A Week of Getting More Done - W/E 27th April 2024

I wasn't working on Sunday again this week, so the week got off to a lovely slow start. I took the dog out in the morning and picked lots of comfrey leaves en route, to use as a fertiliser for the vegetables we will grow at the allotment and in the raised beds at home.

When I got back, I steeped the leaves in water in our old wormery bucket. It works well being repurposed for this, as it has a tap attached, which can be used to drain off the liquid fertiliser once it's ready. I then needed to do some work in the garden, clearing some vegetation. 

This week heralds the last garden waste collection before the council starts charging for the service, so I wanted to make sure that as much waste went in the brown bin as possible for the last collection. I managed to fill two brown bins, but it took me the rest of the day to complete the job. It did, however, feel very satisfying to get out into the fresh air and do something productive.

Later, after supper, I started work on a new sewing project, which was not a patchwork this time. I've explained more about it in another post.

On Monday morning, I headed out for my first Couch to 5K run of Week 4 (It's a 9 week programme). I was quite surprised at how it really ramped up this week. I was required to do 2 x 3 minute runs and 2 x 5 minute runs, so 16 minutes of running in total, compared to 9 minutes in total last week. I managed it, but the last 5 minute run was slow. I felt like I'd achieved quite a bit in one run. (To any seasoned runners, this will probably sound pathetic).

Anyway, later I headed out to do the weekly shop. I have to admit that I did buy something that I didn't intend to buy whilst out. It is something that I've wanted for a while, namely a smart scale, that reads your body composition.  I know it's probably not super accurate, but I'm just curious as to what my body fat and other measurements are. I got myself connected to it later, when I got home from work and out of the 13 measurements it takes, I met the acceptable standard on only 5, which means I've got a lot of work to do, which I did already know.

Having said this, I'm not sure who sets the standards they're talking about, so I won't take it too seriously, but it will be fun to observe my progress on these measurements going forward. I was quite surprised to learn my metabollic age, which was older than my actual age. I'm hoping this improves over time.

Anyway, work tonight was okay, we got to leave a bit early again. I don't think I'm working again until Saturday now, unless they call me and ask me to go in. It will be nice to have more than one consequetive day off. I managed to get booked into my class last minute tonight after work, when someone cancelled, which was good.

Tuesday, started with my jumping on the new scale, a dog walk, followed by my class at the gym. It was very busy in the class today and there wasn't much room. The class is getting more and more popular and it's getting harder to get in every week. So much so that the management at the gym have more than doubled the price. It's still not that expensive, but they haven't raised the price of all the over 50's classes, which seems a little unfair.

I wandered onto the high street after my class and dropped into Holland and Barrett for some chewable acidophilus tablets that I take regularly, dental floss and some interdental brushes that the dentist has advised me to use. I bought the smallest size I could, so that they would fit between my teeth. I'm not a fan and have tried these once before, but the ones I originally bought were too big and made my gums bleed. I'm hoping these work better. I also treated myself to some salt and vinegar roasted chick pea snacks which were very tasty.

I didn't really do a lot today, because after lunch I felt really tired and retired to the sofa for a nap. Having worked Friday, Saturday and Monday night, I needed to catch up on a bit of sleep. I don't always sleep very well after work, as I get to bed late and have tended to wake early. I felt better for it and it was nice to just spend some time relaxing at home.

OH, meanwhile, spent the day in the garden on Tuesday and finished making the fence. He also took down a fence that used to circumvent the old trampoline many years ago, to make room for the new shed. He now just needs to level that end of the garden in order to construct the shed on it, when it arrives in a couple of weeks. Things are coming along slowly.

On Tuesday evening, OH and I watched a movie from 2007 about Daphne DuMaurier and then I started watching Death Comes to Pemberley on Netflix, which is a P D James sequel to Pride and Predjudice. The first episode was quite good. There's two more to watch. I struggle to find things I want to watch on TV these days.

On Wednesday morning, OH decided to do a tip run. Once he'd loaded up the car and set off, I went out for my 2nd Couch to 5K run, same format as Monday. I finally figured out that if I play my music playlists on YouTube, the Couch to 5K app plays over the top of the music, so I can now listen to music as I run, which makes it much more enjoyable. I know this probably sounds very obvious to most people, but I am a tech dinosaur and things take a while for me to work out.

When I got back from my run, it was lovely and sunny, so I pottered in the garden for half an hour and swept up the decking after the rubbish had been taken away. It's created more room for when the shed arrives in pieces, as there'll be a lot of it. I also planted a gooseberry bush that we had in a pot, into the border, to get rid of at least one of the pots cluttering up the decking. I then did a bit of overdue housework and shredded six months worth of receipts and paperwork.

In the afternoon, I got a call from work asking if I'd work in the evening. I said I would, so I didn't get much else done for the remainder of the afternoon. I did make a chicken casserole for supper though and OH cooked it whilst I was at work, so I had that to come home to when I finished.

On Thursday, I went off to the gym early, as I'd booked a slot for 9 am. It was good to get it done first thing and be free for the rest of the day. On the way to the gym, I noticed that a new charity shop is opening soon on our high street, which was exciting. It really needs a charity shop, as currently it has every other kind of shop. It might be a pricey one though, but I think it will get very good donations.

My session in the gym was good and when I came home I was hungry, so to avoid eating everything in the cupboards, I took myself off upstairs and did some work on a new sewing project to distract myself until lunchtime. I made good progress and have posted about it separately.

OH spent another afternoon in the garden on Thursday, levelling the area on which we are building the shed. We've now got a date for it's delivery, which is over three weeks away, so there's no particular hurry, but he wanted to get on and do it. It's quite exciting, as it feels like we're really moving forward with the garden renovation.

On Thursday night, OH and I went out to our local Mall, so that I could buy some running trainers. We did our usual supper out at the Food Court, where I opted for a tried and tested Naked Veggie Chilli Burrito at Tortilla and OH had a Chicken Katsu Poke bowl at Honi Poke. We both enjoyed our supper.

First shopping stop was Sports Direct and I managed to buy my running shoes after trying on a few pairs. They were one of the cheapest options available at £45, but were on sale down from £90. They are high cushioning and very comfortable. They wouldn't be my normal choice, as they are white, but a change will be interesting.  They are Adidas, so they're a reasonable brand at least. I'm looking forward to wearing them. I also bought some decent white sports socks for £2.99 for 3 pairs, as I don't currently have any and a new knee support for £5. I was pretty happy with my purchases and didn't think I'd done badly for the money I spent.

Next stop was M&S. I decided that whilst we were at the Mall, I may as well use the opportunity to buy some new bras for sports and everyday wear. It's something I've been meaning to do since I lost weight, as I don't have many wearable bras that are comfortable. In fact, I'd say that I have only one or two, and I haven't bought any decent bras for quite a few years. I've gone for cheaper options in recent years that didn't last long before the wires started poking through. Anyway, one of my bras is a longstanding favourite and I bought it from M&S, so I was keen to look for another one. In the end I bought two of the same bra, one in black and one a pink/purple camo print. I'm very happy with them.

I also tried on some sports bras, as I am down to two, one of which isn't my proper size, but fits okay, that I bought new from a charity shop for a few pounds. The other is my size, fits and supports well, that I bought  from M&S probably a decade ago, but unfortunately they don't make the design any more. They did have some very nice high support sports bras in store, but I couldn't figure out how to put some of them on, so I gave up on them in the end. I did buy a two pack of one sports bra which were very nice, but they're not the usual style that I wear, as they weren't racer back. I'll just have to see how I get on with them.

As you probably know, buying bras is not an inexpensive business, so I ended up spending £74 on 4 bras, but considering how often you wear them and the job they do, I don't think that's bad if they are comfortable and last well. So, another quite important job has now been ticked off the list this week.

Friday, I did my last Couch to 5k run for the week. I added an extra minute to the last run to ready myself for runs increasing the following week. It didn't feel too bad.

After lunch, I took myself off to my favourite place to buy fabric, where there are multiple fabric shops, in order to try to find a fabric match to finish off my Hexi Star Quilt. Unfortuately, I could't find a good enough match, so I came away empty handed. I'll just have to keep looking. I've got to a point where I can't progress any further with it now, until I find a fabric, so I may have to start work on something else for the time being.

I had another nap later in the afternoon, as I felt super tired. LB called later in the evening and we had a good chat. She's coming home to stay for the night on Saturday after attending a friend's birthday party, which will be nice.

On Saturday, it was my turn to walk the dog. We had a good long walk and I dropped in at the allotment on the way back to pick something up. Here's a few pictures of what it looks like now:

The potatoes and strawberries are growing well and the peas are starting to grow too. OH has lots of cucumber and tomato plants ready to go, but it's too cold just yet to plant them out. I can't recall having such a cold April for years.

Anyway, when I got home, I made a nice lunch and then did a couple of hours of cleaning before getting ready for work.  OH was out at a cycling event all day, so I had the house to myself again, which I enjoy. I vacuumed, dusted and mopped LB's room and put some clean bedding on the bed ready for her coming home

I then vacuumed and mopped all the way down the stairs to the hallway, as OH wants to strip the paint off the stairs in the near future, so this was in preparation for him doing this. It felt good to get this done as it made the house feel a bit cleaner and at least it has cleared the way for OH to get on with some DIY.

It was a strange night at work. I did a job that I normally have to cram into the last hour of a shift, but in this instance, I had all night to do it in more depth. It made a nice change to be able to do it properly and not have to rush it.

It rained heavily tonight. I was glad to get home and get to the end of another week. One that's feels like it's been a lot more productive. I'm hoping that next week I'll make even more progress.

A New Sewing Project - Making a Loose Sofa Cover

This week, I decided to start work on a new project to make a loose cover for a sofa that's been languishing in LB's bedroom for a while now.  She doesn't really use it, although the dog does sometimes sleep on it, and I think she'd rather have the space for a desk, now she's studying, so I'm planning to put it in the new shed/garden room, when it arrives and has been built.

Here's a picture of it:

We actually have two of these sofas, one of which is still in one of our reception rooms, but this one is looking a bit worse for wear, as the sun has discoloured the cover in places, hence why I thought I'd try and make a new one. I've completed a similar project before, during Lockdown, making a loose cover for an armchair, so I'm hoping it will turn out ok.

To cover it, I'm using a pair of black linen/cotton curtains I bought from a charity shop the other week for £8:

(They look dark grey in this photo, but are in fact black)

I've cut all the hems off, as they exhibited signs of wear and fading, but the main body of the curtains are fine and look virtually new.

They are pretty large and I was originally going to use the fabric for quilting, but I've decided to use it for this project instead, as it looks pretty hardwearing and should make the sofa look much better. It's not the most comfortable sofa, if I'm honest, but you can't always have everything and I'd rather renovate and re-use it than put it into landfill.

I started this project on Sunday night, by making a paper pattern for the two ends of the sofa and the back. It didn't need to be too accurate, as I will make each piece at least an inch bigger all around and then pin and hand tack all of the pieces together whilst they're actually on the sofa to get a good fit, before doing any machine stitching. Any excess fabric will get trimmed off once it's all machine sewn together.

The remaining pattern pieces for the arms, seat back and seat cushion are a bit more complicated to draft, as they are more irregular shapes, so I needed to allocate some time when I was in the right frame of mind to really concentrate and get them right.

I continued with making the sofa cover on Thursday, after getting home from the gym. I draped the fabric over the seat back and cut it to the right size using the fabric and I have done the same for one of the arms. I find that this is the easiest way to get the shape right, but I've already made a couple of small mistakes, which means I'll have to add some small bits of fabric between the seat back and the arm pieces. It should be doable. It's not a precise method, but it works for me.

I also cut the back and sides of the sofa cover out of the fabric, so that I knew how much fabric I had left and how best to use it. I've actually just got enough fabric to cover the base of the sofa and there will be none left to cover the seat cushion, which is a pity. 

To be honest, I'm not too worried about this, as I've been covering this with a throw for years, which tucks down the sides of the cushion neatly and I could do something similar for the time being, until I get some fabric that is as close a match as possible to this one. Besides, it doesn't need to be perfect, as it's going into the shed after all.

I spent a couple of hours working on the project on this occasion, but then called it a day. I have one more arm cover to draft and then the front pieces of the arms and base, before I can start pinning and tacking it all together.

Here's a picture of how far I got in this session:

I was quite happy with my progress. 

I'll post again about this project when I've made more progress.

A Busy and Reflective Week W/E 20th April 2024

This week, I was only scheduled to work two shifts towards the end of the week, so I was looking forward to having a few days to catch up on things at home.

As usual, the week started off with a dog walk on Sunday morning, but I didn't need to go to work afterwards, which was a treat. We dropped into the allotment on the way home and I did a bit of pottering. 

There are three vacant plots on our site at the moment. Apparently, inspite of there being a long waiting list for plots, no one has yet taken them. They would prefer plots elsewhere in the borough. Seems a shame. I hope they find someone to work them soon, as they are going to seed and it seems such a waste.

When I got home, I made a nice weekend lunch and did a bit of sewing. It wasn't long, however, before I started to feel very tired and ended up going back to bed for a nap. I think all the working last week took it's toll and I was pretty exhausted. I felt better for it though.

Anyway, later on Sunday, I applied for another college course starting in a couple of weeks. It's the same course I applied for a few weeks ago, but it is being run at a different campus. It's a bit further to go, but if I want to do it, I don't see the point in waiting, I may as well just get on with it and do it now. I'll need to see what happens and whether I get offered a place first.

On Monday morning, I woke up to find that I'd been given a couple more shifts at work this week, starting that afternoon. It meant that I couldn't go out of town to do the weekly shop, so I had to stay local. Before heading out to do the shopping, I did my first Couch to 5K run of the week. I was a bit nervous about whether I'd be able to run for a full 3 minutes, as I'd never done it before. In the end it wasn't too bad. I had to do two 90 second runs and two 3 minute runs, alternating between the shorter and the longer runs.

Once I'd done the shopping and unpacked it, I just had time to make some lunch and then had to get ready for work. Work was okay. I don't usually work in the afternoons (save for on Sundays), so it seemed a bit quiet at first, but got busier.

On Tuesday, I went to my usual class and then after lunch, I headed out of town to get some bits that I couldn't get locally. I got an email from the college I'd applied to telling me I needed to attend an enrollment day on Wednesday afternoon, to enrol on the course I wanted to do

As a consequence, Wednesday was a busy day. I did my second Couch to 5K run in the morning. It was the same format as the run on Monday, which was okay. When I got back from the run, I had a shower and got ready for work later in the evening. I needed to go to the college enrollment day and thought I might have to go straight to work from there if it was busy, so I decided to go there dressed ready for work.

I took public transport to the college, as I didn't know what the parking situation was. It was a bus and then a tube journey, which took approximately an hour. I got enrolled on the course, which starts next week. I will need to attend for a few hours one night per week, on Tuesdays. I also found out about the parking whilst I was there and applied for a permit for the duration of the course (it's an 8 week course). Parking is free and it will only take me half an hour to drive there, so that will be a lot easier. 

Work on Wednesday night was quite steady, but busy. We got to leave a little earlier, which was good.

On Thursday, I had a day off, which I was happy for. I took the dog out for a walk and then went off to the gym for an hour or so for a good workout. It was nice not to be at work. I could get on with a few jobs around the house, that I hadn't had time to do in the previous few days. I also ended up taking a nap, as the busyness of the week so far had taken it's toll on me. I felt a lot better for it.

OH ordered the new shed today. There's a 3 week wait for it to be delivered, so he will need to finish the fencing and prepare the ground in readiness in the next couple of weeks. 

In the evening, OH and I watched some TV, we're currently watching the new series of Race Around the World, which starts off in Japan and is really interesting.

On Friday, I was working in the evening, so I got up and got out for an earlyish run. It was my last run of Week 3. The runs were the same format all week. I thought they changed up this week, but I think it must be next week where you do different runs within the same week. I ran for an extra minute on the last run, making it a 4 minute run, as I know we'll go up to 5 minutes next week and I wanted to see how it felt to go for longer. It's made me a little less apprehensive going into next week. 

I am now thinking of buying some running trainers. At my age, I don't want to risk injury, so I think it might be the best thing to do.  I'm not spending silly money, but hope to find something that does the job and gives me good support. I tried on OH's expensive running shoes and the cushioning was amazing. I won't be spending as much as he did on them though.  

Although I struggle with running, I do like the sense of freedom I get from going out running and going wherever I please, often changing direction if a path looks too busy or the whim takes me. I also like looking around me at nature whilst I run. It's very energising. I just wish the weather was a little better.

Just before I headed into work on Friday, I got a call from the college telling me the course wasn't going ahead next week, as not enough people had enrolled. I may still be able to do it in September. I figure it's probably for the best, as I currently have a lot going on with training to do the 5k run and work. I was disappointed though, as I was looking forward to it.

I enjoyed work on Friday night, as I was working in my favourite section, so it passed quickly. There were a few things that happened through the evening that I didn't enjoy so much, but I won't go into them here.

On Saturday, I was due to start work at 3pm. OH did the dog walk before he had to go to a cycle race for most of the day, so I was able to get up slowly, do some weights and just generally have a chilled morning. I needed it really. Life has been a bit hectic lately and I needed some time just to reflect and process some (not mentioned here) stuff that has happened in the last couple of weeks. There's always stuff going on in the background of our lives and it's good to get time to actually think about it.

I had a long shift at work on Saturday, which qualified me for a break, so I made a baked potato with tuna and sweetcorn mayo filling to heat up in the microwave on my break. It was much appreciated when I did get my break.  Work was super busy, but it passed quickly which was good.

I was glad to get to the end of the week this week and I am hoping for a slightly less busy week next week, in which I can get more done at home. I hope you've had a good week.

A Week of Work and Working Out and Not Much Else - W/E 13th April 2024

This week, I was hoping for a quiet week, just getting back into a normal routine after LB had gone back to Uni. I thought that I was due to work 4 shifts, the first of which was on Sunday afternoon.

I woke quite early on Sunday and spent a while in bed reading a new to me book about mindful making, which is quite interesting. The rest of the morning was spent in the usual way, i.e. walking the dog, doing some laundry, having a good lunch and then getting ready for work. I was expecting work to be quite busy, but it started off quite slowly, which lulled me into a completely false sense of security.  It then got super busy and ended up being quite a challenging shift. It was nearly 7pm by the time I got home, which is quite a bit later than usual.

On Monday, I decided to start the week with Run 1 of Week 2 of the Couch to 5K app. OH was walking the dog, so I was able to get out reasonably early and get it done. It had been a few days since I'd done a run, and I knew that I'd need to run for a longer amount of time this week, so I was a little apprehensive when I set off. There were 6 x 90 second runs, each separated by 2 mins of brisk walking. The first run went okay. The breathing tips they gave you helped me today, plus the knee support I put on to help protect one of my knees that I get twinges in. I made the mistake of running on grass early in the morning. I won't do it again. My feet got soaked. It's all a learning curve.

Anyway, later, I went out to do the weekly shop. I went out of town again today, as I had one more voucher to use at the large out of town Tesco store, another £6 off a £60 shop. When I got home and had just finished unpacking the shopping, I got a call from work. I was late for a shift that I hadn't realised I was scheduled to work, so I had to quickly get ready and go in.

It was a busy night at work and I didn't end up getting home until 10.30 pm, so I was tired. It's been a really busy time in the store this week, in the run up to Eid al Fitr and also due to the fact that it was still the Easter holidays for some schools.  As a consequence, of this and the fact that quite a few staff were on leave, I was asked to work more shifts. 

On Tuesday, I was booked into my usual class at the gym. I had a bit of a lie in before going, which was much appreciated. When I got to the class I enjoyed it. It seemed to pass really quickly. I went home and had some lunch and then thought I'd better check my work schedule. I then realised that I was due at work at 3 pm not the usual 5pm, so I had to then get ready and go to work. It was a longer shift than I'm used to, although I did get a break, but it took it's toll, as it was really busy again. I was so glad to get home at the end of the shift.

I agreed to work an extra shift on Wednesday evening, when the Manager asked me to due to the store being very short staffed. If I'm honest, I didn't want to work, but I figured that I had lots of time off over Christmas, so the least I could do was to pitch in now. 

I spent Wednesday walking the dog, then doing the 2nd Couch to 5K run of the week.  I had a little time to catch up on a few jobs before starting work. Thankfully the shift on Wednesday evening was a lot calmer and we left earlier for a change.

I was up and out with the dog again on Thursday morning, followed by a session at the gym, followed by work.  This week seems to have been all about work and exercise and little else. Anyway, I had a very challenging shift at work in the evening and came home feeling very defeated. It's not something I've often felt with this job, but tonight was difficult for reasons I won't go into here.

On Friday, I decided I wouldn't do any exercise. In fact, I didn't feel much like doing anything. Luckily, it was OH's turn to walk the dog, so I could have a lie in and when I did get up I spent a little while in the garden (more in another post) which did restore some equilibrium.  I had one more night at work for the week and I couldn't wait to get it done so I could have a rest. I've found it very tiring working so many hours this week.

Work went okay, but I was so happy to get home knowing I had a day off on Saturday. One good thing was that I booked leave for the wedding in May this week. I had to book two weeks off as it straddles a weekend. I also booked a week off in June for a holiday abroad. We have managed to book a dog sitter for  a week so are looking to take a European holiday that week which is very exciting.

I had another lie in on Saturday morning and then eventually surfaced and went down for breakfast.  OH needed to go out to run an errand somewhere in Essex, so I went along for the ride and then we both went with the dog to Hainault Forest, where I did my final Couch to 5K run of the week, whilst OH sauntered through the forest with the dog. It was quite nice running in a forest, although a little creepy running on my own there. The run wasn't too bad. Next week will be telling, as I go from 90 second runs to 3 minute runs. I have no idea if I'm going to be able to do it or not.  I hope so.

We stopped off at a Cafe for lunch and then we bought a few plants from a nearby plant/flower shop -  a couple of Fatsia Japonicas for the garden and a pot of two small banana plants.  I see people actually growing bananas on them around our neighbourhood and I've never grown one before so I thought I'd give it a go. If we eventually get a better greenhouse or build a lean to one in the side return, which we are thinking of doing, they can always go in there. Here's a picture:

When we got home, OH went out into the garden to do more work on the fence and I did some laundry. I decided to wash all of my coats.  Some of them haven't seen a washing machine for a while, so it was long overdue and as the weather is now warming up, I may be able to pack some of them away soon until the autumn. It was lovely not to have to go to work today. It felt so luxurious to have a free day to do as I pleased.    

For supper, we had Tapas. Lidl had a Spanish Week this week and I can never resist getting some of their Tapas dishes. It was a lovely end to a very challenging week.

Garden Renovation Progress

It's been a few weeks since I posted that we were renovating our garden this year and things are now progressing quite well. OH has been working hard this week on the new fence and it's almost finished, but he ran out of screws, so I thought I'd post his progress.

After a horrible night at work on Thursday night, I didn't want to do anything on Friday morning. I dragged myself out of bed and sat in the garden with a cup of tea. I needed to clear my head. Of course, once you get out there, you can't help yourself, so I pottered awhile, took some photos, pruned and primped plants here and there, sewed some seeds and planted some corms/tubers. 

Thank goodness for gardening, it's so therapeutic. I forget how relaxing it is, when I don't do any over the winter. I can't wait to work on the garden once the more structural renovation work of fences and border edges have been completed.

Anyway, here's the progress OH has made:

There's a couple of gaps to complete, mainly behind the cherry tree which is too close to the neighbours fence to build the fence behind it. OH will have to build around it, which is a little more complicated. He's doing a good job and they are looking great. 

The fence panels at the end of the garden won't be seen once the new shed is put up, so OH didn't build that stretch and just used the same panels that the neighbour used for the fence on other side of the garden.

Talking of the cherry tree, here's picture of it in full blossom this spring, it's glorious:

It needs a good prune, but we didn't have the heart when it was loaded with buds.  We'll prune it back significantly after it has fruited.

To give me something to look forward to over the next few weeks, I planted one of the dahlia tubers I'd bought from Lidl into a wooden box. It should have plenty of room to grow here. I added some calendula and nasturtium around it, but I'm not sure if they will germinate, as the seeds were quite old, we'll see. If it gets a bit congested, I can always transplant some of them elsewhere.

I then swept up a bit and planted some anenome corms into a pot. I bought them reduced in Poundland and thought I might as well give them a go and try to add some colour to the garden. I can't wait to see if they grow now.

It made me feel a bit better to get out there and do something positive. I'm on a 6 day stretch at work and tonight is my last night before a break. I can't wait. It's been too much this week.

I'll post again when there's more progress in the garden.

A Car Boot Sale and a Busy Week

This week started off with a rare family outing to a favourite Car Boot Sale on Easter Sunday morning. Probably not everybody's idea of a nice way to spend Easter Sunday morning, but we enjoyed a drive out of London and a mooch round the stalls for a few hours. I packed myself a lunch, so that I wouldn't be tempted to eat unhealthy food whilst we were out.  We were having a roast dinner in the evening, due to having other stuff planned during the day.

We needed to get back home for 1pm, as OH had hired a van in a particular slot, for us to take all of the garden debris from last weekend, to our local Tip. I had been looking forward all last week to getting this job done.  

It was quite straightforward and such a relief to clear the garden of all the debris. Here's a couple of after pictures:

It was so nice to get our garden back and have space to work outside again. There's still a few things that don't have a home, but we'll find somewhere to put them at some point.

When we got back from the Tip, I spent an hour in the garden, sweeping up after removing the debris and then I potted on some of my houseplants, which I've been meaning to do for a while.

OH had ordered new fence panels and wood to build replacement fencing and they were scheduled to be delivered later in the week, which was exciting.

As planned, in the early evening, I cooked us roast beef with all the trimmings to celebrate Easter Sunday, which was very enjoyable and we exchanged Easter eggs. I didn't worry too much about calorie counting, although I tried not to overeat. 

It was a busy day, but enjoyable and productive. Most importantly, it was just lovely to spend it together as a family and do things together.

On Easter Monday, I was due to work in the evening. OH took the dog out in the morning, so I decided to do my second Couch to 5K run. I went quite early this time, so there were fewer people out and about.

When I got back, I spent a couple of hours in the garden, clearing more vegetation and doing some pruning of some of our trees, which was badly needed. We decided to chop our apple tree down completely, which I didn't relish, but it hasn't been thriving for a while and has a furry fungus that appears on it every summer. It also never bears fruit anymore, so we decided it was time for it to go. OH still needs to dig the roots out, but  it has really opened up the border near the back door, which is good. 

After finishing in the garden, I made some lunch and then had to get a shower and get ready for work in the evening. I wasn't really feeling it, if I'm  honest. When I got to work the store was super busy and I found I was working in my favourite section, which was good. The time passed very quickly.

On Tuesday, I was booked into a class at the gym in the morning. I really enjoyed the class and worked hard in it. 

Later, in the afternoon, I ventured out of town to do the weekly shop, as we were getting low on lots of things. It felt good to get stocked up again after the Easter weekend. I used another voucher giving me £6 off a £60 shop at Tesco. I did most of my shopping there this week in order to use it.

Wednesday, was a pretty quiet day at home. I was working in the evening, so I was happy just to stay home, chill and catch up on a few jobs. I did my last Couch to 5K run of Week 1, so I will be moving into a new week and a new regime on my next run. I added an extra minute of running onto the end of this run, as I feel like I need to push on a little with the 5K run being in 6 or 7 weeks time.

Work was okay tonight, I was asked and agreed to work on Thursday night too.

On Thursday, I was all set to book a gym session, but when I tried, there were very few bookable sessions in the morning for some reason. As I needed to take LB to a dental appointment in the afternoon, this meant that I couldn't book an afternoon session, so I did a few weights at home instead. I noticed that the situation was the same for Friday too, so I didn't book a session.

I took LB to the dentist, and luckily she didn't need any treatment, so that made it relatively inexpensive. When I came back, it was time to get ready for work. Work was busy. I agreed to work another shift on Friday night today, so my hours have increased quite a bit for the week. At least that means that I'll be earning a bit more money. Besides, LB goes back to Uni tomorrow afternoon, so it will be good to keep busy. I felt a bit emotional on Thursday at the thought of her going back. I love her being home and I'll miss her.

On Friday, I decided to have a chilled morning. I caught up on a few jobs and then sat down and did some work on my Hexi Star quilt. It felt good, as it's been a busy couple of weeks and I needed some downtime. 

LB was heading back to Uni in the afternoon, so I dropped her off at the station. I then booked into the gym I just had enough time to go before having to get ready for work. I enjoyed my gym session, but I felt a bit unfit today. I hadn't been in the gym for over a week and I could feel it. 

The sports centre where I go to the gym and classes, is having lots of renovations done in the near future. I'm wondering how it might disrupt my exercise routine. I'll just have to wait and see what happens.

Work tonight was very busy, but passed quickly, which is always good. I've been getting home quite late for the past three nights, so it's taking a toll.

I had a day off on Saturday and hoped I wouldn't be asked to go into work again. I wasn't. I walked the dog in the morning, had a nice lunch and did a few jobs. I ended up having a nap in the afternoon, as I was feeling really tired. I felt much better for it.

On Saturday evening, OH treated us to renting a movie online. I was in the mood to watch the new Hunger Games movie, which came out last year, so OH streamed it and we watched it whilst I worked on my quilt. I enjoyed it. It was a nice treat to end the week.

I've got another busy week at work next week with extra shifts to work, but I'm hoping things might slow down a little and I might get a bit more work done around the house. I'll let you know.

Monthly Progress - March 2024

It's been a busy month, despite working less hours at work. I seem to have found ways to fill the time available. Unlike in previous months, I haven't done much scrappy sewing work, which I have missed, and I can feel the urge to work with fabric scraps coming around again. Maybe I'll get the chance in April.

In March, I've been much more focussed on a fabric stash re-organisation and count and on progressing with my Hexi Star patchwork quilt, which is now much nearer completion. The fabric count has been an interesting experience, lets put it that way. I really don't need to buy any more fabric for a long time, save for possibly plain fabrics I might need for specific patchwork projects. I have very few plain fabrics in my stash and I use these to contrast with the patterned fabrics in my quilts. 

I may slow down on the patchwork front in April though and try to do something different, just to mix things up, although patchwork is very easy to pick up and put down, which makes it very convenient to work on whenever you have a few spare minutes.

We've fitted in a visit to Yorkshire this month, which made a nice change. I always find getting away from home to be inspiring, as you can step back from things and refocus, which helps me to identify my priorities, and since getting back, we've got on with what is the main priority, which is the garden. 

We definitely made progress with the garden renovation, with our neighbour and OH completing the new fencing on one side of the garden and with OH taking down the shed and the rest of the fencing in readiness to replace it. 

Getting rid of the debris, plus lots of unused and no longer wanted clutter from the shed on the last day of the month brought about a big sigh of relief. Giving us some space back to be able to get out and work in the garden, which was wonderful.

In April, I'm hoping that we can progress further with the garden renovation. The new fence panels and timber to build new fences have now been delivered and I'm hoping it won't take OH too long to get them up, so that we can move into the next phase of the renovation. In the meantime, I need to do lots of pruning and tidying in order to facilitate this.

I've also started to try to regularly feed the birds this month and encourage them into the garden. It seems to be going reasonably well so far. I began by cleaning all of the bird feeders and then buying and putting out some bird food. More feeders will be filled with snacks and put out as we progress with the garden renovation. 

In other areas, my fitness journey has been slow this month. I did lose a couple of pounds over the month, but Easter weekend may have seen a bit of weight going back on. I can see my progress in the way things are fitting or should I say not fitting me any longer, so that is encouraging. We also managed to acquire some better weights too, that weren't too expensive, so that should help with progressing in this regard.

Other fitness progress, involved finally starting the Couch to 5K app, although I only did one run in March. OH signing me up for a 5K run was the main motivation for this, plus better weather towards the end of the month.

My walking challenge has gone well again this month with 141km of steps taken, which is more than the monthly 135km needed to keep on target for the yearly distance of 1,000 miles. If I continue with the running, this should help to boost this total in April.

I'm going to have to be a little more self motivated with regard to exercise in April, as there are no free classes and gym sessions available until the end of the month, so I will need to book and pay for gym sessions and classes each week until then. It doesn't cost much though, so this won't be a problem.

Work wise, I feel like I've made progress this month in terms of getting more of a work/life balance. Working less hours on my new permanent contract has meant that I've had more time to spend doing other things. My hours have increased around Easter though, and I have some extra shifts scheduled as we go into April, so we'll see how that goes.

Although I've not set myself any decluttering challenge this year, I have decluttered quite a bit in March. We parted company with quite a lot of the unused contents of the shed this month and I also decluttered quite a lot of clothes after going through my summer wardrobe and discovering what still fitted and what was no longer going to serve me. 

There may be more things decluttered in April, once I start to put away my winter clothes. I may part with some of them if they are now way too big for me or no longer inspiring me to wear them. I'm kind of undergoing a bit of a style change alongside my weight loss and the things I wore to hide the weight I'd put on are being replaced by things that are a bit more fitted, as the weight gradually comes off. We'll see where that leads as time progresses.  These changes are being introduced to create a wardrobe that fits my new frame and healthier lifestyle, but I'm making sure not to take for granted how far I've come and that I may slip back, although I'm hoping not to.

Despite all of the progress made in March, there are many areas where I haven't made progress, probably the main one being keeping on top of the housework and cleaning. I probably need to focus more on this in April and I've decided to use a 10 minute daily speed clean strategy to try to keep on top of different areas of the house. I'm hoping that short bursts of cleaning will help to motivate me more to keep on top of things.

I'll keep you posted with how this goes and what progress we/I make with regard to our other goals in April. 

Whatever your goals are, have a good month.

First Car Boot Sale Haul of 2024

On Easter Sunday morning, we had a family trip out to one of our favourite Car Boot Sales. It's about half an hour outside of London and it's the one that I go to most frequently. 

We were hoping to get an early start, but when I woke up I realised that the clocks had gone forward overnight and it was later than I thought, so we ended up getting there at 9.30 am.

It was super busy, with lots of stalls and it was great to have a wander round and see what everyone was selling. I didn't quite have time to look at every stall, so I focussed on those that were selling things that I was more interested in. I still managed to have fun though and find a few bargains.

Most of my purchases were plants. I bought a few indoor and a few outdoor plants. The indoor plants included this Mistletoe Cactus:

I've never had one of these before. It now resides in the bathroom, as the seller told me it likes humidity. I really like it and for £1 it was very good value. I also bought a small aloe vera from this seller too for £1.

The rest of the plants I bought from a designated plant seller. I bought this pot of blue hyacinths for £1 which was a bargain: 

I'm looking forward to it fully flowering. I also bought two hellebore plants for £5 and two ferns for £7. I thought that these were quite good prices for perennial plants and I look forward to putting them in the garden at some point. I don't know what colour the hellebores are, as on the label there are a variety of colours. It will be a nice surprise to find out, when they eventually flower.

OH also bought some vegetable plants for the allotment, i.e. some tomato plants, cucumber plants and a courgette plant, so he was happy too. Here's a picture of them all in a box:

Aside from plants, I bought a couple of items of clothing for £1 each, which included a black shirt from M&S that I may wear for work in the summer months and a black jumpsuit/lightweight dungarees which fit like a dream. I love them.  They will be great to wear in the summer with a t-shirt or vest underneath. I didn't photgraph these, as black items can be difficult to see in detail on photographs.

I also bought some Elf face cream with SPF 30 for £1 (I bought two of these), as I don't currently have any skincare with SPF, so this should be useful in the summer. I'm hoping the SPF works. I also bought a W7 mascara from the same seller for £1. I use quite a few different makeup products from this brand and I really like them.

Other than this I just bought a few useful bits and pieces that mainly cost 50p each, such as these rolls of branded sellotape and these multicoloured permanent marker pens.

The final bargain of the day were these three plant pots for £1. I'm always needing plant pots to pot on my houseplants as they grow bigger and these were perfect. Here's some of my plants potted on into them:

Unfortunately, the green one in the centre has a hairline crack in it, but I'm still using it as it is very pretty.

So, we had a great morning out, but had to leave after a couple of hours to get home for something we had planned later in the day. It was a lovely outing though and I look forward to the next one.

Have you been to any Car Boot Sales lately?