Light the fire...

woodfired

Good afternoon,

It's a wet one!  Torrential rain all day so far, we have still managed to be quite productive today with some work at the shop, a tidy round at home and a load of laundry out on the airer then gym & swim at our new gym.  We have joined on a cheap deal that was 3 months free and then an off peak joint membership,  I'm hoping it will be great to keep the winter blues at bay as it has a lovely pool in a huge light conservatory-type room that has loungers and a bar area, it feels like being on holiday which is lovely and will be a treat in the depths of winter.  Saves on heating at home too lol.

We had a lovely weekend with some nice weather that allowed us to get outside and get some jobs ticked off.
Friday we winterised the motorhome then sheeted her up and parked her in her winter spot, gave it a good clean beforehand and emptied all the cupboards, she will be fine now til next spring hopefully - I'm not a fan of camping in the colder months.
We then cleaned out the garage ready for a log delivery expected this week, I'm using the van as a skip and will book it in with the tip once it gets full.  It's handy as all the junk is out of sight until we take it away.  We then treated ourselves to dinner out at a local pub that was voted No1 Gastropub last year and it was absolutely fabulous food, really good and a lovely drive over there with a beautiful sunset.

Saturday I finished off some painting in the family room/kitchen, I've gone for a really dramatic teal colour on the fireplace wall and round the corner into the kitchen, it took a little getting used to but I love it now, especially as the weather is turning and it looks so cosy, it will be fab decorated for Christmas too I think.  We retired to our games room in the garage on Saturday afternoon and played darts and pool, saving money on going to the pub which often happens on a Saturday.

Yesterday I tidied up and sorted some laundry whilst DH took DS to football, then I visited Mum & Dad along with 2 of my sisters & neices/nephews so that was a nice family catch up.  After lunch we took DS and scaled a local beauty spot (enormous hill) then back home to warm up by the fire with chicken and (fridge bottom) veg pie followed by fruit salad featuring homegrown apples and other (past its best) fruit from the fridge.  Fridge much emptier now!

In financial news: I sent the last payment to clear DH's tax for the year, sent a small OP to the business loan and swept a few pennies into the savings account.  Month end this week so the mortgage will go out and I will update the totals, we're just plodding along with nothing exciting to report really. 

woodfired

A new month once again, where has this year gone?

The loans and mortgages went out over the last few days, the house mortgage is now just over £215k , shop loan is back up to over £34k as they applied the quarterly interest of £890, ouch!  Almost £10 per day.  Although, not all that long ago it was over £17 per day so we are headed in the right direction.  Still stings a bit!

The tenant in the flat owed me some cash for the electricity so when he paid that and his rent I transferred both into savings, I'm working on building the savings back up and its slow going at the moment.  We have had a cheap weekend though, a lovely long walk on Friday which would usually be followed by a pub lunch but we refrained and had a sandwich at home instead.  On Saturday we had a lovely long bike ride with friends, a couple of drinks in pubs en route then back to ours for a takeaway that friends kindly treated us to. 
Today has been football & laundry and will be finished with yellow sticker chicken made (I think) into some form of mexican style lasagne - I made a huge pan of cheese sauce for macaroni and for cauli cheese but there will be some leftover that needs creatively incorporating into dinner!


I'm also planning on a bit more decluttering of the garden this afternoon, I need to keep on with it whilst the weather is warm and dry, there is a lot to do but it is looking better already so this is spurring me on!  I'm trying to fill my compost bag with a good mix of green and brown material in the hopes I'll have some lovely compost ready by spring, I need to go and get a bucket or two of muck from the farm I think to 'turbocharge' it according to the research I've been doing, its just a very smelly job collecting it when it's fresh!! 

lucielle

Love the smell of cow poo! 

L

woodfired

We are back from a fab family holiday in the Caribbean that we booked at the start of the year to celebrate my 40th birthday.  It was heaven and I didn't want to come home.

Back to reality though and a busy weekend with a friend's 60th on Friday and the village bonfire last night, both lots of fun with our friends, we are very lucky to live here. Today has been some jobs for both businesses whilst DH took DS to his football match, quick stop at T*sco and home for lunch.  I've got lamb shanks in the SC for a roast dinner tonight with homemade yorkshires and we plan on getting out into the garden this afternoon to continue winterising it.  We are winning the battle with the leaves finally and DH has cleaned the patio.  I need to finish pulling out the summer bedding that fell victim to the winds whilst we were away, some borders are looking a bit sorry for themselves but it doesn't take long to straighten them up once I get going.

lucielle

Wow! The Caribbean. Amazing. 

L

woodfired

It was amazing thanks Lucielle, feels like forever ago already though!

We have been busy outside these past couple of weeks, straightening up the garden for winter and extending a lean to down the side of the garage to provide more storage for logs, wood and bikes.  The dry weather has been much appreciated and the gardens have never looked so good at this time of year! Long may it continue.

In the house I've been busy filling the freezer with homemade ready meals which will be handy if we are poorly in the colder weather and also are good for DS who is a fussy eater.  If we are having something he doesn't like he can still have a hearty and healthy homemade dinner instead of me reaching for the fish fingers!  So far I've made fish pies, cottage pies and I've just made 4 lasagnes with leftover bolognaise this afternoon.  I'm trying to make them by doubling up normal meals so it doesn't create too much extra work.  

We have bitten the bullet at work and made the decision to shut down DH's business, the final products will leave on Monday and we will close the doors.  The turnover just will not support it and we needed to make the call now rather than running the accounts down by trying to limp on for months. 

We take on our new hours at the shop a week on Monday and have lots of plans to expand and improve in various areas.  It will also be a much needed slow down for DH too who was beginning to struggle with the physical demands of lifting dozens of huge sheets of wood every day, the shop was always our semi-retirement plan, it has just happened a few years earlier than we had planned.  The change also means that the national insurance overhaul will also have less of an impact in April as we will be picking up more hours ourselves. I know of many businesses that will face some tough calls over the next few months, it's a real shame for some.  

lucielle

It sounds like it was a hard decision to make but you must be glad it has been made. Meals sound good and great to have extras on standby. 

L

LadyWithAPlan

Your holiday sounds amazing. Glad to see you are progressing well with all your plans.
The money made on the building is v impressive

woodfired

Thanks Ladywithaplan & Lucielle, we are happy to have made the decision, its a little sad but I'm sure will be the right one and we wont look back.  It's all starting to feel a bit real now! 

This week we have continued clearing more space for our storage building, we took a full van to the tip of junk that has been accumulating (out of sight out of mind) round the side/back of the garage.  We have also been stockpiling firewood as this will be less readily available going forward so we have a lovely pile that satisfies some hunter/gatherer part of me hugely, I do love a 'store' of things and most especially firewood!

Elsewhere we are doing endless sums for different scenarios going forward but I think we should be quite comfortable and be able to continue saving and overpaying.  One worry I did have was our income for a re-mortgage in the next couple of years, however, a bit of research tells me that if you remain with the same lender and have a good payment history they don't usually ask for proof of income to switch to a new deal.  I seem to remember them not asking at our last rate switch and so I hope this is the case as we may fall short 'on paper' of the affordability even though we will overpay considerably every month.  Let's hope so!  

So today's plans include so more work in the garden and a roast chicken dinner.  The fire is lit and I will keep it going so we can pop in and warm up with a hot drink whilst working outside.  I will cook the chicken in the remoska which is much cheaper to run than the big oven and i can roast some vegetables along with it.  Happy Sunday x

lucielle

What times lunch?  Just getting my coat and I can bring a log as payment….
L