Flying solo

dorothy52

Hahaha I wish I had thought of limiting the amount of hot water available at the time lol. You sound much brighter today, I am happy to note.

As regards the dreaded tax return, have you visited the 'Cutting Tax' section of the forums? I do DS's SA and have gleaned much useful information from the helpful people on there. There are a couple of accountants who post and they are so generous with their time and expertise.

I hear what you say about your family being busy with their own lives, and of course you don't want to be a burden on them, I feel sure that in your position I would be exactly the same. I am so pleased that you don't feel that you have to put on a brave face for us.

Andalusia - wow - the name rolls of the tongue, so much more melodic than Engerlund and I so envy your temperate climate just now.

Take care

Dot
xx

*Robin*

Hello Diary and MSE Friends, :hello:

dorothy52 wrote: »

You sound much brighter today, I am happy to note.

Thank you; yes, think I've pulled myself out of the mire in that particular pit - have to, as no one else can do it for me.

dorothy52 wrote: »

As regards the dreaded tax return, have you visited the 'Cutting Tax' section of the forums? I do DS's SA and have gleaned much useful information from the helpful people on there. There are a couple of accountants who post and they are so generous with their time and expertise.

No, I've not been onto the Cutting Tax board - thanks for the nudge. If I get stuck I will definitely head over there, but am hoping the process will become logical once I really dive into it. :cool:

dorothy52 wrote: »

Andalusia - wow - the name rolls of the tongue, so much more melodic than Engerlund and I so envy your temperate climate just now.

..Not so temperate today; we have gale force winds and tempestuous purple* rain (*as heavy as it gets). Tonight we are expecting to join you with sub-zero temperatures and snow-fall.

These houses are not built to withstand cold, and lots of wet is a bit iffy too. At the moment there are only two leaks; the bathroom window (no problem really because it's a wet-room so the water drains out as it comes in - learned long ago not to visit the loo in bare feet when it's raining! :rotfl:). Of more concern is the water steadily dripping down the chimney. I've put an old saucepan beneath the stove to protect the floor, but the odds on being able to light the beast later on must be from low to rather unlikely <shiver>.

Still, it's 14'C degrees inside at the moment - with two jumpers on that's ok, or I can always snuggle under a duvet and surround myself with warm furry Daft Dogs. Ha, doubt there will be any volunteers for a walk today; a quick nip outside at intervals will have to suffice.
And one thing to be said for Andalusia; when the storm has passed, the temperate weather will return.

Did quite well in the garden yesterday; planted out all the new seedlings I'd bought in town, and wrapped up my five smallest mango, apple and lychee trees in their bargain thermal bags. They look like giant sticks of candy-floss dotted round the garden, but am satisfied that they'll suffer less in the cold howling wind - glad I got that job done before the storm hit.
Oh yes, and I was given a gift; picked and ate the first ripe strawberry - delicious! :j

Something else I meant to note in this diary: Last week when opening up the caravan for guests, I found a large bright yellow butterfly, flapping desperately in the skylight where it was trapped behind a layer of mosquito netting. Managed to free it and then saw the empty chrysalis - how on earth had that caterpillar got inside there? The butterfly flapped up into Almond One, looking for sustenance. I watched it flit from flower to flower, then eventually it flew away over the cottage.
..Now I might have been sceptical about PC sending me almond treelets - but this, well maybe it could be the kind of sign that might amuse a mischievous spirit, looking back to a loved-one on Earth (how much physical power is needed to direct an insect's crawling steps..?). Anyway; was glad to have been able to save such a small, beautiful life. :A

dorothy52

Oh WOW to the story about the butterfly. I too often wonder if my parents pop in now and then to have a look at their great grandchildren whom they never met. Well, actually I believe that they do, much to the chagrin of my children who are more than sceptical about these things lol.

I hope that you manage to stay warm and dry - and I am pleased that you are indeed feeling happier in yourself.

After I mentioned the 'cutting tax' thread to you yesterday I popped in myself to see what everyone was up to and learned something amazing (well I thought it was). A website developer was saying that as he worked from home and incurred very few expenses as he cycled to visit his clients he could do little to minimize his tax liability. One of the afore mentioned accountants sent him a link to HRMC website which detailed that he could claim 20p a mile for cycling! Now unless he was Bradley Wiggins doing a bit of moonlighting I guess it's unlikely that the savings will run into the thousands of pounds over the year, however he can certainly save some money.

My stalking you (in the nicest possible way of course) and urging you to crack on with your admin, has spurred Mrs Dorothy Procrastinator Extroadinaire to take her own advice and do some things that I have been putting off forever. As a result I have managed to save several hundred pounds over the course of the coming year simply by switching utilities, threatening to leave Sky etc etc. Now while I am very pleased with myself, I am annoyed that I could have done this ages ago and saved even more money.

Well it's just too cold to venture out again today - done that once to buy some essentials and it was NOT a pleasant experience, so I shall do what all grannies should do who have nobody in the house but a grandad oh who is more than happy to amuse himself - I shall snuggle up on the sofa with my kindle and if I happen to have a little snooze I will consider that I deserve it.

Have a good weekend

Dot
xx

please-let-me-be-lucky

My Dad always said that the only reincarnation that happened was people to butterflies, therefore every time you see a butterfly it's a visit from Heaven. He also said rainbows were signs from people in Heaven telling you they were happy. I thought it was a sweet but bonkers sentiment.

However, in the few days after he died I was visited by the most beautiful butterfly that seemed to just be 'hanging around'. When I plucked up the courage to go clear out his bungalow later that day, there was a fantastic rainbow which on the drive over looked like it ended at his bungalow. I kid you not! I could hardly see where I was driving for the tears! Dad battled many demons when he was alive and the thought that he was happy in the Afterlife was a big comfort.

Do I believe him now? Completely. Do I think I sound Bonkers? Heck yeah!! Xx

dorothy52

Oh Lucky, that was just beautiful.

*Robin*

Hello Diary and dear MSE Friends, :hello:

Don't quite know where to start today.. Didn't sleep very well - PCD insisted on spending the night outside, curled up in a dryish corner of the patio, so every time a new squall arrived I woke up and had to brave the storm [wearing t-shirt & knickers] to ask her to come inside, which she pointedly refused.

I did manage to get the stove lit, by covering the wet base with a matting of cane-kindling before building my boy-scout-style tower on top. One disadvantage of my budget stove is that it's not possible to feed sticks into the fire as it grows, so if I get the mix of paper, card, kindling, sticks and logs wrong, it's gone out again before it can be rescued. But last night the big logs caught in time, so it was a snug 24'C inside as we listened to the wind and rain battering on the roof.. Made me feel even worse about PCD being outside of course, and I did wonder if she was trying to find an ending. ..But this morning she's fine, came inside happily after dawn for a cuddle, a pill and another nap beside PC's bed. :cool:

Angry grey clouds are racing overhead, with patches of blue sky between them. It's dry, but still very windy. The snowline is roughly 500 mts above us, about 8km away - close enough for me, although I love to taste it in the air.

please-let-me-be-lucky wrote: »

My Dad always said that the only reincarnation that happened was people to butterflies, therefore every time you see a butterfly it's a visit from Heaven. He also said rainbows were signs from people in Heaven telling you they were happy. I thought it was a sweet but bonkers sentiment.

You've reminded me of a conversation PC and I had about ten days before he died: PC said he'd like to return as an insect (as Buddhists we believe in reincarnation).
<:eek: I thought!>
But his rationale made a weird kind of sense; an insect has such a small brain that it cannot suffer from the little voice we humans have chittering away - distracting us all the time - inside our heads. Therefore insects must exist almost entirely in the desirable state that we humans cannot achieve without diligent meditation..
Plus, insects have such a short life-span that the bliss mortals can only enjoy in between incarnations, will never be far away for them.. (He was looking forward to his death by then ).

please-let-me-be-lucky wrote: »

However, in the few days after he died I was visited by the most beautiful butterfly that seemed to just be 'hanging around'. When I plucked up the courage to go clear out his bungalow later that day, there was a fantastic rainbow which on the drive over looked like it ended at his bungalow. I kid you not! I could hardly see where I was driving for the tears! Dad battled many demons when he was alive and the thought that he was happy in the Afterlife was a big comfort.

Do I believe him now? Completely. Do I think I sound Bonkers? Heck yeah!! Xx

That's beautiful, Be Lucky, thank you for sharing it with us. Am happy to be bonkers alongside you! (Also have a rainbow story - but will leave it for another day ).
There is so much more than we understand happening on this planet, why not accept events that appear to be signs?

dorothy52 wrote:

My stalking you (in the nicest possible way of course) and urging you to crack on with your admin, has spurred Mrs Dorothy Procrastinator Extroadinaire to take her own advice and do some things that I have been putting off forever. As a result I have managed to save several hundred pounds over the course of the coming year simply by switching utilities, threatening to leave Sky etc etc. Now while I am very pleased with myself, I am annoyed that I could have done this ages ago and saved even more money.

:T Well done on the economies Dot, :T and don't beat yourself up for not doing it earlier - sure we all feel like that at times - it's one of the joys of this forum that we can all find new savings while encouraging others. Am glad to have been the prompt for you this time <and promise that I will get on with my own paperwork today>.

I've been thinking of joining a challenge or two to try and keep focussed; the frugal living one perhaps, or maybe I'll spot something on the Tax Cutting board? Hmm, could do with keeping better track of food intake again too - have dined on tea and salmon* sandwiches for the last couple of days which isn't very clever. (*Not as extravagant as it sounds; weekly oily fish ration @ £2.50 - good for health ).

dorothy52 wrote:

Well it's just too cold to venture out again today - done that once to buy some essentials and it was NOT a pleasant experience, so I shall do what all grannies should do who have nobody in the house but a grandad oh who is more than happy to amuse himself - I shall snuggle up on the sofa with my kindle and if I happen to have a little snooze I will consider that I deserve it.
Have a good weekend .

Ooh what a lovely picture you paint! Hope you're having a great weekend too, Dot.
<And thanks for the reminder - wonder where my kindle is? DS didn't return it before he left. Hmm.>

Right. Am surrounded by a circle of Daft Dogs again - must be their lunch time so had better go and sort it out. I make much more effort feeding dear dogs than myself it seems <chuckle> what with three different diets, supplements and varying medications. Don't begrudge 'em at all, of course.

dorothy52

Ah, so you and PC were/are buddhists. That explains the meditation you alluded to when you are gardening. I remember reading Tina Turner's autobiography many years ago, and she told us, her readers, that she converted to buddhiism and it gave her the strength to leave the abusive relationship with Ike which she endured for years.

From what little you have told us it sounds quite fascinating, and now that I've 'met' you I think I will have a little google and see what it's all about. During one of my afore mentioned periods of solitude I spent the time wisely and did some reading on psychology which provided me with an insight into why my relationships had not worked as I had wanted them to, and why I wasn't (in my thirties) where I had expected to be when I imagined my future life when I was much younger. Once I had established where I had gone wrong and what I needed to do I then embarked on self hypnosis and visualisation. Now bearing in mind that this was many years ago, when t'internet was in it's infancy and only posh rich folk had computers, I expect you can imagine how many blimming books I had to read lol. It worked though. I met Mr Dorothy not long after and this relationship has endured and we are both very happy. Well, I am, if he's not he certainly hasn't told me about it.

I agree that you should join one of the challenges, just the ticket to give you something positive to focus on, and you can of course 'meet' some new friends. Isn't MSE wonderful? People from all walks of life coming together to share their experiences for the common good.

Well, Dear Robin, I'm glad you kept warm (apart from having to go out to PCD in your smalls) and indeed I did nod off yesterday...........and woke up several hours later when it was pitch dark out - only to find Mr Dorothy quietly snoozing in the other room - marital bliss eh.

Wish me luck getting to work tomorrow - I suspect it will be warm coat and wellies as I intend to walk the 3 miles there and 3 miles back - I never drive in the snow unless it's a dire emergency, and the snow here shows no signs of abating - sigh......

*Robin*

Hello Diary and MSE Friends, :hello:

Dot - hope you managed to get to work safely. :lovethoug You have my admiration for attempting a three mile walk through snow, but the thought of doing it again after giving your employer his xx hours - well I know I couldn't do it! :eek:

Buddhism made sense to me as soon as I discovered the five precepts during teenage, questioning years (brought up by a lapsed-Catholic mother ).
Of course the first precept is making my dilemma re the Old Dogs more difficult now - there is undoubtedly a lesson in it for me.
..While I can keep the Old 'Uns pain-free and comfortable, I do not feel that I can take the decision to end their days, despite the inconvenience of disturbed sleep [frequently having to leap out of bed to open the door during the night] and unpleasant side-effects requiring mop and bleach.
If I were at home in the UK, I'd probably go and discuss it with a friend who's a practising monk..

Yesterday I managed to get out all the files and make a start on the paperwork, before a couple of unexpected dinner guests turned up. They helped cook, which was lovely, except that their main ingredient of choice was salmon. Lol; three nights running for me, but it was delicious - I had half a bottle of flat champagne in the fridge left over from xmas, which we turned into a fantastic sauce.

Found out where my kindle has got to - drat the boy, he took it with him. It had my current reading book on, and everything he buys for it will automatically be charged to my account. :mad:

'Ello, here's Fat Dog - her internal clock is spot-on; it's Daft Dogs' lunch-time.

*Robin*

Hello Diary, :hello:

Well, it's another grey, chilly damp day here in the middle of no-where.
With only enough logs left for tonight, I've bitten the bullet and ordered another load to be delivered tomorrow. Therefore have also booked a worker to come and unload/stack it. He can do a day's general maintenance to make it worth his while coming over, including fixing the washing machine pipe (DS3 forbade me to climb out and do it - am happy to relinquish that task, as the combination of ME wobbliness and a narrow ledge with five metre drop is not good, especially if there's no other human around in case of mishap - would not want to rely on Clever Dog being able to summon help! :rotfl:).

Having effectively blown my NSD, I also ordered the materials for renovating the porch (since the last storms this has become urgent). Found a gaffer who's going to build it, he wants to start early next week and the lad who's coming tomorrow will help him. Am happy that my estimate comes in at around a quarter of what the first plan would have cost, so can just about cover it from savings made by living frugally [compared to the UK] since I've been here.

A first look at the paperwork is also encouraging, ie. debt is reducing. As it's raining again now I'm going to push on with that this afternoon. :cool:

HeadAboveWater

It's great that you can get your workers to do other jobs when they're there anyway. Make the most of it for both of you! Get working on that list for him lol

Glad to hear your debt is reducing, be it slowly or otherwise!