At last it is Friday and my day off or rather a day to get down to some tidying and cleaning, paperwork and planning. Such a lot to fit into so little time.
This morning my book prize arrived from Sue and I have now put it by my bedside table ready for some early bedtime reading.
It was tempting to sit down and start reading this morning but I really need to get a grip on my messy house. I am having to work all hours at the moment as my colleague is off sick for a few weeks and I am doing both our jobs but this means not much is getting done outside of work hours.
I spent an hour or two this morning stripping our bed and putting things away – my usual TIDY FRIDAY – I don’t know how it happens but at the end of a week I find many things that belong upstairs end up downstairs and vice versa – I think perhaps it is the little dust fairies who run round in the night moving everything around and sprinkling their fairy dust everywhere!
After my mammoth putting away session I went into the office to look over the pile of paperwork.
Even though I try to keep a tidy desk by the end of the week it invariably ends up with bits and pieces strewn across it waiting for my attention.
I sorted through the many leaflets that had dropped through the door – there was one for the local Pizza place, a made to measure blinds offer and a Councillors letter asking for volunteers to help run the local village library which is under threat. I only wish I had the time – I can’t help thinking that if I had been able to retire this year at 60 as was the case under the old rules (now it will be 66) I would have had spare time to do this and also look after my new baby grand-daughter.
After sifting through the pile I pulled out anything interesting and snipped the coupons and put the rest for recycling.
Today on the urgent pile I need to look at our house insurance for our home here in Yorkshire and the BT line rental which we pay up front to save £30. I have still to finish the accommodation receipts for our cottage insurers and find the contents receipts to send. Probably more than a mornings work in that lot.
It has been quite helpful that I signed up for a Sainsbury’s Credit card earlier in the year as it is interest free on new purchases until 2015 and I get extra reward points. It means that we can pay all the accommodation costs without dipping into savings until the insurers reimburse us – we are over £1,000 out-of-pocket from our stays over in Scotland since the flood.
Working until after 6pm each night for four days a week means I am not spending money at the shops as they are well and truly shut when I leave work. In fact I had to get my son in laws birthday card and pressie from Sainsbury’s last night. My daughter tells me he wanted a Christmas jumper so now he has one – a bright red one with an elf and bells on! We wouldn’t want him to feel left out this Xmas!
I have over £155 on my reward points and this week is double up week so if I spend them wisely I can get items to the value of £310. So far I have bought some clothes for myself and baby L, the Xmas jumper, and some Xmas decorations (will show these another post). They have extended the range of departments and goods to select from this time and wine is included so I may be able to stock up for Christmas.
You may remember I bought a Lumie lamp last year – and it worked but we put it away during the summer and have only just put it back in our bedroom since the clock change plunged us into those awful dark mornings. We found last year that the alarm was irratating and unnecessary as the rising sun effect woke us up on its own. There is one problem though – I prefer our ordinary clock to tell the time – I particularly like a proper clock face to a digital one and I find the light from the digital ones distracting when I am trying to sleep. Current research has found that sleeping in complete darkness is better for our bodyclocks, unfortunately the Lumie lamp has an illuminated digital clock face which you cannot turn off so I have stuck a circular piece of cardboard over the clock this morning to block out the light! I will let you know if it works and if it does I will have to think of a more permanent solution.
The bathroom pumps that we ordered to boost the hot water pressure from the new taps arrived by post this week and the bath one has already been fitted and it has improved the flow – so our builder will be back soon to do the basin tap. Once done we can fit the down lights and the fan and the bath panel and hey presto it will be DONE. It has almost taken as long as my daughters bathroom 2 years ago.
Tomorrow me, hubby, elder daughter and partner are going to Masham, North Yorkshire for the day to my younger daughters and meeting up with my hubby’s sister. We will be celebrating my son in-laws birthday and also my sister in laws recent marriage to her partner of many years. We sadly missed their wedding celebration in Oxford because of the flood at our cottage.
It is also our yearly Crisis at Christmas Coffee morning at our local church so I might pop in for an hour before we set off for Masham. It will be the first year that I haven’t made anything for them but with my extra hours at work and all the paperwork for the insurance claim and my dodgy knee I think I am quite over extended at the moment.
Hope you have a good weekend. x
Birdsong
where the journey takes me 