A whole new world, for now

parsniphead

Families can be difficult to deal with. Try to take time for yourself if you are feeling you need it. Tomorrow will soon arrive.

Toilet seats are not what they used to be. Well done on getting yours fixed.

Cherryfudge

I have finally read your diary up to date! Hoping you have survived the BBQ...? It's horrible waiting for criticism to start. I used to live in fear of it but some of those people have now gone and interestingly, with the passage of time and aging eyesight, some people are now unlikely to say anything!

Sometimes one of the best bits of having people round is when they have gone home again and for five minutes I have a lovely house before I have to bring out the stuff I've stashed away! Having said that, our guests this weekend are positive and easy going so we are having fun.

I'm not sure what's best for you to do about going to a solicitor. Maybe just the threat of taking legal advice may be enough to make your former employers pay you?

in_need_of_direction

BBQ passed off quite well. Rain that threatened from the get go arrived approx 2 hours into it. Usual family tensions but,on the surface, all was good. Mother did complain about lack of dessert. I was just waiting for others to have their fill of savouries before serving it!
Some bad news today. OH had left their laptop in for repair. Apparently this will cost £480. He's talking about going without for a few months while saving for this. I think we should fund from emergency fund esp if he thinks the money will be there in a few months. We have agreed to work through our finances tomorrow and see exactly where things stand.

On other news,today has been an incredibly lazy day bar getting dd into work. This week I am on site with a client on Tuesday. It'll be odd getting back in the saddle but a bit of a relief. I'm not sure my work suits will fit if I leave things much longer. Did my weekly weigh in this morning and got away with being the same weight.

Yesterday, I got another £20 payout from pa requested. It's less than 1 percent of what used to come in each month but I'm just trying to sustain even a trickle. Also managed to offload some of dd's unused bags to nieces yesterday. It's slow but there are definitely more things leaving the house than are coming in.

Today I am grateful for
The clearing up efforts of dd and oh
Support particularly from one niece
The dog

beanielou

Why is the dog going away for 3 months?
Glad today went well.
Hurrah for first fee.
Boo to laptop.

in_need_of_direction

DD works overseas for 3 months every summer. When I have work, the dog could be cooped up indoors for up to 12 hours at a time. It wouldn't be fair on her, she's a lab and our back garden isn't enclosed. So, she goes to a friend who lives near the beach on the north coast and is very well looked after. I really miss the welcome she gives me when I come into the house when she's away.

beanielou

Ah ok.
Apologies. I thought I had missed something.

in_need_of_direction

happy for the interest, our dog is the smiliest dog ever but i'd sooner miss her while knowing she's having a good time than have her miserable. today I heard from a former colleague and friend who had been off radar. turns out she's been going through surgery and treatment for breast cancer. in her usual fashion though, she's decided to handle this all herself and won't accept any help. if she hadn't been on the end of email and phone, i could have throttled her. i get that she's not telling her children as they are both dealing with exams but wish i could convince her that others could and would pitch in if she would allow it. This is someone who is comfortably off, married with 2.4 children (dog!) and who would appear to have it all. wish i hadn't got the wake up call this way but sod the overspends. i can deal with these. just need to value the important bits

parsniphead

What a difficult thing for her to try and deal with on her own.

You're right about wake up calls. It's so easy to get bogged down with the money thing, important stuff gets forgotten.

in_need_of_direction

So, all prepped for tomorrow as far as I can be given the lack of clarity from my ex employer. Hoping to be on the road around 8.15. Will be a late night as I'm taking advantage of getting my mileage paid to catch up over dinner with a former client while I'm in dublin. Forgot to mention, having dropped dd into work for 9 this morning, I felt sorry for her and did a sausage roll run. Returning to the car from dropping them off, I found a wet £20 note. That doubles the monthly income!
Today I am grateful for
Help and calming words from OH (I know I shouldn't be nervous but I am)
Seeing the benefits of the tidy up like cherry fudge said
Being able to get in touch with someone I needed to speak to
Visitors here

beanielou

We love being your visitors
& I love the fact you found the note