This past week (Sunday – at time of writing) I was only held captive for 3 hours overtime. It was enough. I could have worked more on Sunday though a number of pirates were leaving on time, and I thought: 2 hours overtime in one day is enough. I have a lot of overtime pay this month, and I am mindful that if I work too much, I’ll simply lose it in taxes.

A shop I like to frequent on an ad hoc basis had Italian Week this week. It was good! I bought some tasty looking food, and some treats too. I’d managed to get my hands on some red pesto that tasted great, but despite having no garlic in it, it didn’t sit well with me. A shame, as it tasted great. I suspect it was too oily for me…

Sunday, it seemed we were inundated with screaming kids. Oh, how we love those! One was too young for the plank, but the others… LMAO Despite the workload, most pirates were in an upbeat mood and this week, and last week for that matter, passed very quickly. I guess being very busy helped.

Oh, the ‘light housework’ turned into an epic. I’d pulled all the plastic storage boxes from under my bed, again, to vacuum, and I thought this is just silly. I reorganised some storage cabinets in the galley, and all the food stuff from under the bed is now in the galley where it belongs. Under the sink was a nightmare and I seem to have been ‘hoarding’ empty jam jars. I’ve put some aside for the possibility of making marmalade again in January, then the rest went into the recycling bin.

I like a roast dinner as much as the next person, though with the weather getting warmer, we decided to forego it this week. Instead, I marinated some chicken in satay spices; we forego the peanut sauce - blech! We had it with baby new potatoes, a mountain of salad, and some crusty baguette. Delicious! Not too expensive either. The chicken was reduced due to being short dated, the potatoes were less than half price, and the baguette was from the freezer. Whenever we want a baguette, we always freeze the leftovers as they’re usually too big. They’re great for breadcrumbs for coated chicken, or as an addition to a meal such as today.

This week I’ve managed to procure more short-dated chicken, and I got some Aberdeen Angus burgers at almost half price. At the till, I also get the colleague discount, so I’m able to make some good savings. A plus with costs rising on most things. A colleague recently reached pension age, and another reaches pension age soon; neither plan to leave. I don’t think I would either though I have a few more years to go. If I’m still physically able to do the job, I doubt I’ll leave; our pension rates suck in the UK.

Finally, I’m noticing quite a few scurvy dogs visiting the Big Ship are becoming increasingly pushy as far as getting in our way to get groceries. One even shoved my trolley out of his way. Well, if looks could kill, I’d be in real trouble lol. Mostly though, people are nice and mostly, I do enjoy the job.

Have a good week, enjoy the sunshine if you get it. Set to be very warm here Wednesday through to Friday.

It took 4 attempts to post this. Good grief!