OS Singlies - We Do It Our Way!

3forholidays

Hi everyone

Hope the silence is because everyone is busy - I hate to think that that everyone has run away! lol

I was having a look on the internet at volunteering opportunities but was really struggling to find any that I could do. Volunteering would not be easy for me anyway as I have a disability, don't drive & have a full time job.

One opportunity that I was thinking of is helping out at the Girl Guides - but I don't know if they would want an adult helper with a disability.

Has anyone got any experience of what the Girl Guides do and whether they would want my help as due to having a disability I have limitations to what I can do?

mum2one

3forholidays - re volunteering, this may seem daft but theres roles that people dont want to do maybe help with admin, helping set up, I'd be sure they would be over the moon with any offer of help.

i'm disabled, (stuck on crutches, cant do a lot mobility wise), but at DDs last school I was a school gov and helped out within class rooms from reading, to cooking, doing 1 to 1 with special ed needs, everything was done to make me comfy, something simple like when I was reading instead of me reading for 10mins then going to get the next child from the class, it was arranged that the child who I had read with would get the next one.

At the school DD is at now, I joined the PTA, took on behind the scene admin (begging letter for raffle prizes), helped with cashing up on events, at fayres, I've had a role that means I can sit down.

xx

3forholidays

mum2one wrote: »

3forholidays - re volunteering, this may seem daft but theres roles that people dont want to do maybe help with admin, helping set up, I'd be sure they would be over the moon with any offer of help.

i'm disabled, (stuck on crutches, cant do a lot mobility wise), but at DDs last school I was a school gov and helped out within class rooms from reading, to cooking, doing 1 to 1 with special ed needs, everything was done to make me comfy, something simple like when I was reading instead of me reading for 10mins then going to get the next child from the class, it was arranged that the child who I had read with would get the next one.

At the school DD is at now, I joined the PTA, took on behind the scene admin (begging letter for raffle prizes), helped with cashing up on events, at fayres, I've had a role that means I can sit down.

xx

My mum used to help out at my school when I was younger and was on the PTA as well. The school system in Scotland is different in that we don't have governors, but there is always a demand for helpers (who I'm sure now have to be CRB checked) but as I work full time (37 hours a week) I am not available during school time.

I am only looking for a volunteering opportunity for a couple of hours a week. I have worked in a charity shop (when I was younger) and I didn't enjoy it.

BookWorm

Hi 3forholidays and mum2one :hello:

I've def not run away - just RL kicking my behind a bit as I'm back to work this week and it's tough juggling everything sometimes.

I can't tell you anything re: girl guides as I was never one. I'm sure if you contacted the local troop (is that the right word?) then they will be able to tell you how you may be able to help

BW

calicocat

I haven't run away.....but have been looking at motor homes all afternoon.....which has made me want to run away.

Some of them are amazing....if you have a spare 80K. He isn't looking at ones that expensive though, nearer half that price. He is most certainly dead set on doing it, his house goes up for sale next week, and he's hoping to be out on the road by September. His dog will love it.

It again has me wondering what I am doing with my life, and what do I want to be doing.....need to get more off the mortgage to give me some more options, and save like mad for the next few months.


Choices choices.....this is probably going to sound a bit odd.....but I wish sometimes I knew when or at what age I am going to die....that way I can plan what to do and when.

moneyistooshorttomention

Calico,

That doesn't sound at all odd to me personally re thinking it would be handy to know your own personal "expiry date" so to say. I think most of us would change our ideas in accordance with when it was. If someone told me, for instance, that it would be next year then I'd promptly forget about doing anything further to the house and wouldn't have put so much time/money into what I have done so far. The reason I did so was because I was thinking "I must assume I have over 20 years to go, based on the national average Expiry Date so to say".

If we all knew next year would be it, then I expect a lot of us would take off over the horizon and have a year junketing around the world.

But definitely keep going with knocking as much as possible off the mortgage and it will indeed give you more options. I'm a firm believer that, provided you are the only person who will be affected by money being used to pay off the mortgage (rather than for something else) then its wise to pay it off as hard and as fast as possible. My own 25 year mortgage was gone in less than 15 years and it was a weight off my shoulders to know my home ownership/money tied-up in the house was secure.

springdreams

3forholidays wrote: »

Hi everyone

Hope the silence is because everyone is busy - I hate to think that that everyone has run away! lol

I was having a look on the internet at volunteering opportunities but was really struggling to find any that I could do. Volunteering would not be easy for me anyway as I have a disability, don't drive & have a full time job.

One opportunity that I was thinking of is helping out at the Girl Guides - but I don't know if they would want an adult helper with a disability.

Has anyone got any experience of what the Girl Guides do and whether they would want my help as due to having a disability I have limitations to what I can do?

This website is quite useful for finding volunteering opportunities. You can narrow the criteria down to your area, evenings, weekends, etc.

http://www.do-it.org.uk/

I see that there are few opportunities for befriending an elderly person. Perhaps that is something you could do? There are also things that can be done from home.

calicocat

moneyistooshorttomention wrote: »

Calico,

That doesn't sound at all odd to me personally re thinking it would be handy to know your own personal "expiry date" so to say. I think most of us would change our ideas in accordance with when it was. If someone told me, for instance, that it would be next year then I'd promptly forget about doing anything further to the house and wouldn't have put so much time/money into what I have done so far. The reason I did so was because I was thinking "I must assume I have over 20 years to go, based on the national average Expiry Date so to say".

If we all knew next year would be it, then I expect a lot of us would take off over the horizon and have a year junketing around the world.



But definitely keep going with knocking as much as possible off the mortgage and it will indeed give you more options. I'm a firm believer that, provided you are the only person who will be affected by money being used to pay off the mortgage (rather than for something else) then its wise to pay it off as hard and as fast as possible. My own 25 year mortgage was gone in less than 15 years and it was a weight off my shoulders to know my home ownership/money tied-up in the house was secure.

Yes....if only we has a glass ball to look into. I was meant to be going to the town fair 20 odd miles away tonight, but now i'm sat in the garden I can't be bothered...plus have a few jobs I really need to do.

However....had I gone I could have gone to a fortune teller seeing as I don't have a glass ball myself....lol.

I only started this mortgage last year, but was fortunate that when my dad died I got a lovely chunk to put down on it, and have paid off masses already since within the first year....to the extent that they have re-calculated the payments to spread the remainder over the 15 yrs again. Had they left it at my original payment it would have been finished in a couple of years. Cheeky monkeys.....made me laugh though, as what will they do next time I pay a chunk off, re calculate again so it's over 15 years and eventually i'll be paying a fiver a month.....still, up to them, they can do what they want, I have it at a very manageable status now, so no skin off my nose...(other than the hit I took paying chunks off early for peace of mind).

Plan is even if I get made redundant/choose redundancy...or get given a crap job i'll hate next April house will be basically mine and so could maybe drop hours of new horrid job, or look at something else altogether just to pay the bills.



The weather is lovely here today, sunny but (as always) a breeze. I could spend my summers in the garden...and winters working!...that would be the ideal.


I had to laugh though to myself yesterday......i'm not entirely sure i'm ready for a completely slow paced life yet. When ex was pootling along in the van taking us to various motor home places, I spent half the time getting irritated thinking..."put your ruddy foot down! why are we going 50 when we could be going 70!!!"......lol. I think my job doesn't help with this in that it is fast paced high adrenalin etc.....but I certainly have low tolerance for things taking in my mind too long. I have this 'come on come on' , going on in my head.....particularly with other people....yet can potter around my house and garden no problems.




Re: voluntary work....i was thinking about the befriending an elderly person too, sometimes it's not a case of you doing jobs for them , it's more about visiting once a week and having a cuppa and a chat so that they aren't too isolated.

Have a good day people.



Edit...so now your house is sorted MTSTM...are you going to have a house warming??

Byatt

I'm here, just got back after several days of cat/house sitting. I've mostly lain about reading and drinking gin and tonic...:o...the gin and tonic has been purely medicinal you understand?

Because, after loads of blood tests and thinking they had come up with a solution (thyroid) it seems no treatment will be given until the figure has risen to 10, by then I will be climbing the walls I imagine. In the meantime he said my hair loss was male pattern baldness, after which I didn't hear anything else he said, except it was better to NOT have the illnesses that cause hair loss, even though I cannot be cured as such...I looked at him like a deer hit by a truck. I just wanted to get out of there and sob...I didn't but had a gin/tonic instead.

My hormone levels are very low, which is to be expected as I am post menopause...the thing is, I'm only 60 (well 61 soon), and had the menopause in my early 30's so I'm guessing my body is a lot older hormone wise than it should be at my age, and things like hair loss would happen maybe when I was 70 or 80. I see lots of dear old ladies with the male pattern baldness, but their hair can be quite thick elsewhere. Mine isn't.

So, I'm working on a plan. I have copies of 2 sets of full blood tests, Jan and now June...my thryoid is steadily increasing, and the January test had a note saying I should be tested every 6 months. I was never told this, and this recent blood test was for the hair loss not because they should have done it. They didn't include 2 important thyroid tests (T3 and T4 I think). My oestrogen is very low, but he said that levels out with the average testostorone. I also have slightly high white blood cells. And something else.

Anyway, the plan...I will research thryoid, have done a bit and it seems common to ignore lower readings than 10, I need to ask about HRT or equivalent and would it make a difference, maybe change my dr which is difficult because it's just the one practice. And I'm looking at wigs. There are loads out there! Who knew. :cool:

I *know* it's not the worst thing that can happen to me, but it feels it right now. Oh he suggested that I have another test in 6-12 weeks, I think he'd prefer the 12 weeks as he said thyroid takes ages to increase, it's not a sudden thing. He only suggested that I think because of the deer look I had.:o

edit, and to add insult to injury I have to have a smear test this afternoon :eek:

dibuzz

Well you may as well get it all done at once, I often feel like I've had a major service and MOT.
It's a lot to take in though, no wonder you needed a drink.