My Week

My last week has been a fairly typical week for this time of year. 

My dad usually visits me on a Saturday morning while David is out at work. We have a coffee, cake and a chat about the last week.  I usually carry out anything that my dad needs doing on the computer. He has no interest in computers. My sister bought him a laptop and arranged wifi for him on a contract but he was just not interested and so everything was cancelled and I now do anything he needs. This last week it has been sorting out new car insurance and renewing his driving licence as he has to re-apply for it every few years now he is getting older. He brought me a bottle of Chambourd liqueur this week as it was an unwanted Christmas gift. He said it was "more for girls" and I was pleased to receive this as it is lovely when added to a glass of Cava. It is a black raspberry liqueur and makes a great glass of pink fizz.

I sold a few items on eBay. Two of the coats I was selling went for £10 & £11 and I also sold a pair of boots for £15.50. The boots had been languishing in my loft for around a year so it was wonderful to get rid of them. I sold a Kirstie Allsop book for £2 (I'd paid 50p for it on a carboot sale last year) and a tube of hair styling creme for £3.50. They are all small amounts but when added up over lots of items I usually end up with a tidy sum. I have another 13 items listed at the moment ranging in price from £1 - £20 so I will add up every quarter how much I have made and let you know. The items that I am currently selling are just things that are catching my eye around the house rather than specifics so there is a leather jewellery box (unwanted gift), books, unused travel mugs, boots, a handbag etc.

I am loving some Yankee Candle tea lights that I have started to use this week as they smell divine. They are Black Coconut and I love their deep warm toasted coconut smell. They make a real change from the Christmas scents that I've been burning over recent weeks although I loved the salted caramel ones that I used last week.

I have been watching episodes of Hurcule Poirot from my boxed set bought at the Cheshire carboot sale last year for just £2. I love the 1930s Art Deco styles, the clothes and the glamourous lifestyles of some of the characters. Hercule's neat ordered mind also appeals to me.

I have just recently found the American series Fixer Upper on itvBe on TV at 7pm in the evenings and have found this addictive. I just love it as it has inspired me to look at all the things that need doing around our house and I'm contemplating starting a list for David. He is not pleased on two fronts. Firstly that he would rather watch "Whatever happened to the Likely Lads" which is on at the same time and secondly I keep saying "ooh look at that kitchen, bathroom, lounge etc." when they show the reveal and comparing it to my house while glaring at him.

I've worked from home a couple of days which has been a relief on the travelling front as it takes about an hour and a half sitting in slow moving traffic to get across to the other side of Manchester to get my office. Just over 3 years ago they moved the whole office location from near where I live to the far side of Manchester and my journey changed to 15 minutes to an hour and a half or just over an hour on a good day. It's soul destroying sitting in nearly 3 hours of traffic and depresses me. I weigh it up with being able to work from home a couple of days a week with no travelling whatsoever so I count my blessings for that.

I am doing my best to get on top of the housework and get rid of the detritus around the whole house. I have found I am procrastinating over some things such as a beautiful bead necklace that I love but the clasp has broken. I can't fix it myself and it is only worth a couple of £ and to fix it at a jewellery shop would cost more than it is worth. The answer is to throw it away but I am struggling with this and so far I have moved it around my bedroom to 3 different places. I suppose this is how our homes get overloaded with "stuff". I will see if David can fix it and if not then it is time to say goodbye to it.

Finally we have spent quite a bit of time this week chatting about the future as David finds out whether he is to be made redundant or not next month just I start to go through the consultation period at work for more job losses. This will be my third time in four years. I've managed to keep my job twice while some of my colleagues have been made redundant and here I go again seeing if I am for the chop or not. It is out of our hands and there is no point in worrying as this is just wasted energy. It is a good job we know have to live fairly frugally and we know we will manage.