February faffing, wig mischieving, pancake stuffing, bargain gymnastics and looking forward to Spring Shenanigans ❤️

[DirtyGertiefromno30]

Welcome to our new thread everyone 🤗. All are welcome to our supportive, kind , frugal thread .

Pleased to see the sunshine here. I need a good walk today to shake off the cobwebs. Hospital day yesterday with my dad. Thankfully he is now healing well and the hospital is content to let the rest of his recovery be managed by the health care available locally.
Spends yesterday- £66 total on petrol, parking, hospital coffees, chicken salad lunches for me and dad, rice pudding and red wine for dad, and a few bits for home. But my mum insisted on transferring £60 to my account so actual impact of £6.

Floorman came to fix the stain from the Christmas tree catastrophe, but the results are short of hoped for outcome. So I will have to revisit it.

Pile of shite Bosch integrated dishwasher has stopped draining again. Third time in 18 months we’ve got an E15. DH says he’ll take a look but I am sceptical. Haven’t expressed my scepticism but I did take a trawl through YouTube when it happened last time and it doesn’t seem very straightforward.

Today’s goals: return library books and collect new ones; return trousers; food shop (minced beef and sweet potatoes or celeriac for adapted cottage pie- if fam don’t want to eat it again they will have to start contributing to meal plans!)

So glad your dad is healing well @BigSkies2022 and can be managed locally now 💐.
A sunny walk sounds just what you need ☀️
£66 out and £60 back from Mum means only £6 down. That is basically a win. And hospital coffee plus chicken salad, rice pudding and red wine sounds very civilised 😋
Shame the floorman did not fully fix the Christmas tree stain 🙄. And the Bosch dishwasher showing E15 again is beyond annoying 🙄 Third time in 18 months is not good enough.
Library, trousers, food shop plans , excellent 😊. And yes, if they do not want adapted cottage pie, they can start helping with meal plans 😂
Oh @ChipshopPickledEgg
That E Sim sounds very reasonable thank you for the heads up 😊.
Spent £4 in the charity shop on books and DVDs for Dd1 and DH . £83 in Costco and £6 on top in Costco for lunch . Isn't it ridiculous how cheap it is in the Cafe !
On the way home now, weather still good 🌞😁
We have all had a great time 😊
Hope everyone is having a good day 😊

So glad your lovely dad is healing better now @BigSkies2022 such a relief. If your family don't like the dinner, I'll come over and help eat it!!

Oh @NursieBernard what an incredibly hard day for you all. Remember to be gentle with yourself and take the following days easy. There is no rush on bouncing back or doing anything.

Losing weight past 40 I'm finding more difficult that trying to launch myself to the moon tbh. Snacks are my downfall. I think for lent I'm going to give up snacks.

Today was absolutely beautiful weather. Blue skies and sunshine. Washing is outside on the line which always makes me happy, esp as it's bedding. The smell of fresh air on bedding is delicious I think

Went to a local park and outside area with DD and a new pre school friend of hers this morning whilst I made friends with her mummy. Must remember for next time (we are MTG again on Thursday) that she is very glam (and a beautiful soul) so to wear some lippy.
£2 parking
£17 lunch
£5 toy from shop as her friend got one...sigh.
Back home to watch e.t which arrived on dvd. Then off to see my brother's cats again whilst he is away.
Sold another item on vinted. £5. Must put all the clothes I chucked out of the wardrobe yesterday on later....

I have been with OH 13 years this year. Every year I get excited about pancake day. Every year I make them. Every year he eats them. This year I got chocolate spread as DD doesn't really like them and to try and make it 'bearable' for her. OH piped up that he doesn't like them either. I did look at him as if he had just started speaking Spanish and then proceeded to tell him that he is wrong. More pancakes for me each year!

Right. Time for a cuppa whilst e.t is on and feet thaw out.

Dirty do you use some kind of AI to respond to posts? You are inhumanly thorough!

standing in the world’s slowest post office queue. Will I never learn? Child being encouraged to read extremely loudly by her mother- reading excellent, obvs, but does it have to be so loud??

Dad was sent a follow up appointment with the consultant. For next Tuesday. Brother can’t do it. I’ve changed it to a telephone consultation and I will combine it with taking mum to visit dad at the home and she can sit in as well. I cannot do another 8 hour day for a 10 minute consultation. If they propose more treatment, how dad gets there and who is going to accompany him is going to have to be taken into account.

Omg no @BigSkies2022. l wouldn't have a clue how to start 🤣. l make notes on my notepad though . Thing is l am stuck here , while the rest of the family watch sport , usually football or Rugby 🙄 day in day out . So l am on my phone all the time . I like it too.
I also use edit ...a LOT 😂
As a person l am very thorough though . l think it's from being a nurse for 40 years tbh . The notes l had to write when l was working , we had 32 patients and no computer/tablet for a long time it was all written in the Kardex . I am rambling ignore me 🤣. Excellent idea to stop the in person appointment for a phone one . Well done combining the visit for your Mum and you to your Dad too 🤗.
Can't your Father have a nurse escort from the home and use hospital transport? My Mum used to go to the Dentist with a carer and use the hospital transport. It has to be organised 2 weeks in advance here though . I don't know if it is different in the rest of the UK. We are in Wales . Good luck 🤞

I imagine you saw a lot of interesting changes in your time in the NHS :-)

He uses patient transport to get there. I meet him there (it’s a 2 hour drive from my house to the hospital) and we either wait together for the transport and I follow him back separately to handover or, if it’s hours away, I have taken him in my car back to the home. The latter is dangerous and stressful as I am anxious about dropping him as I manoeuvre him ineptly from wheelchair to my car which is badly designed for transporting Olds. The home cannot provide an escort- they can’t take staff off the floor and the hourly rate for staff coming in on their days off to escort residents is too low to be attractive. So in practice they can never find anyone. So it’s either family or dad does it alone.

Losing weight after forty is tough @Frugal25 😭. Snacks are always the problem with me as well ,so giving them up for Lent sounds like a good idea👍
What a gorgeous day it has been here too , not warm enough fir my washing but sunny and blue skies ☀️ ❤️😁.
Fresh bedding on the line is the best smell ever 👏.
Lovely that your DD has a new friend and you’ve made a Mummy friend too. Wear the lippy Thursday and have a great time 🤗.
The £2 parking, £17 lunch and £5 toy is just typical parenting day to day life l am afraid but it's so wonderful 😊.
E.T. on DVD is such a lovely film aw Little Elliot ❤️
Well done on the Vinted sale, keep it going 💪
And thirteen years in and OH says he doesn’t like pancakes?
That's so funny , all the more for you 👏🥞😋🤣

Omg that's so time consuming for you @BigSkies2022.
Such a worry too taking him back to the home alone .
Poor you and your brother having to go so out of your way .
@ChipshopPickledEgg l could write a book . A lot of advancements but imho the basic nursing care you gave to a patient was the absolute bedrock of their care and the best way for them to get better. I was taught to care for a patient from their head to their toes and when you left that patient they wouldn't need another thing for a couple of hours . I loved it 🤗

Ah makes sense girtie. Tbh i wondered how you do it

i agree blue logistics have to be part of the appointment. Hope they can make it easier for you by multiple appointments in the same day. Can a carer go in the transport to do transfer.

i tried a brain injury group today. They seem nice and it’s a charity so free. Still waiting for oncology

Afternoon.

I would never have a Neff or Bosch appliance in my kitchen again, all ours were new when we bought to house as built in and all needed changing very rapidly. Further purchases of the same brands have not changed my mind, I hear you @BigSkies2022. Also hear you on protracted and frequent hospital visits (DH in this case), but I have no answers. I can only hand you a virtual large glass of red, or steaming mug of tea and sympathy, whichever suits!

Must admit I also wondered about Chap GPT or AI use in your replies @DirtyGertiefromno30 - sorry!

It’s beautiful here too today @Frugal25, fecking freezing at 6.30am to run, but lovely now for my dog walk. Glad you had a nice time at the park.

Hope the results of the blood tests provide answers @yoursweetpotatoesarebland - enjoy a peaceful half term!

A mutual friend popped round for a cuppa this morning, and I’m walking later with another one. Chicken casserole in the SC. Even DS can steam accompanying broccoli and take baked potatoes out of the oven while I’m out….

Spends
£30 bulk buy of granite cleaner, approx a quarterly buy.
£100 Ocado
£30 M&S - that’s literally my first top up shop this month and I can see how quickly they add up when they are more frequent.

@lifelongfrugaleer l am here a lot l know 😁. l lead a sad existence 🤣 not really l am very happy and contented with my lot. I visit my Mum most days and am on my phone reading or writing in the car to and from seeing her which is 25 mins each way. My DH drives me and comes to see her too, my Mum worships my DH and he ,although loath to admit it loves her too 😁 . If she's asleep while we are there, while waiting for her to wake up l am free then of course to be on here , although l do visit the other residents and have a chat and do their nails , hearing aids , glasses , drinks, sweeties , hair removal or l might pop to the shop to get them stuff they want . It keeps me happy and useful. It's from being a nurse for so long l can't be any other way now. It does get on my Dh's nerves sometimes when he wants to go home and l am still meddling there 😁
But l just like helping people .
Simple as 🤗
That is brilliant you have this group to go to. I hope you find it really supportive for you 👏🤗
Fingers crossed Oncology contact you very soon 🤞💐

I have never had a Neff or a Bosch appliance either @needastrongone. Tbh l gave always bought the cheapest because up until now we haven't been able to afford anything expensive. Now l can afford better models but l do a lot of price comparisons first like we all do .
Ah don't apologise for thinking l was a bot 🤣 it's fine l think it's hilarious 🤣. l really
should get on board the AI trend though l suppose but l don't think it would be my cup of tea tbh. I am too chopsy for my own good 😁
I can only empathise re the long hospital appointments , l
had to do an all dayer taking Mum to the breast cancer consultant just before Christmas and it was absolutely freezing, my poor Mum was exhausted bless her. She has telephone appointments unless strictly necessary now.
Enjoy your walk later 😊.
I have gone on and shot my gob off today 😁 .
I think l may have ADHD you know 🤔

Oh wow @DirtyGertiefromno30 your career must have been amazing and you should Def write a book. All those stories and amazing human interactions. I bet you were such a good nurse, the fact that you still help out others etc. I think some people are justade to do their career, you're made to be a nurse.
I hope the group is useful @lifelongfrugaleer xxx

Been to see brothers cats. Washing dried on the line when I was gone. Smells lovely.
Now sat with another cuppa crying over the end of E.T whilst trying to reassure DD that it's all going to be ok. Must start the pancakes soon before I go to yoga (£10)

DS just had his first scam recruitment agency interview. Interviewed last week to filter applicants for a banking compliance position, called back today to discuss outcome. He was a strong candidate and they put him forward but the institution chose someone who had already done a 200 hour online course in compliance and would he be interested in signing up to the course- oh, and another position would be coming up in the next few days and the client looks favourably upon candidates committed to this qualification…

I really bloody hate people sometimes! And yes, that includes the grubby, druggy slut who slopped out of her flat this lunchtime in her pyjamas and slippers with a huge pit-bull, that she can’t control and plainly doesn’t exercise, that lunged at my little dog. I scooped my lad up and we ran to a safe distance while she hauled on this thing’s lead. And then I am afraid I swore at them from the other side of the street and threatened to report her.

in a happier vein, walked to the library, got one of my books on order, then treated myself to some Dahl and mixed vegetables from the Indian deli, and a huge chicken samosa for DS. Also bought 2 purple sweet potatoes, just because. £13. Then another £5 in Tesco for a yellow sticker pack of minced beef.

@ChipshopPickledEgg I did use an eSIM on my transatlantic cruise but only because my phone package didn’t cover that area. My package covers all ports this time, but as I’m with my friend and we could do with being in contact on sea days and evenings if we’re doing separate stuff I thought the WiFi was worth it. And tbh it was a bit faffy with the eSIM……

@DirtyGertiefromno30 I must admit I thought you must be using ChatGPT as your replies were so detailed… 😳🤣

@BigSkies2022 that dog experience sounds awful!!! It’s people like that that give dogs and owners a bad name. I got bitten badly by a friends dog three years ago and it’s affected me a lot.

and that scam agency!! Grrrrrr. Can they be reported?

But yay for shopping wins!!

My PT appointment was cancelled this morning so I took myself to the park for a walk in the (freezing) sunshine!! May have had a sneaky egg McMuffin breakfast first….. Then called in at the charity shop, dropped stuff off and picked up a Betty Jackson dress for £2.50 and a Next immaculate jacket for £3!!

Now just catching up with my finances and budgeting before I go away.

And I may have found a cruise for me and my sister in December that I’m going to book!!

Hate poor dog owners who don’t train their dogs
and twatty scammers

would an AI bot admit that it was a bot though 🤔😆

NSD today

£26.80 (I think) on a pair of trousers in Marks and Spencer. Got some milk, eggs and garlic too but not counting them as they were on a gift card. And £2.10 in Sainsbury on snacks.

Love a drink and a gossip @Frugal25.

Sizing is odd @Johaanah. The trousers I tried on today were two sizes bigger than a pair I bought in the summer. I tried that pair on when I got back from the shop and they fitted fine.

Don’t be hard on yourself @NursieBernard.

Good to hear your dad is healing well @BigSkies2022. What a mammoth day for you. Shame about the floor. I hope it can be rescued. That was unpleasant with the dog. I don’t blame you for swearing and glad your dog is ok. Sorry about your son that’s an awful thing to happen.

Hope you hear from oncology soon @lifelongfrugaleer. And that the group was helpful. With hindsight I wish I’d tried something like that when I wasn’t well.

Avoid AI @dirty. It was insisting Ozzy Osbourne was alive the other evening. And my boss uses it to write emails. Farm animals could do better.

Returned a book to Mr Amazon today. Am going to try and not snack. I never used to so am not sure why I’ve started now.

Oh l was so lucky in my job @Frugal25l loved it. Some of the staff were bullies though that was the only thing especially when l was a student but the patients used to see what was going on and were lovely to us young ones bless them . Thank you that's so sweet of you to say that .
Well done on all you have done today .l bet your brothers cats were so pleased to see you 🤗❤️

Oh @BigSkies2022that's awful honestly there are scammers everywhere, you can't turn around and some crook is out to get money out of us .
It's scary when a dog ,no matter what size comes at you l am glad you and your Ddog are ok and weren't hurt .
I love all animals but l am afraid l think Pit Bulls should be put to sleep, too many people , both adults and children have been injured and killed by them . It's horrendous.
Loving the sound of your Dahl and your Ds chicken Samosa they sound delicious 😋.

Oh marvellous @chimichangaz l am so happy you may have found a cruise for you and your Dsis in December 🙏🤗
Tell us all when you know the details then we can live vicariously through you 😁
It's a good word Vicariously 🤣. No it's all me not a bot but l should have a look into it everyone seems to be using them . I did look up some Olympic skating stuff on Google the other day though but not used anything else l am too much of a miser tbh . I don't subscribe to anything that requires a fee 🤣.
Free everything for me the only trouble is the Ads are a real nuisance 🙄.

No l don't suppose they would @lifelongfrugaleer 🤣🤣🤣

@NursieBernard such a difficult day, sounds like you did your DB proud.

@Johaanah doesn't sound like that was your dress. Hopefully you'll find something else.

Omg never@RumBananaSundae🙄 l have heard AI takes up a lot of resources and isn't good for the environment. Also it's going to take jobs from people.
I much prefer talking the hind leg of a donkey here, although l might be a bit too much on times 🤣
Good luck with the not snacking too. l think as the days get longer and warmer it will get so much easier for us all to stick to a healthy lifestyle 🤗