Hazelnutty's New Start

Hazelnutty

DiscountDuck said:

Well done to your brave and mature DD for that courageous step. I hope her dad realises he needs to treat her as a young adult whose views matter now. Have a wonderful break with OH, it is well deserved with all the stress of building work. 

Thank you! I am very proud. And she seems to be having a great time - they've managed to find a range of activities to do so everyone's happy. She did the extreme level go ape today and was buzzing. Can't help thinking this whole thing has just sent her confidence through the roof

Hazelnutty

Karmacat said:

Wow!  Some huge steps forward here, on every level, congratulations Hazelnutty

Thanks, Karma! It's a bit of a slog but things are coming together slowly. OH is on a massive FB mission to find second hand bits we need for the renovation. So far we have paving slabs, a water butt and a bike stand- tonight she's found some reclaimed mid-century solid wood doors for a tenner each! (we don't know if they fit yet but fingers crossed - every saving counts)

I cashed out Pr0lific for the second time today, £5.48 will be added to the pot for the end of the month OP boost. We had intended to go out for a glass or two of wine tonight but the bar was closed. Picked up the bike stand and treated ourselves to a Waitrose shop instead, which actually cost more  

Got my free cinema trip tomorrow lunchtime and taking the afternoon off for a much-needed break. Not sure what we'll do - the weather's due to be horrific so possibly just have a duvet day

Sleep well, everyone

South_coast

Ouch to Waitrose! That's so unfair that drinks would have been cheaper!

Hazelnutty

It was quite a nice haul (some lovely deli bits, YS bakery, B&J icecream...) but it came to £45 *blue screamy head*  We did make it to the wine shop/bar this evening and it was lovely. Definitely a new favourite spot!

I took the afternoon off work and went to the cinema for the first time since lockdown (a freebie ticket from my new membership). It was humming it down, I cycled and got wet both there and back  

So having tried and failed so many times to get the metering team at Tonik to contact me I've given up and switched to a supplier that's apparently doing meter moves. So ridiculous - customer service is just woeful. I even explained about OH's longterm health conditions and the effect of the stress on her mental health but nothing seemed to induce them to bother to phone me I just hope SSE will come through for us.

Hazelnutty

So, enough was enough. I've switched suppliers and logged a complaint about Tonik with Resolver, which I hope will avoid any prospect of them trying to charge an early exit fee (I've given them enough warning and chance to, you know, actually just respond). I went through QUidco so should get a £60 cashback (I never got the Quidco compare £40 for switching to Tonik when we moved house - due in June but they never paid so I guess that was a sign?!) I was honest about OH's conditions that made the remodelling of the downstairs important so it was kinda hurtful just to be ignored. We're looking at 2-3 weeks to switch, then about 2 weeks to the works, fingers crossed.

In other news, OH and the builder are popping round to a house nearby to check out the mid-century doors - they have the original bakelite handles so we're quite excited. 

themadvix

I don't blame you - Tonik started out really well but seem to have given up on anything resembling customer service. I wouldn't take their inability to respond personally - they just seem to be totally incompetent. On the other hand, at least they're unlikely to make any attempt to charge you for early exit! Fingers crossed for the cashback this time.

Ooh, I hope the doors look good!

Hazelnutty

Yes, some kind of reorganisation at the top perhaps? Just don't seem to be the same company. They took all kinds of functionality off their website too a while back too. I liked being able to track and compare usage in those graphs. I'm sure you're right it's not personal from their perspective, but I've been seeing the change in my OH so it feels personal to me. When a customer's told you something like that, you'd hope a company would show some consideration. Hey ho. SSE have been great so far so fingers crossed.

The doors are FAB! They'll need some tlc - we'll strip off the layers of paint and refurbish the bakelite knobs and metal locking mechanisms - but they should look amazing. Beats me why you'd take out solid wood doors and put the really rubbish hollow ones we currently have on. OH has now found some reclaimed solid maple basketball court! So that's going to be the flooring for inside. I'd never have been able to afford real wood flooring and even a load of laminate or vinyl would've cost a lot more than we're paying.

OH is on a roll with finding materials for the build second-hand and feels like she's contributing to the project (she often feels bad about not being able to financially). I love that we're recycling materials that'd go in a skip and at the same time saving money and putting stuff in that has that used/lived in feel rather than spanking new - will just fit better given the house is an older lady now.

the_cross_rabbit

Your OH obviously has the knack for finding stuff that you can buy cheap and up-cycle. I’m very much the bargain hunter in our family which is my way of contributing financially.
CRx

Hazelnutty

Yes, this has become her 'thing'. It's been great to see how it's rewarding for her and it really helps to be able to share responsibility for the house project.

themadvix

I suspect Tonik aren't even reading emails now, despite automated messages to the contrary. I've had no reply from them by email in months.

The doors and floor sound amazing - your OH has a definite talent there - I can't imagine what my house would look like if I was left to source stuff!