This Week

This last week has been altogether more agreeable. I finished work on Thursday of the previous week. I was pretty tired after working 6 out of the previous 8 days, so the first couple of days I just chilled and did some work on my current patchwork to help me relax. I had to take naps in the afternoons just to get me through the day.

By Monday, I was feeling a lot better and headed off to my Zumba class. Our regular teacher was back and it was great to see her and take her class again.  After class, I headed off to do the weekly shop, but once again I had to be back home in time to do another online course for work. This time it only took an hour, thankfully, especially as I was on leave.

I had the week off work this week, and I really needed it.  I decided to use some of the time to try to get updates on my workplace and state pensions. I managed to get a couple online, but I had to send off an email requesting an update on another workplace pension. It's only small, but I like to know what is due to me, especially at the moment, so that I can plan ahead.  I'm currently looking around to see what other jobs are out there, so personal finances are important at the moment. 

There's a lot of stuff going on in the background in our lives currently. OH's parents have caught Covid recently and we've been concerned about them, as his father in particular is very vulnerable. They have recovered well though, which is a relief. My sister's husband has also had some serious health problems in the last few weeks and I was very concerned for him too, but luckily, he too is recovering well. At times like this, things like problems at work seem to pale into insignificance. Life is too short to be unhappy where you spend many of your waking hours. It's not as if I'm earning a huge wage, I'm not.

A bit of good news did drop into my email inbox this week. I won two £25 prizes on the Premium bonds.  Definitely not to be sniffed at. I have my account set up so that any winnings get reinvested into more bonds, to give me more opportunities to win in the future. This is only the second time I've won in the last year, the last time was in September 2021, but £75 in prizes in one year is way more than I'd get in interest on the amount I've got invested, so it's working for me so far.

Towards the end of the week, we travelled up to Yorkshire for a few days. I hadn't been out of London since mid December and I definitely needed some time away. Getting back to where I grew up on a regular basis is important to me and helps me stay grounded. Despite the Easter holidays being on the horizon, we managed to hire a cute cottage that was perfectly adequate for our needs, at a reasonable rate, in Holderness in East Yorkshire and we had a lovely few days relaxing, exploring the surrounding area and visiting family. It was just what we needed.