Getting Autumnal - W/E 30th September 2023

This week, the weather really turned autumnal on Sunday, I was wearing jeans and a sweater for the first time in ages. I really love autumn, winter and spring. Summer is my least favourite season. I know that sounds crazy, but I was an autumn baby, maybe that's got something to do with my liking cooler temperatures.

On Sunday, OH was heading off again to a cycling event in Crystal Palace this time. I was tempted to go, as he was going to try and meet up with LB for a drink afterwards and I would have loved to see her, but it involves just too much waiting around for me and it's a long journey to South London, so I stayed home. Besides, he was riding his bike there and I would have had to get the train over, as I didn't want to drive myself. Hopefully, I'll see her in a couple of weeks, as it's my birthday next month.

Instead, I decided to do some sewing for a couple of hours before lunch. I think today was one of those days where it hit me that LB has gone back to Uni until Xmas. I know it sounds silly, but when I'm working, I don't really think about it, but as soon as I stop, I feel it. When I get like this, I tend to just indulge myself for a day and then I snap out of it and get on with my life again. I'm happy she's independent and enjoying her life. A consequence of which, OH didn't end up meeting up with her, as she was out with her friends, but that's a good thing, that she's made friends and is having fun, which is what any parent wants for their child.

I got some good news from my sister on Sunday. Her daughter has just got engaged whilst on holiday with her boyfriend. I'm really happy for them and hopefully we will see them to congratulate them the next time we visit Yorkshire.

Monday, started with an early dog walk. Now the dog is getting older, she rarely wants a second walk, but she does tend to need to get out earlier to go to the toilet. We don't have a dog that will poo in it's own back yard, which is good as far as I'm concerned, but sometimes it would be helpful. Anyway, it was quite nice getting out early and getting back earlier too.

I was back to doing the weekly shop on Monday this week, so after getting ready and having breakfast, I headed out. I always enjoy my weekly shopping trip. It gets me out and about. I put a new audio book in the CD player in the car and I was away. 

I went to the out of town Lidl that I usually go to. We didn't need as much as usual, as we still had a lot of food from my shopping trips over the last few weeks. I tried to keep food purchases to a minimum in order to use up some of what we already have in the cupboards and freezer. I picked up a few little things for Xmas, just some stocking fillers.

Next stop was B&M. I always love shopping in here. I didn't go mad for the autumn/winter stuff in there but I did end up buying an air fryer for £30, as LB has taken the one we were using over the summer back to Uni. I only got a small one. It's useful for cooking chicken for the dog and other food for us. I also purchased a few Xmas presents in here. Confectionery and stocking fillers mainly.

I had to drop into my old place of work again, as I needed to buy a new lava lamp for LB. I'd accidentally broken hers when we moved her into her room. I'm annoyed at myself for being so clumsy, but it was only right that I replaced it. I saw a few old colleagues and had a chat.  I had a few other stops to make at Tesco and Card Factory and then I came home for lunch. 

On Tuesday, I was able to return to one of my favourite classes at the gym. It's a basic aerobics class with weights and I really like it. Today's class wasn't a disappointment. It was lovely to get back to it.

I didn't do a lot on Tuesday afternoon. I've been feeling very tired lately, I'm not sure if I'm still recovering from working for the past month and just needed some down time, so I wasn't too hard on myself.

On Wednesday, I went back to Soca Aerobics. The regular teacher was back which was good, as I love her class. In the afternoon, I went up to the sewing room and got a few jobs done that I'd been meaning to do for a while, which boosted my spirits. I finished sewing together the layers of the navy quilt I made over the last year. I now just need to bind it, which shouldn't take too long and then it can go on LB's bed.

I also worked on the Xmas Wreath quilt.  All the wreaths are now attached and I'm just filling in the spaces between them. I'm hoping I have enough green fabric, as it's a close run thing. I'll make it work.

In addition, I mended some broken stitching on a quilt I made ages ago, before I take it to the launderette to be washed, I mended a pocket lining in a jacket and a skirt of LB's that had got ripped, so I felt pretty productive. It made me feel better about myself, as I didn't feel I'd achieved much in the last week.

Later, I checked out some accommodation for a forthcoming trip to Yorkshire, made another job application, checked my finances, which were improved on the previous month and then OH and I watched Race Across the World Again, which we both enjoy.

Thursday, marked the end of the 16th week of being on my weight loss journey and every 4 weeks I take measurements, photos, weigh myself, etc. Although visually, the differences aren't that obvious, I've now lost 18 1/2 lbs and 2-3 inches off each measurement, which is encouraging. especially as I'd been discouraged this week by fluctuating weight readings. Getting good results today has really encouraged me to keep going, as I was worrying that I was slipping backwards.

I spent a couple more hours sewing today, which I enjoyed. In the afternoon, I decided to tackle the ironing basket, as it was piled high. I watched a bit of TV and Netflix whilst I did this. It's rare for me to watch TV in the afternoon, but I actually quite enjoyed it. It felt indulgent and made the ironing a bit less boring.

I received an email from the organisation where I just finished temping, asking me if I was available to do some more data entry work for a couple of days next week. I messaged back that I was available, so I'm just waiting to hear what time and where they need me. That will be so useful for earning some money for Xmas.

I put away most of the ironing.  Quite a bit of it was summer clothing that needed to be packed away with out of season clothes. The rest was put in the wardrobe. All that's now left to iron are a few flat sheets and some towels. 

On Friday morning, I woke up to the dog being sick. She was bringing up bile, and as a consequence of feeling unwell, she didn't want a walk.

Instead, I decided to go out and do a weekly shop early. I wanted to earn the monthly 10% off voucher from Lidl, so I brought the shop forward in order to meet the target. It seemed silly not to take advantage of it, but I will have to shop early again next week too to use it. I bought quite a lot of store cupboard items today, as we were getting low on some of them and I got a free hand wash using a voucher, which is not to be sniffed at.

Each shop I do from now on, I'm buying a couple of small items towards Xmas to spread the cost. Today, it was Snowy Chocolate Fingers and fun sized bags of Maltesers. Lets see if they last until then. If they do, I will be able to incorporate these into my calorie counting, so I can still have treats over the festive season. I need to start emptying the freezer, so that I can buy a joint of meat and other freezer items for Xmas in the coming weeks. This should help me save money on festive food, which I can then put towards Xmas presents.

On Friday, I got confirmation of the the work I'll be doing next week. It's only for 2 or max. 3 days, but that suits me fine, as I will still be able to get to the gym on the days I'm not working. It's in a different department from the one I worked for before, which should be interesting.

After lunch, I retired to the sewing room and did a bit more sewing. Then a bit later, the dog was feeling a lot better, so I took her out for a walk.

When I got back, I put a Lamb Hot Pot into the slow cooker. It's for us to eat on Saturday night, but the meat, which was taken out of the freezer a little early, needed using up quickly, so I cooked it with the vegetables and I will put it in the oven tomorrow with the sliced potatoes on top. It shouldn't take long to cook just the potatoes and warm up the rest.

Saturday was a quiet day. I went to the free gym session in the morning, which I really enjoyed and then didn't do a whole lot in the afternoon. I just took it easy, chilled and pottered before getting an early night.

It's been a quiet and pretty uneventful week this week. I'm certainly not complaining. I feel like I made small bits of progress here and there though. I hope you did too.