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.