Tales from The Shire

Cheery_Daff

What a lovely day! :j :j

beanielou

Glad that you have had a lovely day :T

teapot2

Your day sounds lovely and clearly Fdawg had a fab time :cool:.

Fortune_Smiles

Cheery_Daff wrote: »

What a lovely day! :j :j

beanielou wrote: »

Glad that you have had a lovely day :T

teapot2 wrote: »

Your day sounds lovely and clearly Fdawg had a fab time :cool:.

Thanks guys. We need to have more of these days I think - you know what they say about all work and no play :rotfl:

Fortune x

Fortune_Smiles

... that's the sound of the year rushing by. Can't believe I've started my Christmas shopping :eek:

Life has been just as busy as always this last fortnight and Mr F has been away 4 out of the last 5 weeks which restricted my plans as FDawg can't be left alone for too long. Anyhoo, I have managed to get some things sorted:

Health :j

• I have lost a stone :T It's made such a difference. I am sleeping better, my clothes look better, and I can get into more of them, and I'm finding yoga easier. Just another 10lbs to go It was a shock to me to find that I needed to lose this much as I've always managed my weight quite well in the past. I'd like to say it was hormones but I think it was more likely to be cake :rotfl:
• the diet has made me re-look at the food we're eating and make some positive changes
• Mr F has lost some weight by proxy so he's a happy bunny too

Wealth :money:

• several purchases have been made this month. All considered but some a little earlier than expected to take advantage of sale prices and discounts
• I used my T£$c0 vouchers to buy some new saucepans as my old ones had lost their non-stickiness
• Mr F put together the bathroom cabinet for our en-suite and we transferred the existing one to the main bathroom. There is a problem with one of the doors though so I'll have to go back to JL on that
• I've ordered a small sideboard for the dining room. I was half way toward saving for it and then received a 15% off voucher through the post so used some savings to pay the remainder. I'm considering getting the blanket box for our bedroom now too as it's from the same company and they rarely have sale prices. Will mull that one over for a bit
• ordered an electric blanket for the Annex. We have two bookings now for November and it's looking as though we'll have more. I figure it will work out cheaper than having guests leave the electric radiators on overnight. Used the JL vouchers for that and for another for Mr F. He has been poo-pooing the use of electric blankets for years so I was a bit surprised he'd asked for one. Must be his age :rotfl:
• Mr F cut through the water pipe to our trough whilst out mowing so we've had to buy a new connector and tap for that - £44 :eek:

Happiness

A friend came to stay last weekend so that we could go to my competition win together. It was a womens' health retreat. My friend has had some life threatening health issues over the last few years so I was hoping it would be useful to her. The venue and food were fabulous and we both learnt some useful things. Not sure it was worth the £200 usual cost per person but it was a fabulous freebie We had supper out afterwards and lunch out the next day at a new local restaurant. FDawg had to go into the kennel for a couple of nights as the timings were too early/late to keep him at home or put him in for just the days. I met the cost from the fun money as Mr F hasn't been around to have any fun with:(

DS2 and wife are coming for the weekend. We have a loose plan for entertainment but are keeping it flexible as Mr F has come home with a lurgy. Also the rugby is on so I'm not sure I'm going to be able to leverage him out of the house. Then I must catch up with some friends I'm missing. It looks like Mr F will be home for the next couple of weeks so I'd better make the most of it.

Hope all is going well for you guys

Fortune x

teapot2

Well done on your weight loss, thats a great result. Glad you enjoyed your competition win too. Enjoy the family weekend

PurpleFairy26

Excellent news on the weight loss :T

You seem to have had a very productive October.

Fortune_Smiles

teapot2 wrote: »

Well done on your weight loss, thats a great result. Glad you enjoyed your competition win too. Enjoy the family weekend

PurpleFairy26 wrote: »

Excellent news on the weight loss :T

You seem to have had a very productive October.

Thank you both. I am feeling more productive at the moment and seem to be able to keep on top of the house work at least. The garden though... well the less said :rotfl:

Fortune x

Fortune_Smiles

Yesterday we spent Mr F's huge accrual of Av10$ points All that travelling he does certainly swells the coffers. There's not really much you can buy with them except flights, hotels and wine and Mr F accrues H0l1day 1nn points as well so.... wine it is. We've stocked up on all the colours and I ordered some posh spirits as well for Christmas presents. Everyone I know may be receiving alcohol from Santa this year :rotfl:

JL got back to me about the bathroom cabinet. The manufacturer cannot replace the damaged door and JL have discontinued the range so cannot send a replacement. They offered me a 30% discount if I thought I could live with the damage. It's a crack around the inside edge of the bottom door and not noticeable from the outside... in fact barely noticeable at all. So we've taken the discount and I've put it back into the Tittervating Pot.

I went to yoga yesterday morning - it's really surprising me how much easier it is since losing the weight. Then had a quick lunch and catch up with a friend who's feeling a bit low. Costs to be met from personal spends.

Spent quite a lot of money in B00ts stocking up on cold remedies and other minor treatments. Mr F is still lurgified although seems to be on the mend but DS2 will be here at the weekend and he's come down with a bug too. I am doing my best to avoid the germs but everybody, EVERYBODY, in town yesterday was coughing and spluttering so I'd rather be prepared if I do pick something up.

Also bought two large pumpkins. We're due torrential rain here tomorrow and Saturday plus the rugby's on and the boys will want to watch that. I thought DiL2 and I could do some carving whilst they are otherwise engaged. I carve a pumpkin every year to put by the front of the house 🎃

I popped into a local specialist garage on the way home and asked them to check the servicing record on my car. It's very confusing. I was pleased to find that I won't need a service for a while yet and the cost will be about half of what I was expecting :T The car is filthy again, despite me taking it up to the local hand wash the week before last. The garage pointed out that I didn't have any mud flaps - don't know how I didn't notice that before They said it was best to go for the manufacturer's as they'd tried alternatives and none had been any good. This means it's going to be an expensive purchase of course. So I've had a change of heart about the blanket box and made mud flaps my next goal. If I just buy the parts, Mr F will be able to fit them. It would be nice to be able to get in and out of the car without getting covered in glorious mud in the process :rotfl:

We had Italian Vegetable Soup for lunch and Winter Root Vegetable Tagine for supper. Today may be largely cabbage based as I've got quite a lot that needs using up. Pegs on noses everybody - Mr F and cabbage are not entirely compatible :rotfl:

I suppose I'd better get on with cleaning the house ready for our weekend visitors.

Have a great day all

Fortune x

Fortune_Smiles

or at least I suspect it would if play hadn't already been stopped by illness DS2 and wife have cancelled their visit as DS2 is feeling very poorly. I'm disappointed but also relieved as it may mean I escape a horrid bug. Mr F was awake coughing at 4 this morning so we are both tired but he does seem to be getting better. Fingers crossed for an undisturbed night tonight.

I'm going to continue with the house work plans regardless. I want to be on top of things so I can take it easy if I do come down with something. We have a new booking for the Annex next weekend so I'll have some work to do there. However the booking for the following weekend has been cancelled. We have a strict cancellation policy so will still receive 50% of the cost. The couple who booked have now split up I've said I'll refund them the 50% if we get another booking for the same dates.

I'd booked a table for us all at a new local venue for Sunday lunch so have cancelled that now. At least it means I can redirect some fun money into my mud flap fund. Looks like I'm going to need them :rotfl:

Lunch yesterday was Potato & Savoy Cabbage Soup but made with a standard green cabbage and supper was Baked Haddock & Cabbage Risotto. That's the last of the cabbage for now I've revamped the meal plan to take account of the change in plans for this weekend.

I think we might cosy up in front of the fire this evening and rent a film. That's if we're not piling sandbags around the front door :rotfl:

All aboard the Skylark!

Fortune x