22 Foxhole East

f0xh0les

Congratulations on the downpour of builders!!

Wish I could get the shower done before Xmas, but simply cannot afford it until I borrow the kids' money when their 5% accounts mature.

Well, if I could find someone who would do it for less than 2k I could put it on a credit card and do it now. If I really went for it I could afford to pay it off in about 10 weeks, bar any unexpected kids school stuff. Now I am just so jealous of you and your progress.

Once the plastering, decorating and shower is done, then I can carpet throughout and 2/3rds of the house will be finished.

The living room does not have any major issues, and except putting the fireplace back in, should just be a quick decorating job and carpet. But that is next year. I have Xmas inbetween now and then, and they have begun to compile their lists.

A friend has sent them all a chocolate advent calendar each. I am having to stand guard over them as DS4 will scoff the lot. They don't even like chocolate!! Every morning is, how long until we can decorate the house?? When can I put a tree up in my room? Where is the tinsel??? Luckily the Xmas cupboard is in a crawl space above the kitchen, so they can't reach it. It is where I hide their presents and for 11 months of the year they all forget about its existence. Not actually sure DH has remembered it.

Just want the plastering done so I can budget for DS4 birthday on Xmas Eve Eve and then the big day itself.

Fa la la la la, la la la la

greent

Yeay to workmen and getting jobs done! Whoop re flashing jumpers! (My xmas jumper has bells on the front (including a couple which are slightly dodgily placed for a large-chested female such as myself! :eek: :rotfl:) - sadly it means I can't sneak up on anyone when wearing it, as it jingles all the way

f0xh0les

Mine has quite a pretty reindeer face with red nose and antlers in pale colours on a snowy background. It is the background snowflakes that have the flashing bulbs. DH was in stitches rolling around on the floor (I only wear black normally) at the transformation. He hates Christmas. He got cramp from laughing so hard.
Serves him right.

f0xh0les

Argh!! I fell for it again!!!!Why Why Why???????

DH said we should take down the shower cubicle this weekend.

It is Sunday lunchtime and has not been done.

It was one of his ' I think we should do _________ at the weekend' which I used to fall for in Manchester, when what he means is 'I have no intention or interest in doing _______ but I recognise _______ needs to be done and I think that by talking about __________ it will put it in your head so you do it so I don't have to. I will now delete this conversation from my memory so that I can look confused when you say WE did not do ____________ at the weekend.


I will be doing it this week.

f0xh0les

The mortgage valuation came back from the 12 yr old. He has valued it at the amount I told him we had bought it for. Considering I have had a full rewire, the roof no longer leaks and there is now double glazing that works, I am not v happy.

But, considering 1/3 of the house is bare victorian plaster waiting for a skim, and that will be done and decorated before year's end, and all the dodgy bits of the house have been uncovered, like the uneven kitchen floor, and the water damage to the kitchen ceiling and wall, and the house is still worth what we paid for it, even though this is the worst it is ever going to look, then I can't really be unhappy can I?

A quick redecorate, judicial use of mirrors and a new carpet will do wonders to the appearance.

And we own nearly a third of the house. (£2055.00 left to pay until it is 33%) and are still saving £500 every month we are not renting. This house is my piggy bank.

f0xh0les

Went to Primarn1 and bought the kids 2 sets of new pyjamas each.

Came home and saw the cash machine I had taken money out of the day before had been put out of action by the police as it had a skimming device on it.

Card now cancelled and I have up to 5 working days without one. Still, better safe than sorry.

Off to the Xmas lights switch on tomorrow night with the kids, and we will have a wander around the xmas market (it is new) and go for gelato. Should be less than £20 including parking.

Also there is much talk amongst the small people about when I am going to get the decorations out for them to take away for their bedroom trees, leaving me with barely anything to hang on my tree.

DS1 told me he has bought me a present already so not to look in his desk inside the plastic bag (like I would have !!) I gave him some wrapping paper and a pair of scissors in return for this information. Really need to see what I have in that cupboard!!!

Went to L1d1 and bought their mice pies because they don't have milk in them, found some dark choc covered marzipan (with rum) tiny sweets to put in DHs advent calendar, and a massive jar of gherkins for 99p.

I have plans for this weeks Aldi super 6. It is cauliflower and green beans, both of which are supposed to be really easy to pickle, and DH loves his pickles. So going to try those to put away for a week and bring out with a big ta-dah, and possibly jazz hands.

Right, off for a bath. Night all.

f0xh0les

Mice pies are called mice pies in our house because we went to a cafe when the kids were small, and that was the spelling mistake on the menu. The kids howled with laughter. They remain mice pies, the ones I make myself even have a little tail.

apple_muncher

Love your eclectic shopping:mice pies, marzipan and gherkins!

f0xh0les

Illicit goods, all hidden away in the far corner of the pantry

The penguin shaped biscuit tin with shortbread choc chip cookies from Ald1 should go on the list too. They are tiny and very, very morish, and nice enough to give as a gift for the elderly relatives too. Would recommend.

f0xh0les

Well, still no date from Mr Plasterer who said before December - he had better get his skates on and contact me soon!

At 4pm on Sunday DH decided he was going to take down the shower cubicle, so we did. All done, cleared up, hoovered and tea on the table by 6pm. Took a lot of brute strength and screwdrivers, but the floor is not as bad as it could have been. The floorboards seem to be rotten, but there is less than half a m2 that needs replacing and the joists do not seem to be in a bad way at all.
Dodged a bullet I think

The next job is to remove the water damaged fake tiles they put down badly and have expanded and flaked as they were not suitable for a bathroom. Will not be a big job or even take much time, but it will leave me with bare floorboards in the bathroom until I get some lino down. Will aim to get this done before Christmas but after the plastering - unless DH decides to pay for it, after all, it is payday on Thursday and not beyond the realms of possibility. He is also talking about putting the outflow pipes under the floor boards himself - at the minute they are on top of the tiles, which is just plain weird. That way we can put the shower cubicle back in and have it on the level with the floor, rather than having a step up to it, as it was and probably had a lot to do with the floor being as rotten as it was.

Now I just have a large amount of toughened glass sheeting to be rid of - might advertise it on freecycle, in case someone is making a coldframe? Otherwise I will take it, and the door currently stored in the back garden, off to the tip.

Today's jobs include, making pasties for lunchboxes and freezing until needed, making a chilli, cleaning the bathrooms again, 3 loads of laundry washed, dried and returned to owners folded to be put away in their drawers (will be found on a shelf/on top of chest of drawers later)

Found a really nice serving dish for one of the kids to give me for Xmas (charity shop £2.99) Have agreed with DH on a budget for £10 for each other for Xmas. Still need to get on with the pickles. Cleaning out the hamsters' cages, and stripping another metre of wall.

I will finish the month with £500.00 left in the bank. That will roll forward for the budget for December and will pay for more than half of the plastering. December is going to be a short month, because payday for DH is 18th, and so January is going to be a very long month with 6 weeks between paydays.

Right, off to make a tea, then get on with it.