Travelling On

debtfreeoneday

Sorry your family have done this. Doing something yourself with your sister / brother might be a nice way to remember your Aunt?

I don’t do funerals, I appreciate there aren’t easy for anyone but they cause me a lot of mental trauma from an experience at one at 15 so I always do something in my own way to remember the individual and recognise their passing. I don’t want one myself and DH and kids know that.  

I love the patterned sofa but I don’t think I’d be brave enough as I’m sure I would tire of it quickly. The other options are equally nice though. I like number 1

Karmacat

Thanks debtfree.  About the memorial, do you know, I don't think I want it any more.  I think I'll just light a candle for a little while, remember her as she was, and let it go.  I'll certainly stop pandering to their need for secrecy (as opposed to privacy, which I totally support, for anyone).

Funerals sound very hard for you, I'm sorry to hear it - understandable though.   I've just deleted lots - I have generally positive memories of a funeral when I was 15 also, but that does no good to share those when you're troubled by your experience.

Anyway, today: domestic faffing, plus more weeding for the green bin.  I've had an insight on the plants for my south-facing fence, the prime growing area.  It's got 5 groups of self seeded summer snowdrops (maybe 3 times the size of *actual* snowdrops).  I don't like them.  And nor do the bees and other pollinators, and since they don't like them either, they're going, which leaves space for perennials like fruit bushes that I *do* like  

Suffolk_lass

My Grandfather insisted he did not want a funeral and donated his body to medical use. His eyes helped someone to see with corneal transplants but they said he was too old for research use and we had to arrange something.  So my Dad and I had to arrange a quiet cremation with no mourners and no celebrant (he was an atheist and communist). Someone let it slip and it estranged one side of the family who never spoke to us or my Grandmother again. Some sort of marking the moment with family would have been better, in hindsight.

Karmacat

Gosh, SL, that's very sad - especially when it came about because you tried to follow his wishes.  There are plenty of atheists in my particular little foxhole, so I understand that - my friend in Brixton is a humanist celebrant too, so I hear about the issues from her neck of the woods as well.

Karmacat

I'd earmarked today as finance jobs day, and oh boy, has it ever been    
- started my money shuffle
- downloaded some banking statements
- checked with double glazing firm that all's well (oops, they don't send out email confirmations, because the contract was signed by both parties).
- finally read the email from Sains and the letter attached to it, and I've spent a while writing a response.   I like my response    and I've asked for another £250 because I made another two points about how it all could impact me (and just thought of a third, rats***) plus I reserved the right to take them to the Financial Ombudsman.  Although it's a decent offer, as greent said, and I won't take them to the Ombudsman unless something else happens (eg their destruction of my documents wasn't secure enough and something else happens because of that) I'm still inclined to hold back a little.


*** the extra point being, what if some other financial institution requires an original bill?  I don't have any others, just things downloaded from the internet, which Sains refused to accept.  That council tax bill was literally the only thing I had within their time frame.

themadvix

Your third point is very valid - a council tax bill is one of the few these days that you get in original form, with everything online. I know we'd be stuck if a company wanted an original and didn't send it back.

You've been very productive!

Karmacat

Madvix, that's good to know.  Or rather, that's *not* good to know  Since I didn't think of it before I sent the one today, I might use it to protest if they don't give me any more money.  

themadvix

Fortunately (or unfortunately!) they'll be sending new ones out soon!

Karmacat

  yep, it's hard to know which is best, isn't it!  To be honest, I got my water bill last week, and for some odd reason its paper.  I think it was the other company that I went paperless with - but even this one, they only send a bill out every 6 months, I think, and Sains wanted something less than 3 months old.

Anyway, I lolled around quite a lot at lunchtime, then got my act together and carried on digging up the summer snowdrops - the bulbs are *so* big, and they're almost a foot underground, awful things.  Two buckets gone.  There's going to be a row of perennials - I have some angelica I bought last year that has lots of new growth on, I think one of the sage has survived, that sort of thing.  Another hour achieved - thats 3 hours in the last 3 days, lots of sedge, brambles and summer snowdrops consigned to the green bin. 

teapot2

Don't think I could provide any original paper bills at all these days 😮.  Got the Council Tax Bill for 22/23 yesterday by email and in Scotland that also includes the water bill!

Well done on the garden tidying/sorting