22 Foxhole East

f0xh0les

Doing really well with the YS bargains. Just hitting the shops at the right time going to pick up kids from after school clubs.

I have converted all my survey earnings into AmaZ0n vouchers. They will help a lot. DS3 and DS4 have provided a list of demands. Still waiting for DS1 and 2.

Plus DS4s birthday on Christmas Eve Eve.
Once again I am totally unprepared.
Once again I am not looking forward to this.

I have a telescopic curtain rod in transit, arriving at some point, and I am going to rig up a fleece blanket for the wall to ceiling glass front door. It will not weigh much, but hopefully it will help. The living room is permanently cold, and I think it is coming up from the floor - wooden floorboards suspended over a 5 foot gap of empty space, as the front of the house is higher than the ground level at the back, so I am going to try and find a big rug in a c/s or similar in the sales, and put it down and see if we can make the room more comfortable. Got some more thermal curtain liners. Will see if that makes a difference.

DS4 noticed yesterday that there was a blind in the tiny loo upstairs. It has been up for over 5 weeks.

Step gran fell while outside feeding the birds. She was outside on the ground for over half an hour before rescue came - she wears one of those emergency bracelets just for this purpose.
So she is falling every month now, for the last 4 months, and will not listen to reason. I don't know what to do about her.

greenbee

I think you're just going to have to resign yourself to step gran wanting to do things her own way. You can't stop her, and TBH it sounds as if she'd rather stay independent than go into a home - my neighbour's dad is still fell running in his 80s. Her brother fusses about it. She says if he dies of a heart attack out running he'll die doing something he loves in a place he loves. And not have his kids fussing over him in an overheated nursing home... (she's told him he has to die though, and not end up incapacitated and drooling in a nursing home - and he agrees).

Congrats to DS3 on his powers of observation

If you have a suspended floor then rugs are a good idea. Lots of them, overlapping if necessary. You may be able to get hold of old carpet underlay on freegle/freecycle. Before I had my floors done I covered them with secondhand underlay, second hand carpet and rugs. It really helped with the cold coming up through the concrete. Now I have thermal screed, insulation and bamboo which is MUCH better. ALthough I still have a cold house (I'm hoping new front and back doors will solve this at some point - I'd hoped it would be in September but the builder has gone awol...).

Thermal curtain linings, fleeces and draught excluders of all kinds are well worth the investment.

f0xh0les

Today I tried an experiment,
when I sat down to have a cup of tea, I put a hot water bottle on the floor and put my feet on it. I did not need any other heating all day.

With those foxy energy people of mine, putting up my winter payments to £100 now, but down to £40 in April - all the numbers changed again when people complained. I don't want to put the heating on when there is only me in the house during the day - I am quite happy to have it on for 4-5 hours in the evening while the kids are still up and running about, and DH is home. So I think the hot water bottle solution is pretty good, and we have an electric radiatory thing for when it gets proper proper cold - and I can just heat the one room. Plus I am £200 in credit with them anyway, but I am aware we will be home for nearly 3 weeks over Christmas when the heating will be on all day.

i deployed the thermals this week. Every little helps.

DS4 destroyed his shoes at school, ripped them from toe to instep on both shoes (so he has pulled them off himself- swine) so I had to spend £15 on a cheapy pair of trainers on the way home from school, as he is getting teased for having 'posh shoes' - they are just school shoes!! Anyway, I could not send him to ping pong in his dress shoes. So it was an unexpected expense, but as I finished this week in budget, I can absorb the cost.

I am having a craving for mice pies, but I am still holding off....
Instead I made coconut scones and a tray of flapjacks, with all the tiny ends of bags of nuts and dried fruit and 2 tiny bags of choc chips from the pantry. Everyone loves them, so that was easy snack, pudding, and enough for a snack tomorrow as well.

So I nearly made it on spend nothing day but was scuppered by a shoe vandal.

f0xh0les

Spent £30 of vouchers on the Amaz0n1an website.

Bought lots of trilogies in 'very good' condition so that should keep them happy too, as they will be passed between them all.

The youngest 2 have birthdays soon, one just before Xmas, and one 5 weeks after, so I am planning on getting them a tablet each for their birthdays, and they have asked for a joint xmas present of a PS4, so that, and a fitbit style knockoff watch, a pile of books and some sweeties will do them.

The eldest two have not yet given me their ransom demands- 36 hours left to comply..

I may just go the gift card route with p-in-laws, s-i-l, and step gran. She tells me she is unable to go out, but I know someone is taking her shopping, and she keeps buying herself things from M&S, as i keep taking them to charity shops when I go over.
There is a prepaid mastercard gift card that looks like a goer. for those who live in euro/ franc lands I really can't be faffed with them this year. I am not a mind reader. They are not in touch with me.

I need to know how much I am going to have to pay out, so that I can do my own budgets.

I have £30 left until Friday, when I am flush again.

Off to make some lists and play around with figures.

I need to be more organised in the sales this year. candles, gift wrap, and cards I did well with last year. I did well with surveys too. i think I will try to not spend any vouchers/ gift cards from surveys until December. The amount racks up quite quickly, and I will set up a d/d to a savings account for next year.

I will not be saving for DS1 next year, as his child regular saver will expire, so I will transfer his £1600 into his bank account, and he can pretend to adult.

Spent some' lovely to shop' vouchers on rechargable batteries and another charger and some burgers from the land of ice. Free food!! still have £10 left. will get more batteries in anticipation of fairy lights and next month.

Just put up the curtain liners, of course they are 8 inches too long. Might just cut them........ arms aching now. I have invented curtain-ercise. Also found a new paintbrush for painting the coving (not while up the ladder, rather on the washing machine shelves).

Time for tea and more plotting.....

crazy_cat_lady

Ha! I found you...
Hope you didn't think that I was ignoring your diary - I have just found it and spent a very productive couple of hours having a nosy through it.
I have subscribed and will be checking in daily for your wit and banter

f0xh0les

Helllooooooo!

Not in the slightest! I know a lot of us from t'other side are on the debt free forums but not so many on the mortgage free ones.
Can't really believe I have had 120,129 views.... of my babblings and ramblings.
Bit weird innit?

Hope I didn't distract you too much from your rather impressive list of stuff to do you posted this morning, aim high!!

kerri_gt

f0xh0les wrote: »

Helllooooooo!

Not in the slightest! I know a lot of us from t'other side are on the debt free forums but not so many on the mortgage free ones.
Can't really believe I have had 120,129 views.... of my babblings and ramblings.
Bit weird innit?

Hope I didn't distract you too much from your rather impressive list of stuff to do you posted this morning, aim high!!

I love your diary, it's up there with Peter and Jane on FB (aka wonderful writer of 'Why mummy drinks' ) for me. I always look forward to your posts.

f0xh0les

Oooh, now I'm blushing!

Too kind.

f0xh0les

In other news,

I am down to the last box of passive aggressive cooking apples.

So only another 50 left to peel.... (but not tonight.)

crazy_cat_lady

f0xh0les wrote: »

Helllooooooo!

Not in the slightest! I know a lot of us from t'other side are on the debt free forums but not so many on the mortgage free ones.
Can't really believe I have had 120,129 views.... of my babblings and ramblings.
Bit weird innit?

Hope I didn't distract you too much from your rather impressive list of stuff to do you posted this morning, aim high!!

I love reading your stuff too - it's brilliant.
And as you will see, I got everything done except for the pesky year 11 reports that I keep hoping will go away, except it doesn't.
I'll swap you 50 apples for 78 reports