NST;September Squirrels

[Deleted User]

Quick post from me as we are all packed up ready to go camping, ate at home to make it easier. I succumbed to a tesco shop (had one of those 6 off 30 vouchers) so we are now stocked up for all but milk / veggies for a long, long time, but DD got some treats and is happy! Well done stewby on getting under the 3k mark
I.popped in to show off my signature (budgets not updated but debt total is!!) a little lower than I thought, Horay! I also had some big bills - guttering, and architects fees for extension to pay this month, so I have about 5 to live on until this paying guests money comes through! Did three good turns today, gave a hitcher a lift in pouring rain, made up a bag of cleaning stuff etc for the ukrainian couple who were moving into their first flat today, so far from home, and left lady who was clearing and doing changeover for me a bonus as it was all so last minute!

nannygladys

Hooray for debt repayments!!!!

Had a busy day at work, but at least the time goes quick and I've been told we are having a pay rise next month all be it very small but more than some people who aren't getting any.

Anyway off to see if I can pick up some super frugal tips to get me through winter.

Nannyg

mothernerd

Deleted_User wrote: »

Another NSD, though barely! I had a friend visit last might, plus a guest, both left this am. Urgent request from guest for tonight - young couple from Ukraine on their way to uni, got dates wrong and found themselves in town.a day before their flat was free. Said yes, even tho that makes it a nightmare to get ready for weekend. But not as much of a nightmare as they have been living - life over there sounds incredibly hard at the moment. So was pleased I could help. We have more guests arriving tomorrow night, but DD and I are off for a late camping weekend. My first since June, after a summer stuck inside following op. My budget for the weekend is £100 (pitch, fuel, food - but mainly taking from the cupboards here), but income from the house is just shy of twice that, so I figure chocolate biscuits are allowed! I also splurged and asked a friend to clean the house ready for changeover 2mrw...i am at work abd as these folk are here unexpectedly tonight, I can't get ready tonight like I planned. Cleaner costs half the price of the room tonight (wiping out any profit!), and is always nice not to do it all myself. Must do my expenses claim for last week's,meals 2mrw at work, if nothing else! Car is half packed ahead of trip Hugs to all turtley bods who need it. PS sig long overdue an update..i paid nearly £600 off my family loan on payday (earlier this week!). Whoop! In the 3000's now, just!

Keep up the good work and enjoy your camping trip.

[Deleted User] wrote:

In the end the council did not get the chance to pick up my old couch and coffee table as someone knocked on the door and asked if they could have them. Really happy someone took them and will get use out of them (I had put them on freecycle but no takers).

No major plans for today. I have a half day today so I will get outside to the garden this afternoon and plant some dafodil bulbs. I am hopiing the fog lifts by then.

Love people making use of things. I am resisting gardening catalogues and not planting bulbs for Christmas this year - didn't think I could handle the additional stress of caring for bulbs when moving. Trying to wind down all the garden stuff now (invested heavily in £1 shrubs last year) but when hacking back at the old house, have saved a bag full of rose-hip clusters - not planning on making my own rose-hip syrup but maybe something crafty/ wreathy).

PheoniX wrote: »

Hi gang :wave:

Mothernerd if I lived up your end I would give you a lift to the hospital myself

So.. Last night ended with a washing machine drama, where the blooming thing started to beep like mad and lights all flashing :eek: and to top it all, clothes and bedding are stuck inside the machine and wont be released until Monday when Briti$h Ga$ rock up! :mad: I dont know why the landlord couldnt sort out a washing machine repair man for today

Spend day today.. Last week I budgeted £30 for new bedding. Saw 2 I liked in BnM bargains for £15 each today but when I got to the till, one of the pretty embroided duvet sets came up as costing a £1! The confused cashier commented on the bargain but didnt query it so I made a scurried squirrel dash out the door! :T

Laters gang :wave:

Thanks for the offer of a lift, consoling myself that if I undertake the marathon journey (with backpack with food and drink for the day) by the time I get there, they will be in no doubt as to the extent of my problem.

Washing machine breaking is my current worst case scenario. Yay to bedding bargains and laptop. Need to do a few tilly tidies myself - probably start with the water bill and then see how far I can go with what's left.

Been at mother's all day and she is still at home. We were hopeful at the start of the day (phone calls had been made) but think it will probably be Monday now. Staying home tomorrow but I will be phoned and picked up if anything changes. One of partner's grand-daughters is threatening to drive mum to A & E if she deteriorates (she has managed to eat soup and porridge today - still worried about the pills causing her to put on weight so I pointed out it would fill out the wrinkles and she would have lovely smooth skin).Spent £3 on taxi to mum's so gone over budget on travel but been promised lifts for visiting.

Today I am grateful for lifts, for charity shops and young men (mum told me I was 'cruel to men', was only teasing grand-daughter's affianced, I said I had to get my fun somewhere).

apple_muncher

Today I am grateful for buttons and ribbons, for my neighbour 3-doors-up lending me his saw, for lovely chats with dd, for well-rotted compost in the bin, for a great game of hide and seek with dd.

I've had a lovely staying at home day where I've read, sewn eyes onto many a birdie, pruned more of the 3 apple trees, razed some rasp canes, made peppermint cream trees, and generally chilled out. Bliss!

luckystarr

well done on getting your sofa moved allie23 it's always nice when you can help a member of the public.

Mothernerd what a pain about your hospital appointment being so far away . if i lived nearby i would glady give you a lift. Sending you hugs and positive thoughts for your mum

no exercise or SFD but in the grand scheme of things it is no the end of the world and I am not going to stress (yet), However I am off on Monday and I am having look over our finances with a fine tooth comb and see if we can reduce anything like our TV as we are wit v3rgin at present have been tempted with sky but will have a proper look.

Day three of thankfulness ...... I am thankful to have a roof over my head and be able to sleep somewhere safe.

Hugs to all that need them

Keep plodding on squirrels

Night xxxx

speakingofart

Good morning everyone! Sorry I didn't check in yesterday - had a real nightmare! On wednesday morning I had to cancel my debit card as my purse was stolen, got a new card yesterday and within three HOURS I noticed my available balance was different to my balance on internet banking. I knew I hadn't spent it... because, no debit card so I rang the bank and someone had tried to put through an iTunes transaction, so they CANCELLED THE NEW CARD!!

So I'm going to have to go down to the branch later on, persuade them to give me (more) emergency cash so I can food shop and try and close my overdraft account without cards.

<bangs head on desk> This was so close to being a good week!! Hope everyone else is doing better

dolly84

soa - what a nightmare. I have loads of problems with my itunes account itself with people hacking it and buying things in Korea etc, itunes are useless about it and won't let you close the account only disable it. Thank heavens I never put my CC details on there for all to see when they hack in.

LoveaDove

Fmess wrote: »

loveadove I'm so impressed that others know the awkward turtle. We also have awkward balloon, which is a little more discrete.

Fmess how do you sign awkward balloon? The turtle sign is the same in makaton, and for when you're scuba diving. x

mothernerd wrote: »

I have a date for my surgical consult - 6th October at the furthest away hospital (three different buses, well over 2 hours traveling each way, even if the buses are all in sync). Will be over 2 months since my diagnosis but have accepted the appointment, really can't wait any longer. Checked the a-z and it is over the border in the next county so will cost about £10 as day tickets stop at the border.

Yay for having a date set but a mega boo for the cost and time having to be spent travelling x

speakingofart wrote: »

On wednesday morning I had to cancel my debit card as my purse was stolen, got a new card yesterday and within three HOURS I noticed my available balance was different to my balance on internet banking. I knew I hadn't spent it... because, no debit card so I rang the bank and someone had tried to put through an iTunes transaction, so they CANCELLED THE NEW CARD!!

Oh love, that is blooming awful! A double steal, how on earth did they get your details from your new card? That is crazy! Hope that your weekend fast improves!! x

Sorry I missed check-in yesterday. I was so tired, I didn't have my computer on at all.

Spend day today- I was naughty and treated myself to a new dress. I haven't bought a new item of clothing in a long time, that was not work related. I usually buy clothing from cs's but grabbed this lil number in the sale. So shant beat myself up about it! Weather is grim today, so staying in with a movie, popcorn and OH.

Hope you all have a lovely evening! xx

PS. completed week 2 of my futurelearn course and have started week early!

liltdiddylilt

Hi guys

Lots of news to catch up on in here

stewby £490 is a huge chunk! If you could do that every month that balance would bite the dust in no time!

Fmess & Loveadove I know the awkward turtle! no-one else down here knows it though so it's just another weird thing Lilty does... :rotfl:

SOA :eek: to your purse being stolen! Was there any cash in it? Library cards etc? Are you okay? And did you report it?! Not a lot of help but getting a crime number means fraud departments take notice a lot faster. So sorry the new one got cancelled too.

crazy by name and nature. You are a very good hearted soul. It will all come back to you karma loves a giver!

Mothernerd well done on getting so much of the house sorted. Hope that your mum gets her bed on Monday and please take it easy with all this *doing* even I know when I am beat and try to stick to a one day on, one day off method with housework etc to allow my back to heal a bit between times.

NannyG of course you had something to do with your newest DGD You modeled one of her parents to perfection - so congratulations to you. Grandchildren are grandparents revenge as my mum is always telling me when Jellytot trashes something or throws a tantrum. Enjoy your newest one. Babies are wonderful!

LoveaDove so glad work is going OK First mini-week over. What a relief! And well done on the course. New dress sounds fab. I really need to treat myself to something clothes-wise. I am beginning to resemble a slightly porky scarecrow. By the sounds of my description I definitely also need to stop eating to much chocolate and carp! Lol

Have got £2 left to last me to the end of next week. :rotfl: sometimes these targets I set myself for savings are a bit much. But I was naughty and spent far too much on rubbish sweets and chocolate so I am paying my penance. Thats a loaf and 4 pints there... plenty in the fridge/freezer & cupboards to keep us going.

Today I made play-doh with jellytot & then played with it much fun, only slightly messy. the most mess was in making it, where we sat on the floor measuring and mixing together and I dropped flour everywhere It was green and yellow, and now a big greeny yellow marbled ball resides in clingfilm and tupperware in my fridge for another day. 3 hours well spent playing with that.

Mum is 'just OK' not great. Recovery is slower than she expected and so she is frustrated at being exhausted all of the time and taking so much morphine. The chemo and radiotherapy to come is worrying me. She seems a lot more fragile this time around.

Hugs everyone! xx

mothernerd

speakingofart wrote: »

Good morning everyone! Sorry I didn't check in yesterday - had a real nightmare! On wednesday morning I had to cancel my debit card as my purse was stolen, got a new card yesterday and within three HOURS I noticed my available balance was different to my balance on internet banking. I knew I hadn't spent it... because, no debit card so I rang the bank and someone had tried to put through an iTunes transaction, so they CANCELLED THE NEW CARD!!

So I'm going to have to go down to the branch later on, persuade them to give me (more) emergency cash so I can food shop and try and close my overdraft account without cards.

<bangs head on desk> This was so close to being a good week!! Hope everyone else is doing better

You poor thing, what a let down after your lovely week.

Go Stewby on the debt reduction.

liltdiddylilt wrote: »

Today I made play-doh with jellytot & then played with it much fun, only slightly messy. the most mess was in making it, where we sat on the floor measuring and mixing together and I dropped flour everywhere It was green and yellow, and now a big greeny yellow marbled ball resides in clingfilm and tupperware in my fridge for another day. 3 hours well spent playing with that.

Mum is 'just OK' not great. Recovery is slower than she expected and so she is frustrated at being exhausted all of the time and taking so much morphine. The chemo and radiotherapy to come is worrying me. She seems a lot more fragile this time around.

Hugs everyone! xx

Used to make play dough all the time. Made loads for a stall once when I was a Woodcraft Folk Leader. Well it was a very hot May Day and all our dough went super gooey. Following year was outside running my Traidcraft stall (lots of stationery) and it chucked it down all the time - alternated between letting people see the goods and throwing plastic sheeting over in an attempt to 'save' my stock.

Sending hugs for you and your mother.

DS3 was going out for the day so I bought the bus ticket and hopped up to the next town (1/2 hop as we are on the border of the 2 towns) and paid the remaining carpet money. Decided to walk down to the next stop and made more cs clothes purchases - 2 100% cotton nightdresses for £3.48 (put the 2p in the collection box). They were on my wish list, cost less than the material would have done and can be classed as being prepared - my motley collection of nightwear isn't up to public scrutiny (if I do get sent into hospital).

As I had spent money, I continued on down to the American sweets shop for DS3's gf's favourite sweets (not allowed to buy her a present so get her sweets when she comes to celebrate 'their Christmas' - usually late November/early December but may be earlier due to her work commitments). Felt good at having done the walk but not sure I should have done (probably not). DS3 paid me for the bus ticket and the sweets (will take them when they go to a convention in October) but I bought myself 3 spanish ( but not seen any since the Christmas Market last year).

Mum has gone into hospital but had decided there was no room in the car for me so I will visit tomorrow. Took advantage of DS3 going out and have 'improved' his room - used baby powder on his quilts and pillows, put covers on everything and took some things out of the wardrobe and put 2 sets of shelves inside to hold books,games, models etc neatly and out of sight for viewings. Did everything in stages (clothes 2 hangers at a time) with lots of rest breaks.

Also awarded myself clutter clearing points as baskets of recyclables have gone out (may have 10+ items for cs when I can gather them together). Eating from the fridge and freezer (would like a cooking day but stupid carpet fitters took off 2 of the doors and left them in the kitchen (mr and mrs builder say they will come and help me fix).

Today I am grateful for my bed, for comedy programmes and Doctor Who.