Coffee and chocolate

miggy

Reposted from first page:

Stuff to save for:

(This post is intended to be added to from time to time and represents ideas not commitments).

Paying mortgage early - £275 p.a.
Replacing the electrics - 2,000?
An emergency fund - £500?
Driving lessons/car - £1,000?
Finish the double glazing - £750?
Decorate dining room - paint and 1 roll wallpaper? £20?
Dining room carpet
Kitchen flooring £40

miggy

Pinch punch, first of the month...

I thought the first of the month would be a good time to do list updates - long-term lists, that is; so Ani, you will be glad to know the cleaning stuff inventory, while ongoing (and shrunken) is not going on here! The same goes for short-term lists.

Today's list:
clean bathroom - bath/shower look okay, so does the sink, then I got distracted!
[STRIKE]visit mum[/STRIKE]
[STRIKE]gardening[/STRIKE]
[STRIKE]load dishwasher[/STRIKE]
laundry - [STRIKE]light colours[/STRIKE], [STRIKE]darks,[/STRIKE](First load of two)[STRIKE] reds,[/STRIKE] separate handwashes (green tee shirt, beaded items, DD's frind's borrowed jumper, underwires, red cardi, 3 bags, corset, 2 waistcoats, [STRIKE]duster[/STRIKE])
clean fish tank
[STRIKE]Put up pre-holiday jobs list[/STRIKE]
Clean fridge
[STRIKE]Piano practice[/STRIKE]
Buy present

Calling it a day at 10.30pm.

I will not go without saying, however - DS1 is WONDERFUL! He got all the washing in before the downpour started, rescued DH who was out without his car and told me he would have picked me up from Mum's if I'd let him know I needed a lift.

miggy

White rabbits.

I keep getting interupted; 2x 20 minute phone calls so the bathroom is still in a shambles, first load of washing is spinning so I will tackle that soon, I haven't had lunch yet, coffee was going cold...! I will edit the previous post (list) to add as I remember things, and if and when I have time, I have a couple of other lists to move to 'first of the month' slot.

Bad_Weather

MissShoes wrote: »

Your diary always makes me motivated Miggy- I must try harder!

MissShoes i agree 110%!

I said it on mine but i'll say it again...my god miggy you are good. I think im just going to read your diary whenever i feel lazy/need inspiration/need a telling off!

Keep up the good work boss!!! x :T

miggy

:o:o:o


Oh 'elp, I'm not sure I can cope with being a model of efficiency! Thank you for being so nice though! I'm really one of those people who are so laid back they fall over, and the lists help me not to ignore things, even to feel I have some element of control and best of all - I can show off when I actually do something!

I don't think I've ever finished every item on one in my life.

miggy

Originally post No. 23

I really haven't got far with this but the last year has been stressful and now that many of the stresses have gone I find I still haven't grown a decorating gene.

Another list for me to add to from time to time. This one is called

The Decorating List

kitchen repair paper over door (can't be done till leak from shower definitely no longer happening!) New lino?
lounge nothing urgent but a bit worn round the edges.
hall/stairs/landing repair paintwork on ceiling, paint door frames, repair back door
dining Room everything! This is one of the big ones. Needs money and is a logistical nightmare as requires shifting piano, storage heater, dinign table & chairs, computer corner, 20 gallon fish tank on stand, sideboard, bureau and far too many homeless books. Argh!
Carpet has now been removed and sample paper sellotaped up... er... that's all.
DS's room new flooring, other than that DS1 has done it. New flooring is very slowly getting done by DS.
our bedroom (sigh) would be nice... not too urgent but would be great to have it revamped, and to repair the missing mirror in the wardrobe door.
bathroom Can we solve spillage from shower?
(and while I'm thinking about the house) the garden just keep chipping away for now Thinking about a veg plot and a pond...
Exterior Need to replace one window.

miggy

I've made progress with mum's affairs today - only because some company rang me up: I should have rung them and forgot/have been putting it off.

She had one of those alert systems so she was attached to a monitoring station. Cost a lot though to be fair they were always there when needed and got help in when she had her fall (not because she used the emergency cord but because there was a pan smoking onthe stove which sset off the smoke detector).

Anyway for various reasons it's no longer appropriate so I took my courage in my hands and cancelled. Then I had a call back from the people to arrange to disconnect and it turns out they can adjust the equipment (which is hers and remains in the house) so there is an audible alarm - much more suited to present needs, and the adjustment seems to be free.

This saves her £600 in fees and an unknown amount in electricity and means I can safely cut off the phone line and charges (something that hadn't occured to me! )

I had been wondering why her house still uses so much electricity: now I'm considering whether the security system might be part of it.

Of course I now have to see whether other security is appropriate. I used to know a former burglar once: wonder if I dare ask?! :rotfl:(Joking).

Other than that I've had my piano lesson (£10, wish I'd practised more) and been pottering inthe garden.

miggy

Some spending to declare. Without the receipts in front of me I've approximated the figures.

£5 - paint for doorsteps
£4 - gift
£5 - 24 toilet rolls (offer at N*ttos)
£1 - 4 rolls kitchen paper (N*ttos again)
£2 - cleaning stuff - it's all starting to run out at once
79p - bread.
£3 - chicken things for tea

I'm starting to worry about the costs on holiday - we're going to the only place seemingly unaffected by the credit crunch! Not cheap at the best of times: I have to remind myself we do not have to do things that are too expensive. To be absolutely honest, nice though it is to be offered this opportunity, I don't remember being asked if I wanted to go. (Sulk, sorry). Next year it would be nice to put my foot down and say 'Cornwall, or we stay at home!' I've told DH that I don't want to jepordise our newly-found 'in the black' status.

How much of this is just me getting my annual attack of hating going away, I don't know. That's undoubtedly part of it.

Other than that I've transferred some plants to a big pot next to the door, moved a couple of the weedy leeks to a pot of their own and turned over the top layer of compost. All progress. Dh harvested the first of the blackberries. There are also two things which I forgot to record yesterday: I found that a container with a drop of water in the garden had become home to three frogs and two toads, and I wombled a couple of receipts - half thought of saving them towards the mortgage but I might just aim to pay say £30 if we still have that in credit by the time the next lot of wages goes in. Much simpler.

ani_26

miggy wrote: »

White rabbits.

I keep getting interupted; 2x 20 minute phone calls so the bathroom is still in a shambles, first load of washing is spinning so I will tackle that soon, I haven't had lunch yet, coffee was going cold...! I will edit the previous post (list) to add as I remember things, and if and when I have time, I have a couple of other lists to move to 'first of the month' slot.

A bit late at 12.25pm. I hope you said it as soon as you got up, as many times as you can , as fast as you can.

Old superstitions die hard, and a throwback to childhood

miggy

I never worked out why people say it, Ani. It was one of those things that was different when I lived down south (oops, dahn sarf) which I'd never come across in Lancashire.

A hot sticky day to go on a training course. We got through everything by 1pm though so here I am at home again and have got the rest of the summer clothes out of the loft.

I discovered a couple of other things while I was up there: the plaster under the slates is coming off in considerable quantities so we probably need to Do Something About It before winter, though not today, it's sweltering up there. I also found the breadmaker - strictly it's mum's, lent to me. When I told her it was broken (as in 'May I throw it out?') she told me it needed to be taken to the mender's. The trouble is, the thermostat needs to be replaced and the mixing mechanism is dodgy and has been fixed once already. Basically I think it's not a very good machine and I'm not going to waste money repairing it when I can make bread by hand.

But how often do I do that, even though it's MS? And when I do, I eat too much and gain weight.

I wonder if I dare take it to bits myself and see if there's anything I can do? If there is I could get the electrics checked and use it again. If I wreck it, well, I won't have lost much will I?

Can you spot the kid who used to take her watch to pieces to see how it worked?! I'm amazed I never broke it as I don't have much mechanical aptitude. And do I ever learn?