The snow continued on and off for a couple of days and the temperature plummeted during the night so that the days have been cold and icy. This morning we have some lovely sunshine which is melting the last of the snow and clearing roofs. Long may it continue. It's new year's eve and time to remove the traces of Christmas decorations so that I can give the living room a good dusting at last. G is outside removing the lights from the little tree but I think I might leave the wreath on the front door until 12th night. It still looks fresh and pretty and a shame to waste it.
Today we have been placed in tier 4 which is really another name for lockdown. Nothing will change for us, we seem to have been under lockdown for months anyway. We will still be allowed to drive the short distance to the park for a walk but our favourite garden centre will probably be closed. Hey ho...we will sit it out and await our turn for the vaccine. I hope it will be the Oxford one because it is much cheaper (around £3 per dose) and easier to store so perhaps our GP or pharmacy will be able to administer it.
Good news....the Consultant at the hospital rang G a couple of days ago and informed him that his lump was benign and there is no need for any follow up treatment, thank goodness.
As the last day of the year, I have been writing up the financial bits and pieces and have just fixed our energy costs until June 2022. I think costs will rise anyway and I would rather do it now and know what we will be paying for the next 18 months.
The TV licence fee has been paid and at £157.50 for a year's viewing is not too bad providing we get some decent dramas in the new year. I live in hope anyway! Over the last several months we have been bingeing on series 4 of The Last Kingdom on Netflix as well as all the Spooks episodes on i-player ; all 86 of them (10 series) What can we binge on now? Any suggestions please? 😀
As we are back under lockdown conditions I am eternally grateful that we can continue to get food delivery slots. I have a delivery booked for next Tuesday 5th but have checked and we still have plenty of food in the fridge/ freezer and store cupboard to last until then. Today we are having the last of the curry which DD sent us on Boxing Day with some rice and the home baked samosas. We can have ice cream to follow.
I really want to get a grip on the food budget in 2021 as we spent way over the £50 per week we had allocated at the start of the year. To help me with this, I will record here what we are spending and keep a running total. The aim is to keep as close as possible to £50 per week for food, cleaning products, washing powder etc. I will count actual money spent but anything bought with loyalty points will be a bonus and not counted as actual money IYSWIM.
Lets see how we go......
Wishing you all a very happy, healthy new year.
Stay safe everyone wherever in the world you happen to be, and a warm welcome to a couple of new followers x
Happy New Year to you Angie. Glad that G has had the all clear from the consultant. Such a relief for you both. Here's hoping that 2021 is a brighter one for all of us x
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year, what a great start with the all clear for G.
ReplyDeleteGod bless.
Great news for your husband. Happy New Year to you and your family!
ReplyDeleteExcellent news about G's lump; that's the best start to the New Year. I, too, have spent more on groceries while enjoying the home deliveries, mainly due to the minimum £40 spend to avoid delivery charges and the fact that you can't take advantage of 'reduced price' bargains. So to counteract that I now leave longer between deliveries instead of shopping weekly. I have already built up a stock of tinned and dried food, so I won't starve in case of food shortages or lack of delivery slots. It will be easier to cut down now Christmas has been and gone, too. Might be a good idea to make notes of expenditure too, just to keep me within budget.
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