Keeping up appearances.......

HappyNow

Update time.

On Friday our last chicken (Deborah) died . She was very old and hadn't laid an egg for over a year, but she was really friendly and I liked having her around. She was the last remaining one after a horrible fox attack a year ago. The day of that attack, she took it upon herself to abandon the chicken hut and moved into the empty stable right next to our house, where she lived until Friday. For a couple of weeks she had looked frail, but she kept picking up so we put off that final vet trip. Then on Thursday she went downhill, and on Friday morning she was dead in her nest. It looked like she had just died in her sleep. RIP Debbie x

Other than that, it's been a good weekend. Mr Happy has been away at a race meeting but Master Happy has been at home trying to finish off his first year's uni work. Well that's what he said - everytime I checked he was playing on his Xbox!

Money Magic - Mr Happy has earned extra money this weekend. It won't go into the household budget but it will help offset the cost of his & Master Happy's own sport, so still a saving.
No spending at all on Saturday. Today I had to buy milk, bread and a few other essential bits today (OK, chocolate!) but I was quite disciplined and we are still within this month's grocery budget.
All washing/dishwashing done in Economy 7 hours, and washing was dried outside.
Turning off lights/TVs etc has become second nature now - I don't even notice I'm doing it.
Financial Failings - A big tub of natural yogurt has gone off in the fridge because we didn't get round to eating it. A bag of potatoes are starting to go the same way - I MUST do something with them tomorrow.

Definitely more Magic than Failings this weekend. I must have got my mojo back!

lucielle

Sorry to hear about the chook, I've got 4 chooks and 1 of those is looking a bit dodgy.
L

poohbear59

Happy I am sorry your last hen has gone. You will miss her. I have one character who knocks on the door for me if I am late with treats for them. She is about three or four years old And I know that despite having hens for 10 years with lots going, she will be a miss when she finally gives up. Our oldest hen was 7 years old.

Good news on Mr Happy earning a little extra.
I could do with Mr Pooh doing the same. Luckily it didn't rain the second half of last week and he was able to finish a job. Just waiting for payment.

HappyNow

Thanks Lucielle and Pooh. We've been discussing whether to buy more chickens but have decided to wait a while. The eggs are lovely but I saw a HUUUUGE fox in our yard the other night and I don't want the responsibility just now. We will disinfect the chicken hut and store it in the shed - I'm sure we will use it again one day.

I have got the most awful cold. I've not slept for the past two nights, my eyes are all watery and puffy, I can't get warm and I have the runniest, snottiest nose imaginable. And I only have Tesco Value tissues . They're just not soft enough on my little nose right now, I may have to invest in some Kleenex Balm ones. Luckily (possibly!) I have searched our medicine cupboard and found two sachets of Lemsip Max powders with an expiry date of August 2009. The powder had turned to rock, but it dissolved OK in water and I am sipping it as I type. Hope that's wise...... .

Financially I have nothing to report. I have lost track of the budget a bit again, but it is payday next Tuesday and I will have a fresh start.

I am off work next week and I am going to emulsion our lounge. I've saved £150 in our 'house' pot and that should cover the paint and maybe a couple of throws for our cat-scratched sofas. I've seen some nice ones in B & M Bargains of all places! I won't tell anyone they're from there though. Hope they are big enough.

kerri_dfw

*big hugs* for you Happy, hope you feel better soon. I'm glad I'm not the only one that doesn't care what the date on the medicine box says xx

HappyNow

Thanks Kerri . I'm starting to feel (and look!) a bit more human today.

Just popped on to update my signature. I still get overly-excited at calculating our new monthly debt figures and I couldn't wait until payday on Tuesday. All the credit card bills (nine!!) are in so I know the new figures. This month I will be paying £1000 onto them. That's my monthly minimum target, but as the card balances are so high it is actually only minimum payments plus £70. I did wonder about trying to squeeze a bit more onto them, but I think it is more important to focus on building up our 'pots' to reduce the risk of ever having to use the cards again. Unfortunately one card reached the end of its 0% deal this month so I have had to transfer it onto another card, adding £112 in transfer fees. Ah well, that puts it back on 0% until next April so definitely worth doing.

Mini-goal wise, I have managed two. The unsecured debt has dropped below £68K, and the unsecured percentage paid off has gone over 2%. Yay!

I can't do our actual monthly budget until Tuesday because our wages vary, so I don't know yet what will be going into each pot, but this will be the second month when at least SOMETHING goes in.

Off to do the animals now, but I have the house to myself this evening and I plan to spend it on here reading diaries, eating chocolate cake and drinking red wine

brizzledfw

Hi Happy

I have been feeling rubbish with a cold too..all of my family have had them or fighting them off..its been bit carp really.

Sorry to hear about Debbie. We have foxes around here but luckily the Eglu seems to keep them at bay. Although they muller our lawn I would miss them if they werent here. but 1 egg a day from 4 hens is a bit carp...I am blaming continued broodiness and the weather!

Glad you're getting your mojo back...although not sure it ever went away..you're always so GOOD!!

Brizzle

Piquant_2

HappyNow wrote: »

Off to do the animals now, but I have the house to myself this evening and I plan to spend it on here reading diaries, eating chocolate cake and drinking red wine

Oh me too! I haven't got any cake, but I do have red wine and an evening on my own. I might see you here later!

Glad you're back and feeling better. It's good to see the debt heading downwards.

Piq

HappyNow

brizzledfw wrote: »

Sorry to hear about Debbie. We have foxes around here but luckily the Eglu seems to keep them at bay. Although they muller our lawn I would miss them if they werent here. but 1 egg a day from 4 hens is a bit carp...I am blaming continued broodiness and the weather!
Brizzle

Ours were free range during the day and locked in their hut at night. The fox took them in broad daylight, right outside our window, grrrr. Yes, one egg per day is a bit poor . Are they old? Ours were little brown hybrids and they were fantastic layers. One every day, summer and winter. If we do get some more I will go for the same type. Good layers and great pets - completely trashed the garden though!

Piquant wrote: »

Oh me too! I haven't got any cake, but I do have red wine and an evening on my own. I might see you here later!
Piq

The cat ate my cake . It was a lovely Marks and Spencers one, bought specially as my treat for tonight and it cost £2.29. I opened it, cut one tiny slice and left the rest on the kitchen worktop. The f**ing cat jumped up and pinched it. Well not all of it, he left me about half, but I really didn't fancy it with all his teethmarks in. He'd obviously trampled in the icing too because there were brown footprints all over the worktop. Disappointing!!

HappyNow

Well I'm feeling very enthusiastic today. I think it's 'cos my cold has faded. Today I start re-vamping our lounge.

Pre-LBM I would have bought Farrow and Ball paint, had our lovely curtains professionally cleaned, replaced the tatty furniture, replaced the mucky carpet, bought new light fittings, new ornaments, pictures etc etc. It would have added several £1000s to our debt.

New-Me has researched crushed velvet curtains and they are now being washed individually on a delicate cycle in our machine. If they fade slightly I really don't care, in fact I may even love them more. I've even washed two of the four during Economy 7 hours!

Once they are all drying on the line I am off to B & Q to pick up some paint colour charts. I will still be using a 'good' make (Dulux or Crown), but it will be a fraction of the F & B price. I have checked our shed and we have loads of quality brushes/rollers etc so I can decorate just for the price of the paint. I have borrowed my mum's carpet cleaner, and I am researching a couple of throws at B & M Bargains and Dunelm. Our nicest sofa is in another room, so that one will be moved into the lounge to replace the tattiest one (we have three sofas in our lounge!!). The light fittings are looking pretty dated, but I will look for some new shades to tart them up. If I have any spare cash I may buy a nice print at Ikea. Total budget for the project? £150-£200. Because that's all I have .