Life is a minestrone as the song says - my new diary

teapot2

Mortgagefreegonnabe said:

Hello, 
I'm new here (well new to commenting but I've been reading you all for yonks) and I hope you don't mind me commenting.
Re closing the credit card: I logged on to my credit score the other day which is fine but it told me different ways I could improve it and one of them was having £10k of available credit on a card. 
I've spent a long time paying CC off and closed as and when I paid balance off so I only have an empty one with £3k credit. I personally don't want that much available to me but I am under the impression that having available credit is a good thing in the eyes of the lenders so if you trust yourself and need to improve your score it may be a good thing to keep it open?
Well done btw! X

Hi MFG - welcome and glad to have you posting   That's interesting about credit scores and available credit.  Funnily enough, I've had a CC for 20+ years that has a £10000 credit limit on it!!! They just kept increasing the limit on it without me asking - that was in the days when companies seemed to throw credit at us.  I don't use it much and normally pay it off in full or occasionally over a couple of months.  I've kept it in case of emergencies really.
My other cards are all 0% with various lengths of time left before they revert to charging interest so am trying to pay them off asap.  I think I will close the H@lifax one when its paid off as I'll still have a good amount of credit available and though I have 4 other CCs, none are maxed out.  
Good luck with your mortgage free journey x 

teapot2

Quiet and chilled out weekend.  I did quite a bit of cooking yesterday - tapas type food from the HFW veg book, that will do for a few meals.  I also made some pesto with basil and parsley stalks and have frozen some of it.  I've also planted some more seeds flowers and veg.  Still a bit cold here at night to plant anything tender.
Quite a bit of rain overnight which is good, hopefully the ground will be easier to dig and I can get some big lupin plants in.  I ordered some plants, seeds and bird food from a local garden centre but I miss being able to go and look at plants before I buy, still that's a small issue in the scheme of things.
I have an @sda online shop coming tomorrow evening so had a check in the fridge and cupboards and revamped the order to fit with what Ive got left.  Had a Skype with a friend and messaged a few others.  Was sent a video of the Tiniest Human blowing me kisses and saying hello on their toy phone - nearly finished me off!! 
No financial news really, almost at £25 on Prolific so will hopefully make that in the week and cashout.

teapot2

Oh yes and I haven't had any biscuits or cake for just over 2 weeks now and removed the shortbread from my online shopping order today.  I haven't missed the sugar as much as I thought I would which has been a surprise though I can't say I feel better for it but will persevere.  

teapot2

I lost a big post this affy so just coming back now to try again.  Not sure why but sometimes when I'm writing or looking at a page on this new laptop I must 'catch' it with the cursor and it disappears via the right hand side of the screen never to be seen again  - very frustrating.
I got up earlier than my lockdown usual as it was so warm.  I made brownies before breakfast as family were coming round to collect a meal I made yesterday.  Mum is having a hard time with the oldest tiny human so a night off cooking will be a wee help.  I had a small square of brownie and will give the rest to my sis when she drops off some shopping tomorrow.  Really not bothered about having more cake which is new for me.
I've managed a few more Prolific surveys and will be up to £37 when they are all paid.  I think I'll put quite a bit of it to the local FB as I haven't been shopping in person so haven't been able to donate since lockdown started.  I also had a Ugov one but its very slow - am only up to 1000 points since cashing out in Dec last year.  I also got an email to say the £65 @m@zon voucher for changing broadband earlier this year was available which will come in handy.
Between work meetings I did some sorting out in the garden and planted some seeds indoors including contingency courgette seeds in case the outdoor ones don't germinate.  I've also sorted out more seeds to plant tomorrow as its quite a quiet day work wise.  

teapot2

Managed quite a bit in the garden yesterday - mostly weeding/clearing and preparing the ground for planting.  I used the compost from the bin and will hopefully have more in a month or so.  I have some perennial wallflower which have spread everywhere so pulled up lots of those but there are more tiny seedling coming from what I can see.  Also took out some small Alchemilla Mollis which also take over if given the chance.  Had ordered some plants from a local garden centre and they were delivered yesterday.  Some lavender, a rosemary plant and 2 lots of bedding plants.  I also got a couple of metal supports for the taller plants that flop over, think they are Echinacea but can't remember.  Been wet and windy overnight but sunny and breezy this morning, the ground has had a few decent soakings so am hoping it will be easier to put plants in over the weekend.
One of my bigger invoices has been paid so have transferred some of that to pay off my H@lifax CC in full so once I get confirmation the balance is zero I'll close that one down.
Cashed out £33+ on Prolific and have sent most of it to the FB, got a nice email back saying they were more in demand than ever and basically expecting the situation to get worse
Have a busy day at work so best get on, not working on Monday but that's not by design - didn't even realise it is a BH as its all groundhog day at the mo!

beanielou

Great news on the card. 

Enjoy your weekend 😊🌈

teapot2

beanielou said:

Great news on the card. 

Enjoy your weekend 😊🌈

Thanks Beanie, hope your weekend goes well x

teapot2

Phew, been really windy and cold over the weekend.  I had to put some of the plants that were delivered recently in the shed as they were being blown everywhere.  Everything that wasn't wedged in or weighted down was flying about, the compost bin lid blew away but I did find it again so its back in situ with some big stones on top.  I'd moved the bricks off the top of the wheely bins but replaced them to stop the lids banging noisily.  Spent yesterday evening under a blanket as it was so chilly but definitely warmer this evening and the wind is dying down.  I watered everything earlier as the wind made it so dry so a good soaking provided.
I did a work related training event today which I enjoyed and found interesting - lots of food for thought.  Tea was cooked yesterday, a HFW North African squash and chickpea stew. A one pot meal as it also had Orzo rice cooked in it.  I've put some of it in the freezer for another day [or two] as it made lots, I started off cooking with my usual pan but had to get the jam making big pot out to fit everything in  
I've got an accidental day off tomorrow as didn't realise it was another holiday, am hoping to get the grass cut and other bits done in the garden.

beanielou

Glad that you had a good day. 

teapot2

Didn't quite manage a whole day off as woke up to several emails that needed answering today but after that was free,  Did a washing and hung it outside.  Then cut the grass which took quite a while, I haven't quite finished all the edges but will do that by hand with the edgers.  I find the strimmer difficult to use possibly because I'm left handed so gave up after doing about half of the edges.  I gave the garden a good soak and also planted more salad seeds.  Picked some radish to have with my tea which was home made coleslaw and roasted veg on a baked potato.  Nothing much going on money wise, up to £17 on Prolific so will hopefully get to £20 this week.  My H@lifax CC statement says balance NIL in big letters which makes me smile.  Better go and wash up before bed - busy work day tomorrow.