Just a Couple of days after "Chit-chat 2023" post aired, I had a job interview for an evening cleaning job vacancy I applied for and I got the job.

This job did involve me working with one other person though. But he was an excellent worker and we worked well together and, we had the same or similar work ethics. 

We received positive feedback from day one. But there were things cropping up that neither me or my work colleague were going to put up with.

In the end, I gave my boss a couple of weeks' notice of this contract job. (My last day is Friday.) 

My colleague left too. But he had another job with the same cleaning company and a new contract in another, so left before me for that one.

This job was slowly bringing on fatigue because of some unrealistic expectations by the client. In the end, I crashed on the second weekend of this month which I mostly slept.

Sunday was my worst day because I was in pain in my joints and muscles. 

At the beginning of the following week, I was still struggling. 

I seen my supervisor before I finished, on a couple of occasions and we chatted. Should another suitable job offer come up, I may consider. That's if I am not in another job already. 

The cleaning team I have come across, during my time working for the cleaning company, were a lovely, hard-working bunch.

I am still doing my extra physical activities:

You will remember from last month's chit-chat post that a couple of my pots that were displaying seedlings, I lost some due to a cat digging and using them as a toilet.

I may be a cat lover. But I wasn't happy when I discovered the damage. I was rather saddened after clearing up and putting some bamboo canes in the pots, hoping they would act as a deterrent. (They did before.)

But shortly after doing the above, I noticed when making a cuppa that a pot was disturbed again. I lost some more of my kale. I put netting over the top, with the bamboo canes that were already in place, and this was now doing the job. But I was given a good tip in my last month's chit-chat post and that was chicken wire.

Later, just the week before this post was scheduled, My kale wasn't doing well in the end due to slugs, so I pulled them all out. 

I threw away the remaining packet of kale seeds and the other varieties of kale seeds I had, I gave away, as I have no plans using those next year. Some flowers are going in that pot next month.

I also lost all my carrots in the end too, after the cat decided to dig in that pot. All that time it didn't bother and then decided to dig around in there. 

Even if the cat hadn't digged in there, I don't think I would have got any carrots in the end. 

A lavender plant occupies that pot now, which is protected by chicken wire, until established.

I have also lost a small pot of marigold seedlings after it decided to have a go at digging in that pot because the others were covered in netting or chicken wire.

I am sick to death that I have had to cover my pots. That's not the view I want to see. So I am currently not enjoying my garden.

A couple of cats that are regularly seen in my garden, you would think they were mine. 

They are even using my garden border in places as a toilet. One being where I sprinkled seeds that look like they are never going to take hold because of how long ago that was. And definitely not now. So another lavender plant is there, knowing how they it will cover the ground.

One of the two cats I have seen that have been in my garden often, it's the smallest one that has been digging in my pots, because it was that one I saw one morning in the early hours, snooping around my netted pots.

I have bought a pack of two battery-operated cat repellers. They have good reviews and they do work as said because since I have started using one of these cat repellers, I have not had any further issues since.

I bought them from Primrose, which can be found here. So maybe I can enjoy my garden again.

My mint wasn't looking good, so I pulled it all out. So that leaves the marigolds if there's chance of any luck any later when time.

My lemon balm is doing well and I had my first lemon balm tea from it just a few days ago. Very nice it was. 😊

I have no intentions of growing anything else food wise in the garden, this year, than the strawberries and lemon balm already there. 

I have my Salad Leaves still inside my home growing, that I pick from and I have been growing cress as well. (Photos below of my Sorrel Red Veined salad leaves and Amaranth Red salad leaves which I have already taken some salad leaves off.)

Next year, I will get some garden ready marigolds if any pots need a helping hand where the seeds did not grow, as well as a few in the borders.

Here is another photo of my rose, with it's blooms. I am happy with this display and I smile when looking at it from my kitchen window. 

More blooms are on show since this photo was taken.

After enjoying that time of getting rid of furniture earlier this year that I blogged about, it was time to declutter a few other areas.

One being my old paperwork, now that I have a decent shredder that shreds it to very tiny bits. This was just one box to go through and shred that was no longer needed. But I didn't shred as much as I would have liked because the paperwork was not ten years or older. (I like to keep mine longer than the suggested time.)

The other was going through mum's belongings, which were her ornaments that she always said no to when I asked if she like any in her room. 

I always said I wouldn't do this while mum is alive. But she has always said no to them when I used to see her. Not that she would have enough room in her room for all of them. But I thought she may want one or two more at least. But no. She doesn't. 

I don't want them. And if I am to move in the next couple of years or more, I don't want more boxes being transferred than necessary. When I moved to where I currently live, my removal men had more boxes to move than ever before because of my mum's belongings and her paperwork. And that wasn't all the boxes, because my friend offered the back of his car to transport some.

I decided to pass on all my cross-stitching items to a friend.

I have given myself plenty of opportunities since not being a deputy for my mum's finances to get back into it. But I haven't. And since I am now focusing on my extra physical activities, I just know it ain't going to happen. 

Doing the above decluttering, in my eyes, it just had to be done. It's another step forward in this year of changes that I have been making.

• The Walking Dead season 11 

"Safelight," a 2016 film, which I watched on YouTube. 

And I watched a documentary called, "A Certain Kind of Death." 

I watched the documentary on YouTube after coming across the documentary there. But you can read more about the documentary here, which will take you to IMBd.

© "Liz's Onward Journey," by Elizabeth Fisher