Keeping up appearances.......

HappyNow

Honey_Bear wrote: »

How did the wall rebuilding go? Work off a few puddings, did you? Naughty, naughty Mr Happy regarding the shopping! Is he anywhere near 'beach ready?' I'm thinking this is the man who's been sneaking bacon sarnies on the way to work and now puds and junk food with relatives. Each to their own, but you wouldn't want to put him to shame by being all gorgeous knowing it would make him super self-conscious, now would you?

Regarding Flying, I think you probably have been, but discounted it. Anything that stops the place turning into a midden counts, including bed-changing, tidying up, clearing out your handbag. A a Flylady of several years standing who doesn't even read the list every day, I happen to know all of these things appear on them very regularly. I don't know how many others will admit to being a slattern but if I weren't one I wouldn't need to be a Flylady. I was going to say I am a closet slattern, but there's absolutely no room in any of ours to hide me. What you said made me think though, so I'm adding one of my irritants to Awesome April.

• Sort the filing cabinet.

It's a job that needs doing properly and I've got a few files that are collapsing-type thick. Some of the stuff can go, some needs to be archived. I've already found my pension forecast, something I'd been trying to put my hand on for quite a while. Then, in May, I need to get up into the attic and sort the paperwork mountain up there into subject boxes, as opposed to having everything muddled up all over the place.

Wall repairs all done and it was no effort at all, mainly because Master H was around so he did it while I sat indoors drinking coffee. I like Master H .

Nope, Mr H is nowhere near beach ready, and that doesn't bother him in the slightest! He is one of those lucky people who is very happy in his own (rather baggy) skin and I wish I could be a bit more like that. Maybe it's a female thing. Co-incidentally, he had a letter from our GP surgery yesterday asking him to make an appointment for a routine general health-check, and they're bound to suggest he lose a few pounds. I hope so, because he might cut down on the sweeties for the sake of his health which will make my efforts a whole lot easier.

I'll join you for the May paperwork mountain challenge. Mine has been irritating me for a while now and once I get the house spotless (!) that's going to be my next job. Hmm. Might be May 2016 though!

HappyNow

So, yesterday:

• Financial disaster when the vacuum cleaner exploded. Mr H tried to give it the kiss of life, but it didn't respond and of course the guarantee was long expired. We have a large dog, three cats, two moulting horses (outside obviously, but it sticks to everything) coal fires, and a muddy environment outside, so a vacuum cleaner is essential. I had to buy one, and over the years I have come to love Dysons, so I researched prices online and bought the cheapest one up to the job. It was £319 and that means I am in overdraft for the first time in almost a year. I feel sad about it and slightly panicky, but my mind is very, very focussed now. No other spends.
• Did OK on the beach bod front.
• I'm a flying marvel! I completely emptied one huge old kitchen cupboard, scrubbed away years of grime, decluttered and put back what was still useful. It looks great and I feel to be back in the game.

FlacosFloozie

Sorry about the vaccum Happy. I know its a downer to have to use the overdraft but you'll be back out of it soon.
Not quite on the same level but our kettle died yesterday. I'm considering getting a new one with nectar points since its not in the budget and it doesn't feel bad enough to tap the emergency fund.
Well done on all the flying. I was a miserable failure of a fly lady but I have downloaded an app called home routines which I can customise and it seems to be helping.

Honey_Bear

And OH's favourite steam iron has conked out which is a SERIOUS problem as I killed it and therefore I have to replace it. It's one of the few electrical things that I buy brand new because sole plates are always the first thing to grunge up on irons. Melted polyester anyone?

OH does his own ironing because I can't think of a single reason why I should and neither can he which is just as well because we'd fall out over it otherwise. That means we've had three appliances fail on this thread so therefore the three of us are in the clear. *phew*

Honey_Bear

HappyNow wrote: »

Wall repairs all done and it was no effort at all, mainly because Master H was around so he did it while I sat indoors drinking coffee. I like Master H .

Does Master H helping with the wall and Miss H being shown off to the rellies mean that both your offspring were/are back for Easter? How lovely for you, if they were. I hope you all had a thoroughly lovely time with plenty of Easter eggs, although after the works gorging do, I imagine you're not quite so keen now!

Mr Bear is much more body-disciplined than I am. He goes to the gym twice or three times a week, and he's also a member of a running group that incldues older people who walk and talk more than run, and go out for a breakfast blow-out rather more frequently than I would have expected for fitness fanatics.

Honey_Bear

• Three coffees by 10.15am which was worrying, so I had a watery cocoa with one sugar lump. It stopped the cravings which was marvellous.
• Maximum of one hour reading on-line newspapers a day:
  Fail.
• Five phone calls a week for new business: Bank Holidays!
• Lights out by midnight. Not a total success last night, but now that this is on the list, it wasn't long after. I know when I'm getting enough sleep and this is beginning to shape up into something good. I need to adjust my body clock after years of being awake far too late, and being too ambitious was never going to help, but this is working. Hurrah!
• Nothing on the filing cabinet, except realising that having a month to peck away at it means that I don't now dread it. Plus which, other flying which all has to be done by Tuesday lunchtime takes priority and was done - both fridges were given the treatment and lots of washing on the line.

HappyNow

Hello FF thanks for dropping by and I am sorry to hear about your kettle. Kettles are classed as emergency kit in this house (I'm nothing without tea) so I think it's a completely justified use of emergency funds. Nectar points are better though! I'm a miserable failure of a flylady too but I am trying very hard right now, and even that's an improvement on past performance!

Honey_Bear wrote: »

And OH's favourite steam iron has conked out which is a SERIOUS problem as I killed it and therefore I have to replace it. It's one of the few electrical things that I buy brand new because sole plates are always the first thing to grunge up on irons. Melted polyester anyone?

OH does his own ironing because I can't think of a single reason why I should and neither can he which is just as well because we'd fall out over it otherwise. That means we've had three appliances fail on this thread so therefore the three of us are in the clear. *phew*

I rarely iron anything. We tend to go for t-shirts and jeans rather than shirts and trousers so we get away with it most of the time. I make the efforts for more formal occasions, but if I get the ironing board (which was bought in 1981!!!) out once a month it's as much. Give slobbery a try HB, life's too short :rotfl:

Honey_Bear wrote: »

Does Master H helping with the wall and Miss H being shown off to the rellies mean that both your offspring were/are back for Easter? How lovely for you, if they were. I hope you all had a thoroughly lovely time with plenty of Easter eggs, although after the works gorging do, I imagine you're not quite so keen now!

Mr Bear is much more body-disciplined than I am. He goes to the gym twice or three times a week, and he's also a member of a running group that incldues older people who walk and talk more than run, and go out for a breakfast blow-out rather more frequently than I would have expected for fitness fanatics.

Master H technically lives here full-time now since his degree ended last summer - that probably happened while I was on my diary sabbatical so didn't get mentioned. It's not ideal because he had got used to his independence, but he can't afford his own place just yet. We don't actually see that much of him because he's always either working or out with friends, but he leaves a tell-tale trail of mess and dirty washing so we know he's still around!
Wah - family coming downstairs, got to go, back soon!

Stripes_The_Elephant

Hello Happy, found your diary and now subscribed! Love Stripes x :j

Honey_Bear

HappyNow wrote: »

I rarely iron anything. We tend to go for t-shirts and jeans rather than shirts and trousers so we get away with it most of the time. I make the efforts for more formal occasions, but if I get the ironing board (which was bought in 1981!!!) out once a month it's as much. Give slobbery a try HB, life's too short :rotfl:

I live in M&$ stretchy fabric trousers because they are comfortable (unlike jeans which I used to live in) and rugby shirts because they are warmer than tee shirst or most sweat shirts. I have very few clothes that need ironing because I can't be arri$$id - I am a Sloblady, which is why had to join the Flylady thread and I've stayed because it works for me and they're a really terrific bunch.

I iron only because I occasionally sew, and despite my efforts not to press between each process - not believing it would make that much difference, turns out my school teachers did know what they were talking about - and it does. The Walkaway Dress is coming along very, very nicely. It's rather heavy because I've lengthened it by 7" because my legs are best covered up, so it looks fine with Mary Janes and now needs a little black hat to top it off. I'm not someone who is even slightly interested in fashion, but this is for a friend's very special birthday and if he wants us to look as though we've stepped out of the '50s that's what I'm going to do.

My ironing board is my great aunt's, and she died in 1976, so mine is even older than yours! OH removed the asbestos pad from where the iron stands, which I'd been happily using for decades. *cof* She lived to a right old age so I'm hoping whatever it was she had works for me. *cof cof*

Honey_Bear

• Limited myself to three coffees and swigged five mugs of fruit tea plus beetroot juice plus an AF beer. One of my better days, liquid intake-wise.
• Maximum of one hour reading on-line newspapers a day:
  Success! As long as I'm enjoying doing what I'm doing, that doesn't seem to be a problem.
• Five phone calls a week for new business: Bank Holidays!
• Lights out by midnight. I was so tired yesterday that I went to bed at 9.30 and switched the light out by 10.15. That's unheard of!
• Nothing on the filing cabinet, but the whole house got de-webbed and vacuummed and a lot of other Flying got done. I still have two beds to remake and a shower room to clean by mid-day today which should be do-able.