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

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  • Mrs_Chip
    Mrs_Chip Posts: 1,819 Forumite
    Thanks Kate/Kidcat

    I have had a quick look at the Pickfords site, we don't need a packing service, and we aren't taking the usual stuff from the house as we have moved some things already and other stuff is staying behind. Their small moves service looks very reasonable. We can move the boxes of stuff I have packed ourselves, it's the 8 or 9 big things (particularly the very heavy sofa) that I worry about us being able to move ourselves. Food for thought...

    Nighty night!
    Think big thoughts but relish small pleasures
  • meme30
    meme30 Posts: 534 Forumite
    Decorating is done. carpet will be laid this morning. Will then tackle contents of wardrobes. Energy/physical well being on low gas now. went to bed at half 7 :eek: last night cos too uncomfortable to sit! It's a bu88er when the aches and pains win!

    On a good note, whilst raking through the 25 years of clutter I did come upon a couple of gems.
    Letters from a French boy whom I met on school trip aged 14. So innocent these letters, all about schools and family. Found one where he invited me to his home in Paris for Christmas. I can remember knowing that financially a Paris trip was out of the question for my parents. It's only now, reading them, that it occurs to me how horrified they must have been at the thought of sending me off to stay in a foreign country with a family they had not met! At the time I remember thinking how glamorous it would be! :rotfl:
    Letters from a boyfriend (again met on holiday) when I was in my early twenties. He lived in London (again, far more glamorous than Newcastle) and I was far more in love with him than he with me! Dazzled by his sophistication I think!

    Thing that have not been thought about for years..seem they happened to another person in another life.
    Give us the strength to encounter that which is to come, that we may be brave in peril, constant in tribulation, temparate in wrath, and in all changes of fortune, and down to the gates of death, loyal and loving to one another.”
  • katieowl_2
    katieowl_2 Posts: 1,864 Forumite
    kidcat wrote: »
    Mrs Chip - I second the idea of contacting the big companies, you may be surprised, also as you are moving London to Wales, its possibly worth contacting Welsh companies - they are likely to be cheaper than London ones. And its the same distance overall just means they do the shortest journey at the end rather than a long trip back at end of day. :)


    That's true, but the other thing (as pointed out by the ex-mrs Conran in an ancient copy of Superwoman) is that they bigger companies have depots all over too...hence the packed lorry travels but the drivers change, keeping the costs of a long round trip right down. The guy who drove our lorry, slept over in the cab (poor bloke, but we had nothing in the house to speak off and could only offer him beans on toast!), but he was assisted next day by two blokes out of Swansea IIRC.

    Kate
  • mardatha
    mardatha Posts: 15,612 Forumite
    Loving the posts about birds, all my life I have walked into things, tripped over things, and fell into holes because I'm looking up instead of down. We have many buzzards here, and short eared owls that hunt by day, kestrels and one sparrowhawk. Loads of jackdaws, crows, geese in winter, plovers and peeweets in summer. We have a skylark that comes back every summer too. I find the starlings funny - they do a great car alarm, they copy the buzzards "peeeoooo", and a wolf whistle, somebody must be teaching them that one lol.
  • Mrs_Chip
    Mrs_Chip Posts: 1,819 Forumite
    I have always loved watching birds and their antics, and can sit and watch for hours - OH loses interest after about 10 mins and starts fidgeting. We are very lucky that Wales garden overlooks the harbour and is surrounded by wooded hills, so we have all the seabirds and woodland birds too. Mrs OG feeds in her garden (we did not put up feeders as we we not there all the time,can wait to have our own!) so we are surrounded by birdies singing and tweetling. We have buzzards that are harried by all the other birds as soon as they appear, they must get awfully fed upwith it. Nothing list the spirts more than the sound of birdsong - I think the best of all is blackbird after rain.
    Think big thoughts but relish small pleasures
  • We have a surprisingly large number of birds in our garden. A family of blackbirds, a troop of cheeky robins, sparrows, some tiny little dunnocks and a huge marauding army of bluetits and assorted similar species all live in various spots in and around the garden. We also get lots of other visitors. They aren't too bothered by the magpies, thank goodness. Or the buzzards that we see circling way in the sky (and who once caught and ate a bird at the bottom of our garden :() And we get a jay visiting every now and then. He likes to collect acorns. My favourite birds, though, are common-or-garden pied wagtails. I just think they are so absolutely cute!

    I have loved hearing about the birds, and about school home ec!

    Mrs Chip thankyou, I am so relieved about my pay. We would have just about squeaked by otherwise, but now I can get my savings plan off the ground and go and visit my family for my birthday next weekend. I am amazed at all of these travelling cats. Mine fakes panic attacks to make us stop the car and once disgraced himself dreadfully too. So we try to leave him home when we can now - it's just not fair to stress him out so much if we can help it. But why do I keep getting an image in my head of a cat in an aviator hat and goggles?
  • katieowl_2
    katieowl_2 Posts: 1,864 Forumite
    Ha! Have told OH that today is MY DAY OFF and I am not doing ANY cleaning up after other people!

    Planning on taking up a skirt I bought recently (it has a border so I need to take it up from the top, remaking the waistband) It was a cheapie, although new, but I loved the material sooooo much I had to have it (for £5) It's pure Russian peasant print, flowers in lairy colours. Also planning on doing a bit of knitting...In daylight!
    I bought some lurverly wool/silk mix yarn when Mrs Chips lead me to the darkside AKA Janes! I sent off for a scarf pattern for it from the internet, and I plumped for this pattern as I thought it would give me the practice at lace knitting I so badly need. It's only 33 stitches wide. Simples I thought! Well I managed the picot edge, and of course the couple of rows of garter stitch but then I knitted, unpicked and reknitted the first four rows of the pattern five times!!! :eek: So much for simples! I'm going to scan the instructions, and enlarge and divide it up into 'bars' like music, because the main problem was that I kept loosing my place. Also found youtube wonderful for showing me how to do the 'moves' I wasn't familiar with!

    I've made myself a bowl of Quinoa porridge for breakfast this morning, having read wonderful things about how it is a complete food, ideal for breakfast, yaketty yak. It tastes OK...the texture is a bit weird, but not unpleasant. Let you know if it lasts longer than porridge!

    Kate
  • Kidcat: my son tried to sell his immaculate Rover2000 via webuycars on t'internet. They offered £600. He sold via eB*y for £2000! Even at that price it was a steal really.
    Byatt: Yup...near Tiverton, lovely part of the country.
    OH supposed to be out all day today and I'd planned to clean the oven (yuk), wash all the floors; strip beds and generally get on without "Shall we have a cuppa?" (ie put the kettle on).
    His day out is now cancelled and he'll be under my feet unless I can devise a cunning plan.
    Yesterday was a beautiful spring-like day here, today's a bit cloudier but I'm still hoping to get duvet covers etc dried.
    We also get loads of birdies in the garden - except when the RSPB Birdwatch is on. Then they all disappear!!
    Normal people worry me.
  • kidcat
    kidcat Posts: 6,058
    First Anniversary Combo Breaker
    Forumite
    Kidcat: my son tried to sell his immaculate Rover2000 via webuycars on t'internet. They offered £600. He sold via eB*y for £2000! Even at that price it was a steal really.
    Byatt: Yup...near Tiverton, lovely part of the country.
    OH supposed to be out all day today and I'd planned to clean the oven (yuk), wash all the floors; strip beds and generally get on without "Shall we have a cuppa?" (ie put the kettle on).
    His day out is now cancelled and he'll be under my feet unless I can devise a cunning plan.
    Yesterday was a beautiful spring-like day here, today's a bit cloudier but I'm still hoping to get duvet covers etc dried.
    We also get loads of birdies in the garden - except when the RSPB Birdwatch is on. Then they all disappear!!

    Yes we have looked at prices and they are offering less than scrap value - but the hassle from people is unbelievable, I want to view it now give us your number - errr no!

    I really need people to view when OH is here, which I dont think is unreasonable, after all most people work in the day, but people attitudes are that I should give out our number and address to all and sundry just in case they can fit us in when they can be bothered.

    have been to Ald! this morning and bought mince for first time in months (had loads in freezer) and can I just say OMG how expensive is mince now:eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek:
  • maryb
    maryb Posts: 4,658
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    I quite like quinoa but have never had it for breakfast. Usually have it with spicy chicken and roasted veg. First time I served it my two DDs looked at it very dubiously but really liked it - it's just that (in their words - not mine!!) it looks like Jeremy Clarkson's hair.

    How did you serve the quinoa when you had it for breakfast. I can't picture it with milk and sugar like porridge (sorry Mardatha, just look away)
    It doesn't matter if you are a glass half full or half empty sort of person. Keep it topped up! Cheers!
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