A new 'tougher' thread... and so it continues

HariboJunkie

Grey Queen I hope you have a fabby night. :beer:

Just don't seem to have time to pop in here regularly anymore. So apologies if I've missed important news.

Still scrimping away to make up the savings lost to our holiday but getting really ecited about a couple of weeks in the sun.

Work has really picked up for OH again. He has many strings to his bow and our business is diverse but since the downturn any work he has done for the construction industry has been thin on the ground. In the last few weeks though it seems people are building houses again and need OH's help. :j being self employed mean you can never count your chickens though so we are proceeding with caution.

I have a houseful of pre teen girls tonight so I'm about to make popcorn and plonk them all in front of a movie while OH and I share a bottle of vino at the kitchen table.

Enjoy the rest of your weekends everyone. x

Mrs_Veg_Plot

Thank you all for the congtarulations on Mr VP getting a job. I can not wait until he gets his first wage. We have decided to put the majority of it into the savings account as this was our buffer and there is only another 2 months worth of buffer left :eek:.

The things that I have learnt on this forum have been invaluable and I will continue with them all. Best of all has been the support and advice. Thank you all :A.

We were going to be extravergant and have a takeaway tonight with friends but the roads have not been gritted and now have snow lying on top of ice. As our friends live an hours drive away we have decided to call it off. I will be making paella instead and we have the bottle of wine we bought to take with us.

HariboJunkie

Sorry I missed that news MrsVP. Congratulations. :beer::T:jx

Rosanna79

What a tragic story to read in the Daily Mail! I find it appalling that English/ British people are having to resort to food banks and we're returning to the days of my grandparents when parents go hungry to feed their children. Having been raised on the evils of the Tories and the Jarrow March by a mother whose childhood was literally like Catherine Cookson come to life, I cannot help but agree with those who think this govt will only be happy when we return to those days.

Like GQ I've encountered those who abuse the system and seemed able to afford stuff that even I as a professional woman couldn't buy. It does make one's blood boil.

Have been rather taken up with walking and not able to post for the last couple of days.

For those wondering about Henry Hoovercat's welfare.. He's doing OK and has a larger collar. Took it off tonight and he 'kissed' me!!- still we'll have to put it back when he's out to try to find if he's already got a mum . Somehow I doubt it and he continues to lie on the sofa for hours and has even got OH giving him his supper there before he goes out to his heated kennel- my late father used to say 'Cats like comfort you know' and this one is no exception. He'll probably insist on the posh cat loo being brought indoors tonight...!!

We don't subscribe to the belief of reincarnation but are quite sure that Jennicat's brother Jasper who died in 2009 was my father come back to check up on OH!! He really did have the same expressions and habits as my Dad - it was most disconcerting...!

Interesting to hear everyone's ideas on walking and walking gear. I do walk alone some of the week but the local council's free walking scheme was a tremendous help to me when I started out less than 22 months ago. I've met some amazing people and get to visit places I would not, as a solitary woman feel safe to visit. The walk leaders are first aid trained and do an excellent job.

I was unfortunate enough to have 2 falls on consecutive weeks in December, which could have happened to anyone. The second has left me with a whiplash injury but the direction from my GP to carry on as much as I can in the usual way. so as not to lose my nerve. The walk leaders and other regular walkers I meet actually help me when we approach the place I had the really nasty fall. Slowly I'm regaining confidence. Without the group I could so easily have given up and regained some of the 4 stone I've lost instead of heading towards losing the next half stone and reaching my goal.

Was out earlier today , well wrapped up but still managed a 1.80 mile walk around my neighbourhood. Got it done before the 1.6 inches of snow we've got forecast hear.

And if it's still out tomorrow- well I've got my Yaktrak this year....watch this space.

Hobsons_Choice

We've got at least 4" snow here and it's still snowing, a car travelling the other way to us coming up the hill, did a little ballet dance in the road and ended up in front of us. Fortunately we were going very very slowly and managed to brake. Best of it was - he was following the gritting lorry!

Mrs_Chip

Mr chip arrived home safely, there was some snow on the way, but I think he missed the worst. He brought back lots of tins and jars from home, so my stash has increased in size quite a bit, plus a whole bag of lightbulbs, which we seem to go through at a rate of knots!

He is now full of beef stew and dumplings - snap PAH! - hurriedly put together via the magic of the pressure cooker.

For those of you with cats - it seems that salt from gritting, along with anti-freeeze is poisonous to kitties (I know about the anti-freeze but had never considered road salt), and they can ingest it when washing their paws. Not sure what you can do but if your roads are being gritted it might be worth keeping an eye on your !!!!! (cue lots of sniggering at the back! Sorry couldn't resist!).

kidcat

Thanks for the timely reminder mrs chip, maybe a good idea to have a wet mat as they come into the house (a bit like when there was foot and mouth) which will wash some off.

No need to worry about ours, they have refused to set foot outside all week.

Mrs_Chip

Curses! The profanity filter strikes again - p u s s y s :rotfl:

Ours gets carried along the road, so no probs there, but moans to go out then moans to come in, then moans to go out.... you get the picture

greenbee

Mrs C - it's a well known fact that doors are always on the wrong side of cats...

Mrs_Chip

If only it were doors greenbee. We have to hump him along the road up the side steps of the cottages into the gardens. He does one circuit to 'check out' his territory then want to go down again - if he had his way, about once an hour! I look forward to the summer - he is happy to sleep up there all day while we work in the garden!