From debt to freedom...

Honeysucklelou2

Thank you SH, Cherryfudge and Spendless.

Its been another busy week...last week ended up being 5 evening shifts on top of a full time week at Job 1 and this week has seen extra meetings with Job 1 and a frantically busy evening at Job 2! Just glad to have made it to the weekend.

The elderly lurcher went to the vets yesterday. I had become increasingly concerned about him but wasn’t sure whether it was something  to be concerned about or simply the ageing process ( he’s 15 which is a great age for a dog). The vet was wonderfully reassuring that much of the concern I had was due to his ageing. The EL had been randomly barking at odd times which had made me wonder if canine dementia was a  condition. The vet explained that the EL is likely getting disorientated as the brain ages. The bottom line is keeping him comfortable in the time he has left. He has been prescribed some anti inflammatories to see if that will help with his mobility. I was glad of the extra work shifts from last week, as that paid for the vet bill.

I’ve had some good news from Job 1 paywise, which will be applied by Christmas. Not sure what I’ll get but it’s a step up which may mean I can afford to drop a shift at Job 2. My parents and SO are quite concerned about how many hours  I’m working.

The decluttering  continued last weekend with another 10 bags gone to the tip 😳.

SO found out about a possible grant that might be available to change to air source heating. I rang the  company who seemed to think I would qualify for it. At some point they will come out to survey. Not entirely sure how it works but I hadn’t realised that oil heating is being phased out, which is what I’ve had previously. It’s certainly an option to explore. In the meantime we have the woodburner which I am very grateful for.

Lots to catch up on around the house and garden over the weekend. Be glad to get to half term next week and have a bit more time to get home things done!

Sun_Addict

15 is a very good age for a dog. My dog is 10 and has just started on anti inflammatories, they are definitely working, it didn’t take long to notice a difference.  I got the prescription from the vet then bought them online as it’s a lot cheaper that way. 

Great news about job 1 and the decluttering 🥳

savingholmes

Sorry about the dog. 

Good news on the possible grant and impending pay rise. We all worry about the hours you work and will be glad when you have the chance to cut back.

Honeysucklelou2

Thank you SA and SH. I hadn’t realised it was possible to get animal meds elsewhere so that is good to know. The EL does seem to have had a better week so am sure the tablets are helping 🙂.

SO has been an absolute star this week...he’s been able to get a plumber in ( every plumber I’d spoken to either had such a waiting list or were so snowed under they couldn’t even get to look at the job) and the plumber has now fitted the bath. It’s been years....so long that youngest DD asked for help because she couldn't remember how to run a bath! On the not so good side, the leaking shower had leaked so much that the carpet and floorboards in the bedroom were really bad. The carpet has had to be ripped up and an industrial dehumidifier brought in to try and dry the floorboards out. The whole bedroom feels warmer weirdly, since the dehumidifier has been going. The whole bedroom had become so damp, I hadn’t realised how bad it was 😳.

 I have the mortgage valuer coming on Monday so will have to explain why one bedroom has no carpet and hope they can see that work is ongoing to sort it all out. My mission today is to sort out the garden ( lots of leaves strewn everywhere)  and continue the decluttering. Another 10 bags went to the tip last weekend .

This week also saw another birthday. The last of the 8 birthdays close together...however I have now gained another 2 birthdays ( DD1’s fiancé and SO’s DD) so the birthday line gets longer!! This week DD3 helped by sorting out a cake as I had no time to make one. The birthday child wanted  D*minoes pizzas with everyone which was easy to sort out, if a little expensive, but still less than if we had all gone out for a meal. I still find it amazing that we now average 12 if we are altogether ...14 if DS1 and his gf comes but sadly that is a rare occurrence.

Moneywise it does concern me how little I am getting for the money spent, when I go to the supermarket. Yesterday I bought a small bag of dog food, milk, cheese, some cleaning products ( all the cheapest ), a bunch of bananas and a couple of snack bits for the children and that was £34 gone 😳. The amount of people I cook for day by day fluctuates as to who is home or working but trying not to waste anything.

lucielle

Wow HSL, you are still so busy.  When we hired 2 industrial dehumidifiers after being hit by storm Arwen it was amazing at how much heat they threw out.  We missed them when they went back.
L

Cherryfudge

You really are making huge progress! Your SO is a star. LOL to 'how to run a bath', though: my DD and I had the same problem with cooking sausages after we stopped being vegetarian. How on earth do you do these things?  

I hope the mortgage valuation goes well.

I think we are all noticing how prices are going up - I've been foraging apples and plums today as there are trees nearby that were planted for the community but no one else seems aware apart from those of us who've worked nearby for some time. We were also given a huge bag of cooking apples by a neighbour so DH will love those and I might make an apple cake. If you get the chance to forage, keep a look out for short-dated cream at the shops too. This is not just because cream is lovely on puddings, but because you can turn it into butter and buttermilk and when I did this recently, it was a lot cheaper than shop-bought equivalents. (I'm absolutely certain you will know this already, so it's just a reminder. )

savingholmes

Glad your SO is helping. Yay to having a bath again.

 Dehumidifiers sounds good too.

Best of luck with the valuation 

Honeysucklelou2

Thank you Cherryfudge, Lucielle and SH.

The mortgage valuer was here bang on 9 this morning. I had done as much as I could yesterday to make sure the place was as presentable as possible. I explained about the leak in the bathroom and the shower and was up front about the current repairs. He didn’t need to go in the attic as the admin people had said but did spend time going around outside. I’m just hoping that the size of the plot will be in my favour and the valuation will agree with the application.

Two tip trips were done this morning. That’s another 15 bags or so gone! Quite a bit of that was rubbish from the leaking shower that has had to be completely removed. By the time the car has been loaded and unloaded and the bags of rubbish carried up a flight of steps to the right waste container, it becomes quite a workout. No need for the gym!!

Came home and spent a couple of hours simpler weeding the garden. I just don’t seem to have had the time to just be outside recently so felt much refreshed this afternoon. I cut back a couple of black currant bushes that had obviously dead branches and pulled out nettles. Just sweeping around the area made it look better too 🙂. Came inside then and made sausage and cider casserole and a batch of brownies. Again just having time to cook and enjoy the process was blissful! Usually evenings are incredibly rushed, especially if I go straight back out the door to Job 2. This evening I’ve lit the fire and we have enjoyed the heat and the cosiness 🙂.

savingholmes

You have done so much. Glad you got to enjoy some downtime at home after the valuation.

Cherryfudge

You're really making it how you want it now, aren't you? All the negative stuff is heading to the tip and you do some cooking and gardening and light the fire and before you know it there will be a trail of MSE-ers queuing n your doorstep t. share in the cosiness...