Garden Update - May 2025

This month has seen OH make really good progress with the garden renovation. At the beginning of the month the garden looked like this:

It was a bit of a building site with the bricks and sand ready waiting to be laid to form a new patio area in front of the shed. OH started out by clearing the area and then laying down a few brick patterns to help us decide how to proceed.

The first Bank Holiday weekend of the month saw OH make good progress and half the patio got laid, until he'd virtually run out of bricks. It then looked like this:

The following week, we ventured into Hertfordshire to try to find some more bricks that blended well with the first shipment. We weren't able to get a half pallet from our original supplier, so we were forced to source some that were a good match elsewhere.  We got lucky and got another shipment delivered for the approximate number we needed.

OH got straight down to laying them the next day and laid almost the full patio, minus the edging bricks which needed cutting to size.

The second Bank Holiday Weekend in May, OH cut and laid the rest of the edging bricks, laid bricks under the compost bin, created a new step where the gate used to be and then filled in between the bricks with fine sand. He used every single brick we'd bought. Only a few small broken bits didn't get used. He could never do that again.

By the time I'd finished work on Bank Holiday Monday evening, he'd almost finished the patio. It looked great. 

He just had to brush a bit more sand into the cracks and tidy up a few areas which he did through the week and it was completely finished.  Here's a picture, with table and chairs out in readiness for us to enjoy it:

We are super happy with it. It feels so good to finally have a virtually finished grown up garden. Just the job of laying the flag stones down the side return to do and a bit of planting in the borders and the garden will be completely finished and we will be able to fully enjoy it again, although we are enjoying it as it stands now and had lunch out on the patio for the first time yesterday.

What a difference a month can make.

Another Sewing Post - Making a Dungaree Dress

 In April, I purchased a lovely denim dungaree dress for £10.50 from my local charity shop. It was labelled as XL, and as there was no fitting room, I bought it and took it home, hoping that it would fit. I really liked it because it was a longer length than many dungaree dresses, which tend to be quite short and tent like.  This one was longer and a straighter fit, which I thought might be more flattering. 

However, when I got home and tried it on, it wasn't XL at all, it was more like a size 10/12. I got it on, but it was tight in all the wrong places. I was a bit disappointed, as I really liked it, so I hung onto it hoping that I might be able to fit into it better if I lost a bit of weight again and I'm still hoping that this might happen, but I'm not counting on it. Here's a picture of the original dress:

Anyway, as it was a pretty simple construction, I decided to see if I could make a larger version that fitted better. I had some black cotton fabric that was originally salvaged from the full skirt of a dress that I cut down to a shirt. There was quite a lot of it and just enough to try to make this dress.

I then proceeded to create a paper pattern from the original dungaree dress, adding an inch or three to each side of the front and back. I kind of just winged it if I'm honest. I then cut the front and back pieces and the front and back pockets out in the fabric and set them aside intending to eventually sew them together.

When at my sewing class, I realised that the machines there could be used to sew a double stitch that you see on most denim items, where two rows of stitches run parallel to one another. I'd never seen the double needle that you use to do this before, but my tutor had one, so I had a play around at class and then brought my pattern pieces in and over a couple of weeks I managed to make the larger version of the dungaree dress.

There were some tricky moments, as I only just had enough fabric to make the dress and had to piece together some leftover strips of fabric to make the straps. They turned out okay in the end and once the fastenings were attached, they looked great.

The double needle had it's challenges too as it isn't easy to sew around a corner, but I managed okay. The finish isn't perfect and there might be the odd wobbly line here and there, but as I stitched using black cotton on black fabric, the mistakes aren't so noticable and most of them are on the back, which I don't actually see whilst wearing it.

Luckily, LB had some silver coloured jean buttons that she'd bought to mend a pair of dungarees she has and she let me use a couple of them to add to my dress. They are a different colour from the remainder of the fastenings, which are blackish, but I may paint them to make them blend a bit more or even just go with them as they are. This dress is really only for casual use, so I'm not bothered about the buttons being a different colour.

Anyway, here's a picture of the finished dress:

It looks a bit shapeless in the photo, but looks better on and fits me a lot better than the original with room to spare. I'm looking forward to wearing it over the summer and might even make another one in a different fabric i.e. a lightweight denim like the original dress or a camoflage/animal print denim if I can find one.

I'm very happy with it, but now need to see if it stands up to the wear and tear of actually wearing it. Wish me luck.

Making Progress - W/E 24th May 2025

The week started with another shift at work on Sunday. I was due in for 2pm, but as it was our local half marathon, there were road closures and diversions. I started off in the car, but as soon as I got to the end of our street, the gridlock had started, so I turned around and took the car home, deciding to walk to work instead. I was glad that I did, as I was walking much faster than the traffic was moving and I just managed to get there on time.  The shift was okay, not too busy, but passed quickly as it was short. I then caught the bus home, so I got a lot more steps in, around 10,000 in total.

After supper, I spent the evening trawling through holiday villas again, saving quite a few that were possibles, as we need to book somewhere for later in the year, now LB has received her new passport.

On Monday, I headed off to do the weekly shop. I went further afield again, as I was trying to find some slippers for OH for his birthday. They are a present from his mum. I tried to get them at our local mall, but they didn't have them in his size and at this larger out of town store they didn't have any at all, so it was a bit of a waste of time, but at least I tried.  I may have to buy them online when M&S's website is back up and running.

I then returned to where I usually shop and did the grocery shopping. I had a few of the more expensive things I buy on my list this week, so it wasn't possible to keep the bill down. I also bought a few extra bits for OH's birthday, including a cake. 

I was super tired by the time I got home, so after unpacking the shopping and documenting my spending, I headed upstairs to bed for a nap, but not before I'd wrapped OH's birthday gifts and made up a couple of food hampers for him.

I finished this book today:

It's the fourth book I've read this year and it was quite an informative read. I still have another library book to read, which is on a similar subject. I started reading it on the bus to my sewing class this week and it's quite good. I definitely agree with some of it's sentiments.

My sewing class today went okay. I didn't have too much to do to finish the dungaree dress, but I ran into a few problems stitching the back patch pockets on and ended up needing to do a lot of unpicking and re-stitching which took quite a bit of time. I did eventually get as much done as I could, enough just to finish it at home. It now just needs hemming and the buttons putting on, which I hope to do this week or over the weekend and then I can actually wear it which is exciting.

It's half term next week from both college courses, so I might have time to cut out the pattern pieces in the fabric for the floral dress I want to make next.

Just to chill when I got home, I did a bit of hand finishing work on the dungaree dress and then decided to snip up all my small fabric and thread scraps, so that it is ready to use for filling/stuffing if I ever should need it. It was wonderfully mind numbing, just what I needed. There's still quite a bit left to do though.

On Wednesday, I was up early in order to head into college. It ended up being a strange day. We found out that our exam, which was due to take place in two weeks, had changed and was now going to be open book assessment and was not going to be in an exam environment, so we could essentially work through the questions online at home or at college. We spent some time doing that in class and I managed to get a few sections completed at college, but I need to do more reading for some of the sections. You have to keep retaking each section until you get every question correct, which can be very frustrating, as some of the questions are difficult.

Anyway, when I left college, I went to the gym to do a workout, which went okay, before going home. Once home, I did a bit more work on the assessment, managing to complete 6 out of the 10 sections in total, when combined with what I'd done earlier in the day, so I'm over half way to finishing it, which will be one less thing to worry about. There are quite a lot of other things I need to do for this course though.

On Thursday, I slept in as I was feeling very tired. I stayed in bed for a while reading my library book.  This one is by Patrick Grant of Sewing Bee fame and in it he argues that we should all consume less and enjoy a more simple life with less stuff. He also traces the history of clothing and consumerism in the beginning of the book, which is quite interesting. 

I decided to have a quiet day at home today, doing very little. I just needed it. I spent the morning snipping up scraps and managed to get the lot finished which was good. From now on, I'll try to snip them up before I add them to the bag. I now have quite a large bag to use for stuffing, although I don't have any projects in mind just yet. Here's a picture:

After lunch, I caught up on a few jobs at home, before getting ready for a shift at work. I've got quite a lot of shifts scheduled over the next couple of weeks, so it's going to be a busy and exhausting time what with the college work I've got to do as well.

One bit of good news today was that the dentist office rang to change my appointment for a filling to next week. This means that I won't have to miss a sewing class now, but I will miss next week's gym class and I will also incurr more expense this month, but you can't have everything. I just want to get the treatment done and over with.

Work on Thursday was busy and passed quickly, but we were there a bit later than usual clearing up the store. Another young colleague left tonight. I had no idea she was leaving. She's a hard worker and a lovely girl and will be missed. This probably goes some way to explaining why I've got more shifts in the next few weeks as the managers are still in the process of recruiting more staff and onboarding always takes a while.

On Friday, I had another lie in reading my book, before getting up and having breakfast. I took a look in the garden and was pleasantly surprised to see the foxgloves in our new border starting to flower. Here's a picture:

Considering the fact that we only created this border last year, when OH built the new shed, and I've virtually spent no money on plants, it's not looking too bad. I'm looking forward to really establishing it more over time.

After a late breakfast, I decided to go for a run. It was good to get out and feel the sunshine on my skin though. There's lots of family stuff going on in the background of our lives at the moment, which is quite stressful, so it's good to get out and try to clear your mind for an hour.

Later, I had to get ready and go to work. I got a surprise when I got there, as I'd been put on a section I hadn't worked in probably over a year. It was section I liked, but it is one that is large and hard work. I did my best and was busy tidying up and stocking up all night. 

I did need some help to get me over the finish line at the end of the night, but I sometimes think people expect a lot of a 58 year old woman. I don't like to use the age card, but I'm not as quick and fit as someone in their 20's, (i.e. most of the staff) and I'm on my knees, reaching up and down, etc. all night. It's just as well that I go to the gym and keep myself reasonably fit or I wouldn't last 10 minutes in the job. It made a nice change though, but I don't think I'll necessarily get the chance to do it again, unless they're really stuck for someone.

On Saturday morning, I went to the free gym session as usual, which was good. I wasn't working on Saturday, so could enjoy the whole day at home. I met OH at the allotment when I got back, met a new plotholder and did some weeding on our paths and plot. Everything is now planted up. We're harvesting strawberries, but nothing else as yet.

In the afternoon, OH resumed work on the patio cutting and laying the bricks along the edges. We also took out the compost bin, so that he could brick underneath it. Whilst OH worked on the patio edgings, I weeded the borders and emptied most of the compost from the bin onto them. Afterwhich, I sprayed the borders with clove water, which I understand cats dislike, in an attempt to discourage them from using the borders as a litter tray, which is still an issue. Time will tell if it works.

We ended the evening, catching up on this week's episode of Race Across the World before falling into bed shattered at the end of another week.

A Week of Getting Back to Normal - W/E 17th May 2025

It's been a week of getting back to normal here after our visit to Yorkshire last week. I slept really well on Saturday night, as a result of being back in my own bed, which was just as well as I was working on Sunday from 12 til 6pm.  Work was busy and I found out that our Store Manager is moving on to another store imminently. Our store is also currently recruiting for more staff, so there will be new faces will starting soon.

On Monday, it was weekly shop day as usual. I went a bit further afield than normal today, in order to visit an IKEA store. I wanted to buy one of their large bathmats, which are bigger than any I can find in other stores.  They are more expensive though. I bought just one, but there wasn't really a good choice of colours, just two, so I went for a dark green one.

I then did the grocery shop, including buying a few consumables for OH's birthday next week. I dropped into my regular charity shop on the way home, but didn't find anything I liked, which is unusual.

On Tuesday, I went to my usual class at the gym. It was a bit different as someone was covering for the teacher who was away. I found the class enjoyable enough, but we didn't really use the weights much. Sometimes it's good to have a change of teacher to mix things up a bit.

Later, after lunch, I got ready and went to my sewing class. This week felt much more productive as I spent the whole class working on my dungaree dress and made quite a bit of progress using the double needle. It was interesting to use it.

On Wednesday, I was at college from 9am till 2.30pm. It was quite intense, as we were learning a lot of detailed theory, which we need for an exam in a few weeks time. The exam is multiple choice, but it will still require quite a lot of study. We also did a bit of practical work towards the end of the day, which was interesting.

I had to rush home and get ready for work after college. Work was busy and actually fairly enjoyable as it passed very quickly. I'm now not working again until Sunday.

It was lovely to have a day off on Thursday. The morning was spent with OH visiting a building supply company in Hertfordshire trying to find some bricks to match the ones he'd used on the patio. We did find some that matched quite well and the supplier was happy to divide a pallet so we could buy just what we needed which was good. We also dropped into an Aldi for a few bits and OH bought me a couple of Salvias for the new border, which still has a few gaps. They were great value at £2.99 each for a good sized pot.

By the time we'd got home and I'd had lunch, I was feeling very tired and decided to head to bed for a nap. I needed it after a very busy few days. I had to wait until next door's builders finished working though as they are quite noisy and chat loudly.

On Friday, I started the day with a 3km run. Our local 5km run is on Saturday, but I decided not to enter this year, as I don't really enjoy running in events and prefer a 3km distance, as opposed to 5km. On my cool down, I came across a table full of stuff that someone was giving away for free, so picked up a few terracotta pots and saucers which I'm sure I can make use of. I collected a prescription from the pharmacy on the way back from my run, which increased my steps a little, which is all good, I also picked up this cute cast iron planter outside another house. It is pretty heavy, but I like it's aged patina. I later filled it with some nasturtium seedlings, once I'd brushed it out.

The bricks that we'd ordered on Thursday were delivered today, so I carried some of them through the house to the back garden before lunch, which gave me a bit of extra exercise.

In the afternoon, I headed to our local mall, to visit the bank to deposit a cheque. It's not so easy to find a bank where you can deposit these days and this was the closest one to where I live. Whilst at the mall, I decided to take a look in Primark and then ended up buying a few things that caught my eye. I am a bit short of clothes that fit well at the moment, after putting a bit of weight back on. I just feel like I need a few more choices. I've always got some excuse haven't I? I will include them in my monthly clothing purchase blog post.

When I got back from the mall, OH had moved the rest of the bricks into the garden. We then went out on our bikes to run an errand and dropped into the allotment on the way back to water it. Everything is growing really well, which is good news.

Saturday began with a free gym session, as these had recommenced last week whilst we were away. It did feel good to get back in the gym. 

When I got home, I pottered in the garden for a bit, as it was a lovely sunny day. I cleaned a few bird feeders and did a bit of deadheading here and there. OH resumed work on the patio mixing in the new bricks and continuing down the garden.

After lunch, I headed up to the sewing room to do a bit of work on my dungaree dress before returning to class on Tuesday. I did a bit of machine sewing and then took some unpicking and basteing down to the garden and sat on the bench doing it in the sunshine as OH worked. It made a nice change to actually sit in our garden for once.

Later, I made supper and then resumed sewing on my machine, making the straps for my dungaree dress. These were a little tricky, as I had to make them the correct width for the fixings and made them from left over bits of the fabric, which I had to piece together carefully, but I did it and added the fixings ready for them to be sewn onto the dress in class. I also basted the sides and tried the dress on and it seemed to fit well which was good. I can't wait to get it finished so that I can wear it. I should be able to just about finish it in class next week, save for hemming it, which I can do at home, and attaching the buttons. I will then be able to start work proper on the floral dress that I originally intended to make at class.

By the time I'd finished, OH had finished work for the day on the brick patio. Here's a picture:

There is still a bit of work to do on the sides and step and it needs fine sand putting inbetween the bricks, but this will be a job for another day. We were both happy with how the new bricks blended in and this was OH's first attempt at building a brick patio, so I think he did really well. It would have cost a lot more to pay someone to do it for us.

As a consequence of the above, Saturday felt like a productive end to another busy week. I'm hoping that next week will be a little less busy and I'll get chance to do some studying.

Another Busy Week - W/E 10th May 2025

This week started with a full day shift at work on Sunday. I was due to start at 11am and finish at 6pm. It was a super busy shift and passed really quickly, which I'm always grateful for. 

Whilst I was at work, OH was home working in the garden all day.  By the time I got home he'd made a really good start on our new brick patio. Here's a picture from upstairs in the house of his progress:

It was lovely to come home and see how far he'd got with it, but we need more bricks now before he can make any further progress and if we can't get the amount we need, we might have to redesign it a bit to make better use of the bricks we have. This might include widening one of the borders and creating planting pockets in the brickwork. We'll just have to wait and see.

I ordered a new shredder when I got home from work as after a bit of investigation as to whether the fuse had blown, we came to the conclusion that it had in fact gone kaput. I didn't opt for the cross cut, which was probably a bit short sighted, and instead went for a strip cut one, which was the cheapest one I could get and was £19. It will be fine for what I need. I intended to collect it the next day when I did the weekly shop.

On Bank Holiday Monday, OH was heading off cycling to Brighton for most of the day. I needed to do the weekly shop, as I don't have time later in the week now. I wouldn't normally ever shop on a Bank Holiday Weekend as it gets too busy, but needs must. I made sure to set off early around 9am to try to avoid most of the traffic and crowds and I was back a couple of hours later, all done. I managed to save over £10 on my shop with a 10% off voucher which was good. I picked up the shredder and used it when I got home, but it packed up on me more or less instantly. Things are just not made well these days. I don't know if I can get a refund, but I guess I need to try. Very disappointing.

Later, I got ready and went to work for the evening. It was another busy shift, but we did get away a bit earlier on this occasion.

On Tuesday, I was on my way to my usual class when I received a message to say it was cancelled, so I booked a gym session instead. It was super busy in the gym though, but I worked out for an hour and then headed home.

I was due at my sewing class later in the afternoon. It was good. We did some samples of different pockets for clothing, which was quite tricky if I'm honest and then I did a very small amount of work on my dungaree dress project, which I've decided to do whilst on the course, as the machines there can do the double stitch that you get on jeans and denim. It's quite exciting to learn how to do something totally new to me.

After the course, which takes place in a library, I took a look at some of the craft books they had to loan out and picked a couple to take out and bring home with me. There weren't too many about sewing sadly, but the two I got are about sustainable fashion which are interesting. I started reading one of them on the bus journey home.

When I got in, whilst making supper, I did one of my homework tasks for college the next day. Hopefully, I've done what the tutor required me to do.

On Wednesday morning I was up early to get ready to go into college. We were starting earlier this week, so it was a bit of a rush to get out on time. The course was interesting today, as we did some classroom work, followed by some practical work, both of which were very informative. By the time I'd finished for the day, I had a much better understanding of what was expected of me on this course and could start to work towards some of the assessments.

I did a gym session in the afternoon, which I enjoyed, trying a few new exercises for me, which was good.

When I got home, I did some work on one of the assessments for college. It's only an initial draught, but at least it's progress. I may need to make changes, but hopefully it's one less thing to do over the next few weeks.

By the time I'd done that I was tired and decided to just chill for the rest of the evening and watch Race Across the World.

OH managed to find a company today, that could possibly sell us the remaining bricks we need for the patio. They are based not too far from London too, so hopefully we will be able to see if they have a good match for the one's we're using, as the company we bought these from will only sell us another 600 bricks and we only need 100 or so. It's a bit of a setback and it might be a week or so before we get what we need to continue with the project, but at least there's hope on the horizon that we can find the right match.

On Thursday morning, I decided to go for a run, as we were heading up to Yorkshire in the afternoon, to visit family and OH's brother who is still in hospital after having suffered a severe stroke. It was good timing really, as next door's builders were starting to build the wall of their side return extension and were taking down the fence, so it suited us not to be there whilst they were doing this. 

The journey up to Yorkshire went okay, not too much traffic, but we didn't arrive until 6pm, so had something to eat and then headed out to a local hotel for a drink. We were staying at OH's mum's house for the first time in a good few years, since before OH's dad had his stroke.

On Friday, we had a busy day. OH needed to take his mum into town in the morning to the bank, so he dropped me off at Boyes for my usual mooch around.  There were a couple of things I was running low on and needed to buy and I have to admit a few other things got put in my basket. 

We met up with my sister for lunch at a local cafe, which was very nice and had a good chat and catch up with her and then we headed to the hospital to visit OH's brother. It was my first visit since his stroke, and I was pleased to see that he looked reasonably well, although he still has lots of issues that need addressing over time, if possible. We had a good chat to him, as there were no other visitors there at the time and stayed for the remainder of the afternoon visiting hours. It must be very difficult for him to adjust to his new health situation. All we can do is offer support.

We then headed back to OH's mum's for supper and spent the rest of the evening with her watching TV.

On Saturday, we were heading back to London, as I was working on Sunday and needed to get back, so it was a short visit, but we did everything we needed to in the time we had. Luckily, the journey back was good too, with no hold ups or traffic.  When we got home, we desperately needed to water the garden, as some of the lettuce seedlings were looking worse for wear. Hopefully, we won't lose too many of them. We then unpacked and headed to the allotment to water there. There were quite a few of the plotholders there today, so we had a chat to them before heading off to collect some comfrey leaves locally to make some natural fertiliser before returning home.

It was lovely to then spend a quiet evening in our own home, to chill and prepare for the week ahead after what's been another very busy week. I'm hoping that this coming week will be a little more chilled, especially now I'm starting to get used to my new slightly busier routine.

I hope you had a good week and enjoyed some sunshine.

April Clothing Purchases

I had a spendy month again this month, with regard to buying clothing, despite being on a tight budget.

The first item I bought was a shirt to wear for work. It cost £2 from the charity shop. I will probably need to wear a vest underneath, as it is quite sheer, but it will be okay to wear in the summer as it is nice and light.

I also dug a couple of work tops out of the donation bag and decided to keep them and continue to wear them over the summer, as I'd struggled to find any suitable work tops at the beginning of the month.

The second item I bought this month was also a charity shop buy. It was this denim dungaree dress, which cost £10.50. Despite being labelled XL, when it came to trying it on, it was more like a 10/12 and was tight. Nevertheless, I'm hanging onto it, as I really like the design and the length and I'm going to try to make a larger dress from it by creating my own pattern, as the construction looks very simple. There is, of course, always the chance that I might lose some weight this summer and get into it more comfortably, but then pigs might fly too.

I was a bit indulgent and succumbed to a new purchase, namely this denim jacket. I like the light coloured denim, the pockets and the Nehru collar and it should be a great lighter jacket for wearing this spring/summer. I paid £22.49 for it. This is a lot for me to spend on one item of clothing, but I do like it and I know it will be my go to jacket when I need one this summer, so I'm not going to beat myself up over it.

A visit to the Car Boot sale over the Easter weekend resulted in my buying 3 tops for work in the summer. The first was this lace sleeved t-shirt from ASOS for £2. I think it was new.

I then bought this black lace top for £1. This is another top that I'll need to wear a vest under, but I quite liked it and for £1 it was worth a try.

Finally, I bought this top for £2 which will be a good option for work in the summer months, as it's qutie loose and cool.

I also bought this black canvas jacket by ASOS for £4 at the Car Boot sale. This was probably not a good purchase as it is quite large, but it might be good for throwing on in some circumstances. If I'd bought it from a charity shop, I would probably take it back, but as it was a car boot buy, I can't. I may just donate it at some point, but I'll give it a chance first.

I then made one last visit to the charity shop before the month ended and spent £11 on three items including this animal print top from Mint Velvet for £3

another black top for work for £3

and finally I bought this floral dress for £5, which may be a good option for a family wedding next year. It looks red in this photo but is actually orange, which is not something I would normally go for, but I liked it.

That concluded all of my clothing buys. There were quite a few, I have to admit. In total, I spent £55 on clothing, which was quite a lot, especially considering I was on a tight budget, but I did get quite a few nice pieces and some essentials for work, so I don't regret it.

In addition, I also bought some fabric to make a dress, so I will include this here, as I technically did spend it to create an item of clothing. I bought 4 metres of this pretty floral fabric, which cost £12 and was given an extra metre which had already been cut for free. I hope to show you the results of my efforts, once I've made the dress with the help of my tutor at weekly sewing classes that I started last week

I definitely hit my remit of finding some tops for work this month. I don't think I need anymore for the foreseeable, but it is good to have a few that I like to choose from. I don't really need any clothes going forward, but that won't preclude me from buying something I like if I see it in the charity shop, but I'm hoping to spend less on clothing next month as I really just don't have the wardrobe space.

A Much Better and Busier Week

This week started with a shift at work on Sunday. OH went off cycling and I wasn't due to work until 2pm, so I was able to get up at my leisure, do some jobs around the house and have an early lunch before getting ready for work.

Work was good. I worked on two different jobs, both of which were very busy, so the shift passed quickly. I dosed myself up before going to work which helped. I finally felt like I'd turned a corner with this virus and was now feeling a lot better, which was just as well, as I had a busy week ahead.

Monday, was the usual weekly shop day. I had all day to do the shop, no work to get back for, so I could take my time. To be honest though, I did have a very fixed budget to spend, it being the end of the month and had to make sure I didn't overspend. It was necessary food and household items only on the shopping list. Strictly no extras. 

I did manage to keep within my spending limits by a few pounds, despite adding in some bird seed/nuts and a hosta plant I saw in Tesco for £1. Worth having to put in the new garden border.

The weather was beautiful on Monday, but unfortunately building work had resumed next door, so it wasn't exactly relaxing to sit out in the garden. Instead, I decided to do some financial stuff, as it was virtually month end and I knew I'd be busy later in the week.

Later, after supper we watched the final episode of Season 2 of The Capture, which was okay.

On Tuesday, it was back to my class at the gym. It felt good to finally do some exercise again after almost  two weeks. Later, I got ready and went out to the first of the nine sewing classes I'd enrolled in. The class runs from 4pm till 6pm, which is quite an unusual time and means I've had to let work know that I'm not available to work on Tuesday evenings for the foreseeable.  Luckily, they were okay about it.

I got a bus to my sewing class. It is in a different part of East London. I hadn't been there in ages. The teacher seemed very nice and very knowledgable. A few people didn't turn up due to ill health, but the students who were there seemed very nice. The class went by very quickly. I didn't get started on my dress yet in the class as we were given another task to do. When I got home, I cut the pieces I need, from the paper pattern, ready to pin them to the fabric I bought and cut out, when I get the chance.

I had an early night, as I'd been rudely awoken by OH's alarm clock at 6am, as he got up to go out cycling. As a consequence, I headed to bed at 9.30pm

On Wednesday, I woke early at 7 am ish, as I had to be up and out and on my way to another college, where I was starting another course. This course is one that I applied for over a year ago, but which didn't run for a year as they couldn't get the numbers to make it worthwhile. They now have enough people to run it, so I didn't want to miss the opportunity, despite being enrolled on another course at the same time.

This course is to train for a vocational qualification. It's a short course, lasting 8 weeks or so, but does have exams/assessments and quite a lot of study and practical work involved during that time, so it is quite a committment. I don't want to divulge what it is just yet. I'll let you know if I manage to successfully complete it. 

The college seems like a nice place to study and the facilities are good, which should help to motivate me. The other students and the tutor also seem very nice. There is a mixed age range. I think I was probably the oldest student, but there was another lady who was in a similar age bracket. I just hope I can successfully complete it. Today's session was really just an introduction to the course, getting set up to work online at home, as much of the study is done remotely and getting a tour of the facilities.  We were finished by 12.30pm and then I dropped into a local Home Bargains for a few toiletry products that I needed on the way home.

When I got home, I took some time to double check that I could get into the college website and do my study. I spent an hour or so just reading about the assessments and then watching a couple of videos related to the theory involved. In doing so, I was also able to complete a bit of homework we were given for next week.  Next week will be a more practical session, which I'm really looking forward to.

As a consequence of my activities this week, life has suddenly got quite busy and although I'm not complaining at all, I just hope I haven't taken on too much at once. I ended up going to bed for a nap mid afternoon, to catch up on some sleep.

Later, I did a bit more study of some study materials sent to me by my tutor, so I've made a decent start at least today, before watching this week's episode of Race Across The World.

On Thursday, after not sleeping well, I got up and decided to finally make a dress I bought from a car boot sale a few weeks ago into a skirt. It was due to be the hottest day yet this year, reaching temperatures of nearly 30 degrees centigrade and I figured I needed some floaty cool clothing to wear if we're going to get this kind of hot weather this summer.

First, I created a waistband using the sleeves of the dress (I'd already cut the top part of the dress off). I stitched this to the top of the skirt to make casing for some elastic. Unfortunately, I didn't have any wide elastic, so I dropped into a local hardware store to see if they sold it. I got some, but it wasn't as wide as I wanted, so I might try to get some more elsewhere before I finish it.

I also did a whole bunch of shredding of paperwork today. I'd had a bag full kicking around under the kitchen table for 6 months and was sick of the sight of it, so I just got on and did it. It's not my favourite job, but it felt good to get it done and it felt like I'd made progress. The only problem was that I exhausted the shredder and it finally went kaput. I may have to buy another one as I have a whole lot more shredding to do on account of sorting out lots of old paperwork a few months ago.

Later, after lunch, I was due at a dental check up at 2.20pm, so I headed off there. I need to have a filling and a clean, so I've booked an appointment next month for that. I had to pay a £75 deposit for the treatment though.

Some good news today, was that the bricks and sand were delivered today, to build a patio in the garden and also to lay some paving down the side return. We are repurposing some lovely pavers that our neighbours were throwing out, as they are building into their side return where these were laid. It's very exciting. I love it when we can progress to another job and get closer to getting the garden how we'd like it to be. I'll do another garden post once work begins.

The bricks and sand arrived just as I returned home from the dentist, so I rolled up my sleeves and got stuck in carrying them into the garden. It took OH and I a couple of hours to carry all 600 bricks and 30 bags of sand through the house to the garden. It was quite hard work, but counted as my daily exercise.

A few days ago, I ordered a new nose for my childhood teddy bear (Panda). He's not had a nose for a good few years, I can't remember how many. The nose also came today, so I glued it into place. Here's a before:

and after:

I think he looks cute with his new nose.  I now just need to sew a nose onto Little Ted here:

He used to have a small rubber nose, but I couldn't find one like it and I guess it would be considered a choking hazard these days, so I'll have to stitch him a nose.

(I did this in a spare 10 minutes I had before I went to work on Friday night. It's not perfect, but I think it suits him. I knew that the big reel of thread that I bought from the charity shop would come in useful for something.)

I had a lie in for an hour on Friday after waking early due to OH going out cycling again and then I decided to just get up and go down for breakfast. A bit later I got ready and went out for my first run in 2 weeks. I wasn't really feeling it, as it was another hot day, but it appealed more than going to the gym, so I just headed out. I managed a 3.5km run and tried to keep in the shade as much as possible. It was nice to get out into nature and breathe in fresh air. Our local 5km run is in two weeks time and I'm currently in two minds as to whether to enter. I need to focus on my running if I do.

I was back to work at 4.30pm on Friday evening, so after lunch and a bit of a chill I got ready for work. Work was a bit of a baptism of fire, as I was asked to work on a department I haven't worked for a long time. In addition, I was asked to work in two other areas for part of the shift, so I got a bit overwhelmed and behind on my department. It was a bit of a disaster shift really. I'm not sure they'll give me that job again. My feet were so sore by the time I left. I was so glad to get home and decompress.

Saturday was a chill day. I wasn't working and didn't need to go anywhere. In fact, I needed to stay home, as LB was expecting the delivery of her new passport. She'd accidently put her old one through the washing machine. An expensive mistake. I had a bit of a lie in and then went down for breakfast. OH was intending to start work on the garden patio, which was exciting.

I did some laundry, then I had the idea to try to use the elastic I'd bought the other day, by stitching two widths together to make a wider width. I then threaded it through the casing and stitched it in place. I'm hoping it will work okay and it will save me buying some more. Here's a picture of the finished skirt:

Not perfect, which is what I always say about anything I make, but it is much more wearable as a skirt than as a dress.  I also created a pattern for a dungaree dress, from something that I bought from the charity shop this month, but that was a little tight. I then cut it out of some fabric I had ready to be sewn together when I get the chance.

I didn't do a lot for the rest of the day, but I did pack away some of my heavier winter clothing and get some of my summer clothing out of storage. We are, however, due some cooler weather from this weekend, so I kept some sweaters out just in case.

It's been a very busy week this week, but I feel like progress has been made here and there and I'm just happy to feel much healthier and able to get on with things. I hope you've had a good week.

A Bit of a Garden Update

As Spring has now finally sprung in all it's glory, I decided to take a few photos of our garden as it currently stands at present:

It feels like it has been a long winter, but the garden has really come back to life in recent weeks, with lots of greenery everywhere and a few flowers here and there too.

At the moment, it's a bit of a building site, on account of the materials having been delivered to do some hard landscaping, which is the last major job we need to do to get it how we want it. In addition, there is lots of leftover wood from when we renewed the decking, which OH was going to use to deck the side return, but we are no longer doing this. Instead, we have acquired some lovely flagstones from our neighbours, as they are building into their side return where these were laid and they no longer need them. We are now going to pave our side return using these, once the builders have finally built next door's side return wall.

With both the side return area and the main part of the garden both being a bit out of bounds, most of the plant action is centred around the decking. It is filled to the brim with waterbutts, plants in pots and seedlings being grown for the allotment. Much of this is only temporary, as the plants we are growing for the allotment and which currently have taken over the bench and tables, will eventually get planted out and some of the pots I'm intending to transfer into the beds or the allotment too, allowing us to use this space more for relaxation, but this will be a few weeks away yet. In the meantime, it remains a nice little green haven outside the back door.

This weekend, OH decided to sort and clear up the unwanted wood pile and to start laying the new patio, so by the end of Saturday the main part of the garden looked like this:

He took the black plastic off, levelled everything out a bit and then laid a few brick patterns, so we could decide which one we wanted to proceed with. We haven't got quite enough bricks, so we're hoping we'll be able to order 100 or so more to be able to complete the project. It was very exciting to see progress being made though. I can't wait until it is finished and we can properly enjoy the space. I'll keep you posted.

Surviving a Low Spend April 2025

This month, I had no choice but to take part in a lower spend month, on account of being paid quite a bit less this month than I normally receive. My hours had been pretty basic, with few extra shifts in March, so I ended up with less money as a consequence.

Regardless, I determined to make the best of it and just had to be very mindful of my spending.  The main thing that I needed to spend money on, were haircuts for myself and LB whilst she was home for a week.

I did also buy a few items of clothing, that I have mentioned in another post, plus other bits and pieces here and there throughout the month, including some plants for the garden and allotment.

I did try to stick to the food budget of £400, but as there were 5 food shopping weeks in April, I did go over budget and spent £518. A couple of areas did come in under budget though, namely household and home/garden, which was good.

I managed to put £110 into the car fund this month, despite it being tight. It ended up coming from some interest I gained on a savings account, which I redirected to this fund, and although it wasn't as much as I'd have liked, it was something. I also won another £150 on the Premium Bonds, which was a great blessing and this got reinvested as usual. In addition, I got a free £50 payment into my Nationwide savings account which was not to be sniffed at. You don't get free money very often from anywhere.

I put just £50 instead of the usual £100, towards birthday/Xmas gifts this month, but my savings are still on track here, as a little carried over from last year. I also put £50 aside for LB's bills if she needs it, when she moves out of her flat later this year. 

Although it was a tight month financially, it didn't feel too restrictive, as I didn't really need anything much and I managed to curb my visits to charity shops, as I knew I had little spare cash to spend. I did spend the thrifting budget I set myself of £25, but didn't go over this month. As a consequence, I got to build my financial discipline muscles a little, which is always good and I spent my time doing lots of sewing to help keep me out of the shops.

Next month may be a little trickier, as I've got a dental appointment, which I kind of expect to lead to some treatment, as it usually does. May is also the month of OH's birthday, so I will need to spend some money on his present, which may or may not come from the money I've put aside, depending on whether I have enough income to cover it. 

I would also like to put at least £200 in the car fund in May, the usual amounts in my other regular savings pots, and I would also like to put something, (even if very little just to round up a balance) into one or more of my other savings accounts, just to keep working on them, but we'll just have to see how the month pans out.

It hasn't been a bad month though and I survived, so it could have been worse.