Tete en l’Air’s Feet On The Ground Diary

Tete_en_l'Air

Haha, no I wish! I think I've finished one book so far this year, and I started that in about October last year! No, I have 183 books on my shelves, 88 read, 95 still to read! It's for the 'I will not buy any new books until I've read all the ones on my to read pile' challenge!

Birdie85

95 books still to read? Blimey, best get a crack on! I thought my to read pile was big!

I sent an e-mail to a dress shop in America last week asking if they'd be able to hold onto a dress for me so my Mum could pick it up when she goes in May and they've replied saying they can't do that but apologsing for the incontinence! I keep giggling about it, how stupid do you want to get?! I really want to reply with a funny comment but not sure what!

Tete_en_l'Air

I wouldn't want a dress from there if I were you after that comment!!

Yep 95 to read. Hopefully 94 after tonight, then I'm aiming to have read The Amber Spyglass by the time I go to Italy so I can take a thinner book with me, then the aim is to quickly read lots of thin books to make a bit of headway!!

Birdie85

I don't think I do either! May look elsewhere!

When I want to work on my book pile I look for the thin books too! It's not always about what I fancy reading but what will be finished the soonest so I can get rid of it! I've stopped battling on through with difficult/rubbish books too, I've gotten rid of so many half read books recently it's mad! I say that I read for fun so if I'm not enjoying something I shouldn't persevere with it for the sake of saying that I finished it!

Lara44

LOL @ incontinence!!! Impressive challenges ladies. I just read my book club book each month and nothing else - well apart from uni reading

poddle911

Blimey, you were very thorough Tete! That's v g to know though - OH and I like a trample up Devil's Dyke and I was super excited to get a microfleece and lightweight waterproof before safari so I'd like to get some wear out of them!

But when am I going to find the time when I've got shedloads of books to read too! Lara, I've been supremely bad at reading my book club books recently - we're working our way through the Booker shortlist and they're all big !!!!!!s!

I too am LOLing at the incontinent dress shop I was talking to someone the other day who has a very posh and equally barmy old auntie and if she can't remember a word, she just substitutes it with one that sounds similar even if it doesn't mean the same. She thinks it's their problem if people don't understand her :rotfl:

wendz86

You do have an impressive amount in your ISA! The money I did have has all gone now to pay towards flat deposit and then when we get the old deposit back that is going on furniture. It is depressing spending savings but good what you get for it.

I don't have a 'to read' book pile. I read any books I have within about a couple of days so never build them up. Need to get a new book to read on the tube actually.

Tete_en_l'Air

See Wendz, since I started driving to work instead of getting the bus I read SO much less - it's worth it though haha!

LOVE the sound of the barmy auntie :rotfl::rotfl:

I've had a bit of a spend at dinnertime 2 posh oven gloves = £8 and 2 pairs of jeans = £31.50, so not too bad. I'm in desperate need of jeans after losing that stone as all mine are baggy in the bum area now :eek: - one pair is skinny though so might be going back depending how I feel in them later!! So that's it, need to be very good for the rest of the month - so much for doing OK with money!

Dinah93

Tete_en_l'Air wrote: »

Went to the bank and drew £2,200 out of my ISA, leaving £7,060 in it. I would have taken an extra £50 but I felt all flustered when I was in there with OH hissing "Don't be too loud when you say how much you want!" in my ear (his world is full of demons and robbers whereas mine of full of fluffy bunnies and rainbows!) - I had to ask how much I had exactly and couldn't hear her when she said, and it all seemed a bit rushed for - for me - such a big transaction! Sigh. Anyway. Going to take Friday off this week and possibly pop and see a couple of cars I've seen on Autotrader. One I really like though is £2k which won't leave much left over for the old MOF but we'll see what happens.

£2k isn't bad really, I've been trying to think of a way to phrase this without sounding anti feminist but I can't so - do you know how to properly check the engine/suspension etc on a car or will you be taking your OH with you? Even on the 3 year old cars there can be a lot of variation, some of them even have water in the engine and the garages just hope you won't notice, so I'm sure you wouldn't, but don't be won over by a pretty colour or interior or anything, and make sure its the right car mechanically too

Tete_en_l'Air wrote: »

Haha Swinstie, we were just laughing at some people yesterday - out on the Moors with a pushchair! In fairness I don't think they were going very far but they still looked funny! Ooh in Scotland you'll have loads of lovely places to go! To be honest I've spent a fortune on walking stuff and it's definitely worth it if you enjoy it because once you've got the kit it's just the cost of petrol and your packed lunch for a day out.

Most important is a good pair of boots - not shoes, you need to support your ankles. My first pair were Karrimor which is an OK brand, I got them for about £25 in a discount sports shop, once I got into it though I wanted a better pair, fully leather and waterproof and got some Brasher boots for £60 in TK Maxx. Good thick walking socks are also essential, normal socks have a tendency to rub, £10 for a pair of socks is a good investment :eek:

Waterproofs - essential because even if it's a nice day at home, once you get up in the hills/moors it's a completely different weather system. if you're only starting out a pac a mac might do you but once you start going more seriously you'll want a proper waterproof jacket and even some deluge trousers (waterproofs which have poppers all up the legs so you can quickly throw them on over your trousers) - I've never used mine since I bought them but got caught out in the Lakes without them once and had to drive all the way home in soaking trousers, was horrible.

Any trousers will do you, just make sure they're comfy and allow you to move - jeans aren't advised because if you get caught in a shower they take ages to dry!

It's important to have layers so you can add or take away depending on how cold it is or how hot you get! I wear a sports bra (it really makes a difference even just walking), a breathable t-shirt (from walking shops) and have a variety of tops - I have a thin zip top which just keeps the cold air off when you're warm from walking, a 'windwall' fleece which has special windproof technology and is a bit thicker, but not fleecy inside as this will make you sweat, and my waterproof jacket which is really thin. I mix and match these top three dependiong on the weather.

Erm, what else? Sunscreen definitely! And insect repellent for walk in the woods, not such a problem on mountains and stuff. Tie your hair up and/or use a hairband as it's always windy, sunglasses helps this as well. Lipbalm. Tissues are a definite - my nose always runs once I get going, I think it's to do with your body heating up! Camera! Mobile. A decent map if you're going off the beaten track - the OS Expolrer maps are what we use, alongside instructions for walks we find online. A good map is invaluable - we once went about 2 miles off course on the way down from Scafell and only noticed because we noticed the shape of a particular tarn was replicated on the map - if we'd carried on we'd have ended up about 20 miles from the car!

What else? I always take plasters in case shoes do end up rubbing, baby wipes or antibacterial gel. Plenty of water and food Some sort of hat, even a light one on summer, to cover protect your ears from the wind. Gloves if it's remotely cold, though I often find my hands are warm from the exercise anyway. OH also has one of those silver shock blankets and some glow sticks haha, but I hope we never have to use either of them!!

Obviously you'll need a bag to carry stuff in too and if you're serious about it you'll benefit from looking at proper walking bags with padded straps, and chest straps to distribute the weight and which sit away from your back a bit to stop you sweating!

That sounds like a lot of stuff and it is a bit full on, but we do do long walks in quite isolated areas/up mountains etc and because it's a long term hobby for us I'm happy to spend the money and be comfortable. If you're just looking into it for now I'd say try and get yourself some cheap boots like I did, a kagoul and a little haversack to carry stuff in, and maybe do some well trodden easy to follow walks and see how you get on!

Sorry for the 'rambling' (arf) post, hope you get into it and enjoy it, definitely beat schlepping round the high street of a Saturday!

ETA - gosh that's long!

You forgot the most important bit - fruit pastilles! I hate them normally, but on a long walk in the rain they can be the only thing that keeps me going! This post made me sad actually, all weekend I've been desperate to go walking, been perfect weather for it, kept thinking of that lovely tarn near Grassmere and then popping in at the gingerbread shop on the way back down! NIM made us a picnic in the garden and pretended the bunnies were wildlife, but it wasn't the same

Sounds like you're very sorted with the money, maybe give yourself a small £50 budget for some new bits for Italy?

Tete_en_l'Air

Aww, sorry Have you started Physio yet? We're worried actually that we won't be able to get over to the Lakes as much as we'd like because of petrol prices this year Gingerbread shop is good I agree, Grasmere was one of the first days out OH and I had together, happy memories Never tried the fruit pastilles while out thanks for the tip!

Don't worry, both Dad and/or OH will be coming to look at cars and possibly even test drive them for me, as I won't know if something 'feels' odd on a new car, mine's the only one I've ever driven.

Hmm, thinking I only really fancy a nice French blue and white stripy top to take with me to be honest, now I have some jeans, and possibly a little tea dress or something. I might actually take the skirt I made...!