misscousinitt's MF Diary

misscousinitt

£277 spent at !kea - new wardrobe for me (with all the bits I wanted), 3 throws for the chairs in the conservatory and a bookcase for the bedroom to fill the gap between DHs wardrobe and the wall where his single wardrobe won't fit and we have to put it in another part of the room.

All in all, we have spent approx £1000 of the renovation fund so far, but most of that has been on big things like kitchen appliances, a shed and the wardrobe - so good value I think. Need to be a little more careful now and see what we can save of the original renovation fund towards the kitchen and the roof - probably only a few hundred once we have finished, but anything will help.

Trying not to dwell too much on the roof - but I know it's going to be about a £5k job and I would prefer to save for it than take out a loan (as DH keeps saying). But it really is a wait and see situation after DH has patched it up and we have got through one winter to see how bad it really is and how soon it needs to be done.

DH says I shouldn't compromise on my kitchen, but I will be trying to keep the costs down as much as possible and still have what I want - had to do it before and not about to waste money where it doesn't need to be spent. Starting to think about what I want and I will spend the next 12 months saving and planning carefully.

In the meantime in the here and now, we need to get the bedroom finished and the house in a little more liveable state - Operation need to do everything starts on Saturday.

MCI

misscousinitt

The list of what I need to do during my holiday:

- Finish two funding bids for my charity.
- Organise the study, get some filing done and make room for my desk - study will be on-going for a while, but need to make a BIG start.
- Fetch my desk back from the charity office.
- Help to clear charity office of things that need to go into storage (including a few bits from the house that I am donating)
- Take a bagful of stuff down the hospice shop.
- Day off out with DH.
- Visit to the Chinese Supermarket with my brother, plus lunch and collect a bag of gravel to finish mum's front garden off.
- Day at mum's sorting her stuff including fetching a bookcase from !kea.
- Unpack more boxes from the dining room and move things around.
- Finish organising the kitchen.
- Shopping for non-perishable items for buffet at end of August.
- Make food labels for buffet.
- Make cake decorations.
- Discussion with bride regarding, buffet, cakes and decorations for the room.
- Lunch with school chum.
- Visits to the allotment (4 in total)
- Another day out with DH.
- Big grocery shop.
- Half day being pampered - booking a massage, facial and manicure.
- Get as much done in the house as possible - unpacking, throwing stuff away etc...
- First fleabay postings?? (need to get some money from somewhere)
- Change as many addresses as possible....send out new address cards to those not already informed.

I am sure there are other things I've forgotten, but I haven't got my list with me.

MCI

misscousinitt

The weekend didn't start so well as DH hurt his back. At first, he wasn't sure if it was the tablets he's on making his kidneys ache - but then we went for a walk round the charity shops in town and his back started to spasm.


Cue ibuprofen and deep freeze gel and some rest. His back has eased up loads and I would think by next weekend he will be getting stuff done again.


Despite that we did get some stuff done. All our clothes have been put away and wardrobes organised. Curtains purchased (half price) and put up (taking tiebacks we purchased separately back today as there isn't room for them to look effective - £10 saved).


The bedroom is looking nice. Still things to do, but feeling homey and comfortable (the cat thinks so too).


Rotten weather at the weekend, but cheered ourselves up with a late lunch on Saturday - it was surprisingly filling and we didn't have any tea!


Cooked the turkey mince dish we were going to have on Saturday yesterday and fridged half for tonight's tea and froze the other half. Turkey Meatballs with Chorizo & Tomato Sauce.


So today is the first day of my holiday proper. Got up half an hour later, got the usual animal feeding and sandwiches out the way, then popped back to bed with a cuppa while DH got ready for work.


I've done the financials whilst sitting in bed and I've got to start by finishing off the chores from the weekend - then make a start on the study - need to make enough room to set the printer up in a temporary place so I can get the charity wages done.


Also on the agenda today is:


Take back tie backs
Shift some stuff from the dining room
Look at places for us to go on Wednesday when DH has his day off
Charity Meeting this evening (I think)


Better get up and get cracking.


Catch you later.


MCI

misscousinitt

Got quite a bit done yesterday, but not exactly what I had planned.


- Moved my cake tins from the study to the kitchen.
- Unpacked a charity paperwork box and filed away (1 empty box)
- Moved some boxes around so I could get the printer on a shelf.
- Unpacked the printer and set up on the shelf.
- Moved stuff round in the dining room - moved some stuff into the spare room.
- Moved the bookcase into situ and unpacked 2 boxes of cookbooks (95 in all) - 2 boxes to go when we get another bookcase. (2 empty boxes).
- Unpacked a BIG box that said 'catering/kitchen' - didn't have that much 'catering/kitchen' in it! Moved some stuff to the kitchen and some to another box which will be sorted when we have a sideboard. (1 empty box)
- Charity Wages done.
- Looked for somewhere to go tomorrow - looking at Warwick - got a
meal voucher we can use in a Lebanese Restaurant there - but need to ring up and see if we can use it at such short notice.
- Entered Family friend's classical CDs (the ones I don't want to keep) into Music Magpie £22.54 thanks very much.
- Finished chores and washing.


Stuff for today:


- Take Charity wages down to the office as we didn't have a meeting last night.
- Wash up.
- Shift some more stuff about!
- Lunch with brother.
- Chinese supermarket with brother (need to make a list).
- Collect bag of gravel on the way back.
- Deposit Music Magpie parcel with the shop on the way back.
- Return tie backs on the way back.
- Book free boiler service (we were given one when we moved in by our mortgage company)


Lets see how this lot changes...lol.


Need to get a wriggle on.


MCI

misscousinitt

It's been a funny week - I've got stuff done, but it doesn't seem to be things on the list!


- Chinese Supermarket visit and lunch with brother - DONE
- Bookcase fetched for Mum (on a different day as traffic held us up on Tues) - plus ice cream sundaes we didn't have on Tues - DONE
- Wages delivered - DONE
- Big Grocery Shop - DONE
- Unpacked a few more boxes (4 more empty boxes) - DONE
- Changed some addresses and found out how to change more - DONE
- One day out with DH - DONE - peed down with rain, ended up in Hereford - had lunch (late) in a nice pub - missed the markets as by the time we got out and the rain had stopped they were closing. Hope to do better on Monday.
- Boiler Service booked for Thurs AM next week.
- Lunch day confirmed with school chum - Wed.
- Lunch confirmed with Bride for Thurs - for discussions and chat (her Nan died last week, so I thought I would cook her lunch and try to take her mind off it - she's a friend, so wanted to take as much pressure off her as possible).


In money news...


Music Magpie parcel is still to go (going to do this today when out and about with DH. May also return tie backs...


News on the Antique Chair Auction - I was thinking that they probably hadn't sold as I couldn't find anything on the web site. But, we picked up our post from the old house last night and there was a statement saying that they had sold for £500!!! After commission and fees I get £405!!!! Which is fantastic as the valuation was only £120-£180 and really that's what I was expecting if they sold...I am in shock and I raised a glass to our family friend last night - the money (when it arrives) will be going in the kitchen fund (DH doesn't want it to go towards the roof as he thinks family friend would want me to use the money on the kitchen).


Still waiting for £co payments to come through - there are payment delays on both outstanding items and the claim I've put in is still 'at the retailer' - last updated 17 June!


£63 transferred to the House Fund due to sweeping personal bank account. When money has been shuffled in the joint account there will be a few more pennies going in - about £7 in interest from this month and last and an £8 underspend on the grocery shopping for last month. Only bits and pieces, but this month will show the bills / spending proper as everything kicks in properly. Also going to move our underspend on the gas & electric (still on payment meters at the moment) into our new annual spends savings account so it doesn't get swallowed up with house stuff.


Hope everyone is well, sorry for wittering on...


MCI

Pearla*Merle

Fantastic news on the chairs! That's seriously good going! :T

Unpacked a BIG box that said 'catering/kitchen' - didn't have that much 'catering/kitchen' in it!

:rotfl: I had a lot of those boxes too. Usually I'd open them, realise it wasn't what it said on the tin (so to speak) would shove them elsewhere then spend the next six months wondering where certain things were, only to find them another three months later when I'd finally unpacked :rotfl:

You've been a very busy bee with all your unpacking and trips out & about Do keep wittering, I love reading all the chatty news

Tilly_MFW_in_6_YRS

Brilliant news on the chair - putting it towards the kitchen sounds a lovely thing to do. You could have a family friend cupboard

I've been reading the MK book and now I'm all for thanking things and finding joy :T. I thanked my dishwasher and washing machine today for all the hardwork they do.

Best wishes Tilly x x

misscousinitt

Hi PM, Hi Tilly - thanks for dropping by <waves>


Right, have just spent the last hour and a half going through our first proper months finances.


Although I like the fact that we have a joint current account now, I am finding it difficult to get to grips with it, but I think I've cracked it now and we a little surprise at the end (if my calculations are correct).


For a sanity check, going to put down what I have done:

• Taken balance of joint account
• Minus all the remaining bills for the month (some already come out)
• Minus what's been spent on the credit card for the house - to be paid mid month.
• Minus the amount of money left in the joint account that is part of the renovation fund.
• Minus what's left of the gas/elec budget from last month (as we are on pay meters at the moment) £70 left from budget - not bad.
• Minus what's left from the Council Tax budget (no payment last month, so have kept it and split between remaining payments for the year).
• = £378.61 surplus - can this really be right??

Going to check again at the end of this month and see how the figures stand. If all ok will move what's left (leaving a little barrier) to the house fund!


It's all above money jiggling isn't it (nearly put giggling !!! lol)


£5.75 transfer to DH account for purchase of Garden Shears.
£39.58 transfer to Savings account for annual spends
£149.57 transfer to my account for old house bills (council tax, water, insurance and the pet ins that's still coming out of my account)
£8.28 transfer to the House Fund - interest on our joint account for May, June & July
£8.47 transfer to the House Fund - underspend on groceries


£70 in Gas/Elec Fund
£84.87 left in Council Tax Fund


Today I must:

• Do gift aid declaration.
• Go to town, pay in 50ps, take Marriage Cert to the bank, photo for driving licence, get pack from Post Office for new licence.
• Return tie-backs (embarrassed face)
• Finish weekend chores
• Shift some stuff about.

MM parcel was taken by DH on Sunday.


Had a lovely day out yesterday at Matlock Bath - the sun was shining, had a couple of hiccups with walks being blocked off and restaurants being shut on a Monday evening, but enjoyed the day enormously. Tea and scones, lime and soda by the river, a mooch in some shops (£5 spent on a scarf) and a meal on the way home at a pub local to us which was really nice (and not too expensive - resisted pudding). We didn't do the trip on the cable cars as it was £14.50 each and although it would have been nice, we decided that £29 was better spent on our meal.


Suppose I better get a move on.


Catch up with diaries later.


MCI

Pearla*Merle

I lurrrve Matlock Bath. We used to go down that way all the time - too far away now though, alas

Can't believe they're charging that much for the cable cars :eek:

misscousinitt

Pearla*Merle wrote: »

I lurrrve Matlock Bath. We used to go down that way all the time - too far away now though, alas

Can't believe they're charging that much for the cable cars :eek:

Yeah, it's a bit much really. The price for children isn't much less - so cost a fortune for a whole family.






There are other attractions etc...when you get to the top, but even so - quite pricey.


Didn't feel ashamed checking and walking away.


MCI