22 Foxhole East

thriftyish

Amazing saving though:- it must be an awesome feeling to know you can get it sorted when you can find someone, hope you manage to get someone out to quote after lockdown. It's still crazy up north, DH's sister's roof has just sprung a leak and she can't get a roofer for weeks. That's an impressively long time without cake too, you definitely deserve a slice to celebrate! We moved schools after Christmas and had to buy a full set of new uniform, that's had approx 10 weeks wear, all four have been off since March and won't be back until September. Hopefully. My part of Yorkshire seem to think they are exempt from covid19 and most have been carrying on regardless since March.

f0xh0les

Shorts are your friend when it comes to school uniform.  I can just about get away with  putting DS4 into long trousers  after October half term (found in the c/s  - our local 0xfam does clearance for S&M, not just any c/s £1 uniform trousers, S&M bnwt  £1 new uniform trousers) until the start of March, and as soon as March happens he is leaping for the shorts again.  So I just  get bigger shoes and white shirts for him - he cleans the football on his shirt when he is in goal.  cheers kid!

Today the local paper ran with the headline that the Leicester lockdown may continue into August.  The testing per 10,000 is high and a lot of it is asymptomatic, they are doing road by road testing, knocking on people's doors and targeting certain areas.

I got confirmation at 2.30 today (what would be the last day of school) when school will reopen. DS4 goes in a whole week before the senior school, DS1 & 2 go in after the 3 day weekend, and DS3  goes in 2 days later.   Marvellous!

DH made houmous the other day, so he kept the bean juice and I made meringues this afternoon, and a (ys) gooseberry compote, and we had a (ys) puff pastry tarte tomate with basil and salad.  Lunch was a pitta stuffed (massively stuffed) with salad.  I had lost one of my regained lbs this morning.  I cannot be doing with gaining and losing the same lb over and over, so I am going hard on reaching 12 stone.   Had a massive craving for chocolate this evening, so I took myself off at ys o'clock to Mr T's and spent £6 and got enough fruit and 17p lemonade to get rid of any cravings.  I got 29p pineapples.  Whole massive pineapples! plus some mangoes, bananas,  nectarines, basil, mushrooms, very expensive wheat-meat burgers, and southern style fillets and 3  loaves of bread.   So I think I foresee a kiddie pimms session along with the salads. 

I completely forgot until I was on the way home, that I had a packet of digestives in the pantry!  By that time the craving was over.  So apart from my chickpea meringue nest, I have been good today.  Yay me!

Did I mention my washing machine is making the most horrendous cracking noise?  Will take it apart at the weekend - I think something is trapped between inner and outer drum, if it is bugg3red then I am getting a shiny new 12kg washer that will take a kingsize duvet and mattress toppers.   For about 10 minutes I thought it had a recall notice on it, I g00gled the name of it to find out what size bearings it takes, and the model code came up as a recall, but when I checked on the model number on the door, it is a different one.  So if you bought an 1ndesit/Hotp0int since 2014 have a look on the Whirlp00l site and see if you are due a new one.  They recalled another 17 models in April this year.  Who knew???

Tomorrow I am making inroads into the shelving unit in the downstairs bathroom.   Menu planned. Disemboweling the evil washing machine and possibly ordering a big sexy one.

greenbee

I get the feeling you're hoping the WM is actually dead... so i'm not expecting a successful resurrection, despite your well-known DIY and engineering capabilities!

I do miss getting YS bargains - but not enough to go out (I have post-covid fatigue to add to the fact that I'm lazy and hate shopping and live in the stick so it means getting in the car!). I'm very excited though, as I did a random check on supermarket deliveries earlier (I was feeling low on veg despite the rampantly growing lettuces and radishes outside) and got a T*sco slot for tomorrow 10am-2pm. So lots of meat/fish/cheese for the freezer. Plus ice cream. And the aubergines, peppers etc that I was feeling the lack of. I'm not used to feeding myself full-time as work usually supply about 50% of my meals due to travel - turns out it's expensive. Particularly when there's no opportunity to get bargains. 

Bluegreen143

@f0xh0les I’ve been binge-reading your diary over the last couple of weeks. Side note - it’s funny compressing 4y of diary into two weeks of reading as it exaggerates how quickly kids grow up. It’s been making me wonder what life will be like when I have teens! (Mine are 4 and 1).

I’m in awe of how much you achieve and your diary has given me so many ideas to use on our own moneysaving journey. You seem a whirlwind of productivity! Have subscribed to keep up with your journey going forward. We are a while off trying for mortgage free but hopefully one day I will join you making overpayments 🙌🏼

f0xh0les

I think I had thought I would be finished with all the house improvements by now when I started this diary.   Then I found out how much everything costs, and that some builders who come and quote have such a horrible 'aura'  about them you would not want them in your house again.  

Re: the washing machine.  I could do with it holding on for a week or two as 4rgos are not delivering to this postcode for the washer I have my eye on.  They say they are closed, but I have been into Sainsbobs on the precinct when they were open for collections  last week - I think they only open for 2hrs at a time.  

Right. need to go and disembowel the washing machine and see if I can dislodge whatever the F has gone in.  It sounds like someone is hitting it with a hammer, it is a proper whirrrr,BANG!, whirrrrr, BANG!  Anyway, I can't find out what size stupid bearings it takes via my g00gle-Fu skills,   so I will have to take the set out and measure it anyway.  Either way it involves screwdrivers and taking sh*t apart.  Might as well get on with it, then when I get bored I can look online for a shiny replacement.

crazy_cat_lady

Good luck with the washing machine. I lost something similarly but was completely unsuccessful getting it out again, in spite of dismantling it as much as I dared. Touch wood - mine is still working ok. But I hope that yours hangs on until you're out of lockdown again at least.

f0xh0les

My washing machine takes an 11kg load,  was £370  with free delivery and will be delivered tomorrow.   Apparently it is wi-fi enabled. My brain hurts! Fastest cycle is 14 minutes. It can track you by your mobile app to coincide the end of the programme with your arrival home time.  Which is just the most idiotic thing I have ever heard- except DH's mate Mazz who had to sit in the dark last night as she could not find her phone to turn her lights on.......... (softly whispers DARWIN!)

Hoover DWOA411AHLFN8  if you want to g00gle.  Not the one I originally wanted, but 4rgos will not deliver here and I needed one asap so went with the place in Leicester. 

My current one was just over 4 1/2 years old,  fastest cycle 29 minutes,  max load 7kg, and was £215.   When I opened it up, it became rather apparent the ball bearings were powder, the powder was all over the back of the machine, there was quite a pile of it under the machine too, the brushes were shedding, the belt was shot and the bolt holding it all together was not moving for love nor money, and possibly the wheel drive was uneven, so it would have been at least £70 worth of parts on a machine that would not have much life left anyway.    It was the kindest thing to do.   The heating element was not corroded though, and I think I will make an outside  fire basket out of the drum if I can get it out -the fire looks nice through the tiny holes. 

So, DH made the most enormous sweet and sour for lunch, so huge that I am still not hungry 5 hours later, their supper is in the oven but there is no way I could even think of eating a thing. 

The ground floor has been hoovered, the back yard has been made 'washing machine mover friendly', all the pots moved away from the back gate, so they can wheel it in through the back alley, and straight in the back door opposite the space  where it will live.  I have cleaned and washed all around where it will live and it is sparkly clean.  All the laundry room shelves tidied and the tools put away.  The  old washing machine is in the yard, but if I put it out onto the main road later, then the scrap man will whip it away before anyone really notices, or I can take the concrete weights out of it and take it to the tip.  Either or. 

Now to feed the family......

crazy_cat_lady

Oooh - happy new washing machine f0xh0les!

apple_muncher

Does it have an internal light? Gallygirl used to have one that lit up.

f0xh0les

Eh? It's not the flippin' fridge!  What kind of person goes spelunking in the washing machine? I know it is big, but what do you think could be lurking at the back of it?    I do not do the laundry at midnight, and it is big enough not to be scared of the dark , why would it need a light?    Unless it has a disco light setting to come on like my kettle does when it boils.

Oh, I see! it is a boy thing!  Silly me.   Someone thought 'how do I make washing machines attractive to men?' and apart from calling it The Alligator or MAN-tAr-RaY and putting go faster stripes on it, I need a light effect like a spaceship exiting the launch bay of Battle Star Galactica.  Maybe one that makes 'pew pew' noises instead of 'beep beep beeeeeeeeeeep' when it is finished Or a Wookie roar when you successfully close the powder drawer? 

Is it not enough that it wants my phone number?  (it is not getting my phone number).