EH - Essex > Hebrides...the next step of the adventure?

boxofpaws

The dishcloths are really lovely. I must confess to liking to use a little bit of bleach every now and then so would ruin them straightaway.

Re the social media, I got hacked on fbook last summer, I found the whole thing quite traumatic for all sorts of reasons, but namely that somehow someone had got my password and not having access to the  beautiful messages about my dad when he died. But after the initial upset, and failed attempts to get the account back, I decided to enjoy not having it anymore, and I do think my life is better without it. I came back on here for one thing, I like the anonymity and it has made me refocus on paying down the debt.

I do think the anonymity means people think they can be rude and antagonistic, so there are pros and cons. I love this board though. 

EssexHebridean

Hey WF - I’m being really careful to not do too much, too soon. My Mum has a good friend who is a professor of physiotherapy and she’s told us exactly how much we should/shouldn’t do and we’re trying to follow that to the letter!  Trying to navigate the demands of screens/social media etc around children must be a nightmare - especially when like you there is a spread of ages to consider, I wish you luck with that one when the time comes! 

Milann it was 13 days for me to a negative test - ludicrous isn’t it when you consider all the people who are quite happy to go here, there and everywhere just days after having a positive test!  I too use social media generally a lot more if we’re away - it’s telling isn’t it, how much we do use it both from habit and to fill time! 

Hello Paws! I too bleach “regular” bought dishcloths from time to time but with these I’m making the effort to chuck them into the washing machine every few days and get a clean one out to use so I’m hoping that, combined with an occasional soak in stain remover solution might do the trick to keep them looking better for longer.  I do agree about sometimes anonymity meaning folk will say things/behave on social media in a way that they wouldn’t in real life. Combine that with a difficulty in getting tone over in a purely written format and it can sometimes make things unpleasant. I’m sometimes guilty of taking something that has been said at pure initial face value rather than taking the time to stop and think if it might have been meant in a different way - that’s another thing I try to remind myself to do, now. I’m also far less afraid of simply blocking someone who is rude, antagonistic or unpleasant now. 

First airshow of the season for me yesterday - a lovely day at the fabulous Shuttleworth Collection watching all manner of vintage aircraft display including a highlight formation of a Seafire (Naval version of the Spitfire) and a Sea Hurricane (self explanatory!) - absolutely amazing - really loved that, I’ll pop a photo below. Shame that the weather wasn’t the best but the rain did hold off and the wind stayed low which is always the main thing. Came back with a LOT of photos to edit so I’ll need to manage in some time over the next week or so to work through. There was a group of 11 of us I think it was in the end so lots of laughs too - a really good day! Having bought and paid for the ticket some time ago it wasn’t a dreadfully spendy day - I bought lunch, but that was all, and the car already had diesel AND the venue wasn’t that far from me either - a little under an hour of driving.   

There will be spending today as well - we were originally planning to drive up to Suffolk to an RSPB reserve we love - but a combination of things has meant that the travel time there would be too lengthy so we’re staying more local by visiting our second most local reserve instead. That one also has a cafe and does nice lunches - and cake - so we’ll treat ourselves to lunch out, and have a nice walk round, and still be back here in plenty of time to be able to get in and visit my Dad later now we’re both clear of the lurgy! I need to pop via Mum to collect some bits he wants taken in as well - and will ask him to think of anything else he wants ahead of us going in. 

Banks checked and all good, there will be a bit of shuffling to do with the CC as my lunch spend yesterday went on it because Apple Pay is stupid, and I’ve updated my signature on gym cost per visit…and on the MSE front that is about all, I think. I did forget when doing the meal plan for the week that I needed to factor in the veg box contents so there needs to be some re-jigging there. 

Have a good BH Monday everyone! 

foxgloves

I grew up not far from the Shuttleworth Collection, @EssexHebridean. We went there on a primary school trip back in the 70s. The chap showing us round gave a very detailed talk which went above our 10-year old heads & most of us soon got bored......until a lad from our class who'd wandered off shouted "Hey, come & look at this everyone!" We all raced off & I bet the guide thought 'Thank goodness they've finally found something of interest".....& we had....it just wasn't aviation-based. It was a cat with an extra toe lying on one of the exhibits! Funny how these daft little things stay in one's mind, isn't it?
F

milann

Sounds like you had a fantastic bank holiday ✈️👍

EssexHebridean

Foxgloves I love that - and will be sneaking glances round for possible offspring of said cat when I next visit!  Milann it was a really nice weekend! 

Back to the normal office life for me today - and MrEH's firm have said that they are all back in for full working hours from this week as well so there's a sharp increase in our commuting costs ahead. (3 extra days tube travel plus diesel for a 5th day of the week into London as well). I'll be keeping a sharp eye on the finances this month to see how it impacts the balances, especially allowing that his pay has taken a £50 hit due to the NI changes as well - mine will also be hit but I've not seen by how much yet. 

Banking checked and all OK - the £150 council tax rebate has landed too so I've transferred that straight across to the buffer fund before it gets swallowed up. Waiting for MrBoss to pop my pay across and once that happens I'll get the money shuffle done and see where it looks like we're at generally. The only change to finances other than the commuting cost and the NI thing is the new Reg Saver accounts but those are already funded with the money we transferred and have waiting - I just need to remember to set up the future transfers at some stage.

Food spending this week has been theoretically high, but reduced by a good chunk using three vouchers for the Sainsbugs spend - 2 x £10 gift cards MrEH netted for doing ONS surveys, and a "£6 off £40 spend" one as well. Both the Sainsbugs and the Al's shop also included a fair bit of storecupboard stuff as well as we're still trying to add storecupboard bits to stores as and when we can. It was also a veg box week so we're well stocked up for veggies as well! Slightly annoyingly the salad leaves we were due to get in the veg box were substituted - needless to say I only found this out AFTER buying the other salad ingredients but we'll make the best of it anyway! I'll do a sort of shredded coleslaw base type thing using as many bits as a I can find that we can eat raw - I've got beetroot and kohl rabi in that category which will make it a bit different. Then the usual tomatoes, cucumber, peppers etc...I reckon it will work quite well - we'll have it with smoked mackerel tonight. I also double-cooked yesterday - I was making a cauliflower cheese pasta bake for tea yesterday and so we'll have the other half of that for later in the week - probably tomorrow, and with some more of the shredded salad. Then the jacket tatties that were going to be eaten last night will make another brilliantly quick meal for Thursday - meaning we've got easy-prepped meals for al three nights this week as we ease ourselves back into the routine again. 

No plans for the week - I've got another aviation event on Saturday and need to renew my IWM membership ahead of that, but that is budgeted for and the money already stashed. I get my money's worth anyway! I do want to get to the gym a couple of times - still keeping everything pretty low key with reduced weights & reps, and no cardio. I've opted to walk from car > office today rather than cycling as it's easier to keep walking dialed back to a lower intensity. I might try a short cycle when I get back to the car this evening and see how that goes, then I can judge what to do the rest of the week. I also need to factor in hospital visiting - we got in to see Dad yesterday and I'll try to get in again in the next few days. Each visit will only be short though as anything longer is going to tire him too much. I'm glad to have seen him but it's incredibly tough seeing him so poorly. 

In other news - we're a bit miffed. We lost out on our "usual" Hebrides holiday dates to someone else who booked the cottage super-early last year - we weren't hugely surprised as we knew how in-demand accommodation was and should probably have been quicker off the mark, so just moved our trip to later in the year. Now we've heard that the people who booked the weeks we wanted have canceled their stay just a few weeks before they were due to go - leaving Anne with a gap in her bookings/income. Not great for her, and of course it's too close to time for us to be able to re-jig things to have the week that we would have much preferred! Annoying, and particularly as we suspect this was people who booked the place "in case" they weren't able to go abroad...! Grrr! 

EssexHebridean

I've now been paid - a teeny tiny drop for me thanks to the NI thing - it certainly should be cancelled out entirely when the threshold changes I would think, and I may even *whispers* be slightly better off...  

Money shuffle done - I've not transferred anything to my spends account yet, as I still have money in there from last month which will do me for now. Also still have money in my purse as MrEH paid for the takeaway the other night.

I have also done the IWM renewal - £60 for the year. Last year I think I went to 4 of their "Flying day" events - free to members - and must have visited the museum at least 4 or 5 times outside of those days too. I also got a discount on an airshow ticket I would have booked anyway, so all in all, definitely value for money. I need to remind myself of what the additional benefits are there too - I think I get a discount in the shop - although I'm unlikely to buy much in fairness, but I'm sure there's some other member benefits, too. I've got three "Flying Day" events booked for this year already, as well. (One of which is the thing I'm going to on Saturday!)

Had a quick tot up on our current grocery spending for the month earlier on - If I recall correctly it came out at a bit under £140 spent so far, with one more shop to do. However, I'm hopeful that next week's spend can be kept really low as we have a LOT in at the moment. I'd ideally like to see if I can do next week under £25 - this might mean shopping on Friday without MrEH though (love him to bits but my goodness he's a bad influence in a supermarket!). I remembered to throw the last of the broccoli into the pasta bake last night, and the slightly wrinkled pepper will get used in the salad tonight - I don't think we have too much else kicking around at the moment that needs urgent attention. I'm not hitting the freezer supplies massively this week either - just a tub of chilli base coming out of there, plus fillings for lunchtime rolls, so I'll have a loo at some stage and start making next week's meal plan from there... MrEH redeemed himself a little on the supermarket front by finding a 20p white loaf in Morries on Sunday by the way - sliced and frozen, that's next weekend's toast sorted without needing to put on the breadmaker! 

milann

I know exactly what you mean about loving Dh to bits …..but the supermarket bill when they’re with you 😂😂
Everything sounds very organised food wise. Hope you settle back to the work routine 🤞

foxgloves

I think when I tackle the fridge tomorrow, I shall see if there's anything kicking around I can use. We aim to be a zero food-waste household - it even annoys me if I have to throw away a furry blue lemon (though of course I wouldn't use that except perhaps the juice for cleaning the sink). I've been a little out of my usual routines because of builder activities so will be resuming fridge & pantry round-ups & batch cooking imminently.
My Dad (RAF) always enjoyed an air show. We often have vintage aircraft fly over our house & when my parents used to travel up here for the day, he'd always shoot out of the back door to see what exactly it was that was going over. I'm no good on planes but was most disgruntled when one flew over so low at a castle when we were on a day out that I actually instinctively ducked & nearly tumbled into the moat. Mr F was quick to inform me that the offending craft was a Lancaster bomber! 
F

savingholmes

Glad you were able to see your Dad and combine your trip with other nice things like the air show and nature reserve visit. 

Glad your budgeting is still going well - even if your facing higher costs.

Annoying about your Lundy trip dates. Hope your friend manages to fill the gap.

EssexHebridean

Haha Foxgloves that will be "the" Lancaster bomber as far as the UK goes - there are only two flying worldwide so consider yourself fortunate to have been "buzzed" by the old girl! That's quite the honour - even if you DID near fall in the moat as a result! 

Milann glad it's not just me with increasing shopping bills when the other half is present! In fairness if I turn him loose to shop with a list when I'm away, for example, he does a sterling job and remembers to look for genuine bargains, too, so it's not all bad!  SH I think we're all facing higher costs aren't we - it's just a case of judging them, and thanking our lucky stars that we CAN actually make ends meet. 

Morning all - hope everyone is hunky dory and pleased to be at the tipping point of the week? I do like a short week - and of course for me this one has only 3 working days, so even better! 

Banking checked, all OK. MrEH has still not got round to opening his Reg saver though so needs to get his act together to get that sorted. One nice proactive thing I have done today is to double check my NI contributions to make sure I have no gaps - I was reasonably sure I hadn't but just wanted to confirm - and no, as I thought, all is good. Nice to feel reassured on that one!