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

Karmacat

Another one loving the cat antics - I'm taping itvplus1 at teh moment, I've been informed there's a great cat clip on there about an American cat that learned to put the plug in a sink and promptly flooded the house  

themadvix

Oh wow, that puts naughty ginger cat's ability to turn our touch lamps on (but never off!) to shame!

Cheery_Daff

Gosh, that's a pesky cat!!
Loving the mention of thermals. Do you know, I have NOTHING thermal!! what am I thinking?? That study that I spend all my days in is FREEZING, I always sit with a hot water bottle (even in the summer!) and usually an electric heater too, and in the winter even fingerless gloves. Why don't I have thermal long johns?? I might at least be able to swap to a small oil filled radiator, should save a few quid on the electric!

Karmacat

Ooh, thermals, absolutely!  Good heavens! 

I can also recommend a colour cartoon from Simon's Cat about adopting him from the Rescue Centre I love, love, love Simon's Cat

themadvix

Morning all,

Which cat Cheery? I think one is peskier on a whole other scale! Thermals are wonderful - I haven't broken out the leggings yet (I find I start feeling a bit Michelin-man-esque at that point), but my long-sleeved vests are toasty I love my fingerless gloves and can highly recommend the oil-filled radiator. We snagged ours on Ebay some years ago for a fiver (bargain!) and it's done great service (although mainly at my Sister's as she had terrible storage heaters in her flat).

Work is still steadily arriving, which is great. We had butternut squash and lentil curry for dinner last night, which was definitely a winner and used stuff we had in. There's at least two more portions left and I would definitely make it again. I made a batch of naans yesterday afternoon (feel they always pimp up a pauper's curry!) and some biscuits too (choc chip, using up some gifted G&B dark choc with ginger - very nice in biscuits, a bit dark for us on its own). Weezl's thread is definitely rubbing off on me. That said, veg box arrived this morning full of lovely (and not very MSE) organic goodies, so looking forward to using those. Did run out of olive oil (for cooking) last night, so will have to improvise until our supermarket delivery arrives on Tuesday. In good news though the oil I buy (glass bottle) is on half price offer again, so will be stocking up! Have also popped a bag of frozen soya mince in the trolley, to see if we could use it instead of Quorn - it's much cheaper and less processed.

We're off out for dinner tonight with BIL and fiancee - just to the pub up the road. Hoping our £40 of vouchers will cover most of the meal and therefore that the others might pay for the drinks. 

MS things:
* Clicks
* Cheapy curry for tea and made loads
* Home baking yesterday
* Work

Gratitudes:
* Fun family quiz time last night (helped by quite a bit of Aldi cheapo Baileys!)
* Niece is OK - she looked like she was getting better yesterday but then had a high temperature and came up in a rash that wouldn't go with a glass, so Sis took her to Urgent Care - they said it's just a virus. She's much brighter today though.
* MSE - so many excellent threads and contributors - there's always more to learn!

Have a good day all!

Karmacat

That's good that your sister did the glass test - such a relief to know that.  And such a relief to have such a steady stream of work.  Have a lovely meal, and a lovely weekend

themadvix

Morning all,

Thanks Karma - yes, it was good to know that Niece is OK. 

We did have a lovely meal last night - and BIL picked up a very reasonable £10 tab for drinks (on top of the £40 of vouchers). We were all stuffed. It was so nice to spend some time doing something 'normal' with other people. It also made up for a fairly pants day workwise for both DH and I - boss/client troubles in both cases and we were thoroughly fed up by 5 pm.

Slept terribly last night, but did some yoga first thing and am feeling quite zen and focused (apart from the trip round the boards here!). Have booked my car in for an MOT (£35) on Tuesday morning, so we'll see how that goes. DH says it's ready, but it's so old there's no knowing what may need doing, especially after a year of little use (and 18 months since last MOT). Aside from work, I hope to get out in the sunshine for a walk today - it looks glorious outside. 

Frustratingly I've not had any more suitable jobs arrive on the new platform - there have been a couple but they've been to big for me to fit in around other work; others seem to arrive in the evenings. I may have to do some evening work just so I can get over the 100 euro mark and be paid for what I've done (which I'd like to do just to test it's all legit). I still think it's a great potential source of additional income, but at the moment I can't commit to the larger projects on there (and tbh, for an unknown end-client I prefer smaller projects to start with).

MS things:
* Clicks
* Dinner will be something using the lovely looking veg box contents - possibly a stir fry as we've got Brussel sprouts (love them in a stir fry)

Gratitudes:
* A lovely meal out last night - food- and company-wise
* Taskmaster - never fails to give me a good laugh
* Sunshine this morning
* Gorgeous leaves all around
* The last raspberry magnum - because I needed the space in the freezer (or so I keep telling myself)

Have a good day all!

themadvix

Ooh, Karma, just seen your post about Simon's Cat at the rescue centre - we must have cross-posted yesterday. Yes, it's a good one isn't it, although it made me tear up at the end - can't bear the thought of my two getting old! (Pathetic, aren't I?!)

themadvix

Morning all,

Had a nice no-spend weekend. On Saturday DH and I went for a walk around Woburn Park - there's (currently - it's due to be re-routed) a public footpath that goes through the park, past the wallabies, giraffes and elephants, so we got to see some rather exotic wildlife (and a stag with a full head of magnificent antlers!). On the way back to the car we passed a crate of freshly picked cooking apples with a sign saying 'help yourself', so we thought it would be rude not to! Three good sized apples made a crumble for two nights and another portion in the freezer for another time (combined with foraged blackberries). Saturday afternoon was spent dozing and watching various things on TV (David Attenborough's A Life on this Planet included) - very unlike us. Yesterday, after getting three loads of washing on the line as it was lovely sunshine here, I went for a local walk with Mum who popped up for a bacon butty for lunch and a catch up. We discovered a new patch of woodland that was beautiful and had sweet chestnuts in - a bit late for this year, but will remember for next year.

In less positive news, DH went up in the loft for an investigation yesterday and discovered that we definitely need someone to look at the roof and (probably) sort the flashing out. Have put out a request for reliable roofers on FB as would really prefer someone who comes recommended and its a gap in our tradesman list. 

Today I have some work to finish up and then I need to finalise supermarket delivery order (which requires a freezer inventory). Also need to post an RM survey item. 

MS things:
* Clicks
* Heating still largely off - it's been pretty warm. Did have to put it on for a full hour this morning instead of a half hour though.
* Little things - the porridge and custard in the microwave, used remaining heat from oven to reheat the crumble last night, topping up the milk a little bit with water... nothing exciting, but incrementally they all help
* S&S transmitted
* Washing almost completely line dried
* £10 TT to savings from current a/c as it's nearly the end of the month and I won't need it!

Gratitudes:
* Lovely walk on Saturday - was really enjoyable and a nice change of scene
* Free apples
* Lovely walk on Sunday - a new place to visit
* Family Zoom call yesterday - saw cousin and her little boy for first time in ages

Have a good day/week all!

Karmacat

Hi there!  I *love* the sound of your exotic animals walk, thats a keeper for sure   Combined with foraging its an absolute zinger