Project Mortgage Neutral Begins

ajmoney

The gardener is going to do the tidying up jobs in the front and back garden for a price nearly half of what I had set aside as I didn't have a clue and it will be done the week after next.  He has given me some great ideas for my long term design plans out there.

I went for a walk to get shower sealant ready to attempt replacing it myself, I am a little scared in case I get it wrong but I am sure me and my good friend y0utub£ can do this.  For the rest of the day I have alternated between playing a game on my kindle, knitting and reading replies to a post I put on our triathlon club page to boost our community and learn a bit more about each other.  Tonight I might start a jigsaw, I am trying to keep variety going at the moment.

Tomorrow I am going to tackle the shed so wish me luck.

savingholmes

Good luck with the shed. Glad you managed to get a gardener at a decent price. Good that you sorted formula for your friend too. I've had some more art supplies delivered so we could do art stuff. We have plenty to do in the garden and the house. MIL and BIL are coming tomorrow - after that don't expect to see family for months. Picking up DS from uni on Tuesday at the earliest as he has cold symptoms and I have a medical appointment I can't miss. If it gets cancelled though we will get DS earlier. We had to self isolate for the last week - as DH was exposed to someone a week earlier from the States (ironic I know) and it took a week to find out. We are out of it now so nipped to the chemist and did food shop in store and online as couldn't get everything.

Glad you are getting some food in.   

ajmoney

savingholmes I don't live that close to my family, the closest are 250 miles away.  It is a strange thing though, I have an elderly nan in a home who my parents would normally see daily but the home has been locked down for over a week now.  My mum and dad are having to self isolate due to their medical conditions and my sister and niece live about 450 miles away.  I guess we were lucky as we saw each other twice in a week around the funeral so we just got out annual visits in early. 

savingholmes

I've just organised a package to be sent to my little nieces and nephews to break up their boredom. I remember how exciting it was to get a package as a kid so hope they feel the same. 

ajmoney

savingholmes said:

I've just organised a package to be sent to my little nieces and nephews to break up their boredom. I remember how exciting it was to get a package as a kid so hope they feel the same. 

I love this idea, I have already thought about getting puzzle books to send to my mum and dad as I am sure they will finish the ones I bought for Christmas very soon!  I might think of something I can send to my sister and niece too.  I have already bought 2 lovely cards, one to send to my nan and one to a dear friend of mine.

As much as I am not a fan of this I do think the world was getting to breaking point and I like to think this will give people time to take stock and appreciate what they have, or maybe they will when they stop panic buying.  I do fear that life as we knew it will not be the same for a long time, even if/when corona virus disappears businesses etc will take a while to bounce back.

Suffolk_lass

I think your analysis of the future is likely to be right - I do fear for the generation of people who define themselves by the latest fashionable thingummybob they have bought. I sincerely hope things gentle down and maybe people learn new skills, like gardening, cooking, thinking of others. I love the idea of care packages for young rellies.

When you come to reseal, the worst part is removing the old - it is worth being diligent and wiping your surfaces with a spirit like white spirit (brush thinners) or methylated spirit to make sure they are properly clean and dry before you apply the new. We have just re-sealed the van and my top tips are:

• don't use a solution to soften the old sealant - it peels better if it has not gone soggy
• cutting a smaller than recommended tip off the sealant tube,
• a bowl of washing up liquid in water to keep your universal spreader (finger) lubricated,
• plenty of rags or kitchen paper to keep wiping down

ajmoney

My first full week of working from home.  I am trying to stick to a bit of a routine so I got up at the normal time and have already done a load of washing that is outside.  The plan for each day is to leave the house as I would each day for work, go for a walk around the block (walking to work while we are still allowed away from our homes) and work (practice my flute) for 2 hours each morning.  Over my "lunch break" I will pick a room to clean and do any jobs that need completing and then do some exercise.  I would also like to go for another walk each day and saw something on facebook that I like the idea of, I will roll a dice and walk that many miles/km each day.  I'm not sure how long I will be able to stick to this rough schedule but I need to find some order, my sleep is suffering from all this and I am hoping this might help.

I think I can get away with not going shopping and therefore not move my car before Wednesday, I will not be swayed by the panic culture.  Even then I think I will only need milk and potatoes.

ajmoney

So far so good.  I exchanged a couple of hello's on my way to work, have done an hour of dedicated flute practice, replied to a text asking me for work information and currently on the half hour break we would get at work while listening to popmaster.  Back to it at 11.  I currently have all my music in the dining room but my spare room is intended to be used as a music/sewing room so it is giving me the idea to work on that as my room later so I can leave things set up and have separate work room.  I had already decided not to clean over my lunch break but use the afternoon for this.  I am also tempted to do one of the many free online courses (probably a money based one) and use an hour of my afternoon for this.  At this point I am enjoying this...ask me again in a couple of days

ajmoney

Hmmm can't say I am doing overly well with the new guidelines knowing I won't see anyone for at least 3 weeks, I was already pretty isolated but now that is all I have.
I am meant to have someone from $c$ coming out today to look at one of my new chairs as the spring went a month ago but no idea if they will still come, I guess I won't be going anywhere to worry.
So my first challenge is to see how long I can make the fuel last in my petrol tank as I will only be driving to the supermarket. I think I can still get by with not shopping until tomorrow although when clarifying how people could limit shopping yesterday Nicola Sturgeon said limit it to once a day... I am hoping if people are still panicking they will panic today and there will be stuff on the shelves tomorrow. I am proud of my organisation though as I only need milk and potatoes.

savingholmes

It's good that you are structuring your day. My DH is mowing the lawn - the second time in 2 weeks - it is almost unheard of - but there have to be some benefits to this situation right? Just hoping and praying that we get our own 'passover' and escape without harm from this situation. We can work from home - and I am reasonably enjoying it. It is getting lighter and brighter outside which is also nice. We still need  to go to the chemist to get a prescription but hard to know when to go - as last time there were 40!!! queuing and no social distancing so we left.