Sort of debt-free but hope to be a super-scrimper in 2019

Karmacat

Exactly! Hot drinks, just a cuppa tea during the day, are incredibly important to me

HairyHandofDartmoor

You should definitely get a camping stove if you're prone to power cuts Carboot. I hate it when I can't have a hot drink. Also your Halfords voucher may expire if you don't use it. DH was very annoyed recently when he tried to use a Millets voucher only to be told that it had expired :mad:. It had only been valid for twelve months which seemed a very short time to us!

I'm sorry your relaxing evening wasn't as relaxing as you hoped, but at least you slept well and that's important .

Your Chuckle brother analogy made me laugh :rotfl:.

daisy_1571

carbootcrazy wrote: »

I try to have a nice short style but it grows so quickly and very soon looks a mess:eek:. I've had long hair all my adult life but once I decided to stop colouring it and let it revert to its natural colour (grey) I started having a short cut. I dreaded looking witchy being an OAP with long straight grey hair:eek::eek:

Do you know Carol Kirkwood, the blonde BBC weather presenter? People always tell me how much I resemble her (apart from me having mid-brown (now grey) hair instead of blonde. When I was younger I really did look like she does now. I have a smiley sort of face even when I'm feeling 'down' and maybe that helped me in keeping my problems secret because everyone always assumed, looking at me, that all was well. A mixed blessing maybe. It's not that I've gone around with a fixed smile:eek:, my face just seems to be that way. I don't think anyone would ever say ''cheer up, it might never happen'' to me. Actually whatever 'it' is probably already has:(

Lifeisforliving19 wrote: »

Oh yes, she has a lovely face....I must admit, my image of you wasn't like that. For some reason...and don't ask me why, I pictured you as being a very short lady and with a face a bit more like Helen Mirren.....I do have a strange imagination though...:rotfl:

Thanks for that, I had you more as Barbara Good-ish , altho ur oh never struck me as Tom Good-ish :rotfl:. It's like reading a book and imagining the characters then seeing the film and thinking who you would have cast as the characters !

Seconding the recent ideas for a wee camping stove for emergencies.

Dxx

daisy_1571

carbootcrazy wrote: »

From the amount of responses it looks like a lot of you have experience of chronic pain. My sympathies:kisses3:

I've always been reasonably tolerant to pain but this is like nothing I've experienced before. I'm still sorry to be making such a fuss about it though:o. In the absence of prescription meds I take soluble co-codomol ( a paracetamol and codeine mix). I prefer the soluble version, they seem to hit the spot quicker, but the tablet form is slightly cheaper. I buy the generic ones/ Boots own brand as it works out cheaper that way. Still costs up to £4.30 for 32 tabs though and the max dose of 8 a day on a really bad day isn't unusual:eek: These are the strongest painkillers that I can buy without prescription although they are stored behind the counter and I have to ask the pharmacist, Our local town is very small and I've lived round here for about 40 years so know all the staff at both the chemist shops (not just for medications but socially too). I feel like a drug addict when I go to buy my pills because they ask the standard 'are they for you?' question and then proceed with the 'mustn't be taken for more than 3 days' warning etc etc. Codeine as an over-the-counter drug has been banned I think as it is an opiate and habit forming. It is in such a minute amount in these pills but I suppose over time it all mounts up.


I'm embarrassed to say that I've got OH to buy them for me (although I give him the money for them) if he's in our nearest 'big' town where there's a variety of chemist shops and in-store pharmacies in the supermarkets there. He sometimes comes back with a couple of boxes bought from different shops for me to keep in stock but he worries about pushing his luck and using any one shop too often and being recognised:eek:. Anything I'll be prescribed by the GP will be free as I'm an OAP and get free prescriptions now. It will put an end to all this cloak and dagger painkiller buying once and for all. OH will be very relieved;)


I've recently discovered that painkillers are not the correct remedy for facial neuralgia and merely slightly take the edge off it. Apparently there are 2 main standard medications. One is an anti-depressant which is of great value for this type of pain control and of a lower dosage than the usual one for depression. The other is an anti-convulsant of a similar type to treat epilepsy. Either way, they both seem rather odd remedies and the thought of needing either scares me:o. Apparently the condition isn't 'curable', just manageable. It occurs largely in people over 50 (yep, that's definitely me:( ). It can also arise after shingles (not me) or as a symptom of MS (hopefully not me)


I always seem to have a flare up in very cold weather but I don't think that's really a contributory factor. I've been fine yesterday and today despite the freezing cold weather but I'll stick to my scarf around my lower face 'bank-robber look' whenever I go out for the next few days just in case. I've been sleeping really well again (touch wood:rotfl:)

Just popping in to say re the chronic pain - if pain doesn't respond to anti inflammatories theres a chance it is fascia related. The best way to deal with this is massage. Fascia is the elasticy see thru stuff that comes away when you peel skin off a chicken. It covers/is within all the organs and surfaces of the body and helps things keep their shape and helps muscles slide and glide. When it gets stuck or twisted it's like when your tights get twisted round your leg as you walk? And has been likened to wearing clothes two sizes too small. Because it goes all over and around the body getting stuck/tight/twisted in one area can pull in other areas giving referred pain.

Sorry, I'm a bit evangelical about this as its so important to understand the structures of the body and how they work. Drugs are great for the job they are designed to do but they all have side effects/drawbacks and the more natural stuff isn't all woohoo- some of it has proper scientific basis. Anyway, hope that was interesting to those suffering pain related problems, I will pop back off to earlier posts and continue catching up

Daisy xx

daisy_1571

Finally finished and up to date - wow that's a sudden and unwelcome problem you've just been dealing with. I hope you have had some reassurance from surveyor and/or insurance company regarding what will be the next stages for remedial works. It sounds as though it could potentially be a huge job but in a way easier in the long run if you can tag on the electrical work and the kitchen update and get the whole lot done in a oner. I'm not sure how you will work your finances with that bearing in mind how you split costs with oh and he may prefer to keep his savings for his old age than realise that this is a good time to loosen the purse strings. Happy wife, happy life and all that!

Anyway hope you get a moment to come on and update us. Thinking about you and sending as much physical and emotional strength and support through the ether as I can

Daisy xxx

supersaver1000

daisy_1571 wrote: »

Just popping in to say re the chronic pain - if pain doesn't respond to anti inflammatories theres a chance it is fascia related. The best way to deal with this is massage. Fascia is the elasticy see thru stuff that comes away when you peel skin off a chicken. It covers/is within all the organs and surfaces of the body and helps things keep their shape and helps muscles slide and glide. When it gets stuck or twisted it's like when your tights get twisted round your leg as you walk? And has been likened to wearing clothes two sizes too small. Because it goes all over and around the body getting stuck/tight/twisted in one area can pull in other areas giving referred pain.

Daisy xx

That's really interesting Daisy. Is there anything other than massage that can help? My chiro is always giving me exercises and tips to keep mobile.

[Deleted User]

daisy, thank you very much for your information about treating chronic pain by non-medication means:T. I was really interested in what you said. I didn't get to make an appointment to see my GP about a prescription in the end as they were rushed off their feet dealing with an increased workload and an appointment was hard to get. Then, the pain subsided and has stayed away for several weeks now. It does that though and I kid myself that I'm cured for good. Until the next bout:(. When I see my GP in a fortnight for a check up after my next B12 shot I'll mention the neuralgia and see what she has to advise.


By the way, I admire your stamina reading the whole of this diary:T. You're either a glutton for punishment or should get out more:rotfl:. The lovely posters on it including yourself, have such encouraging and useful things to say:beer: whereas my long ramblings are just that, ramblings:o


The situation with the subsidence has been ongoing for months. OH had various builders to advise and there was no consensus as to whether it really was subsidence or just severe cracks as might be expected in an old house. We had some remedial work done in the early 1990s which was subsidence and since then insurance has been a big problem. We wanted to change insurers as the company we were with who paid out on our initial claim put our premiums up alarmingly:eek:. Unfortunately when we contacted others for quotes they asked about subsidence. We had to be truthful and sadly they refused to insure us. So we had to stay with our original company:mad:


OH put out feelers in regard to making a second claim for subsidence and we were told that we couldn't claim twice for the same problem as we were given a certificate at the time that the problem had been remedied.. That's why it's been such an ongoing saga as the latest cracks are in different walls and areas of the property to the ones that were treated the first time:eek:. We didn't think that constituted claiming for the same thing a second time. The insurers were very unwilling to send out an investigator and it was only after we discovered the massive crack in the floor, something we never had at the time of the original claim, that they decided to investigate. I'd emailed them plenty of photos so they knew it wasn't just a borderline case. They certainly moved fast after that and arranged the visit from the structural engineer who is reporting back to them He told us once his company gets the go-ahead from the insurers they'll be sending a team to do some more detailed structural assessments.


The thing that's worrying us is the time-scale of it all. Normally in cases of subsidence they need to monitor movement over time. Last time we had the problem they put studs in the walls at either side of the main cracks and measured the distance between at 3-monthly intervals for a whole year to see if they were opening up any further. If they plan to do that this time we're likely to be in a state of limbo until next spring:(. I'm getting so fed up of the electrical issues but there's no point having a re-wire done if all the internal plaster needs to be chopped back and brickwork 'made good'. I can usually manage to take most things in my stride but the electrical situation is really getting to me. Everything is such an effort:(. I've always enjoyed cooking but am ashamed of myself for dreading dinnertimes coming round nowadays:o


I seem to have been moaning on for ages tonight so will end on a brighter note:). I got a bit sidetracked by furniture-shifting last weekend:rotfl: and never reported my profits from the Table Top Sale that I did last Saturday morning. I made £167.20 and am over the moon as that was the most I've ever made at an indoor sale in a village hall:j. I sold quite a lot of craft materials and fabrics, part of Mum's stash which I'd kept intending to use myself. I'm realistic enough now to know I never will and decided to clear the lot out and make a bit of money in the process. Then, there were some of my books, costume jewellery (nice but definitely not valuable), CDs, a few clothes and some knick-knacks. I even sold my clothes rail at the end. I still have another one (2 for £15 from Argos a few years ago) and was relieved not to have to dismantle the one I sold to get it in the car to take home:j.


I've added the proceeds to my Treats Fund which is looking quite healthy now. I doubt I'll be buying my new recliner chair anytime soon though as with all the upheaval that's bound to be going on once the builders start I'd be worried sick about it being damaged. Likewise with the reading lamp I want to buy. Luckily the longer hours of daylight will have to provide a free alternative for the time being:rotfl:

beanielou

That was an amazing amont to make at the sale :j :j :j

HairyHandofDartmoor

You are most certainly not moaning Carboot, just telling it like it is and you could do with some support and sympathy, which we are all happy to give . You're coping amazingly well with a very difficult situation. Many people would be having a nervous breakdown and you're still being calm, cheerful and supportive to other people :T.

It does sound as if the insurance will pay out so fingers crossed. I wouldn't have thought they would want to wait for too long before doing remedial works as they don't want things to get worse. Although I have no knowledge of subsidence so I may be talking utter nonsense . I certainly hope that they will sort it out for you soon as I don't blame you for being fed up about the electrical problems :eek:. At this rate you'll need to be cooking on a fire pit in the garden or on a barbeue :eek:.

I think you're amazingly resourceful to have cooked lovely meals in such difficult circumstances :T.

I hope you dont' have to wait too long for your comfortable chair and reading lamp. Very well done on making so much money at the sale and fo clearing some clutter :T.

elizabethhull

Your treat fund is looking delightfully healthy. Although I'm all for your new chair and lamp, I agree the timing is not right. So much to get sorted before you can progress in so many ways - how frustrating for you.

How you manage to produce meals in your circumstances astonishes me - I don't think your OH has a clue how much effort it takes, and how lucky he is that you don't demand lots of meals out.

Isn't it wonderful when unnecessary stuff goes !!