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

themadvix

Thanks ladies, it is - even more so if I engage brain when a lady I've collected from before comes to collect from me - didn't make the connection until this morning! It is making me feel a bit more connected, considering I've lived here 9 years now. And my Olio friends (i.e. other collectors) are good fun too - one day we'll meet in person properly - it's so nice to find other people as passionate about environmental things as me!

themadvix

Morning all,

I'm a bit peeved today. The walking boots I ordered arrived yesterday and when I tried them on they were way too small, despite having used their size guide. I wanted them for when we go away - Tuesday, they don't do exchanges, you have to return and reorder, orders after 12pm on Thursdays aren't dispatched until Monday and if I return them will I be able to use the 20% discount again? There's a shop in London, so I'm going to ring them later and see if a) they have what I want in stock, b) I can exchange the ones I've got there and c) if they'll honour the discount. I'm not hopeful and of course there's the cost of getting into London (Seven Dials) to contend with. But the alternative is wearing my trainers for walking next week, when we're hoping to climb some mountains - not ideal at all. (Appreciate that walking boots need to be worn in, but under the holey circumstances of my old ones - which went straight in the bin - it was the best option). I've asked my sister if I can borrow hers, but not sure what size she is.

In other news, we used some Olio'ed stir fry mix for dinner (think our usual homemade one is better tbh, but it saved the cutting up) and work continues this morning. Water butt has been refilled and I've not needed to water the plants... (trying to see the positives in the manky weather!). Very little solar sadly, and it's so dark I should probably have a light on!

Friend brought round several little plants yesterday and a huge fern! It's arrived just at the right time as we'd decided on ferny stuff behind the pond where there's fuschia-shaped gap from our fence post shenanigans. It will do well there hopefully - just need it to be dry tomorrow to get it in!

MS things:
* Clicks done
* A suitable amount of work for (hopefully) last working day before holiday - I think due to lack of work I told most of them I'd be away from Tuesday instead of Monday... oh well!
* Sis has said yes to borrowing shoes! (Phew! I hope they fit!)
* Lunch will be a combination of free bread, avocadoes and bought eggs (and free mini pork pies for DH). Dinner will involved a rescued mango in some way!

Gratitudes:
* Lovely chat with friend yesterday and the weather held off
* A fern arriving at just the right time!
* The boot situation has been resolved!

Have a good day all!

Chiglepig

:sfor your walking boot woes, @themadvix

I like the sound of the fern - I have lots around my new pond for the froglets to hide in, but they're not very big yet.

Cheery_Daff

What a palaver with your boots! I had a recent similar episode with a sports bra - I returned it and reordered from someone else. Hope your loaned boots fit well!

Karmacat

Yep, home delivery and returns aren't all they're cracked up to be - glad your sister stepped in for next week, at least.

themadvix

Thanks all. Unfortunately they are a largely online company - there's only one store, in London and it's down as a 'concept' store. Barefoot shoes are a relatively new/niche thing, so that's part of the issue. But they're also what I specifically want, so it's not like I can just get something else. DH has a pair and they are excellent, so I'll just have to wait. There's a 100 day return period (used is fine), so I can leave it until after holiday to sort, but I might ask them about the 20% discount, because that's really naughty if you can't use it again once even if you return them. (I don't know that this is the case, but as you have to create an account to use a code, I suspect it's a way of tracking whether you've used one or not.)

Since my post earlier, I've remembered I'm out for dinner tonight (at the Korean) with my Brownie friends, so DH will have to fend for himself (probably without the mango, but instead with the three large flat mushrooms we rescued from Olio...). Looking forward to dinner out!

Am getting increasingly distracted by holiday stuff now... work is slowing down! Oops! (But we're stopping near our London to Brighton friends on the way up and they've just invited us for dinner - so I'll get to see the much-vaunted car collection at last (DH has seen/been in the cars on more than one occasion as they're people he knows through work)!!)

themadvix

@Chiglepig ooh, I hadn't considered that the frogs would like the ferns, but that's a definite bonus. Not sure how many we get as we have fish in the pond, but I definitely disturbed one last year, cutting back the fuschia. We have a tiny self-set fern already, so it should look good when it's all a bit more established.

themadvix

Afternoon all!

 Well we had a lovely holiday on Skye, with good weather, beautiful scenery and a great sea view from our little cabin. Also saw people on the way up and the way down, so it was a perfect break (also included a stop in Grasmere for gingerbread and an ice cream 😋). Spent quite a bit on eating out but it was all budgeted for (sort of). Back on the mse train now though.

 Am in court today for jury service, but no selections have been made yet so still don’t know what the week is going to look like. I do know that I’d rather be on Skye than here though, especially as this is a Covid hotspot and it’s easy to see why - far too many people not wearing masks!!

MS things:
* have done lots of surveys recently
 * made a large jar of strawberry jam with some olio’ed strawberries 
* raspberries galore in the garden and have started freezing some for later in the year too
* collecting some Olio bread for lunches later
 * Olio friend’s cat sitting starts soon - previsit either today or tomorrow

 Gratitudes
 * wonderful holiday - did and saw so much and so many people
 * cats were happy with BIL’s fiancée taking care of them (loved having cameras to watch them too)
* found a nice quiet and clean spot for future lunches this week (assuming I don’t need to spend lunchtimes working)

 Have a good day all!

Jessy103

Sounds lovely vix, glad you had a good time. Good luck with the jury service x

Cheery_Daff

Oob, sounds like a lovely holiday! And well done on finding an excellent lunch spot too 😁