'Only' 99p

I will never learn.  Things have been a bit tough over the last eighteen months.   Things are still a bit tough although father is settling into his Nursing Home well and charming everyone.  Also, although I find it hard to admit, life is a lot easier without father under foot and the house is considerably cleaner and emptier.

However I have been limping along a bit and last night I cried on the shoulder of my friend, ebay.  I am not sure what came over me.  About £20 if you don't count postage.  Lots of people can afford to spend £20 without too much thought.  Lots more can spend £20, regret it but manage.  I think of £20 as a lot of money but it is possible to spend it here without fear of ruin.  The bit that makes me wince is that none of my items were more than 99p.  I am going to be getting a shedload.  The postage wasn't excessive (I would not have bid, even in my state) but it adds up on top.  I've got some great bargains that I really didn't need.  An item you do not need, no matter how reasonable the cost, is not a bargain.

It isn't just the cost of of the item plus postage.  That 'only' 99p has a lot of other costs.  First of all there will be a mountain of packaging material.  Some of it is new, some re-used and I've know things to come in a taped up carrier bag before now.  I'll have to dispose of all of that.  Then I have to find places for all the stuff.  It goes a little against the grain as I am getting rid of lots of rubbish.  On the bright side, because I have got rid of a lot of rubbish I now have spaces to put further rubbish.  That was not the point.

Also some of it is craft stuff.  I have let my knitting and cross stitch slide over the last few months but now my hands are in a better state I can get back to that.  I can see a huge opportunity to watch some documentaries and catch up with all the knitting I want to do.  Now I will have a chance to really catch up with the ironing (father had a habit of insisting I broke off and come to talk to him) I can clear a space and learn to use the sewing machine.  I will have to.  It's surprising the sort of sewing stuff you can get for 99p late at night.  I have to be realistic, though.  There is a lot of extra time to get the benefit of it all, and that is part of the cost of these items.  So much for 'only' 99p.

There were also quite a few bits for bear which were absolute bargains.  They will be stashed away for Christmas and his birthday.  So it could be worse.

Bear is currently all eyes and temperature off school with a sort of generic virus.  He is working his way through the periodic table.  He has no real understanding of what it means but he is starting to memorise the order the elements come in.  I feel a bit 'rabbit in the headlights'.

Also when I was looking for a cross head screwdriver and rummaging in father's tool box I found an army knife complete with sheath.  I left it there.  Nobody tell bear.