22 Foxhole East

Liverpool_Anne

Hi, the other thing to consider is Emma will need a source of water as they need to drink every day, so traps near any accessible water may be useful.

f0xh0les

Spent the afternoon baking because today I seriously dislike my family.  Oh well, at least DS3 and 4 brought down their laundry just before lunch, so that is washed and dried.

There was one single lonely packet of crisps left in the  YOU CANT TOUCH THIS!! basket in the pantry, there were 6 at 4pm on Friday when they came back from school.  They know whatever is in the basket is for lunchboxes. Honestly I could have put them all in the blender when I looked at lunchtime on Sunday.   So I am miserable.  DH went off and bought more - which annoyed me again, because they should be made to do without, and then came home and informed me that food prices have really gone up (no shirt Sherlock!) since the last time he was in a supermarket.  I swear they just do not listen. The cheese had all been eaten, the sandwich slices were gone, there was one slice of bread left in the bread bin, and the carton of milk in the fridge had a tablespoon of milk left in it.  If they were trying to wind me up, honestly they could not have done a better job.

I posted the bikes and the scooters the kids have outgrown on the local gifting site at 11am, a lady just came and picked up 2 bikes and a helmet - her kids have outgrown their bikes, so they will be gifted on the site. So now I am down to one bike and 2 scooters, and a much emptier shed.  I put the sack trolley in the space behind the washing machine, so I don't have to keep falling over it, but it is there when I need it, and all the laundry baskets are in the space at the side of the washing machine, and I managed to clear the entire floor in the laundry nook, and half the downstairs bathroom floor.

Cleaning, clearing, sorting, gifting, recycling, leaving the house. 

Radio silence from the architect, the builder, the loft man and the roofer.   I do so love being ignored.....

badmemory

Don't you just love that radio silence.  Just about as much as the answering machine that is permanantly full.  My normal plumber has lost over £200 for about an hours work because how long can you wait for your only method of bathing to be broken.  I know I have paid over the odds but sometimes you just have to do whatever is necessary.  The good news is I have a new plumber on the list & the even better news is I know who not to get to install my new (when I get round to it) kitchen & it won't be the ones who did my bathroom.  That is 3 errors in it the latest of which could have electrocuted one of us.  How on earth do you find a tradesman who is capable of doing their job?  Those sites are just a load of twaddle - I am being polite.  I just wish I could manage to be rude to them.

greenbee

If I were you I'd eat the crisps myself. Or at least hide them for a week. 

f0xh0les

Well I think you are duty bound to give a full and honest review on those sites of the shoddy shysters @badmemory .   Along the lines of,  WE COULD HAVE DIED!!!!  However did turn up on time, did not look like a nutter, swept up after themselves, but  were inept and we could been electrocuted due to their negligence (one star - for punctuality, providing a receipt, and not sleeping with my husband).

badmemory

Thanks that did cheer me up.  Sometimes I do wonder if it is just me or they see me coming.  Now having had more time to think, I am wondering if the new one wanted to make sure I never got the original fitters back again.  But he did show me the water marks inside the shower part that should not have got wet.  Why do I always land up second guessing myself?  I'm saving the teeth grinding for tonight!  It is a good job I can laugh at myself.

trix-a-belle

Maybe the rat trap bait will entice the kids in given they are pretty much eating everything else in sight and you can rehome them to the great outdoors via the large holdall and take Emma Ratukanu in instead?

kerri_gt

I swear this country is short of trades because there is a massive generational gap where apprenticeships were thrown out the window, all Polys became Uni's and many useful trades were dropped in favour of useless degrees. Like lorry drivers, the good ones are now retiring and there's precious few to plug the gap, and even fewer who could find their way out of a paper bag. 

Our washing machine has broken as of last night, naturally with a pile of washing I actually needed it, so trotted off to the laundrette this morning and nearly keeled over at £6 a wash 😳 

Have YouTubed how to fix the issue, and ordered what I think needs replacing based on the error message so we will see if I save myself some £ or end up having to call someone anyway. 

Between the fridge freezer last month , the cat at the vet this month (you'd think at 18 she'd know better than to get into fights) and the car MOT and service, I could really do without another three figure expense. 

VintageHistorian

I think part of the problem is that the minimum apprenticeship wage is lower than even the standard minimum wage. And when you point that out too many companies go "Well why should we pay people a better wage when they have no experience?" But many minimum wage jobs hire people with no experience too, so you're already in competition with a group that pays better wages than you even if the longterm job isn't that great.

My brother was quite lucky with his apprenticeship as he got above minimum wage, and he could still live at home while training. If you don't have a supportive family, or you're living in an area that has few apprenticeship opportunities in the first place, then you can't afford to live on the tiny apprenticeship wage and have to settle for less skilled but better paid at the moment work.

Too many companies refuse to see training their staff as an investment in their own future. And then they complain that no one has the right skills to do the work they need them to do.

f0xh0les

DS1 managed to get his first benefit payment today. He promptly transferred £100 into my bank account.

 He is off to a NHS research jobs fair on Saturday.  He was awake, polite, and sat and chatted for an hour after he came back from the JC.  Like a normal human being.  I think he may have just found his motivation, he has also said when he gets a job I will be getting 1/3 of his wages from day 1.

I might try and get DS2 to come along as well, it would be good if he had a job lined up to go to after his A levels finish in the middle of June.  They have quite a few entry level / apprentice jobs going, and while they are at home, only (ha!)  earning £180 a week until they are trained, is perfectly fine. 

I am really hoping I will have 2 employed by the end of Summer.  They need to be making more decisions for themselves.