22 Foxhole East

f0xh0les

I sent DH off on his camping weekend yesterday so I am the designated house grown up -

 So this morning I pulled on my big girl pants and avoided the job I was supposed to be doing and went to Mr T's and Mr L's Emporia of Food.

Then came home, booked the boat to Ireland on Sunday night, booked a company to come and take s/g's furniture for auction on Wednesday, contacted the estate agents to get back 2 keys that I don't have copies of on Monday, so I do not have to drag everything out through the garage,  contacted s/g's council to book in a bulky collection in case anything gets rejected by the auctioneers - they council take 3 big bits of furniture  for free, three times a year, so if they reject the bed base or wardrobe then they can sit outside the house for 3 days after we go. So by Wednesday pm the house should be totally empty inside, and by the following Wednesday it will be completely empty outside as well.

I have told the solicitors I am in NI all next week.

Got paid from the B0lton job today! yay! 

Will get my pay from DH on Monday as his bank is pants and can't do weekends

and will get my expenses from B0lton job on Tuesday.

Got written confirmation of a week of work from 22-27th August.  So will get the school uniforms when we come back.

 Will take the  2 smallest boys for a haircut tomorrow - they are coming to Ireland - DS1 has resits and DS2 said - I only saw them last week! 

DS3 and 4 want to do the Giant's Causeway and White Park Bay, and the Mourne's and Silent Valley.   Once this is done and dusted, then school holidays will be our own for the first time EVER!!

in_need_of_direction

Try to get to the Gobbins as well if it’s open.

Bargainhunter30

I'd recommend Murlough Bay too FH if you are coming up to the causeway.  It's our favourite secluded beach, the road down is a bit like a rollercoaster so we try to go early before theres too much traffic. The beach, surrounding rocks and views are all stunning.  You can also walk all the way round from Ballintoy Harbour to White Park Bay.  Have a lovely holiday

f0xh0les

DS4 woke up with feet two sizes larger than his shoes.  Luckily I have one pair of size 5 trainers and two pairs of size 6 school shoes for him to step into.  So today at least the smallest foot in the house is a 5 and he seems to be starting to grow again, which is great as he has only grown 1 inch in 12 months, and it is about time he started shooting up to the great heights of his brothers.  It is traditional round here to be taller than me when they are 14, he will be 13 in December so he better get a march on. 

 This is why I cannot do school uniforms at the start of the summer holidays. It is always a last minute week before term shopping trip.

apple_muncher

Hope you can get everything done over there that you both need and want to do. Especially with 2 extra helpers!

f0xh0les

The bungalow is now empty except for a dining table and 6 chairs.  The rest of the place is totally empty. So I am going to apply for total 12 month rates exemption on Monday.  Bulky waste collector from the council  will pick up 4 items from the house on Tuesday morning. So I left them there - it is free!!

The solicitor seems to be using a student, or a newly qualified law student to do the conveyancing, and they must have some kind of tick sheet to go through.  I have had ridiculous nonsense from them.  It is annoying.  So I set the Estate Agents on them.   End of stupid emails.   But will need building control certification for ... wait for it...... fluffy loft insulation on a roll that went in the loft.  B&Q style stuff.  Apparently that needs to be signed off by an expert building controller.  Who flippin' knew???   Nobody has ever mentioned it to us when we bought a house!   Anyway, will know more on Monday. Might even have a completion date.

In-laws mostly behaved themselves.  Solicitor gave me my expenses and the fixed amount bequest I was left in the will, so the bank account is looking rather lush.  Will not get the majority of my inheritance until the house sells and they gather in all the funds (they are hopeless!) so I have told DS3 and DS4 they can have an Oculous VR headset each as soon as it is done.

I got home before 10.30, but as I have only had 4 hours sleep, I am knackered now. 

Mr Nobody, or Mr Somebody has trashed the freezer - the middle drawer will not close properly as Mr Somebody did not close the door properly and it got iced up, so of course what any sensible Mr Nobody would do, would be to smash the door against it until the sides of the shelf break and it rises up into the top shelf, and the door can close.  Of course Mr Nobody will not admit to it.  But that is what they have done.   

So I need to defrost the freezer, and it is mostly full of spinach, vege mince, and plums.   So my plan is to make a deep plum and apple crumble, and bake it at the same time as a packet mix for g/f d/f lemon and poppy seed cake (leftover  m-i-l appeasement)  and make a lasagne, because that can bake in the oven at the same time, and  that will be lunch sorted,  and then have a spinach and (home grown!!) potato curry for supper with the leftover rice that is in the fridge -  probably fried with cumin seeds.

We do not need to buy anything in to do that, and it will clear one of the three freezer drawers.  Strangely, none of the ice cream has survived my absence.   Odd that, innit?

All s/g's big furniture and P0rker Kn0ll chairs are in the auction this week coming  at Alt0na Auctions.  I will either make money or not.  They were very picky about what they would take and what they would not - I told them to leave anything that they thought would not sell.  It was one hasty car trip to the tip but easily taken care of.  They rocked up ten minutes early

and were out of there by 9.15am with the furniture in the back of their big van.  Very efficient.

Gave the old ladies their cheques, and had to stay and have a cup of tea with them, and then drive 3 hours to the in-laws.  I might have stopped off at Mr T's to use their 'facilities' a couple of times.  Everyone seemed happy to see me, and that is probably the last time I will see The Granny Mafia, which is quite sad really.  Will be sure to send them Xmas cards this year.

Poor f-i-l looked on with amazement at the amount of stuff I had packed in the back of my little hatchback.  Honestly it looked like a car boot sale by the time I had finished, but the m/wave and toaster and kettle went to a friend of theirs, and the mugs and plates and pans went to someone setting up his first home.   Just a few picture frames and one small side table is going to the c/shop.  So that was well done.

Too tired now, so am going to bed with a  book, at 8.45 on a Saturday night.

 I... am.... a .... disgrace!!  ( just  like Liz's cheese imports). 

The mortgage had a £99 overpayment and it is sitting at £72,999.99

which is £3.60 a day in interest

or £111.60 a month.

My house renovation fund is sitting at nearly half the total mortgage amount this week.  I am doing well.

Orangetoes

I feel tired just reading all you accomplish! Great stuff, well done. Glad all the bits found new homes. 

in_need_of_direction

I can’t believe that you haven’t grasped that NI has its own set of rules and regulations for just about everything that clearly includes loft insulation!

f0xh0les

It was being asked by the solicitor for the map location of the NI Water Board's mains drain, for the shuck, vis-a-viz the soakaway  that the septic tank discharges into,  that totally sent me loopy.  If it was on a flippin' mains drain there wouldn't be a need for a'   shuck, a soakaway or a flippin septic tank would there??

How can a girl from inner city London know more about Irish drainage systems than a local? 

f0xh0les

It reeks of 'stalling behaviour' to me.  The solicitor still only has funds from one bank - two more still pending - after 6 weeks.  I have sent all the paperwork allowing the banks to close the accounts and pay the solicitor - I am only using them for a paper trail in case any relative comes out of the woodwork at a later date.  I would not put anything past my family.

Slept heavily for 11 hours last night.  Ridiculous for me. 

Off to cook all the jazz I said I would, accompanied by  The Games on the beeb.

After that,  this house needs some scrubbing!  I am so stiff from all that driving though.