Further financial faux pas and even more disasterous decisions

moo2moo

OHs boss is a plank. Of course theres always more to this than moeny and in this case its speed too. The untrained gimp is availalbe immediately whereas the experienced peoples all have 3 month clauses written into their contracts. Of course had his boss started looking for someone two years ago when the last person left this wouldn't have been an issue but having left it to the very last minute hes now panicking just a bit, especially since the zitty teen has yet to decide one way or the other and the reply time he gave to all the other candidates has expired so they'll all assume they've been rejected but the company hasn't the courtesy to tell them that. OH is already a walking time bomb. Things aren't going to be pretty at work this week, at least he only has two days of this shift run to go.

Didn't manage to get outside at all yesterday, when it did eventually stop raining the giant puddles and waterlogged ground prevented anything useful from happening so stayed indoors doing the washing hokey cokey in between vacuuming upstairs and cleaning the bathroom. OH was adamant that we were going shopping but DD1 helpfully reminded him of his promise to build a bird house and so the pair of them spent the afternoon in his shed out of my hair. The end result is most impressive.

DD2 and I decided to bake random things simply because the oven was on for dinner. Ended up making v. tasty sesame topped bread rolls for tomorrows lunch and choc-chip banana muffins with the manky bananas generating lots and lots of mess in the process but having an awful lot of fun too.

Ended up getting up three times during the night again so that the elderly hound could have a drink and go to the loo. Think this is a fairly major indication that her kidneys are on their last legs which hasn't come as a surprise as the medication shes on to kickstart them is supposed to shorten her life quite considerably although since I was told that at least three years ago It doesn't seem to have shortened it at all since she'll be at least 17 this summer which is about 5 years longer than the average lifespan of a large dog. Will still come as a shock when it eventually happens especially as theres nothing else obviously wrong with her.

Plans for today involve clearing up the carnage at school that results from emptying the hall for the decorators. Most of the corridors are blocked with furniture but its all huge stuff needing two people to move it. Also need to mug another pair of hands to put the curtains back and then start shifting stuff ready for the hall to be used again. Also need to suggest to the PE teacher that basketball goes on outside after discovering two keys bent or snapped in locks as well as damaged light fittings.

After that I have an invite to a friends for a cuppa and need to visit the upholsterers to collect the last of the furniture and the invoice. Not a clue what I'll end up doing after that, I'd quite like a day filled with nothingness to recharge after a fairly hectic week. Need to bung a pile of stuff for the clothes recyclers in a bag and could really do with evicting some of the tat from the tardis under the stairs because I'm struggling to shut the door. No doubt that will occupy a large chunk of day.

chevalier

moo2moo wrote: »

OHs boss is a plank. Why doesn't this surprise me?

Of course theres always more to this than moeny and in this case its speed too. The untrained gimp is availalbe immediately whereas the experienced peoples all have 3 month clauses written into their contracts. does this apply to OH leaving as well? Could they endure 3 months without someone to get one of the trained people. Is it even worth OH talking to boss about this? Or go over his head?

Of course had his boss started looking for someone two years ago when the last person left this wouldn't have been an issue but having left it to the very last minute hes now panicking just a bit, especially since the zitty teen has yet to decide one way or the other and the reply time he gave to all the other candidates has expired so they'll all assume they've been rejected but the company hasn't the courtesy to tell them that. oh dear what a flippin mess.

OH is already a walking time bomb. Things aren't going to be pretty at work this week, at least he only has two days of this shift run to go. Does that mean that things aren't pretty at home as well? Sorry if this is the case.

OH was adamant that we were going shopping but DD1 helpfully reminded him of his promise to build a bird house and so the pair of them spent the afternoon in his shed out of my hair. The end result is most impressive. Nice one DD1! good for him to spend time with them.

Ended up getting up three times during the night again so that the elderly hound could have a drink and go to the loo. Think this is a fairly major indication that her kidneys are on their last legs which hasn't come as a surprise as the medication shes on to kickstart them is supposed to shorten her life quite considerably although since I was told that at least three years ago It doesn't seem to have shortened it at all since she'll be at least 17 this summer which is about 5 years longer than the average lifespan of a large dog. Will still come as a shock when it eventually happens especially as theres nothing else obviously wrong with her. So sorry to hear this. Have you prepared the DD's for her passing. I would imagine that they will be very upset when she goes as she has been there their entire lives. And I am sure you will be upset as well:(

Plans for today involve clearing up the carnage at school that results from emptying the hall for the decorators. Most of the corridors are blocked with furniture but its all huge stuff needing two people to move it. Also need to mug another pair of hands to put the curtains back and then start shifting stuff ready for the hall to be used again. Also need to suggest to the PE teacher that basketball goes on outside after discovering two keys bent or snapped in locks as well as damaged light fittings. v

I think i need a sit down just looking at your list! My plans have been derailed by DS1 being sick today. ho hum
che

moo2moo

3 months notice is standard in the industry as it can take 6 weeks just to get the paperwork together to be allowed to drive the company car the 30 feet from the office to the place where the work gets carried out. Work is manic for 6 months of the year and then dead for 6 months problem being that even the trained people will take 3-6 months of on the job training before they're classed as competent enough to be allowed to do things without a babysitter. Things are that busy that they can't spare anyone to babysit and the risk is that in taking the time to babysit they'll miss deadlines or make mistakes as some working windows are 45 minutes in length to do a job that should take an hour if all goes well, and frequently it doesn't.

More interestingly OHs boss has decreed that another new contract is under negotiation and will be decided on Friday, if it gets the go-ahead then work will increase by around a third so he'll be offering a job to one of the opeople that he hasn't turned down despite the 3 month notice period and the new contract starting in 4 weeks. Hope you're keeping up with this. OHs boss's boss and the HR people and the UK management and the European management all know whats going on but won't be doing anything since on paper they're overmanned.

The stress of this carries over into home life as do the constant phone calls from work to the point where OH doesn't answer his phone but that doesn't stop it ringing.

The not quite dead dog has perked up again. Seems shes had tummy ache as a result of the cat playing football with a lump of pork crackling which the greedy cow swalloed without chewing. It was evicted with a foul smelling wet sounding splat onto the bedroom carpet around 2am. Shes been much waggier since. THe DDs are used to animals dying, sheep fall over and die at random all the time and we've lost enough chickens to foxes, hawks, dogs and old age that its always a shock but as in the case of the chinchillas a great excuse for a funeral in the garden followed by a post burial BBQ. Think OH will find it harder to cope with than the rest of us.

I am a heartless biatch as far as death goes. Its one of those things, sometimes its sudden, mostly its expected and because its time to go. Theres no point moping over someone whos had a great life when everyone elses life carries on regardless. This appears to have rubbed off on the DDs who find deaths an excuse to celebrate a life well lived and are rather bemused when OH bursts into tears.

ps. Hope DS1 is feeling better today Chev.

moo2moo

So yesterday flew by in a veritable whirlwind. Managed to vac and wash the car, fill a wheelie bin with rampaging ivy, much out the chickens, poopascoop the lawn, whip through three loads of laundry and attempt a mini tidy of the kitchen. Returned to school and rearranged most of the classroom furniture in the hopes of cramming the entire school plus a lot of parents and grandparents into the hall for todays Eisteddfod. Am rather glad I don't have to endure it and can escape v. early as there will be people everywhere. Must remember to refill the loo paper dispensers before running away as fast as my little legs can carry me.

Hoping to get something nice done outdoors today even if its only digging over a couple of beds in anticipation of planting something much later in the year. May also tackle the v. ugly elm tree in the hopes that OH will agree to dispatching of it before the roots start to do some serious damage to retaining walls - this will also stop it sucking all the moisture out of my vegetable patch which is equally good, although not if you're the lob-sided elm tree in question.

thrifty_fifty

Morning Moo

Sounds like you had a very productive day. I think I need to come and kidnap you and set you on around my place.

Have a super day.

MrsMoo2U

Morning Moo.
Glad the "old" dog has perked up. love your philosophy on death. It is so right to celebrate a life but moping is not what I would want anybody to do for me. I do think growing up with animals helps to understand the nature of life.

moo2moo

It is gloriously sunny out if a tad on the nippy side. Not entirely convinced its warm enough to dry the washing but I'm going to give it a go. Will be nice not to have to spend an evening staring at the airers.

Have liberated a couple of things from the bowels of the freezer to go with the remains of Sundays roast dinner. Hoping that with a little perserverence I can stick to £50 a week as a shopping budget. The nice people at Ocado are certainly helping by consistently sending me 15% and 20% off vouchers providing I shop within a given 24 hour period, that coupled with the v. rare 99p delivery slots and the infinately superior meats on offer means OH is a happy chappy and I get to avoid shoving a trolley round a supermarket for another week. The added bonus of Mysupermarket.com and iponts means I can also make sure I don't end up paying over the odds rather than trying to guess if it would actually have been cheaper elsewhere.

moo2moo

Finished work before dark yesterday which was doubly good. Firstly because the evenings are getting lighter and secondly because I sloped off a tad earlier than normal thanks to discovering the entire school had been in the hall all day so their classrooms didn't need cleaning which is always a result. Didn't have any energy at all when I got home but am putting that down to spending most of the day outside reducing the number of limbs on the tree. Have a few more v. long branches overhanging sheds and fences to shorten before I can risk the chainsaw. One of the neighbours helpfully pointed out that they've got half a dozen dead trees in their garden that need removing and suggested I might like to do it when I get chance in return for the wood but her OH is adament that they'll just wait until they become unstable in the wind and then deal with them. At least theres no chance of them doing any damage to us if they fall in this direction.

Cheated and bunged all my hand washing through the machine on a silk wash thus revealing the bottom of the laundry basket. Am planning to strip the beds and wash the bedding today and then hopefully avoid doing any more washing until the great uniform wash at the weekend.

Priced up lots of stuff on mysupermarket.com discovering some quite stupendous variation in prices between the various supermarkets. Will be venturing to both Mr As and Mr Ts at some point this week to purchase spices and wot not for Spiced Carrot and Garlic Chutney. Have also decided to blow a wodge of cash on a proper preserving pan rather than the suffering our usual monday mornig palava where we get halfway to school and remember we've left schools pan in the house. Obviously being a cheapskate I'm now keeping an eye on fleabay for a sensibly priced second hand one. We're going to go with homemade hampers for Christmas this year because its far more fun and infinately less stressful than trying to figure out what to get everyone, plus its an excuse to make loads of different jams and chutneys with whatever I can get my hands on. May also consider attempting to sell the surplus via the Country Market, thats assuming we don't eat it all!

Spent a couple of hours laying paving yesterday, anticipate the same again today. OH is likely to be in a really grotty mood as hes undergoing his company medical today. Am expecting them to tell him hes gained 2-3 stone since last year and hopefully read him the riot act. Nothing I've poi ted out seems to make any difference so perhaps hearing it from someone else will, then again perhaps not.

butler_helen

Morning moo! I do love my morning read of your diary:) I'm not sure what I'd do if you got up after me... I'd have a very dull train ride. If it helps, my local charity shop often gets pans but don't have space - give a few a ring and see if they're hiding any.

MrsMoo2U

like the sound of the homemade hampers, I had intentions of that last year but ran out of time. Will try to be more organised this year. Love teh sound of the garlic and carrot chutney.