Monthly Make - February/March 2026

For the duration of February, I continued with my make for the month, namely to cover one side of a chair cover, using left over denim. It was a very slow and quite frustrating process, stitching each small piece using a zig zag stitch. Eventually by the end of the month I'd got to the bottom of the fabric I was attaching them to. I have to say that it was a relief, as it was a lot of work just to use up fabric scraps, but such is life. Here's a picture of the patchwork piece I created:

Before attaching it, I had to make a small repair to the velvet side of the cover, as a small hole had worn in it, but this was easy enough to do and it looked much better for it. I also washed and dried it, as I don't think I'd done that for a while.

Once it had dried, I could attach the patchworked denim backing and put it back into use. It was, however, March by the time I completed this, so I didn't actually complete this project in February as I intended, but here's a picture of the finished item anyway:

 

I'm happy enough with the result and at least it is now back in use and should serve it's purpose for many more years to come.

In between continuing with this make, I did also start a project to make a new ironing board cover and also made some fabric yarn for a forthcoming weaving project. I always like to have a few projects on the go, so that when I tire of one, I can distract myself with another, until I'm feeling motivated again.

My monthly make for March, however, is a slightly different project for me. I am intending to finally weave a reasonable sized rug for the sewing room. It will be in different shades of green, brown  and cream, to go with some new curtains I am going to put up. I have now finished making the fabric yarn for it and will weave it together later in the month.

I'm intending to weave it whilst OH and LB are both away, as I will have the space and lack of interruptions to set up a clothing rail as a loom in the living room. I'm hoping to get it finished, for the most part, whilst they are away and then maybe bind it by hand. It's a big new project for me, and I'm not sure how it will turn out, but it should be fun.

In between, I will also work on other existing projects and I'll update you on how these go next month. 

Have you got any interesting creative projects on the go at the moment?

A Short Week - W/E 8th March 2026 - Part One

This week was going to be a short week, as OH and I were heading up to Yorkshire to visit family on Thursday. LB was working, so wasn't able to come with us. As a consequence, I could be a little conservative with regard to the weekly shop. Some things I forgot to pick up, some items I couldn't find and a few items I decided to leave until we got back from Yorkshire. I still spent a lot this week though as some expensive items needed replenishing, i.e. xylitol and shampoo. (I use Alpecin and it's almost £9 per large bottle and Xylitol is £10 for a large bag)

There were lots of yellow stickered goods available in Tesco, but they weren't very heavily reduced, so I didn't buy many of them. I just bought some veggie bean burgers and some pork loin steaks to put in the freezer. I did also get some tangerines reduced, but nothing else, which was disappointing.

I did manage to get some crumpets reduced in B&M and Aldi and these just go into the freezer for my breakfasts, so they should last me a couple of weeks. I also had a 10% off voucher on my shopping at Lidl, so that helped me save £6+ pounds this week. I did probably buy more than we needed, but it will all get eaten at some point and I still needed to make sure there was enough food for LB to eat in our absence.

On Monday evening, OH and I continued watching a new drama series we found on Netflix called Dark Winds, it's set on a Navajo reservation in Arizona and it's quite interesting.

Tuesday, started off with an Aerobics class as usual. I was concerned that the change in music would make it less enjoyable, but it didn't this week at least. As it was a nice, bright, dry day, I took a much longer route home though a nature reserve, which was enjoyable and got me a few more steps in.

I did a bit of fabric yarn making for my weaving when I got home. I've almost made all the yarn that I need now. I then watched a couple of episodes of Silent Witness on BBC iPlayer and found a new series to watch on Netflix, which was quite funny. It wasn't a very productive day today, I have to admit, but some days are like that and I like not being busy rushing around and instead taking time to do things that I enjoy. 

On Wednesday, OH was out in the morning. I sorted a bit of laundry, did a bit of blogging/blog reading and then decided to do a bit of sewing in the new craft corner. I stitched the last 15 metres of fabric yarn together for weaving.  I was surprised at how little time it took, less than an hour. All the fabric yarn I need is now gathered together in a basket ready to weave. I'm looking forward to it.

I decided today, that my next weaving project, after the green rug for the sewing room, is going to be to make a colourful scrappy woven rug for the shed. It should be a good way to use up lots of colourful scraps of fabric I've accumulated. It will probably take a while, as it will take time to make all of the small scraps into fabric yarn and then weave them into a rug. It will, however, keep me busy and make good use of otherwise not easily usable fabric.

After making the fabric yarn, I finally finished stitching the seat cover, my February make. I attached the denim patchwork piece to the back of the old cover and trimmed up the edges. I had to hand stitch it closed as it was a bit too thick to machine top stitch, but it looks okay and will at least last a bit longer now. I've posted separately about this.

I then began working on the ironing board cover project that I started last month. I laid the EPP pieces I'd made on the board and then proceeded to hand stitch them together. I just need to add a few additional pieces around the edges so that it can be folded under the board, bound and strung. I'm liking the overall effect so far though. As a consequence, it felt like a much more productive day.

It's been quite a sewing heavy half of the week, which is all good, as I love progressing my projects.

Financial Round Up - February 2026

I love February, from a financial point of view at least, as it's a very short month. This said, I only just managed to eke it out through the month in spite of my spending being the least it has been in a long time, more than two years to be exact.

I'm now down to my last two months existing on what I saved from my last job. It should take me to the end of April, which isn't bad, as it will have lasted 8 months by then. OH does, of course, help out with food and other necessities, so I must give him credit for that, but it is surprising how little you can exist on if you put your mind to it.

From May, I will be using some savings as income, until some pensions mature later in the year, after which I'm hoping to use those going forward. Fortunately, I had a boost to the savings I will be using this month, when some dividends were paid out early and this account should now see me through until my pensions start paying me, give or take a few pounds. With a bit of luck, more money might appear between then and now, what with interest payments on savings due in April and possibly another dividend at some point. It is, of course, not ideal to eke out each month in this way, but until I find a job that resonates, which sounds very selective I know, I am happy to do so.

Spending this month was, as I've mentioned much reduced, probably by at least £150 on even the lowest months in recent years. I'm not quite sure how I did it, but I hardly bought anything other than food and household essentials. I did need to buy a few things on eBay for the allotment (potato tubers and seeds), some toiletries I can't get elsewhere and I spent £8 on a new fitted cotton sheet at Tesco using a £4 off voucher. 

The only other non-food/household expenditure was £5 on some books, £6 on various bits and £2 on some denim jeans for fabric, all bought from charity shops and well within the £20 per month limit that I allow myself for thrifting, so I'm fairly okay with these purchases. 

No items of clothing were bought this month, save for a couple of small accessories. Having got out of the habit of buying them, it does make me wonder why I was compulsively buying so many items when I did work and earn money.  I also bought a few consumable Valentines gifts, but these probably cost around £10 in total.

I didn't book a dental appointment, as I'm still on the fence about whether to move practice and I didn't book an optical appointment, as I didn't get a reminder from ASDA, but I'm intending to do that this coming month, as it is important and can't be left indefinitely. Not sure where I'm going to go for that though, possibly another optician's practice, as ASDA have in my experience, always been very slack on reminding me when I need an eye test.

Apart from this, I don't have any big expenses coming up next month, although Easter is approaching and I will need to buy some chocolate eggs for OH and LB. Also, it is OH's mother's birthday next month, so a present for her, which OH and I will take up north with us when we visit family this month.  It will be nice to have a change of scenery. 

OH and LB are also both going away at the same time later in March, so I will be home alone for a while, but I am intending to use this time to weave a rug using a clothing rail, as I need space to put up the rail and take my time using it to complete the weave. 

Once the weather warms up a bit, I will be able spend time on the allotment and in the garden, both of which are very inexpensive hobbies that I enjoy. I've also earmarked a few free events for Women's History Month that I'd like to attend in various parts of East London, so that might be interesting.

I didn't make it to an exhibition this month, as the weather put me off going out and I wasn't really feeling motivated to do it, but I'll try to do something next month. I was thinking of going to The Stitch Festival in Islington, but at £20 for a ticket, plus nearly £5 booking fee, I've decided not to bother, as I'll only want to spend money when I get there. The booking fee does seem particularly expensive too.

I hope you've had a good month financially in February and have lots of nice things planned for March.

Ekeing Things Out at the End of the Month - W/E 1st March 2026

The last week of February started with a lie in. I finished reading 'Worn - A People's History of Clothing' by Sofi Thanhauser. It was one of those books that I was sad to finish, as I have enjoyed it. I relished delving into a new chapter every time I picked it up. 

Anyway, I then read the first chapter of another book, which is essentially about food waste. It was written in 2009, so it is probably a little dated, but hopefully I'll enjoy reading it. I think perhaps there is more done to prevent food waste these days, as lots of supermarkets now seem to be on board with distributing their unsold items to charities or foodbanks.  There is, however, probably still a lot of food waste happening in the world, so it is still worth reading. We try very hard not to waste any food in our house, but occasionally we have little option than to throw out or compost some items that are beyond redemption.

After getting up and ready, I headed out to do the weekly shop. I had a limited budget this week of around £82, which I knew wasn't quite enough to get everything I needed. I did put £13 worth of stuff on my credit card, which will be paid off next month, and the rest came out of the £82 budget. I managed it just, with 8p to spare. Hopefully, I won't need to spend any further money this week, but if I do the credit card will have to come out again.

I managed to get quite a few yellow stickered items again this week, which was good and the freezer is full, so we've got more than we actually need for the week. I seem to have overspent on food this month by £60, which is probably on account of stocking up on quite a lot of things. It's fine though, it will all get eaten.

LB made use of the new crafting table on Monday afternoon, which is good. Talking of crafting, I started a new patchwork project on Monday evening, using some of my favourite fabrics in my stash. I've been saving them for something special for years, but I figured why just hang onto it, I need to use it and see it in daily use.  

Whilst making some fabric chains in the lead up to Xmas, I ironed some interfacing on the wrong side, sticking it to the ironing board, which was very stupid of me, so I've decided to make a new ironing board cover. It's an EPP project (English Paper Pieceing), so I've cut out some pieces, which I now need to baste and then start sewing together. As usual, I'm jumping from one project to another, but I like to have several projects on the go. I can't help myself.

Tuesday morning, I headed out to Zumba which was good. When I got back I spent a couple of hours sewing on my machine at the new craft table. It was nice to have a big space on which to sew and one that was in a different location in the house. LB was working in the afternoon, so I had the space to myself.

I then spent most of the rest of the afternoon working on other hand sewing projects, hanging out some laundry, etc. I finished a couple of small projects I'd started last week and did a bit more work on the new EPP project.

In the evening, I finished watching the Irish version of The Traitors which was good. No spoilers here though. Then, OH and I watched this week's episode of Industry.

Wednesday, I had a lie in in the morning and read a bit of my current book. It was a beautiful day, the best so far this year, with blue skies and sunshine, so I decided to finally get myself outside and walked into town to visit our newly refurbished library. I had a couple of other errands to do whilst out, so I did those too. It feels like it's been such a long wet winter, it was so lovely to feel the sun on my face again, whilst getting nearly 7,000 steps in.

It was very busy out and about. The sunshine had obviously had the same effect on many people. At the library, I found a few books to take out that sounded interesting. Here's a picture:

I also decided to order a particular book that I want to read. It's on my eBay watchlist, but rather than pay £12 -£13 for it, I thought I'd borrow it from the library for free instead. Although I'd like to own it, it isn't necessary to own every book I read. I also picked up a leaflet about London Open Gardens for charity and also one for Women's History Month, which takes place next month. There were a few events that I wouldn't mind attending, many of them free.

When I got home, I had a couple of hours on the sewing machine at the new craft table again. I'm trying to finish my February sewing project before the end of the week. LB was working again today, so I got to use the new crafting space, but for most of the rest of the week, she'll be using it herself.

The evening was spent watching another episode of The Lady on ITV that we'd recorded and then we watched a programme about painter L.S. Lowry which was interesting.

On Thursday, I was up and out to my class at the gym. It was the last class before the music changes, as the company that run the gym are refusing to pay license fees for Zumba and other music from March. Apparently they will have their own playlist of presumably non-licensed music. Sounds horrendous, but I'll just have to see how it pans out. OH came along with me today, to use the gym, but went home before I'd finished my workout, so I joined him at home later after taking a longer than normal route home, making the most of the weather being dry.

I didn't do a lot in the afternoon. I started watching a new drama series on BBC iplayer called The Walsh Sisters, which was about an Irish family with five daughters. It was good and I ended up binge watching 3 episodes before doing a bit of reading of one of the books I got from the library, called 'Homesick - Why I Live in a Shed' by Catrina Davies. I'm really enjoying it. It is well written and informative and talks a lot about rural and urban housing issues and poverty, which is very pertinent today for young people. It's taken priority over my current book, due to the fact that I will need to return it in a couple of weeks.

Friday, was a totally free day, with nothing planned. I had a long lie in reading the above book, which was enjoyable. After lunch I did a bit of financial housekeeping, as it was the end of the month, wrote a couple of blog posts and then made some deodorant, air freshener and a reed diffuser from some ingredients I had to hand.  Not sure how the latter will work out, but I make the other two regularly and they work well enough.  I then took a walk to the shops to get some milk and pick up a prescription.

On Saturday, we had next door's dog again. I did a bit of sewing for a couple of hours and finished attaching the small denim patches for the seat cover. I washed the actual cover and now just need to wait for it to dry before I can attach the new backing. 

We took the dog with us to the allotment after lunch and did a few small jobs. I say small, but we were there for 2 hours. We then took him for a walk. The sun even came out for a while, which was lovely. The dog came to us having just had a bath and by the time we got home he was stinky, having rolled in something not very nice at the park. OH had to shampoo him before sending him home.

In the evening, we finished watching The Lady and then I watched a couple more episodes of The Walsh Sisters which is really good. I didn't get to sleep until late as LB was out with friends and I never really settle until I know she's home safely.

As a consequence of a late night on Saturday, I had a lie in on Sunday morning reading my library book. It is so good, another book I will be sad to finish reading. I would definitely recommend it. I dug out a few books from my 'waiting to be read' pile, that I feel in the mood to read. I really need to work on getting this pile down this year and donating any read books I don't want to keep.

I was late going out to the gym, so I didn't get home until 2.30pm. I did a bit of hand sewing and chopping up waste fabric from some jeans I'm dismantling in the afternoon. Nothing exciting. I'm trying to get my current and ongoing sewing projects in some kind of order, as they got a bit messy and were sprawling all over the kitchen table.

It's been a quiet month, mainly due to the weather and financial limitations, but it has passed quite quickly. I'm hoping things will pick up a bit when the weather warms up and I can get out in the garden and onto the allotment more. I am, however, pretty happy living a slow and self determined existence, as opposed to being at the beck and call of a large corporation, always hungry to increase their profits. Life is much simpler and less demanding and I'm slowly learning to live within my new more restrictive means without too much difficulty.

A More Positive Week - W/E 22nd February 2026

This week started with a nice day out grocery shopping with LB. She decided to come along as she wasn't working until the end of the week, so we had a nice day out together. I'd forgotten that it was half term and the kids were off school, so when we got to Home Bargains it was very busy. It was also busy because it was the start of Ramadam the following day, so lots of families were out shopping in readiness. The car park was gridlocked, which was an unusual occurrence in recent weeks.

The remainder of the shopping went fine. I had a £4 off voucher to use at Tesco, so I bought a new 100% cotton fitted sheet that I needed and used it for that, making it just £8 instead of £12. There were  quite a few yellow stickered items to be had this week, for a change, which was good.

I also had a £5 voucher to use at Holland & Barrett, so I decided to use it to buy some Xylitol granules, which I use as a sweetener. I was only able to use £3 worth of the voucher, but that was fine as it made the cost 49p, so virtually free.

LB and I did visit the charity shop, but I just bought two pairs of denim jeans from the £1 rail to use for another denim project I have in mind. Too good to miss at that price. I'm planning on making some cushion covers for the outdoor chairs in the garden.

We had a family discussion in the evening, about altering the layout in the front living room, to give LB a space to do some crafting, as she doesn't really have space in her bedroom, as her desk is set up for computer gaming and not crafting. It will mean getting rid of the small sofa in there and getting her a new desk or table, but to be honest I've always found this sofa really uncomfortable and never use it. I much prefer the large sofa we have in the back living room, that we do use. Also,  LB may be doing some remote work soon, so it will also give her a place to work that isn't her bedroom, which I think is important. I'm just happy to make better use of our spaces within the house. I don't really have any strong opinions, so long as the space doesn't become too cluttered and an eyesore.

On Monday evening, I watched a couple more episodes of the Irish version of The Traitors. The characters in this version are interesting and quite entertaining. 

I was due at the gym on Tuesday morning for Zumba and really enjoyed the class. I have to say that I am really enjoying being back doing choreographed, dance type classes at the gym. I've realised how much I missed them, when I stopped going a few years ago. I think they are improving my aerobic fitness and they really lift my spirits. I've danced or done some type of dance classes for most of my life and find it a really positive form of self expression. It's more expensive, but it's worth it. I'm not ready to give them up yet. It also helped that for once, it was a lovely bright sunny day on Tuesday. Normally, it is raining as I make my way to the gym, so it made a really nice change. It's amazing how a little bit of sunshine can change your mood dramatically.

I spent the afternoon doing a few jobs at home, mainly laundry. I finished the wordsearch book I'd bought the previous week. I looked into buying another one, but priced at £3.40 in the shops, I decided to wait until I saw another one in the charity shop.  I also watched another episode of Silent Witness and then caught up to date with The Traitors (Ireland). 

After pancakes for supper, OH and I also watched the last two episodes of Small Prophets which whas really good. 

I love Wednesday mornings, as it's one of those mornings when I'm not at the gym and can read in bed for a while. I finished one book that I've been reading for over a year probably, so I can now donate it. I also read a chapter of another book I'm reading, before getting up and ready for the day. 

I decided to do some more decluttering today. I went through my scarves/hats/accessories baskets and then I went through another set of drawers, extracting all the things I no longer wanted to keep, in part to make them tidier, as they were a bit rammed full. In total, I think I put aside over 20 things to donate, which is all good and made my life a bit easier in the process. I also discovered some glasses that I may get lenses put in, when I have an eyetest this year, rather than buy new ones. Not sure yet, but they could tide me over until I can afford new glasses.

In the afternoon, I took myself off for a walk. It was cold though and I didn't wrap up warm enough. I should have put a hat on. When I got back, I made a chickpea masala from scratch for supper. It was the first time I'd tried a recipe I saw on YouTube and it turned out quite well. We all seemed to enjoy it, so I'll probably make it again sometime.

On Thursday morning, I really didn't want to wake up. I was enjoying a deep sleep, dreaming that I was late for my class at the gym. I eventually managed to get myself out of bed and get ready and go. I wasn't late in my waking life though thankfully. 

In the afternoon, I did a bit of blogging and blog reading. I also did a bit of work dismantling the two pairs of jeans I'd bought earlier in the week. It was a quiet afternoon spent at home, which is the usual these days. 

OH has sourced a free table for LB to craft on in the living room from a cycling friend, so we now just need to take the sofa to the tip, before he can collect it. She should be able to use the room as early as next week, hopefully. I may use it myself, when she isn't using it. It will give me a different space/view when sewing.

Friday, I had all good intentions of going to our newly opened central library, but it was raining heavily and I decided not to venture out as a consequence. Instead, I enjoyed watching some of the Winter Olympics, which has been very inspiring this month. I will definitely be going to the library next week, as I now have another errand that I need to do in the area, so it's probably just as well that I held off.

On Saturday, I had a lie in reading again and then our neighbours dropped their dog off with us for the day, as they were going out. It was nice to have his company again and OH and I took him out for a walk once the Rugby on TV, i.e. England vs Ireland had finished.  We stopped off at the pub again on the way home for a drink.

I treated OH to steak and asparagus for supper. I'd bought it for Valentine's day, but he'd taken us out to eat, so we had it this weekend instead. It's a rare treat these days, but we enjoyed it. LB was out working in the afternoon and then out with friends in the evening, so it was just OH and I at home.

Sunday morning, was my usual gym session. OH wasn't cycling this week, so he came with me.  Later in the afternoon, we took the sofa from the living room to the tip. We couldn't donate it, as I think I'd removed the fire retardancy labels, so the tip was our only option, which is regrettable. OH later went to pickup the new crafting table from his friend and set it up in the living room for LB. Hopefully, she will make good use of it.

In the evening, we watched a new series on ITV called The Lady which was good.

It's been a bit of a slow week this week, mainly due to the rainy weather, but small bits of progress have been made in certain areas, which is better than nothing. I hope you've had a more productive week than mine.

Project Pan 2026 - Update 1

I started Project Pan early last year to try to motivate me to use up the plethora of toiletries and make up that I seemed to have accumulated over the years. I originally started with 241 products that needed using up. I can't say that I was very disciplined about it for the first six or so months and didn't do any updates, but then towards the end of last year I did an update and had reduced the items in my beauty stash to 214.

I've been promising an update since, but I didn't think I'd progressed very far, which I haven't, but true to my word, here is a current update on this project. Here's a photo of the total number of products I still have in my stash to use up:

I was slightly disappointed when I found that the number had only gone down by 11 items to 203, (now 202 as I have since decanted the hand wash into a dispenser I use daily, which was empty). I do have to admit that a few more items have come into my possession over the Xmas period and in addition, I have also, subsequent to the original post, included some items that weren't included before, but should have been.

The items that came in included a couple of pumice stones, that I intend to use to work on my feet. I've got a few foot products and I need to start using them, so I bought the pummice stones last year with this intention, but never got around to it. I can't say that I'm the most disciplined person when it comes to self-care. I'm pretty good at taking regular exercise, but when it comes to pampering myself, I'm useless. I rarely think to do it. Hopefully, I may get around to it sometime this year.

In addition to the pummice stones, I was gifted some toiletries for Xmas. Not all of them I will use, so I have donated a couple of items, but I kept a body scrub, body lotion, pillow spray and the bath scrunchie that came in the set and donated the other two items to the charity shop. (The charity shop has a weekly tombola, so these things could be put into it as prizes.) I am intending to use the scrub and scrunchie for exfoliating when I next apply Fake Tan, which will possibly be for my niece's wedding later this year. I also bought a couple of soaps in Portugal on holiday last year and these will start to get used as soon as my current bar runs out.

Other additions to my stash this year include the inclusion of these toothbrushes, which I haven't previously counted, but should really

and also these sleep mist products, some of which were tucked away in a drawer and forgotten about.

I also received a few facial products for Xmas which were added to the already rather large selection. They are a particular brand that I enjoy using and hadn't seen in Home Bargains for a while, until Xmas when a gift set appeared, so I got a set of 3 products, so that I could mainly use the face cream. The other products in the set, i.e. a night cream and face serum will get used too.

Recently, I also expanded my stash of toothpaste, as the one I use is not sold in the UK, but is an important part of a dental hygiene regime I follow. As I was down to my last 3 tubes, and can only buy it on eBay, I bought a pack of 6 more. These cost approximately £4 each, which isn't a bad price, considering they come from the US, but many other sellers were selling them for nearer £7 each, so I wanted to stock up, anticipating that they may go up in price at some point, what with tariffs, etc.

The final additions were a magnesium spray that I have relatively recently started using, a KIKO face powder I was given for Xmas by LB and a KIKO lipstick that OH got me for Xmas, both of which I will start to use once I have used up some of the others currently in my stash.

I did also realise, whilst creating this update, that I've once again bought a product when I already had a plentiful supply of it. This relates to some miscellar water I bought the other week and then discovered a very large bottle of it in my stash, which was very annoying. It will get used, but I could have saved myself the expense.

In all, approximately 27 items have therefore been added to or included in my stash since I last posted, which when taken into consideration, means that I have actually made some progress this last few months and used up 38 products, which sounds like quite a lot. I can actually tell that the number is going down, as the basket I keep excess products in is slowly becoming emptier, which feels very satisfying. Slowly space is being made and things are being simplified, even though it might not look like it.

One thing I can say, is that I have (aside from toothpaste) stopped buying multiples of regular favourites. I buy now tend to buy one of what I need, when I need it, unless it is on a super good offer and it benefits me to buy two (mainly only in the case of mouthwash). I am also making my own deodourant now and this means that I rarely need to buy any.

As I said in my last post, the largest number of products are the nail varnishes and nail products, which add up to 36. I was going to donate some, but I don't think the charity shop I frequent sells them and I couldn't stomach putting them in landfill, so I'll just keep trying to use them on my toes or finally throw them out when they go hard and unusable. Another large collection is lip products, of which there are 35 in total. I do use these most days, although I recognise that I do have too many. These can't be donated or given away for hygiene reasons and again, I can't bring myself to throw them into landfill, so I'll continue to work my way through them. I have for the most part, stopped buying them altogether, although I did receive one for Xmas.

I think it's going to take a very long time to reduce this stash to a managable number, but I'd realistically love to get it down to less than one hundred products, and even that is way too many to my mind. Only time will tell if I ever do, but I'll persevere and try to remember to do updates as I go along. How does someone with very little interest in make up and beauty products end up with so much? Maybe I'm deluding myself and am a secret beauty product addict.

A Night at the Theatre and a Meal Out - W/E 15th February 2026

This week didn't start as well as I expected. I had a bit of an upset stomach on Monday, but still managed to get out and do the weekly shop. I dropped another big bag of donations off at the charity shop this week, the result of my wardrobe and jewellery declutter. I took a little look around the store and bought a few items this week. One was this lovely pair of handknitted socks. I think they are wool, but I can't be sure. They look to be unworn though and cost just £1, which I thought was a steal.

I also got a couple of books for £1. The main one I wanted was this Rough Guide to Croatia. It's old, but much of the information will probably still be useful. We're thinking of holidaying there or possibly Albania this year, so at 50p this book was a bargain. I am definitely an analogue type of girl when it comes to holiday planning, so I like to get a guide book for places we visit, but I never buy them new, as they can always be found in charity shops.

As the charity shop sells books at two for £1, I picked up this wordsearch book to buy with it. I quite like doing word searches and although this one is a Christmas one, it will keep me occupied. I'm currently working my way through the 200 or so puzzles, which are split into beginner, medium and challenging. 

I also bought this animal print coin/card purse for £2, which I thought was cute. It is by Accessorize and looks unused. It just about fits all my loyalty and other cards, thankfully. No clothes were purchased this visit, which is a good thing.

The weekly shop was pretty uneventful and not inexpensive this week, as I had no vouchers to use and quite a few things to buy, some of which were expensive things that periodically run out. i.e. my mouthwash and gin. We're now pretty well stocked up though, so I should be able to stay within budget for the rest of the month.

Tuesday, was Zumba at the gym in the morning, followed by an afternoon of sewing, finishing up things I'd started over the weekend, to clear the kitchen table. I also did a bit of financial housekeeping, which I try to do a couple of times per month. OH and I are watching Industry (a drama about the financial industry) at the moment and ended the day watching this week's episode. It's quite intense, but good.

I was able to have a lie in on Wednesday, which I was happy for. I read another chapter of the book Worn, this one about the invention and manufacture of rayon or viscose. It was shocking, in that one of solvents used in the process of making viscose, is neurotoxic and has been found to cause insanity and other awful conditions in factory and garment workers. It really makes you think more deeply about the clothes/fabrics you wear. At this rate, I'll only feel comfortable being naked as the day I was born. Surely in this day and age, we can do better and make fabric/garment making safer for everyone involved. It genuinely scares me the lengths that some corporations will go to to make profit.

Anyway, I got up slowly and then tidied around a bit, putting some laundry and other piles of things that had built up away. After breakfast, I took myself off for a walk, as I needed some fresh air and I'd not been out for a walk for a couple of weeks. It was raining intermittently though, so I didn't go as far as I normally would and only managed around 6,000 steps, but it's better than sitting on my bottom all day.

In the afternoon, I decided to tackle the ironing basket which was overflowing with towels and other items. I'd been meaning to do it for a while. I combined this with watching a couple of episodes of the new series of Silent Witness, as it's not a programme that OH likes to watch.

In the evening, LB had managed to get us some complimentary tickets for the press night of the current production at the theatre where she works, which was a treat. It's nice to be able to have inexpensive nights out at the theatre.

On Thursday, it was Aerobics at the gym, followed by an even longer walk home than usual to add more steps. I didn't do a lot in the afternoon, but I did finish watching the currently available episodes of Silent Witness and watered all my house plants, but didn't do much else. Later, I had to go and meet a new plot holder on the allotment, so that they could choose a plot. It didn't take long, but it was raining all afternoon, so the site was a bit of a soggy mess.

In the evening, OH and I watched the Winter Olympics for most of the evening, which was good.

I didn't need to be anywhere on Friday, so I had another lie in before getting up and ready. I was going to go into our local town centre and try out the new library, but there were some messages on the local street chat that put me off going, because of potential stuff happening locally, so I decided to stay home. 

I did a bit of treat making for Valentine's Day in the afternoon. I made two different things that I'd seen on Instagram, which I then boxed up for OH and LB. They didn't turn out perfectly, and I'm not sure if they'll like them, but it's the thought that counts. I also wrote the cards I'd bought for them and wrapped some small gifts of sweets and chocolate mainly.

In the evening, OH and I watched the Mens Skeleton and it was great to watch Matt Weston win his Olympic gold medal.  Very exciting. I do quite enjoy the Winter Olympics, as the sports are so different.

I'm in hermit mode at the moment. I don't feel inclined to go out and do much and I'm not really doing that much at home either. I'm sure I'll snap out of it eventually. I'm just a bit demotivated this week for some reason.

The weekend was a quiet one. I had a lie in on Saturday morning and did quite a bit of reading. I picked up a book that I was part way through, but hadn't picked up in months and I'm working my way through it. I'm enjoying it and determined to finally finish it in the next week or so. 

I needed to show another potential plotholder the plots that have become available on the allotment site on Saturday afternoon, and on Saturday evening, OH, LB and I all went out for a meal at a Turkish Restaurant in Dalston to celebrate Valentine's Day. We had a nice evening out and the restaurant was very generous with it's side dishes. We all really enjoyed it.

Sunday, I hit the gym in the morning. I'd eaten too much chocolate on Valentine's day in addition to the meal out. I got into watching the Irish version of Traitors on Sunday evening, which I binge watched for a couple of hours. It's pretty good, I'd even say better in some ways than the UK version. We also started watching Small Prophets on BBC Iplayer which is good, if a little strange.

Nothing too exciting happening here, which is fine by me. I like a quiet life.