Simple living in the country - back to basics

LadyWithAPlan

Cheery_Daff said:

😂😂 I can't eat with loud music on 😂 well, I can, but I find it difficult. I remember a housemate once cooked us dinner then put some kind of rave music on as we sat down - most off-putting! 😱😂

Energy monitor ordered, I struggled to find the one mentioned in the other thread for less than £25 - it was out of stock in most places, and others couldn't deliver for a month. Clearly everyone has the same idea... I've gone with one that just gives you the figures on a display on the screen itself, rather than a smart plug which needs an app. Should be here by the end of the week. 

I don't think we've got anything particularly power hungry here. Fridge was new last year, and oven (although it's a fan oven and induction hob, so interesting to see). Freezer is ancient, but it's only a small under counter one. Washing machine not even plugged in yet, 9 years old so likely not great but it does have an eco setting and at any rate is probably better than the old 20 year old one!

Will be interested to see electric heaters, dehumidifier, laptop/screen set up for work etc.

Right, work. Mr Cheery's friend is arriving after midnight tonight (!) So I won't be part of the welcoming committee 😂 Does mean I've got the evening to do stuff though:

* Happy wheel
* pay garage bill
* get mouse trap in loft if Mr Cheery hasn't done it this afternoon
* maybe an hour of scything, although it's quite windy which usually makes it harder than it needs to be
* get the epilator out for a bit 🙄 
* maybe get the brim on Mr Cheery's new hat

Some combination of some of those things at least!

What was the suggested energy monitor thingy? Thinking I may get one for my parents as they wont have a smart meter but at least if they knew how much the oven cost etc it would be good knowledge.

Cheery_Daff

I've gone with one of these

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/334533723165?hash=item4de3c3841d:g:F6MAAOSwBrJiwqV7

On the thread they were talking about the Tapo P110 but they'd paid about £10 and I couldn't find it in stock for less than £25. Also, that's actually a smart plug, so you read energy info via an app - the one I've ordered has a screen on the plug itself. I figured it might be easier to lend to other people to check their stuff too.

Cheery_Daff

Payslip is in - this month is £242 more than last month. That includes some back pay for August though (before tax/pension) so not entirely sure how much exactly new pay will be in the future. 

Still, in the meantime, that £242 will be going to top up one of the savings pots. 

Nowt else to report this morning I don't think, except yet another loss on the Happy Wheel. Very much up overall so this is just a fluctuation, but I confess it's very annoying! 

Possibly more annoying as I am sitting waiting for a docs appointment that I'm slightly anxious about and that is currently running 15 mins late 🙄

Anyway, hopefully it will all be over soon!

Cheery_Daff

30 mins late but all over and done with now, thankfully 🙄 Residual discomfort but should pass soon enough.

Anyway, new palaver - I sent some cheese to my brother in law last week... Paid £7.99 for delivery, directly from the suppliers. Apparently it was labelled NO SIGNATURE REQUIRED and REFRIDGERATE IMMEDIATELY but did DHL leave it in the porch?? No, they took it back to the depot, where it sat for a week, until BIL went to collect it today (in fairness he didn't know what it was... and I didn't know it hadn't been delivered so didn't warn him). 

I only knew because my phone flashed up with his number which gave me a moment of panic - had something happened to my sister? To add to the confusion, it wasn't BIL on the phone, but someone else asking for a delivery code - so I immediately assumed a scam. Even more confusingly, they  sounded suspiciously like his eldest son (my nephew) - was he playing some kind of elaborate practical joke?! 😂😂

Anyway, it all got sorted eventually after I'd asked to speak to my BIL (he'd passed his phone over so the depot guy could write my number down, but he rang me instead, cheeky swine 😂), they then rang several supervisors and some other hotline, and he has actually now got his cheese - although goodness knows what state it's in.

Good job this wasn't in the heatwave 😂😂😂

badmemory

Luckily some cheese actually improves from not being refridged for a while.  Hope this is one.  When I buy Brie/Camembert I always leave it out of the fridge for a few days otherwise it is tasteless.

Cheery_Daff

I'm sure it'll be absolutely fine - it's the same place i bought the out of date stuff from a couple of weeks ago and that's perfectly ok (although I suspect would have been in the fridge 😂)

Cheery_Daff

Evening chums 😊😊

Funny old day today. Been in quite a lot of discomfort this afternoon after the docs (TMI - I had a coil replaced 🙄 😂My 6th over the years so not a new experience, and the doc was lovely and very speedy, but, er, my womb is now somewhat objecting to the interference 🙄😂😂)

Mr Cheery has a friend staying, and while I'm normally not shy about announcing such things, he's not the type that would appreciate it, and I'm not really in the mood for putting a face on, so I've had had a nice bath which has helped, and am hiding myself away and not far out of bed...

Still, I am of course thankful that such things are available, and free 😊 Had a hormonal one this time so hoping that this will eventually get rid of the monthly pain issues which have been getting worse and more unpredictable this last year 🙄 The only other hormonal one I've had (over 10 years ago) fell out, so I'm hoping this one fares better... 😂

Anyway, enough of that, I'm distracting myself by thinking in a not-very-productive way about energy saving and money 😂

Had the greenhouse thermometer in my study all day today - not intentionally (I rescued it from the chicken run), but it's been interesting to see it register a consistent 15-16 degrees all day. I've been cold enough for my fleecy waistcoat thing (not counting the hot water bottle - I generally have that all year round anyway!) Will be interesting to see how that improves with the rugs and blinds, neither of which are getting done for the next couple of weeks. 

Going to post this before I lose it...

Cheery_Daff

Pondering electricity use too. I've been reading the meter first thing every morning,  it's fluctuating between about 4.3 and 6.7kwh a day, but I can't see why, as the high days don't seem to necessarily correspind to what I'd expect. Yes, it was higher one day when I had the oven on for about an hour and a half, but the day before yesterday was 6.7 too and I have no idea why - no washing machine, only used the cooker for 5 mins (hay box!), no dehumidifier, no shower (it's not electric anyway) etc. We were both in all day i suppose, with separate computers in separate rooms, but that's fairly standard and neither of us was doing anything strange.

Still, that's not outlandish usage anyway (especially as it includes a good run of electric fencing) but I'll keep tracking. Hoping my monitor thing will be here tomorrow.

I'm the meantime need to read up on watts and kwh and the like to make sure I know what I'm looking at 😂

badmemory

My major users are freezer & fridge.  Your new gadget should help to see if that is your case.  As for your coil - don't get me started - a friend had one work its way out - through her insides.  So definitely not a fan.

Cheery_Daff

Fridge is new, freezer very old, so interesting to see the difference.

Eek to your friend! 😮 I can see how that would put you off! I've come to the conclusion over the years that for me, they're better than the alternatives, and mostly I've been happy with them. The first was fine, in for 5 years or so, second fell out within a couple of days, to be replaced immediately by the third, which stayed in for 5 years. Fourth hurt - I remain convinced it wasn't put in right, despite the protestations of the doc at the time 🙄 Had it removed after 3 weeks of constant pain 🙄 couple of years break after that, then number 5, which stayed in for five years, and has just been replaced by number 6. 

Time will tell of course, but for me, the benefits outweigh anything else. I'm quite sure i wouldn't be saying that if I'd had one work its way out through my insides though! 😱