From debt to freedom...

janb5

HSL 2 thank you so much for the recipe which I have now copied and saved!
On the vexatious question of the ex, I would telephone CAB when they reopen and ask them re the locks.  I think you cant change the front door until the divorce is through but is there any reason why you cant get a key for the room where your private papers are and lock it when you go out.  Also make sure you have a password on your pc.....
I have a feeling you don`t have his address but he shouldn`t be coming and going in the house without checking with you.
I think we`ll all be celebrating on your blog when the divorce goes through!

Drawingaline

My petrol bill has gone up this week too! School runs to both schools now we have moved. Just too far to walk and the buses are unpredictable at best. 

Honeysucklelou2

Thank you Janb5 & DAL. 

Janb5 - that’s a really good idea, to put a lock on the bedroom door - I will look into that, thank you.

DAL - I do sympathise on multiple school drops!

Yesterday was a mixed day. The positives were
- no visitors
- £25 paid into Help to Save account
- Birthday money used to buy a new pair of walking boots and a 10% discount on them.
- £10 paid off the credit card

The not so good
- spent £50 at Mr T’s , in addition to the food, on things like printer ink, a new charger for one of the children as their charger had broken.
- work stuff took hours to do
- so tired I fell asleep late afternoon so still have lots left to do. I think the 5am mornings catch up with me at the weekend!

One blessing this week has been a gift of a board game that we all enjoy, so every evening the DDs and I have had great fun playing for an hour or 2 before bed. Youngest DD is getting very good at it!🙂

Due to falling asleep yesterday late afternoon I missed out on a longer walk, although DD 2 & 3 managed our Lockdown Loop that I always enjoy. I did get out for a dusk stroll with the elderly lurcher which was lovely. The blackbirds were in full volume as they flew between the hedgerows of the track we were walking along.🙂

Hoping to get out for a much longer walk today.

Have a good Sunday everyone & Happy Mother’s Day!💐

savingholmes

Glad you got a lovely walk

Honeysucklelou2

Thank you SH.

Mother’sDay was lovely. I had breakfast in bed courtesy of the oldest and youngest  DDs. DD1 gave me a book which I’m enjoying reading between chapters of “The Salt Path”. It’s so nice to have had time to simply sit and read for pleasure.

The DDs, DS3 and I got out for a longer walk in the afternoon. It was DS3’s  choice of walk and he always likes the woods. This week we could see the foliage of the bluebell plants making a green carpet in the woods, where last week it had been mud or decaying leaves. 

Pasties for tea last night, followed by apple & blackberry crumble.

lucielle

Crumble sounds delish!
L

Spendless

That's interesting that a Uni student can count as a dependant still. I hadn't really realised that. I suppose it makes sense because their maintenance loan depends on how much the household income is and parent/s are 'supposed' to make up the difference.

 I do wish there was more transparency about how maintenance loans work. Our DS is the first of our line to go to Uni and when doing the open day rounds there was very very little about it. I only know because I've been on here for years and I still didn't know that about dependants until you said.


Feel your pain with the Mr T shop, printer ink is a fortune and charger cables a necessary evil. Every so often I throw a paddy about the ones we have are now lost/broken/damaged and DH ends up ordering a job lot off the internet -lol

Honeysucklelou2

Thank you Lucielle & Spendless

It caught me off guard because I had thought DD1 wouldn’t be a dependant as she was at uni, but it does help me now thinking about the next few years. DD3 would like to go to uni and I think DD4 is thinking that way too.

This week has been madly busy, meetings everyday after work which has meant I’ve not got home before 6 . DD1 has been great at helping with cooking the evening meals and DD2 helping by collecting DS3 from school. Friday saw me having to pluck up all my courage to go to the dentist. I’m absolutely terrified of dentists and have only been to an emergency one in recent years. I have come to realise though that staying away through fear is not a good option, so I went. NHS waiting lists are enormous around here and with many having been closed during the first lockdown, the backlog of appointments I imagine must be vast. The ex usually does the children’s dentist appointments as I’ve been worried about projecting  my fear of dentists onto them, so he’s taken them for years, before we separated. The children are still waiting for their postponed check up from last year.  I’ve taken the plunge and gone to a private practice, only because I know they will see people and they have really positive feedback ( and awards ) for patient care. I really need to be able to trust and build up a positive patient / dentist relationship. I went in shaking and came out relieved. The practice has a dental plan which I can pay monthly which will allow me a check up and visits to the hygienist over the year. This needs to be worked into  my budget so my rate of saving might have to pull back a bit until I’m off furlough on job no 2.

Yesterday was a lovely day. The benefit of having to get DD1 to work at the crack of dawn is that I’m then wide awake and ready for the day! I spent  a fair amount  of time  in the morning prepping for next week. We then got out for a walk to the coast, It was still within the  parish. If it had been just DD2 and I we could have walked from  home but we had DS3 so we drove up the hill for half a mile and parked in a lay-by and set off from there. It was wonderfully calm, the sea was the palest blue. There was enough height to the waves to make the surfers rejoice but no wind to speak of. The beach is quite remote, you can’t park there, you have to walk down the public footpath and access the coast path. At the cove you have to walk down some wooden steps that the National Trust maintain and then scramble down the rocks to the beach below. The rocks are incredible, it looks as if someone has tried to form steps but the sea has weathered them too. Down on the beach, there are quite a few rocks, some sizeable, each hiding rock pools.  When you are on the sand, the cliffs look huge. When we climbed back up the beach, to the cliff path, I became reacquainted with muscles I’d forgotten I’d got!! I used to go to this beach a lot pre children and have certainly walked to the top of the cliff in recent years but it’s not a beach that you can take babies and toddlers to. This was the first time I’d taken DS3 down and we were very careful. DD2 & 3 have been down before. The tide was coming in so we didn’t stay too long but one to come back to when the tide is more favourable. The effect of being outside and next to the sea was such to put me in a buoyant frame of mind😀.

On our return, I got stuck into some sowing. I sowed  some sunflowers, peas, Nicotiana and Cosmos “Dazzler”. The sunflowers and peas can cope with a colder start so they went to the greenhouse at the allotment whereas the Cosmos and Nicotiana I’ll start off indoors at home. I was thrilled to see that the beetroot have germinated in the greenhouse at the allotment. Quite a few plants have germinated at home. The tomatoes have been potted on into 9cm pots and will move to the greenhouse next weekend. The larkspur, lettuce, verbena, sweet peas, cerinthe and cornflowers have all come up so will be potted on and taken to the greenhouse allotment over the coming week. I found a tin of herb seeds last weekend so will get some of those started as well.

MSE wise, my budget is a little over due to paying the dentist plan up front but going forward that will be direct debit coming out each month.

I heard from my solicitor this week to say the first date for court has been set...in just under 3 months time. 

Have a good Sunday everyone.

janb5

Hallelulah re the court hearing....progress!
What a lovely post about your walk and the successful sowing!
I tried a new recipe y'day chocolate and ginger cake which I'll post later.

Honeysucklelou2

Blackthorn blossom along the footpath.