Cheery's country living adventure

Cheery_Daff

Evening MSE chums

Gosh it's been wild and windy here today! Poor Mr Cheery's garden shelter is not holding up well in the winds and he has been most distressed about it. Weather forecast suggests it will ease off tonight, and I do hope so. We really wanted to keep SOME kind of outdoor shelter for potential visitors over the next few months.

Anyway, I started YNAB reconciling AGAIN last night, and again didn't finish! I really should stop leaving it so long. 

Saved a bit of money today, as we tried to go to the cafe but it was full. Normally we turn up before they open, or right at the end of the day when they're winding down, but today the only time I had free was at 2.30. They were still busy, and there were four other sets of people in front of us waiting for tables, so we had a quick pop into town instead.

Had a final pop into our two regular charity shops before they shut again - nothing in either, but I confess I've had to email a bit of a complaint about the other The shop is always a mess, and sometimes there are several of the managers friends vaping on the sofas (!) but today there were FOUR members of staff congregated at the bottom of the stairs, three drinking tea with masks either pushed under chin or hanging from ears. We had to ask them to move so we could come down the stairs, and even then they didn't move very far and looked most annoyed that we'd disturbed their tea break. I don't think we'll bother going in there again, there's always something that annoys us about it. 

Oh dear, sounding like a right moaner tonight!!

I'm very grateful today actually - I've had to ask a couple of people for references (for a funding bid, not a new job!) and I do HATE doing it, but both have said they would be delighted. And my boss has helped me out with

Cheery_Daff

Oops, not sure what happened. Anyway, was just waffling about how nice a few people have been today, it's really lifted my spirits

Karmacat

The bit of a moan is perfectly understandable, Cheery - even though its a charity shop, their behaviour sounds really out of order - and if they're paid workers, well, harrumph ....

Sorry about your shelter!  I have a tree-size rhodendron thats grown into the fence at its side, and its quite sheltered!  Completely unintentional, and no work on my part   I understand how nice it is, even though mine is just to sit, not for friends to stay.

Cheery_Daff

Shelter is definitely good! We've very exposed up here, and everything rapidly gets blown away or ripped sadly. This shelter has been an absolute delight all summer, protecting from wind and rain, but is starting to get rather battered now. It was only ever for sitting in, but it's been utterly brilliant. At the minute it's mostly used by the chickens, who seem to spend most of the day hanging around in it when it's raining...

FINALLY got round to reconciling YNAB, what a mess! Well, only a mess because I hadn't done it since 10th October, and then I ended up doing the reconciliation over three different nights, crossing into a new month. Idiot. Still, it's done now and I THINK everything is in its rightful place (although I've got rather confused about how I'd been recording the vouchers we get for the COVID study - we get them as vouchers, and spend them on food, but then I take the money out of the bank account to overpay the mortgage. So there's no IN to the bank account, just an OUT (but obviously the food budget from the bank is less). No idea what I did for the first couple, but I think I've worked out something different now that makes more sense. 

Also got rather confused as to why the bank account amount was getting lower and lower each month... Well, you know, other than spending too much But it's because I've been drip feeding £1000 to our regular savers each month, and transferring £1000 in from the main savings account (fine) - but for some reason I hadn't clocked that I was also drip feeding £250 a month into a different regular saver... and I've not been transferring money in to cover that. 

No idea why, and also need to check it is actually functioning as a savings account, and not just sitting at 0%. 

Hey ho. Bank gremlins at it again On the plus side, I've had a £5 bank rewards payment which I've just thrown at the mortgage - didn't make any difference to the end month but it all adds up. 

Must remember to do this car insurance mileage claim this week, then I can put that off the mortgage too when it arrives (which I don't think is til the policy ends in Feb). 

Nothing else to report I don't think. Had breakfast in the cafe this morning (some utter FIEND got across the car park more quickly than us this morning and STOLE OUR SEAT!! Mr Cheery was NOT impressed. We're going to get there half an hour before they open tomorrow to make sure we get it

Other than that, had a perfectly normal, nice day at work! An actual normal, 8 hour day, not really stressed, not running about like an idiot, a nice mix of short and long term activities, a few meetings, a little bit of teaching, some research stuff, and ended the day feeling like I'd achieved something and not completely exhausted. You'd be surprised how rare those days are!

Cheery_Daff

Ooh, remembered my nephew's birthday present in time to order to my house, so I can wrap it and add card, rather than sending it directly. Small thing, but it always makes me feel more organised somehow! 

Feeling especially organised as I spotted something in the same shop that will do nicely for another nephew's Christmas present! Most pleased with myself to have that bought as well And I've already got my mum's birthday present too (not til next month) - hoping to be able to see her at some point before then or on the day mind you as it's massive so I don't really want to post it!

I would LOVE to have all my Christmas shopping done before the end of November. I think I'll be going mostly online this year - I'm not a great fan of wandering round shops at Christmas at the best of times, but definitely not this year!

Karmacat

You're doing well on the presents!  I want to up the amount I spend this year, because of getting my pension as actual income, but I still want to buy consumables, not **things** ... I'm starting to wonder about perfume, actually ... but I have to ask what scents, of course, can't just buy willy nilly.

Fortune_Smiles

Karmacat said:

You're doing well on the presents!  I want to up the amount I spend this year, because of getting my pension as actual income, but I still want to buy consumables, not **things** ... I'm starting to wonder about perfume, actually ... but I have to ask what scents, of course, can't just buy willy nilly.

Hi Karma 🙂  Have you thought about a 'collection'?  I've just bought this one for my niece.  I thought it was a good way to try out new fragrances and, if you're not keen on one, you've always got the others.

Fortune x

fannyadams

<delurks>
Apropos of nothing, I saw this Cheery and thought of you:
https://www.farminguk.com/news/trees-on-poultry-farms-boost-nature-new-research-says_56909.html
I'm going back under the sink now.
<relurks>

Cheery_Daff

Ooh, thank you FA, that's a lovely story! I have a friend who raises free range turkeys and she often has them under a relatively new woodland (planted about ten years ago I think). Trees happy, turkeys happy (well, til Christmas anyway, I guess...), wildlife happy. 

Another busy one here, but FINALLY have one of my funding bids ready, thank goodness. Missed the internal deadline of today, but likely it would have just sat on someone's desk over the weekend anyway... Going to have to work tomorrow to finish the other one, sigh, but it'll be worth it in the long run (well, if I get either of them anyway!) We'll see, won't find out til well into next year

Nowt else to report. Not been anywhere, obviously. Was meant to be running round the park with one other woman tonight but she's still working in a school and really wants to limit the number of people she's in contact with, which is fair enough. And I'm always happy to have an excuse not to run!

Got to do a post office trip tomorrow morning. A little parcel for a friend who's having an operation, and my nephew's birthday present, which arrived here promptly today and I can send on. My other nephew's Christmas present arrived in the same parcel. Efficient auntie for once! 

So, the weekend. Bath and loafing tonight. I've got some work to do (yawn) so I'll try to get that over with tomorrow morning, and spend the rest of the weekend either pottering outside, painting the kitchen ceiling beams, or loafing about.

Need to get spending our holiday money on some treats for our anniversary next weekend Except both of us are so damn thrifty we just can't bring ourselves to spend anything

edwink

Cheery_Daff said:
Need to get spending our holiday money on some treats for our anniversary next weekend Except both of us are so damn thrifty we just can't bring ourselves to spend anything

This did make me have a bit of a chuckle Cheery because we are exactly the same.  When it comes to actually spending the money we struggle to spend it because we are so thrifty too.  We do have a good old laugh about it sometimes I must admit 🤣🤣🤣  

Edwink x