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

greenbee

Thanks. I'm seriously tempted to spend it on trashy reading...

Family have been to stay for the weekend and are now gone (except my mum, who is staying a bit longer). The fridge is full of left-overs, and it's very, very quiet.

Over the weekend I've managed to FINALLY get the last bolt on the front door; go up into the attic to check for rodents and give them some food (there's already quite a bit of uneaten stuff up there, so I don't think the noises are actually mice) - while I was up there I spotted the old bulb-holder and switched plug on a long cable, plus the remains of a reel of cable, both now on freegle; take my bedroom door handle apart and establish (about 6 years after it was put in, which is when the problem with being able to open it started) that the latch mechanism is broken so a new one has been ordered; take up the rug from the dining room to see what it looks like without it. And the robot is currently giving the utility/kitchen/dining room a good hoover - after which the utility and kitchen will be steam-cleaned. 

Car is making a noise - hoping it's just the wheel bearings being a bit creaky from lack of use... 

Alchemilla

I hope the noise isn't too sinister. A fridge full of leftovers sounds good.

greenbee

Noise is just one of those things that's stressful... then again, when my SIL left her car was making a fairly loud rattle and neither she nor my brother seemed bothered. 

The fridge full of leftovers is great... if I do a meal plan, and work out what needs freezing and actually freeze it. There's ham, venison, beef, almost a whole chicken, ham stock (some already in freezer), chicken stock (ditto), lots of cooked veg, masses of salad, a bit of cherry tart (I've told my mum to eat it tomorrow morning). We also have shortbread, panettone and various other bits and pieces, but my mum is here for another week. She would have given half the food to my brother and SIL but I pointed out that a. it's MY food, not hers and b. if she gave it away there wouldn't be anything else magically appearing as I'm not planning on ordering anything else until I get back from the US. 

I think I need to work on making several batches of soup this week with the veg we have - for a start there's a BNS, three aubergines and 4 peppers. And another chicken carcass to process. 

The low cal/low carb eating kind of went out of the window over the weekend, but I've surprised myself how well I've done. Where I have indulged myself (puddings at supper for 3 days, wine, yorkshire pud, roast potato) it has been very modest. Otherwise I've kept to my midday or later for breaking my fast, eaten masses of green veg, and for once not only hit my protein target but exceeded it. Friday and yesterday were over on calories (today is under), but my average comes in at 804 as there were a couple of days last week where I didn't have time to eat much at all. Fingers crossed I'll be back into old clothes soon... and that cutting back on food intake will cut the food budget, despite having bought a lot of meat for this weekend. 

Alchemilla

That is a very "mum" thing to do, sending the kids off with food.

greenbee

Alchemilla said:

That is a very "mum" thing to do, sending the kids off with food.

I know… I have also pointed out to her that my brother has a higher disposable income than either of us, and my SIL doesn’t work. So they don’t need to be given food to take home, and it certainly won’t go to waste here (2nd batch of chicken stock is done and needs to be cooled and frozen…)

Must do a rough meal plan for the week so I know what to freeze…

also need to sort out annual travel insurance for work (can expense with this month’s expense report) and find out testing rules for US and organise whatever I need.

greenbee

Replaced my bedroom door latch and it now works (after 5 years of being awkward). 

Work was manic… long day. Cold venison and salad for lunch. Leftover veg souped for supper. Today is only a half day at work so should involve some gardening, and sorting out of food.

greenbee

And the PB money is in and the pay rise work forgot to give us at the end of Jan. So that’s all be moved to mortgage and savings. 

I’m not planning on adding to my cash ISA this tax year, but do want to top up my pension and my S&S ISA before the end of next month. It may mean cashing in the PBs, but the tax break on the pension should be worth it.

greenbee

Was paid again yesterday (payslip a mess after last month’s mistakes), which is nice. Most of the EOM surplus to savings this month as I have the rest of the landscaping and hopefully a carpenter to pay, and want to have a lump sum available to shove into my pension before the end of the tax year (once I’ve done the maths). So a (relatively) small OP yesterday followed by today’s 29p current account interest. 

Need to start looking at pensions and ISAs - pensions are all writing to me about changing my investment strategy so I must be getting old. It may be time to do more consolidation - but not with St James’s Place who work have a deal with. Just making a decision between  Aviva and HL for pensions, moving my Scottish Widows pension to join them, and rationalising the funds as and when the market is right. 

S&S ISA I may move from ii to something managed as I’m not giving it the TLC it needs. Cash ISA is cash, and doesn’t need any more in it at the moment. 

Alchemilla

Happy pay day!

greenbee

It's so nice to get paid EVERY MONTH. Some days I really do need to remember that...