Travelling On

Karmacat

It didn't, thanks!  Erm, because I haven't done it    what I *have* done is the seed planting, woo hoo: courgettes, land cress, sunflowers, echinacea, kale, chard, and I've got chinese chives and, um, something else, ready to go.  The coir is magnificent, though I really need a spray gun for the watering - we'll see.  

Another thing I did was start to work on things I was listing for my review - the fun things I posted the other day, and socialising.  I'm a member of meetup, though I don't do much on it, and I applied to join an online Jane Austen event.  And I've just been turned down!  It may be because I uploaded a pic they didn't like (Pride and Prejudice and Zombies!) and if that's what it is, I'll gladly upload another.  Though I must say, I'm not sure I want to be a member of an organisation that turns me down for that reason  life is strange.  Anyway, I've sent them an email asking politely for information, so we'll see.

The seed planting, by the way, took much longer than I envisaged - wetting the compost, collecting pots, cleaning the trays underneath, filling the pots with the compost, choosing the seeds and getting them planted, covering over appropriately, figuring out where to store them and moving stuff around.

Another 45 minutes in the garden, enlarging the weeded bit - weeds are encroaching on my main lemon balm plant.  There'll certainly be lots of space for my new plants, if I manage to grow them.

beanielou

One of my family members is a meet up member.
Some of the stories 
Give some people what they perceive as power.............

Karmacat

Thanks for that, beanie, that's interesting!  I didn't know it was like that  but that figures, so far.  I'll see what turns up in the next day or so.

edinburgher

@Karmacat - your budget vs income amounts are fantastic! You literally have lower costs than I did as a student 20 years ago 

Karmacat

edinburgher said:

@Karmacat - your budget vs income amounts are fantastic! You literally have lower costs than I did as a student 20 years ago 

Oh dear  I feel like I must be doing something wrong!  But I don't really drink booze any more, of course, and I haven't really joined in the world again after covid, so there's no regular expenditure of train tickets, exhibition tickets, things like that.  I chop my own hair, have never worn makeup regularly, don't dye it because of skin cancer risks (8 cases of skin cancer alone between my parents and blood-related aunts and uncles, as well as other forms of cancer).  

Holidays and DIY/tradesmen/house maintenance, also not included but totally necessary, and as we've just seen, I'll holiday at the drop of a hat  

New expenditure I forgot to list: £20 pa for memberships (Horticultural Society, U3A) and £250 for presents, ok for that to go up to £300.

There's a lot of things I feel I need to buy: a sofa, a folding bike at minimum and possibly a car; underwear, a couple of pairs of trousers, possibly a new dvd player and freeview box; and my landline phone is dying, I need to keep the number so I need a phone.  At least £1500.

So, adjusted outgoings, with an extra £5.20 a week/ £22.50 a month/ £270 a year: annual total expenditure now £5,502.  Income still £9,425, the state pension.  Available: £3,923.  

Okay, so I *can* afford to join in the world again!  I'm still not going to put numbers on that, though.  And I tell you what, if I do go to Greenland and Iceland in July/August, that will totally take care of £3,923 so the extra expenditure I listed of £1500 minimum would come from savings.

In other news: my review post is hatching 🤣🤣🤣

Karmacat

Review Post!!!
I made a plan on my phone at the beginning of the year, but never posted it on here.  I'm still not going to post it in full, because there's 153 items   and anyway, a lot of them are DIY jobs.  Plus 20% or so have been done (woo!).  So here I am trying to summarise that while planning for the rest of the year.

DIY and gardening jobs
Kitchen and bathroom: 10 jobs.
Living room: 13 jobs, 5/13 achieved.  Still to do, kind of things: filling holes, cleaning grubbiness, painting, updating kilim, buy sofa, sort tv reception.  
Upstairs: 17 jobs, and only 3/17 done.
Outside, and garden: 17 jobs too, ranging from tidying the patio, pruning trees and shrubs, weeding, and some work on the mortar - including the tops of the gateposts, which were vandalised a few years ago.  4/17 jobs part-done, nothing completed.  They're either about upkeep of the property, or growing my own food, very moneysaving

Cookery and health
17 cookery items, 11 health items.  All long term; the cookery items are about learning to use useful and nutritious ingredients, health is about fitness, whether it's foot exercises from the NHS website, or dance DVDs at home.  Facial care too, after I've done what I can myself with gifted Liz Earle stuff, I might well get the remaining skin problems seen to.  I'd really like to look younger than my age again 🤣🐔  Cookery plans are very moneysaving, and in a way so are the health plans, especially the exercise.  Once you lose abilities, at my age, it becomes difficult to get them back, so it's best not to lose them, let's be realistic  

Hobbies
Horrendously, 38 items on this list!  So they're not "I must do" items.  I'll list some on here, because they're about moneysaving:
- learn to use my new-to-me sewing machine.
- make some face masks
- make some washable bags
- make an exercise mat (I don't want to do exercises laying on the floor as is, I want a mat, very easy).
- various other plain sewing things like that.
- writing - there are lots of these, and I don't *have* to do them, but they're included in the list because I'd like to write.  A second edition of my little kindle book, a short book about Liverpool, my genealogy historical biographies, my diary book about summer 1976 (80% done, actually).  
- social items: plans with my sister, the U3A space group, the longer Healthy Walks group, the Jane Austen group at meetup (though I went for this, and they turned me down 🤣).  

Finances
26 items!  Happily, 19 of these have been achieved, I worked hard in this area first thing.  Things like the We Buy Books offer, sorting the automatic money shuffle each month, getting hold of a dormant account, Pinecone JL vouchers, lots of bits that made a real difference.
Still to do on finance:
- SSE shares into an isa
- Nat West app, especially as I now have a NW cc.
- update cash I have at home, I think the £20s need to be exchanged.
- Happy Wheel
- GHIC/ EHIC card - make sure I've got what's right for me.
- use Nectar points
- check interest rates for my cash, especially ISAs.

As I say, 20% of my jobs list has been achieved; also 4 big jobs (eg weeding) have been started.  That leaves (drum roll) 120 jobs, 4 of which have been well started, and some of which are very little.

Karmacat

I've been ridiculously domestic over the last few days, and most things have even been on the above list:

- bathroom, cleaned most of the floor and started to clean the bath, there was a considerable amount of unpleasantness involved 

- a lot of weeding!  An annual that self seeds prolifically, it's still at the flowering stage, but now a lot of it has gone.  Couch grass too - one square yard filled a bucket 

- I picked *lots* of rhubarb - stewed some, dried more.  I meant to do the same today, first thing, but it's raining *hard* out there, not sensible to do it.  But I did a lot yesterday, so still pleased.

- also cooked beans & peas in the slow cooker, and another coconut loaf cake the day before, using slightly out of date flour that's been sitting in the freezer.

- my seedlings are doing their thing!  Nine types of seed planted, 6 are up.  I've cleared a windowsill for them so they can get some rays right at the start of the day, though I'll need to move them for the afternoon and early evening, they'll get roasted by the sun, if it appears.  Very pleased though  

- social: a walk with my sister, of course, to a windmill we've only visited once, chat and text with a friend.  I appealed to the Jane Austen group on meetup (who rejected me  ) but haven't heard anything yet; I uploaded some pics, as they objected to what I had (Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, yes I know, I'm my own worst enemy).  Space Group is going well, we've just added another member.  Also talked with brother and Norfolk rellie, because we're going to a funeral next week in the Midlands.  Family Issues are taking up some time.

- FINANCES.  I've done my first throw of the Happy Wheel!  Deposited £5 to do it, so it does owe me, and I'm not claiming any bonuses or doing any matched betting in the next few days, it's too busy.  That's fine. 


TODAY:
- need to find an item worth £4.46 or slightly more on Amazon, I'm using up some of my voucher by restocking on With Sympathy cards - I bought a pack of ten during the autumn, and I only have two left.
- clean an old mister so I can use it for the seedlings.
- keep an eye on the weather so I can leap out there and do a bit more weeding.
- I'm at the end of Season 2 of Outlander - Culloden but it's exciting, and I'm rooting for the Scots.
- I'm sure there'll be tidying in there somewhere!

Karmacat

Excellent - found a tub of Nivea face cream, my go-to, 500g for £4.50.  Free delivery ensues   total price was £20.04

apple_muncher

I think that if the Jane Austen group don't appreciate your humour, then there's not much point joining them!

You've certainly been a busy 🐝!

Alchemilla

I love hearing about your domestic goddessing. Very soothing.