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

greenbee

Was paid. Moved everything other than normal salary into savings or mortgage OPs. My mum has been here all week, so it's been busy - we've made some progress tidying the garden, got downstairs fairly tidy, I've had quite a lot of junk collected so the garage is looking better, and we've made muslin curtains for the bedroom my mum uses. She's off today - taxi to a friend in Oxford who will then take her home on Wednesday. After her friend has gone she'll isolate for a week or so given that she's been around people and the kids have colds. But it's been nice for her to spend time with us and see the grandchildren - who knows when she'll see us all next?

I've got a week till I start work, so I need to get back into a routine with yoga, get some more of the grass cut, keep on top of laundry and house work and finalise the kitchen dates and do all the ordering. 

greenbee

Bank account interest of 24p paid yesterday, so transferred it over to the mortgage

Final payment made for kitchen, which is due for delivery on Thursday. Various bits of door/window furniture ordered. New SC ordered, delivered and tested. Camping stove delivered and put in garage. Extra washing line delivered ready to be put up next week. Work IT kit being delivered on Saturday as they hadn't got round to it and were planning on delivering it tomorrow. But I have a chest x-ray at the hospital, then bloods and ECG at the surgery, so that's not going to work. 

Sun is shining, so as well as putting away my veg box delivery and planning what to make with the contents, I might try to do a bit more grass cutting. And maybe drag a few more things out of the garage to post on FB and get rid of. 

redofromstart

@greenbee what no update?

Karmacat

Ooh, thats a bit of an important one to update, isn't it.  I've seen you around on here, greenbee, hope all's well.

Jessy103

Hope you're ok, greenbee x

greenbee

redofromstart said:

@greenbee what no update?

Too tired... 

maddiemay

Sorry to read this, take care of yourself as best you can.

greenbee

I really do need to do a proper update sometime. But long covid and work between them are keeping me fully occupied.

However... I've managed to get the kitchen almost finished (need a plumber to get the sink done, then the fitters can finish and I can find a decorator to do the woodwork). The new doors have arrived, but need fitting - I need to call the fitter (and the roofer). Painting will have to wait until the summer as it really isn't the right time of year. Sitting room curtains/blinds and dining room curtains have been done. I need to chase the kitchen blinds and bedroom curtains. Then maybe get a two lots of spare room curtains and the landing blind altered. 

New job is going well (bits of it are harder than others, but overall I think it's going OK). 

Respectable OPs - according to my banking app (which is confusing at times) about £6.5k this year. I haven't done the maths on what this will save me, but essentially it's what's left in the account when my salary goes in each month. Some house expenses are cashflowed, some are transferred from savings. But savings are still healthy (thanks, in a large part, to my redundancy payment). I need to spend some time on pensions and ISA as I my new employer doesn't give me such a good deal on my pension. Nor do they pay bonuses, so although my salary is slightly increased I won't be getting that or an EOY payrise - so overall am taking home slightly less than before. 

I've discovered that some stuff I inherited in the 1980s is back in fashion, so have done the research and contacted some dealers. Fingers crossed that I get a decent offer for the furniture, and then I'll start on crockery, cutlery and pottery. It'll be nice to clear the space too.

My brother has moved away, so I'll miss the kids, although between having Covid and lockdown I haven't seen that much of them. He's still working locally, so once the house is sold he may stay here a couple of nights a week. I just need to work out whether I can cope with this given my limited energy and need for routine. He's pretty easy-going, but that's part of the problem - he won't see why anything is an issue. 

This year has seen a lot of progress on the garden, even if I haven't been able to make the most of the greenhouse and veg beds since September. Hopefully I'll build up to all-year-round food production over time. I need to bite the bullet and get the landscaping done sooner rather than later. 

I've done the odd bit of DIY myself - building a raised bed, filling/painting in the kitchen, putting together my new standing desk. It's a while since I've done anything like this as until this year I was time poor, so it made sense to spend money on it. Hopefully as my energy levels increase I'll be able to sort out some of the other things on my endless to-do list. Even if they are just about making calls to get other people to do things!

Overall my home has improved, my mortgage gone down, and my savings survived. Not bad for 2020. Having said that, I'm not making plans for 2021 - I think it's best to be flexible. 

Fortune_Smiles

Happy New Year @greenbee .  Wishing you health, wealth and happiness.

Fortune x

juliejim

Happy New Year greenbee - hope it's a happy, healthy and prosperous one. 
Jue x