This Week - A New Start, A New Routine and A Weekend Away - W/E 29/10/22

This week got off to a very wet start on Sunday. OH was off cycling as usual. I had to wait until a break in the rain to walk the dog, so it was late by the time we got out. I saw a couple of neighbours on the dog walk and had a chat to them which was nice.

I didn't do very much for the rest of the day, as I was very tired after not sleeping well the night before, so I had a leisurely Sunday and napped on the sofa in the afternoon.

On Monday, I needed to so some laundry and complete a welcome pack online for my new job and then I went out to do the weekly shop. I stayed close to home today and shopped at our local Lidl, which was really busy. I was able to use a £2 off voucher on my shop.  I made another online sale in the afternoon, so I packed and posted it off before the postal strike the following day.

On Tuesday, I was due to have my induction for the new job, so I got up early and allowed plenty of time to get there. It's a 25 minute drive from where I live, but at peak hours it can take an hour, so I allowed extra time, just in case. I made a stupid mistake in forgetting some important documents and ended up having to go back home for them.

When I got back, my induction started. It's a huge store, much bigger than I'm used to and with so much more stock to be knowledgable about. I'm sure I'll eventually find my feet and my way around. Most of my induction involved going through different kinds of online learning and assessments.  The usual Health & Safety and other company policies, etc.  I didn't quite get all the learning done, there were two sections left, that I will need to do another day.

I spent the final hour of my shift being trained on how to work on the tills.  It was enjoyable and the time passed very quickly, as there was a constant stream of customers.  There's a lot to take in and so much to learn. The staff that I engaged with all seemed very nice and helpful. Starting a new job always feels quite overwhelming, but I'm hoping it will feel less so as I settle in. 

On Wednesday, I was working again. I did some more of the online learning and met the Store Manager who seemed very nice and clarified a lot of things for me. The rest of the shift I was working on the till, mostly on my own just serving customers.  A lot of different things cropped up and I had to ask for assistance quite a lot, but everyone was very helpful to me, which was good. I feel like I made progress today and got more comfortable on the till and finding my way around the store. I was shown how to pick some Click and Collect orders for customers ordering online. It felt like a much more productive day.

On Thursday morning, I was due to participate in some voluntary work that I'd applied to do. It was my first proper shift. It was quite physically demanding and I came away feeling quite tired. I think there was a bit more to do than normal, according to a longstanding volunteer, so maybe it won't be like that every week.

When I got home, I had to eat and then get ready to go to work again. I was working a longer shift in the afternoon and evening. To be honest, I don't know how I got through it as I was so tired. There were also a lot of complicated transactions that needed to be done on the till. By the time I got home, my brain was well and truly frazzled.

On Friday, we were due to travel up to Yorkshire to see family.  First, we needed to clean the house, as LB was coming home and some friends of hers were coming to stay. OH and I both spent most of the day cleaning and packing and then we set off late afternoon, getting to the hotel where we were staying at 9pm. We had a drink in the bar and then went to bed.

On Saturday, we had breakfast and then headed out to do a bit of shopping. Stupidly, I had forgotten to take any underwear and socks and needed to go buy some. I was annoyed with myself over this, but it's been a busy week, so I didn't give myself too hard a time. Having done that, we spent most of the rest of the day at OH's parents before meeting my sister and her husband in the evening and going for something to eat. It was lovely to see them and catch up.

It turned out to be a very hectic week. I'm hoping things will be a little less hectic next week.

This Week - Part Two - Interview Invitations/Rejections/Job Offer

The second part of this week has been a bit crazy, but in a good way.

On Wednesday, OH and I headed off to the local tip. He'd replaced the sash windows in LB's room with double glazed sashes and we needed to dispose of the old single glazed ones.  In addition, he'd also pulled up the carpet in there, as it needed replacing, so we had all of the old carpet to dispose of too. It felt good to get rid of it all.

Our local B&Q is near to the tip, so we went there afterwards, to get some paint to re-paint a couple of the walls in LB's room. OH also needed some LED lightbulbs to replace the current ones, so that they are more cost effective and energy efficient. I also needed a small amount of furniture paint for a renovation project I've got in the pipeline.  I'll post when I've done it.

When we got back home, I headed off to my Soca Aerobics class on my bike.  The class was good and as I was fairly close to a local garden centre, where I could spend a voucher we'd won for the allotment, I headed there after the class and bought a few plants and some spring bulbs. I spent more than the £10 voucher, but at least I've now filled the planters that next door put out. I bought some ivy plants and pansies to go in them. It should give the garden a bit of colour in the winter months.  I need one more pansy to put in the planters so I haven't photographed them, but here's a picture of the bulbs I bought:

I just love the apricot colour of one of them.

Later on Wednesday, I was invited to a telephone interview on Friday. I was beginning to feel a little overwhelmed with all the interviews I'd got lined up to go to throughout the week. Don't get me wrong, I was very grateful for the opportunity to be considered for these jobs, but it's just that so much was happening in the same week. It had gone a bit crazy after nothing at all for a few weeks.  

Thursday, I got up early, as I had a lot to do. I had to do a quick walk with the dog in between rain showers, before getting ready for another interview. I felt a bit nervous, as I was quite interested in the position. I did a bit of extra research online and made a few notes and a list of questions I might need to ask, if given the chance. I wasn't quite as organised for the interview on Monday, so I wanted to be better prepared this time.

Anyway, I went to the interview and it seemed to go very well and they seemed very interested. I then went to a couple of shops to pick up a bit of shopping that we needed before heading home. 

When I did get home, I got a telephone call regarding another job application, inviting me for an interview on Friday. I couldn't actually fit another interview in, as I'd already arranged two that day, so they asked me to give them a call next week if I was still looking. It was interesting, because I didn't think I'd get any response from this company, on account of something I put on the application form. When my phone rang, I was thinking it might have been someone calling from the job interview, so it took me by surprise when it was from this particular job application.

Later that day, I got a call to offer me the job from the interview earlier in the day. I was very pleased to accept and then had to go about cancelling the remaining interviews I'd set up for this week and next.  I am due to go for a 4 hour induction on Tuesday next week for the new job. I'm so relieved and happy to be starting something new and moving forward with my life.  It is only a temporary job for 3 months, (most of the jobs I applied for were), but it's a chance to earn some money again and who knows where it will lead.

On Friday this week, having accepted the job and cancelled the remaining interviews, I was able to just relax and take stock. I took the dog on a long walk and then did very little for the rest of the day, save post off an online sale. It's been such a hectic week with one thing and another, I just needed some time to myself to take everything in.

Later in the evening, I got invited to an in person interview for the job I'd sent a video interview in for. This was a surprise, as it's been a couple of weeks since I sent it. Unfortunately, I had to decline on account of already accepting a job offer, but it was nice to invited. I was quite interested in this job, as it was a heritage brand based on Oxford Street in Central London, but such is life. I also got a rejection email from the job interview on Monday, for a job that wasn't really for me. I wasn't too surprised.

On Saturday, I got up at a leisurely pace as OH was taking the dog out. I had a leisurely morning, before I had to head out for my voluntary work induction.  Thankfully, my new job were happy to work around this committment, but I'm waiting to hear their position on my continuing to sell online, as it had to be declared to them under the employment contract.  I'm hoping it won't be a conflict of interest and I'll be able to continue. If it is, I'll just have to cease and resume next year when my contract ends, all being well.

It took about 20 minutes or so to get the location of the voluntary work by bike and then it was quite hard to find the building. The induction was very interesting. It took just over two hours and I got to meet the lady who had interviewed me in person. She was very nice. The other volunteers all seemed very nice too. I'm looking forward to starting my first voluntary shift next week. It will be a 3 hour shift, starting at 8.30am, so quite an early start for me. I'm sure I'll get used to it.

It's been a bit of a week, but hopefully things will now calm down and I can settle into my two new roles and develop a new routine going forward. I'll keep you posted.

This Week - Part One - There was a lot going on!

This week got off to a lovely start on Saturday evening.  A neighbour was giving away cuttings from a houseplant and I picked up a couple from her on the way back from a dog walk. They are so beautiful.  Apparently, they are called 'tradescantia' and it s a trailing plant. My neighbour's plant had grown the length of her wardrobe and she needed to cut it down a bit, so lots of people from our street took cuttings from her which was very kind of her. 

Here's a picture:

We got some not so good news on Saturday night.  The washing machine was apparently what was tripping the electrics. Not sure why.  Possibly a mouse biting through the wires? OH managed to get the toaster going again, and later in the week managed to get the washing machine working again. Apparently, the real problem was a loose socket in LB's room. 

On Saturday evening, OH also took a look at my CV. I've applied for quite a few jobs in the last few weeks and not really had much success, so he took a look, to see if there was anything obvious that I could improve. As a consequence, I did change a few things and re-uploaded it and then I went on to apply for a few more jobs.  

On Sunday, OH was off cycling again for most of the day.  I had the car, so I decided to take myself off to a favourite car boot sale out of town. I took the dog with me and walked her whilst there. She wasn't very interested in walking around the stalls, so I didn't get to see much of the car boot sale to be honest. I still managed to spend the £15 I took with me though.  Most of it went on some glass beads for crafts. 

No item cost more than 50p and there were some lovely glass lampwork beads in amongst them. I ended up with a bowlful for £6, but I would probably have paid more for them on eBay. There will be a post coming very soon, on what I actually make with these beads. I just need to finish one item and then I need a nice sunny day to photograph them at their best.

Like last time, there was one necklace that I couldn't bear to cut up and use, despite the fact that the beads would have been perfect for suncatchers. It was just too pretty, so I might try to wear it at some point.

I also bought some new M&S gift wrap and bottle bags that were very well priced (50p each item) and some fruit.

The bottle bags we will probably re-use year after year to give alcohol to each other and the pack of small brown kraft Xmas tags has 100 tags in it, which will probably keep me in gift tags for the next 5 or 10 years. The two packets of birthday gift wrap will be useful, as I don't have any at the moment and it's always good to have some in the house.

On Sunday night, I got invited to a job interview first thing on Monday morning, which was a nice surprise. It wasn't too far from where I normally go shopping, so I went to the interview, which went okay and then went on to do the weekly shop.  

It was another relatively small shop, as I'd done a top up shop on Friday. I managed to save another £5 using nectar points at Sainsbury's, which helped me keep in budget. I also picked up a few reduced items at Lidl - some scones for 20p and fresh chillies for OH for 34p - and I also got a free pastry, which went nicely with our lunches.

On Tuesday, I went to my usual class at the gym, using my new membership, which was problem free and the class was good. Whilst waiting for the class to start, I checked my emails on my phone and found that I'd been invited for an in person interview and assessment on Thursday this week, which was great news.

When I got home, I jumped in the shower and got changed, as I had a Zoom interview in the afternoon, for some voluntary work that I'd also applied to do. I had to clear up in the kitchen a bit, so the background would look okay.

I received two items of happy mail today.  The first was a book I'd ordered on eBay for my birthday from OH. The second was a small cheque and some extra shares in one of the remaining few share holdings that I own, due to some sort of share consolidation, which was unexpected and very welcome. I've actually started reading the book, and I am enjoying it. Maybe I just hadn't found a book that interested me lately.

Anyway, the interview for the voluntary work went well and I'm booked in for an induction this weekend and should hopefully start volunteering next week, subject to references being satisfactory. It's only for a 3 hour session once a week at the moment, while I'm job hunting. If I get a job, I might be able to increase the time I can give once I know my hours, but I hope to continue regardless.

Well, it was all happening on Tuesday, as I also got offered another job interview for Friday of this week. I'll keep you posted with how things go.  That's three interviews to go to in the next week. I'm hoping that I might be offered one of the jobs, but if not I'll just keep looking.  Slightly better results on the job hunting front this week. 

I hope you're having a good week so far.

Reading Lately (or Not)

In recent months, I've been struggling to read books. I have a pile by my bedside of books that I have started or haven't started yet but mean to. Everytime I pick up a book, I very quickly get bored or just can't settle into reading. It's very strange as I've always enjoyed reading and it has often been a great source of comfort during difficult times.

Anyway, not to be defeated, I recently picked up a couple of Audio books from our local library.  They were on sale at 50p each, so I thought why not give them a go.

The first one I listened to was this one by Kathleen Tessaro called The Debutante. I think I read the book version of her first novel Elegance many years ago and remember enjoying it, so that was why I picked up this one.  It didn't disappoint.

The only place that I can listen to cds is in the car, as we don't have a cd player anywhere else anymore, so I would listen to it here and there as I went out to do the shopping or took the dog out for a walk. I guess it's no different to picking up and putting down a book. There were 10 discs with this audio book, so it took a while to get through it, but eventually I did and really enjoyed it. 

The second one I bought was this book by Edna O'Brien, called The Light of Evening.  I've never read any books by this author before, so I didn't quite know what to expect, but I am quite enjoying it. I think there are 7 or 8 discs for this book, so it might take me a while.

I have one more audio book that I can listen to, that I picked up free from a Little Free Library. It is non-fiction and is by Deborah Norville. It looks quite interesting.

I am hoping that I will eventually get my thirst for reading actual books back, but in the meantime, listening to them comes a close second and there seems to be plenty to choose from at the library.

This Week - W/E 15th October 2022

This week got off to a great start on Sunday. As my birthday is this week, we arranged to go over to see LB at her Halls of Residence in South London and take her out for lunch.

Before we met up with her, we spent a couple of hours over at Herne Hill Velodrome as OH was competing in a cycle cross competition.  That was quite enjoyable as it was a lovely day and I could take the dog into the spectator's area of the outdoor track.  There were lots of families there with children competing too.

Once OH had finished his race, we headed off to meet LB. It was so lovely to see her. It had been about a month since she'd been back home for a visit. We took a big bag full of things that she wanted from home, which she was happy to receive. The dog was really pleased to see her too.

Anyway, we headed out to lunch at a local pub with a beer garden. It was so nice to catch up with her news and find out how things were going at Uni.  She seems to be enjoying it and making lots of friends.

After lunch, we popped into a few shops on the high street and then we dropped her off back at her halls before heading home. It was a lovely day and a good start to my birthday week.

On Monday, it was back to doing the weekly shop. I didn't have a really big list, after doing a pretty big shop last week, so I was able to keep costs to a minimum.  I treated myself to a new handbag from Sainsbury's with some birthday money that OH had given me. It only cost £15, but I needed a new one, as my current one hasn't worn well. Usually, I would buy second hand, but I haven't seen any that I like at car boot sales or in charity shops when I've looked lately. Here's a picture of it:

It's not my usual style, but I fancied a change.

I put a few Xmas items into the trolley today when I saw them at good prices, as it will spread the cost for me this year. Just a few bits of food here and there, an advent calender for me and a couple of small consumable gifts. I was able to use some Nectar points in Sainsburys which saved me £5 today and was a blessing. 

In order to afford Xmas presents this year, I'm putting aside all the proceeds from any online sales and I will use these to buy presents for LB and OH. I'll wait until I've got a good amount, until I spend it, but it is steadily rising, week on week. Hopefully, I'll have enough to cover the cost of Xmas if I stick to it and continue to sell things.

When I got back from doing the shop, I posted off a couple of online sales and then pottered around at home,  did a bit of financial housekeeping and then worked on my patchwork for the rest of the day.

Tuesday, I got up and got ready and out with the dog. I then headed off to the gym for my aerobics class, which was good. I was told once again, that I can't book in using my current membership, which is for a different borough, and need to buy a new membership. I decided to set one up, as I was told it only cost £1.35, hopefully it will prevent me having trouble getting into classes in the future. 

I spent the afternoon listing online and preparing and posting out a couple of parcels.

I decided not to go to the Soca Aerobics class on Wednesday. I just wasn't feeling it. I wanted to have a day where I didn't need to rush round on the dog walk and dress in gym gear, so I put on a dress and tights and had a long walk with the dog.

When I got back we received a delivery of some smokeless coal to see us through  the winter. OH had ordered 10 bags a few weeks ago and they finally came. We should be fine now for heat, electricity, gas shortages or not.

Later, in the afternoon, I did a bit of financial housekeeping.  With everything that is happening with the economy, I decided to cash in a small pension. I'd been thinking about doing it for a few months and finally bit the bullet and did it. It felt like a big decision, but I have no regrets, as it drew a line under my employment with a particular employer, which wasn't a wholly positive experience. 

Trying to get through on the telephone to do this took a long time, as the lines were so busy, which just highlights peoples' current concerns about their pensions at the moment. It took over 40 minutes to get to speak to anyone. I have a plan for what I'm going to do with the proceeds and hopefully, I shouldn't need to pay too much tax on it, as I haven't been working for the past 4 months. Having had no success so far in getting a job either, I might not be working for months to come, so I may not even reach my tax free allowance this year.

Thursday was a quiet but productive day. I spent the afternoon, sewing and making new stock to sell online.  I tried a couple of new ideas. One was a no-go, as it was way to fiddly. Another was quite quick and simple, which is how I like makes to be. I cut out fabric ready to go for when I get the urge to make more items. I also made some packaging today too, which I enjoyed. It felt good to spend time on creative pursuits.

Friday, was another creative kind of day too. I finished off some items that I'd started previously, to clear a bit of space on my desk in the sewing room. It gets very cluttered up with half made things at times.

I also had to go out to take some library books back and I picked up a few more whilst there. One was a book about the Victoria and Albert Museum's Textile collection and I was interested to note that I have some pieces of one or two of the fabrics that were in there.

I then went to Lidl to do a top up shop for the weekend, as we were running low on salad items and dog kibble. I bought a bit more than we needed, so I shouldn't need to get as much on Monday when I do the weekly shop. I was in bed by 10pm as I hadn't slept well the night before, and thankfully got a really good night's sleep.

On Saturday morning, OH took the dog out, so I decided to spend the morning listing items online. A month or so ago, I went through my vintage linen collection and decided I would sell some items, but they have sat in boxes since, awaiting my attention.  Well, this was the day and I managed to list quite a few. I'm hoping they sell. A few others I decided weren't in good enough condition to list, so I will either use them or use them for the fabric and a couple more I decided to put back in my collection. Progress was made, however.

In other news, we had a bit of a power cut today.  I thought 'Oh here we go', thinking that it was a black out, but it was actually our toaster that had tripped everything.  We only got it during Lockdown too, so it's not that old. Very annoying, as I need it daily for my breakfast.  Potato cakes done in the microwave aren't quite the same. 

I hope you've had a good week.

This Week - W/E 8th October 2022

This week got off to a very chilled start. I spent Sunday at home, pottering mostly, which I always enjoy.

I was dragged out of bed on Monday, by some news about one of the companies in which I have shares. It wasn't good news and wasn't something I could condone as a shareholder, so I decided to get up and sell the shares. I was intending to sell them anyway later this week, after some dividends were paid, but I decided that they would probably dip more in value now, than the amount I would receive, so the news just helped make the decision for me.  

I now own just three lots of shares, two that are not on a platform where it is easy to sell them, so I'll probably hang onto them for now and one other set of shares that it will cost me money to sell, as their value has dropped so much. Paying to sell them makes no sense at all. It's frankly a relief to know I have less money tied up in shares at the moment.

For the rest of Monday, I decided to do some sewing in the sewing room. I wanted to try making a few new things to sell.

On Tuesday, I went to Aerobics as usual. It was tough this week, the teacher worked us hard. When I got back, I was awaiting a call from a government funded pension information line. I'm considering cashing in a small pension and wanted to know more about my options and their implications.  It was very informative, but I still haven't made a solid decision about what I'm going to do. It's actually reducing in value currently with the state of the economy.

Wednesday, I went to Soca Aerobics. I really enjoyed it this week, possibly because I never made it there last week. It was really windy on the cycle ride there and back, but refreshingly so.

In the afternoon, I started to make some more items to sell on line and pulled out some other things to list, which I did later in the evening. I had another sale to post off today and then I got a response to a job application I made earlier in the week. I was asked to answer some questions on video, as part of the job application process. It's not something I've done before, but I'll give it a go.

We got some other good news on Wednesday, we (well, OH) won the Best Plot award at the allotment. I was really pleased for him, as he puts a lot of work into it.  I have been going to the plot a bit more since leaving work, but mainly just to harvest, so I can't take the credit. We received a £10 voucher to spend at a local Garden Centre, so I will enjoy heading over there and buying something with it.  I may use it to get something for OH for Xmas.

On Thursday, I got up and got myself ready to make the video for the job application. I'm always a bit nervous with online interviews and such like.  I had a zoom interview back before I left my job, but it wasn't successful, so I'm not sure that I come across very well, but I'll soon find out. After several attempts at recording and re-recording I was finally happy with my submissions. How the world has changed in terms of applying for jobs. I then applied for several more jobs online and had various online assessments to complete. I felt like I'd done a days work by the time I'd finished.

Anyway, the remainder of Thursday was pretty chilled. I posted off another few sales and did some top up shopping. OH took the afternoon off and started to replace the sash windows in the back bedroom (LB's room). He's changing them over from single glazed to double glazed, which should make the room a bit more energy efficient and warmer in the winter months.

Friday, got off to a disappointing start this week. I got an email from a large supermarket I'd applied to, asking me to book an interview slot.  When I got to the interview schedule page, all the slots had gone. I rang the store in question and found out that I'd missed the boat, which was a pity.  At least I now know how it works for future applications. Anyway, I applied for quite a few more jobs today, so we'll see if I get any more opportunites to attend interviews.  There are so many applicants for every job I apply for. I don't believe it when people say there aren't enough workers in the UK anymore. It's complete rubbish.

Anyway, I had booked into the gym, so went over there later, but to be honest, I wasn't feeling it so much today. I just went through the motions and came home. On Friday evening OH was out, so I walked the dog, had some supper and did a few bits and pieces, such as making some more roll on deodorant and air freshener.

On Saturday, I got up and went out with the dog. OH was out cycling, so I was home alone most of the day. I decided to do some crafting with beads. I'd bought some more in a mixed lot on eBay and was keen to use them. I have made another suncatcher, which I'm thinking of selling.  It took a couple of hours to make it, but I was happy with the result.  We'll see if anyone buys it.

I also got a couple of rejections from job applications today, which was pretty depressing. I'm grateful that they had the courtesy to let me know, but it is still disappointing. I'm finding job hunting a little demoralising if I'm honest, but it is what it is.

I ordered a few things on eBay this week, some from OH for my birthday this month, some just things I needed for making things to sell, so I've had lots of happy mail this week and parcels to open, which has been very exciting. I can't really afford to buy anything else though now, so spending and receiving parcels will be curtailed for the rest of the month.

We had a quiet night in on Saturday night. I needed to get some things together to take over to LB in South London on Sunday. OH is cycling over at Herne Hill and then afterwards we're going to see LB and take her some things and then out for something to eat.  I'm really looking forward to seeing her. I miss her a lot.

I hope you've had a good week.

This Week - W/E 1/10/22

This week began with a morning out at the Car Boot sale on Sunday and then lunch out at the pub with OH, which was a nice treat.  The rest of the day was pretty chill and spent at home.

On Monday, I did the usual weekly shop. It being the last week of the month, money was tight this week. I had to be very careful, as I didn't want to overdraw. I just don't want to go down that route again. 

I was very selective about what I chose to buy and kept it to an absolute minimum. I'm continually shocked at how food prices are going up every week. Each time I go into the supermarket, something else has gone up 10p or 20p or more. I'm having to really think about what I put in my trolley for the first time in a very long time.

Anyway, in better news, I had a few online sales to post out on Monday, which was a blessing and I got to pick up the Too Good To Go bag I'd ordered, which was interesting.

On Tuesday, I headed out to the gym to my regular Aerobic class, which was good as always. The rest of the day was spent at home, pottering and doing jobs. I can always find things to do that don't cost money, so I'm thankful for that. I did my usual month end financial round up and was shocked at how much the few shares I have left had gone down in value in the last week. I sold one more holding, as I'm not prepared to lose any more money on them. This particular holding was still in profit - just.

I started a new craft project today with some beads I bought from the car boot sale and was very happy with how it turned out. It's not quite finished, but isn't far off. I'll post about it when it is.

Wednesday, was a quiet day at home. After walking the dog and picking up a prescription on the way back, I didn't need to go anywhere which suits me sometimes. I listed a few more things online today. I've been watching a few videos about the particular platform I use, and they suggest adding listing regularly to boost the algorythmn, so I'm getting into the habit of making new listings every week. It seems to be paying off so far, as I had another couple of sales today. 

I got the all clear from my mammogram today, which was reassuring.

On Thursday, when I got up, I decided to do an impromptu wardrobe changeover, from spring/summer to autumn/winter. This is what my wardrobe looked like once I'd taken the summer stuff out:

And then once I'd put the winter items in:

It's amazing how a few thick sweaters can bulk things out. There were a few skirts and trousers too. There's a few more items in the ironing basket, so once they're done, the wardrobe should be full again.

I had a long walk with the dog and then after lunch, I spent a few hours in my sewing room diligently going through all of my drawers of fabric, to condense them as much as I possibly could. This was to free up a drawer to store listed items safely, to avoid them getting dirty or damaged. 

It was interesting that whilst going through my stash, It found a couple of fabrics that will be ideal for quilt backs, which is always a challenge, so I made a mental note of them for future reference.

I posted off a couple more sales today and made some alterations to some listings to offer better value for money and then began to create some new products to sell.

On Friday, I had a late start as I didn't sleep well. When I did get up I decided to do a little job in the sewing room that I'd been meaning to do for a while.  I needed to remove a strip of fabric from the edge of a vintage sheet I was using on the bed. It was a plain dark brown strip, which I felt contrasted too markedly with the pretty pattern of the sheet. Besides, I had another job in mind for the strip, which was to use the fabric in my current patchwork project.  It took quite a while to cut all the stitches along the width of the sheet and remove it carefully. I now just need to re-hem the sheet.

Once I'd got up and ready, I headed out for a bike ride. I haven't done one for a couple of weeks, despite promising myself I'd do it every week. I enjoyed getting out in the fresh air.

Later on Friday, as I had some money in my account, I decided to go out and do a proper grocery shop. We were running low on lots of things, as I'd done a very minimal shop this week.  I won't need to do a shop on Monday now, but may need to top up a couple of things later in the week next week. It felt good to be properly stocked up again on food and household items. I managed to get 10% off at Lidl, as I'd spent £250 in September on groceries.  This saved me around £8.50 which is a decent saving.

On Saturday, I stayed home all day, apart from walking the dog. I did some sewing to add products to my online offering and hemmed the sheet from the other day. I made a few more listings and did a bit of online research. Nothing wildly exciting. OH was out most of the day cycling and then down the pub after the ride, so I had the house to myself which was nice. 

How has your week been, mine's been pretty uneventful, which isn't necessarily a bad thing.