greent's mfw journey

Watty1

Catching up ...phew and great news re Sister.

brizzlegirl

Hope alls ok with you greent, know there’s a lot on in RL, hope it’s all good

Tahlullah

Hi GreenT, how is your sister? Hope all is good?

Moneyfordreams

Best wishes to all Greent

brizzlegirl

Hi greent....hoping all is ok with you and yours. Suspecting it’s not but thinking of you...

X

greent

Thanks everyone xx

Phew! - that was a bit of an absence - partly down to being busy, partly self-imposed because I was spending too much time on here - I'd read all the diaries I follow, look for anything interesting and then still womble aimlessly around wasting time, logging in far too many times every day....

Anyway, what has the past 6/7 weeks brought.... (in a quick version)

DD's graduation was a lovely day - weather was just right - dry and warm but not hot. Lots of walking around Cardiff, so I was in a flowery frock and purple trainers for much of the time! :rotfl: We met up with DD's boyfriend and his parents (he was also graduating same day/ same time - they did similar degrees) and, after the ceremony we all went and had lunch together DS1 was in charge of taking/ collecting DS3 from school and also evening activities - we ended up getting back around 8pm, I think. Was a long day, but lovely Some prior research meant we had city centre parking all day long for £10 -which I thought was an absolute bargain! :T

DS3 broke up from school the day after graduation, so it's been Summer hols for all of them since then

We did a short 5 day break a couple of weeks ago to Cent3r p@rcs Woburn again - just what people needed

DD has been back and forward to Cardiff several times (she's been there again this week) - she and boyf meet up in their flat as a sort of mid-point. She's met up with friends there and also here met up with school friends DS1 has been to his uni city once for a few days, too - and also had some of his uni mates from various places around the country here for a weekend, which was lovely He's also been out with school friends a few times - which is great

My Nan's deputyship order had just been granted last time I was on - that has kept me hugely busy over the holidays with a couple of meetings, lots of letters/ calls/ emails notifying people, selling things from her house and trying to arrange a collection of remaining furniture items. My mum has been sorting the garden (was a terribly sad mess - my Nan would have been devastated - she loved her garden) and keeping records of it all - it's worked out around minimum 20 hours/ week, some weeks up to about 40! - am hoping it quietens down significantly when the house is empty/ clean and on the market (let's not forget that my mum has 4 living siblings, too - none of them are remotely interested in sorting any of it.... - grrrr)

I've also spent around 25 hours helping friends with LPA paperwork/ choosing a home/ what things they can apply for..... clearly I have nothing else to do....

Sister is …. ok.... ish….. Whilst no physical limitations post-stroke (excluding extreme tiredness and memory fog and forgetting some words) the psychological effects are huge - and having a toddler as well makes it hard. Her mum is almost killing herself looking after them - she is beyond exhausted. There has even been some mention (by professionals) that she may not be able to return to teaching at all.....

The biggest news in our house is that OH has a new job - a 'proper' permanent ft one! Ok, the commute is an hour each way, but it's no staying away (other than occasional trips - HO is in the SE) His last day as a s/e contractor was yesterday and he starts his new role on Weds 4th Sept (compromise - they wanted Mon 2nd, he wanted Mon 9th) It's going to be very weird for all of us...……!!!!!!:eek::eek: This has also meant more paperwork in getting things up straight (and last minute purchases through the limited co!) and we are likely to close co at the end of the year (We'll have to start paying all the mobile bills - argh!!!) I think it'll be a couple of months (at least!) until we've got a proper handle on the finances as a result.

Finances - hmm - s'pose I should mention those..... - BTL mtge still reducing very slowly (just using rent for OPs, but have had a couple of small expenses along the way) OH has agreed with my latest plan for this - pay it off (or as near as damn it) over next few years and then sell it and buy a nicer (ie: newer, less maintenance, attracts family-based tenants) property - we will need a mortgage as it will be more expensive than current BTL and we'll incur fees, higher stamp duty etc, but the current BTL has some issues which are intrinsic to how it was built/ what it is constructed from and it's never going to be trouble free without spending an absolute fortune - but also the properties next to it would need to be done for optimum results - and that's really not going to happen... This way we still keep a BTL (so an asset) and have an income from it (although minimal whilst we pay of the mtge) - as OH will have been in his job for a few years by then (and we will not be supporting at least 1 of the children by then (DS1 may do another post grad degree, so he'll still be costing us!)) we should get a (relatively small) mtge on a BTL ok - fingers crossed! I know all BTLs will have work required at points, but the current one is troublesome, and I can't see it getting better anytime soon.

Florida..... fund is still growing (albeit slowly over the holiday period) - currently at £10.2K and we are looking to book flights within the next few weeks (waiting for them to be released) - once they are booked we can book accom, cars etc

Not promising to be on here much for remaining school hols (both smalls back by Weds 4th) - and I have a LOT of catching up to do on here, too! - hope all are well xx

Karmacat

An update :j and nothing new that's dire has happened :j
Quite a few pieces of direness continuing, of course, as it does, and you certainly sound rushed off your feet, and wow, congratulations to OH, that really is a big change.

apple_muncher

Karmacat wrote: »

An update :j and nothing new that's dire has happened :j
Quite a few pieces of direness continuing, of course, as it does, and you certainly sound rushed off your feet, and wow, congratulations to OH, that really is a big change.

Perfectly put!


Will be interesting how you all manage with dh being under your feet...!

newgirly

Hi greent, just caught up with your diary, so much has been going on. Sorry to hear about your sister that must have been such a shock, good news that she is recovering though.

Congrats to your dh on the new job and to your Dd on her graduation :T

CathT

All very busy and lots of changes for you coming up. The BTL idea sounds sensible and that Florida fund isn't doing too badly either. Hopefully life will calm down a little soon, so much going on for you.