22 Foxhole East

in_need_of_direction

Def not superfluous. I stumbled across some posts on the jan challenge and was intrigued enough to hunt you down. I've just read your entire thread. It's great, inspiring and funny. I've subscribed.

f0xh0les

Hello In need of Direction what a nice thing to say. Nice to have another Turtle on board.

We dont have key locks, they are all electronic keys, so I guess someone has a gadget. The swine. This week I realised my foldable packing crate with a handle was not in my boot. As you can tell I don't use it often, but when I find a bargain it is handy to have in the car, as anyone who has ever found 19p a litre cappuccino flavoured soya milk knows, 20 ltrs is heavy. It must have gone when the satnav left in November.

DS3 is snuggled up on the sofa. I knew he was feeling unwell when Elvis (his bear) came downstairs with him this morning. Just a sore throat and a bit of a cough.

in_need_of_direction

Not quite a hero in a half shell. More of a lapsed turtle!

redofromstart

:hello: hello f0xh0les, I've been reading MFW diaries for inspiration and have really enjoyed yours.

Loughborough Odeon is £4 a ticket for all seats, current films. Might be useful?

Needhelpsaving

f0xh0les wrote: »

DH has just taken out DS1 to town to spend their Xmas vouchers. He got in his car and realised all the drawers under the seats had been pulled out. Someone has a way to unlock cars around here! It would explain my satnav going walkabout. Anyway, nothing is missing, but still worrying.

We had this happen in my car last week, other than a car seat, which was left behind, there was nothing to take (unless your after empty sweet wrappers and a children's Disney CD). Never the less, it is unsettling to know someone has been going through your stuff.

I will never understand those who choose to make their living by theft :mad:

f0xh0les

I just managed to fill out the legal form for the re-mortgage.
Only interrupted 4 times in the 20 minutes it took, one tantrum, one minor underpants related injury (!!!!!!!!) one strop about a missing book and a tussle over who was sitting somewhere else in a different room. Anyway, that is that done, and I have found the (mortgage paying off ) decreasing life assurance policy we took out, which when I get a shiny new mortgage, I will stick on the wall and colour in each month so I can not only see the progress since we started, but also see the improvement by switching to a different product.

I can't wait!! (so pathetic! My name is F0xh0les and I am a mortgage nerd)

DS1 cooked lunch today. We had undercooked vegetable kebabs and a lovely satay sauce. I am very proud of him. He went and found a recipe and everything. If nothing else, he now has a vague idea of how long it takes to make a meal for six people, (longer than he expected) and how annoying it is trying to please DS4 who refuses to even try anything he thinks he might not like. Even if you know he does like it.

Snow has turned to rain, it is horrid out now.

I need someone to witness the deed form signatures, and then it is all over until I can update in March with a new monthly payment and a shorter mortgage.

So at least I feel like I have achieved something today, apart from a food shop, laundry, and catching the little white shadow that escaped from his hamster ball this morning. I swear he trotted across the living room floor with a grin on his tiny furry face. He is not much bigger than a golf ball, but has a huge personality.

Right, stuff to do.

f0xh0les

The remortgage deed thingie was sent today.
Now it is a matter of waiting.

The lining of my bedroom walls will be finished tomorrow and there is only one wall that needs proper wallpaper on it, so that should be finished tomorrow as well.

I have fixed DS3s bedroom wallpaper where he has ripped it. Good job I thought to rescue a few ends and store it - it is Star Wars comic style paper, so it is actually quite easy to match and fix.

I will try and move on to the upstairs loo, that I stripped MONTHS ago and have done precisely nothing with. I have the wallpaper, it is tiny so should realistically only take one roll, and I have a blind to go in there too that I rescued from one of the kids' rooms when I bought them nicer blinds.

I am slowly starting to think I am getting somewhere.

M-i-L has started ringing again to make me aware 'other people' are coming to visit them. These are all people without kids. So I tossed it in the 'F-it' bucket. Job done. That's nice dear.

Feeling quite in control at the minute. 6 days left to payday, DH bunged me £200 for his insurance, but I have not touched it yet. It is a matter of principle that I am going to do this month on a shoestring. We still have coffee and hot chocolate, the contents of the cupboards and the freezer are being used up and I am getting quite inventive. Even if my cooking mojo has abandoned me

. Actually, I think it is because I am dieting my mojo has gone. It is heartlessly boring. Still, I am 4lbs down so something is working.

f0xh0les

Oh crap. DS2 just home from school ill. He was the 8th to present in the medical room this morning with similar symptoms so I got the call to pick him up.

He is currently in a hot bath with a lemsip and I have disinfected all the door knobs and light switches and tv remote controls and computery bits. He can spend the rest of the day in bed until it either turns into a cold/flu or V&D. Either way, sleep will not hurt him.

Before the rest of my day was scuppered,
I did a v small Aldi shop (less than £5),
I bought more wallpaper paste with my magic gift card (now empty)
I went to the charity shop and found everything on my list
- 2 quite large wastepaper baskets for the living room,
a tea tray,
a big plastic food storage lock and lock thing,
and an ironing board all for £9.
The ironing board was £8 last week, but when I went in today it was £4.50.

I re-wonderwebbed the living room curtain, where it kept getting stuck on one of the handles, and DH kept pulling it and so it had come unstuck in places. Now all firmly and crisply ironed on.

And I rang the boiler servicing man Bob, and booked him in for next Wed (payday)

I was planning on doing a food shop today, but with DS2 needing an eye kept on him that is out the window for a while.

DH dropped the bombshell he is going on strike because of the pension stripping planned by the University. 2 days the first week, 3 days the second week, 4 days the third week etc. This means he will get paid for 14 days in February. Ouch, half pay! Hope it gets resolved soon, it is being handled very unreasonably by the University.

So, before 11.15 I was very productive, now I am feeling ill (I think it is by association rather than anything real) and having a cup of tea and not wallpapering. At least I can get on with the laundry....

greent

Hope DS2 feels better soon - even d&v is better than full blown flu (over and done with quicker!) - and that he doesn't pass it on to anyone - especially you - don't know if it's the same in our house, but ours falls apart if I'm out of action!
x

redofromstart

Ouch for the loss of money on the strikes, I absolutely get why they feel striking is needed but it is a huge ask from people to do that much. I remember talking to academics last time who agonised about the impact on students too. Do UCU have the insurance that gives members some pay if they strike? I can't remember but I think Unite did have the option last time they had 'trouble at the mill'.

In terms of planning it might not all go off in the same month. Last time they had to submit a form the day after to say that they had been on strike, and it was recovered from the following months pay cheque.

ETA: Thinking back there was something about impact on pension too, can't remember the detail though as it was a few years ago. Counted as unpaid leave or something if you don't make the contributions up.

Much sympathy from me.