In Between Days

Monday.

I woke up early due to being to warm, plus I get used to waking early over the weekends for work. So I got up and decided to do my page in my journal while it was still cool enough to do anything. 

Kev also got up a bit after me as he wanted to go out to the village before it got too warm. 

He got back just as the heat started to kick in. We had both chillers on with fresh frozen blocks and water. We left the curtains closed in the living room, but did draw the blinds in the kitchen. 

Monday is usually a do nothing day but this was definitely not a day for doing much at all. It hit 33° in the bungalow and we both just drank loads of water and pop had salads and ice cream. Kev did get the ingredients to do our own version of the M&S strawberry and cream sandwich. We had that for tea, and although it sounds like it shouldn't work it does, and tasted gorgeous. Brioche bread, cream cheese and thick slices of fresh strawberries. We just had the one, which was enough. I don't really eat much when its hot. 

Willow is hiding most days in the bottom bunk of her tower, clever girl stays out of the heat. 

She comes out later on for cuddles or early morning if Im up, she has a snuggle then.

Because the bungalow is so well insulated it holds on to heat so you need the chillers on constantly to keep it cool. I even broke out my neck fan which helped a bit. 

I think the temperature is coming down a little tomorrow, hopefully we can go early into town pick up my TKMAXX order and other bits, have lunch and come home. 

In Between Days.

Saturday.

Very busy day at work. I think people wanted to get it done before the heat hit. It was cloudy but hot, very muggy. It got sunny late afternoon and leaving work the heat hit you like a wall. 

We managed to get the 33 and made it home fairly early. 

Sunday.

If I could say ditto weather wise I would pretty much as it was the day before. Maybe a little lower temperature wise, but same gloomy skies until mid afternoon. Another hard day, with late comers, Di had to take me off to finish as I had two more customers to put through. 

The 58 was late, and you could see why the roads were busy. City was too, luckily for us, Ian and Charlotte picked us up from across the road on Friar lane. Very kind of them. It meant we were home for 5.30pm. The bungalow was warm and took a while to get the temperature down by having both chillers on with new blocks and water. Thank goodness we have those units. 

Nothing was said again this weekend about my hours, so Im just taking it as another weeks reprieve to the inevitable. 

In Between Days

Thursday.

Charlotte wanted a dog walking ghost from Homesense, so we went back down by the canal to see if they had any left. Luckily they had one and she bought a few bits for her teir tray while she was there. 

I was good and resisted temptation. Not that hard actually as I have certain things I am now looking for. We nipped back into B&M as I had forgotten to get body scrub on Tuesday. 

We had an uber back after going in Sainsbury's for picnic fodder. 

We had a carpet picnic when we got back, which was very nice. It made a change. 

In Between Days

Wednesday.

Wash day. Kev got over there before 8am and got ours in before bloody Mariola put hers in again. I was pissed off at her as it was, for laughing at Kev on Sunday when she saw us coming back from work and laughed at Kev because he was struggling to walk. Rude. Actually beyond rude. So it wouldn't have taken much to have a go at her... 

Sue bought our biscuits she got us from Tesco, and picked us up to go for a carvery at The Shepherds. We won't see them next week as she has a hospital appointment. So we had a lovely lunch. 

They dropped us back and we changed as it was still hot. So much so that we napped, best thing to do when its too warm, plus the bottle of red wine shared with my sister would have helped 

In Between Days

Tuesday. 

Got ready and headed for the canal to go Code orange shopping. So,  a very successful trip I found a very pink Frankie, I wanted him, but I knew Kev could alter him, which he did this afternoon. I also found a tiny cat for my teir tray alongside another of the 50s style Summerween dolls like Samantha last week, we found Mavis. And another potion bottle for the bathroom. That will replace the Christmas hand soap dispenser that has sat there since January. Trouble is we had to part with so much when we were homeless that it makes it hard to part with stuff now. However, I introduced a rule that if it's in a box for more than two seasons then I no longer want it enough to keep it. So when the Halloween decor comes down from the loft it might be time to part company with a few bits I've decided no longer fit in. My aesthetic evolves, and I like to theme areas. The hall has a creepy stately home vibe, and we have the haunted reception desk area on the filing cabinet, now this year we've added to the wire spooky tree a headless horseman scene, complete with hatbox ghost in the background and a tombstone candle, not exactly to scale, but it works. The mantle area as I like to call it in the unliving room, is a bit of pure goth, crow candlesticks, and a crow bath and body works candle stand  Dave the Vampire and the dead Poe section, Sadie ( of course as she has to be the head of any display!) And my spiral universal monsters stairway. 

The teir tray changes as I find more stuff to fit it the whole idea of that is that it moves with the seasons, but basically in this house it will always have a creepy edge to it. 

The bathroom is the same I have a sort of beachy spooky vibe with a skeleton mermaid, haunted lighthouse and beach hut. On the medical cupboard I have an array of apothecary bottles one of which looks very much like a funerary urn. Kev painted that too, and it's one of my favourite pieces. In the photo it's the middle one.

In Between Days

Nothing more was said about hours and despite being convinced they were going to pull me in for a chat about them, I wasn't. So a bit of a reprive for now.

The day was humid and when the sun was out hot, but it rained a couple of times. The bungalow was still like an oven, so I had an early night to try and catch up on some of sleep I've lost over this warm spell. 

Sunday.

A busy day. Even though the weather wasn't brilliant there were plenty of bbq items, booze, and picnic stuff selling. It was tough at the end to get everyone out, barely making it out for 4.15pm. I saw my Eeyore man whose dog sounded like she was on the mend. Pleased about that as I know he was very worried about her. 

Val and her husband came in as usual, but then she came back later on as she had forgotten a few things. Bradley's nan came in again ( she did her big shop yesterday) but she too had forgotten some bits. So it was a bit of a deja vu kind of day. 

It was a bit tight getting the bus, but we made it. Kev bought sandwiches from Greg's as neither of us fancied anything cooked. 

In Between Days

Thursday.

Most of the day was taken up at Blu salon as it was the full works. Colour lift, colour, and cut and undercut. I got there at 10 am and left at 1.30pm. As always Amanda did a cracking job and it looks great, just how I like it. 

We had lunch at Streza as it was too hot for Kev to cook. 

It was boiling hot as we walked to the bus stop, luckily the bus wasn't too long so we weren't cooked! 

In Between Days

Wednesday.

Wash day so up early. Luckily Kev able to put the washing in before anyone else. Everything was hung outside. 

We had lunch out at Streza with Charlotte. Sadly we spotted Mr Busy outside, but after a brief hello we didn't have to put up with him thank goodness. 

In the afternoon we started to watch Traitors NZ. 

Although I've got a couple of days before we go back to work, my mind is working overtime about the negotiations to come. For the first time in the 12 years I've worked at Arnold, I'm dreading it. I have been happy there in that time, and wished I had moved away from Burton branch a lot sooner. But now that sick knot at the pit of my stomach that I knew so well while working at Burton is back. 

It's such a shame that it's come to this, I thought I could ride out my last few years, but now I know that's not going to happen. 

I'm a mixture of emotions right now, angry, sad, scared. Change is scary, but I need to woman up and get through it. While we were homeless I lived on adrenaline and fight or flight mode. And got through that. This isn't so desperate as that, so I know I'm strong enough to come back from it. It's just taking that first step into the unknown that's the daunting part. 

I had a better night's sleep last night, but that's because I was so exhausted from the few nights previous when I couldn't switch my brain off. We will see what happens when I go to bed tonight. I might try to go later than usual so that I am genuinely tired. 

In Between Days

Tuesday.

Another beautiful day once the clouds had lifted, so shorts and T-shirt it was to head into the city to meet Sue and Pete. We had a lovely catch up, after a fruitful trip to TK Maxx where I found a pineapple jack o lantern for my summerween display. Along with a pumpkin mug with a candle piped inside it to look like it has pumpkin spice latte in it. We also saw a butter dish, but I passed on that for now, as I'm not sure we would use it. 

We'd not had the best night's sleep, with the heat and me doing my best overthinking session so far. So once home we both had a afternoon nap, at least living here it's generally quiet enough to not get disturbed. Even on Sunday when all hell apparently broke out at no.10, we didn't hear much, just the ambulance turning up. Denise from no.3 filled Kev in. The guy at no.10 was according to her, shouting and causing a nuisance. The wardens didn't come so Frank at no.9 rang the Police. They came broke in and called an ambulance. Speculation says he was drunk/drugged up, I prefer to think it was a mental health problem as the guy isn't the most confident when we see him, but you know what small communities like our group of bungalows are like, they damn you before they know the facts. So, we take what's said with a pinch of salt until we hear ( if we hear) the facts. Just shows though even with all that happening we heard very little until the ambulance rocked up.

In Between Days

Monday.

Instead of do bugger all Monday,  we went down by the canal to Homesense as I knew they had large Skeletons in. Code Orange folks had alerted me online. It's the one thing we need this year, we couldn't find one last year for a reasonable price, so we wanted to get one now. We have a use for him that involves the haunted swing that Karen bought us... 

While we were there I found a couple of tier tray items, a summerween statue of Sabrina ( that's what we've called her!) And a Vampire bat cupcake... 

We grabbed a drink at Maccy's before we headed back to the bus stop. Mr Skeleton Sir wasn't heavy, but he was awkward, so just the one stop for us today. The buses were as usual messed up with some missing, so we got home around one pm. We got home to a few more bits from Temu. Kevs Lost Boys sipper was one of the things that had come. Tee shirts for me.

In Between Days

Saturday.

A nice lazy day. We got up after nine, had a relaxed breakfast and I fave Willow lots of fuss. 

Later on we both rearranged the mantle and found the headless horseman a permanent home. 

In the afternoon we watched an oldie but a goodie, Jaws as its 50 years since it was released.

Sunday.

Another chilled day, well the whole point of the weekend off was not to have to rush around going on buses which is what we do week in week out. So, Kev made a full Sunday lunch which was delicious. We watched our favourite YouTube content.

In Between Days

Friday.

We nipped over to Bridgeford to shop. We went to M&S and got food and while we were there got drinks and went sat in the park. It was a beautiful day. We sat people watching then headed home. We got home and Kev cleared the ivy from where it had overgrown at the front. Well some of it as it was that hot he had to pack it in. He'd done enough though. 

Later on we got the bus with Charlotte to The Rose and Crown for a night out there. They had a solo artist on and he was very good. The pub was busy which is nice to see. It made such a nice change not to have to be in bed by 9pm to get up early for work. 

There were some characters in the pub, we sat people watching and laughing at some of the antics. 

In Between Days

Thursday.

Well, I did sleep better, but we decided to head into town to shop as there was things we needed, and as we were heading to the bus stop I fell. Grazing my arm and shaking me up. 

For once Dave on the bus was extremely helpful and gave me a wet wipe to clean my arm up. 

We went straight to Savers and picked up some tea tree wipes to clean up my arm. We were looking for TPC but finding it is impossible. God knows why, but Tea tree worked fine. We went for lunch at O'Neil's for a change as we haven't been there in a long while. We got the lunch deal drink and a main for £7.75 which we thought was quite reasonable. 

We got home and Kev put the new shower corner basket up, and cleaned the bathroom walls. 

He fixed my Headless Horseman that arrived broke, but now Pops repair shop has fixed it you can't tell it was damaged ( by the way,  I did get a refund ) 

And also repaired my David statute which also came damaged, he is painting it as I type and then that will go on my Summerween tray... 

So another busy day.

In Between Days

Tuesday.

We were going to Melton Mowbray for the day, but changed our minds and went for a walk down by the canal so we could go to Home Sense and hunt for Code orange stuff... I had a ten pound voucher from work to spend at TKMAXX/Homesense... So we found some tea towels, which we couldn't find last year, so I grabbed those and a gorgeous large pillow with Ghosts dressed up as horror icons. 

Then we went to B&M and got some flowers dishes for my tier tray, along with a storage box to put the stuff off my existing tier tray stuff away. I also got a citronella candle in a tropical style pot...

We had coffees at Costa and then headed to Sainsbury's to get what we needed from there. Then we took an Uber home. 

When we got home the new bathroom shelving came so it was a full on clean and rearrange session. It looks great now just the shower caddy to replace now... 

In Between Days

Saturday/ Sunday 

Work. As things are developing on the changing hours front, I'll not be discussing it beyond saying that as weekends go beyond the negotiations it was pleasant enough. We'll leave it there for now. 

Other than that the good news is We are now on a week off, hurrah... 

In Between Days.

Friday.

Ian bought the Aldi shopping. After he had gone we got ready and went into Bridgeford to shop for the weekend and have coffee at Okende.

We nipped into Boots to get Kev some liquid IV ( electrolyte powder) as he suffers greatly at work because he isn't allowed a drink with him the bakery, and if he gets a break, which he sometimes doesn't, he can go all day with what he has had in a morning. We think that's one of the contributions to his muscle pain and lack of mobility when he gets out of work. So if he put some hydration back into his system quickly it might help. It also wouldn't go amiss for me to add one to my water at work either. So we bought them to try it out, it might also be good to have some for the holiday as you need to keep hydrated there. 

Kev almost lost the brolly ( it started raining as we left for the bus, but taking the brolly meant the sun came out!) Weird, but true. I nipped back to Boots and found it at the checkout we had just gone through. 

We got back to the Post which contained a couple of tag

s from the tag swap group, which I've added photos of. One from April's Funny Bunny Swap and one from the Pub Sign/Family Crest swap for May. 

In Between Days

Thursday.

Well the pamper session continued today. We decided to stay in and a chill out day as it was a murky dull day with sporadic rain. 

As we had bought foot masks on Tuesday we did those and a foot spa. 

So we had a lovely relaxed day, we watched some more of that Department Q, it's very  good. 

Later on I made a card using one of the new large embossing folders that Tim Holtz bought out recently. It's great to be able to make larger cards. 

In Between Days

Wednesday 

Wash day and pamper day for me at Ohh la la, eyebrows and lash tint. 

We went to Streza for lunch after I had the chicken, which in my opinion better than KFC. I ate it all, five pieces, with hot honey sauce. No fries but a Old Mout Cyder. 

In the afternoon we watched a series recommended to us by Debby Podgorski called Department Q on Netflix. If you like murder mystery type series, it will be right up your street... 

The picture below is the new sign on the lean to outside... 

In Between Days

Tuesday.

We went into town to see Sue and Pete for lunch. She looks better than I've seen her look since she started having problems with the kidney stones. I hated seeing her wince in pain and eating next to nothing. She still didn't eat a great amount, but more than she has in the past year or so. The pain ( apart from one of the stones makes it out of her body!) Has subsided and now she can back to enjoying life again. Thank goodness. She's a brave lady my Sis...

We had a good catch up and a bit of a shop before we headed home. We saw Sheryl on the bus coming back and it was nice for to have a catch up with her too... 

We came home and watched the last episode of Mobland, Im hoping they do bring it back for another season. 

I had another Temu haul, mainly my outfit for one of the Mickey's Halloween Party. Dress, wig and accessories. I'm going as the Red Queen from Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland. Pleased with all of it... The dress and the little wrap need washing as it's creased and I like anything I buy from them to be washed first. 

In Between Days

Monday.

After a very busy weekend at work, it was our chill out day at home. I woke up early and got up. I did my page, and posted the tag swap partners in the swap group. 

I had the last of the large embossing folders from Sizzix plus the Monsters blind boxes that Kev and I had ordered from Amazon. We got the Creature from the Black Lagoon and The Mummy. At least they weren't copies of what we had before. So the spiral plant stand has been re- jigged to accommodate the new ones. Kev cut a tile and down to fit the base thereby giving us more places to stand the cute little guys.