Cherry takes the reins

Cherryfudge

So I managed to get lots of bits of shopping in today, ran 5K and have finally faced an analytical look at the latest version of our holiday itinerary (thinking of questions before we take the plunge and book).

Nothing really exciting bought and I'm pleased to find I still have £9.02 left of my £40 housekeeping budget. Some of that is due to an underspend last week though.

DS has spilt tea on his bedcovers and curtains - stain remover has had very little effect. They are white curtains - cotton or linen by the feel of them but I can't find the label - so I think I'll suggest a box of dye. The duvet cover is patterned and seems to be okay.

You will see I bought a book again... Dale Carnegie's 'How to stop worrying and start living' I felt a bit guilty about it as there may be other people who would benefit from it more than I will but browsing it and finding intriguing stories of people long gone but very vivid... well, I gave in.

Spends:
Housekeeping £12.99
Household £7.99
Toiletries £3.29
Book £1.49
Clothes £1.99
Gifts £2.29
MS Stuff:
Yellow stickered salad and bread.
Mr A turns out to be cheap for cooking apples right now, and we get through loads. Saved 50p per pudding on DH's tinned apples! (£3 over a week).
Trying out the £ shop for shampoo and shower gel.
Bought some LED lights to attach to my twigs (nearly all the bulbs on the originals have gone and replacement sets all seem to need batteries. This set is mains and about £6 cheaper than new twigs! )
£ shop tissues were 59p... most seem to be at least £1 so I'm trying these and I think they're quite nice.

Honeysucklelou2

Enjoying the guinea pig contributions! Your post was a reminder to me that I have a tin of oranges for marmalade in a cupboard. I think the ex bought it before we separated, so might make it up and give him the jars of marmalade as he likes it and I doubt he will ever make it.

Cherryfudge

Honeysucklelou2 wrote: »

Enjoying the guinea pig contributions! Your post was a reminder to me that I have a tin of oranges for marmalade in a cupboard. I think the ex bought it before we separated, so might make it up and give him the jars of marmalade as he likes it and I doubt he will ever make it.

That's a nice thought! I don't have marmalade very often: Dh loves it. I pinch some to have with mackerel. I would have thought you would be making marmalade cake or pudding...?

The guinea pig says he totally doesn't get marmalade but at least we have more room for celery now, and why am I still on the computer at this time of night?

Cherryfudge

The end of the weekend is in sight: early shift tomorrow but then... Tuesday and Wednesday off! Yippee! Not the week for going to Mum's unless there's anything cropping up from the work on the boiler. I still haven't heard from them and really can only chase them up so much when I strongly suspect from what was said that they decided to start this coming Tuesday. They had warned me ages ago that November till spring is almost totally set aside to deal with emergencies... this is hardly an emergency. It might mean I get to enjoy new heating the week after next: it may be childish but I want to be the first one to play with the new toy!

Today I bought a ticket for an all-day event at my church which I go to every year, and I'm hoping my colleague can come along too. We have similar beliefs so I'm hoping nothing crops up to stop her (she has lots of responsibilities).

DS1 and DDiL have had a look at our travel itinerary and advised us we can probably cancel two of the fancy trips and do DIY much cheaper, so we're going to do this. They have 'done' one of the cities and DD has done two others so we have great advice on our doorstep! DD is trying to remember the name of the supermarket chain to look out for so we can get cheap food.

DDiL also remembered they have one of the 'L0nely Pl@net' guides I was going to buy, so we will save a bit there.

I've just done the gas & electric readings and the gas is starting to climb. I have been entirely unsuccessful in persuading DS2 to wear jumpers and use a thicker duvet so I need to find a way to stop him sneakily putting the heat on too often. I think the answer is to set it just a little higher than usual overnight, maybe 18C instead of 17.5? That's better than 20C which is nearly always too warm for me. I will also put hot water bottles on the shopping list as we seem to be down to two and one of those is old and thin.

Spends:
Ticket (entertainment) £10.00
MS stuff:
Enough Sunday leftovers for a free meal during the week.
Work lunch ready for tomorrow.
Woolly scarves, long socks and gloves down from the loft.

I am going to put my jeans on the radiator tonight so they are nice and warm for my early start in the morning.

charlies_tribe

Our gas and electric are rising too. I've been setting the heating to come on for a few hours at night and a few hours in the morning but don't think it will be long before it's on for longer.
Hope the boiler is installed soon and you get first play.

Hiddenidenity

Ours is set at 18 now. I've noticed it coming on more this last few days

Although my visitors today said the house felt really warm :cool:

Definitely the time of year the bills go up though. I love my hot water bottles

Honeysucklelou2

I did give in and switch our heating on last week, although I did cut down the hours on he timer to mirror our comings and goings a bit more.

Honeysucklelou2

Lonely planet guides are really useful and down to earth.

NoOneAround

Morning Cherry,
Hot water bottles on my list too - we are down to one due to 2 springing leaks within last 6 months....
DiY trips sound a good way to reduce costs, I always prefer the extra flexibility they offer.

Have a good day
NOA
x

Cherryfudge

Nuffink spent again today. The morning shift wore me out (they always do, I'm not a morning person) so when the sun went down I was dozing under the winter-weight duvet! DH came home with salmon, cous cous and a delicious sauce for us: very hygge.

The boiler company rang to say there had been a mix up and they had received the wrong boiler for us and were hoping it would be rectified so they could start on Friday. That's fine by me. It also means they will be working next week so I will probably call off my proposed visit over there - unless they finish in record time. I can't say I'll be sorry. I might go Christmas shopping instead!

I also had a phone call from the Utilities for Mum's house, asking to change the details so bills are sent to me. I'm fine with that, too, as it's paid by money in the estate.

Dh and I have been trying to put substance to my plans for the kitchen and I have done a sudden mental swap from loving natural wood to considering modern grey paint. First step will be to sort the messy walls, which are a patchwork of uneven plaster. DS advised us we can tile over it and that's a relief as it was looking like getting-a-plasterer-in time. DS does plastering and tiling in his own place so he's a better judge than we are of what can be done. It's only a small area but it's very noticeable and I'll feel better if it's nice again.

Spends:
None
MS stuff:
Free consultation on plastering.
Turns out I would save only pence by changing the tariffs at Mum's old house at this stage, then if I wanted to change them again once we have an idea of the revised fuel bills, it would cost £40 to change. How nice to know I'm best doing nothing for now!