Taking my finger off the self-destruct button

beanielou

Wow, you havent bought chocolate for 8 days

mrscmr

hi wordsmith
hope you dont mind me popping in..? i was reading through ur diary and am fascinated! goats, buttock clenching... wow!
i wish you the very best of luck - you sound like you are mentally prepared for the journey!
i think that you will get lots of help and support on here!
have great weekend!
mrscmr

EssexHebridean

Hey Wordsmith - good luck for your challenges ahead. Donkeys are lovely, I take it the idea of getting the donkey and a goat would be for them to be companion animals for one another? I don't know about goats, but you can't really have a donk on it's own as they are sociable beasts and get lonely....

Re the woodworm - are you certain that it's not just old damage? Woodworm are actually very loud, and it would be surprising if your tenants hadn't heard them if they're still active! If they're not, then it may well be that the timber is as strong now as it ever was and doesn't need replacing. Fingers crossed!

lucielle

Didn't want ot read and run. Hope the debt busting, client finding and not eating/buying chocolate goes well.
L

Wordsmith

Thank you for popping by everyone. It is truly lovely of you to read and comment.

I have been working in the shop all day, so nothing much of note. I missed out on a fiver after it took me about 15 minutes to get into an industrial-sized tin of corned beef - you'd think that by now they'd have come up with a foolproof way of opening a tin instead of that silly key thing ... we had to attack it with the bolt cutters in the end - and the lady I was opening it for tried to give me a note "for my trouble". Bless. Having a fiver dangled in front of me was very tempting, but I'm glad to say I have some shreds of decency left and instead of snatching it out of her fingers I said, don't be silly, it's my job ... which it is, of course, but still, a fiver ...

Day 10 of not buying a chocolate bar! If you are counting, yesterday was day 8 so today should be day 9, but - amazingly, since it is such a big deal for me - I miscounted and it has now been 10 days. TEN! It is torture working in a shop as three out of four people buy chocolate (and I have to say it is a comfort to find out that it is not just me, as I used to think, that spends ages deliberating over which one to get, and also often not being able to get just the one) and the till is just inches away from the Mars Bars, and the Twixs and, and everything yummy. I am putting €1 in a pot each day that I don't succumb, which is quite motivating. Reducing some of my bulk would also be quite motivating, but I'm afraid I have to report that although I am not spending on chocolate, I haven't actually managed to stop eating it. I'm not stealing it (just for the record), but today, for example, a pile of Echo bars were found to be out of date. Oh, joy. Oh, thank you God. I can't bear to throw food in the bin, so I put some of them on sale at half price and some found their way to under the counter ... and then to on top of the counter ... and from there into my mouth to make a bee-line for my hips.

Also on a plus note, I made 10c street earnings.

Re donkeys and goats EssexHebridean, no, definitely wouldn't keep one on its own. I don't think it's fair for any animal to be on its own - that's partly why I haven't brougt Godfrey the goose over as he would miss his harem of hens. He thinks he protects them, but I was once watching as he got too close to some bantam chicks and the little mother hen chased him all down the garden. Bit of a dent to the poor boy's ego. I have just the one dog at the moment, but I or favoured friend are with her nearly all the time. Would love another dog to keep her company. She is a bit of a tart, though, and will happily go off with anybody - there's none of that loyalty that you hear of other dogs having.

I have rather put thoughts of woodworm onto a back boiler since the tenants seem to have stopped making noises about them. I know I will have to get it looked at at some point, and hopefully you are right and they are old - although the tenants did say the boards were crumbling and I am sure they weren't last time I looked (not that I have made too much of a habit of inspecting the timbers), but it is not a priority at the moment. Whereas finding the money to pay for the roof repairs is ... Builder hasn't sent me his bill yet, for which I am mightily grateful, but somehow I think that is just poor administration on his behalf rather than him having a change of heart and deciding not to charge me.

Wordsmith

Still not bought any chocolate. Still found ways of eating it ...

I have been working hard and have sent out a couple of invoices. It will be about five weeks before they are paid, though. There is just so much more to pay out than is coming in. I have plenty of work for a couple of weeks, so of course I am thankful for that, but (sorry) there are just not enough hours in the day.

I still have to organise doctor/dentist/optician - health really ought to be the priority, and if I were talking to someone else I would be beating them over the head to get them to see this. I do know it, but (sorry) not only is it finding the time (dentist and optician are both nearly an hour's drive away) but it is also the money, even for the doctor (you have to pay about €45 to visit I think, plus any treatment). And what also worries me is I have no health insurance, which would cost around €40 a week (not quite sure of this, but anything over a fiver would be disastrous). If I go to the doc and find I have to have some treatment, I then won't be able to get insurance and if I don't have insurance I won't be able to afford the treatment. And what if I have a car accident or appendicitis or something? Then I really am up the creek. So, I have just talked myself into making health insurance a priority. Now to work out how to pay for it ...

Worked in the shop all day Sunday and on Monday afternoon. Nothing of note there except a youngish man came in and asked for masking tape. We went and looked on the shelf and there was none there, so he picked up some insulation tape instead and said that would do. Even I know that masking tape and insulation tape are not used for the same things and when I tentatively mentioned this, he said, "Oh, it doesn't really matter, I just want it for keeping my socks up."

I have another expense. I went to check on my caravan and one of the windows was smashed. I think it was by "natural causes" rather than malice, but whatever I do need to get it replaced. Boss man gave me some corrogated plastic to use to cover it up - it was a very large square and the first problem I had was getting it into my car. The second problem I had was getting it out again. Now, I am the least practical person ever to have walked this planet. There was no way I could get that board to stay up. So I tried bin bags, but for the first time ever I managed to buy some that tapered towards the bottom and in any case they weren't long enough, and the tape I was trying to hold them up with kept getting tangled, and they were a bit flimsy. The dog doesn't like me swearing, so she hid under the table. In the end I took down the shower curtain (after all, since I have no hot water at the moment, I won't be needing it for a while) and used that to cover the hole. I have no idea whether that will do any good, but at least I felt as though I did something. For the millionth time I wondered what I am doing here - then I breathed in the (wet) fresh air and listened to the silence and was glad that I am. Would be a whole lot gladder though if I had no debt and a house I could live in.

On an unplus note - I didn't make any street earnings yesterday, so I have to go walking the streets sometime today to try to make up.

Onwards ...

EssexHebridean

Wordsmith wrote: »

Worked in the shop all day Sunday and on Monday afternoon. Nothing of note there except a youngish man came in and asked for masking tape. We went and looked on the shelf and there was none there, so he picked up some insulation tape instead and said that would do. Even I know that masking tape and insulation tape are not used for the same things and when I tentatively mentioned this, he said, "Oh, it doesn't really matter, I just want it for keeping my socks up."

LOL - he'll have been a rugby player then I expect! My OH and most of the lads use insulating tape for their socks and gaffer tape over their boot lacings!

Sounds like you're still doing well - well done on the not buying chocolate thing - just need to turn your mind to the not eating it thing now?! :rotfl:

savingholmes

Wordsmith - glad you are still enjoying the tranquility. I'm afraid I prefer comfier surroundings!

PS I too am a chocoholic...

Seaxwyn

Hello Wordsmith! This is the first time I've found your diary, I will be a regular reader now!

I'll read about your shop exploits with nostalgic envy now that my 'portfolio career' is changing a bit. I must be the only DFW who can take chocolate or leave it. In a whole year of working in the sweetshop, there has only been one occasion when I felt tempted by the chocolate. Crisps are more tempting for me, but luckily they are out of sight behind the birthday cards.

urg123

Hi Wordsmith

I completely recognise my own life when you said despite having given up buying chocolate, you still manage to get it. I have not bought chocolate since I started the 100 challenge but I still find ways to get it. Yesterday I found the nutella jar!

Good luck with reaching your goals.

urg x x