£29,303...Enough is enough!

WelshKitty85

Well, first week back to school went well. DC1 has made loads of friends in her new school and DC3 absolutely loves his school. He’s done ok with most of the school dinners so we’re going to persevere with them.

We’ve got our heat pump being installed this week so have been trying to declutter and move things out of the way over the weekend. I’ve managed to list a few items for sale but have loads more still to do. I did find a pair of boots in a cupboard though that will do me nicely for the winter. DC2 wore them once for a wedding and then refused to be seen in them again. Luckily they are my size and really comfortable.

We’ve taken 2 more accommodation bookings so that’s an extra £360 into the kitty. I’ve also booked a table once a month at a nearby craft fair so that will hopefully generate some income from our craft business. We just need to get crafting and making things to sell now!

WelshKitty85

I forgot to mention we’ve acquired some sheep! Seven of the neighbouring farmer’s sheep managed to escape his field and were heading towards the road. All we could do was herd them into our field and lock them in so they’re now happily grazing our grass. We’re actually in discussion with the farmer about buying some sheep from him so it could be fate that these ones have found their way to us.

savingholmes

Interesting on the sheep!! Well done... 
Good luck with the decluttering. 
Great news on the heat pump and the boots. Glad the kids are settling in at school - very important.

WelshKitty85

Thanks SH. I should add, we’re good friends with the farmer. He knows the sheep are here and is just happy they didn’t escape.

Drawingaline

The sheep have chosen you 😁

WelshKitty85

@Drawingaline my thoughts exactly! Another one has chosen us today  we now have 8!

savingholmes

Little Bo Peep

WelshKitty85

The sheep saga continues . Today alone we’ve gone from having 9 sheep, to 15 sheep, to 8 sheep. One particularly naughty one has been escaping up to 10 times a day for the last week. This morning, she did a runner, returned with friends, then they all left again. If nothing else it’s keeping me fit.

In other news, our new central heating system is in. It’s fortunate we got the grant as the plumber who took our old boiler out said it wouldn’t have lasted the winter. We should get the solar panels in the next few weeks. The weather has turned cold here but we’re trying to manage without the central heating until we’ve got the panels to offset some of the cost. We’ve got an open fire in the lounge so need to make an effort to gather and process more wood before the weather really turns.

We’ve lost our understairs storage to the new water tank so that’s meant lots of reorganising and decluttering this week. We have, however, gained back some of the kitchen where the boiler cupboard used to be. FIL is hopefully going to build us a pantry. It will mean dipping into savings, at least a couple of hundred pounds for materials, but will be a much better use of the space.

WelshKitty85

I’m feeling rather guilty today as the naughty sheep has gone to market. We just couldn’t contain her. The other 8 are still here and are behaving beautifully. We’ve been feeding them left over bread from my Olio collections and they’ve started running over when they see us. They’re not eating from our hands yet but I think they will before long.

I did my first craft fair last weekend. I made a profit, but not as much as I’d hoped. They’re fortnightly so I’m going to give it another go for the next one and take along some of my cakes as well as the craft items. Their usual baker keeps letting them down last minute and they apparently have lots of customers asking for cake.

We’ve had to give in and put the heating on a couple of times this week as the house was so cold. It’s the anniversary of DC3 being rushed into hospital with respiratory distress and it’s brought back lots of memories and made me want to keep the house comfortable and not risk him getting ill again (even though it wasn’t related to house temperature last time). We’ve been using the fire too but I was shocked when I went to out wood shed to see how little we have left. I managed to collect another box full from our fields but really need to get out and collect more. 

I’m getting slightly concerned about what’s going on with mortgage rates. We’re fixed for another 12 months so there’s no point worrying about it too much just now, but I’ve increased our monthly overpayment from £10 to £50. It’s not much but it’s all I can do for now.

WelshKitty85

Good morning, I’m sat in bed with a coffee watching the world out of the window. It’s the first time I’ve noticed how much the scenery outside has changed. The trees are looking windswept and the autumn colours are creeping in. We had high winds (and torrential rain) yesterday so today should be a good day to collect more wood for the fire.

We were woken up by a lorry reversing up our driveway this morning. We weren’t expecting them, but it’s the scaffolding going up ready for our solar panels to go in. We’ve not had an installation date, but I’m guessing it must be pretty soon. 

We were due to have a friend come and stay this weekend but he’s cancelled last minute. To be honest, I’m a little relieved and will be glad of a quiet weekend to get on top of the housework, get a bit of crafting done, and just chill.

In sheep news, they are becoming ever so friendly and have started eating from our hands.