Mooloo's New Home, New Year and New Start part 3

Jo4

Hope yous enjoy your holidays! You'll be back from your holidays the day after I go on mine!

Molly41

Mooloo and DGD will have landed by now and hopefully settled in and enjoying the sun x

Molly41

Really missed Mooloo and DGD whilst they have been away. It has felt like an age but hope you have both had a good time and a good rest x

MrsAtobe

Hugs for you, Molly41.

Hope you had a wonderful holiday, Mooloo and DGD!

Molly41

Mooloo is home today :T:T:T

Savvy_sewing

Hi, we are safely back and all in one piece so to speak.
We had a fantastic holiday and DGD said a big thankyou to my BF for her lovely holiday without any prompting from me. (Not that he paid for it all, but thats beside the point.). He was brilliant, but firm with her.
I have a budding olympic swimmer or diver I think. She has really had no fear in the sea or the pools and was, with armbands swimming around in the big pool yesterday, with her face underwater, holding her breath, even opening her eyes under water! better then me, I hate that.
I have a few moments of it on video for posterity.
We saw real live dolphins in the wild, just out from the beach following some boats. Leaping and jumping around. She was thrilled, and then we saw them again close up at the Zoomarine, where we also saw syncronized swimmers with the dolphins, and then later we saw High divers, jumping off of 26metre diving boards. Scarey! Never seen that one before.
We saw sharks, and skates, and octopus, so many things even alegators! She was in her element.
The weather was a bit iffy to start with, we had thunderstorms on the first two days, I think it was, but she just carried on swimming in the rain, and later she was splashing around and dancing in the puddles for us!.
We self catered, so stocked up in Lidl as we arrived from the airport. Before we got to the hotel. Then visited again twice more. But the kitchen was well equiped and the food lasted us quite well. Bread didnt last very long, so we had lots of toast at breakfast.
We did eat in the restaurant the night before last, and I believe BF said today that when he checked out they didnt charge us for it!. OOps.
We also ate out at a restaurant in the marina last night, quite late we were, it was around 10.30 before we actually got our meal. DGD had had a few hours sleep in the evening, so she was not grotty or anything. She behaved very well. But she does talk alot and BF hadnt realised how much.
His first words to his daughter on our return was that next time he would take her with us, so that he could give his ears a rest!! Now he knows what my days are like and why I put her into nursery, even when I have to pay for it!.
The flights were with ryanair, and they were both on time, if not faster then supposed to be. No problems at all. They did ask us to check our bags into the gadget they have at the departures to see the bags went in ok, but they were fine.
We were held up at Passport Control on returning today. The man asked us was DGD related to us, (we all have different surnames), and I said she was my granddaughter. He then asked where her mum and dad were. So I had to explain that i have the custody of her. He then wanted proof. Luckily for me, I used the folder that I had last year, and the letter from the socialworker from then was still in it. So I gave him that. He then asked me whether I still lived at that address and I had to say, well no, actually we recently moved.! Then I thought we were going to be scuppered, but he said we could go through. Phew.
I am shattered as we were up at 5.30 and hadnt gone to bed until nearly 1am! eek.
I shall be off to bed very early tonight.

Molly has been to see me, she kindly bought us some basics, bread, milk fruit etc so that I didnt have to think much about food yet.
She came to visit just after we arrived back, so I was able to give her the pressie I bought her, and her daughters. It was good to see her, its been very strange not being intouch for so long!
I was also able to show her some of the pictures we had taken on the camera her daughter had leant us. So we had a slide show of pictures while we chatted over a cup of tea and DGD had her Scooby Doo on!.
No TV for her for the whole time. We did have one in the room but we only put it on the first day, then never used it again.

Right, I am tired, time to finish my cuppa and have a try at catching up on my emails etc.

Savvy_sewing

Morning. What a night! felt strange being back home, feel a bit closed in!. Struggled to get to sleep dispite being completely knackd!. So I read a few chapters in my book and tried again. Still up 3 times.
DGD is still asleep. I thought she was stirring when I came down about 20 minutes ago, but nothing yet. I am still feeling exhausted!. Oh well thats the problem with the body clock.
Oh I hear her now.
We are expecting a parcel today. Her sandpit/water table. Then we need to fit in her visit to her Mum, and go and see my parents. Aswell as start the unpacking properly and get the washing on the line.
The electric was down to 35p, so I have had to put the emergency on. Will need to go and get more later.
Full day ahead.
May ask the neighbour if she can take the parcel in for me if they havent been within a reasonable time. Dont know which carrier M & S use.

DGD is now demanding TV and I will not let her have it for now. Dont want to go into the old way of her demanding what she wants and giving in too much!. She was driving me mad with Scooby Doo before we went away and it hadnt helped that there was a week of it on one of the channels.

Breakfast time. I am starving.

Savvy_sewing

Once again the council say they have adjusted my claim due to change in my benefits. Except there havent been any changes in my benefits that I am aware of. I have been on the phone for ages waiting for Tax Credits to answer. When I got through they said that it hadnt changed. So I really am getting fed up with it all now.
This means an adjustment to the budget of another £34 a month! Where to find that one? Who knows. This is getting rediculous.
The taxcredits said that they had 2 weeks to check my disability claim, which ran out on Monday, but they said give them another week, and if I havent had a response then contact them again!. What a waste of time.

I also rang the local postoffice delivery people about a parcel that I have to collect, to see if i could get it redelivered. They were going to ring me back, but they didnt. So another call in the morning. At this rate the parcel will be returned to the sender! grrrrrrr.

Right on that note, I will up the balance, with the fact that i got to see my parents today. It was so good to see them. I really missed them while they have been away.
My sister and brother and thier respective halves are all fine. Mum and Dad bought me back some white and rose wine, and some teatowels and a tray and a mat all for my "french style" kitchen. Well pleased with them all.
Dad has copied the pictures from my camera disc onto his laptop so they can look at the pictures of DGD in thier own time etc.
Better then all sitting wasting time going through them all.
Twins are well, and they seemed to be reasonably well while I was away.
Twin2's place was reasonably tidy, (although I didnt see the kitchen), twin 1 admits to hers being a mess so DGD was at twin2's for contact with her Mum. they brought her back to my parents for me later. Gave me some peace with Mum and Dad to talk.
Not heard back from my son. He was off to the army recruiting place today I think.
My brothers caravan was stolen from thier house in France on his birthday of all days. So when they went out to stop they had lost a lot of things. The house is not really inhabitable, but they have had to stay in it this summer. Borrowing beds and linen from my sister, and my parents helped buy them a halogen oven, and my brotherin law put in a hot water tank for them. They still dont have a flushing loo. So buckets are the order of the day.
I think that they will have to get a move on with the rebuilding now, as they cannot afford to buy another caravan. Need the money for the house. There are no internal walls in upstairs, no door on the loo etc etc! Camping in a shell really.
So I will count myself lucky tonight when I am tucked up in my nice cosy bed here.
Mind you I am still feeling slightly claustrophobic since I got back. I will definitely have to start to declutter again!. After the beautiful apartment with all its space for the last 10 days. It was l-0-v-e-r-l-y !!

Savvy_sewing

Morning All, still tired. Didnt get to sleep as I was over tired I think. So I ended up reading until I finished my book, well passed 11pm. But still was up 3 or 4 times in the rest of the night.
Up at 7.30 reluctantly as DGD came in and decided to jump on me.
She is now sitting in my bed watching cartoons, and I am down having my first cup of tea.
Well nearly finished it now. Then its battle with the rest of the chores I never faced yesterday. Including the washing up. Ugh. Oh well.
Its not a very bright start here, and feels very wintery, especially after the bright sun of Portugal.
I have to get out to the garden and put up the whirlygig as we call the rotary line. Then I can start to hang out the washing. As its not actually raining, just very over cast it should still dry.
There are loads of jobs in the garden I wanted to tackle but my arm is still not recovered so I will just have to make an "to do list" and see whats the most urgent jobs that I can tackle.
Such is life. Back to the normal hum drum. At least I do not have to dash off to Oxford this weekend. BF is taking his DD to her University in Leeds. So he will be away all day. Then I will leave him to adjust to the changes at his house until next week.

Savvy_sewing

Decided as I was having a meat delivery on Tuesday, I would try out the fruit and veg box deliveries. See if I can use more organic stuff. Although I am aware of the fact that I have to still get my budget back under control. However I think that if I am careful and menu plan with the things I have that I will succeed. Well I have no choice really I have to succeed.
DGD is having her second bath of the day. She is playing with her toys. Been topping the water up to keep it warm as she has been in there about an hour now! Water baby continues then.
Wish we could afford the swimming pool!!