OS Singlies - We Do It Our Way!

Horace

I have been mainly resting my eyes today - I have done one lot of washing up and chucking things out in the kitchen. I am also part way through an application form for the British Transport Police because they are recruiting for their call centre.

I haven't been out clearing snow, I haven't even gone out to the freezer in one of my sheds. Where I live the chaps are very good and all go out and clear the pathways and the area where we park our cars. Mainly it is the roofer, my neighbour and his son and a lad from next door but three to me. They even visit the grit bin and put grit on our paths. When we had heavy snow last time, they did it then and my neighbour offered to go shopping for me - I take parcels in for him all the time. Mind you we all look out for each other.

Had to renew my library books online but one cannot be renewed because someone has reserved it so it will have to go back to the library - I haven't read it myself yet:( Oh well.

3forholidays

Only a light covering of snow here this morning. But more scheduled from lunchtime on Friday.

BW There are no prescription charges here in Scotland. Hope that the medication does the job and you don't need another prescription. Being ill is an expensive business.

Horace

Forgot to mention I applied for one of those tastecards that Martin mentioned in his email, alas I did not win a 12 month one but did get one for 2 months - hopefully I will be able to use it and save some money.

BookWorm

Evening all

Well done on your win Horace

I feel a bit better today so think the meds are working :T

Today felt like it dragged at work but maybe that was just because I enjoyed working from my sofa so much yesterday

Hope everyone is keeping safe in the crazy weather going on

BW

Horace

Crazy weather indeed - I did venture out into the back garden earlier to see if my mini greenhouse was still here and hadn't blown away in the night. Thankfully it was so I added more string and tied it to the wall a bit more.

Rang mum tonight - she sounds dreadful, she cannot get an appointment at the doctors and they wouldn't give out antibiotics anyway:mad: I asked her if she wanted me to go to FF for her as the T&L sugar was on offer 2 for £1 and that this time it was T&L sugar. Tomorrow I have to go and buy her 2 boxes of PG Tips as they are half price, a tin of corned beef, a tin of red salmon and this sugar. For some reason she didn't think that I would be able to walk with a huge shopping bag (heck I have lugged books and shopping from the other end of the village before now).

More chores done at home - all washing up is now done including the pans and my frying pan. I think I will cut up an old cereal box and stick it over the airbrick in this room because there is a cold wind whistling through it.

Found out today that someone I used to work with has passed away, one of my other friends posted a picture of her and I said that I thought I knew her because I had worked with her - it was the same person. I last saw her back in 2008 when I bumped into her whilst I was out shopping.

moneyistooshorttomention

Still working on "New Year...new (new again) start" as in here in Wales.

Year 1 was a bit of a loss..with all the pretty much having to gut the house and the problems with nfh. I sat down and counted how many Wars nfh had fought with me one way and another since moving here and it has come to 6 Wars (4 of them Major), with many "skirmishes" involved. Whew! and no wonder its been rather tiring to say the least:doh::wall::wall::wall:. I don't think there can be much doubt she has deliberately been trying to drive me out..in total disregard for the fact that equivalent houses in my Home Area cost way more than here and I cant afford it (clue being current Rightmove listings show that the ones I would list to view start at £300,000:eek::mad:). That would be about twice what my current house could go on the market for then. Anyone buying my house on after me would have it "easy street" compared to what I have, as these were all Wars to do with just being able to do perfectly normal work on the house/live in it in a perfectly normal way that previous owners of the house should have fought, but perhaps were too scared of Little Miss Hellfire next door to try and left them hanging on waiting to be dealt with by someone with a "backbone" (that was me then...sigh).

Anyway, fingers crossed very hard that even someone with nfh's Will of Iron and selfishness to match has "used up the last of her powder" and realised she's wasting her time trying.

Have made myself a couple of potential new friends just since the start of the year:D and one of them shows every sign of being the counterbalance I need to nfh (ie with her very obvious attitude of "Come on in....the water's lovely...do come and join in this and do come and join in that"). That's a welcome relief after nfh.

Also, another very unexpected "old friend" contact. I picked up the phone yesterday to find it was an old friend from decades ago (former work colleague) ringing me. She's been suffering from depression (and not exactly surprising...considering a couple of major Bad Things over last few years) and I'll take it as a compliment that I'm the first person outside her little community in Ireland she's contacted for years and that maybe she is starting to emerge from this depression. So, looks like we've made contact again and we even had a bit of a laugh on the phone. I've never actually been to Ireland...but it's been on the mental "one of these days" list for some time, so maybe when I'm back to normal income level again at some point....

Fingers crossed for an expanding friendship circle this year then.

Horace

Money I am glad that things are now settling and you are making new friends. Hopefully nfh will wind her neck in now she has realised you are not a pushover.

I did my chores for the day - I drove to FF and got the things that mum wanted, I also got things for me too and am glad that I took the car. Came home and eejit from next door but one was sitting in his car with the windows wound down and heavy bass 'music' blaring out - strangely I locked my car and went to open my front door to take my handbag indoors before coming out to the car and unloading it (each time locking it after me). He is a thief and has spent lots of time in prison because of it - I do not trust him an inch.

I saw the neighbour that lives next door to eejit and she was having difficulty walking and she was off to the bus stop so I took the last thing into the house, I set the alarm and locked the door. I drove her to the bus stop and dared to park on double yellow lines to allow her to get out. I then drove home. I rang mum and she is over the moon with what I have bought for her because these items of food are dearer in Mr M's and sometimes it pays to get the offers in FF when they are seen. I bought some of their loo rolls to try too - an 18 roll pack for £3.95, a 16 roll pack of puppy loo rolls is currently £6.35 in Mr M's. I might give a couple to my mum so that she can try them too.

Best crack on, I have my self assessment to do (I have now been given an activation code by the HMRC) and I need to write to the council showing them my bank statement etc so they can reinstate my council tax benefit.

Winter_Phoenix

MITSTM, "New Year, new friends" sounds a very promising start to 2015. May it continue all the way to 2016 and beyond.

I've just had a letter from someone I must have been at school with (I have no recollection of her whatsoever) who is trying to organise a reunion. The first paragraph of the letter says something like, "I remember you very well and am looking forward to catching up with you." Fair enough, BUT the slight problem there is that the letter starts, "Dear Jane" - and my name definitely isn't Jane! :rotfl:

A little bit of good news, though - this year the tax people owe me some money, instead of the other way round. Not enough to get excited about, it's true, but a lot better than the bill which is usually due around now.
:T

moneyistooshorttomention

Winter Phoenix = well a tax refund (even if a small one) counts as "Better than a kick in the teeth I guess = at least it was money coming in, rather than money going out". That's the one I tell myself anyway when I see a cheque in the post for a Premium Bond win and glance hopefully downwards to see how much its for and...yep....another blimmin' £25 again:( (ie a "petty change" win rather than a :jwin:j). So...the "better than a kick in the teeth". One day I WILL get a win so to say.

Mixed day here...as in..yep...spoke too soon re nfh and she has spent today executing another little "skirmish" in Major War No. 6:p:cool:. Never mind...on with the "big girl knickers" and as a friend back along used to do, ie say "onwards and upwards" and raise a fist in the air, a la Citizen wotever-'is-name-was from tv series back when. Tells self "One day...when I get round to writing the Novel of the Century and proving maybe I was a writer all along, I am so going to use Little Madam Hellfire as one of my characters in the book...so must make good mental notes about her".

New friend-wise...whoops...got my timing wrong...as in very wrong:o:o for turning up at their house for something and...ahem....I got the date wrong:o:o. Mea culpa and they were very gracious about it and made me a drink/we had a chat anyway...ahem...in years to come we will laugh about that...ahem. So that was the positive side of today.

School Reunions-wise....well...I went to one with the one school friend I remembered/was still in touch with and we both came out thinking "Sighs....well it was a grammar school wasn't it...suppose we shouldn't be too surprised that a lot of them seem to have done rather better in life than we have.....". Oh well....my first and last school reunion then. Must admit I cant really see the point of them. Or is the whole point supposed to be to boast about how well we've done in life since then?....errrm.....in that case I return to my previous point of "Why go then...since I haven't"....

Horace

I remember being invited to a school reunion at my high school but I didn't go - I couldn't wait to leave the place so I was hardly likely to go back for anything.

Money - sorry to hear that your nfh is up to her old tricks again - can't that woman get a life? Spiteful old witch!

Just back from a meeting to do with the park - I shall be busy tomorrow completing park usage forms and writing blagging letters for Easter Eggs etc. We have 3 events to organise - one is a free one tagged onto an activity that is already going on in the park and at that we will be selling tickets for the Easter Egg Challenge and we are having a community event in the summer. We have a new volunteer who is expert at organising events and she has already given us loads of ideas as well as places to go locally for funding. Looks like we are going to have lots of fun this year.

Feeling a bit peckish now but it really is too late to be chomping. Although I do fancy a cold sausage as I cooked up some yesterday.