It’s been a busy though productive week. I have one more day to go for this week, but so far have managed to work 2 hours less than planned which given all the extra hours I was scheduled, that’s fine by me. I’ve worked a lot of overtime recently and I netted almost an extra week’s pay from it. Not a massive amount given my salary and part-time basis, but very nice all the same. Thursday was an odd day: I arrived at my usual time, which is 10 minutes before I start, to find very few people on the shop floor, and only the one supervisor out the back. I laughingly asked: Did I miss a memo? Apparently, the early pickers were starting an hour later than usual, and all the fresh stock had already been done due to a massive stock-take taking place. We had to wait until they’d finished – hard to count stock if we’re whipping it off the shelves for customers. In the end, we were 15 minutes late starting though it was nice to stand and talk to colleagues, for a change. Once the time was up, the supervisor gave us a pep talk and a ‘rallying cry’ and we were off.

I picked one trolley, then was asked to pack. Man, that’s back-breaking work after a while. After a couple of hours, I was back on the shop-floor and had a few really good picks of multi-buys including one which was the biggest multi-buy I’ve seen. I scanned a can of goods, looked at my scanner, then looked at it again. They wanted 20 of the same item! I double-checked the amount, placed them all in the tray bar one, zapped as fast as my fingers would allow, counted them again, and went on my way. My pick-rate for the day sky-rocketed; I genuinely like customers who want multi-buys. I finished well into the Blue, and not for the first time this week.

Sometimes, picking allows you to see items you maybe wouldn’t see on a regular shop, especially if like me, shopping is now a chore with having to wear a mask or visor, and often queuing to pay due to lack of tills open. Nothing to do with my job, simply restrictions due to this virus. Anyway, we tried a pack of vegetarian ‘bacon’ which is popular in the store. Good grief it was not good. It was a branded good, not store, but the smell on it… It didn’t taste anything remotely like bacon, though it did look good. We ate a piece each, then it went into the outside bin because the smoky smell was too much. On the other hand, I had picked some thin seeded bagels for a customer, noted they felt soft, and we tried those with great success. They’re high protein and I filled one with some very thinly sliced cheese and along with a handful of grapes, they made a great lunch to have in work during a 6-hour shift. Add to this a cold non-dairy coffee drink, and I was well-primed until dinner time.

Speaking of food: Once again we’re eating more vegetarian food than meat meals, mainly due to not being happy with the quality of the meat at the moment. My cooking skills have not changed, however the beef of late, seems very tough. There’s some meat, and fish here in the freezer, and for now at least, I won’t be replacing them once we get around to eating them.

I’ve ordered 2 inexpensive vegetarian cookbooks off the internet, and a salad recipes book, and hopefully I’ll be able to add to my limited vegetarian repertoire. I’ve also had to order a smoke alarm. The landing smoke alarm, a while back, kept going off even if we weren’t cooking. We tried the test button, and even changed the battery, but it wouldn’t stop so the battery has been left out; I had a spare from the old house so that was keeping us safe. Now, the one in the hallway has gone the same way; it would not stop going off, and due to the high ceiling, I had to grab the loft ladder, again from the previous house, so my son could remove the battery. The alarm on order will be placed near the failed old one. In 2 years, the agent has tested these units once! I think that’s appalling. I was going to mention the failed unit at our next house inspection, however that isn’t taking place due to the virus. I did a tidy-up, then had to take photos, and email them to the agent so they could see how clean and tidy the house is. So, thus far I’ve had to replace a curtain pole – the old heavy one literally fell off the wall after bending the screws due to its weight - and now a smoke alarm from my own pocket. I will be taking these with me when we, eventually, vacate.

So, I’ve been stretching, bending, picking up weights, and walking lots – otherwise known as working lol. We’ve drastically cut down on meat and cheese/dairy products, and between that and working, my weight has dipped, just, below a certain tonnage LMAO. I use stones and pounds because I’m ‘old-school’ and my weight has finally dipped below a certain stone which I’m delighted with. I read on the news that the UK could be facing an obesity epidemic due in no small part to people being made redundant or furloughed, and putting on weight due to inactivity. I hope to continue to be active, and to lose at least another stone, so I won’t be part of those statistics.

Have a good weekend, it’s almost upon us, and keep safe and well.