Cheery's country living adventure

Cheery_Daff

Indeed! Some of it is just bills for running a bigger and more rural house (£920 mortgage that we didn't have back then, for a start!!) 😮 and I'm commuting to work - although not for the next 2 weeks, probably not for the 2 weeks after that, and only then probably a max of 2 days a week.

Still plenty to tackle though! 

Got the house to myself for a couple of hours this evening, and I've made some chocolate, nut and dried fruit snacks, and used some of the egg mountain to make some mini crustless quiche things with egg, cottage cheese and a load of veg. They'll do nicely for lunches for the next few days 😊 Feels good to be building up a few meals, even if they will only last a couple of days in the fridge 😊

Off to create a meal plan after our shopping trip yesterday (I know I should have done it before!)

Cheery_Daff

Not done a meal plan, but I have checked how to claim the compensation for the power cut. Apparently they should just contact us and pay it automatically. Normally there's a 10 day timescale, but for severe weather events it's 'as soon as reasonably practicable'. Then they will pay you £60 if they don't meet their own deadline - but 'as soon as reasonably practicable' sounds like a deadline they'll never fail to meet 🙄😂 I'll keep an eye out and contact them in the new year if it's not arrived.

Also had an email from the kitchen fitter. Apparently the granite guy is coming to fill the joints with epoxy resin - which does rather beg the question why they weren't done with that in the first place... 🙄 He's also quoted for a replacement cupboard door as Mr Cheery doesn't like the pattern on one of the existing ones - but it's £365 so he might just learn to live with it... 🙄 We'll see.

Right, meal plan!

Karmacat

Your snacks and quiche things sound great.  Erm, epoxy resin on the granite joints also sounds great!  Yeah, why not do that to start with?  Hmph.

Good luck with the compensation payment from the utilities - that would be nice, hey, considering what you went through.

Cheery_Daff

Karmacat said:

Your snacks and quiche things sound great.  Erm, epoxy resin on the granite joints also sounds great!  Yeah, why not do that to start with?  Hmph.

Good luck with the compensation payment from the utilities - that would be nice, hey, considering what you went through.

Indeed. Can't quite work out what we should get - £70 for the first '24 or 48 hours' depending on the number of people who were also out (so let's assume it's going to be 48 hrs), then £70 for each 12 hours after that. 

So 2am Sat to 2am Mon is £70
To 2am Tues is another £140
And to 2pm Tues is another £70
= £280

Not loads, but not to be sniffed at, although I won't be impressed if they decide they switched us back on at 1.45 on Tuesday so we miss the final payment. We'll see!

EssexHebridean

Fingers crossed they'll play fair. Allowing for quite how cold it was that really seems like quite a small amount for two people anyway so hopefully they will. 

And yes, I'm wondering why on earth the granite guys didn't just use the right stuff in the first place! 

Cheery_Daff

Yes it does seem a bit weedy! Bizarrely enough you get more if your power is out in good weather 😂 Their payments seem to be based on 'well it was really difficult for us to get people back on again, so we shouldn't have to pay you as much' 🙄

I will ask what happened with the granite. We weren't here when they fitted it - I suspect they may have left the kitchen fitter to finish the joints but I don't know. Kind of don't care as long as it gets done properly eventually!

Sun is out today, and I've hung the washing on the line. Always jolly (and free!)

Cheery_Daff

Gosh that was a long day! But I've got most of the things that NEED to be done for work before Christmas. Plenty of things that it would be nice to do of course... but I'm at an (online) event all day until 4pm, and then going out for tea about 6, and tomorrow is my last day, so...

Chipped a bit off a tooth this afternoon. SO annoying- I lost part of one on the other side a couple of weeks ago and the dentist wouldn't do an advance appointment, and I've not had chance to go for a same day one. So that's my Friday sorted (they'd best have a same day one rather than making me wait!) Yawn.

Friday is turning into a bit of a palaver quite frankly. Dentist (in Sheffield) probably at lunchtime, home for covid booster at 5, then stupidly we've arranged to go to see some friends for tea - back in Sheffield. Good job we haven't started uber frugal January yet! But I'm not holding off on he dentist if I can avoid it, and I'm not trying to rearrange my jab, and our friends are going away after tomorrow, so I'm just going to accept the stupidness of the day. At least we can share the driving.

Granite guy is coming tomorrow afternoon. And I was forgetting kitchen geezer is bringing the plinths back on Friday - hope he can fit round all the other things we're meant to be doing! 

Cheery_Daff

No sign of granite guy so far 🙄 I did ask him to give me an approximate time, and he said he'd 'let me know at dinner time'. I'm in an all day conference (and presenting again at 3), Mr Cheery has gone out but will come back if I ring - but obviously that won't be instant so if he just randomly turns up at 3pm without warning he'll be waiting on the doorstep 🙄

Cheery_Daff

Well, I texted granite guy at 2.30 saying I'd not be available between 3 and 3.45, but if he let me know RIGHT NOW I might be able to get Mr Cheery back.

Got a reply 10 mins later saying 'we'll be there in 40 mins, is that ok?' Rang Mr Cheery, no, he's too far away. Asked granite guy to leave it an hour, but he said he couldn't, had to get the car back to the compound before 5. So why didn't you tell me that and we could have arranged for Mr Cheery to be home?? Asked if I could leave a key out - but I'm in the house, just presenting at a conference, so I've said he'll have to leave it til Monday now.

Most vexing, and probably messed up his day, but I did specifically ask him what time he was coming, and he did tell me he'd let me know at dinner time - which in my view is well before I chased him at 2.30 (at which point he wanted to arrive before 3.30!)

Anyway, blah blah blah.

Now need to sort out kitchen guy and see if he's coming tomorrow - because I'm going to have to see if I can get a dentist appointment tomorrow.

Urgh, feel like some kind of logistics expert at the minute!

themadvix

Very vexing indeed Cheery - how ridiculous that he was so inflexible!