New Leaf, New Day, New Ways

Triggles

No damage to fireplace - is in good repair. Not sure what the little rubble that came down was, but they've checked it all and it's fine. The tree piece is actually in the neighbour's (semi-detached) chimney, so at the moment, there's nothing I can do about that (privately owned). So next call will be the chimney sweep. I've jotted it down on my "to ring" list, which I'll be doing tomorrow morning.

Still chilly here, but no heater on. DS2's room, according to his monitor is only 17, however, his monitor sits on a shelf directly between a window and a vent - so I suspect it's actually not quite that cold. DS1's room seems about the same temperature and his monitor says the room is about 2-3 degrees warmer than DS2's, so I think they are actually pretty close in warmth. Between 18-20 is perfectly fine, especially when they are tucked in under warm blankets. My room is a bit cold, but under the comforter, it's perfectly fine, so again - not going to worry. I'm going to dig out the instruction booklet for the heater and get the timer set up for when I'm ready to turn it on - so that it's just on an hour in the morning to warm things up a bit and again in the evening an hour - probably just before their bathtimes.

I think I will make some cherry scones tonight - yummy treat for DCs and warm up the downstairs a bit at the same time. The living room is by far the coldest room in the house, but it's probably because of the open fireplace. I'd debated stuffing a pillow up it, to get the room warmer, but I like the option of having a fire in there occasionally (in the evening after the DCs are in bed). Decisions, decisions.

I've finally decided on whether to go real or artificial for a Christmas tree this year. I really wanted to have a real tree - we had a real tree both Christmases in Maine (years ago when I lived in the states), and it was lovely. The smell, the look, just lovely. Ok, the pine needles? Not so lovely. :rotfl: But isn't that what vacuums are for? Anyway, after much consideration, I've decided on artificial for a couple reasons - first it's just cost effective, isn't it? One tree - use it for quite a few years. Secondly - no pine needles. Third - and very important - no issues with electric lights and trees in water. Makes me a bit nervous as the boys are quite young still. Plenty of time when they're older to try having a real tree. To make up for it though, I may get a nice real wreath - at least them I have the smell of the real tree! :cool:

Yes, I'm sure a few think I'm a bit bonkers thinking about Christmas trees and such when it's not even October yet. But if I'm going to buy an artificial tree, I need to figure that into the budget, obviously. And I've been messing about with my Christmas budget and plans lately, so I want to make sure it's all sorted. I've had my "Christmas list" written out for awhile, and I've been adjusting it as I go along. Tonight I'm going to browse through my craft books and see what ideas I can come up with for Christmas cards that I can stamp myself. And think about teacher presents that can be made by the boys that aren't horribly expensive, but still nice.

Well, almost time for school run and then the nightly chaos of "afterschool, tea time, bath time, and bed time" routines begins.

Triggles

EH brought over 3 kilos of legos for the boys. He got them on ebay for £20, and the DCs are thrilled with them. It's a good sized load of legos, but takes up about half the amount of room that the bigger blocks did, so I'm happy with that. The blocks are all bagged up and ready to go to a friend's nephew that will make good use of them.

I have been struggling to find a pair of trousers that are cut the way I like - all the trousers now seem to be low cut in front and low slung, and I just hate that! I like the waistband to actually BE at the waist. Guess that dates me just a bit. But I've found some trousers at Sainsburys that I really like. They're actually jeggings. Yes, yes, those horrible skin tight things, you say? :eek: But no... the amazing thing is that if you buy them in a size or two larger than what you would normally buy, they actually look good, fit well, and are not tight (as long as you don't put them in the dryer!). So ... I've managed to get two pair for £12.50 each, which IMO is a pretty decent price for trousers. I'm hoping they'll get some more in, as I will probably pick up a couple more pairs, in different colours. They are so comfortable!

I'd like to find an open squarish sweater vest that I can wear with some of my winter shirts. I am going to spend a little time looking online for a pattern and see if I can find something close to what I want. I have some wool that I'd like to use, and I'm just itching to get started. I figure I can spend a little time during the evenings while I watching my soaps (yes, I know - Emmerdale and Corrie fan!), so I feel at least productive. :rotfl:

Winter prep - am I done? Well, no, in a word. But... everyone has coats and shoes for winter. The boys have boots, although I could use some, I'll get by without if need be. Hats, gloves, and scarves are covered. I've taken stock of winter pyjamas, and I think we're alright. The boys always get one new pair of pyjamas for Christmas, so that'll top their supply up. :cool:

I wanted to get flannelette sheets, but just don't have the money to spare for new sheets sets. I've taken some of the fleeces we had in extra supply and the boys are sleeping on them, over the fitted sheet. In all honesty, I was trying to put them UNDER the sheet for the added warmth, and the boys decided they wanted them on top of the sheet, as they liked the softness. :rotfl:Ok, no worries, as long as they are warm and happy.

Two water bottles - child sized so slightly smaller, but still serviceable - gifts from last year for the boys. Perfect. And I found a pair of curtains in one of my storage boxes (I cleaned out under the bed today), so that means the dining room will have thicker curtains so it will stay warmer.

I'll have to consult my list and see what else I need to do, but my main focus over the next month will hopefully be the DIY (painting and flooring) that I want to get done. Oh, and a shelf that I would like to put up in my room.

That's all for now. Off to browse knitting patterns.

Triggles

Winter prep. Last night's musings prompted me to dig out the "winter prep list."

Here's where I am:

- [STRIKE]winter coats for all[/STRIKE]
- [STRIKE]boots for all[/STRIKE] (well, okay, I don't have any "winter" boots, but I do have hiking boots that will do in a pinch)
- medicine cabinet stock up ([STRIKE]paracetamol[/STRIKE], ibuprofen, children's nurofen, children's calpol. [STRIKE]"tickly cough" stuff and chesty cough stuff[/STRIKE], throat lozenges)
- add extra £ to prepaid electric/gas meters (ongoing)
- kitchen stock up (still sorting list)
- household stock up (still sorting list)
- curtains in kitchen window
- curtains in dining room (have found some, just need to put up curtain rod!)
- [STRIKE]upstairs curtains and living room curtains lined with fleece[/STRIKE]
- curtains in downstairs toilet, plus small pressure rod
- draught excluders (still debating if needed)
- [STRIKE]shower fixed[/STRIKE] (have actually decided to shelve this for now, as I find I am using the little attachable one with no problems, so will wait until spring and revisit this)
- [STRIKE]ceiling fan in bedroom installed[/STRIKE] (again, something I've decided to downgrade priority on)
- outdoor light installed with motion detector
- car service (planned for mid-late October)
- car breakdown box (sorting this week)
- radiator reflectors
- [STRIKE]chimney sweep[/STRIKE] (just booked for early November)
- [STRIKE]slippers for all[/STRIKE]
- [STRIKE]flannelette sheets[/STRIKE] (fleece on regular sheets instead)
- [STRIKE]powercut supplies[/STRIKE] (small gas cooker and gas canisters to use outside if needed, windup flashlights, candles (far too many!!) and matches)
- order skip to clean out back garden
- reinforce and repaint garden shed
- [STRIKE]winter pyjamas[/STRIKE]
- replace batteries in all smoke alarms (batteries are on list for next trip into high street)
- [STRIKE]check hot water bottles[/STRIKE]
- fireplace logs
- cupboard and freezer inventory
- check light bulb and fuse supply (spares)
- [STRIKE]thermals for DCs[/STRIKE]
- clean/wash car
- snow shovel - out of shed and where it can be utilised in winter easily
- check/clean guttering
- DIY (painting/flooring)
- check gates/locks
- mildew cleaner (from Lakeland) in upstairs bathroom
- take down outside hanging basket
- flu jab for all (both DCs asthmatic, I'm a registered carer, so all need it - not available at surgery until October)
- clean thoroughly around and behind all radiators
- radiator cover for DS2's room (he stands on stepstool to look out window all the time - right by radiator - want to avoid the risk of burns)

Hmmmm.... still quite a bit to take care of. The kitchen stock up list is mainly just upping the non-perishables and stocking up on some UHT milk - enough so that if either the weather is horrible or we're ill, I don't need to try to get to the store to get things. I don't need huge supplies. And the household stock up is basics like toilet roll, kitchen roll, washing up liquid, laundry detergent, things like that. The plan is basically to add a few items to each weekly shop over the next month or two. That should do it.

Triggles

Well, I am feeling pleased with myself. After getting a huge amount of stuff done around the house (yes, "stuff".. generic term, I can't help it .. I must find a better word), I also managed to get a fair bit done today as well.

Yesterday I managed to:
- get 2 loads of laundry done
- washing up and kitchen tidied
- sweeping (although you wouldn't know it looking at it now.. hmmmmmm)
- vacuuming (see "sweeping" for additional comments)
- washing, drying and sorting all scarves, hats, and gloves
- chopping up (ok, I cheated and used the food processor!) onions and peppers and put in separate freezer bags in the freezer to use later
- put away all clothing
- tidied up all bedrooms
- quick swipe to clean bathrooms
- dusted about half the house (the bottom half :rotfl:- all the "I can reach this" sections - I'll have to do the tall dust later this week)
- did some baking

Today I have:
- gone through the budget and fine tuned it
- sorted out meal plans for the next 2 weeks
- washing up
- putting more clothing away (this whole "doing laundry" lark keeps giving me more clothes to put away - if only they put themselves away ala the sorcerer's apprentice :cool: )

I still have some fresh veg to sort out (big box of veg given by relative from their garden). Laundry (again, see? never-ending!!). Possibly some more baking.

Oh, and I painted about a third of the hallway/entryway! :j Yay! Finally! I can't put the flooring down until this is done! So will do a huge part of it tomorrow - not sure if I'll be able to finish it or not - but fingers crossed!! I have to move furniture in order to finish... heavy furniture, I might add. So there's a very good chance I might be trapped under a mammoth bookcase this time tomorrow and unable to finish painting. :eek: Hopefully not. :rotfl:

Triggles

Pardon me while I sob a bit.

Whilst painting in the hallway, I happened to notice a patch of the ceiling that looked a bit waterstained. There was a water leak just near that spot a month or two ago that the council came out and checked. They couldn't find the source of the leak and it appeared it had stopped, so they just advised me to keep an eye on it. Well, this isn't a spot I've noticed previously, so they need to come out and check it. The plaster moves slightly when you push it, so I suspect it will need to be inspected further and possibly replaced. :mad: This means I cannot put down the flooring until they're done checking it and possibly repairing it, as obviously I don't want damage done to my new flooring when they're doing this. And I can't paint the ceiling either, which means I'm waiting to finish the painting as well.

Pardon me now while I stomp my feet and pout. Or just bang my head on the wall (the part of the wall that I haven't painted yet, obviously!!) :wall: More delays. Fine! (yes, that was a teenaged stroppy "fine!") I'll move on to the living room and get THAT painted then. And then start moving on the flooring in there. So there. But I'm still frustrated at the delay.

We've started eating the veg from the box of garden veg that my relative sent over to us. Wow!! Yum!! Nothing tastes as good as fresh from the garden IMO. Cucumbers (which DS2 is allergic to, so I happily will eat them), runner beans, tomatoes, and a squash. Lovely lovely. The boys really enjoyed the beans with their tea tonight. I will be putting some together for DD and her family too. There's loads of it!!

I wish that I had the skill needed to grow veg like that. I wanted to get an allotment, but when the boys were younger, it just wasn't feasible. I wonder if it would be now? I would LOVE to be able to grow fruit and veg, and I know my friend would provide encouragement and advice - she's lovely about that. With the boys in school now, it gives me at least a little time to tend to the garden. My dad was one of those that could keep a garden going and produce brilliant veg from it. I may have to start on a smaller scale (backyard) and go from there. I will start browsing those green thumb threads and see what I can see. :rotfl:

Triggles

Friday is always rush rush rush day. I've done the school runs, had a mammogram (not the most fun thing in the world, but necessary at a certain age and very quick!), done the grocery shop, put petrol in the car, and went to the small local shop to put money on the electric meter. So... I've taken care of groceries, petrol, electric, and I have a little cash left over for next week's school fees, so life is good.

I had to laugh at the supermarket - the trolley was a sea of red and white basics products. :rotfl:I can add hot chocolate mix (99p) to the list of things that are good, as well as the 12pks of ready salted crisps (60p), rice pudding (15p), custard (15p), and sultanas (80p). I have bought the muesli (99p) and will be trying that this week. I'd say I mostly buy basics - unless the branded is on sale for a comparable price. I did manage to pick up a few things towards the winter stock up cupboard and will keep adding to it over the next two months.

I managed to get to the local butcher shop this morning. It's right down the street, literally a five minute walk, and I've never been there after living here over 5 years!! But he seemed to have some reasonable prices, so I can see that it will be convenient to pop in there one a week and pick up meat for the week. It's all about supporting local small businesses. So next week, I will put aside a portion of the weekly budget to spend there. I also like to buy my fruit in the local fruit and veg shop when I'm in town - but sometimes I can't really justify a trip into town only to get fruit and veg. I try to time it to when I'm already in town for something else.

I am pleased that the weather is warmer again - just that much longer before I have to put on the heater. :j

I think this evening will be spent browsing a little pinterest, relaxing, catching up on some reading, while baking some bread pudding. :cool:

Triggles

Baking done this morning. Laundry drying on rack now in kitchen. Some of my craft supplies sorted. Paperwork sorted - filing, recycling, shredding (well, actually burned in my chiminea outside). Filing filed. (obviously, what else do you do with filing, right? )

Grocery and household stocking up list almost done. In the meantime, today I wrote out the weekly shopping lists, including some "stock up" items as well as leaving a buffer of £ to cover any last minute changes in meals.

Winter planning list checked, and I've managed to knock a few off of that. No heater on yet, as the weather is still quite mild. With any luck I can put it off for quite some time yet.

Coming up, the car service. I need to schedule on before winter truly sets in. The car needs an oil change and antifreeze checked and adjusted anyway. Years ago, in the states, my dad showed me how to do an oil change and a lot of this maintenance stuff I could do myself. The more complicated cars get, and the less comfortable I am to lay underneath my car to do any tinkering, the less likely I am to do it myself anymore. I can, however, make an effort to find the best price. I will probably start looking tomorrow evening after the DCs go to bed - make my list and check off with prices and any variations on what is included in the service. And then I'll make the appointment. (Secretly I'm hoping for Kwik Fit, as it's right next to The Range and I can browse the store while I'm waiting for my car to be done :rotfl:)

Tomorrow is my "meeting a friend for coffee" day, and we're browsing the shops. She wants to pick up a few things in Lakeland (I love browsing in there!), and I have a specific purchase to make as well. Yes, I'm going in to enjoy looking at what we laughingly call "kitchen !!!!!!" and coming out with .... mould removal spray. :rotfl:Yep, I'm full of glamour, me.

Triggles

Oh good lord. I had almost finished typing out my post and managed to delete the whole thing. I could just cry.

Anyway....

DS2 was ill today. Spectacularly sick everywhere, including down the staircase from the top step. I have to give him credit. Nothing quite so awe inspiring as a 4yo projectile vomiting from the top all the way to the bottom of a staircase. He didn't miss a single step (or the bannister). Yes, I've had a fun day. Lots of laundry, cleaning, comforting. He went to bed still unable to hold down water for any length of time, so I suspect he's going to feel pretty dragged out tomorrow. No school for him and probably none on Tuesday either. That means a quick check through the diary, as I had errands and an appointment that I'll need to reschedule. And a mealplan to reorganise. I'll probably stick with cold suppers for myself and DS1 the next few evenings, as food smells seem to make DS2 a bit stressed right now - probably are upsetting his stomach. Fingers crossed now that DS1 and I don't get the stomach bug.

The entryway/hallway ceiling has been checked. No current water leakage, it's believed to be from the previous water leak. They even took the floorboards up and checked from above to make sure it's all dry. And the plaster is fine. Huge relief. Now (as soon as DS2 is well again) I can continue painting and then finish the flooring. :j Temporary setback. Crisis averted.

I've found that our local fruit and vegetable shop puts out "mixed bags" for £2 every day. These are generally fruit that is ripe, maybe they have a glut on or is getting close to overripe. Still lovely fruit though. I picked up a bag Friday while in town and it had green grapes, 4 huge plums, 4 huge pears, and 4 nectarines. All delicious. The boys like grapes and pears, although aren't wild over the plums or nectarines. So I've been nibbling them. All in all, not bad for £2.

I've also managed to purchase some chicken from the local butcher shop. The whole chicken was £3.48. And then I bought 2 big chicken breasts for £1.25 each (piri piri chicken breasts). I cooked the whole chicken in the Remoska at lunch time yesterday and after lunch, took all the extra meat off and put it in a container in the fridge. The carcass went towards making chicken stock, which is now also in the fridge. EH was over visiting the boys yesterday evening, so we cooked the chicken breasts in the Remoska and had them sliced up in bread rolls. Very tasty. I think 2 chicken breasts would easily have fed 3 people. The boys don't like spicy foods that much, so they had something else for tea. I will definitely be purchasing more meat from that butcher shop again - so convenient to my house and I'm happy with both the prices and the quality of the meat.

I could kick myself that I haven't gone in there sooner - just shows it pays to look around and check all sorts of places out, instead of just buying the meat at the local supermarket. I'm all for supporting local businesses when I can. I am well aware that sometimes, finances dictate where you can shop, as obviously price can be a huge consideration. And that is something I struggle with sometimes. So when I find a local shop where I can go and can afford, I'm happy.

Triggles

Wow, have I been a slacker or what!?!? Two weeks, no post. I'd say I've been busy busy (well, actually I have) but it's also partly because I've been stressing over a number of things and have just been trying to deal with it all.

Anyway, hopefully I can get things back on track now. Money's been tight, and I'm worried about upcoming expenses. The washer is still hanging in there (fingers crossed it does until at least after Christmas), and I will need to pay for a service on the car in the next few weeks. Christmas is approaching, and then in January it's time for the MOT on the car and the licence/road tax fees.

More winter prep has been completed:
- curtains all lined with fleece now
- we all have boots and winter jackets
- gloves, hats, scarves all washed and sorted for winter
- located the salt/shovel in the shed, although I have yet to put it where it's accessible for winter (I'll do that in the next couple weeks, I'd like to think we won't have huge snowfall in that time )
- have a small supply of about 5-6 2L bottles of water put aside
- have built up a small stock of things like coffee, tea, baking materials, a few non-perishables. Not necessarily for being out of power, but mostly for if I or the children are too ill to drag to the store in inclement weather during the winter.

Still have some to go, but getting there slowly. :cool:

I've noticed Iceland (supermarket) are now delivering in my area for a £25 minimum order. I plan on spending some time this evening browsing their website to see what items are the same or less expensive and see if it's something I want to consider. I know they do have some decent stuff there for decent prices, so it might be worth doing one good shop later next month to stock up on a few things - especially frozen items. But only if it's going to be a money-saver in the long run.

The DCs made some Halloween paper chains and hung them up. That and a ceramic jack o lantern seem to be the main decorations for us for Halloween. I was willing to pick up a few interesting decorations at poundland, but honestly - it's all gore and bloody stuff, which just doesn't go over well with the DCs at their age yet. I laminated a paper pumpkin page each for them, and they've been drawing on them with dry erase markers and wiping them off, giving their pumpkin different "jack o lantern faces."

In order to sort out my recipes, which are all on different sized pieces of paper and such, I am going to sort them and laminate them. They'll then be organised and put in a binder for easier use. I'm looking to start using more of them and rotating them a bit more.

I've made pumpkin bread, apple crumble, and oatmeal raisin cookies this week. I'd like to do something different next week, although the cookies are a bit of a staple for the boys. :rotfl: I've had a bit of a think about lemon meringue pie, but I can't think of any good "occasion" for it. Do we need an occasion or does it seem to decadent to just make it?

Quick edit to add that I'm going to skip the Elf on the Shelf idea as too expensive and possibly get one of these instead.... http://www.enchanteddoorways.co.uk/ and put near the tree. I can do a lot of cool things for it and will start it out on 1st December with a little scroll attached to the Christmas tree by a ribbon, introducing the "elf" to the DCs.

Triggles

I've just read an interesting discussion on another website about the current heating issues. Some people feel that central heating (CH) is soon going to be become a thing of the past as people cannot afford to run it with the energy price hikes just announced.

I will be the first to admit that I am appalled at the rise in energy prices at a time when people have already been knocked off their feet financially. It's heartless on the part of the energy companies. I'd be willing to be that those in the higher levels of those companies are not trying to decide whether to eat or run the heater. :mad: NOBODY should have to make those types of decisions.

I turned our heater on for a few days recently, when it was quite cold. I set up the timer for it to come on three different times during a 24 hour period, for an hour each time. Once was just before the DCs bedtime, once was in the middle of the night, and then in the morning, just before the DCs wake up for the morning. It didn't seem to do too much damage to my gas/electrics bill (I'm on prepay). I have budgeted for steadily increasing amounts to put in to paying for heating each week. I'm keenly aware that I need the money up front to make sure we have heat. While it's a bit of pressure, it's also nice knowing I won't have a huge bill come February or March.

We have an open fireplace in the living room, however, open fires are not particularly great with children, especially with DS1. I have the chimney sweep coming next week to clean the chimney though - if I decide at the last minute I'd like a fire, I want it to be safe. I have a small portable electric heater (looks like a little wood burner with fake fire) in the fireplace at the moment, which I can use just to warm up the living room without running the CH. But I worry that the heater probably uses quite a bit of electricity itself, so it's not a long term option.

My MIL has no CH. She has a small oil filled heater upstairs that she turns on when it's too cold upstairs. I worry that she'll freeze this winter, but then she's been okay with this arrangement for years, so logically I shouldn't worry. But I do, especially as she gets older as I know the elderly are more susceptible to cold.

I can't imagine that we'll go back to the days of coal fires in the living room, but I can see where people are getting desperate. How many have resolved to get through the winter without the CH? With very little heat at all? Or just simply don't have the money for it? I cannot imagine - I keep the heater going in the winter for the DCs, therefore it won't be running much during the day as it's just me at home. I'll keep busy cleaning so won't be as cold anyway. :rotfl: