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

themadvix

Thanks Karma and Jess. Much better today, despite the lack of sleep. I did have a headache all of yesterday so that probably didn't help.

I've made 4 cards (to a reasonably satisfactory standard, given crafting is not my forte), found an appropriate one in my stash for my uncle and have one more to do for January. Two have already been posted too. Have been for a walk and have picked up two platforms job which I'm working on now. Nothing substantial, but it all adds up.

Dinner tonight is either turkey curry/parsnip daal and rice/naan or the lentil burgers which are also in the freezer. I'll let DH decide. Once I've got these small jobs out of the way, I must do some housework.

South_coast

QueenJess said:

....now I’m craving a veggie toad in the hole..

Me too! I have changed my plans for tonight's dinner 😋 (I hardly need any convincing though, it's one of the only things I ever fancy eating these days. Mine are much more basic than O's though 🤣!)

themadvix

Normally a toad in the hole here involves sausages, veggie and meat, but I had swede to use up. Ottolenghi’s adds mustard to the batter and a bit of maple syrup to the roasting veg and cherry toms in at the end… It’s delicious, but then anything with Yorkshire pud is!

Karmacat

I could do Yorkshire pud ... hmmm.  Love it  

themadvix

Evening all,

It is Mum's birthday today, so I visited her for lunch (we went out but she paid - I bought cake!). She was very pleased with her present (afternoon tea voucher, bought in the sale, don't tell her!) and homemade card, so I'm happy with that. I did try to make a cake but failed miserably. Not sure quite why but very frustrated as I even followed the recipe and used my sieve to actually sift the flour - I never normally bother!

Viewed the house for a second time this afternoon. I don't think we're convinced. The garden is quite overlooked by the house behind it and not really much bigger than this. We both keep coming back to the money - DH from the point of view that we could get more for our money further away and me that if it's not 'perfect'* then it's silly to move for the sake of it (*perfect being it ticks the realistic boxes, not the dream house boxes). Hmm...

In MS news, I've renewed my car insurance -  renewal was £1 less than last year and £15 cheaper than any of the comparison sites were offering (and we all know that that price would only go up once excesses and add-ons were set). I've paid it now, so will pay it off the cc and transfer the extra from the pot to various savings pots.

Also I've 'cashed out' on NV. Thought I'd had payment from them not that long ago, but apparently not, so £50 WR voucher claimed. Bit disappointed it's no longer cash, but it will still be useful. I felt I showed great restraint that I didn't spend it on an Ubereats voucher!

MS things:
* see above!
* Clicks done, no win on HW this morning
* Tiny platform job constituted only work
* Have been contacted about a project by existing client, so that should turn up tomorrow or early next week
* PA surveys
* 1P surveys

Gratitudes:
* Lunch with Mum
* Her builders are very friendly (she's having her driveway done)
* She was pleased with her card!

Have a good evening all!

Suffolk_lass

Have you got a list of your dream, perfect and drop dead-can't live withouts? Just wondering if you have weighted the things that are important to you. It's a way of confirming you have them right in your head, that moment when you increase the weighting of something you thought was not a drop dead condition, but then you find it is

Chiglepig

I'm with you,TMV, taking on the extra mortgage would need more than just 'different', it would need to come with real benefit.

themadvix

Afternoon all,

Thanks SL and Chiglepig. SL we know what we want, but I do think our weightings may have changed. We're in discussion, let's put it like that. Part of the problem is that if we don't move now and house prices and interest rates continue to rise, we may end up worse off in terms of what we can afford. Although, I appreciate that house prices will rise less if there's interest rate rises. And we absolutely know we don't want to be here forever (even if we put mitigations in place for parking/garage space), so we're going to have to move at some point. And there's still the vague idea of building, but would we ever be able to afford that? I don't know. DH thinks I'm being unrealistic in my expectations of what we can afford in places I'm prepared to live. I think we've just not been looking for long enough - the market is very sluggish round here in our price range. I don't want to move as far as necessary to get what we want for what we can afford, but I feel we've not exhausted the possibilities here, but he does. It's hard and neither of us knows what to do really. 

In other news, work seems to be picking up at last. I was expecting a bit more today, but things have been delayed, so I've done a few small projects but more will arrive tonight and should keep me busy for a few days. Hooray!

MS things:
* Clicks done and a small HW win
* RM survey posting stuff done (sack to PO)
* Card made and dispatched for a friend's birthday
* Incorrect ebay purchase returned so should receive a refund shortly

Gratitudes:
* Honest conversations - hard but necessary
* Cuddly cats
* Work

Have a good afternoon all.

themadvix

Well I've booked viewings of another three properties: 

No. 1 is within walking distance of here but garden probably too small and layout tricky with cats - although a wall could be rebuilt! (£475k)

No. 2 is in a village a bit further out, has a double garage, extra bedroom (i.e. 4) and an en-suite. Garden is larger than ours but would need work - it's almost entirely paved over. Layout also tricky with cats, but will see what we think. (OIEO £500k)

No. 3 is in nearby market town (nice shopping but no free parking - it's where mum and I go for a mooch though), but has biiig garden and a workshop in garden as well as garage. (OIEO £500k and they've just told me they've already had some offers in, so probably not then unless we are totally in love).

Karmacat

Ooh, 2 and 3 sound good.  And you're ready to go .... 

Good luck!