Simple living in the country - back to basics

Mrs_Money_Penny

Cheery are you back yet or lost in the big smoke? Bet the chickens are missing you as well as us xx

Cheery_Daff

Mrs_Money_Penny said:

Cheery are you back yet or lost in the big smoke? Bet the chickens are missing you as well as us xx

I am indeed back! I'm sure the chickens would have missed me, had Mr Cheery not been here to distract them with treats 😂😂

I had an EXCELLENT time though! Lots of sitting in cafes, Reading my book, and pottering round the Wellcome Collection, and a nice quiet evening in the hotel - utter bliss 😁A cheery work meeting, lovely tea out with a pal, and more reading on the train home 😊😊😊😊 Felt nicely rested after all that! 

Yesterday I had a whole day in the office, and today was back in work again - a different site this morning, my first bus trip since covid, and a busy afternoon in the office.

Home now, and tired! 

Heating is on, but it's touch and go how long it will stay on, as the gague seems to be down to zero (although it's hard to tell as there are actually no numbers below 5 😂😂). 

We were on 7% on Friday morning, and when I rang, she said we had 18 days left at current consumption. Clearly rubbish - by Tuesday morning their own estimation was that we'd gone down to 3%, and the gague, as I said, looked to be at empty, so I updated the website to say 0%. Out all day and most of the evening yesterday, and again today, and no sign of the tanker (although the heating does still seem to be working so we're clearly not QUITE at zero...)

Anyway, I'll ring them in the morning if I don't hear anything - we'll both be in all day tomorrow and it would be nice not to be freezing...

Also been looking at energy costs - looks like ours will be increasing by roughly £30 a month, to a total of £1177 a year 😮. There is a LOT we can still do to improve energy efficiency round here, so we are going to have Energy April and start doing things like sorting out thermal blinds for the kitchen etc (there are no curtains/blinds at all anywhere other than bedroom and living room at the minute). 

Right now though, I think it's time to head to bed!

hb2

Cheery, I'm glad that you enjoyed your London adventure. Well done on getting back to the Parkrun; the good thing about a slow time is that it can be improved upon! I agree that it would be nice to not be freezing, I hope your fuel arrives tomorrow.

We have just increased our fuel payments by £50 per month, hope that keeps on top of things. I must admit that I haven't even looked at diesel prices yet, but I will have to do so soon as I'm getting down towards 1/4 tank . . .

Cheery_Daff

No fuel today, but I have had a text saying they will 'attempt delivery tomorrow'. We've kept the heating off all day (I've had to have 2 electric heaters so I could work, so that's not a sustainable option!) but it's on now, and is still working. This was the gague this morning - hard to tell the exact amount when there are no numbers under 5 but it looks pretty empty to me! 



So, now it's the weekend 😊😊 And I'm in need of it - trip to London, two full days in the office with accompanying travel, and a 12 hour day working at home today and I'm ready for a rest 🙄

Got some friends coming for a brief visit in the morning, probably only an hour or so - she has dementia and loves to hear Mr Cheery sing so that's mostly what will happen. Then I want to do some painting, tidying etc as my mum is coming on Saturday for the day, and then we're off to Mr Cheery's dad's again on Sunday. 

So yes. Oiling the skirting board (I keep putting that on lists and haven't yet crossed it off), rest of the painting upstairs (ditton)  more digging out of the beaky house, and a good stock up food shop with our vouchers.

Oh, and I should probably take the Christmas tree down at some point 😂😂😂

Suffolk_lass

You are not alone... our oil tank guage

Cheery_Daff

Delighted to report that the LPG was delivered this morning 😁 Good job as our friends have been and it was nice to make sure they were warm!😁

greenbee

Suffolk_lass said:

You are not alone... our oil tank guage

I was brave and looked at my watchman this morning. Thankfully it's half full as this month's oil coop order is 'estimated at 100-120ppl' depending on day of delivery. 

KajiKita

@Cheery_Daff delighted to hear you had a good time 'up town' 

Be careful of running fuel tanks right down - if you go too low you can end up draining the system right out and then after the next delivery the fuel won't flow due to an air lock, that then needs the (costly!) attention of a certified specialist. It happened to my husband's boss! 

KK

greenbee

KajiKita said:

@Cheery_Daff delighted to hear you had a good time 'up town' 

Be careful of running fuel tanks right down - if you go too low you can end up draining the system right out and then after the next delivery the fuel won't flow due to an air lock, that then needs the (costly!) attention of a certified specialist. It happened to my husband's boss! 

KK

Agree on this - it can also damage the boiler.

Cheery_Daff

Oh dear! I certainly didn't do it on purpose, but I will definitely be more on the ball with ordering early next time.

Just reading the LPG thread, looks like my 47ppl fix I was offered the other day might not have been a bad deal after all 🙄 I'd decided not to fix, but they've just been offered 55ppl as a fix 🙄 Might ring back and fix at whatever they're offering - that was only valid for 24 hours so it's probably doubled now or something 🙄

Been swimming this morning 😊 Actually went a little further and faster than I've been before so that was nice to feel an improvement. We had sunshine through the windows and rainbows in the pool again, and the monthly 5k was taking place in the park outside so it all felt nicely wholesome.

That's 3 trips to the gym this month - so £12 a time 🙄 Need another 4 trips in March to bring the cost per visit under the pay as you go cost! 

My mum is coming to visit this morning, although she set her alarm for the wrong day apparently so she's set off late 😂😂 I'm enjoying a nicely leisurely time doing some plotting and scheming over a cuppa at the kitchen table 😊