Mooloo's Joining up the dots in 2017

ivyleaf

I hope you got your early night - I always find any stressful medical or dental treatment leaves me kn@ckered.

And WELL DONE to DGD :T

Savvy_sewing

Would you believe that after a rest I opened the new machine and started to play. I made a zip up bag, lined etc from a craft club kit. I even started another until I realised it was 11.15pm. So I was so engrossed I didn't notice the time or the pain as the tablets took hold!
This morning I was up etc and thought I would have a good run at work which I did in the end, sewing £182 worth by 5.30 but it was slow going to start with. But I am happy with the end result and we took £163 between the card machine and cash.
Twin 2 rang me about Biggest's wedding, later twin 1 rang to change the date for collecting dgd.
DS has a trial session at the pub in his village tonight. So fingers crossed for him and that his future is better.
Molly came to see me today! Was so lovely to see her, even if it was with a job for me to do too! ( joking Molly, was great to see you even if it was briefly).
This evening dgd and I went to the pub with my friend and her son. After years of trying to get funding for her daughter with special needs and being turned down, going for tribunal etc she finally has won her appeal. So we had a celebration.
We are home now and my feet are up.
Tomorrow is another day. Xxxx

Savvy_sewing

I have decided that when I get back from Portugal and Dgd is with her Mum, I will go down to Cornwall to see Twin2, and take her dress down for a fitting. I haven't seen her for a year, so I will go down Easter Saturday and come back on the Monday. BF is not sure if he will come or not but I spoke to Mum and she will come with me if he doesn't. So I have booked a B&B via Booking.com as I have used them for quite a few hotels lately.
I am just going to have to find the money.
Luckily I have fairly full freezer and stores so I can eat from them and if I stay away from the Mr T on the way home I won't be tempted to take a ready meal as often. Shear laziness.
I have already got the money for my holiday earmarked so I have time to put some money aside for the fuel for the drive down etc.
I am not going to Oxford this weekend,?and I no longer need to take DS to his work so my fuel I already have will last me a little longer. I have been taking lunch with me this week so I am also not buying anything from the Baguette shop next door which saves £2.30-£2.50 a time.
I am going to be able to pay myself this week again too. So as long as I keep my eye on the bottom line I think I will manage.
I paid the £1,000 for my dental work so far this week, and I still have £1,500 in that pot, so I should have money left afterwards. Once the teeth are done I suppose that it will be swallowed up in the Wedding costs, like hotels and transportation for the twins etc as I cannot see how they will afford to come up otherwise and Biggest just keeps telling them to save, but on the money they are on they don't have the wriggle room.
Right I better get ready for work and get this business working well.
Have a good one

Savvy_sewing

Strange few days as all out of routine. I am here at home, as BF came here Saturday night.
I didn't get any sewing done on Saturday as I had fittings and lessons etc. So I will have plenty of work to be getting on with tomorrow. I worked until 3.30 (normally shut at 2pm).
We were given a box of sewing goodies from a customer and my Saturday girl sat sorting and bagging them up. The difference between staff is that one does it because it has to be done and the other because she loves playing with buttons. Ines idea of heaven and the others of hell it seems.
I sold my old jeans machine, £20 to the sisters that come to my lessons who hadn't a machine at home to use. I hope that they will enjoy sewing at home too.
Biggest's BF collected dgd for the party at her grandads. He has been fixing things for people to earn a few quid towards the wedding fund, , and had to come this way.
Today I went to collect dgd from them, and then when I got back BF had cut the lawn with the old mower, the lighter one has gone to gardening heaven. Then he washed his car, and mine. He also had hung out my washing for me.
Then when I had done lunch, and dgd went swimming with her friends we dismantled the single bed, now destined for dgs3, and dismantled and rebuilt the bunk beds from spare room into DGDs room.
I am a long way off of getting the room sorted for sewing though.
I am going to have to sew down stairs in the front room for a while longer as dgd and I have a serious junk problem to dissolve!!
I spent a while this evening ironing in front of the tv, and then sat joining tiny scraps of fabric into sheets of fabric for creative ideas at a later date. Patchwork with a difference.
I am off to bed now.
My new sewing lady starts tomorrow.
DS got the job in the local pub and will be paid weekly on a Friday. But their benefits have all stopped completely since his GF started her job. I am hoping that if they are Entitled to anything it can be sorted tomorrow but if not then I hope I don't have to pay for everything until their money comes in.
I am now expecting a tripling of the DD that will go out of My account in a few days. Eeek.

Savvy_sewing

My sewing lady cancelled an hour before she was due to start saying she's not allowed a second job, apparently it's in her contract.
So I am going to have to keep taking the tablets and work on by myself! Not what I had planned but at least I won't have to pay another wages yet.
I will have to advertise again.
DS has been given 30 hours a week at the pub!, and with his GF work 15 or 16 hours a week they hopefully will see results. Although biggest is helping out at the moment caring for dgs3 while one goes out to work at 2.45 and the other comes home at 3.10pm it means dgs3 and 4 get to see each other then, and that she can keep an eye on the domestic front.
All we need now is to see what the financial situation will be when they start to get paid. Unfortunately the housing benefits have been suspended until they sort it out, so bank of Mum may be stretched too thinly next week when their DD goes out of my bank, .
I believe that the GF went over the top about the Council letter, and she also was trashing the house looking for her shoes when Biggest arrived so there was a bit of a show down when Biggest told her to grow up, stop being such a drama queen and being so lazy etc and sort herself out.
Biggest is also churning her way through half a dozen bags of dirty laundry, as it was all over the hall and stairs after the GF through her wobbly.
DS said he was fed up with how lazy she is. It's all been very dramatic the past few days.
I am tired and in need of sleep!

Savvy_sewing

I went to bed fairly early compared to lately, I had some weird dreams and woke feeling quite jaded. Thank goodness for a shower!
Usual battle with dgd to leave her gadgets alone and get ready for school.
I told her 3 strikes and out! If she comes down stairs on her gadget before school tomorrow she will loose it until we are on holiday in April.
I can't believe that in 2 weeks time we will be in Portugal again.
I booked the airport car park yesterday. £39.99 on an off site, bus to airport.
I still need to get a car while I'm out there.
I will look tonight.
I need to focus on sewing now until 5pm!
So much to do.

Savvy_sewing

I managed to do quite a few jobs between 9am-5pm yesterday and sewed £204 worth of work. Helped by the amount of Trousers in to shorten.
I am at home today and planning to do more work with my spare room as Mum is ok about my not going over today.

Savvy_sewing

So my first things on my todo list was try to get my head back into a reasonable place as I am struggling today with the black dog. Weather like today, dull, dark and damp don't do me any favours.
So out came the diary while the first washing load was on.
So I wrote down the things that were making me feel stressed, dissatisfied, disappointed, and basically low.
Then I tried to switch myself up.
so I have something positive about each issue, to turn my attention back to positive things. It's not been easy though.
I felt worried about a lot of things that I either have no control over or hadn't even happened!
I was disgruntled and disappointed that the sewing lady let me down, and worried about the state of my hands and the increase in work loads.
So what can I do?
Well for one it means that I have saved £100 a week wages until I find another one. I need to chase up an appointment with the doctor to see what else can be done about my hands, as tests done so far came back clear.
I can juggle my days and start sewing at 9.30 and not 10, and I can stay later, until 5.30 to help make up the 10 hours that I was going to pay her.
I can up my wage by £10 a week and change my benefits etc after I get back from holiday.
I will have to just tell customers that I am not going to be able to see their alterations until I return.
So a sign needs to be done to let customers know what is going on.
I am concerned about my son and his GF etc, but I should know that the benefits etc will eventually be sorted out and if they both keep up the work then their lives should improve, meanwhile I will just have to find the rent payment and add what I pay to the spreadsheet I have already done.
This lead me to think about my budget and my up coming holiday.
So I went onto the banks apps and moved the savings etc about so I could go to the cash machine and withdraw the money to buy the Euros for DGD and myself. Then a walk in the rain, and a bit of fresh air to get the Euros so I don't un whittingly use the money elsewhere.
That lead me to sorting out my missing ehic cards, and the car rental too.
So all but packing is sorted for the holidays in 12 days.
I also was stressed about my home, and my level of clutter getting to me.
So to rebuild my money pots I have to sort out my clutter and see if I can sell any of it.
Biggest's wedding is looming and they have struggled to build up the funds since the episode of his wasting money last year, and they have asked for my help to meet the bills and the only way I can do that is to use my cleared credit card. I am stressed about that but it's rather too late to do much else, so the deal is that if I meet the deadline then they will have to pay the money owed to the card as I can't. This will be found by the amount they have been saving each month since October and so it should take 8!months for them to clear it.
But I am determined to keep my eye on it all, and have asked for a breakdown of the cost, the deposits paid and the deadline for final payment.
I am also going to use my clutter as a way of my side hustles to rebuild my savings.
So deep breath and planning and I am feeling better now then I was.
So next?
I start on the clutter and sort out the wheat from the chaff so to speak.

Savvy_sewing

I spent all afternoon moving things from room to room and I have now got a working room for my sewing at home again. In the process I filled a sack of rubbish and one of recycled pieces.
This evening I even did some sewing in it.but I also managed to set off the fire alarm with steam from my steamer!! And it just kept going off for over 20 minutes in the end I had to get BF to dismantle it! It appears that the steam is still not dispersed enough even though it is switched off and all the windows upstairs are open and the fan is on!
I think I have done enough for one day. I am going to relax for a few minutes before I contemplate what needs doing before bedtime.

Savvy_sewing

Morning already. I had weird dreams last night and woke up in the night with such a sharp pain in my hip I had screamed! Woke BF up! Ops. I think that I did too much moving the boxes and small furniture yesterday to make my sewing room again.
I hope that I won't suffer too long!
Dgd has been in the wars falling off of her scooter quite badly, she landed on her face and shoulder and has taken the skin off her cheek so I am expecting her to be very sore and not want to go to school, I expect bruises on her knees and chest too! A couple brought her home as it happened outside their house. I don't know them, they must be new in the street.
BF has gone to work now, and I am having my ritual cuppa in bed before I move.
Bank balances checked, emergency fund topped up after yesterday's shuffle of funds, when I bought the Euros for the holidays.
My SAD lamp is on, ready to kick start my day.