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.