Simple living in the country - back to basics

KajiKita

Your new job?

KK

rtandon27

Surviving new windows being installed? Setting up the spare room? Scything more than you did last year? Testing window sill-to-be cleaners? Meal planning à la Joe Wicks?  Forward planning what if scenarios for moving/job/retiring? Organising Numerous work conferences? My sense of time is a bit off, but I think these were all last year?

🤣🤣🤣

edwink

And, the recent little passport holiday that you and Mr Cheery had. Could not have done it with keeping chickens. That was memorable and exciting for you both.

Edwinkx

Cheery_Daff

Ooh, thank you all! Yes to pretty much all of those things (and hopefully the potential new job will turn into an actual new job in the new year!) Lots of lovely things this year 😊 

It's funny how years seem to take on a bit of a shape. For us, the last few have looked something like this...

2015 - decided to move house, started sorting possessions into tiny plastic boxes and decorating
2016 - started new job, extensive DIY
2017 - finished house, sold in July, spent the rest of the year waiting for paperwork 🙄 Much family upheaval and schisms, and my nan died. Not a great year!
2018 - moved house, and secretly got married 😁 Got chickens
2019 - quite a boring year, lots of much needed resting 😂 Did have some building work done
2020 - er... 🙄 
2021 - Mr Cheery quite ill, major building work, got quite sick of the whole year 🙄 Dropped to 4 days a week.
2022 - work quite busy, big new project started, got promotion

And then 2023. Lots of things have happened, but I don't have much of a sense of the overall shape of the year yet - maybe that comes more with distance. End of our chicken adventures of course 😕 

And what will 2024 bring? A new job?! Will we ever get those bloody windowsills in? A new bathroom?! Or will we win the premium bonds and I'll give up work forever?? 😂

beanielou

I predict the job & the window stills!  

Hope it’s a good year. 

Cheery_Daff

beanielou said:

I predict the job & the window stills!  

Hope it’s a good year. 

Ooh, that would make for an excellent year Beanie! 😁 Hope you're in for a good one too xx

beanielou

Cheery_Daff said:

beanielou said:

I predict the job & the window stills!  

Hope it’s a good year. 

Ooh, that would make for an excellent year Beanie! 😁 Hope you're in for a good one too xx

Thanks so much xx

badmemory

Was it really that long ago you went down to 4 days?  It only seems a few months.

rtandon27

If we are voting - it's premium bonds without a doubt!

Cheery_Daff

badmemory said:

Was it really that long ago you went down to 4 days?  It only seems a few months.

I know!! But yes, it was ages ago. I was planning to wait until after I was promoted, but after I didn't get that in 2019, and then was advised I probably wouldn't get it in 2021 either, I got sick of waiting and dropped anyway, especially with Mr Cheery being ill - seemed more important to have 3 day weekends. It's been great 😁 Although with the benefit of hindsight, given how everything has gotten more expensive, there's part of me wishes I'd done it temporarily, so I could have gone back up to full time 🙄 BUT doing it permanently was a very conscious decision in my part - I KNEW it was the right thing to do, and I suspected that I may be talking into going back up if it was only temporary, so I took my option away by making it permanent from the start. 

The right decision, definitely. Going to have a good long ponder about the new job and what I'll do if offered it. It does specify full time - strongly suspect there's scope for official compressed hours, and there'll definitely be scope for flexible working, but would I want to ask to drop a day right from the start? Possibly not... 

Anyway, a decision for another day. Right now, an early night is in order!