22 Foxhole East

f0xh0les

Well I get to keep Child benefit until they decide on using 'household income' rather than a single earner earning over £60k.  Apart from that not a lot in the budget for F0xh0les T0wers residents.

mark55man

That was my initial thought but FH is such a hard worker and with 18 years left to get 8 years it might be well to act only as slowly as you need to 

f0xh0les

Took DH off to the train station at bl00dy Awful o'clock this morning, he caught the 7am train, was  in his seat on the Eurostar at 9am, and was in France before 10.30, he caught his connecting train in  Paris to Swissland,  and  has announced it is all terribly civilised and stress free.   Flying is stressful for him, plus he needs to take 2 month's worth of stuff with him when he goes in April, so I am glad I suggested he try it.  Plus all those emissions saved!

So I did a bit of paint drip removal on the spindles,  and started stripping the woodchip wallpaper on DS3s ceiling.

I was hoping I could get away with just sticking the edges down and doing a cosmetic upgrade, but it is in the dormer which was leaking, and the paper was like, well, tissue paper but brittle because it has got wet and dried so many times, so off it came, in that section anyway. The ceiling seems to have been newly plastered before it was woodchipped, which is odd, I thought it was used to cover wonky ceilings, but unless it was put up to hide the leak on the dormer ? Bloody heck it is a nightmare though. 

Anyway, DS3s bedroom has been started, two carpets arrive tomorrow morning, and DS1 can move himself across the landing.

Progress!

badmemory

I am going to state the obvious.  You do know you can receive the NI credit without actually taking the child benefit.

f0xh0les

Only until your youngest child is 12.  Mine is 14, so I get nada! It used to be until 16, but they changed it a couple of years ago.

Double bed and mattress will arrive on Friday between 7am and 6pm.  So that is that job done.

mark55man

Even if you have to pay every penny of CB back, the fact you take it entitles you to that year of NI contributions, whereas not taking it doesn't.  Yet another crushingly unfair aspect to this particular policy

f0xh0les

You now only get that until the youngest child is 12. I have received ChB for the last 2 years but they no longer pay the NI contribution - no Home Responsibility contributions from when they go to secondary school, because they are deemed old enough to be home alone and parents can go back to work.  

mark55man

Thanks for the education FH - its been a while

badmemory

I hadn't realised that many years had flown by.  Of course if you left them home alone for any length of time they would send social services after you.

f0xh0les

New bed built - I made DS1 screw all the slats down - 52 screws! I did give him the drill and screwdriver bit though.  When I was making the bed up just  now (DS1 is on a course at the Job Centre this afternoon) I noticed 2 small scuffs on the frame, so decided to chance my arm and ask for a discount.  Got £60 off an already reduced £144 item.  The scuffs  are smaller than a penny! 

Moved a yellow armchair into new bedroom, recycled a matching pair of yellow fabric storage boxes into his storage cubes, moved a  spare double mattress protector out from the spare linen pile in my room, and a double duvet and duvet set, so feeling quite accomplished.

Attacked a couple of gloss drips on the spindles with sand paper, and repainted with a tiny paintbrush from a kids craft set.  This job is getting finished, and darn well staying finished!  Damp Stain blocked DS3s dormer ceiling (historic damage! woo hoo!) ready for painting,  he wants to help, this is not going to end well...........