"Isn't it nice to think that tomorrow is a new day with no mistakes in it."

greenbee

Blood tests were normal, but dropped them off with the dentist when I went to the hygienist (must submit the receipts to my health insurance company in the hope that they'll pay at least some of it!).

Haven't heard from the joiner, so need to chase (checking that he could read my writing and got my email address right ).

Managed to run in Sweden last week, although it was a bit slippy on Thursday so I skipped Friday. Didn't manage it this week (although I did run at home on Monday and Tuesday. Physio says I need to be careful with hills so that's a good excuse... I also need to book some regular massage (not sure how that's going to happen).

Last week also involved a haircut (so all day given it involved the train into London and back) and new colour.

Lots up in the air at work too, with changes in the leadership team. Part of me is worried that there won't be a job for me - but on the other hand there seem to be a couple of people trying to entice me to join their teams. So who knows?

Mortgage OPs are still miniscule but I'm hoping to get to £1500 by the end of the year. Big numbers happen at the end of the tax year, when hopefully work on the house will be pretty much done and I can stick the rest in pension/ISAs and maybe a bit in the mortgage.

Blinds are due to be delivered tomorrow, so hopefully will be fitted (and other odds and ends done) w/c 18th. I must make a list.

Christmas is going to be here, so I'm wondering whether I can get a least one half of the kitchen in by then... realistically, probably not!

redofromstart

I think the tiniest OPs are worth it, its money you will never pay rent on again after all.

Worst case here is round it up the nearest ten, better than nothing.

greenbee

I haven't done anything about sending the dentist's bills in to my health insurer yet. But then again my office is a tip after having the new blind put up on Sunday - and I'm reluctant to sort it out as I need to take the wall plugs out from the curtain pole. The person who put the blind up filled the holes with the plugs in which is hugely irritating as they'll now be a PITA to get out as they're filled and sanded. Two minute job to get them out when you remove the screws... major upheaval once filled. I suspect I'll have to drill them out which means clearing most of the room (certainly removing all the IT kit).

I have, however, got that blind and 3 others up, the hearth is finally grouted, two of the three water butts are connected (just in time to need draining down for winter...). A friend has given me a wardrobe (so it's lucky the one I ordered didn't turn up) which someone failed to collect when she was selling her house. It's bigger than I was looking for, and means I need to rearrange the room, but solves the storage problem.

Another friend came today and took away a whole lot of stuff - a desk, coffee table, two small cupboards, wash stand and a chair. There are a couple more things here that she'll take at some point. The great thing with moving things around between friends and family is that we all know we can have them back if/when we need them at some point... She's also helped me work out what needs to go where in the kitchen, so next thing to do is to go and get a design done properly. Which means making some phonecalls to find out whether the kitchen company I like the look of a. fits kitchens down here and b. is in budget!

I've also had someone round to look at the blinds/curtains etc that need making/altering. She's happy to work with all my second-hand fabric and alter things rather than wanting to do everything from new which is ideal. So she's going to give me some quotes, then come back in January to finalise exactly what we're going to do. In the meantime I need to try to track down some fabric I hope I haven't (but suspect I have) got rid of.

Even if the kitchen isn't done this year, I should be able to get upstairs sorted out over Christmas (after all, my mum will be here), and the curtains and blinds sorted in January. I just need to keep chasing the builder (so have emailed him to 'check he has the correct email address'), tree surgeons and landscaper. The latter two should have been and gone by now but I find it hard to find the energy to keep chasing.

Dental surgery still isn't booked as I'm still waiting on my hospital appointment. As it should be for January I'm guessing I'll probably hear in January, by which time it'll be too late to schedule it.

Which reminds me... I must do my expenses for last week (there's a hotel bill on it!) and book some holiday!

Oil bill has arrived, and I have to pay for the work done on Sunday, but there should be a small OP going to the mortgage again this month, and a little bit left to go into savings once my salary goes into the bank.

Sayschezza

If you can see the outline of the wall plugs screw in screws again then use pliers to pull them out with plugs attached. Easier than drilling and hopefully less mess.

greenbee

Sayschezza wrote: »

If you can see the outline of the wall plugs screw in screws again then use pliers to pull them out with plugs attached. Easier than drilling and hopefully less mess.

Thanks! I'd forgotten about this - it's a long time since I've had to fix idiotic mistakes. I'll wait until I'm feeling up to making mess in there...

My mum is staying today, so I'm hoping to get quite a bit done. So far I've been to my waxing appointment, paid for Thursday's taxi, submitted my expenses, made a physio appointment, submitted my dental bills to my health insurance (even if they only pay part of them it'll help), changed the batteries in one of the CCTV cameras and put two lots of batteries in to charge. Plus written a LONG list. So while my mum slowly wakes herself up I'm going to go and shove some stuff into the garage roof so it's a bit tidier and see whether the new-to-me leaf blower also hoovers...

greenbee

Leaf blower also collects, but it's far too damp to use it, so we've been raking and cutting back. 4 bags are out for collection, 2 bags are too far gone and are in the bin, and another huge sack is waiting for the current ones to be emptied.

Sun loungers are all in the garage roof along with a wooden bed guard that I promised a friend I'd keep for when his daughter is a bit older. One camera is back up, all batteries are charges so I'll sort the other two out tomorrow before we go out. Log baskets are filled and in the garage to dry out a bit more, stove is lit and a bucket of bark and offcuts is being used as kindling. Another load of washing is in, but I haven't tackled the ironing yet... might leave that for tomorrow.

Made carrot soup for lunch (my mum had said she was giving up the low-FODMAP diet as it hadn't made any difference, and then decided that actually she's worse since stopping, so we made the soup without onions and as I only have non-dairy milk and yogurt that should help) and have one portion in the freezer. Salmon defrosted for tonight with spinach and courgettes (must check whether that's all OK for my mum), and there will be salmon left over which I can cook tomorrow and will do for Monday as well.

I'd like to get some more done indoors today - there are bookshelves to move upstairs and clothes to shift from one bedroom to another, but the raking has made me feel old and creaky!

greenbee

Bookshelves have been moved, and some clothes relocated to the new wardrobe.

Out for the day with family to London for an art exhibition which was nice but exhausting. Managed to give my brother a picture that's his, all my Rosemary Sutcliffe books to my nephew who is doing the Romans at school, plus a jar of mincemeat, some triple sec and the dregs of orange curacao plus the blueberries that have been in my freezer since I picked them...

Also managed to get some laundry done - but I have a HUGE amount of ironing to get done tomorrow before I pack (3 cities in 4 days this week, then away all next week as well, so next Saturday will be hectic!) so tomorrow will be busy.

I'm also seriously considering getting a range cooker - I've always preferred eye-level ovens and separate hobs, but as redofromstart reminded me, if I get a range cooker I can have it delivered now and build the kitchen round it. Which means I could be cooking on something sensible at Christmas.

So I need to find time tomorrow to do a rough kitchen design and make a decision as to whether to go ahead (this also means trying to track down the electrician to do the installation - I've emailed him, but need to call him tomorrow just to be sure). I can potentially save £100 due to Black Friday, but also need to make sure I'm getting the right thing as it's a major investment and probably more expensive than what I'd buy if I was getting a double oven and separate hob (although I really wanted two single ovens and a hob, which is much more similar in price).

It's hard work making all these decisions...

greenbee

Also need to check that the wiring can cope with both the cooker and induction ...

greenbee

Electrician has texted in response to my messages so hopefully I'll be able to speak to him in time to get a cooker ordered and delivered in time for Christmas.

Salary paid, so left-overs from last month have been moved - the odds & ends to the mortgage and the bulk to savings. I will have a fairly substantial credit card bill to pay this month as the bill for blinds and some of the new clothes I've bought will be arriving. But I'm up to date on my expenses (two lots as yet unpaid, and I'll be generating more this week).

I managed to locate a frozen turkey crown when I was shopping today, so I now have emergency Christmas dinner sorted. I also found fresh cranberries which are in the freezer with it. And bought 10 boxes of mince pies to take to the office - I just have to work out how to fit them into my suitcase (they're now in plastic boxes as they take up less space, but I'll be dragging them around a long way this week so they might not all fit).

Laundry is done. I just need to iron and pack...

Karmacat

Oh my, yes, you work *so* hard on your house! I hope it will be the house of your dreams. And you know, the steps you're describing sound like you're pretty near the finish!