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

newgirly

Such a shame about the holiday Vix, I didn’t realise you were due to be there now. I really hope you are successful getting refunds as soon as possible, we cancelled our cruise before lockdown and were told we would get a full refund in 30 days but they keep extending that and online it looks like nobody is getting refunded still.

Love the financial review you did a few days ago, it’s a great idea to think of coming out of this as a new start and what may be different spending and travel wise in the future. Like busy mee I’m wondering about going back to normal spending (and expensive hair do’s!) and what can be changed for the better.
So much to think about at the moment....

How was the carrot and lentil masala? I was sent that in my box and to be honest didn’t fancy it, but will give it go if it was good 😁

themadvix

Thanks all,

Jessy, the video call was great - hilarious! We had to cheer a visit to the potty and then it was an on-screen orchestra with a kazoo and trumpet - you can imagine the chaos! 

Thanks Lula. I hope you manage to get a new route sorted - it must have been concerning to hear in the news about them pulling out of Gatwick. We've got an internal flight in the States that we booked with Avios, so DH is also putting off the horrendous call to BA to get that refunded.

NG - I hadn't realised you'd not been refunded yet - it was ages ago that they told you you'd get one! Worth contacting an ombudsman if there is one? 

themadvix

Morning all,

We had good news last night from one of our hotels - the one that was only offering a year's voucher. Without any prompting from us, it's been cancelled and a cash refund will be made (3 night in New Orleans wasn't cheap). Hooray! We've also opted for a Hotels.com voucher from another hotel. The voucher comes with a 15% bonus and isn't tied to that particular hotel (or the States at all), and we're reasonably hopeful that Hotels.com will survive as they're just a reseller, so happy to take it (also only £70 lost, compared to several hundred from the New Orleans hotel). However, we think we'll need to claim on the insurance from another one as it is open as usual (bit of a naff business hotel, but it was conveniently located)! 

DH has taken today off, so I've yet to start work. Not a lot to do, but that's fine as it feels like we're in holiday mode with a four-day weekend now. Veg box (and fruit bag ) has been delivered so have been unpacking that. New Girly, the masala carrots and lentils were lovely - really tasty, although I'd either do the carrots for 35 mins or slice them smaller than I did. We had them with homemade sag aloo and naans and were absolutely stuffed! We're going to have a BBQ for lunch today to take advantage of the weather. Burgers and sausages are in the freezer and I'll make some kebabs and we can have the leftover sag aloo to accompany it (that's normal, right?!).

MS things:
* Refunds! Hooray!
* NV payout should be with me next week via PP (normally a cheque, but would have to wait until they've got back to the office for that)
* PA at £17.66
* Clicks

Gratitudes:
* The lovely Riverford for always delivering wonderful veg (and fruit this week too)
* A new recipe for rhubarb from FB
* Refunds!

Hope you all have a good day and stay safe!

ETA: I am now the proud owner of 3 kg of plain flour! Dad's friend managed to get hold of some for me when she went to get her fruit and veg. He's dropping it off on his way back from work

themadvix

Morning all,

Scones are baking and I've been sitting in the sun listening to Absolute Radio - they're doing a 1940s day of music with excerpts from the news etc. and it's excellent. Reminds me of the primary school celebrations I took part in for the 50th anniversary - Run Rabbit, There'll be Bluebirds... I'm sure we'll get to 'I'm forever blowing bubbles....'. I've put our bunting up in the front garden, but not sure if we'll even go out there - maybe later. (It seems ironic that I was sad about missing the celebrations while we were in America - honestly, it wasn't my 'careful what you wish for' wish that got us into this mess!! Fridays seem to be the day that everything gets to me (the last two weeks), so I'm trying to be kind to myself and relax, in the hope that I won't be a headachy, teary wreck by this evening. While sitting in the sun, I'm reading a book about Freelancing that has been sat on my shelves for almost 10 years that I've never got around to reading. I hope it might have some new ideas in it.

Doing some calculations, if I want to hit my target of OPing the full allowance this year, I need to find £650/month to OP. In the current state of things that could be rather tricky! But I think spending has settled down a bit now to the new normal - no more 'lockdown treats' and we should need a much smaller shop this week in our delivery (which seems to be happening across the business). DH is trying to have a cheaper month too - between the pond and mini he spent quite a bit last month. We're still obviously both saving hugely on car fuel - and he's unlikely to be going back into the office anytime soon (he's had that unofficially confirmed by a friend in the know). So, while my income is likely to take a hit in the short term, hopefully it'll be a blip and the reduced spending (and government assistance) will help keep things relatively normal - and may offer some OP potential.

Lunch today is going to be pesto pasta, with homemade carrot-top pesto (thanks again, Riverford) - made it yesterday and its delicious! Dinner will either be mac and cheese (but too much pasta??), stir fry (very VE Day!) or a takeaway.

MS things:
* Clicks
* Easy home entertainment today (painted my nails with my Goodwood nail varnish - may put the dress on later - it's 1940s'!)
* Actually using the book I bought years ago - it reckons its ideas could revolutionise my business, but we'll see

Gratitudes:
* Don't need to go anywhere 
* Scones - and milkman delivered cream in a glass bottle - so happy about this!
* Good music

Hope you're all enjoying your day, however you choose to do so.

newgirly

Hope you enjoyed the day Vix, but I need to know what goodwood nail varnish is ? 😆

themadvix

It’s bright red - far too vampish for me normally (who normally doesn’t wear nail varnish on her finger nails anyway — turns out for good reason as DH had me scrabbling around in the drive to find a bolt he’d dropped... in a dress, and he wonders why I don’t wear dresses more often!)

newgirly

Ah ok, I’m wearing it too then 😁 

Suffolk_lass

Ooh, carrot top pesto - please can you share the recipe? that sounds lovely. Never wear nail polish. 1. nails kept short for weeding & 2. make my finger tips feel sweaty. What's a dress? never wear one any more

themadvix

Haha, SL, it's not normally me either - only ever wear finger nail varnish for Goodwood - not even a wedding! Interesting it makes your nails feel sweaty though - that's a new one (I'm not taking the mick - I hate the feeling after they've been cut, so frequently they're quite long). Dresses are usually reserved for special occasions - weddings etc. But I wasn't going anywhere yesterday and didn't plan on doing anything - between the dress and the nail varnish I couldn't do much anyway! The varnish (what's left) will come off this evening, I'm sure. And back in shorts today.

Carrot top pesto recipe is here: https://www.riverford.co.uk/recipes/view/recipe/carrot-top-pesto. I used cashews instead of the suggested nuts and didn't add the extra herbs. Tastes lovely, if I say so myself.

Feeling very virtuous this morning as we've just got back from a 10k cycle around the fields and lanes near us. It was lovely, and I even managed some of the uphill bits (I did get off for one particularly steep and bumpy bit). It was so quiet. Other than that, I intend to make the apple tart Fortune posted about, and that's about it... Yet more lounging around in the sun! We're having a takeaway from the pub tonight - looking forward to that.

MS things:
* Clicks done
* NSD yesterday
* TCB money transferred to OP fund. 
* Transferred £10 from personal spends to OP fund.

Gratitudes:
* A garden to lounge around in
* Lovely fields and views to enjoy
* Leftover scone for elevenses

Have a good day all!

themadvix

Morning all,

What a change in the weather! Although it's not as cold as predicted. I feel the shorts I've put on may be somewhat optimistic though.

The apple tart was a success (despite multiple attempt to sabotage it by yours truly). I found a video of Raymond Blanc making it online, which really helped and contained some useful tips too. It is lovely and really wasn't that tricky, so I would make again. In the meantime, it's such a pity that we can't share it (not!).

Unfortunately the takeaway was not such a success. Despite ordering in advance, it wasn't ready on arrival (and whatever the lady said, it wasn't even underway), the portion was much smaller and the packaging less environmentally friendly than last time. Worst of all though was that there were quite a few people having a drink in the pub garden and social distancing seemed to be a thing of the past. I was not happy at all and made a comment to the woman after I'd got my food and paid. They made it clear earlier on in the lockdown that they were serving drinks to takeaway - but if that's the case, why are they serving them in plastic pint glasses? I'm tempted to report them, but the company is a non-profit social enterprise that does a lot of good in the community, so it's a tricky one. I may write to them and complain instead. It rather spoilt my evening and I'd been really looking forward to the meal.

Today I think we'll be pottering around. I/we will go for a walk at some point - hopefully it'll be quieter as it's cooler. We have zoom with my family this afternoon and will have stir fry for dinner as we need to use up some bits in the fridge. Had a lovely cooked breakfast this morning, courtesy of DH.

I'm feeling rather saddle sore today from the cycling yesterday, so I think I may invest (from personal spends) in a new saddle for my bike. I've seen a couple on Halfords that look like they'd be much more comfortable - not sure whether I'm going to be able to try them at this point though. I have a 10% off voucher to use by the end of the month (due to a mess up with the payment for my reg plate - which was no bother whatsoever to me!), so will see what changes tonight's announcement brings, otherwise I may just take a punt - anything has got to be better than the current one (which came with the bike over 20 years ago!).

MS things:
* Clicks
* YG survey
* PA survey - when it clears it'll take me up to £20
* Found some more seeds on a clear out of my seed box - might plant some of them today (although they're also ancient!)
* I've had an email informing me that I can check my eligibility for the government assistance - will check that now

Gratitudes
* DH cooking breakfast for me
* Apple tart yum!
* Government assistance - the invoices for this last month look pretty terrible

Have a good day all