Flying solo

*Robin*

Thanks for your too kind words, Lucky and DFw. :T

Wonder whether I'll ever get around to writing a book? The WW1 soldier is such an interesting proposition - kick m'self every week for not bringing that package of memories with me..

Today has felt like wading through treacle. Here is the sum total of achievements:
1. Fed dog.
2. Filled up ponies' water bucket.
3. Topped up bees' 'pond'.
4. Collected horse apples left on the drive.
5. Thought about doing the washing up.

Head hasn't stopped thumping, in time with heartbeat.
Payback time.

mcculloch29

Hope the morning brings things brighter, meanwhile CD, bees and equines are happy and the compost heap enriched.
Glad you were wise to the Shetland's tae-kwondo moves, a sizeable number can fairly be described as little sods. Equine Jack Russells, if you ask me.

*Robin*

Hello Diary and MSE Friends, :hello:

Can't even remember posting last night - must have been in a right ol' state!
The difference between morning-brain and bed-time-brain [or non-MEd and MEd-out] is so much that sometimes by the end of the day I barely feel human..

Thanks for the sympathy Mcculoch; you're right, the world looks brighter today - well, can enjoy the bright day outside rather than not being able to tolerate sunshine at all - so that's good.
This evening I'll water the lower terraces which got missed out yesterday. It is only March, so hopefully nothing has expired with the delay, lol.

The shepherd is now passing by the Nest at least four times a day with his flock. He is being vigilant keeping them off my veg terraces, and CD is making friends with his dogs.
Which is jolly nice for her, but is going to bring up a problem: All three of 'em reek of billy-goat! Really can't be doing with even a whiff of that stench inside the Nest, so if CD is going to play with her new chums every day, I'm going to have to bath her before we come indoors of an evening.
Not a task either of us relish.

mcculloch29 wrote:

Glad you were wise to the Shetland's tae-kwondo moves, a sizeable number can fairly be described as little sods. Equine Jack Russells, if you ask me.

:rotfl: Love it - you're absolutely right! :T

missrlr

mcculloch29 wrote: »

Glad you were wise to the Shetland's tae-kwondo moves, a sizeable number can fairly be described as little sods. Equine Jack Russells, if you ask me.

Oh yes. Even one can be a right PITA. Current familial Shetland has been known to rear up and box when he doesn't want to do something a grown up says, given he is same height as bIL wholly amusing but a tad dangerous! For small kinder he is positively angelic and will tolerate so much. Heaven help you if you have for past puberty!

Hope you feel better soon. I am also in the fog, but antibiotic and painkiller induced as sinuses still not clear

lilysaves

Hi Robin

This is my post on the forum although I've been using the site for a while. I recently started reading threads on the forum and I read all of your diary over a few days as I was completely hooked.

I think you're doing a wonderful job with your money situation. You're a really inspirational woman and to echo other posters, I totally think you should write a book. You do have such a way with words.

Anyway, just wanted to say hello and that I've subscribed to your diary so I can keep up with how you're getting on.

HeadAboveWater

*Robin* wrote: »

the world looks brighter today

:cool::D

Hope you're feeling better

*Robin*

Hello Diary and Most Valued Friends-in-the-Box, :hello:

Thanks for dropping in, Missrlr and HAW, and welcome to the Nest, Lilly - must applaud your tenacity; ploughing through the last year-and-a-half-plus of my small life in just a few days - some feat, lol! :T

Oooh look - Martin has awarded an extra star; thanks :money:! :j

Guess who overdid it again?
Plumber came round to have another bash at reducing olive trunks to chunky stove-friendly logs; but they are so hard his chainsaw gave up - needs a new blade-thingy.
He suggested a trip to the local ex-pat "Farmer's Market" instead (which is a destination I've avoided thus far; prefer to mix with locals and pay local prices, lol ).
:think: Also had a dinner date the same evening; know it's unwise to plan more than one energy-depleting event per day - but - well, it was just a bit more driving, right?

Wrong. We drove past the restaurant on the way to the market; obviously closed for the day. Typical of Ex not to have checked (or booked). :cool:
Market was busier than expected, although we missed out the higher-priced "arty" stalls because they are indoors - no dogs allowed - CD was my perfect excuse.

Discovered a basket full of organic romanesco broccoli, which acted as the catalyst for an idea that had been bubbling in m' head since driving past the shuttered restaurant..
I'd got a couple of Barbary-duck-breasts in the freezer, and just the day before had dug up another five kilos of delicious new spuds. With strawberry plants ripe for another harvest, and a few oranges from Late-Neighbour's abandoned orchard, why not? Organic green beans and a few sweet potatoes then followed the gorgeous fractal crowns into my bag - and I was committed.

Guest of honour was a bit late, so a Michelin-starred chef would undoubtedly have said the duck was over-done - but it was fine with the sauce, still well above the standard expected from above-mentioned restaurant. I'd added a pile of spicy chicken wings to supplement the meat offering because three hungry men can manage more than half a duck-breast apiece (no matter how large and plump).
But for me, the romanesco topped off our meal.

Everyone agreed they'd eaten better at the Nest than would have been possible without driving to a city restaurant; most gratifying - it was an enjoyable evening all round.
Just worked out the ££; meal came in at a fiver a head, including electricity, cider and vino for the chaps to drink, and a very hearty shot of Cointreau in the sauce (from store-cupboard ).
..That's Robin's kind of budget!

Honoured Guest was Divo Two; his last night before leaving to join GF in Madrid. Do hope he'll have a great time on this new adventure, but will sorely miss him. :heartpuls

Internet is crawling along.. must be the end of the month, lol.

Yesterday didn't happen, bar items 1, 3, and 5 from the sad list a few posts above. 2 and 4 weren't needed, as Shepherd moved all the horses further along the hillside before I woke up.
CD insisted on a walk - best idea of the day - she cheerfully pulled me a couple of kliks; without her, doubt I'd have stumbled outside at all.

Wrote all the above days ago, while slipping inexorably back down into the hole where Black Dog holds sway. It's taken a while to clamber out again.

CD is my hero. She is so insistent - and noisy - when she thinks we ought to be attending to the "W" word, that she is impossible to ignore even when Black Dog is growling in my ear, thank goodness. :T
Still believe walking in the fresh air is the best first aid for depression.

DS4 has been diagnosed as severely dyslexic.
This is an enormous shock. Once he finally settled at school he did very well; top sets all the way which led to him taking the IB rather than A levels, and now studying at a great university. He doesn't make the typical dyslexic mistakes that littered his brother's English school-work, but one of his tutors spotted something I never did and sent him off to see an educational psychologist.

I've got the report. Tbh it's the most appallingly written "professional" document I've ever seen, but the conclusions are clear.
DS4 is actually quite chuffed, because he has been given an assistant, special computer programmes, a dictaphone, extra exam time, cash to buy more books with, and goodness knows what else.
This has utterly thrown me. Can't help feeling guilty - if only I'd spotted the problem when he was young, how much better would DS have done? (Visions of Proud Mum watching Gifted Son receive a Nobel Prize flee away and vanish through a black hole into a parallel universe..).
Meanwhile Divo Four has moved into a shared house where he seems very happy. It's cheaper which is great, and has removed a lot of the pressure I was feeling over the potential house-purchase project (prices are rising so fast!).

Still haven't sorted out ISA, or THEM, but de-cluttered a mirror for 35€ - oh and saved another 20€ by fixing the bore-hole pump myself rather than calling out the chappie - of course it gave up again when I was at the lowest ebb during this past week, but a pressing need for enough water to wash-up and shower was the timely kick up the wotsit required. :cool:
It was pouring with rain while muggins was puffing up and down the steps beneath an over-sized umbrella, clad in dressing gown and wellies; just as well there was no-one around to see my antics except CD, who watched with polite interest while keeping dry on the patio. :rotfl:

debtfreewannabe321 wrote:

I love all the animal tales I couldn't imagine a horse would even fit in my garden we went to the beach yesterday and found some lovely horses in a field they were so friendly they came trotting over from the other end of the field to see us ds2 had great fun stroking them. On the way back to the car he asked if he could have one for his birthday and we told him we were saving to move to a bigger house and maybe not just yet. He told us he was happy to share his room with his sister forever if he could have a horse DD wasn't impressed by that she's desperate to paint everything pink

Tell DS2 to start saving up, DFw! Reckon I must have been similar to DS2 when very young; happy as Larry every time Mum parked me at the Vicarage, where I'd spend hours grooming the Vicar's donkey - never ever realised he was 'baby-sitting' while Mum was engaged on Parish business, because I was paid the princely sum of one shilling an hour. [:rotfl:]
Feeding Farmer's calves or doing other chores for him brought in the same riches; reckon it took a couple of years until there was enough in my dog-eared Post Office book before the business of serious parent-hassling began..

DFw, of course you'll never be stuck for a 'treat' for DS2 - a riding lesson - which is a great way to find out whether he's really interested or not?

As for DD's bedroom; sorry but am with DS2 on that. One can have too much pink.
Must be hard for her having to share with her brother; bring on the day when you can buy your own house, eh?
With any luck DD's palette will have progressed beyond "everything pink" by then, lol.

HeadAboveWater

Thanks for the update! Always good to hear from you robin.

Hope things keep going well for you.

(And don't be beating yourself up ref DS4 either. Things have worked out well for him. Besides, you can just go for the Nobel Prize yourself )

*Robin*

Hello Diary and Fellow MSEers, :hello:

Determined to report something :money: in this post, so have had several stabs at trying to sort out an ISA before they close next weekend.

Read Martin's article again; chose S@ntander because their rates are [STRIKE]good[/STRIKE] better than most (and have been thinking of opening a 123 a/c for a while). "Get your ISA before the closing date - it only takes a few minutes" is the proud boast on their website [my paraphrasing]..
Alas it is not true. Having gone through the rigmarole - which took rather longer than a few minutes - was eventually sent an email saying my subscription is for the following tax year: '14 - '15. :mad:

Started again, looking at rates on offer from banks where I already hold an a/c.
FD looked best, even though I'd applied for an ISA with them months ago which was showing but then disappeared from my accounts page a while later.
After filling out their on-line form I was stumped because there wasn't a "submit" button?
Two 'phone calls resulted in more information:
A. They have no idea what happened to the ISA I opened with them before.**
B. It's now too late to apply over the 'phone again.
C. Their Tech Dept blamed my pc for the fault with the on-line form.

Ok; shut down and re-start lappy. Lost the post I'd started on here, but: Yay - it [seems to have] worked! Not showing on my accounts page yet but they have sent two confirmation emails (which don't seem to require a reply unless there is a mistake?).

So hopefully that's sorted out for now, and a S@ntander ISA is already set up for the '14 - '15 tax year.

While looking at banking, finally shifted 2/3 of the House Maintenance Fund; some to an a/c paying 5% and the rest into a dormant a/c for now, which pays a bit more than the B@rclay's so-called savings a/c where it was (left some funds in there because it's easy to transfer money back to the tenants if they cover costs for any repairs - which is the way we usually do it; not the normal arrangement but expedites problem-solving and works for us. ).

Phew. DH loved all this stuff. Loss hits me every time I try and do one of 'his' jobs. It's left me feeling very fragile - Black Dog is still prowling around..
** Mental note: Look at old statements and find out whether the first [failed] ISA money was paid back into my main a/c with FD?

HeadAboveWater wrote: »

don't be beating yourself up ref DS4 either. Things have worked out well for him. Besides, you can just go for the Nobel Prize yourself

Thanks for popping in, HAW, it's always lovely to 'see' you.

Can't help wondering exactly which category of Nobel Prize I could possibly be nominated for, though! :rotfl:

Sun_Addict

Robin you're doing great - we can see it even if you can't! And shoo that nasty black dog away!