A Week with Some Free Time and Some Disappointing News

This week started on Sunday with a free session at the gym. They were having an Open Weekend and you could book certain gym sessions for free, so I took advantage and went to the earliest session I could at 9am.

It was quiet in the gym, but I had a good workout. I needed it, as I'd eaten way more than I probably should have over the previous couple of days, partly due to being out and about and then partly due to being a bit hungover and tired. It felt good to get back to exercising and eating more healthily again.

When I got back from the gym, I did a few jobs before making some lunch and then in the afternoon, I tidied up around the house, putting laundry away, washing up, watering the plants and getting the house back to normal post visit.

When OH got back from cycling, we later headed out to the allotment to harvest and water. Here's a little video of the plot:

It's looking a bit messy this year. OH's heart hasn't really been in it since our dog died. He doesn't feel the same way about going to the plot, as he misses taking the dog who always used to accompany him when he went.

LB, meanwhile, started a new job on Sunday. She's working in a small independent shop a few miles away. There is another branch on our high street and she might get to work there sometimes too, which would be very convenient for her, as there'd be no commute. She came home from work and had had a good day. She'd enjoyed it, which is all one can ask for.

On Monday, I went out to do the weekly shop as usual. It took me most of the day. I managed to use a 10% off voucher off my main grocery haul, which was welcome. I didn't do a lot when I got back, save make supper and chill and then went to bed early, which I've done for the last couple of nights, as I've felt really tired. I was looking forward to having a bit of free time this week.

The free time didn't really work out as planned on Tuesday. The day didn't get off to a good start when I got an email telling me it was my last chance to provide financial information supporting LB's student loan application for the forthcoming academic year, so that quickly became a priority for the day. I tried to do it before I went to a class at the gym, but I had all sorts of trouble getting into the system. I gave up in the end and went to my class feeling very frustrated.

The class was good though and calmed me down. When I got home, I made some lunch and then had to get ready to go to an appointment at the dentist. It didn't go well. I've been having trouble with the tooth that was crowned 18 months ago. I had a month of chronic pain shortly after it was done and now I keep getting abcesses. Turns out I need a root canal on it. I'm really not happy about it. 

I almost wish I'd had it extracted instead of trying to save it, as I've had nothing but problems since the work was done. I'm not sure I want to go ahead with the treatment as it is very expensive, not to say uncomfortable. I may just plump for an extraction. I can't really face either option, but I've got to make a decision in the next week or so. I just felt very disappointed when I came away. It's the last thing I need at the moment.

I got home and tried again to submit information with regard to the student loan application. It took me the rest of the afternoon and a second phone call to the Student Finance line to work out what I needed to do, I eventually got it all done and submitted. I hope it helps get her the best maintenance award possible, but I think she'll get even less this year than last year, which isn't great. So, Tuesday was a bit of a write off, but at least a few things got done. It was all very draining and exhausting though. 

Later, I decided to do some decluttering and went through all of my out of season clothing, putting aside quite a lot to donate. Many of the items I decided to donate are now too big for me and I've decided not to hang onto them. I don't intend to go backwards to the point of where I started with my weight loss and I don't have room to keep everything. I have held onto a few favourites, but I may let them go too at some point. 

This task was very satisfying and I felt slightly more positive after completing it. I put aside a bag of slightly better quality clothing, for LB to sell on Vinted and keep the money towards her overdraft, if she wants to list them, of course. Otherwise, they can go to the charity shop and the rest to the next Zero Waste event in September. Next, I want to go through my wardrobe again and get super ruthless. It's too full and it's making it hard to pick out the clothes I want to wear. I think there's scope to get rid of many more items from in there. I've kind of changed my style over the last few months and I'm not sure I'll ever wear some of the items in there again.

On Wednesday, I had my last free day before I go back to work for a long stretch and I wanted to use it to do something productive but enjoyable, so I decided to spend the day in the garden. The main job I wanted to do was to wash all of the dirty plant pots that we'd used in the first half of the year. Often I leave this job until the following spring, but I felt compelled to do it early this year, as once they are all put away, it helps keep the green house and decking a lot tidier.

I also took a bit of time to pot on a few outdoor plants and an indoor plant, using up all of the indoor and outdoor compost and I cleaned out and tidied the greenhouse too. I didn't take a before picture, but here's a little video of how it looks now:

I bought a couple of these circular heavy duty dollies in the middle of Lidl this week. They are perfect for our large outdoor plants in pots. Once the decking has been replaced, which urgently needs doing, I want to use these to stop the decking rotting where the plant pots stand. They were a really good price as they were on offer for £7.99 each and then I got another 10% off with my voucher which made them £7.20. They can take up to 250lbs in weight too, which is good. I may buy another 2 or 3 if I can find any, as we've got a few more large plants in pots on the decking. It also makes them very easy to move around, of course.  I had a very enjoyable day. It felt very therapeutic to get out into the garden and straighten things up.

Thursday, I was due at work in the evening for the first shift of a 5 day stretch. I was a bit late getting up, as I didn't sleep well, but once I was up, I decided to make the day count. I made some porridge for breakfast, and put some fruit on the stove top to make more jam. I had three and a bit bags of fruit in the freezer and a little bit of fruit in the fridge, so I used two full bags and the small bag and bit from the fridge. I left one bag to make jam with at a later date, as I didn't think it would all fit in the pan.  I also put some jars in the oven to sterilise, ready to put the jam into.

Whilst that was slowly cooking down, I sorted some laundry and put another wash on, which brought me more or less up to date with the laundry. Once the jam was made, two jars this time, I had some lunch and then later got ready to go to work.

I went to work early, as I needed to stop off at B&Q to take some curtain rings back that I'm not now going to use, as I bought tab top curtains for the shed. Once that was done, I went into work. Work was okay. I was busy all night, so it passed quickly and then I got to go home early, which I'm not going to argue with.

I got up quite late again on Friday. When I jumped on the scales, I wasn't too happy, as I'm struggling to lose the few pounds I put on whilst on holiday. I think my body has got fed up of being in a calorie deficit and doesn't want to play ball and mentally I'm finding it harder to stick to it lately. Anyway, as a consequence, I decided I'd better go to the gym today, so I booked a session and headed off. I had a good work out and then on the way home I stopped off at the allotment, as we'd run out of lettuce. I harvested the last of the lettuce, and a few other things, watered and weeded as much as I could and then headed back home for lunch.

There was one lovely surprise at the allotment. One of my dahlias had flowered and it was a beauty. Here's a picture:

It's always the small things that bring pleasure.

When I got home,  I made myself a nice lunch and then chilled until it was time to get ready for work again.

It was a bit grey outside and spitting with rain, so it seemed like a good day to stay at home today.

Work was busy but good. When I got home, LB hadn't had a good day at work though. I won't go into details here, but suffice to say, as her mum, I wasn't happy. I had a good chat to her and reminded her that she doesn't have to stay, if she really doesn't like it. I'm not advocating quitting at the slightest setback, but in some circumstances it can be the right thing to do.

Saturday morning, I got up to find OH out in the garden moving things around. He was starting work on pulling up the rest of the old decking outside the back door, but more about that in another post.

Later, after lunch, I dropped OH off at the Velodrome for a cycle race, so that I could take the car to work and then came back home, chilled for a while and then got ready to go out to work. Work was super busy, but we got finished half and hour early and were able to go home. LB had had a good day at work today, so that was good news. I was glad to get to the end of this week.