Put away your purse & become debt-averse

foxgloves

Hello Sunbeams,
Yes, sun this morning! The blue sky & lack of rain inspired me outside to do a few jobs. After this morning's kitchen jobs, I did a bit of much-needed maintenance on our front courtyard.......I have been on at Mr F for months to cut the front hedges, particularly the one on the side we adjoin our neighbours, but his response has tended to be a diatribe about the general cr*pness of the hedge, rather than agreeing to a practical measure to reduce its levels of cr*pness, if you see what I mean. I asked again the other day, but apparently our electric shears no longer work. Hmmmmm. In the spirit of not keeping a good woman down, I spent an hour at the worst bits myself this morning armed with nothing more hefty than my secateurs & it has made a positive difference. Also weeded & dug over the cr*p bed underneath the now-no-quite-so-cr*p hedge & planted out the free pansies I was allowed to take free from the garden shop yesterday. Finally, I filled the empty blue crock next to our side door with cyclamen, a spare primula & some surprise shopped from home ivy. This was part of a floral arrangement I had over the last few weeks in a vase & it had rooted, so I was able to add some really nice trails of variegated ivy to my new pot. Next job out there will be weeding & de-mossing the paving & a blimming good session with the broom.
Enjoyed an hour's yakk with my neighbour while I was wielding the secateurs & a further hour & a half yakk with my sister via Skype. I'm surprised I've got any voice left! Lots of cards in the post this morning......plus what looks like a debt letter for the previous occupant......now thereby hangs an old tale I thought had long finsihed......I have written 'Return to sender - has not lived at this address for 18 years' on the envelope in big letters & underlined it three times.
Well, it is darkening as I type. I have been watching an amazing sparrowhawk in our old pear tree, doubtless looking for his or her supper. I shall wish you all a cosy evening & go round drawing the curtains & putting the Christmas tree lights & fairy lights on. 
F x

Pixiehouse55

Hellooooo Mrs F and gang.
How are you all? Sorry not been about much  my sister has been in hospital, still not sure why, she said she thought she was having a panic attack, that was Friday but they didn't discharge her till Tuesday after doing more tests. Her partner is a waste of space. He hasn't bothered to update us. So all we know is she is home but very tired. Maybe a heart attack or stroke? She had to give them the background of our dad and his siblings heart attacks and didn't survive. John our man came home Wednesday last week and at last community nurse etc are now involved, all Christmas presents wrapped and posted. Ive helped John buy Christmas presents online. Sylvia has no interest at all.  Food shopping will be done next Monday and fruit n veg Wednesday or Thursday. I had emergency appointment yesterday with my Dentist, tooth out!!!! Ewwww. That was £40.  Paid deposit for new windows.  Hopefully fitted in 8 weeks time. £615 still in my Christmas fund, plenty there for food shop and storage King fillers for our 2 girls. Even though they are 26 and 29 ha ha. I'm fed up with our bank at the moment, either can't get on online banking or once on there I can't move money about.  Might go back to our old bankers.. we shall see in the new year.  Normal amount of washing and ironing. Pastry out ready to make mincemeat turnovers and possibly make a yule log.... Take Care and Keep Safe everyone  Xx

foxgloves

That's a worry about your sister, Pixiehouse55. I suppose a heart incident could feel quite similar to a panic attack. Hope she makes a good recovery.
Very annoying about your bank. With far fewer actual branches these days (our nearest branch is 16 miles away in the city centre so also involves expensive parking), we all rely on internet banking being accessible every day..... as in working. Our bank (C*-*p) has been pretty good for reliable internet banking over the whole of this weird year, but I do miss having our little branch in our local town for when it's quicker to speak to an actual person. And it must have been a lifeline for elderly people unconfident with internet banking. I do find I need to move money around very regularly. My budget would soon go to pot if I couldn't do that.
F x

Pixiehouse55

foxgloves said:

That's a worry about your sister, Pixiehouse55. I suppose a heart incident could feel quite similar to a panic attack. Hope she makes a good recovery.
Very annoying about your bank. With far fewer actual branches these days (our nearest branch is 16 miles away in the city centre so also involves expensive parking), we all rely on internet banking being accessible every day..... as in working. Our bank (C*-*p) has been pretty good for reliable internet banking over the whole of this weird year, but I do miss having our little branch in our local town for when it's quicker to speak to an actual person. And it must have been a lifeline for elderly people unconfident with internet banking. I do find I need to move money around very regularly. My budget would soon go to pot if I couldn't do that.
F x

I spoke to my sister last night, it was a major panic attack and she said they couldn't get her BP down. She was in hospital for a week, her cholesterol is very high so she is on statins now.  We were with N**w*** before, I think we might go back to them in the new year. I was panicking because I couldn't move money around.. I was getting in a panic lol. I very rarely go in to town, so online banking is good for me. The last few times I've gone to phone my bank and no one has picked up the phone!!!.  Oh well pooring down with rain here again!! We are back on tier 2 as from Saturday. We won't be going anywhere apart from food shop on Monday. I will stay indoors out the way.  Have a good day X 

poppy811

Hi,  I have been reading your diary for many months and just want to thank you for such  interesting and thought provoking posts.  You really lift my day as I have a serious illness and have been isolating for many months

foxgloves

Gosh, Pixiehouse, that was a big panic attack then. Must have been very scary.

Poppy811- That is kind of you to say so. My life feels very uneventful, so I'm always surprised by how many people say they enjoy my daily ramblings. Sorry to hear that you are poorly. Isolation must be a real trial.
F 

foxgloves

Hi, Vague plans to finish off the front courtyard fizzled out, as it has been rainy today. I had a morning of kitchen witchery instead - baked a crusty white loaf (some of which will be put aside for next week's stuffings & bread sauce) also a dozen little bread rolls for the freezer, as they will be useful over Christmas. Then I experimented with a recipe I clipped out of one of my Mum's magazines years ago..... home made fruit jelly sweeties. Mine are cranberry & gin flavoured. The tin size stated in the recipe can't possibly have been right so I transferred the mixture to a bigger one. It has to stayin the fridge overnight. I've checked it & it has set, but it remains to be seen how the finished product will turn out. 
I really just want to read tonight. I've borrowed quite a creepy novel called 'You let me in' by Lucy Clarke from the library. I had an inkling quite early on who the sort of stalker person might be & I'm desperate to know if I'm right!
The wind is rattling & groaning down rhe chimney tonight - just right for a suspenseful book.
Ok, m'dears, that's my day,
F x

Pixiehouse55

foxgloves said:

Gosh, Pixiehouse, that was a big panic attack then. Must have been very scary.

Poppy811- That is kind of you to say so. My life feels very uneventful, so I'm always surprised by how many people say they enjoy my daily ramblings. Sorry to hear that you are poorly. Isolation must be a real trial.
F 

Yes very scary Foxgloves. She just said they tested her for lots of things, trouble is she worries a lot anyway and she could here what they were saying and got herself in a right tizz wazz. But she's home and OK now. 

Baileys_Babe

Cranberry and gin jellied sweets sound scrummy.
We have been having technical difficulties here so I was days behind.
An easy sweet I often make for gifts is coconut ice, it is surprisingly popular. 
I made B-I-L Rockey road for his birthday cut up into bite-size pieces, B-I-L loved it, nephew 1 complained I had used dark chocolate, nephew 2 complained I had included nuts, both deliberate choices as nephews don't like them and I was making for their Dad who does.

foxgloves

Good idea BaileysBabe to add ingredients which mean the recipient's sweeties can't be hoovered up by other people! I love coconut ice. Mr F can't stand coconut, so that would definitely be a case of all the more for me!
F