OS Singlies - We Do It Our Way!

greenbee

Money - I'm doing my work in phases. And I'm ONLY employing people who a. I have had recommended and b. understand what I'm doing and why, talk through the options and treat me as intelligent. They have to quote for the work in the phases I request. And I book them for the bit I want done. If they do that well, they may get the next chunk. If they don't, they won't.

The plumbers are not coming back (I was desperate at that point, and they were available, that was the choice I made). The work is perfectly good, the finish poor, but their ability to turn up when they said was appalling. The job took ages, but then turning up at 10.15 and disappearing at 4pm is NOT a full day's work. The only times they turned up earlier are when I told them they had to be there at 8.30 as I was going out. Not sure whether they got more done... And when they came back to fix a problem, we arranged 9am on Thursday. They turned up 11.15 on Wednesday So no chance of any more work. I'd rather pay someone else to fix any problems I find with their work...

I'm crossing my fingers that the articulate, intelligent electricians that were here yesterday (who have already worked for my SIL and survived her regime!) and the helpful, articulate and communicative window guy who was here today come up with the goods on quotes, as BOTH of them were infinitely better than anyone else I have seen recently!

moneyistooshorttomention

Right...mental note made of "Add writing down the time/date arranged on business card I hand them" as to when they will turn up/again and try and make it as hard as possible for them to pretend they haven't made the arrangements they HAVE made with me.

Hollow laugh at my cynical thoughts that "These days....lots of people are doing different jobs to what they expected to have and that will include workmen...so I've got a good chance of articulate/intelligent ones being available" are humming through my mind right now...as I'm still finding that that is a minority group personally....sighs....

Perhaps I've turned soft in old(er) age...as, when I was younger, I used to have a deadline in my mind on times for men taking me out on dates and, if they hadn't turned up by 15 minutes after the time they were due to meet me, then I'd gone....

greenbee

I've deliberately NOT given myself deadlines (I just know what order things have to be done in) to avoid using the wrong people because I'm rushing. I'm not doing any job until I find the right person. If these electricians work out, I'll see a lot of them, but over a couple of years, as they'll do stuff, then I'll find the person to do the next bit, go back to the electricians, find the next person/go back to the person I want to do that etc.

So I'm expecting it to be a good year or so before I get to the decorating!

MrsAtobe

Greenbee, if the electricians are good, ask them if they can recommend someone to do the next bit. In my experience, decent tradesmen will only recommend other decent tradesmen, they know who's reliable and who's not.

moneyistooshorttomention

That's a problem I face Greenbee...re what deadlines to impose on myself.

I get quite "shakey" when I think just how financially unstable our Economy feels (house built on sand is the image coming to mind....) and am quite anxious accordingly to have the house sorted out asap. That's not making it easy....

I'm hazarding a guess that my savings have now gone down to about a level the Government probably wouldn't dare "steal" with a Cyprus-style "haircut" if it comes to it by now, but am conscious that I may not have "pensioner protection" yet in the Governments eyes courtesy of not yet having reached State Pension Age (so they don't regard me as one...even though I am).

Hence, I am keen to have got the work on this house done asap.....but am still working on the basis of "If I have to wait for THE best workman available, then that's what I have to do" and try and take deep breaths about any jobs not done asap as a result of that.

My personal tolerance level (in any circumstances) of Chaos in My Home is a lot shorter than your timescale personally. I could normally specify pretty much to the inch whereabouts I have some possession of mine within my home...so "house in total chaos and everything everywhere "syndrome is something I personally find VERY difficult to live with. Not quite...all teacups have to be lined-up with handles facing in same direction...but I DO like to know pretty exactly where it all is...:rotfl:and I can then function without having to think about it...

greenbee

I plan to Mrs Atobe

Money - one of the reasons for doing things a bit at a time is that I work from home and my tolerance for chaos is VERY low. So the way i'm doing things allows me to confine the chaos to part of the house at a time, have a break, clear up, rest and recover, then do the next bit. Mostly.

But as the plumbers took a month to do what they quoted a week for (and then had to come back twice to 'finish'... I'm not asking them again), I've had a longer period of recovery recently, and been concentrating on the little things that make a difference.

Not looking forward to the next phase as it will be messy... :cool:

spirit

greenbee wrote: »

I plan to Mrs Atobe

Money - one of the reasons for doing things a bit at a time is that I work from home and my tolerance for chaos is VERY low. So the way i'm doing things allows me to confine the chaos to part of the house at a time, have a break, clear up, rest and recover, then do the next bit. Mostly.

But as the plumbers took a month to do what they quoted a week for (and then had to come back twice to 'finish'... I'm not asking them again), I've had a longer period of recovery recently, and been concentrating on the little things that make a difference.

Not looking forward to the next phase as it will be messy... :cool:

Sounds a pretty big project you have going on there greenbee

greenbee

spirit wrote: »

Sounds a pretty big project you have going on there greenbee

Erm... I try not to think about it Just the next bit...

lostinrates

I live in chaos too. No heating for three years now. Only running hot water a temporary electric shower ina leaky bathroom. Not good.

No kitchen sink ( or floors). No back door. Rofl.


Sigh.

It'll come together.


Singlies, as off tomorrow my resident parent is away again and I'm a proper weekday singlie for three weeks!!!!

I'm so happy. I k wo for those of you who get too much of it the idea of it is ungrateful but I am LONGING for my alone time.

I adore my husband and share with him happily, but actually found that the weekday alone lifestyle is sort of ok for me. I feel while its not all good, I do get the best of both worlds.

Having a resident parent has changed that some what. I am looking forward to a nice long stretch of me time, even the days I share with work men. We're having mod cons like updated electricity cables brought in to the house sometime, maybe next week. Wish we'd known we had to have those before we'd plastered

JustKeepSwimming_2

Hello all

Although I didn't post on your Christmas thread LavenderBees, I did follow it as I was facing a potentially difficult festive period. I found it comforting that others were in a similar situation, although I wouldn't want anyone to be in that situation IYSWIM?. It cheered me up when I was feeling rubbish, so thanks all.

I'm a long term single with DD 14 & DS 11, working & just about holding it all together on a good day...

I was looking for the Xmas thread tonight as I thought someone had posted about seeing a friend that they weren't sure if they still wanted to be friends with due to differences in circumstances, & I was wondering if their situation had been resolved.

But whilst looking for that thread, I found this one & hope it's OK to join at this late stage (my timing has always been rubbish which may explain why I'm still single :rotfl:). I must confess to not having read anything but the first post but I do hope to trawl through & catch up whenever I have a few minutes...

My "problem" is that my oldest friend, who I've known for around 25 years has got back in touch after a period of us not being in regular contact (about 3 years apart from Xmas cards) - we'd not fallen out at all, just been very busy with life etc.

Now she'd like us to meet up & I'm looking forward to & dreading it in equal measure, & feeling horrible because I'm dreading it.

Our lives were fairly similar through school & first leaving it, but I feel like mine has been an utter mess whereas hers has been far less trouble. I'm going to sound like an envious cow while I try to explain this - I'm glad she has such a lovely life & I don't want her to have any problems, I'm just struggling with how her life makes me feel about my own. I must add that she never tries to make me feel rubbish about my life, or point out how much better hers is - she is nothing but kind & supportive (even when she cant "do" anything to help me out). She agrees that she's lead an exceptionally easy, charmed life which makes me feel even worse about myself

I understand that I'm the one at fault here, but wondering if anyone else has felt like this & how do they become reconciled?

If this has already been discussed could some kind soul please point me in the right direction please?

Off to catch up with the rest of the thread...