezer audits and continue to use up what I already have.
I don't think they will need defrosting - in fact, I am sure they won't, just a quick go through and make new lists.

5.  Winter clothes
There's a huge pile of winter woolies I didn't wear this winter that someone else could need and get good use from.  It almost seems wrong to have so much just sitting there and it is an awful waste of space.

6.  The dumping ground.
I have a small third bedroom which is pretty much a box room and I call it the dumping ground because that is what it is at the moment.  It doesn't have a bed but I have books and sewing materials on Billy shelves.  Sadly at the moment, the rest is nothing but clutter, some stuff from Mum and Dad's house which I really do NEED to go through and some other stuff that I sorted out for a friend to take and which she couldn't/didn't take last time she was here.  So today I will check if it's still wanted and, after that, start sorting it all out

That's about it really - most of the above is how to eat an elephant stuff.  A bit here and a bit there and by the end of April, I want the above areas to be clearer and more spacious.

Finally, today.  The last day of staying in to protect others!  That sounds very noble, doesn't it, but, seriously, I'd rather not feel responsible for making others ill.  I'm still 100% with no aches, pains, twinges or anything else.  It has been a week since Alex was here so I think that's long enough really.

It starts with Groove online.  I'd rather be at the Studio and I will be next week, hopefully.
Then I will do some house pottering - maybe start on the spare room and see what I can do with that.

In the afternoon, Solar Panel Tim is coming.  I think he wants to have a good look round and discuss with me what will need to be done.  Then we can set a date for the work to be done.  Very exciting!

So that's my day.  How about you?  Take care and stay safe, everyone.  xx

Monday, 03-04-23 and review of goals

 Morning, everyone!  After a dull start to yesterday, out came the sun and it ended up a gorgeous early spring day.  It wasn't that warm though and today looks like being much the same with plenty of sunshine but not warm enough to sit out.  I have some washing to do though and that can dry on the line - lovely!!

Lindsey was very flexible about delivering classes to me online.  So today's Circuits class will be online for me (it means rearranging her 'lesson' plans to enable this so I'm very grateful) and so will Groove tomorrow (she will just add me to the list of those she needs to call).  As it happens, she couldn't do Wednesday's personal training anyway but has invited me to the morning Circuits class again (as a freebie) and seems quite OK about me attending face to face by then, assuming no symptoms start to show.

I then remembered that on Tuesday afternoon Tim from the solar panel company is coming to look over the house and discuss the installation with me so I sent an email to them, basically giving them the choice.  So that may or may not happen.  I hope it does but it was only fair to let them know.

I realised that March has finished and I never went over my goals for the month.  So . . . 

1.  Audit and defrost freezers as necessary
I've kept up to date to a certain extend but it does need a going through again and a 'clean' printout.  However, I've kept everything tidy, it's all in the right place and I have had no difficulties finding anything.

2.  Audit food cupboards
It seems a very long time ago now but, yes, I did all that, I emptied, cleaned and re-arranged stuff to work better and it does.  I got a few more storage jars too and got all the labelling up to date.
I also treated myself to some containers for the fridge as it was getting into such a mess and I'm really glad I did.  It's so much easier to find things and all I have to do is lift out the boxes to wipe the shelves down.

3.  Keep up the low spending and tracking
I've done the last bit and am really pleased with how my rough and ready Excel sheet has worked.  I've tweaked it a bit and, sadly, put up all the monthly payments.  
The low spending has taken a bit of a nose dive what with new storage, deposits for this, that and the other, money in from savings and out again, new printer, Gizmo II, new jackets, blah, blah, blah.  In fact, I dare not look too closely at exactly how much I have spend although I could quite easily work it out.

4.  Shop x 3 (every ten days)
This has gone well and I quite like it.  Yes, I did have to get a few small items between, all fresh stuff, but I did two main shops during March and want to continue this through April.

5.  Start saving for a new tumble dryer.
I've decided that this is not necessary.  As well as the chunk that automatically moves across from bank account to savings on the 1st of each month, at the end of each month I will be moving any leftover money (assuming there is some) to my savings anyway and, now the broken part has been replaced, it seems fine so no need for specific saving, just carry on with the general savings.

I've gone on enough - I'll do April's goals tomorrow.

So - today!  I gather the digger will be punctuating my day with growls and rumbles so I will have to put up with that and apologise to my lovely neighbours if it's too bad.  I'll take some photos if I can.

The only other thing in the diary is the online Circuits class but there's lots of bits and bobs that need doing and I suspect that they will keep me nice and busy pretty much all day.  

If it does feel warm enough, I will spend some time out in the garden with my Kindle but I don't think the predicted high of 10C will quite do it for me.  Not to worry, it can't be long now.

Now, I must get ready for the day.  I have no idea how early the builders will be but want to be ready when they come.  Have a good Easter Week, everyone, however you spend it.  xx

Sunday, 02-04-23

Good morning, everyone; happy Sunday to you all.

First of all, thank you very much for all your lovely messages wishing Beth and Alex better.  I'll be sure to pass them on.  Last night, Beth said that they were both feeling a bit better and able to walk around, etc, without turning giddy.  She's nowhere near as poorly as she was last time so that's good.

After doing the early morning shopping, the rest of the day passed without anything much happening really.  I'm afraid the next few days will be rather boring in here too with same old, same old, to write about. 

I contacted Chris and Val to let them know because on Thursday Chris and I had our usual get together and then Val came round for lunch.  Val's not long recovered from C so she was sure she would have that lingering immunity and Chris will look out for symptoms.
I didn't attend any Lindsey classes after seeing Alex and I think I won't let Jen know for SW unless I do get symptoms - it's just too complicated and what can she do anyway?

I have decided that today will be a lazy gentle day.  I may or may not actually get dressed or I may stay in pjs and oodie.  I'm not going anywhere and have no particularly specific plans.

Having said that, I want to do a Lindsey pre-record class and I MUST ask her if I can attend Circuits tomorrow online rather than face to face.  Ditto for Tuesday's Groove but she is doing that online as well anyway so she just needs to know.  By Wednesday, I should know either way, don't you think?

There's plenty of 'gentle' things I can do.  For example, my meal planning sheet for this coming week is looking unusually sparse so I need to get that filled in.  There's a bit of ironing but not that much.  

Oh, and remember those little jumpers I was knitting for the school's nursery class.  They were well received and at SW on Friday C (who works there and also comes to group) said yes please to as many more as I can do.  Brilliant - I still have SO MUCH DK yarn.  Apparently, when they saw the Dennis the Menace one, they all laughed and said they knew exactly the child for it!!  

So I have crochet and knitting and YouTube and recorded stuff and DVDs and . . . oh, plenty of things suitable for a 'gentle' day.

What do you do on gentle days?
xx

Saturday, 01-04-23

Morning, everyone.  After a shockingly wet day yesterday, this morning is, thankfully, just a bit damp and drizzly at times.  It doesn't feel that warm but it's certainly not cold.

 So sorry this is later than usual but I really wanted to do a very early shop before too many people were out and about, the reason being that Alex has now tested positive for Covid and, while I've had minimal contact with Beth this week, Alex was over here on Wednesday afternoon before Beth had tested positive so that he and I could go through some stuff together.

I feel absolutely fine so far and really needed to do this shop so I went as early as possible.  I'd forgotten how drippy my nose feels behind a mask!!  Not nice.  Also not nice was the underlying feeling of guilt, even though I wasn't actually breaking any rules.

Now that's done, sorted out and all put away, I am well set up for pretty much a fortnight so I can stay inside, away from everyone, until a sensible time has passed.  I managed to remember where I put my tests and have dug them out although I really hope they won't be needed and it feels odd to be waiting to see if I start feeling unwell.

Yesterday was a good day, despite the teeming rain at times.  People were a bit slow coming to group, because of the rain I am guessing, but it ended up its usual lively self with plenty of chuckles along the way.  I maintained (more about that in t'other blog) but I was also Slimmer of the Month which was really very nice.

The rest of the day passed pretty much as planned.  The cleaners came, did their magic and left again.  And that, really was the highlight of the day.  

As already mentioned, I have done an early morning shop.  I usually take a route out nd back into town rather than through it;  I think it's perhaps a bit further but it's a much nicer drive and I topped up with petrol for a month or two on the way.  I merrily headed off to Writtle only to be stopped by a sign that said 'Road Ahead Closed', as if it wasn't obvious.  It does flood around there anyway but this was pretty significant and I couldn't even turn right down Cow Watering Lane because there was way too much cow-watering for comfort.  Really, the sign should have also been at the turn off roundabout as quite a lot of us were getting caught out.

I suspect that's going to be the most excitement I shall get over the weekend really.  I have washing, etc, to get on with, there's always something to tidy up and I have reading, knitting, crochet and telly.  I really cannot complain, can I?

Have a lovely day, everyone, stay warm, safe and dry!  :-)  xx

Friday, 31-03-23

 Morning, everyone.  Yesterday's weather was very March/April like with bouts of lovely sunshine and sudden, pretty torrential showers.  Today is expected to be wet too (it already is) and the builders have already said they won't be back until Monday.

They arrived pretty early and spent the first half hour or so talking to Seth before getting going with the big, noisy Destroyer of Concrete.  

I forgot to take a photo until after the work had started but you can see what it looked like - pretty messy as a front of house, huh?

By the end of the day, it looked like this.  There's a patch that has been broken up but not removed and they had to keep stopping because of the pouring rain.

Next door can park to the left in front of their garage and Elaine and Neil next door other side very kindly offered the space next to their car (the red one you can see) while the work is going on so that's all very satisfactory. 

They won't be back again until Monday as mentioned above and on Monday they have the digger!  Exciting stuff.

Not so exciting, as some of you will already know, is that poor Beth does have Covid after all  What a waste of precious holiday time for her.  She has had to cancel all sorts of exciting arrangements and is highly miffed about it.
However, she said she's not feeling nearly as poorly as she did last time which is a relief because last time she really was pretty unwell..  I took some meddy stuff over this afternoon (keeping my distance) so she's well set up.

I had my chat with Chris and lunch with Val and all of that was really very, very pleasant.

The printer arrived, I took a deep breath and followed the instructions.  It was a bit long winded but all perfectly clear and easy to follow, all done via my phone.  It is so much quieter, it make me realise just how rickety and clunky the old one was.

Today, being Friday yet again, starts with SW group.  I am umming and ahing about whether to do a shop after group or leave it until Saturday morning - I think it will be the latter for the rather silly reason that it is still March today!  So it is going to be a homey, easy sort of day which sounds rather pleasant.

How do you see your day going today?  xx

Thursday, 30-03-23

 Morning, one and all, and welcome to Thursday!  It was beautifully sunny earlier on, really lovely, but the clouds rolled over and it has started to rain which is such a shame.

Yesterday was all change.

Lindsey got back to me saying she couldn't do the afternoon PT session (I had cancelled it, if you remember, because I thought I'd be having a spa day) but why not come to her morning small group circuits session?  So I did.  It was nice to meet a new group of people and the actual session was as good as they always are (in other words, excellent).

A bit later, I set off for Beth's, totally missing the message she had sent to me saying don't come because she was feeling very rough (but not Covid-rough).  So I turned up to find her in bed with anxious cats prowling around (they always know, don't they).  Poor old Beth.  I think she's picking up a bit now.

After lunch, Alex turned up, having gone to the library in town to do his copying.  We went through some things together and I suggested he consider buying his own printer.  My new one should be arriving today, hopefully.  It's not as 'big' as the defunct one but it has reasonable reviews that say it's fine, basically.  The ink is expensive but I won't be needing it all that much really and it's reliable.  Importantly, it scans and copies.
I'm not looking forward to setting it up - it's not as simple and plugging it in and connecting it to the box nowadays, is it - but if I follow the instructions it should be OK and there's usually idiot instructions online, if needed.

Once Alex had left, I had a time of calm which ended when I went to the governors' meeting.  I'm so glad I got the training done - we are now 100% OFSTED compliant.  Did you know that if even one governor is out of date with their safeguarding training, the whole school can fail and be deemed unsatisfactory?  That's how stupid OFSTED is.
I'm not saying safeguarding isn't important; of course it is, it is absolutely crucial but . . . one governor?

When I went to the meeting, the skies were clear and it was mild so I didn't take a coat.  You can guess the rest - the heavens opened half way through and I got quite damp running back to the car.  Oh, well . . .

Today, I woke with a start at around half seven.  I haven't slept that late for absolutely ages.  Not a good thing when the builders are arriving to start the work at the front.  So I whizzed through bath and getting dressed and came down just in time.  As I started making coffee, the van turned up!
They've been drilling loudly (I have apologised to the neighbours) but it has all gone quiet now because it's raining.

I'll be going over to Chris for out Thursday coffee and chat soon and then Val is coming for lunch.  I look forward to seeing her and having a good old chat.  The rest of the day is my own so I will get the house cleaner-ready for tomorrow and enjoy a bit of peace and quiet (I can hope!!).
Have a great day, everyone.  xx