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

themadvix

Haha, no idea NG, wondering about the fabric I have and my improved sewing machine skills... but no actual plans... maybe everyone would like Christmas-style face masks (oh, I bet that's a thing this year!)

ETA, just spoken to EA, and as expected, when they say under offer, they mean SSTC. Hmm... oh well. Time to get some good searches set up on RM, I think.

Karmacat

OMG, Christmas style facemasks - you're right, I bet thats a thing!  Sorry to hear the house is SSTC, getting a search up on there is a good idea - wouldn't it be amazing if you had somewhere like Cheery's!

Suffolk_lass

Ooh, does that mean you are going to put yours on the market ready to be ready? We moved to this rural Village fifteen and a half years ago. It is very different to living in a town but I just know you would fit in a more rural setting, with some land. It doesn't need to be much either!

Here is my Christmas gift idea (because I have just picked our cherries) - make up some flavoured liqueur - I had morello cherries - not that many so a bottle of savers vodka, weighed the cherries, added a bit less sugar and split them and the vodka roughly between two clip top jars. Shake each time you walk past and in a month to six weeks - kirsch! - I have done the same with strawberries, raspberries, damsons and sloes.

I'm going to look for a crystal broken chandelier on the auction sites too - to make up Christmas tree decorations with the crystals and some thin ribbon - they make good presents too!

themadvix

Oh, so much excitement here - I love how we live vicariously through each other!

Sadly Karma, there's no way we'd be able to afford something like Cheery's down here - we'll be lucky to get a big garden, realistically. We have/could consider moving further away, especially as the WFH thing seems to work for DH and he has no plans to go back into the office full-time, but there's family to consider too, it's difficult. Which is part of the big question issue - do we hang on longer here, save and move somewhere further away where DH wouldn't have to work for a big company/could be self-employed if we were MF (on the basis that I could cover the rest of the bills); do we stay here and aim for proper FIRE and be free to travel (after cats ); or do we move within the area, potentially compromise on space but be near family (as the eldest children in both families and childless, I can see us taking on more responsibility as the parents get older (sad face for them getting older, not for taking on the responsibility!)). How do we come up with a plan?

Thanks for the tip SL - I know some people who'd like kirsch for Christmas, or even just brandyied cherries. Will keep a look out for cheap ones (although that would involve leaving the house....). Someone mentioned this on the Riverford group on FB the other day - https://rentacherrytree.co.uk/ and I think my sister and I might do this for Mum's present at Christmas. It sounds wonderful! (Maybe a bottle of hm kirsch would be the perfect accompaniment!). RE living rurally, I loved living in a village with my Dad after my parents divorced - the community, the sense of space were wonderful. I'm fully aware of the issues of living rurally though - I don't think we'd want to live in too small a place. (This village, very cutely, had a post office for two and a half hours on Tuesdays and Thursdays (when you could also buy bread and cakes!))

Love the chandelier idea too - good thinking! 

newgirly

Sorry the house had already sold ☹️ I can’t see the point of bothering to put under offer then really. It’s a shame you can’t persuade the parents to move near you a bit more rurally. It’s a tough one, you want to be there but you do have your own lives too. 

themadvix

In fairness NG, they've never said they'd expect us to look after them and we'd be talking about moving at least an hour away (to really make any gains from lower house prices) - that would be unfair on them too (although we often think we'd struggle to get rid of my dad in some of the places we look at!). If we did move away we'd just have to accept that we may spend quite a bit of time travelling to visit them in the future - I think that's what Busy Mee has to do. It's all in the future anyway, but it's always in the back of my mind.

themadvix

Afternoon update:
* PC survey done
* 1P surveys - @ £14.65 now
* Qmee poll done (I'll be rich in no time!)
* £9.70 moved to TT account from sale of vase
* Half the red currants have been stewed and are straining. Still undecided on whether to do all of them for shrub or not.
* 2 loads of washing on the line - getting dry, getting wet, getting drier... I think the net effect is drying!

Have a good evening all x

the_cross_rabbit

  At last another person who puts their washing out and pretends its not started to rain in the hope its a shower and it will dry eventually. We once left ours on the line for 3 days (start, stop, start , stop, may rain again hmmmm but not sure ) in the hope it would dry but  had to admit defeat in the end.
CRx

themadvix

three days is standard! Unfortunately I think it's proper raining now Well, there's one less job for this evening (getting the washing in!).

themadvix

Morning all,

Various small projects have arrived from America overnight, which is lovely. Have ticked a couple off already and will get the rest done this morning. Am hoping my zero-waste-shop order will be ready today (getting rather short on dishwasher tabs!); the veg box and fruit have already arrived and been scanned and put away. We had some rain overnight, but not enough for the pots, so have watered them. Will try to get the washing in later, but it's still grey and damp here. I've frozen the red currant juice until I have some brandy/rum (CR, if you're reading - is there a preference?). This will involve a trip to supermarket (0cado is a bit pricey for cheapo stuff!). I've also washed and frozen the other half as berries so I can use them for muffins/cookies or more shrub if it's popular. I need to pick the last of the raspberries today or tomorrow and make a small repair to my sandals. I also really need to make some more masks for us. Absolutely no idea what dinner is going to be - better get my thinking hat on.

MS things:
* 1P surveys keep coming  
* Work
* Clicks

Gratitudes:
* A fun quiz with in-laws last night - and we won.
* Lovely fruit and veg delivery
* Tea (I did not sleep well last night - the caffeine is much needed!)

Have a good day all!