Prosperous soul embraces creativity & mortgage neutrality

jwil

savingholmes said:

I just want to get to the point where every time I look around my home or garden there isn't a huge list of tasks (weeds etc) staring at me. I always assumed it was too expensive to get help - and my priority since the end of 2016 has been debt clearance...  I've spent too much of my life waiting for family to help and when that wasn't forthcoming - struggling alone. Our relationship would have been a lot better if we'd paid for more help along the way.

I can totally relate to this!

savingholmes

Thanks jwil

I went YS hunting. I used £6 of vouchers and 17p cash in MnS - and got reduced price cod and chips ready meal, spag bol ready meal and some sausages. Bought full price milk for £1.45 for 4 pints. Currently cooking the sausages and turkey (below) with carrots, onions and sliced potatoes.

Then went to Mr A to pick up some prescriptions. Spent £15.23 - but signed up for reward app and have £1.50 in the pot from one visit. Apparently that was for buying 10 lots of fruit and veg in one visit.
 £1.43 YS turkey - 4 pieces.
 £2.30 instead of £2.60 Chicken leg piece
£1.35Peppers 6 in pack 
65p Brown onions about 6
35p x 2 Pre chopped onion 
45p coleslaw 
£1 Tomatoes
£1 Lettuce
£1.29 Clementines
49p Spring onions
79p Mushroom 4 pack
£1 Bananas
£1.76 Spread
46p kg Carrots 

I also made an apple and plum crumble with an oaty topping. Hope it comes out alright. It's years since I made one.

SandyShores

Hi savingholmes.  I'm not sure if this will help, but when our last fridge freezer started playing up I defrosted it a bit and it worked for a while then stopped again.  So I emptied it, unplugged it and let it sit open overnight.  In the morning the kitchen floor was flooded - reckon it had just so much ice in the workings (luckily we had a tiled floor so cleaned up easily).  The FF worked perfectly after that.  Sandy x

skint_spice

I love the arbour, hope you have many happy hours spent sitting there.

MovingForwards

Shopping is good, you've got some nice things, and I hope your crumble worked out.

savingholmes

Thanks Sandy - it seems much better today. Let's hope yesterday's visit did the trick. If it did at £59 for him to use a steamer to defrost it all - money well spent. In the past I'd have assumed it was uneconomic to repair and just replaced so that's progress at least.

Thanks Skint. I do love it. It gives form to a part of the garden that lacked it and encourages me to get the rest of the garden sorted. Really hope the handyman comes back (the lower priced one) as he was less than half the price of the first guy.

Thanks MF. I sneaked back out and bought the 'Car Door' ice cream... £2.50 to have with my crumble and custard. It was nice. Loads left. I cooked enough for about 8 portions... Not sure why... Freudian? Family size portions??? What was funny is it was instant custard and I accidentally used cold water and then had to repeatedly heat it up in the microwave and use a sieve for the lumps!!!

I made a really tasty casserole with the YS sausages and turkey slices, threw in the ready chopped onions and some carrots and a few stock cubes and thinly sliced some potatoes and whacked it in the over for an hour. Very nice. Meat wise up to 3 portions left. It will need more potato and veg though but that's easy enough. I've set aside a portion to take to work tomorrow and added some peas. I froze the ready meals I bought.

I picked some plums and apples and have told my cleaner to take what she wants. Also dug her out a box of dog stuff. It's finally sinking in my dog isn't returning... I could have had her back - Ex did give me the option - but I wasn't sure I'd cope with how much attention and care she needed. I still miss her and dream about her though. She's gone to a different person than Ex originally said - and now lives at the opposite end of the country. Ex showed DD some photos of her last weekend though and she seems to be having a ball with her new family. I just hope she's happy. You couldn't have wished for a more loving dog.

Moving on. Found another 11 mini rollers. Perhaps the fact it said for contractors on the pack should have given me a clue I was over-buying but apparently not... I've put that in the diy drawer under the stairs now. We also amusingly found 3 feather dusters. One still in its packaging... Not something that has ever been used much in this house... 

savingholmes

I've been watching some of the Eat. P  film again - to try and help me process. The kids have both told me Ex is struggling with moving into his own place alone etc... I imagine for him it's another death knell or nail in the coffin of our marriage / divorce. Weirdly, I'm having the dawning realisation I've spent the last year - even the time since the divorce - living as if we were just separated... or on some kind of extended pause. When I think back to the events leading up to the divorce and decades long behaviours prior to that - I'm only just processing all of that...  The only way is through... I hate it when members of MY extended family treat him as if he's a victim... 

I think there was so much to do sorting stuff out and trying to get on an even keep financially and with DD in particular - that I've only just had the bandwidth to think more widely and process what's happened. I blew up a 30 year marriage - which I don't regret - but it's like that's only just sinking in. I still don't know if I will ever want a new partner - or trust a new partner. I resent that society expects us all to be coupled up. I want to continue to take the time to explore what I want...

My cat has been very affectionate today which has been nice.

savingholmes

I was really lucky last night. I left my patio door open all night but my belongings are all still here. I live in a really good area!

Just had a bar stool picked up that I got for free a year ago - Got £6 for it. It all helps.

I have to go into work today. It will probably do me good but will miss my chat with my cleaner which is a shame. I'm working tomorrow but should be from home. I have my counsellor in the evening. The Friday I have to be up super early to help a sis move! The one who lives closest. Don't know if Ex will also turn up but if he does so be it. They helped Ex move last week.

My weight is headed back in the right direction despite the late tea and last night's plum crumble. Will take a bit of both with me to work today. Need to finish getting ready and go. I find that part so hard!! 

My cleaner has just turned up so will see her briefly after all which is nice.

badmemory

My cynical opinion looking back, is that men tend to deal better with having a wife & a spare & women deal better with just being the spare.  I don't know if it still true but single women used to live the longest & single men the shortest.

savingholmes

The statistic is true.

I've asked my cleaner to take the spare crumble and some stationery. Baby steps.

One of my work meetings cancelled and I split another which made life easier today.

My casserole is fab. I bought some Clementines yesterday and had 3 already. Don't know if Iisted them but they were perfect.

My casserole is tasty too.

Will return to a nice clean house. Always nice.