Bricks Not Books

ruby_eskimo

All of the house jobs sound like they'll make a big difference to how you feel in the house.  We also need all of our internal doors replaced too but that's a job that can wait a little while longer.  We have our boiler boxed into what is effectively another cabinet so it looks like another cupboard just without a bottom to it which is only noticeable if you make a point of putting your head on the worktop and looking up.  Hides it away nicely and still able to be accessed if you need to.

VintageHistorian

Thanks for the advice on the boxed boiler Ruby, my brother's coming up on Saturday so we'll see what he thinks!

Had lots of Tilly Tidies since my last post, totalling £7.56. I've broken the £20 target on Prolific so I will cash that out this weekend and then pay it across, which will make me break £70 for July OPs. Then I just need to see how much is sitting in my account at the end of the month and decide if I want to bump it up.

We've got a crack in our living room ceiling, so that's something else for my brother to take a look at. We were very worried when we first spotted it as we thought it was a sign of a big problem (it's conveniently placed under some bookcases in the room above), but a photo sent to my brother simply got the comment "You need a decorator". Hopefully he will prove to be correct! For us it's a source of worry, but he's a joiner and works in a lot of homes, so he's seen plenty of worse problems.

I've had quite a few Yougov surveys recently. Not enough for me to be anywhere near the 5000 point payout limit (why is it so high!?) but enough to get me crawling towards it. I've decided that the eventual payout will go towards the Lifetime ISA. 

Small political rant: I'm sick of this government. Lying, corrupt little toerags. They'd sell their own mothers to the Americans, let alone the NHS.

Rant over, don't let me near the soapbox.

I have six weeks until my next week of annual leave. I can't wait!

ruby_eskimo

Fingers crossed the crack is just cosmetic.  We had loads in our house growing up but my dad always said it's just the house settling.  Not sure how long a house settles but don't think it's 20 years!

Don't want to start a political debate but it made me laugh that all my "friends" on facebook who were singing the praises of the government and clapping each Thursday are now up in arms that NHS staff are not getting a pay rise.  I knew this would happen because it took us so long to get our 3 year pay deal a few years ago.  I do not begrudge the rest of the public sector getting pay rises now because they've lagged behind us for so long but in two years time we'll all be back to square one and not actually earning a living wage in some cases.  A little bonus like hazard pay would be nice for those of us who were in front line roles during the peak but don't think that will be forthcoming either.  *end of rant*

savingwannabe

Well I agree with both of you on the political front I am really fearful of the future. VH I had those cracks in the ceiling too. The builder told me that 'houses settle' and I thought the same as you and he is right as the cracks didn't ever come back. Once they were decorated over they stopped so please don't worry. 

Hazelnutty

I'm with you too @ruby_eskimo Pay rises have been below inflation for years so many of us have been losing ground in terms of the value of pay then the government can give a paltry rise and claim to be recognising all the wonderful contributions public sector workers make It's like cutting school budgets for years then giving them a budget boost that still leaves them with less money than before! Why more people don't see through all this I don't know

VintageHistorian

Glad to see I'm not the only one indulging in a little political rant in this space

Total OP for July was £78.02! That includes £22.55 from Prolific. Would love to repeat that this month but it's been a quiet start to the month so far so we'll see how that goes.

Mortgage money comes out on Tuesday so then I can do the money shuffle. 

Doors were supposed to be started but sadly my brothers van died while he was driving home from work the other week. Turns out the cambelt snapped, so he now needs to get a new van! Doors are now postponed, and are currently taking up space in my parents house!

Not much else going on here. Am contemplating a little holiday in the UK, possibly in November. Have mostly talked myself in to it so now need to talk myself out given the current situation DX

VintageHistorian

August has got away from me. To the point where I even forgot to do a TT at the end of the month! But I didn't forget to OP at various weeks, August ended up being a very good month with a total of £80.06!

Our doors have been done, my brother got them done over 2 weekends. He ended up having to buy a new van, but his old one was only just out of warranty and the suspected problem (snapped cambelt) really shouldn't have happened given that the van wasn't that old, so hopefully he'll get something out of the manufacturer.

Me and DH have been off work this week. No where to go, yet again. We have a little trip in the UK booked for November, but who knows what the situation will be like by then. We had dinner out on Tuesday, and did the food shopping today, but apart from that we've just lounged around the house.

Money shuffle was done today. The month has started off with an OP of £40.28 - we'll see how much more I can add to it this time!

VintageHistorian

Didn't realise I hadn't posted since early September!

The numbers are the key thing here, so my OP for September was a lovely £72.46, and my OP for October was a less lovely £43.76.

October was not a good month for the VH household. Sadly I had a late miscarriage just over a week ago, just before reaching the 16 week mark. I've been off work for the past week while I recover physically and mentally. I'm taking it all one day at a time, and I'm talking to Mr VH and my parents when I feel a need to unload, and letting myself cry when I need to (a good cry is so good for letting the feeling of sadness out of my chest). I know that me and Mr VH will be okay, we're a partnership, and while we're both sad we're also trying to look to the future, and focus on positives.

Sadly one of the less positive things is that our November holiday has had to be postponed due to lockdown 2. That gave me a bit of a knock back yesterday as I had been desperately clinging on to the idea of being away from the house for a few days. I've requested that it be moved to our wedding anniversary week in April, so we shall see what the company say. My due date was going to be early April, so we are going to look at a weekend away around that time as a nice distraction, assuming we're allowed to travel in the UK by then!

Actual positives are that my birthday is coming up (although I have some complicated feelings around it and the biological clock, after recent events), we have a roof over our heads and food in the fridge and the cupboards, and books on our shelves that need to be read. I can afford Christmas gifts for my loved ones and am in a privileged position that will let me support independent businesses in the run up to the festive season, and I will do a reverse advent calendar for the food bank (although I might just buy it all in one go and then donate it straight in to the collection basket at Tesco), which are positive things I can do to improve the end of the year for other people.

I think I'll do another afternoon tea for my birthday, and my Mum has texted me to say that some gifts are winging their way to me in the post this week (she also ordered some chocolate brownies to be delivered when I was out of the hospital, which was a lovely treat for me and Mr VH to indulge in). I can, and will, bounce back from this, and will pull Mr VH with me on the bounce back up.

Although 2020 has been an absolutely awful year, at least 2021 is now only 2 months away - I have to hope that it will be a positive year for us, and for many other people.

Fortune_Smiles

I am so sorry to hear this news VH.  Sending hugs.

Fortune x

Cornish_mum

Dear VH, I am so sorry to hear about your loss, with best wishes CM