Travelling On

Karmacat

Hi there yes, I'm well thanks.  I'm busy juggling projects, but not busy outside the house, not just yet.  So these are the projects:

- painting a few walls, using up the brilliant white paint, the pot of which has split.  Went very well yesterday, especially on some acoustic panels I had installed, but another coat still needed, and probably two on the panels.  That should use up the whole pot, though if it doesn't there's plenty more painting in the kitchen that needs doing    I really want to lose that paint pot 🤣

- I get the odd free bet from the Happy Wheel, half a dozen of them now.  I *always* lose, which ESP investigators used to term a real effect - results so bad they signified something 🤣  That's me! So bad I signify something 🤣

- solar panel research has taken a back seat the past few days, though I'm very eager to pursue it.  Found a few interesting websites too, that are obviously well known to others, like Eco Worthy.  Also interested in getting floor insulation underneath my rug and kilim in the living room.

- hacking my way to the bottom of the garden, I found the leftover wood I stored there from building projects, and it reminds me of a very simple idea I had to deepen the soil around my huge rhubarb - big thick offcuts about 8" high, use them to retain old fencing boards, just nail them together.  Some nutrients, lots of new leafmould over winter, held down with various bits and bobs (more fencing boards, most like) and hey presto.  

- finances!  Blimey!  Two main issues - bringing back more money from France, and also opening a cash isa.  The one I opened a while back, I'm now informed, has lapsed, because I never funded it, which is just as well since the rate it had was so low compared to what's on offer at the moment.

beanielou

Busy, busy times for you 

Karmacat

Hi beanie!  Yes, they are, I'm afraid - having a day off today, though, two mornings of painting walls perched on my desk and kneeling/standing up constantly has taken it out of me a bit.  Just pootling about on the laptop today, and there's a parcel delivery due.


ETA - parcel still not arrived, but I've spent hours at JL online bought plain knickers, birthday and New House cards, all the important stuff Plus I won £50 on the premium bonds, hurray.

apple_muncher

Nice win! Well done you.

Karmacat

Thanks apple!  I still haven't collected the JL shopping from my local Waitrose, didn't trust the weather to walk there and back, the whole business would take over an hour.  At least there's no thunder today.

Karmacat

Just trying to get ahead of myself for next week - 

1. Cash ISA - it was difficult to open one (Leeds couldn't identify me!  So I went with Coventry, where I already had an account) but the rate, taken during October, is now pathetic - 1.89%!  Martin lists Saffron BS as one of the top two year accounts, so that's what I'll go for tomorrow.  4.35%

2. More money over from France.  The currency company seem to prefer that I make the arrangement, *then* fund it.  Okay I'll do that tomorrow.

3. Collect my JL parcel from Waitrose - has to be after 3pm, apparently, so that's what I'll do.  I'll also recycle as much as I can of the frozen veg bags I've been collecting  

4. Check on The Range, where I bought radiator airers, bicarb, stuff like that.  Packaging fell apart, I complained, they wanted photographic proof, I sent it in spite of their passive-aggressive act.  That was where we were at close of business yesterday, we'll see where we get tomorrow.

5. Ancestry have been offering a free weekend for free members - its on till Tuesday, in fact.  I've been having a ball chasing my sister's great-grandfather in law up and down the country.  He's variously a musician, an entertainer, and a travelling salesman 😁 It's shown me how difficult it will be for future genealogists, when we move all over the globe at the drop of a hat, so it seems.  It's a good learning though 😁

6. Learn to make single portions of rice and veg in the microwave: 10 minutes!  It's got to be a good idea.  And I have a lot of rice.  And quinoa.

7. Later in the week, I really need to order some underlay, for my rug, and for my kilim (which is still rolled up upstairs, oops).  Has to be very thin, and I found some 3mm stuff, but I can't remember where now, of course 🤣  Oh!  Chimney Sheep do a pure wool "underlayment" (er, what?) 3.5mm, a metre wide, 11m long.  It's £140, but I think ethics have to come in to such a long term decision.  Trouble is, they keep saying it's about acoustic insulation, and I don't need it for that.  Bit of chat needed, I think.

Along with a walk with my sister, more cleaning in the house, and gardening, that will be my week.  I *hope* I get that lot done in one week.  We'll see.  I mean, we *will* see, I'm going to do it 🤣🤣🤣 


ETA - not an action point, but surprising financial info anyway - a gov.uk letter to me telling me they're sending me £500, as an over-65 person.  Astonishing, it really seems to be happening.

badmemory

I had my DWP letter last week too.  Nice to have it confirmed & just wish they would confirm the triple lock, even if only on the basic pension.  I suppose it depends if they want to get back in after the next election, not that I'd ever vote for them.  I'd rather vote for the, well anyone really.  I suspect that they have made such a mess, especially with all the fraud (& the lying), that they would rather leave labour to deal with then as normal they can blame them.

Karmacat

Hi badmemory!  Glad you've had your letter too.  Totally agree with your other comments except I'd add that they're staying in power as long as possible to get as much money as possible, stumbling along till then.  I've stopped following it, and stopped emailing, I was getting too angry, my heart was pounding for ages.  But yes, being selfish, I wish the triple lock would stay.  Turns out I'm going to be making my own cards after all after this - I might start with collage on existing bland-ish cards to zuzz them up a bit.

Still ... going to work on the cash ISA and the French money this morning, I'm taking as much care as I can.

Karmacat

Most of that went pretty well!  Opened the ISA at Saffron.  Checked how much I can easily send, and I want 4000 euros from France to get that figure up there.  Ordered the transfer via the currency website: I have till close of business on Wednesday.  Good! 

Hopped over to French bank - I can only send 2000 euros at a time.  Of course it can't run totally smoothly 🤣 luckily I checked with FAQs of currency firm, and they envisage exactly this situation, they send an automatic email about a shortfall in received funds, but say that I can pay in several instalments (ie, two, in this case).  I'll do another transfer tomorrow, then fund the Saffron account on Wednesday.

Bit of a warning though: I had to tick a box saying if I cancelled, I'd get charged higher rates in the future.  That's because of the stupid kerfuffle last month about the 20 euros.  It'll be okay, but its a warning.

Karmacat

Yep, warning email from the currency place received - but I can't reply to it, as their FAQs said I could.  Ah well.  I'll send the rest of the money first thing, and when I do it again next year, I'll limit it to the amount allowed by the bank - the charge is the same per 100 euros, makes no difference.

Fascinated to have actually gone into a supermarket and bought stuff this afternoon 🤣 the actual aim was to collect my order from JL, which was very, very packaged.  I also did manage to recycle all the frozen veg packs, which was great, and I bought a couple of dozen eggs - sort of horrified at buying so many, but between omelettes and the microwave cake, which uses 1 egg per portion, I go through a lot now.  Also bought some Green & Black choccies to take with me at Christmas - they were reduced by 20% for some reason, so that almost paid for half the eggs, which was nice  

I've started the work on buying the underlay.  I haven't quite finished working out how much I need, but I'm tending towards screwfix - like all the local chains, this is 100% wood fibre, which is fine, but the clincher is that the tape to keep it all together is twice as wide at screwfix, which makes me think it'll be a lot more secure.  Just got to finish measuring stuff now.


ETA - no answer from The Range yet!