22 Foxhole East

f0xh0les

apple_muncher said:

How was dh's excursion to get yoghurt? That must have been a thrilling game of risk for him...?!

Well he took his bag, his waterproof mac, his helmet, his bike computer, he still can't turn his neck properly to the left, but he only had to make one right hand turn and there is a filter lane.   He got out of the house for all of 15 minutes and he was a cheerier chap for it. But it is a grey old day here today, looks like it is about to chuck it down but nothing happens. Warm and muggy.  Not conducive for getting stuff done. 

As we only have essential shops open, the traffic is actually pretty light today, and loads more people are wearing masks - I would say about 75% of people.  They have cordoned off over half of all  the parking spaces on Queen's Road during lockdown (for those who know Clarendon Park) and planted trees in enormous containers to discourage people driving.  Local shops for local people! Right up until they go bust.   They should have trialed pedestrianising it during lockdown.  Just to see if it would work.  Then put street seating out for the bars and restaurants in prep for social distancing.  I mean there are other roads nearby for access.  It is perfectly doable.

f0xh0les

We are being told to stay at home. 

The local fakeb00k page is full of people saying daft things like, if travel to a place of exercise is classed as essential travel, am I allowed to travel outside the lockdown area to exercise if I go alone and do not see other people.  Technically, yes, in that you are unlikely to be arrested. realistically, NO YOU NUMPTY!!!!  STAY AT HOME, EXERCISE MIGHT BE ESSENTIAL BUT DO IT WITHIN THE PLAGUE ZONE!!!!. 

Otherwise all those who just got out of the plague zone are going to be coming back in.   I am very grumpy

The Olympics were due to start this week, and  that has left a huge hole in the tv programming.  There is literally nothing on tv.  I am so bored.

Tomorrow is food shopping day.  So that is something to look forward to. Cruising the aisles. Rock and Roll!

I think I am going to disappear into a book for a while and then wash my hair.  

Reality sucks today.

thriftyish

Did you have any joy with organising quotes for after lockdown?  Hope things feel brighter soon

f0xh0les

We have a good few tradesmen who are using the foodbank, and they are very wary about working on anything that is not an empty house.  They all seem to have someone in their family who is shielding and they are terrified about taking something home to them. They are scathing about people who are taking on new jobs while lockdown is on here.    So every week longer it takes, the more money there is in the kitty.

I found a house about 10 minutes drive away which is nearly identical in size and shape to ours, but finished.  The area is similar to ours,  and the house really is finished, but it is on the market at £300k ! and they have done it without adding a side extension..  I showed dh the brochure, and he was impressed with what they have done.  Now I am certain I could do that with the budget we have right now. But I need to fit in an extra shower room, as no way is one bathroom and a separate loo enough for a 5 bed family house, unless your kids are all under 10 and will remain so indefinitely .  So, although I am not getting anything physically done, I am still looking around and getting ideas, and finding out what dh likes in a house (high gloss tiles apparently)  lots and lots of shiny  tiled floors seem to float his boat - personally I can't imagine them covered in crumbs and jam splodges, but  I am even able to tell him what building warehouse type store the ones he likes come from and the price per m2.

Renovations account currently stands at £14k for me (with a hidden extra £1,500 in kids accounts)  and £8k for dh.  Dh does not want to spend his money though (no surprise there) in case his job suddenly evaporates, so the cost of the house renovations is back on me.

Baileys_Babe

I agree about the extra shower room, definitely needed.
Last year my parents bought and renovated a house. In the bathroom, they decided to have wall panels instead of tiles, it looks really good and they say they find it quicker and easier to clean, especially as there is no grout to scrub.  The finish is like you find in good hotels.

apple_muncher

Is dh's job that precarious? Asking cos he's gone for promotion...

Cornish_mum

Hi Foxholes we understand how DH feels jobs wise; we are both getting daily emails about cost cutting, recruitment freezes, voluntary early retirement/reduced hours. MrCM uni had stopped all promotion applications going forward (he is really gutted) and mine emailed on Friday to say no pay award this year for senior grades. It’s pretty hard to not get throughly depressed by the daily torrent of doom. 

Hazelnutty

Hey Foxholes - part of our renovation is to add a shower and loo (we only have one of each atm and a 10yo going on 16 so definitely not sustainable). We've using the strip of the ground floor running from under the stairs to the back of the house and then shifting the kitchen along the back (if that makes sense!) It does require some careful planning (which is what the architectural designer's done) but it makes much more efficient use of what is partly a dead zone. We can't afford to extend the footprint so this seemed a smart move. Just a thought, in case of any use

PurpleFairy26

If you’re staying post renovation I would strongly advise against gloss tiles or gloss kitchens no matter how much your DH make like them. They look great for about 30 seconds after being cleaned and that’s about it. And if the sun ever shines in the l’shire then heaven help you! 

thriftyish

It's awful that more people are having to turn to the foodbanks to feed their families but awesome that you volunteer. I think I need something to get me out of the house & give back to the community, so might look into volunteering when the children are back at school. I think the research and ideas stage can be as draining as the actual work sometimes! That price bracket would be great, fingers crossed!

I am so very glad mine won't stay under 10 indefinitely!   I think a second bathroom/shower room is definitely a plus. Our house should have been a five-bed, but they turned the box room into a second saniflo bathroom. We can't decide if we should turn it back into a bedroom so all 4 children can have a room each, or to leave it as a bathroom. I think as the children get older the bathroom becomes more valuable, as it would only be a tiny bedroom, and by comparison, the other rooms are huge.

I agree with @Baileys_Babe about the wall panels, our current house has wall panels in the bathrooms, they look fine and much, much easier to clean. Not sure how they compare to tiles price wise but they must be easier to install (I tiled the last kitchen, and am still shocked I have all my fingers)