This week got off to a busy start. I was working on Sunday from 1pm to 6pm and the store was very busy again on PayDay weekend. The sun was shining too, which probably helped to bring people out. I had a good shift.
On Monday, it was weekly shop day again. I used a 10% off voucher at Lidl and got over £8 off my shop which was a bonus. I treated myself to a geranium plant for the garden in Lidl, which cost me £2.69.
I used a £4.75 Holland and Barrett voucher to reduce the cost of buying a few things there. I also went to my favourite charity shop and spent £10 on a few choice items, but I've posted separately about these.
The only other purchases, were ones I made at a different branch of the store I work at, as I wanted to take advantage of a double discount weekend. I bought a few things, some for the home i.e. tea towels, oven gloves and some soy wax candles, the latter of which I'm going to put away for OH to give me as a birthday gift, a couple of small gifts for LB and a couple of other small accessories for me. I saved nearly £8, plus the savings as a consequence of most of the items being on clearance. I felt like I'd done enough shopping for a while. I'm hoping to keep the rest of the month to as minimum spend as possible.
On Tuesday, I headed to my usual class at the gym. It was another sunny but cold day. It's amazing how much more positive you feel when there's a bit of sunshine. I was working in the evening, and needed to get the bus to work and do a little bit of food shopping before I started, to get a couple of items I'd not got with the weekly shop, so after lunch I got ready for work early and headed out to catch the bus. I had a good shift at work again and OH picked me up as he'd needed to use the car.
I was working again on Wednesday afternoon, so after a really good night's sleep, which is rare these days, but much appreciated, I had a lie in, a late breakfast and then got ready for work. Work was okay, until that is, I unintentionally got embroiled in some workplace politics, which really ended my working week on a downer. I deliberately avoid this kind of thing, but sometimes you get unknowingly dragged into the issues people have with others. It upset me. I'm just glad I'm not there for the next four days.
On Thursday, it was lovely to wake up knowing I didn't have to go to work. I got ready and then did a bit of sewing, starting a patchwork tablecloth for the kitchen table, as I needed something to clear my head of work. I then decided to go for a run, as I also needed to move my body. It was a lovely sunny morning, so it felt good to get outside.
After lunch, I went back to my sewing machine and completed the tablecloth. It was lovely to spend a whole afternoon sewing. I've not done it in a good while. Here's a photo of the finished tablecloth:
I used some larger pieces of fabric for this project and was able to use up quite a few bits from my stash. I don't think I would have used it for anything else. I made it double sided, using one fabric for the back:
I was happy enough with the results. It's not perfect, but it's good enough and the colours are a good match for the kitchen.
Later, I picked up this book that I started reading a while ago and I finally actually finished it. This book was about Barbara Hulanicki of Biba fame. I bought it when I went to a Biba exhibition last summer. It was a good read. She had amazing success with her business in the 1960's and 70's, before it was bought out by British Land, an infamous property company here in the UK. It was the first book I've finished this year. I've got a few more that I've started and I might try to finish reading them. A couple of them I started on holiday in Tenerife, but never finished.
On Friday, I didn't need to be anywhere or do anything, so I had a long lie in, a late breakfast and then showered and got ready for the rest of the day. It was another sunny day, so I decided to go out into the garden and pot up my new geranium into a bigger pot. I decided to place it on the step to the shed to brighten up that end of the garden.
I then decided to wash some empty plant pots and tidy them away ready for the new growing season and potted on all of my trees in pots. They now shouldn't need potting on for at least a couple of years if not longer. It's a job that's been on my to do list since last year. As you can see, I like to make use of old kitchen bins and dustbins for this purpose. They make good larger pots once holes have been drilled into the bottom. for drainage. I'm not too worried what they look like. This does make them very heavy once filled, however, hence the wheely bases to make them easy to move around the decking and prevent rot underneath.
I pinned some new shoots of a honeysuckle that grows down our side return into pots of compost to root. This plant used to be glorious, but it was cut right down when our neighbours built their new fence and as they are building an extension into their side return this year, I imagine that it will be removed altogether, so I decided to try to save some cuttings and grow them into more plants. It will take years to grow it to the mature beauty it once was, but I'm going to try. I've got a few weeks before the builders start, so I'm hoping they'll root by then.
Finally, I sowed some lettuce seed for transplanting into the allotment. I used lots of egg cartons that I've been saving every week. I'm hoping they'll work well as seed trays.
I had a lovely relaxing afternoon in the garden. It became a bit overcast by the end of the afternoon, but it was lovely just to get outside, tidy up and do some jobs I'd been meaning to do for a while.
On Saturday, I did my usual free gym session. When I got home, it was lovely and sunny, so I decided to have a cup of tea sat out in the garden. Whilst out there, I got the sudden urge to tidy out and move the greenhouse. Our neighbours will be starting building work in a few weeks and I wanted to move it a bit further away from any building work. I was limited with regard to how far I could move it, but hopefully it's in a slightly better place now and it felt good to sort through everything, clean underneath and tidy it all up ready for the new growing season.
After lunch, I did some sewing on a new project I started the night before. I've decided to make a book pouch using a combination of patchwork and slow stitching. I really enjoy these small projects that can be finished in a couple of sittings. They are very satisfying to make and I'm slowly learning to use up favourite fabrics and notions that I have in my stash, instead of keeping them to use for who knows what. I'll post a picture when I've finished it.
It was nice not to work this weekend and to spend time on some creative pursuits and necessary tasks. In all it's felt like a much more productive week. Lets hope it continues.
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