Finally I have a mortgage I can start to pay off!

themadvix

Afternoon (just) all,

We had a nice afternoon out yesterday and it was great to see the farm where our veg comes from (because the soil is right there, they grow the onions for the whole company there - we saw 25 acres of onions planted!). The meal was nice, but not as good as the feast we went to - and sadly they didn't offer us the leftovers. Did bring a banana home - fruit was offered as a dessert but I was too full to eat it then.

I'm still ploughing through this big project. I'm not enjoying it though - it's ill-defined, I'm working alongside others (i.e. they've split the project between us) and didn't bother mentioning this and it's very tedious too. It's a lot of money, but it's not feeling worth it at the moment. Still the deadline is 7th June, so it won't last forever!

DH has gone to the NEC today for work, so he's hoping he can find a supplier to buy him lunch! He's meeting a friend up there for dinner tonight, so I've invited Mum round (Thai prawn curry, probably followed by that banana and custard!).

MS things:
* Two loads of washing on the line.... for now.... big black clouds looming!
* Clicks etc. done
* NV survey done
* Comps entered - not won anything yet (impatient, moi?!)

Gratitudes:
* Afternoon out with DH, saw a steam train , nice meal and enjoyed the farm walk
* Saw lots of wildlife - kites, buzzards, greenfinch, deer, squirrel etc.
* B&W kitty, who has been peeing in the wrong place a lot recently, seems to be behaving again

earthgirl

Know how you feel about the work, hang on in there!

themadvix

Morning all,

Thanks Earthie. I remedied some of the issues I was having with it yesterday, so feeling a bit more positive about it. Still a huge project and a tight deadline though.

Have had a whole load more work arrive overnight, so got to computer early to sort invoicing/accounts. Discovered naughty American client didn't pay me the full invoice amount, so have queried that. All up to date now and although I still need to shuffle the monies through the accounts (it can wait) and round up the interest, we've made a £600 OP :T :T It's been a while, although we've been saving plenty each month - it's just gone into savings. It feels nice to send that money off though and know we'll get a lovely letter from Santa to tell us we've done it.

MS things:
* £5 voucher won from Gfk TV survey Have restarted my winnings spreadsheet with this to keep me motivated
* Sadly no PB win this month
* Clicks done

Gratitudes:
* A lovely walk in the woods with the last of the bluebells (and Mum!)
* Got washing in before the heavens opened yesterday!
* Nice evening with Mum - she really enjoyed the prawn curry

Have a good day all, am hoping to get to garden centre for my free tomato plant today before the weekend (but need to get some work out of the way first).

Karmacat

Thats a huge overpayment, well done you! But your American client is *very* naughty sometimes, grrr. As for the rest, I'm still thinking about banana and custard for dessert, sorry :rotfl: yum :rotfl:

themadvix

Banana and custard was good! :rotfl: (it all too often is!)

Naughty American client has sent me PO for the big project.... it's several thousand $, so we'd better get the current stuff sorted or I won't be happy!

themadvix

Morning all,

DH has gone off on a long run this morning, so I've meal planned for the week (getting creative!) and thought I'd do a quick update here. Meal plan includes nettle risotto tomorrow, so I know where I'll be going - not the supermarket! I'm limiting our rice intake this week as we seem to have got through it this month and I want to make it to the 4-week mark before going back to the zero-waste shop (it's the only thing we're likely to run out of from there before then). So risotto (uses different stocks) and stir fry on Friday are out only rice-based meals. I have managed to incorporate some of the stuff growing in the garden, which is often my downfall with growing things! Have cancelled veg box for this week (reluctantly as asparagus is on the list) and will eke out stocks from fridge/freezer.

Yesterday was an eventful day - DH managed to break two cars (flat tyre on one, ran out of fuel on motorway in Mini as fuel gauge wasn't working), we buried a fish (amazingly a first for us) and then we got hailed on whilst gardening.... and the sun was shining at the same time! By lunchtime we were exhausted and had hardly done anything we'd planned to do! (I did get my free tomato plant planted up and sprouted potatoes in the potato bin to grow.)

In the afternoon DH helped some friends with wallpaper stripping, while I helped mum to list bits from nan's garage on Freecycle - it worked a treat and everything is being collected today hopefully! In the evening we went to my cousin's 30th BBQ, so a lovely time there (present ordered online, so cashback for me ).

Today we're off to the beer festival - meeting friends there, but going by train (as it's tradition - I don't think I can bothered to drink today - I did have a few glasses of Pimms last night!).

Have a good day all!

Karmacat

Have a great time at the beer festival, notwithstanding Pimms



Erm ... you buried a fish? Do tell!

themadvix

He died.... He'd been rather sad and unhealthy looking (swim bladder problem) - kept lying on his side on the bottom, looking dead, and then would move a bit. This had been going on for a couple of weeks (I may have dug his grave a couple of weeks ago, thinking he was dead then!), but yesterday he was definitely gone. I said a few words as we laid him to rest (which sounds ridiculous, but I felt it was necessary!).

I have news that DH is almost back from his run! Off soon! (Just done my comps for the day.)

Karmacat

Oh madvix! I'm so sorry - I thought it was code for something else . I'm glad for you that you said something over his little grave



Hope the rest of your weekend is positive.

themadvix

Afternoon all,

No need to apologise Karma, it's one of those things. And as I said, a first for us, which considering the number of fish in the pond, is amazing!

Beer festival was good - spent about £50. Had dinner out but that only cost us £20 of Leisure vouchers Meerkats helped

Yesterday was a pottering day - a bit of gardening, some housework/cooking/baking and we booked the ferry and hydrofoil for our holiday and looked at hotels for the couple of extra nights we'll be staying. I'm afraid we didn't have nettle risotto as I couldn't be bothered to walk far enough to forage enough nettles, so we had pea and prawn risotto instead (ingredients in freezer). However, knowing we had dessert (pulled enough rhubarb to sink a battleship), I reduced the portion sizes slightly, which worked well.

Today has involved lots of work and a trip to the PO to post an ebay item. Evening class tonight - not sure my homework is my best work but it'll have to do.

MS things:
* Clicks etc. all done. Reached first goal on SBs and did Swago
* Comps entered
* Have started taking daily meter readings to get some idea of how much we spend per day etc.
* Work, work, work
* Ebay parcel sent (using RM survey stamps - extra profit for me)

Gratitudes:
* Lovely extended family time on Saturday
* Catch up with friends and DH's family on Sunday
* Pizza out
* Friendly people as I went to and from the PO - doesn't often happen around here!
* Home grown rhubarb crumble

Have a good evening all, only 3 days to the weekend!