Little by little, and with love

RosaBernicia

Alchemilla said:

RosaBernicia said:

Alchemilla said:

Was the robot mop not good?

I couldn't get it to work Alchemilla - it only spoke Russian to me and refused to connect to the app. 

Sounds like my Ukrainian family !!

mine was much less hassle to get out of the house though!

EssexHebridean

Sounds like everything is ticking along nicely with you Rosa - good work on the puppy housetraining too! 

RosaBernicia

Thanks EH

Glad to see you had a good time away - I think I need to plan a trip west myself. 

RosaBernicia

So belated catch up while I dash by...

Budget is way over this month, mostly thanks to my gadget binge.  The Ninja and portable speaker are definite wins, the extra robot hoover is an ok - still need to try out its mop function - and I'm a bit disappointed in the heated airer for the price (it is well designed but I'm not convinced it's so very much better than cheaper versions).

Vehicles... Van has passed its MOT, yay!  So back to thinking about what to do with it.  I may put a post up on one of the FB sales groups and see what interest I get.  Also need to see if I can visit either a dealer or some private sales to see which of the other options I'm considering for a day van might work. 

Garden...Had an absolutely hideous quote from a gardener yesterday so will be going back to the other one and need to think about what I can do myself. 

House... Still very glad I got the new mortgage sorted early - need to chase up the exact date the early repayment charge ends but the phone service currently says minimum of 90 minutes hold, arrgh.  And I've clearly made my cryptic reminders of the online banking info so cryptic even I don't understand it, so have had to request a new code via post.  It feels so ancient having to wait on a hard copy! 

Food... I am beginning to think I need to go back to a weekly in store food shop to try and keep track.  It's so frustrating when something doesn't turn up as planned in a delivery and much harder to work around it when it then means making a trip after all anyway. 

Energy... The heating is on now for a half hour in the evening, as that's the critical point for me feeling the chill and helps with drying clothes if needed.  Mornings are still ok at present and I have an oil filled radiator that warms up my small (and cluttered) office well enough during the day.  I'm also getting more organised about sorting washing to run in the morning and that way if the weather is ok it gets at least some time on the line and if not then nothing lost. 

Pets... I need to stay out of the local pet shop and go back to using cheaper options for the dogs' treats.  Much as I want to support a local business, it works out to a lot per week.  I'm slightly surprised their food has stayed the same price so far, so am sort of expecting a price rise there at some point.  We have puppy classes to pay for and probably a couple of things for winter, but otherwise I am hoping costs will start to level out there. 

So I guess it's same old plodding here, just looking out for ways to do it better as always. 

EssexHebridean

It might be worth number crunching on whether it is really cheaper to use the oil filled rad than the central heating for warming your office - although once face of it they appear cheap to run, it’s still more costly to heat using electricity than gas so it is definitely worth running the numbers to check. A know a lot of folk on the energy board advocate running the CH but using the TRVs to limit where the heat is actually produced.

RosaBernicia

EssexHebridean said:

It might be worth number crunching on whether it is really cheaper to use the oil filled rad than the central heating for warming your office - although once face of it they appear cheap to run, it’s still more costly to heat using electricity than gas so it is definitely worth running the numbers to check. A know a lot of folk on the energy board advocate running the CH but using the TRVs to limit where the heat is actually produced.

Thanks EH.  I need to get someone to look at the radiators as I have one dripping downstairs and the one in the office doesn't heat up properly, which is why I put the electric one in there.  I had assumed it was cheaper than heating the whole house, but if it might not be then sorting the radiators needs to move up the priority list.  And I'm paying for home emergency insurance that might cover it - will check. 

Update: call now logged with home emergency insurance, so hopefully that can be sorted before the weather turns. 

kerri_gt

EssexHebridean said:

It might be worth number crunching on whether it is really cheaper to use the oil filled rad than the central heating for warming your office - although once face of it they appear cheap to run, it’s still more costly to heat using electricity than gas so it i s definitely worth running the numbers to check. A know a lot of folk on the energy board advocate running the CH but using the TRVs to limit where the heat is actually produced.

We have TRVs in the bedrooms and lounge rad. Annoyingly not on the biggest one in the dining area but i use that for drying washing in front of so not a big issue really.

Long may this mild weather continue though. 

RosaBernicia

Radiators already sorted!  Logged the call late last night, the insurance company rang this morning, engineer has just left.  And did actually call in advance so I haven't been stuck wondering when he was going to turn up.  I am impressed. 

The leaking radiator just needed tightening up and the cold one needed air letting out - so a lot simpler than I had worried and I will check them myself next year.  The office should now be in line with the rest of the house for heating so maybe I won't need the electric radiator this winter after all. 

And it's sunny here so the washing is on the line    .  New habit is to load washing last thing at night while running the dishwasher and doing all the other prep, then I can just press go in the morning. 

RosaBernicia

Today, and yesterday, I am grateful for... having sorted the mortgage application months ago!  Thank you MSE.  I got a text confirming the process so am really hoping my agreed rate will go through. 

RosaBernicia

So I think I'm overdue a bit of a catch up and possibly also a bit of a kick in the pants...

Mortgage is confirmed agreed and should be going ahead, thank goodness.  I rang them this week as wanted to be sure it was happening and it should go through the day after the early repayment charge ends.  Still to do: need to sort house insurance as that's also due.  I have some quotes turning up by email but am not sure the cheapest sounding will be the cover I want, and also need to check with the L&C advisor. 

Still haven't done much about selling the van - finding myself surprisingly reluctant after all.  I might try getting the dogs to go in and taking it somewhere this weekend to see how I feel.  I use the car so little these days, and so rarely drive into a city, that it might be equally practical to ditch that instead. 

Heating is on and doing ok - currently about 2.5 hours in total, spaced through the day.  Radiators are cool in the bedrooms and now turned up in the office - I haven't needed to use the electric one that I had in the office, or turn on the heating any more, if I make use of the wool blanket already there. 

The new hoover is absolutely fantastic, if I'd known how much easier they are to use I'd have bought one years ago.  No idea how it compares to the major brands, but it seems to do everything I need well and was literally less than half the price.  (I bought a Eufy cordless stick with an extra battery via 4maz0n for £150).  So spendy this month but brilliant for motivation to get the place sorted. 

Dog spends are up this month - another puppy class and pup will also need a new harness.  And eventually a new bed, but I'm glad I kept the already chewed one as she is finishing the job on that instead of chewing up another - and can have her own when she's past the chewing mania!

Rearranged the office and it is a great improvement - it feels much bigger and more comfortable.  Decided I am clearly not going to get decorating done myself and need to call for quotes.  This is now priority over the garden, since I won't be getting much time out there til the spring. 

Food spend is up and I suspect for once this is prices and not just me failing to plan    .  I am avoiding takeaways though so my 'dining out' spend is down - not even having them as a treat as had a couple of bad experiences where they've turned up late, cold, and/ or unclear about allergens and it's just not worth the hassle as well as the extra cost.  I'm trying to keep a few nice things in the freezer instead. 

Hope everyone is doing ok out there - off to catch up on Martin's show as I missed it live. 

RB xx