Weekly Blog - W/E 4th December 2021

The week started off slowly on Sunday. I woke up feeling a bit sore and stiff after my accident the night before and slowly got up and ready, had breakfast and took the dog out. We had a nice walk though, despite the cold.

I spent most of the rest of the day online, catching up with watching YouTube videos, doing online banking, buying and exploring Jacquie Lawson's new Online Advent Calendar which is fun and doing other tasks. As a consequence, it wasn't a particularly productive day, but I figured I was recovering from a long day at work and my injuries. 

It seemed too early to get the Xmas tree and decorations out of the loft, so we'll probably do that next weekend, if not before. 

Monday, I did my usual class at the gym, did the weekly shop and then came home for an hour or so, during which time I headed up to the sewing room and started work on some new Christmas aprons for work. I then headed out with the dog, as I had an appointment booked to get my booster jab at 4pm, so I needed to be back for that. It was good to get that done and know I've got more protection.

On Tuesday, I was back at work. There was a big pile of items for our online hub, that needed to be researched and packed into boxes ready to send, so I spent most of the day doing that. These items get listed and hopefully sold on our charity's online website, adding to the overall sales for the shop. I didn't feel like I'd had a particularly productive day doing this, but it needed to be done and I managed to process the majority of the pile before going home.

Tonight, we booked some accommodation up in Yorkshire, for a long weekend in a couple of weeks time. It's the only chance we'll get to see family over Christmas, as both LB and I will be working between Xmas and New Year, so it will be good to get away before Christmas instead.

On Wednesday, I had a bit of a lie in and then got up, got ready and went out with the dog. LB was starting her new job front of house at a local theatre, so she was up and out early.

After lunch, I decided to carry on sewing some Christmas aprons for work. I've based the design on a vintage half apron that I had, but I've just added a bib on top. It's a good project to use up some of the Christmas fabricin my stash, of which I have lots , and the design is more flattering than the ones I made last year, so I'll look forward to wearing them. I'm intending to make some everyday ones for the rest of the year too, along with drawstring bags to carry them to and fro.

It took me all afternoon to finish one apron that I'd started a few days ago, and to make another apron with drawstring bags, so at least I have two to use for work from now on. I'll probably make at least another two later this week. I know the make will get quicker, the more I make.

Thursday at work was good. It was absolutely freezing cycling in and out. My feet got really cold. I wore my new earwarmers for the first time. They are a must. They were very inexpensive from eBay. They do the job though, but domake a mess of my hair. The perils of cycling to work!

I managed to work my way through what Gift Aid donations there were. We're still very short on donations at the moment, which is unusual for our shop. I think it's probably because there aren't as many people coming into to town to work, and they are therefore probably donating elsewhere nearer home. Also I guess people are busy doing their Christmas shopping, so it's not surprising that things tail off a little towards Christmas.

The last hour or two of the day, I was able to do some pricing of things that I thought would sell as gifts this Christmas. I like to dig out things that I think will sell quickly, in order to boost sales. We had a pretty good day sales wise today, the best so far this week, which I was happy about. A volunteer had some really good news today, which he'd been waiting for for months. I was very pleased for him as it's his birthday tomorrow, so it was a very special birthday surprise for him.

On my day off on Friday, I stayed home after walking the dog, as OH had booked the car in for it's MOT. I decided to do some more sewing and started to make another apron. Talking of which, I wore one of my new aprons at work on Thursday, probably the worst of the two I made. I find that the first of anything I make is always a bit dodgy, as things tend to improve the more experienced I get at making them. It served it's purpose though, which is all that matters really.

I also took a look at my finances on Friday, factoring in any bills I needed to pay, to figure out where I'm at. Not a great place this Xmas. Luckily, I've got two credit cards to use for essential purchases. I know this is only moving the problem along to January, but that's where I'm at this year. 

I'm focussing on buying gifts for family that we'll be visiting soon, and will then think about everything else when we get back. Thankfully, I've been putting aside food and drink for Xmas for weeks now, so that will help quite a bit this month. I've also got some savings in my current account that I can use if necessary, so I've got options.

Later on Friday, I had to go out to get some dog food as we were nearly out and tried to do a bit of Xmas shopping.  I didn't really find much that I needed though.

On Saturday I was back at work. I spent the first part of the day rearranging some areas of the stockroom with the Shop Manager, as we hadn't had a collection of our recycling and the mountain of bags was slipping and sliding around.  We managed to instigate a better, safer system to keep the stockroom tidy, which was good. I then progressed onto pricing Christmas baubles and other decorations, as I found another box full of them in the stockroom. There were some lovely items in it, so I'm really glad I found it. 

Later, I got around to doing the Gift Aid donations and priced all the clothing on the pricing table, although there wasn't a whole lot.

When I got home on Saturday night, OH was heading out for drinks with his cycling buddies. I was too tired to join him, so I stayed home and watched a very cheesy Christmas movie before falling asleep on the sofa.

I can't believe it's just 3 weeks left until Xmas. It's going to be here so fast. I hope all of your preparations and present buying is progressing nicely.