A More Balanced Week - W/E 5th October 2024

This week started with a shift at work on Sunday. It was very busy again and I was just glad to get through it and get home at a reasonable time to be able to eat with OH and then chill out watching some TV. 

OH has recently subscribed to Disney+, as they have a crazy low offer on for a few months, so we started to watch Only Murders in the Building, which I've been wanting to watch for a while. It was quite entertaining. We then started to watch the BBC series Nightsleeper.

I've been struggling to sleep lately, as my cold has now progressed to my chest and lying down often causes coughing. I can't wait for it to clear up and to be able to get a good night's sleep again.

On Monday, I had my last consequetive shift at work for a couple of days. As I wasn't working until 5pm, I took myself off to do the weekly shop out of town again. I wanted to get it done so that I could just relax on my two days off on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Part of the reason for heading out of town was that I needed to pay a visit to Home Bargains and buy some things that we use regularly. I ended up spending £42 in there. It always comes to more than I expect. As most things are inexpensive, I always end up throwing a few extras in the basket.  

I then did part of the grocery shop at Tesco where I used another £4 off voucher. They seem to be sending me them quite regularly at the moment. The rest of the shop I did at Lidl where I got a free microwaveable rice sachet and a loaf of sourdough through Lidl plus. Not to be sniffed at.

When I got home, I just had time to get some lunch before getting ready for work. Work was a bit quieter tonight. I started off doing one job, then was changed to doing another. It went okay, but by the end of the night, the tiredness of working six consequetive shifts started to take it's toll and I struggled to get everything I needed to done. I was so grateful to finally leave and go home, knowing I had two days of not working ahead of me and I could try to recover from this cold.

On Tuesday, I was booked into my usual class at the gym. It was a good class this week and I did the best I  could. Whilst there, I renewed my yearly gym membership, which is Pay as You Go and cost £44.80. I then did a couple of errands on the high street before heading home for lunch.

It felt so luxurious to not have to go to work today. I did some laundry and then settled down on the sofa with a cup of tea, to watch Netflix and chill for the rest of the afternoon. I figured that my body deserved a rest with everything it's had to suffer this last week.

I was feeling a bit better by Wednesday. I still had a lie in, just because I could, as I didn't need to go anywhere or do anything in particular. I tidied around a little and then decided to do some work on my hexi quilt. I wanted to cut out the hexies to start a couple of new blocks, as they would be something I could easily take with me when we go to Spain/France. We'll be spending 36 hours on the ferry to Bilbao, so it will be something to entertain me.

I also emptied the ironing basket, so I could put all my clothes away. It's getting to that time of year when I need to do a wardrobe changeover again, to autumn/winter clothes. I'll probably leave it a week or two yet, but it's worth getting prepared for it.

I did receive a call from work asking me to go in, but I declined as I really wanted to recover properly from this cold and I was due back for three nights the following evening. Sometimes, I just have to put my health first.

On Thursday, I decided not to go to the gym, as I intended to go on Saturday morning and I didn't want to overexert myself whilst still recovering. Instead, I stayed home and did more work on prepping some hexies. It was nice to just have a couple of homey days, recuperating and doing just what I wanted to do and not rushing off here or there chasing my tail. Later, I did have to get ready and head to work, but I at least felt relatively rested and ready to go back.

Work wasn't great on Thursday night. Something happened that affected me for the rest of the shift, something I really could have done without. I won't go into details here though.

On Friday, I just took it easy at home again during the day. Work in the evening was okay, better than it had been the day before.

Saturday was a much better day. OH and I both went to the gym in the morning, which felt good and then we walked onto our local high street to do a few errands and decided to stop off and have brunch in a really nice cafe. I had the ubiquitous Poached Eggs on Avo Sourdough, but it was beautifully presented and tasted great. It was a cafe that I've wanted to visit for a while, so it was nice to finally get the chance.

Work on Saturday night was much better than it had been the previous couple of days. It was very busy, so passed very quickly, without too much drama. I was very happy to get to the end of what has been a much more balanced week for me, although it has had it's moments.

I hope you had a good week.

Low Spend September - How did it go?

This month, I decided to try a low spend month. I've had a lot of expenditure in the last few months, what with dental treatment, moving LB into her new flat, etc. I was tired of spending way too much each month.

This month didn't go too badly. I did manage to cut my spending in half this month, spending the least I'd spent in 6 months, so it was fairly successful. It wasn't as low spend as it could have been. I didn't cut out all spending and did buy some new items of clothing from thrift shops, where I spent almost £50 in total.  This sounds a lot, but I did get some big thick winter sweaters and accessories and a couple of shackets which are good transitional items in the autumn when the weather is getting colder. I also bought a couple of new items for work, i.e. a skirt and some socks, which cost £16.

Other items I bought included bulbs for the garden (5 packs) which cost £8.50, a few small home items costing £20 and some small cast iron weights for use with my dumbells and barbell which cost £5.

The above were the main areas of non essential expenditure, but I did also start to buy a few small stocking filler type gifts for Xmas to spread the cost, spending around £20 this month on these.

Right at the end of the month, I spent £24 on three new dollies to stand plants on on the decking. With all this wet weather, it's important to protect it from rotting again. I bought them from work using my staff discount and they are doing their job now that OH has put our plants back on the decking outside the back door. 

The majority of my expenditure this month has been on food, household and other miscellaneous necessary items that we use on a regular basis. This expenditure came to about £540, which is a little over budget, partly because I used a voucher I had and stocked up a bit in advance on some things.

On reflection, I did okay. After paying credit card and other bills, I had £150 left over at the end of the month, which I put into savings, which was a positive outcome as far as I'm concerned.

I could, of course, have done a lot better, such as buying fewer thrifted clothes or spending a bit less on food and household items, but I think by not being too strict, I've enjoyed the month and I don't feel like I've been too deprived. I may even try to do a second consequetive low spend month next month or possibly in November. We are, however, getting closer to Xmas now, so November may be a little difficult if I want to get ahead of the curve on Xmas presents.

My birthday falls in October, so from this point of view this might be the best month to try reducing my spending, as anything I need I can ask for as a gift. We are going on holiday for a week though, so that will involve expenditure. I may still give it a try though.

I'll keep you posted.

Making Plans - W/E 28th September 2024

This week started with a day off on Sunday, which I was very happy for. I had a good long lie in and then got up and made a breakfast wrap as a weekend treat.

OH's shoulder was feeling a little better. We began the day by starting to plan a holiday for a week of leave I'd booked in October.  We had a ferry crossing to use before the end of October, which we booked back in 2022 I think, but never used, so we kept carrying it over. It is now our last chance to use it, so OH started looking at potential ferry crossings to either France or Spain, possibly taking one to Bilbao and then driving back through France and getting one home from St Malo.

Despite hurting his shoulder this weekend, OH managed to finish rebuilding the decking this weekend, so it's now all laid securely and painted so that it virtually matches the part of the decking that was laid a couple of years ago. He's done a great job and here's a picture:

I'm so happy that it's all done and we can move our plants back. I may need to buy a few more roller platforms for some of them though.

On Monday, OH managed to book the ferries mentioned above, which is exciting. I went out in the morning to do the weekly shop out of town. I visited my favourite charity shop whilst there and bought a few things, including a blouse to wear for work, a thick winter sweater, a brand new winter scarf and pair of fingerless gloves, a dress and a PU shacket. I spent £20, but feel like I got very good value for my money and a few nice new pieces for my autumn/winter wardrobe.

I've managed to keep my spending much lower this month. With only a few days left in the month, I'd more than halved my expenditure this month, which I was very pleased about.

On Tuesday, I was booked into a class at the gym. The class was okay, but we didn't do much work with weights which was disappointing though. 

Our neighbour has started building work this week creating an extra floor on top of his house, so there's lots of activity and a bit of noise, which will be ongoing for a good few months. I'm hoping it's not going to be too disruptive.

After lunch on Tuesday, I spent the afternoon binge watching a new series on Netflix called The Perfect Couple, starring Nicole Kidman. It was quite entertaining. I then watched a British romantic comedy film which was quite good too. A very indulgent afternoon and evening, but sometimes you've just got to do it. I'm coming down with a bit of a cold, so I just wanted to put my feet up, before a gruelling 6 night stretch at work.

I have to come home from work a different way at the moment, as the road I usually take is closed due to  roadworks for the next 10 nights.

On Wednesday, I had a really slow start to the day. I pottered around upstairs sorting and putting away laundry, cutting up some old clothes to use the fabric for patchwork and generally tidying around which felt quite satisfying.

I then popped out to our local Tesco. I had a £6 off a £40 spend voucher to use before Sunday and I won't get the chance to use it later in the week due to work shifts, so I went today and stocked up on quite a few things that I would buy at some point anyway, just to use the voucher, rather than let it  expire.

I then came home and had some lunch before getting ready for work in the evening. Work was good, busy, so it passed quickly.

On Thursday, I had a lie in again. I'm trying to pace myself this week, as I've got a mild cold rumbling underneath the surface that I'm trying to stave off. I'm taking paracetamol, vitamins and eating lots of fruit to keep symptoms to a minimum, but I'm also trying not to overdo things and rest properly.  Having said this, I'm not sleeping well and often wake in the early hours feeling rough, hence the lie ins.

I've also been making a deliberate effort to slow life down this week. I've not been rushing around doing things, but taking my time, being self indulgent at times and just enjoying taking things slowly and not actually doing too much. Life seems to have speeded up in recent months, leaving little time to just be and enjoy, so I'm trying to do that now, inspite of work schedules and things that need doing.  I think it helps that it's mostly been raining outside, so I feel no guilt about staying home and amusing myself indoors. I've felt a lot better for it.

In this vein, I didn't go to the gym on Thursday, as I usually would. I just wasn't feeling it. I just stayed home instead. Some days, I just don't want to go anywhere.

I was working on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, which was a struggle as my cold progressed. All I could do was just get my head down and do my best. Saturday was particularly tough, as I did quite a long shift and it was super busy. It felt like Christmas had come early in terms of how busy it was, probably due to it being a pay day weekend.

LB came home on Friday night before her final shift at the local pet shop. She was feeling a lot better after her bout of tonsilitis. She won't get home much now for the rest of the term, as she'll be busy at Uni, but we might try to meet up for a night to celebrate my birthday some time next month.

I didn't go to the gym on Saturday morning, as I was feeling rough. I stayed in bed instead as I had been asked to go into work earlier. I was glad to get to Saturday night, which meant that I was past the half way point in working 6 consequetive nights/days. Just two to go.

I knew it was going to be a tough week this week workwise, which was why I paced myself. What I didn't count on was getting the cold virus. I'm looking forward to shaking it off and getting back to normal life. We seem to have had a run of health issues in the past couple of months. Nothing serious, thankfully, but it has still been a bit disruptive.

I hope you've had a healthy week this week.

A Marginally Calmer Week - W/E 21st September 2024

This week, I was hoping for a calmer week after the busyness of the last few weeks. I started the week with a day off on Sunday, which is always nice. It was a nice sunny day too. It was lovely to get up in a leisurely fashion, make a nice breakfast, catch up with blogging and make a shopping list, as I needed to go out and do the weekly shop locally, using a final £5 off voucher.

It was also the day of the year when our local Jumble Trail happens, so I was tempted to have a walk around our neighbourhood and check out the stalls.  In the end, I decided against it. I really do not need to bring more stuff into the house, and besides, OH was out cycling and I had the house to myself which felt indulgent.  It was nice to just potter and catch up with a few jobs after being away for a few days last week.

OH's mum had sent us home with some cooking apples from her garden, so I ventured to make a crumble for OH. I did cheat and bought the crumble mix from ASDA, but it did make the process very easy. It tasted super nice though. 

I pottered in the garden too, processing some marigold seeds and lavender that I'd harvested and dried in the greenhouse. I already have lots of marigold seeds from past seasons that remain viable, but I can't resist continuing to harvest them each year as it's so easy. I may have enough lavender to make a small bag to put in the wardrobe to deter moths. (I only have one plant) I also stripped some dried rosemary branches from the allotment. I want to make a rosemary salt to season potatoes and wedges with. I just need to find a way to either chop or grind it right down now.

I headed out to do the shopping, but stopped to collect a couple of parcels from a neighbour. I'd not spoken to this neighbour in a while, so it was good to catch up. I eventually went out and got some of the shopping done using a £5 off voucher in the process. When I got back, I was shattered. I think the last couple of weeks is finally catching up with me, so I just chilled for the rest of the evening. OH made us a lovely soup and we caught up on an episode of Celebrity Race Across the World which was good.

On Monday morning, I got up and began my new dental hygiene programme at last. I was waiting for the specific toothpaste to arrive before I could start. I'm hoping that this new programme will help keep my mouth a lot healthier, but only time will tell.

I then headed out of town to finish off our weekly shop in the morning as I needed to return something I'd bought the previous week for LB, that wasn't suitable. I needed to be back early though, as I was due at work at 5pm.

Much later after I'd got home from work, LB came home.  She'd been out with friends locally and she came home to go work at her local job for a couple of days. 

On Tuesday, I woke up to a message from work asking me to work that night, so I agreed to go in. I was booked into a gym class late morning, so I went there and enjoyed the class. After lunch, OH and I ventured to the allotment to do a bit of harvesting and watering. I weeded and dug over some of the plot ready to put it to bed until the spring. There isn't too much work left to do there now, we should be able to wind things down completely by the end of October.

Later, I went to work, which was okay. The shift passed a little slowly tonight though.

On Wednesday, I was looking forward to having a whole day off and not needing to go to work or anywhere else. There were a couple of things that I needed to do at home, one of which was to do some financial stuff,  i.e. paying some bills. The allotment fees were due this month and next month my Pay As You Go gym membership needs renewing.  Luckily, they are relatively small sums.  

Once I'd done that I had the day free to do as I pleased. I sat in the garden with my coffee for a while as it was lovely and sunny and then decided to work on making the cover for the sofa in the shed.

I proceeded to spend the rest of the afternoon basteing various pieces of the cover together. I got a fair bit done to be honest. More than I expected. I now just need to machine sew it together before proceeding any further.  Here's a photo of how far I got:

I'm reasonably pleased with my progress, although the parts I've done are the relatively easy bits.

LB wasn't feeling too good today. She came down with tonsilitis in the morning, but still needed to go to work. She managed to get through the day okay though. I think all the travelling and working in the last few weeks have taken their toll on her and she's got a bit run down. She's only got a few shifts left at the job, as she has decided that the travelling to and fro is too much.  Hopefully, she'll still be able to work for them during holiday periods when she's back at home. I think she's done the right thing, as she is in her final year at Uni and will have a lot of work, including her dissertation to contend with this academic year. It's better that she doesn't try to do too much outside of Uni and put too much pressure on herself.

Later, OH and I watched the final episode of Celebrity Race Across the World. I'll miss this series, it's about the only thing I watch on TV at the moment.

On Thursday, OH headed off early to Wales to compete in a Cycling Track Race at Newport Velodrome. I got up and got ready and headed to the gym late morning for a workout.  LB was still feeling unwell and spent most of the day in bed. I took her up some food and medication. 

By the afternoon, she was still feeling awful, so I encouraged her to contact the GP surgery and see if she could get some antibiotics. She didn't actually get to speak to a doctor and was only offered an appointment next week, which was ridiculous. I couldn't do much as I needed to go to work, but the following morning, I rang the surgery and explained that she needed assessing by a doctor and she was given an appointment that morning. She eventually got some antibiotics and could head home to her flat in the evening.

I was at work again on Friday afternoon and evening, and it was a busy shift. I'm liking the role that I have now. It can be a bit intense and stressful, but it keeps me busy and usually the shifts pass quite quickly.

On Saturday,  I went out to the gym in the morning to the free over 50's session that had restarted. When I got home I just chilled, watered the houseplants, did some laundry, made a pack up for work and then made some lunch before getting ready for work. I was working all afternoon and evening again. I bought a couple of items in store today. One was a set of salt and pepper grinders to make some rosemary salt from the rosemary I harvested from the garden.  They were on clearance, so slightly reduced. The other was skirt to wear for work which was also on clearance. It just gives me an option other than trousers to wear during the winter. I have been pretty good spending wise this week, so despite being on a low spend month, this little splurge wasn't too bad.

Work was good and passed quite quickly. I was kept very busy as my tasks were varied and the store was very busy. When I got home OH informed me that he'd hurt his shoulder falling off his bike that morning. We don't think he's fractured it, but it's very painful and sore. Hoping it heals okay.

It's been another pretty busy week to be honest, not as calm as I'd hoped, with a few unexpected things to negotiate, but it has been a bit calmer. I'm hoping that next week will be a more regular week, but we'll just have to see what happens.

A Busy Work Week and a Visit to Yorkshire - W/E 14th September 2024

This week started with an earlier than usual shift at work on Sunday. I had to take the bus to work, which is rare for me, because OH needed the car to go to a cycle race. I was scheduled to work from 11.30am until 6pm, so I got up early, got ready for work, did a few jobs, made a packed lunch and headed off up the road with LB, who was also heading to work, and caught the bus in.

I was working in a different role to what I thought I would be when I got there, but it was the same role I'd been doing for the whole of the week, so at least it was familiar. It was busy too, with lots of people out shopping. It almost feels like London has filled back up again, with everyone coming back at the end of the summer holidays.

I have to admit, I do like September and October. I used to love going back to school as a child and being born in the autumn, I definitely feel an affinity with the season. I just love it, regardless of what the weather is like. It's my favourite season.

As I left work, there was a heavy rain shower. OH came to pick me up in the car and then brought in a takeaway for supper as a treat. He'd finished laying the decking boards after getting back from his race, so the garden looked a lot better.  The boards still need to be painted with preservative, but it's nice having them back in place again.  It makes going out in the garden a lot easier.

Here's a picture:

As working Sundays go, it was a pretty good one.

On Monday morning, I dropped LB off at the station to go back to her flat. There was a crowd of people outside and it transpired that the trains weren't running due to some sort of incident on the line. Luckily, I'd hung around and waited and was able to run her back home. As a consequence, she decided not to go back to the flat after all, as she was working locally the following day and going out in the evening and would go from home, despite having few clothes left at home to wear.

After dropping LB home, I decided to head out of town for a few hours shopping, to pick up a few things that we needed. I love my Monday's shopping out of town. It's just nice to get out and about sometimes, and preferably on days when it's not very busy.

When I got back, I had time to make some lunch and chill for a couple of hours before getting ready for work.  LB, meanwhile, got ready and headed out to meet some friends for a birthday celebration.

Work tonight, was very different. I was put on a new to me section that is very busy and quite demanding. I'd only worked on there once before, months ago. Anyway, I had to help out elsewhere for an hour or so and got quite behind with my own section, so I was up against it to get finished in time. I did get help from some colleagues thankfully, without which I would have struggled. I was shattered by the time I left to come home.

On Tuesday, I was booked into my usual class the gym again. LB headed into work and I headed to the gym around the same time. LB was going straight back to her flat from work, so we said our goodbyes in the morning. It's been lovely to have here home for a long weekend. She did get some good news before she left in that her reduced student loan had been increased slightly due to an additional application I made. Better than nothing.

My class at the gym was okay. I felt much better this week than I had the week before. When I got home, we needed to book some accommodation in Yorkshire, as we were planning to pay a visit to OH's parents for a couple of nights. We'd not been back to Yorkshire together since the family wedding we attended at the end of May. (OH had gone alone a few weeks ago on his bike) I was looking forward to getting out of London for a few days. A change of scenery can be very therapeutic and after a really busy and eventful summer, especially the last couple of weeks, I felt like I really needed a break. 

I had one more shift to work on Tuesday night, so I just got my head down and worked through it.

On Wednesday, we got packed up and headed up north for a couple of nights. OH had an appointment in the morning, so I managed to squeeze in a quick visit to the allotment to harvest before we set off. It was midday before we were able to get on our way, but we had a good journey up and got there around 3.30pm and spent the rest of the afternoon at OH's parents.

We had booked into a local hotel on this visit. It's not one we've stayed at before as it isn't dog friendly, so it wasn't on our radar, but now it is. It was quite close to where OH's parents live and it also had a gym and swimming pool, so we made sure to pack our gym and swimming gear.

After leaving OH's parents, we headed back there and booked ourselves into a Power Pump class, followed by a short session in the gym, a swim in the pool and a little sit in the sauna. It felt so lovely to be able to do these things where we were staying and was well worth paying a little extra to make our stay a bit more of a relaxing break. We then had supper in the bar, whilst OH watched the cricket. My only complaint was the pillows on the bed. They were way too firm for me and I didn't sleep hardly at all. If we stay here again, I'll definitely bring one from home.

On Thursday, we were up early and headed to a nearby Aldi to get some porridge/granola and fruit for breakfast. We then came back, ate that in our room and I headed to the pool for an aqua aerobic class, whilst OH did a Pilates class.  My class was good. Far more energetic than I expected and I followed up with a swim and a sit in the jacuzzi pool. It felt like we were really enjoying life. Sad I know. We then showered and headed back to OH's parents for the day. 

Whilst OH stayed there to spend time with his dad, I headed out for an hour or so to a few places I like to visit whilst I am in Yorkshire, one of which was the local tip shop, where I managed to bag some more cast iron weights for my barbell, some lighter ones this time, which I don't currently have, so that I can increase the weight more incrementally. These cost just £5 and were a bargain, so I was very happy to find them.

I also like to pay a visit to my parents grave and put some flowers on their grave and clean it up a bit, as it tends to get covered in grass cuttings through the year. I always feel better for doing this. In the evening, I'd arranged to meet my sister and her husband at a local pub for supper and it was lovely to see them and catch up with all their news. The food was good too.

I managed to sleep much better on Thursday night, so felt much more refreshed. We didn't use the gym or facilities on Friday morning, instead we packed up and checked out and headed back to OH's parents, as we had to leave quite early due to the fact I was working in the evening and had to get back to London for 5pm. We spent a couple more hours with them and then set off. Unfortunately the A1, the main route back to London, was completely closed southbound, which entailed a huge cross country detour, but we still got home in good time for me to get to work.

Work was okay, but I was very happy to get to the end of the shift and get home and relax. It had been a long day. LB was home when I got there, as she was working the next day, so it was lovely to see her again too.

On Saturday, I was looking forward to a relaxing day, before working at 5pm, but I got a message from work asking me to go in at 1pm. OH was out most of the day cycling, LB was at work and then going back to her flat, so I agreed to go in early. 

I did need to drop some things off at a local Zero Waste Event though, so I set off to do that. Unfortunately, the venue was virtually unreachable, as they'd made no traffic zones all around it. I couldn't even get close enough and may have even incurred a fine in trying to do so. I was not happy. Why stage an event somewhere it is virtually impossibly to reach? It has really annoyed me. I'll just have to wait and see if I do get a ticket. It will make it a very expensive donation that didn't even happen. I ended up taking the stuff to a charity donation drop off bin around the corner from my house and may make it a habit to do that in the future.

Anyway, I had lunch, got ready and went to work. It was a long day at work, punctuated by a break and working in two different areas, but I was glad to get home, knowing I had the day off the next day.

It's been a very busy week this week, but fitting in a visit to Yorkshire was long overdue, so it has felt like we did achieve something this week.

A Thorough Clean, A Move and Getting Back to Normal Life - W/E 7th September 2024

On Sunday morning, I woke early after not sleeping well. I was due at work and had mixed feelings about going back, on account of the virus I'd had that week. In any case, I got up and started to clean the bathroom. LB had her future flatmate coming to stay later in the day, before the big flat move on Monday and I needed to clean the main areas, to banish the bacteria from the virus before he arrived and before I went to work.

I finished cleaning the bathroom and worked my way down the stairs and into the main reception rooms, making sure to clean the most touched areas with a bleach solution. I then decided to call work and speak to them about going in later. My stomach didn't feel 100% and I was concerned that I might still be infectious and didn't want to cause an outbreak in my workplace. Fortunately, my manager was very reasonable about it and allowed me not to go in until later in the week. I was very grateful for this, as I could continue to blitz the house and make it as clean as I could and back to being a healthy environment.

Once this was done, I could finally have some breakfast and then get a shower and get ready for the rest of the day. I just had a bit more cleaning to do, mainly in LB's room and in the car, as OH was picking LB's flatmate up from the airport later in it, whilst LB was at work. It was a relief to finally get everything done. I could then start to look forward from what wasn't a very good week healthwise last week and get prepared for the move the next day.

Monday was the day of the big move. I wasn't actually feeling too well as the nausea had returned, and LB had been unwell overnight, but she managed to pack up the rest of her stuff and OH picked up the van. At the last minute, I decided I probably wouldn't go, as I wasn't feeling great, but OH persuaded me to go so I didn't have any regrets later. He and I took the van and LB and her friend went on public transport. Unfortunately, they had a nightmare on account of trains being cancelled and so we ended up at the flat first.

I was a little disappointed to be honest. The flat wasn't very clean. Don't get me wrong, it had just been re-painted and looked good from that point of view, but there was paint dust everywhere and the fridge wasn't clean. I just went ahead and cleaned the fridge and kitchen worktops, so they'd at least have a reasonably clean kitchen. There was also a bathroom window with no glass in it, which was a security issue, so we had to arrange for someone to come and board it up.

LB and her flatmate eventually arrived and started to unpack things. They, of course, were thrilled with the place, which is the main thing. We were just shocked at the lack of care, once you have handed over the large sums of money involved.  Anyway, the agents arranged for a cleaner to call the next day, sent someone to board up the window and we finally felt we could leave them to it. It was starting to look homely already. It was a long and tiring day though and I was glad to get home and go to bed early.

On Tuesday morning, I woke up after sleeping really well. The house felt quiet without LB in it, but I'm happy she's off being her independent self. She's braver than I was at her age.

I was booked into a class at the gym on Tuesday morning, which I went to, but I wasn't feeling well when I got there, so I struggled through the class. It was just a bit too much too soon. I made sure to thoroughly clean any surfaces of equipment I used whilst there. The rest of the day I spent at home, catching up with a few tasks I'd neglected. By the end of the day, I was starting to feel a lot better and could eat again. I'd just had hardly any appetite for a week.

I spent the evening working on my hexi quilt, whilst watching a couple of movies on Netflix. OH was out at the cycle track. I'm looking forward to life getting back to normal. All this illness has been very disruptive.

On Wednesday, I woke up feeling okay, which was just as well, as I was due back at work in the afternoon. I had a chilled morning at home before getting ready for work. Work was good, save that I was a bit rusty and made a mistake, which was a bit frustrating. I hate making mistakes, it makes me question myself, but it's probably a good thing to question yourself from time to time and not get complacent. I was glad to get home though, as it was quite overwhelming being back after being ill.

I didn't sleep too well, woke at 3 am and didn't get back to sleep for a few hours. My mind was still churning over the shift at work. Eventually, I managed to drop back off to sleep and then had a lie in until quite late.

I was back at work on Thursday night and hoping I'd have a better shift and settle back into working. Work did go a little better, but was very intense on account of it being very busy. I need to get into the habit of pacing myself in this situation. I came home and my brain was completely frazzled. Needless to say it took me a while to get to sleep, but I slept well when I did.

On Friday, I had a day off. I booked myself into the gym and took myself off there for a good workout. It felt good to get back into my normal routine and to feel well again. OH took the day off work and started working on the decking outside the back door. I'm looking forward to when it's finished and will post another picture when it is.

I didn't do a whole lot in the afternoon, save catch up on Blogger and YouTube favourites, put away some laundry and chill. I was due back at work on a four day stretch from Saturday, so I took it easy. LB came home late on Friday night, ready to work on Saturday and Sunday locally. She'd had to come early as the trains where she lives weren't running over the weekend due to maintenance and she'd have struggled to get here otherwise. It was lovely to see her and catch up with her week.

On Saturday morning, I got up and showered and had a leisurely breakfast. OH continued to work on the decking outside. I then went out to do the weekly shop locally and saved £5 off my shop using a voucher. On the way home, I dropped into LB's shop to say hello and I dropped off some treats for her lunch. By the time I got home I just had time to get some lunch myself and I was off to work.

Work was busy again, but not quite as intense as it had been the first couple of nights back. I think I'm getting back into it more and getting more confident and familiar within the particular job I've been doing lately. 

On the whole, this week has been one that I am very glad to see the back of. I don't say that about many weeks, but it's not been a particularly positive start to the month for me. I'm hoping next week will be better.

Low Spend September 2024

Yes, I know I've said this before in other months and then gone on to spend way more than I intended, but this month, it really is my intention to have a low spend month. I won't promise a no spend one, as this is virtually impossible for me, but low spend might be manageable.

With LB moving into her new flat on the 2nd day of the month, the main expenditure in this regard is over and done with. Anything the flat now needs, she and her flatmate will need to buy themselves. I am planning to put some money aside each month to help her with paying utility bills, as it is all new to her and I think she'll need the financial support this year, but hopefully, other than this I won't need to buy anything else for her.

The summer months have been expensive, with a wedding to attend, a holiday, the garden renovation, flat hunting, dental treatment, paying deposits, buying what was needed for the flat, etc., so it's quite a relief to come to a point where I can finally stop spending money, hopefully. I'm all spent out and need to just have a rest from spending and start doing a bit of saving instead.

I'm looking forward to just picking up my patchwork and working on that. It costs me nothing (although I did buy some more pillow cases to use the fabric to finish the quilt top) but these cost just £4, which isn't a big expense. I am happy to sit doing this for hours on end rather than going out and spending money. I'm hoping that I will mostly only need to buy groceries this month and very little else.

I probably will still pay the odd visit to a charity shop during the month, as it is Second Hand September afterall, but I will be very mindful of what I buy, it will have to be something useful and needed. I don't need much at the moment. I have plenty of clothes that I enjoy wearing, for both work and play, I have more houseplants than I have room for, a pile of stuff I need to donate, work to do at the allotment/in the garden and plenty of craft projects to get on with, so I will occupy my time with these things and with going to the gym, exercising and eating well.

We may pay a visit to Yorkshire at some point this month to visit family and we have a ferry crossing to Europe to use, which we may use to go to France, if I can get some time off work. Getting out of London, even just for a couple of nights, would make a very refreshing change at the moment, but we'll just have to see how things pan out.

I'll try to keep you posted with my progress this time around and hopefully I'll have more success than in more recent attempts at low spend months.