The week started slowly. I love Mondays, as I don't have to be up early, so I tend to start the day in a leisurely way. I headed out of town to do the weekly shop as usual, but on this occasion I kept running into traffic issues. One very large roundabout was gridlocked and it took a while to get through it. Fortunately for me, I was turning off onto a road where it was clear, not the case for some of the traffic.
Anyway, I then ran into more traffic due to some works and extra traffic lights, which was a bit annoying, so I had to take a different route. The shopping went well though. I had a strict budget with it being the end of the month and I managed to bring the shop in under budget, which was a result. I did use £7.50 worth of vouchers today, which helped, but I also managed to get a few things at a reduced price and picked up a few more things for the pantry cupboard, just in case.
I did go to the charity shop, as it is my weekly treat to myself. I know that's a dangerous way to look at it, but I usually stay out of the shops for the rest of the week. I tried some clothing on, but none of it looked that nice, which is just as well, as I'm on a no/very low buy with regard to clothing from 1st October. I find it difficult to resist looking though.
Although I didn't buy any clothing, I did buy a few household linens. I bought a children's quilt cover with a very cute design for £2. I've got a specific project in mind for this, as it isn't a fabric I could make into clothing as the design is a little too childish. I think it is cotton, but there are no labels so I can't be certain. It feels like it though.
Another item I bought was a shrunken wool blanket for £2, which I'm going to use as a rug. It looks like it's a bit felted, so it should work well as a rug, may be in one of our reception rooms. For £2 it is worth trying it.
I also bought a white cotton duvet cover set with 2 pillow cases for £4, mainly because it was pretty and made of 100% cotton. It needed a few repairs and was a bit of a gamble, as it said it was a double on the price tag, but looked more like a king size, which all our duvets are. I figured that the repairs would be easy enough for me to do and as it is white and I don't do white anything, I may dye it a darker colour.
When I got home, after unpacking the shopping, I set to repairing it by hand. I do love a repair job. It's so satisfying if you can keep something in use, especially if it is cotton and has used precious resources in it's production and manufacture. Once repaired, I measured it and it was a kingsize, which was good. I put it through a 60 degree wash and I'll decide whether or not I want to dye it or not. I'll do a separate post about what I do with these items.
On Tuesday, I was back at Zumba in the morning, which was good, although there weren't many of us today. When I got home, I did some financial reckoning for the month. I received a request today to provide more information for one of my pensions, which was frustrating, as I thought I'd completed the application. Seems not, I now have to forward several more documents before it can be processed.
In the evening, OH and I watched The Rivals of Amziah King, starring Matthew MacConaghy. It was quite a good film, loosely about beekeeping and bluegrass music. Worth a watch.
Wednesday, was my day for going to the Green Gym. I made the decision to cycle there today for the first time. Google maps estimated it would take 22 minutes, but it took me more like 45 minutes. It reminded me of when I used to cycle to work in Central London, except this route was along the canal for 90% of the route. It wasn't a difficult route, but it was pretty tiring, especially the return journey. At least it got me a bit more exercise and saved me £4.60 on the train. I found out the other day, that even when I get my free travelcard, I won't be able to use it on the route to the Green Gym, which is very annoying. I'll either have to continue to pay, or will have to cycle.
Whilst at the green gym, I got to grips with the hose today. I don't ever use a garden hose, as our plot is right next to the water trough, so we use watering cans. It was a learning curve to learn the nuances of this particular hose. I did quite a bit of watering today, sowed some onion seedlings, rocket seeds, planted out more lettuce seedlings and did a bit of weeding here and there. The lettuce I planted out last week seems to be doing well, which I was pleased about. I'm not there next week, as I'm meeting some friends to celebrate my 60th birthday. When I go back, I'll try to remember to get some photos of the community garden. It's on quite a big site and has a large polytunnel, lots of raised beds and a fire pit. It's a nice space.
On Thursday, I was back at the gym for a class, which was good. I was tired when I got home, so I had a bit of a nap and then did a bit of reading after lunch. I then decided to do a few jobs and I finally got around to applying for the free 60+ Oyster card. I now just need to wait and see if everything is okay with my application (mainly the photo) and if it is, I should receive my travel card in the next couple of weeks, which will be great.
OH was out for a work event and LB was working at the pet shop, so I was home alone. After I'd done the things I needed to, I ended up watching an episode of the Chelsea Detective. When OH came home, he was quite unwell, suffering from some kind of stomach bug. I'm hoping I don't catch it.
Friday, was a day where I didn't need to be anywhere or do anything in particular, so I had a nice long lie in and read my book. OH was still unwell and spent the morning sleeping on the sofa. I got up, showered and ready for the day. I was happy to have a very homey day, doing small things.
On Saturday, I was determined to try and get the documents for my pension application certified at the Post Office, so that I could send them off. It was going to cost me another £12.75 to do this and then another £5 to post it off, but I put that down to being a necessity. I walked into town with OH. We bumped into our old neighbours on the way and stopped for a chat. It was nice to see them. They are a nice family.
When I got to the Post Office, I was in luck as there was no queue. I thought it was going to be a quick process, but it turned out that I needed to photocopy the documents I wanted certifying (I thought this was included in the service, but no), so I had to go a couple of doors down and spend another £2 to get that done. When I got back to the post office, one of my documents I'd printed off the internet, as it was a bank statement and I don't get them delivered by post anymore. Turns out this wasn't acceptable and I've got to get the bank to send me one by post, so I couldn't complete the certification afterall. Typical. This is the kind of thing that frustrates me. I know it's all for security reasons, but sometimes the instructions are just not clear and you end up going round and round in circles before you can actually make any progress. Anyway, the saga continues.
Whilst we were in our local town centre, OH and I went to have a look at the temporary gym that has opened to replace the gym we used to go to. We'd not seen it yet, but I'd heard lots of people at the gym I go to now talking about it. It was quite nice. My pay as you go membership for this gym has now run out, and it's not worth me renewing it when I'm paying a full monthly membership elsewhere. I may, however, return to the free Saturday morning gym sessions for over 50's, that I used to go to before, just for a change of scenery.
After getting home and having lunch, I did a bit of sewing, finishing an alteration I'd started last week. LB was working for the owners of the pet shop at a market where they run a stall, instead of in the shop, which was a bit different for her. She seemed to enjoy it, but it was an earlier start for her and she was on her feet all day, so she was tired when she got in and then was out later with some friends.
Sunday was a slow day at home. LB was unwell all day. I think she'd caught a bug from OH. I had a bit of a lie in reading a book, then I spent a while researching a new sewing project online, doing some laundry and making some more jam. I took another 1kg of gooseberries, blackcurrants and blackberries from the freezer, making a little more room in there. It made three jars, which will go into the pantry.
It's been a mixture of illness, frustration and small bits of progress this week. I'm hoping next week will be better.
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