Archive for the ‘Shopping’ Category
Posted by Shirley Anne on May 23, 2013
A portable cement mixer in action. It has wheels so it can be moved around by hand, and it’s rotation is powered by mains electricity.
Growing old has its advantages. Oh yes, it has its disadvantages too but we won’t dwell on the negatives, we should always look on the bright side of life, as the song goes. Now I am in my 68th year I have much to be pleased about. First of all I am enjoying good health for many people of my age do suffer with ill-health. I try my best to stay healthy by eating sensibly and taking plenty of exercise, that is between my work schedule! Speaking about work, I have begun to take things easy now in respect of the type of work I will take on and also the number of hours I am prepared to work each day and week. This has become easier to do these days as there seems to be less work available anyway! In essence I work part-time and choose what I will do. This allows me plenty of time for myself, to do what I wish and whenever I wish to do it. On Tuesday E and I took the afternoon off and dined out again and during our meal we discussed a number of things regarding what I have in mind to do about the house, the various projects I would like to get under way. The beauty about working on home projects is that there are no deadlines to meet, no need to worry about how long they will take because there is no real pressure other than the personal desire to finish them. My projects are as follows, replacing all the electrical distribution boards (there are four large ones and two small ones!), start on the proposed wet room, carry out redoing the concrete steps behind one of the garages and constructing a ramp behind the other garage. I also have it in mind to build an internal toilet that can only be accessed directly from the garden and for this project there is a small internal room within the cellar that is in the right place and near to the soil pipe and natural water drain. The present access from inside the house can easily be blocked by a building a brick wall. It is simply a store-room for some garden equipment at the moment and is not used for anything else. That equipment , what there is of it, can be stored in the one of the garages where there is plenty of room for it. When not in use the toilet would be left permanently locked. This project is one I would like to start immediately but the others will take preference as they are more important. There will be no excuse for me having nothing to do in my spare time. After our late lunch we decided to drive to the east side of town to the shopping precinct and builders merchant to assess the cost of purchasing a good cement mixer and some sand, cement and granite chippings because I want to make a start on that work first. I have thought about buying a cement mixer for quite some time as I prefer to own one rather than having to hire one each time there is building work to do. There is also the advantage of being able to lend it to others should they need one at any time. There always seems to be jobs at our house that require the use of a mixer and using one is far easier than mixing by hand! We first tried a builders merchant but found they didn’t sell them but only let them out to hire. If they were to order one it would have cost around £350. We then visited B&Q where we had seen one for sale in the past. They had three for sale, one of which was on display. Now I have seen many mixers in my lifetime and these ones were up to the mark on quality and robustness and were powered by electricity with a suitably high rating motor, a machine any respectable builder would be proud to own but what made it even more special was its price, £208! I purchased one (not too dissimilar to the one in the picture but mounted on a raised frame making it easier in use) together with a large quantity of sand, cement and granite chippings all for a discounted price of £228 with free delivery on 28th of this month, next Tuesday. The reason for the discount, which was 10%, was the fact that I have a B&Q diamond discount card because I am a senior citizen. Incidentally the builders merchant’s quoted price was for a similar machine but one that operated at 110 volts. This meant a transformer would be needed in its use at a further cost of around £150! No wonder the merchant drives around in a Rolls Royce……LOL. Looks like I am going to be busy for some time but I do have a good apprentice…..E!
Shirley Anne
- Old cement mixer (kenarah.wordpress.com)
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Posted in Construction, Dining out, Health, House and Home, Occupation, Shopping, Work | Tagged: Cement, Concrete, Concrete mixer, Construction and Maintenance, Home, Materials and Supplies | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Shirley Anne on November 8, 2012
Out shopping
On Wednesday morning In had it in mind to do some shopping for toiletries, something I do but twice per year at most. I buy enough products to last at least six months and they often last far longer than that. I could never understand why anyone should like to do this kind of shopping on a regular basis, once or maybe twice per year for me is by far enough. E and I had dined out on Tuesday afternoon and I was cordially dropped off later at my local pub to spend an hour or so there, which I did, not staying there all evening but returning just after eight. If I go to the pub in the evening I am prone to stop there all evening but only if I haven’t spent time elsewhere beforehand. I had a pleasant time chatting to a few people so it was worth the trip. I had been promising myself that i would do some shopping but kept putting it off so I was determined to get it over with and just do it. Whilst I was in the first store buying toothpaste, pant liners, moisturising creams and other toiletries I received a phone call from a lady some ten miles away who wanted me to fix a light fitting for her so I took the message and arranged to visit her later in the morning. Now I am the sort of person who can quickly forget place names or any names for that matter so I needed to write down the address. Alas I had paper but no pen, the paper being the one with the list on it for my shopping spree. A kindly assistant working in the store found me a pen so I was able to write the address down. I carried on shopping but couldn’t find some of the items I wanted. The kindly assistant once again coming to the rescue. I asked her if she would like to be my guide for the morning and we both laughed about that. I finished in that store and proceeded to the next, ‘Boots the chemists‘, now of course more than a store that sells medications. I was purchasing make-up products, lipstick, powder, mascara and such and I also needed some dispersible aspirin tablets. They had just installed new equipment at the check-out and the girl was having some difficulty in getting to grips with it but she managed eventually and I was free to go! Both of these stores sell ‘Alice bands’ but not of the type I wanted for I needed to buy a couple of them so i went to a specialist shop which sells them and I was able to find what I wanted there. One more shop to visit then off to deposit a little cash at the bank. The bank didn’t open until 9.30 so I did the shopping first. Having been given a smart phone a couple of weeks ago when my old phone ceased working I discovered that it lacked a decent memory size and that was preventing me from downloading some security software so I had to upgrade it. Crafty business this technology, I didn’t really want a smart phone but it appears the ‘normal’ phones are becoming less available now. I have a contract so I didn’t need to buy the phone but if I was to use it as extensively as they would like I could end up spending a fortune on it what with all the available ‘apps’ there are! That’s what I mean about crafty! The girl in the store obtained what she thought was the memory card but she couldn’t get the bar-code reader to read the code. She eventually called the manager who took one look and told her that the memory cards on display were all imitations put there to stop theft! The poor girl must have felt a little embarrassed but to be fair the imitation looked very convincing. Finally after fitting the card I trotted off to the bank to make my deposit. I was greeted by a lovely cashier who called me by name. We had met previously somewhere else other than in the bank but I had forgotten, although I did remember her face. It was so nice of her to remember me. Everything done so I walked the half-mile or more back to where I’d parked my vehicle only to be stopped along the way by another phone call. I answered but got no reply so I tried to disconnect. However the phone ‘locked up’ and I had to power it down completely and re-boot it from scratch. After what seemed and age everything was back to normal. I had a feeling that the party who had called hadn’t disconnected properly and were thus permanently connected to my phone. They must have called me in error as they didn’t call again. I finally made it to my van and prepared for the ten-mile journey to fix that light. As I had been out shopping I did not have the bag I normally use during the day at work so I wasn’t in possession of a map to find the location of the address. Had it been a major road or one that I was familiar with it wouldn’t have mattered but it was a road I wasn’t familiar with so I had no idea where it was. Fortunately I have a sat-nav in my van but as it isn’t used very often the battery had drained of power. I had to wait a few minutes whilst it booted the maps from scratch and then I had to set the language before I could get it to accept a request. Perhaps I should leave it connected more often in order to prevent the battery from draining but it’s like everything else, it gets forgotten! When I got to the address I was warmly greeted by a lady who was well into her nineties and as fit as a fiddle. The job took about three minutes to do and I didn’t have the heart to charge her the price I would normally expect for a call-out so she had a massive discount. I arrived back home before eleven and spent the rest of the day at home collecting appointments for jobs to follow. At least I won’t need to go shopping for toiletries for another six months or more. I can’t say the same thing about work but at least I don’t mind that.
Shirley Anne
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Posted in Shopping | Tagged: Memory card, Mobile phone, Shopping, Smartphone | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Shirley Anne on October 18, 2012
Lumber (Photo credit: °Florian)
I don’t often go shopping with E which is just as well, she confuses me sometimes. On the rare occasions we find ourselves shopping for food I am told, ‘you don’t need that’ or ‘we have some at home’ and if I do pick something I want as a treat to myself she shows that she does not approve. It doesn’t matter whether I am paying for it or not either. I think she partly resents me being with her when she is shopping for food and that I am incapable of making decisions on what to buy. If I select something she might say, ‘that’s too expensive’, even though I am prepared to pay the price! The strange thing is she often buys things in the weekly shop that we don’t really need. Now shopping for clothes is a completely new ball game. I have taken her with me on occasion when buying clothes, partly for her opinion and partly because I might be treating her to some new clothes which I have done a few times in the past. Asking E her opinion is a little pointless for we do not share the same tastes in clothes. Not to be unkind to her I think I have a better dress sense but sometimes I just want a second opinion. On Monday afternoon I decided to buy the materials I will need to fill in the void above the new roller-shutter door that was fitted a few weeks ago. I drew out a plan on paper and measured the space to be filled then decided how much timber I would need to do the job. E came with me to the builders merchant. Now I had it in mind what dimensions of wood I would need but unfortunately the width I wanted is now no longer supplied which meant two pieces would be needed on one section to make up the dimension required which was 300 mm. We settled on one at 200 mm and the other at 100 mm width to make up the 300 mm required. I also needed another length at 200 mm along with timber to make battens to connect everything together. The guy serving us was very patient and he measured the timber and cut it to length for us. However, E in her usual way started to question why I had asked for two lengths of timber at 200 mm but when I reminded her why it was needed she maintained that I was wrong and the guy was left standing waiting for a decision. Even after I had explained things to her it still didn’t sink in. In the confusion the guy ended up cutting two pieces of 100 mm width timber too when I really only wanted one at that width! I bought it anyway so as not to confuse the poor guy any further as the cost was minimal. I don’t know why I take E with me when purchasing anything as she often causes unnecessary confusion and contradicts what I say but then my trips out would be a lot more boring wouldn’t they? I love her to bits but she drives me nuts sometimes!
Shirley Anne
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Posted in Behaviour, DIY, Fun, Relationships, Shopping | Tagged: Construction and Maintenance, Fun, Lumber, Materials and Supplies, Relationship, Shopping | 5 Comments »
Posted by Shirley Anne on October 2, 2012
Scream and Scream Again (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
I don’t know about you but I have always been the sort of person who, if I am in need of a service that someone provides I make enquiries accordingly. If I am out shopping I like to browse before I make any decision to buy. So my feathers become somewhat ruffled if I am approached without my asking. I am sick and tired of hearing the phrase ‘You could be eligible for reimbursement from a miss-sold PPI (payment protection insurance)’, more especially as I have never taken one out! My mobile phone constantly receives messages from companies willing to get me any compensation that is due to me. If I reply with a ‘STOP’ it makes no difference, the next company along the line makes the same claim and I get another message. The problem is that there are hundreds of these companies all seeking a piece of the action and no doubt I will still be receiving unwanted and unmerited messages for the next ten years! I could scream!
I hate it when out shopping I get pestered by pushy sales persons who ask ‘Can I be of assistance’? ‘Well no you can’t, I just want to see what is on offer all by myself thank you very much’, is what I am thinking but have to reply with a ‘No thank you, I am just browsing’. They may be on commission but they will never get me to buy something I do not want or persuade me that something else might be suitable when I am told they haven’t got what I want. If I cannot see what I want I ask, simple! I don’t wish to but a substitute thank you very much!
In today’s world we are bombarded with sales talk, sales pitch, leaflet drops, junk mail, unwanted phone calls and text messages, television adverts, even radio adverts. I cannot use the Internet without coming across an advert. One of the most annoying traits by advertisers these days is to have dynamic adverts flashing away to one side of the screen whilst emails are being read. Another favourite of theirs is to have an advert preceding a short video you have clicked on to watch and you are obliged to watch it before you can watch the content you clicked to see. They usually last around thirty seconds so I look away until the advert is finished. Don’t like adverts, never have, they don’t influence me one bit. If I want a product I will buy it after checking it out myself. Adverts tell lies anyway. How many of you have seen the adverts for face creams all claiming to reduce ‘the effect’ of ageing in older women and then show younger women with flawless skin as if they had been using it! They obviously don’t need it in the first place. The best adverts for me are the ones I cannot see or hear!
It is pressure from all sides. It seems we are unable to live our lives without the support of a ‘smart phone’ these days. They can do all sorts of wonderful things using the applications they have installed in them, many of the ‘better’ ones of course come with a price-tag. The phones themselves often cost a small fortune too. Now I use my mobile phone but infrequently, usually to answer voice calls or messages for work and little else. I don’t wish to spend my whole life looking at a screen with my fingers frantically pushing little buttons. I was in the pub the other day and quite a few folk in there were doing just that. Well I went there for a few drinks and company, you know, actually speaking with people! I could scream. I know people who don’t use the Internet, haven’t even got a computer, don’t have the latest phone but carry a simple one ‘in case of emergencies’. I would think that is sensible. However people are gradually being coerced into having computers and one day none of us will be able to conduct business of any kind unless we do it through the Internet. It’s happening already. I heard recently that people wishing to pay their gas or electricity bill by any other method than by ‘Direct Debit‘ are charged more for the privilege. Furthermore if they have to set up a Direct Debit they have to do it over the Internet because they are restricted from doing it over the phone with an actual human being! It doesn’t come as a surprise to me though because this is intimated in Scripture along with so many other things that the ‘blind’ cannot see. I could do without it all. Give me the quiet life any day. Do you suppose there is a reason for people to say that if they came into a lot of money they would go and live on a tropical island away from it all?
Shirley Anne
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Posted in Advertising, Communication, Computer, Information, Insurance, Life, Philosophy, Shopping, Socialising, Society, Values | Tagged: advert, Advertising, Business and Economy, Computer, Direct Debit, Information, Insurance, Internet, Life, Mobile phone, People, Philosophy, Telecommunications, Television advertisement | 2 Comments »
Posted by Shirley Anne on August 13, 2012
On Saturday I had plans. I was to get up early, which I did incidentally, and then I was to have a session on my treadmill. After this a trip to ‘Halfords‘ to buy myself a bicycle. Before my transition, ten years ago now, I used to do a lot of cycling as well as running and I still have the old bike in my garage. However that bicycle was designed for a man to ride and I wanted one suitable for a woman. I fulfilled my plans. I did my session on the treadmill, after bathing and dressing I had my breakfast then headed out in my van to the shopping centre two miles out-of-town. I went directly to ‘Halfords’ and browsed the bicycles they had on display and it didn’t take me long to decide on the model I wanted, very feminine in pink! I chose a road machine with full suspension on both front and rear, essential if one wants a comfortable ride! I then browsed for accessories and left everything in the hands of the salesman who arranged to have all the accessories fitted and for the bicycle to be ready for the road. I paid for everything in cash and with all the discounts they had it all came to just less than £220, about the price I had in mind. Whilst they were fitting all the accessories and getting the bicycle ready for the road I meandered to another store in the same shopping arena just to browse around and kill some time. This other store sells all sorts of things for the home and readers in the UK will know it as ‘Homebase‘. They have a corner in the store where they display discounted goods and I found myself looking at an aluminium two-piece extension ladder giving a possible reach of over 5 metres and on sale for £50, about half of what it would sell for normally. I have quite a few ladders at home, one giving a reach of over 10 metres, one a folding ladder giving a reach of around 5 or 6 metres but made of steel and rather heavy to move about and of course a couple of step-ladders one giving a reach of around 4, maybe 5 metres and the other around 3 or 4. This particular ladder would be very useful in my capacity as an electrician so I bought it. I know I am cutting down on my electrical work but there have been many incidents where a ladder of this type and size would have been very handy indeed. At the end of the day, when I finally retire from my electrical work, the ladder will still be useful to have around the house. I will be able to offset the cost by claiming it as a business expense so I shan’t be taxed on its cost. I returned to Halfords to collect my new bicycle which just happened to fit in the van. I had removed the small step-ladder I carry inside the van in advance. The larger step-ladder together with the now new extension ladder are kept permanently on the van’s roof-rack. I drove back home for a small late lunch and then took my new bicycle out for a test run. A test run? I ended up doing around 6 or 7 miles, riding along the seafront and returning the same way. I now realise just how much I missed cycling. It is such a lovely way to both exercise and to get out in the fresh air. When I returned home a couple of hours later E was working in the rear garden but I sat out in the patio finishing off the bottle of red wine I’d opened a couple of days ago. Well it had to be drunk else it might have gone ‘off’! Actually I use a vacuum pump on unfinished wine so that it can be kept for a day or two without it going ‘off’. So all in all it was a very different but very enjoyable day. Here is the bicycle….I didn’t think you’d be interested in the ladder!
Shirley Anne
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Posted in Activity, Enjoyment, Exercise, Happiness, Health, Interests, Lifestyle, Shopping, Sport | Tagged: Activity, Bicycle, Cycling, Exercise, Halfords, Health, Homebase, Ladder, Lifestyle | 5 Comments »
Posted by Shirley Anne on April 9, 2012
Flymo hover lawn mower (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
I woke up yesterday morning quite late. I had not taken myself to bed the previous night, Friday, as I simply wasn’t tired and stayed up throughout until dawn and had a rather boring day. I am still not feeling too good and so it was that I wasn’t all that surprised in discovering a couple of cold sores around my lips. Even though I arose late I still had another good night’s sleep which is I suppose a bonus. My sleep still gets broken however but I awake refreshed. This whole weekend has been a washout as far as the weather goes but at last we have gotten the rain we badly needed. In my current state of health though some sunshine would have been nice but like my parents always used to say, ‘you can’t have your cake and eat it’. I must get around to purchasing that hover mower I talked about a few posts ago for I can see my other mowers again struggling to cut what will be often wet grass which is already starting to grow tall again and me totally wacked too! Maybe that’s what caused me to end up weak and exposed to the cold? At least the weather has gotten a tad warmer this week after last week’s cold dip following the previous unusually hot spell. I said the British climate was crazy at times. So far I have no plans for the week but whatever is on the cards I will try to enjoy it. I must get around to do some shopping too as I am fast running out of toiletries and one or two items of make-up. I usually buy my toiletries and make-up in bulk with much of it lasting more than six months. In fact I have a lot of make-up that will last for years. It is all sealed as new of course so it should be as good as new when opened. It is the more often used things that need replenishing, lip-stick, foundation, some eye make-up, moisturising cream and other such things for instance toothpaste, soaps, hair shampoo that get used more quickly. I hate shopping for just the odd item, it seems a waste of time going to the shops and returning with one or two things when I can return with plenty.
Shirley Anne
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Posted in General Chat, Health, Shopping | Tagged: Cold Sore, Conditions and Diseases, Health, Herpes labialis, Herpes simplex, Herpes simplex virus, lawnmower, Sleep Disorders | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Shirley Anne on December 30, 2011
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I got up early today so that I could do that shopping I thought I might do but it was mid-morning before E was finally ready. She and I drove into town and headed for one of the open parking areas but we had to wait a few minutes for a space to become available. It seems many people were out shopping too. I already knew what I wanted to buy and we headed for the M & S store and upstairs to buy some underwear. I bought a couple of bras and some panties. E didn’t want anything from this section so we went back downstairs to the women’s section. Why they keep the two sections on different floors I will never know. I wanted some long-sleeved lightweight jumpers so we headed to where they were on display. The shop was crowded with women and one or two guys accompanying their wives or girlfriends. Most of the items were in the sale and I thought I would find it difficult to get anything I liked but the pair of us soon discovered some and I managed to buy three. We left that store and went to BHS across the way where we looked for more jumpers but we saw none that I liked. Now I had it in mind to buy a pair of low-heeled or flat-heeled shoes for day wear so we went to see what was on offer. Now I was in this store a few weeks ago but found nothing I wanted then but this time there was much more to choose from. I bought a pair of flat-heeled shoes and then E showed me a pair of mid-heeled shoes with a bar and in my size. I loved them as soon as I saw them and tried them on. Perfect, so I bought both pairs, which happened to be at a very reduced price. Throughout our expedition I kept asking if there was anything that E wanted and she told me that she was only looking for a pair of shoes for everyday wear. We found a pair that she liked so I bought those for her. Now there was one other item I wanted to buy if I could find one that I liked and that was a handbag. Just alongside the shoe displays we found the handbag displays. How convenient! It didn’t take me very long to choose the one I wanted and at that point we headed for the check-out. We hit lucky this time and we were served almost immediately. We headed back to the car park and on the way E received a phone call from our eldest and his heavily pregnant wife and I thought we were going to be told that the baby was on its way but they only wanted to store a couple of things in our house. We were back home ten minutes later. Well I know one thing for certain, I shan’t be doing anymore shopping this year!
Shirley Anne
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Posted in Shopping | Tagged: Clothing, Footwear, Shoe, Shopping, Women's | 2 Comments »
Posted by Shirley Anne on December 30, 2011
Image via Wikipedia
With nothing much to do today my thoughts are beginning to turn to do some shopping no not for groceries, for clothes. I haven’t been shopping for clothes for quite some time and there are one or two things I could do with, mostly tops and underwear but I am always open to buying other things too. Usually, when I go shopping, I already have it in mind what I want to buy and buy those things first but if I see something I like I am often tempted to buy them. My main weakness is shoes but the only shoes I really need just now are those for everyday wear so I will make every effort to buy only those if I do go shopping, besides, I do not want to spend a lot of money at the moment. I do shop using the Internet sometimes but I much prefer to see items of clothing and perhaps try them on before I make a purchase and so I use the high street for that. You cannot feel the material and see if potential purchases are suitable unless you visit a store and it is far quicker too! Although I like to shop for clothes I don’t relish spending a great deal of time doing that. The longer I am roaming about the shops the greater the temptation to buy things when I don’t really need them. Whether I go shopping today will depend on other things but if I decide to leave it for another time it will be during the working week as I do not like shopping at the weekend. Places are so much more crowded at weekends I find and I hate crowds of people.
Shirley Anne
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Posted in Clothes, Shopping | Tagged: Clothing, Fashion, Footwear, Shopping | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Shirley Anne on September 8, 2011
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On Monday I had a small job to do just out-of-town which didn’t take me long to do. The route back home took me partly into town so I decided to go all the way and do some shopping. Parking up just outside the towns parking meter zone I took the five-minute walk back to the main shopping centre. Every few months I go shopping for toiletries and anything else I have a mind to buy but this time it was for just the toiletries, so I thought! Having bought what I needed I did some browsing and found one of those nasal/ear/eyebrow hair trimmers that seem to be popular so I decided to buy one for £15 which is the top end price or thereabouts for this item. Like everyone else I have hair growth in my ears and nose and plucking them out can be painful. This tool efficiently removes unwanted hair almost painlessly. It is also handy for trimming the eyebrow hairs and keeping them short but I still have to pluck them for shaping which fortunately isn’t that painful! Leaving the shop where I bought the last few items I began to walk back to my vehicle but of course en-route there are shoe shops! A weakness of mine is to buy shoes when I don’t really need to because I have a wardrobe full of them. I was thinking along the lines of a pair of low heeled or even flat shoes for going to work and although I am not desperate at the moment I had to go inside a couple of shoe shops to see what they had. I saw two pairs of shoes that were suitable but I resisted all temptation to buy them. No doubt I will buy something on my next trip in November or December. The thing is, I had already bought another pair of shoes over the Internet on Sunday! I simply couldn’t resist the special offer. On Saturday I had been browsing the web site of a shoe shop which I have in my favourites cache in my browser and I saw some lovely shoes which were on offer at a much reduced price. I closed down my computer but the following day, Sunday I just had to go peek again and succumbed to temptation and bought them at £30, half the original price. It pays to wait for bargains! I will have to wait a few days before they arrive though. These shoes though are not for work they are stilettos with 10cm heels (4″)! Four-inch (or 10 cm) is my preferred height for heels but I do have higher ones (5 1/2″)! So resistance is futile with me sometimes when it is to do with buying shoes! It will soon be my season for wearing stockings again and these shoes really need to be complimented with nylon!
Shirley Anne
- IRRESISTIBLE TEMPTATIONS pt. 2 (treasurehuntress.wordpress.com)
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Posted in Shopping, Temptation | Tagged: Fashion, Footwear, Shoe, Shopping, Temptation, Toiletries, Women's | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Shirley Anne on July 22, 2011
Lately I have been short of electrical jobs to do but yesterday I had three and today at least one! They are only small jobs but suit me down to the ground. In between those jobs I managed to ‘second fix‘ the electrical work in my garage. That means I fitted the power outlets and light switches ready for when I complete the circuits and connect them to the distribution board perhaps this weekend. So the day was a busy one for me. I was just thinking about shopping and the reasons I haven’t been shopping for some time. I am talking clothes and shoes here, not potatoes and breakfast cereals! I suppose the main reasons are the fact that I have been too busy with projects at home and of course very little spare cash as a result of all the work. If I am to be honest I don’t really need clothes or shoes but I like buying them! Anyway I probably have little time to dress-up and go out unless I specifically make the time to do so and I am more inclined just now not to bother because I want to finish the tasks ahead. I do make an effort to dine out at least once a week and to treat E at the same time.
Shirley Anne
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Posted in House and Home, Shopping | Tagged: AC power plugs and sockets, Clothing, Footwear, Light switch, Shoe, Shopping | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Shirley Anne on June 21, 2011
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On Sunday evening, after a late dinner I began to feel uncomfortable. I could feel the symptoms of trapped wind in my stomach. I do suffer from this occasionally and now know how to deal with it but this time it just wouldn’t go away. I thought it might be not only trapped wind but perhaps food poisoning. I spent a very restless night but did manage to get some sleep. When I awoke yesterday morning I was feeling decidedly out of it! My arms, shoulders and upper torso as well as my head were all suffering pain. I am the kind of person who resists taking pain killers, pumping medications into my system unless I really need to do so. Needless to say I had no breakfast as my stomach was still in pain but I did sip water which seemed to help by bringing up the occasional ‘burp’. I struggled through the morning and when it came to lunchtime I was still feeling queazy. If it was food poisoning I didn’t want to eat more food, however I think on reflection it was due to other things, trapped wind, tiredness, mild ‘flu and the after effects of working on the garage all day on Saturday. I had wanted to go out and purchase paint and a few other items but E found two full cans of the paint we needed and some other materials so anything else I wanted I would have to go out and buy. E had her lunch around 1.30 but she wanted to watch a program on the television until 2.15 and wasn’t ready to go out just then. We had expected the boys to arrive early in the morning to finish off the paving in the rear garden but they arrived at noon. I fell asleep on the couch whilst E was watching television but aroused myself and ventured out to the shops with her to buy some things. We bought a parasol to fit over the wooden dining table (part of the garden furniture, I will post a pic later if I remember), a bamboo door curtain that we can hang over the door space when the door is opened in Summer (just to keep out the flies!) and plenty of beer for the weekend. When we arrived back home the boys had finished the rear garden and had started preparing the area under the window at the front of the house. They are supposed to be returning at 8 o’clock this morning to complete that work (finally!). The weather seems to be getting better, just like I am. I hate feeling unwell when I know there is much to do but I never do work when I am not feeling well.
Shirley Anne
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Posted in Energy, Food, Health, Shopping | Tagged: Abdominal pain, Food, Foodborne illness, Health, Shopping | 2 Comments »
Posted by Shirley Anne on May 29, 2011
Yesterday morning E and I went to buy the materials and furniture that we need to refurbish the downstairs toilet. We had visited the store about two weeks ago and we knew what we wanted to purchase. Because most of the things were too large they would need to be delivered else I would need to empty my van and collect it all myself. I chose to have it delivered. We enlisted the help of a store employee who made out the list for us as we walked about the store pointing out the things we wanted. We then proceeded to the desk and paid the bill. Hopefully they will be delivered in two to three weeks time which gives us plenty of time to get organised.
It was approaching lunchtime when we left the store and I suggested dining out but E wanted to do some shopping first. It was around 1.30 before we decided to drive to a local pub/restaurant for a lovely carvery meal, very reasonably priced too! Whilst we were there I received a message on my phone from a guy I’ve known for a few years. He wasn’t sure if I was still living in Southport but was wondering if I could give him some advice regarding his plans to install lighting in his lounge. I answered via a text message that I could visit him in the afternoon. Shortly later he phoned me and we arranged to visit him after our lunch. He lives about a mile from where we live so it was no inconvenience to visit him and see what it was he was planning to do. It turns out that he is re-decorating several of the rooms in his house. We chatted about the work over a glass or two of red wine and after a short while his girlfriend returned with her dad. I had not seen either of them for over twelve months so it was nice to meet them again. We spent an hour or so there and had a really pleasant time before returning home. I am now awaiting the call to do the work some time in the near future. Today I shall be back working at home. I have plans to fit a window frame in the new garage and in the weeks ahead to fit three windows to match those we had installed in the house. I can fit those myself but they will need to be measured to fit the openings and subsequently manufactured to order but that is a few weeks away yet.
Shirley Anne
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Posted in Drink, Food, House and Home, Shopping | Tagged: Home, Home and Garden, Shopping, Southport, Window | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Shirley Anne on November 27, 2010
Gosh here I am again with another ‘brand new post’! Yesterday, I always seem to be talking about yesterday; well I cannot talk about something that hasn’t happened now can I? Well actually I can talk about future things but today I am talking about yesterday. Now that is strange don’t you think? It is difficult to talk about today because I am still living it. I digress. Yesterday I had one little job to do in a town ten miles away. I was back home within the hour! I spent the rest of the morning playing guitar and then the guy doing the roof repairs came round to assess the work. Soon afterwards I changed my clothes then E and I went out for lunch. We stayed local, well within eight miles and visited a place we really like going to. After drinking a full bottle of red wine (me) we finally dragged ourselves out of the restaurant and I asked E if we could browse the local shops because I wanted to buy some clothes. So we parked the car and went round the shops. I bought a lovely top in a pale brown/mushroom colour together with a long knitted cream coloured scarf. E was browsing the coats section of the store we were in and I could see she liked one particular coat there so I bought it for her and we both came away happy. On the way home E took the coastal road which meant we had to pass by my local pub! Guess what? Yes, I asked her to drop me off so I could spend an hour or so there. Being the good girl that I am I stayed there for just two hours and walked home. I met up with a couple of friends there so I was glad that I had called in. It isn’t often that I visit my pub these days but it is nice to go once in a while. Nothing is planned for today, it is my rest day and that is what I am going to do…….rest! Have a nice one!
Shirley Anne
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Posted in Clothes, Lifestyle, Shopping | Tagged: Clothes, Drink, Food, Shopping | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Shirley Anne on September 6, 2010
…in my beautiful balloon…….This Friday E and I are supposed to be flying high in a hot-air balloon but that is dependent on the weather and that doesn’t look favourable at the moment. Maybe things will improve by Friday, we’ll just have to wait and see. The flight takes place up in Cumbria which is probably a two-hour drive or less.
So far this week is empty of any other plans, except maybe more digging! LOL Life is full of expectations and anything can happen.
I went in to town early this morning as planned and I bought all the toiletries I wanted then went to collect my prescription. I was back home just over an hour later. I like that kind of shopping trip where I can simply go and get what I want and leave in the shortest possible time. Some women love to ‘window shop’ or take their time wandering around the clothes shops seeing what is on offer but I have never been like that. I prefer to go shopping with an idea of what I want before I go. My main problem is that I am sometimes an impulsive shopper and although I go to buy specific items I can be tempted to buy something I had no intentions of buying if I like it. One thing I do not like are crowds. I dislike the jostling and the lack of space where there are crowds of people. I like to have elbow room. I feel the same way regarding restaurants. When I eat out I much prefer to go when the hustle and bustle is over which usually means I have ‘late lunches’, for one, the service is usually quicker and better! The strange thing is I don’t experience the same during an evening out. Everything then seems to be done at a more leisurely pace and the atmosphere is far better too. I’m hoping that the atmosphere behaves itself on Friday!
Shirley Anne
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Posted by Shirley Anne on July 22, 2010
After a late night ‘run’ on my treadmill I had a really good night’s sleep. My intention this morning was to get up early and go into town before it became too crowded. I like to shop when it isn’t too busy. I have never much liked being in a crowd anyhow, preferring the peace and quiet of having just a few people about. Of course I don’t always get that choice. During my working week though it is better to shop before work rather than later when everyone else is doing the same. As it happened I had no work today so shopping early made sense in case I was offered work later. Such are the plans of humankind….I still have no work today and it is now mid-afternoon! I do have one tomorrow though. I digress. My reason for the shopping expedition was to simply buy a couple of lightweight Summer skirts that I could wear to work having worn out two that I had recently. I wanted something in brown and one in green, not plain colours but with those colours in the patterns if you understand. However July is not the time to buy summer wear it seems, many items have already been sold so it makes choosing a little more difficult. I didn’t wish to go roaming around town either so I browsed in only a couple of stores. I did find two lovely floral print skirts which I simply had to buy to add to my collection of simply lovely floral print skirts. They were not however brown or green! Whilst in the store I treated myself to a pair of loafers for work and a pair of wedge-heeled sandals. I also purchased two more ‘Alice Bands’. I came home with £95 less in my account and still I didn’t buy the skirts I wanted. Sounds just like me.
Shirley Anne
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Posted in Clothes, Shopping | Tagged: Clothes, Shopping | 2 Comments »
Posted by Shirley Anne on November 27, 2009
Well off I went tonight with my ex. to buy one more Christmas present. We visited a supermarket of all places because that’s where we hoped to buy the gift. We bought the present but me being me I decided I would take the opportunity to buy a few ‘extras’. I bought one more small gift for a friend and then…..a litre of Scotch whisky, vodka, two litres of golden rum, a litre of Jack Daniels, a litre of Baileys and six bottles of red wine! Oh and a couple of cream doughnuts! I am back home now finishing off the bottle of red wine I’d opened earlier. I’m not an alcoholic……..honest!
Shirley Anne
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Posted in Shopping | Tagged: Drink, Fun, Happiness, Shopping | 4 Comments »
Posted by Shirley Anne on November 27, 2009
I am about due for some more retail therapy. Lately I have been buying gifts for Christmas but have not spent anything on myself. The main problem is I am not sure what I would like. I go shopping usually with an idea of what I am after but often change my mind when I get there or buy something I see that I had not planned on buying. Sound familiar? I like the comfort of knowing that all my friends and family have been catered for as far as gifts go so that I can concentrate on myself. At this time of year I love the atmosphere, the expectancy as we approach Christmas Day but I don’t enjoy the day itself, mostly because I am left alone and left out of things. I am glad when Christmas Day is over and I can get back to normal. Many people focus on the January sales and go on mad spending sprees. Not for me, I like to take my time and enjoy my shopping excursions, I am not interested in the mad rush just to save a bit of cash. Over the next weeks I am anticipating receiving much work so what time I will have for myself will be well spent with some retail therapy amongst other things.
Shirley Anne
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Posted by Shirley Anne on May 12, 2009
Well I did it again. My ex and I did some more shopping for clothes yesterday. I think we have enough now although I am still after buying another pair of shoes of a particular size and colour. We had lunch in a pub/restaurant and did some more shopping later. I also got fitted for a bra. Now I always though I’d got that one right but I must admit that some of my bras have not been too comfortable to wear. I discovered that the main problem was the cup size, I was buying smaller cup sizes than I should have been. Thinking that a 38B/C was right when it should have been 36EE makes for an uncomfortable time! Using the standard measuring guides I should be a 38C in size so it proves that system isn’t always reliable. Looks like I’ll be buying some more bras soon. Oh the joys of being a woman.
Shirley Anne x
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Posted by Shirley Anne on April 28, 2009
Well I did it again. My ex and I went on another spending spree today and I spent £360 on clothes for each of us. We visited just the one store and it was full of older people milling about. My ex thought we had stumbled into an old people’s home! they were everywhere…LOL. Bless ‘em. There were lots of things I liked, dresses, skirts and such but they didn’t have my size in stock, typical. It must be that my size is popular (14/16) although I can wear 12 sometimes. I don’t know why sizes are not consistent store to store. Anyhow I didn’t specifically go shopping for skirts and dresses. I went to buy some tops and a raincoat, which I did buy. I ended up buying another pair of shoes too. What is it with me and shoes? Tehe….I’ll be opening a shoe shop soon!
Shirley Anne x
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