Frump to Fab 2021

maman

That was good of you to help your brother out like that when you aren't too strong yourself sugarbaby. I'm not surprised he turned to you though. Even online your efficiency shows through and you have a good record of dealing with the council etc.  

Well done for resisting buying at the chazza Wednesday. My usual one still seems to be closed. It's CRUK and it has a back entrance with a car park so much easier to drop things off. I have some big sacks ready to take but I think I might separate stuff out and try walking to some of the other shops. 

My diary looks a bit fuller too for next week. We're out to lunch twice and  on Tuesday evening we're actually going to a live football match! It's a much reduced crowd but we were lucky enough to be offered tickets. 

Not much on today other than usual food shop but, at least it gets me out and I make an effort with my make up. Yesterday I took the tops back to M&S (just the ones that were too big as I bought 2 sizes). Apparently they are starting to reopen changing rooms from Monday. Not sure if that's standard or just their choice. 🤔

thepurplepixie

British Gas can be difficult to deal with Sugarbaby, I'm changing to a new supplier and British Gas are being a nightmare.  They gave me a final bill, then told the new supplier a completely different closing reading and issued me with a new bill, online my balance has changed 4 times this week and I don't mean by a penny or two but by thousands, I'm waiting to see if they actually send me a cheque for the £5,000 that they don't owe me.  I've tried to explain to them but got alot of sarcasm in return so if they do send the cheque I think I'll just put it in a savings account and wait for them to ask for it back.  I wonder if they will be sarcastic then?
I went into a couple of local towns this week, nothing very exciting just paint and stuff for my decorating, and I noticed lots of charity shops have closed permanently, in fact lots of shops gone but I was surprised how many charity shops have gone and the ones left have all got signs up appealing for volunteers.
I'm currently negotiating with youngest GS trying to get all his school work done.  I'm not sure it is vital as they have had to leave their old school due to the house move and I don't think they start the new one until after half term but I am trying to get it done, I had forgotten what skilled negotiators 6 year olds are.  I think if he'd done Brexit we'd have got a great deal, he can talk the hind legs of a donkey and is utterly relentless.
I was so pleased with my decorating that I decided to do the hall and of course I now need to do the stairs and landing.  The hall and landing are fine but the stairs are a bit daunting.  The main problem is old paper that has got a bit loose in some places on the seams which is a devil to do but I have managed it.  Next week it is emulsioning the stairs and landing and then onto the gloss.  The hall looks great now the emulsion is on, I've done it in brilliant white which has made the doors and skirting board look tatty but when I get them done I think I'll be very pleased.  I've got 5 doors to gloss in the hall and another 6 on the landing and I hate doing doors but I will take it slowly and it might take a while but I will get there.  Very money saving as the quote I got was £1,200 to £1,500 and all I have spent so far is £40 on tuff emulsion in Wilkos, I wasn't sure about it as I usually use Dulux but it was less than half the price of Dulux so I decided to go for it and I'm impresssed.  My hall is a bit dark so the brilliant white has given it a real lift.  I won't do anymore till next week, Sunday afternoon is for a rest when GC are gone then I'll be busy all week.
Thinking about it with my savings on decorating and British Gas wanting to donate thousands to me I'm doing OK on the money saving stakes.
Hope everyone is well and safe, don't know if any of you are in areas struggling with the Indian variant but good wishes to anyone who is.
Maman do you remember the days when M&S didn't have changing rooms?  I remember being surprised when they finally gave in to pressure and installed them.

maman

How generous of British Gas to donate to your savings pixie. 🤣

You're going great guns with the decorating. Do you use a long roller for the hall and stairs? Ours is much too high so it's the one area that we always get someone in for. Fortunately we had our original (100 year old) doors stripped when we moved in so we don't have to paint 8 of them, just an occasional coat of varnish. The only painted ones are the front door and a plain door which was added by the previous owner when they converted the pantry to a cloakroom. My neighbour is having some work done on her house and has promised me an original door to replace it. They are much sought after and we were shocked when the developer replaced all the doors next door. No idea what he did with them. I just hope they went to a good home. 

thepurplepixie

Yes £5k would be a nice contribution.
I have got a very long roller, it is a telescopic handle so about twice as long as a broom handle when it is fully extended.  The real trick was sticking down the paper, small brush on a long piece of wood and a knife on another one so I could lift the paper and then brush some paste on followed up with a dry roller to press it all down, fortunately none of the dodgy bits were right at the top.  This truly is a crazy house.  I would use a ladder but DH is too nervous, probably because I ended up in hospital with a broken shoulder during a previous decorating episode, I wasn't even up a ladder that time just rushing to clear up and did a perfect dive from the top of the stairs and didn't touch a step on the way down.  I think it was probably Olympic gold medal standard if only I'd remembered you are supposed to do it over water.  I'll never learn.

Nice of  your neighbour to donate a door, having them all matching will be nice.

sugarbaby125

Pixie, yes, in my own personal experience British Gas are a nightmare, so 16 years ago when they had let me down yet again, I switched supplier. I hope you do get paid the £5,000. It will either end up belonging to you free and clear or you will be able to earn some interest on it and repay it if they finally realise their error. 

thepurplepixie

It will be interesting to see if they do send me the money, I did my best to explain to them that they had mixed it up and in a week I went from owing them nearly £1k to being owed £1.2k then £2.5k then back to owing them £1k and now being owed almost £5k.  Total madness, I've done the calculations and in fact they owe me less than £50.  I just couldn't get past how unpleasant they were about it and how sarcastic they were so if they do send me the cheque my conscience is clear, I've done my best and if they realise I was right and apologise I will repay the money.  

maman

I don't blame you pixie. You're just playing them at their  own game. I'm sure you can be unhelpful and sarcastic too if you must! 🤣
I'm starting to feel much brighter. I don't know if it's the thought of some restrictions being lifted from Monday but whatever it is I'm enjoying it. It's been a real roller coaster of emotions in the past few months. The third lockdown has definitely been the worst, possibly because of the time of year.  

No plans to do much this weekend but feeling contented. 😊

chanie

I’ve had that most painful ear infection for a few days and I’m struggling to function because of it.  The Dr said they they could bring me in to the surgery to look at it, or just prescribe me something which should hopefully clear up the infection.  I chose the latter, but I don’t think it’s working.  Normal paracetamol isn’t helping, so OH got me something stronger, so I’m on a strict routine of clock watching until I can take some pain relief.  Yesterday was awful as I had a work meeting halfway across London, which I could have done without, but I dragged myself there, only to be requested to reschedule.  Purple we work in the same profession, so you can imagine the type of meeting it was and why I had a request to reschedule. I could have cried, as my pain relief wasn’t working and I was so far from home.  Typical.   

maman

Sorry to hear you're under the weather chanie. Sounds like you need an antibiotic for the infection. Well done you for soldiering on but do you have a walk in clinic you could go to? If even pain killers aren't working you need something else. 🤔

sugarbaby125

Chanie, sorry to hear that you have such acute earache. If you cannot cope over the weekend before speaking to a GP on Monday, then I suggest you consult a local pharmacist. They should be able to sell you something over the counter that would help to relieve your pain and begin to heal the infection.