Dancing in the Rain

brizzledfw

Pleased you're starting your savings net..

milasavesmoney

Very upbeat post. You have a fun sense of humor.

Hurray for savings!

doingitanyway

A training course today and trains were cancelled so I used the time until the train came to go to the supermarket and buy unplanned for items. :eek: It wasn’t my finest hour, but in the past I would have spent double…Ald* is a godsend. They have an award winning Tempranillo that I really like for the unbelievable price of £3.49

Yesterday was a NSD and I listed an item on gumtre* :T

I bumped into a someone who might have leads on workmen. I’m meeting her for coffee. So far my attempts to get a personal recommendation have come to nothing. I have to keep pushing until I succeed.

I’ve been eating too much meat. My body doesn’t like much meat and can feel sluggish when I indulge. I made and ate lots of meatballs yesterday, so much so, I have gone off meat. Today I ate soup and had mackerel and salad for supper. I made buckwheat wraps yesterday and humous so that’s lunch with carrots and olives.

There’s this one cartoon where the cartoon character is running across the sky and is fine, but then he looks down and sees that he has been running across the sky and he falls.

I could look down and think about my repairs and think of the all the things I need that I don’t have, despite being a fully grown adult. But, I will keep going, running across the sky, without looking down.

Hope your week got off to a good start
DIA x

beanielou

I have been really lucky on the personal recommendations.
Found a fabarooni joiner.

mothernerd

I love your diary.

I have workmen at the moment - well on and off for the last four weeks. New bathroom last week and hit a few snags although they never left me without a toilet overnight. Mr and Mrs builder came back on Saturday and Sunday (they only work short days, from 10 or 11 am until 3 pm (Mr Builder keeps saying he wants to retire but we tell him he would be bored and think of it as a hobby rather than work).

If it's any consolation most of the things on my list have needed doing for between 5 and 8 years, I just didn't have the money. Things you don't have - when I was writing the list of things wrong I missed off the toilet. I have got so used to turning round and pulling up the doodah to make it flush. It was only after they had started that I asked if I could have a mirror. The one I have is over 20 years old, we got it out of a skip originally and it has not been put back up since DS2 (who was renting this house from me at the time) painted the bathroom battleship grey.

I am hoping the work I do will see me through the next 10 or 20 years when I may need to consider other adaptations (I am having an over bath shower put in now but I love having a bath, don't want the walk in shower yet). On Wednesday and Thursday they are coming back to 'finish off' the kitchen I put in 12 years ago. I hope I can then get another 5 - 10 years out of that before I consider replacing it.

In my defence, I was working multiple jobs whilst waiting for a hysterectomy operation and doing work on mine and my father's house (he had died the previous year, he had done very little maintenance on it and one of my brothers lived 400 miles away and the other is disabled) at the same time.

I was coming home from work at 7 in the evening and putting together one or two units each night. I put them in line and got the worktop and end panels done. When the plumber came to do the sink, washer and dishwasher (hadn't used one before but previous kitchen was 16 years old so was thinking what might be standard in a kitchen within the next 16 years) he thought it needed a bit more work. This was 2 days before my op.

He got his cousin's boyfriend to come and scribe the big worktop for me. he also put up a line of wall cabinets (but not the handles). Plumber came back to do his bit when I was in hospital and during my recovery I did little jobs such as attaching the handles on the lower cupboards.

When I went back to work I needed to up my hours. I found a job cleaning a building society (four stories, double shop width). A few weeks after starting, I got a phone call to ask if I could do another one as well, starting that day. I ended up cleaning three building societies, two churches and a government building, doing the work on my dad's house in between.

Somehow little things like the plinths, upper cupboard door handles and small worktops actually being attached to units or the wall never happened.

Orange_Ena

I agree with another poster, you should definitely do some sort of food blog :T I've no idea what tabbouleh is but I'm going to find out and try it thanks to you.

Keep on running across that sky :j

MuffinTops

Hello DIA,

I've given up on the personal recommendations as I wasn't getting far either. I have found a website I'm happy with so far, so I'll let you know how that goes.

Well done on all your current achievements. You're doing much better than you give yourself credit for.

MTx

a_silver_lining

Hey DIA, I've told myself this summer is my deadline for all diy in my flat. I bought a year and a half ago and lived with very stained smelly carpets and mismatch furniture. I have managed to paint, replace flooring and add skirting board to the hallway and lounge and the bedroom is floored awaiting wallpapering and painting before the skirting board goes up.

My to do list feels insurmountable at times... I'm only in a one bed but my partner didn't buy with me and so although she has helped in small ways I have done the majority of the work alone... even the most finished rooms still need the skirting board sanded and waxed, the doors replaced and door frames painted.... then pictures put up and some plug sockets changed etc etc. I have paused for a few weeks inside and am focusing on laying patio and replacing the garden gate. I find starting an area causes me to panic about lists to do and so swapping between areas keeps up my moral.

Another reason I keep pausing I realised is a fear of spending money. A lot of things I have done I thought would cost less resulting in my buying extra packs or extra tools I didn't realise I needed. I think that's why I'm pausing now. I have already bought the sand and cement for the patio, wax for the skirting and primer and paint for the front door so I feel I need to use it before spending more money. The kitchen is a big query as I wanted to replace it but have recently realised I'm terrified of having costed it at less then I thought. I haven't worked out how to get past this fear yet but I think it helps knowing why I'm pausing.

For me this is a home for at least another three or four years, longer if I am single as I can't imagine buying with anyone or earning enough to move up! I want to get what I can done this year so I can enjoy it and not be paying for someone elses pleasure. That's my motivation at least

Anyway, best of luck with your renovations will keep up with your progress.

doingitanyway

I so appreciate the time taken by other’s on this forum to share their experiences and offer encouragement. Thanks Orange Ena and Beanielou.

Mothernerd Thank you for reading my diary. I am so pleased you got your repairs done after so long and you are now able to live more comfortably. Your sharing makes a difference to me

Baibelle, I like the idea of getting things done and then pausing for a break before going back again. I shall do that and might have to as the money I will have will come in monthly as I don’t have savings. I think repairs/renovations to a home are harder to do alone, but it is how it is. I am super impressed that you are buying in sand and laying your own patio.

MT, thank you for your encouragement. When you get a chance I’d love to hear about your online tradesmen option. I need to consider new ways of getting to my goal

Today was the last day of training and I got home early

I ate well all day and blew it when I got in by eating chocolate, crisps and having a glass of wine.:o

The success of the day was my salad lunch and I am hooked on my buckwheat wraps as I can eat them anywhere with no cutlery or mess. I can sneak them into Pret and pay for a coffee and eat them without being noticed.

CHAOS here. :eek: Partly because I can’t dry washing outside so clothes are building up. Wet tomorrow too. ITS SUPPOSED TO BE SUMMER. I’m going to start the mega clean tonight as I have plans for tomorrow and can’t spend the whole day cleaning! I’m WFH Thursday and Friday so I usually have good results in home organisation on those days

3 good things

youtube of gaymen’s choir singing bridge over troubled water yesterday in Soho

getting home early

the people on here

Tomorrow I am not working. I am going to swim, sauna and see an afternoon matinee of a film.

I was a bit wobbly yesterday. Today I am stronger.

Happy Tuesday reader
DIA x

MuffinTops

Hello DIA,

What matinee did you go and see?

As I've not had any jobs completed from my online venture I won't post the details on your diary but will pm them to you. If all goes well then I'll be happy to name the site on my diary. I've just requested another job, so waiting to hear about that.

Almost to your WFH days this week! Just today to get through.

Happy Hump Day!

MTx