I’m sure they are still in there somewhere, but life admin took all my spoons today.
It wasn’t a huge life admin, as they go, but it was so unnecessarily…unnecessary. Some of you will have seen this already but because of said life admin, I am quite tired, and I haven't really done anything.
A new debit card arrived yesterday THAT I DID NOT ORDER. My old one didn't expire until 2025 but Barclays saw fit to send me a new one anyway, thereby making Old Card invalid.
I dutifully added it to my G Pay wallet because the letter said to do so.
Then this morning I went to a cash machine because the letter said to do so.
Nope.
I went to another cash machine.
Nope.
Card not recognised at either.
Card also did not register at a chip and PIN device, no matter what we did or what machine I used or even what shop I was in.
It did not work for contactless either.
For all of that back and forth I was on Barclays Messaging to a nice chap called Abdul who was equally perplexed.
He tried something, so off I went to Sainsbury's to try their contactless machines...JUST as they all died.
Trudge back to A N Other shop.
Then Abdul re-sent the new card details to the app, I added them back to the Wallet (and called it Stupid New Card) and off we went to another shop to see if we could at least get contactless payments working on the phone even if the card chip was shagged.
AN HOUR AFTER IT ALL STARTED it worked. I now have the joy of getting notifications that say “Stupid New Card just paid £x to Y. “
It’s the little things.
I made it back home by 10.30, having wandered back and forth between shops and cash machines since 0830 whilst my Achilles tendon decided it hated me again quite vehemently. I don’t understand - I’m kind to it, it gets massages, stretches and new shoes and pain killing gels and yet…still…it stabs me a lot and I have to admit that I am fed up with it, whilst simultaneously being glad it is at least hanging on in there.
The dishwasher has also stopped working, which adds another layer of frustration. Do I use Spoons on washing dishes or do I use Spoons on feeding myself and other people? Today I eventually managed both, so now the dishwasher is just a huge drying cupboard until the engineer arrives on Tuesday. He’ll either fix it or condemn, but until then it is apron and Marigolds time.
One pot cooking is my rule at the moment so I have a large pot of urad dhal and kidney beans all cooked down and flavoured with ginger, lots of garlic, fresh fenugreek, tomatoes and creamed coconut. I also made Sudanese black aubergine salad again, and added extra spinach to that as well. I’m trying to get greens in wherever I can, and frozen spinach is a great way to do that.
I’ll link to Chef JJ’s video again as it is just delicious.
I’m going to make cabbage ‘rice’ later to go with the dhal - a green cabbage shredded and fried with onions, then mixed into some shirataki ‘rice’. I usually try to buy a brand that’s made by a Japanese company as it’s been a staple food there for decades, so I figure they know what they are doing but that’s not always possible.
For now, I’m going to go and snooze on the sofa after having yet another cup of tea.
Sundays are for sofas, YouTube and tea.
Spoon deficiencies are so energy sapping. Hope the rest helps
Quite the palaver! I do lilke the new card's alias, though!