our forever patch challenge

sammy70

well we have gone from heavy rain, to frozen solid! had to defrost everything from cate catches to coop doors yesterday morning! the forecast for the next few days is for ice/snow/generally freezing! so my little cafe wont be open again this weekend ,, its a nightmare sometimes having a small business thats weather dependant living here!

on a plus side, £175 win on p.bonds, good start to 2025!

sammy70

Another freezing cold day, spent feeding hay to bored chunky horse/defrosting frozen things oh joy..

A weather warning for 30/40cm snow for us , supposed to start 9pm tonight, im hoping its not as bad as forecast, poor hubby at work tonight and i dont want him struggling getting home in the middle of the night.  He has a couple of days off after tonight, so just need to get him home and snuggled up..

i rang the   mortgage company yesterday to reclaculate the payment after the overpayments made november and december, and the figure has reduced by £30 a month!  ive got my mind set on being mortgage free 1st March 2029 when this 5 year fix has ended, whatevers left owing we will clear with whatever savings we have (hopefully). 

We managed to pay the full 10% allowed in overpayments in 2024, and hope to do the same in 2025.. if so, with regular payments, minus interest, i think we can be at £95,000 by 31st December this year, and on target for our goal of mortgage freedom in 49 months!

sammy70

this morning we are white over with about 10/15 cm snow, and its still coming down oh joy.. had fun feeding chunky horse his breakfast and hay, ive left him in his stable at the moment as he will be walking in snow stilts if i let him loose, and i dont want him hurting himself.

The sheep greeted me ready for their hay and sheep nuts, left them munching away in their shelter..

Chucks i havent let out yet, they hate snow, and i have to clear little paths for them to get to cover , which i will do when its properly light..

had to sweep a little area to food down for the robins and blackbirds who were out early making me aware they are hungry too.. clearing snow to feed birds will be a omgoing job over the next day or two im guessing, as the snow is set to continue for us for a day or two more yet..

Hubby made it home 2.45am this morning safe, the snow was just passable at that time on the track to our home, wont be now!!

sammy70

still deep snow and freezing cold here, making looking after animals a constant challenge.. minus 11 tonight so no thaw in sight yet..
we dug out hubbys car yesterday, and managed to get it nearer road so he can get to work later today..  
we are eating from freezer and pantry, may try for a drive to get fresh stuff tomorrow, see how hubbys  journey to work goes later.
nothing spent as havent left home! i dont think this lot of ice and snow will have cleared for the weekend, so no cafe opening AGAIN, thankfully through summer months i put money aside for winter wages, so im on paid time off so its not too bad, but hopefully will be back open soon and earning

sammy70

Day 6 of snow/ice.
We managed to get out to top up supplies yesterday, but it was treacherous, snow/ice on our  lane, im so glad hubby is a good driver, i wouldnt have attempted it!
The sheep/chunky horse/and chickens are so fed up of the cold/snow and ice poor things, all we can do is supply plenty of food, defrost water supply and provide dry shelter. Next week at the moment the weather is saying the temperature  will get above freezing, fingers crossed..
Today will be filled feeding and generally keeping animals safe and fed, reading with cups of tea, pottering jobs,and a few admin tasks for mil who went into care in september last year.
 Her house sale is going through, im hoping its completed soon, as the house insurance is due February, and from the 2nd February due to her owning her own home, even though she has 0 savings, she has to self fund her own care. 

South_coast

MINUS 11 😱😱😱!!! I feel freezing and we're currently +7!

sammy70

At last! 0 degrees, above freezing today for the first time in 8 days!!  even reached possibly 1/2 degrees for an hour this afternoon, and a teeny sign of a melt, though still thick snow and ice everywhere..

my life has been dominated by the weather this last week.. im hoping the coming week will see a gradual thaw without any damage . 

sammy70

the melt continues, and the mild weather..
My van is at the garage having new injectors fitted today, £1100 !! hopefully that will be it, other than a tyre. and i should have a fully functioning little van for my cafe supplies.
At least i should be working this weekend, so i can start earning to pay for the work.

Elderly parents and their issues continue to dominate our spare time, we spent last couple of days dealing with MIL benefits/pensions/change of address/house sale admin, alongside my parents power cut/car breakdown/banking issues. i feel like i have a second, unpaid, job sometimes.. Fitting our life in with theirs is difficult at tiomes, and our life admin tends to take a back seat.

sammy70

diary has been neglected due to parents issues again.. poor dad been really ill and ended up in hospital for a week with pneumonia, hes home now but mum needed lots of help/hospital visits etc..
MIL house sale also  taking a lot of time/stress dealing with issues as they arise, im so hoping this sale completes soon.
The weather  has been/is still cold and wet, roll on spring!!

Mortgage balance today £113,286.74

sammy70

i have a cold, not surprising with the awful cold and wet weather and all the bugs going around!
Finances a mess at the moment, as we are having to pay MIL care fees until the house sale goes through.. the council 'kindly' offered to pay. as long as we agreed to them charging £100s in fees to set the deal up. and 4.10% interest on any fees paid, and also putting a charge on the property which would delay sale and cost yet more to set up and remove..
The current care charges system is so wrong, if you only own a modest home that you have worked all your  life to pay for, even if you have 0 savings you literally have to give every penny to pay for care, where if you rent and spend your money on other things, everything is free!!