Tales from The Shire

the_cross_rabbit

Hope Mr F feels better soon.
CRx

greent

Hope Mr F recovers swiftly! (and can then deal with the gate drawings )
x

Fortune_Smiles

the_cross_rabbit wrote: »

Hope Mr F feels better soon.
CRx

greent wrote: »

Hope Mr F recovers swiftly! (and can then deal with the gate drawings )
x

Thanks guys - he says he's feeling a little more energetic today.

Fortune x

Fortune_Smiles

Mr F put his time in bed yesterday to good use and researched the company car options available to him. Much as he would love to drive a flash motor I have persuaded him to be sensible and he has decided on a car which may cost us a little less in tax

We have decided to wait until after Mr F's next business trip before we put my old car on the Bay. There's no point doing anything now as he's off again in a week or so. I'd like him to be here for viewings and test drives. We have had an offer on it via a forum but it's too far below the asking price. The guy is letting the offer stand so we could go back to him if it fails to sell for higher and it would cover the loan cost at least.

We're expecting some reward vouchers soon which I'll use to buy a towel ring for the bathroom. We pinched the one that was in there so we could have two in the en-suite Anything remaining will go towards the things we need for the Annex. I'm planning to do some on-line shopping this evening for some other bits.

The car seat covers should be collected today. Mr F has just gone out to the barn to sort them out. £70 in my purse hopefully :T While he's out he's going to check the measurements for the gates so we can progress that.

The veg box was delivered yesterday. I love seeing the fridge full of fresh, healthy produce. Some was used for Spring Greens and Lemon Soup and some for Sausages in Apple Gravy with mashed potatoes. And we had Mushroom Hash with Eggs for breakfast.

Storm Erik hit us quite hard. I woke several times in the night as I could hear banging. The source turned out to be a broken gutter and some loose ridge tiles. Both issues will have to be sorted out quickly. Mr F thinks he can mend the gutter but the ridge tiles will need a builder Hopefully it won't be too expensive a job.

I'm feeling a lot more comfortable now a decision has been made about the company car although I'll feel even better when we get our first booking for the Annex

Hope you all weathered the storm safely

Fortune x

Cheery_Daff

Ah, didn't realise we were having a named storm, that will explain the windiness! No damage here so far.

Good you've come to a decision about the car, always feels better when a decision has been made.

I'm the same with sweet stuff, can't resist however i do need to get back into some of my old clothes so...

Fortune_Smiles

Cheery_Daff wrote: »

Ah, didn't realise we were having a named storm, that will explain the windiness! No damage here so far.

Good you've come to a decision about the car, always feels better when a decision has been made.

I'm the same with sweet stuff, can't resist however i do need to get back into some of my old clothes so...

We've escaped damage through all of the named storms so far but I think each one leaves the roof a little more weakened and Eric was a storm too far.

I definitely feel less 'stuck' now some decisions have been made.

Hope the ladies are recovering well.

Fortune x

Fortune_Smiles

The guy who was due to pick up the car seat covers cried off at the last minute so £70 did not find it's way into my purse after all He hasn't been in touch to rearrange collection either so it's a good job I don't count my chickens.

I put a few things on the Bay including our old dining room table and chairs so, hopefully, some extra cash will be coming in.

A neighbour recommended a tradesman for the roof repair and he is coming round the end of this week to sort things out I haven't got a price yet but he said it wasn't a big job.

Mr F and I double checked all the measurements for the gate and have given Gate Man the go ahead. It will be great not to have to drag a 3.5 metre farm gate across the drive every time I want to leave the house.

I have finally registered us with a dentist No chance of getting an NHS dentist here though. One of the two in the market town has just closed so the other now has a very, very long waiting list. We had to have private treatment in Kent so the budget is set up to cover the costs.

Lunch for the last couple of days has been Chunky Cheddar & Celeriac Soup and supper, Cauliflower, Paneer & Pea Curry. Love paneer :heart2: Both recipes made good use of my veg box contents this week.

I've forecast the budget to the end of April and decided we will concentrate on getting the emergency fund up to a basic level before making any further OPs. We should be able to get to 100% by then. Our next project after that will be to get the drive graveled. It's more grass than gravel at the moment :eek:

It was WI last night and former lodger friend and I were down to do the nibbles. I'd forgotten so made what I could from stores - Mango Chutney & Cheddar Palmiers, Mini Tortilla Pizzas and Cheese Scones with Creme Fraiche and Red Onion Chutney. Former lodger friend did some sweet stuff. I got lots of compliments so think I might always leave things until the last minute in the future :rotfl:

Our speaker was a lady who works with wool and we tried a wet felting technique to make lily flowers. All the flowers were collected in and our florist member is going to put them into an arrangement for one of our entries in the country show this year. I thought that was a fabulous idea Just love the WI

Fortune x

Fortune_Smiles

The dining room table and chairs have sold and the buyer is coming to pick up on Friday :T We made enough to cover the cost of the new to us chairs I bought at the antique centre :T I also have a bid on another small item

It's very handy to have some extra money coming in as our shower pull broke this morning :eek: Fortunately I met an electrician neighbour recently and he came round straight away to fix it for us. £40 and he did some checks of the system whilst he was here as I'd said I was a bit suspicious of the electrical work in the house. He did a great job and we'll have him back later in the year to do a full electrical check and some other bits and pieces.

Former lodger friend and I went to yoga this morning and then to the antiques centre to pick up the dining chairs I'd bought. They have a little cafe there so we had some lunch out and a mooch around. I didn't buy anything else though :A

Supper was Beetroot Risotto. I'm not a big fan of beetroot but I really like this dish. I cut the beetroot into small cubes so it cooks more quickly and I don't puree half of it as that's too much faff. I stir the creme fraiche through with the parmesan. Plenty left for supper tomorrow too

The vouchers we were expecting have arrived so I'll sort out an order tomorrow.

Off to Bedfordshire now - night, night.

Fortune x

Fortune_Smiles

As the weather is so mild, Mr F and I threw caution to the wind and had a grand day out. We went to Hawkstone Park Follies which was fabulous. We started with coffee and cake in the cafe then walked the whole site. It's a beautiful, interesting place. FDawg came too and managed much better this time. We finished off with supper out at a nearby, dog friendly pub. We spent about £65 in total but it was worth it. Mr F is away again on Monday for over a fortnight and is only home for about one week in March. So we won't be having much in the way of fun to spend the fun money on.

We're exhausted now so a night in front of the telly is planned. The log burner is roaring and I might indulge in a Bai1£y$ later.

Perfect.

Have a great evening all.

Fortune x

beanielou

Glad that you have had a lovely day.
One for the memory bank