Simple living in the country - back to basics

EssexHebridean

The best thing I can think is that we learn from our mistakes - AND when that happened before you dealt with it, quickly, competently and with a satisfactory outcome. Even if it DID happen again you'd know exactly what to do, so if anything you're actually better set up for the job now that you'd had that experience, as unpleasant as it was. Traumatic stuff like that though - it's bound to haunt you a bit so try not to be too hard on yourself either about the occurrence itself OR the fact that you're struggling to let it go. (And also - have a quick think - how many times have you given one of them a tablet successfully first time, -v- the once there was a problem?)  

I'm very glad to hear you have just the one meeting today - I hope that whatever else you have to plan in you manage to get at least some nice restful stuff planned for tomorrow and the rest of the weekend!

Cheery_Daff

Thank you ❤ you're right, of course. We've done it right first time at least 25-30 times, if not more, and that incident has just happened once, with many successful times after it. I do just need to let it go. I'm just making more of a problem for myself - the more I think about it the worse it gets! Trying to distract myself with work 🙄 but Mr Cheery's not up yet and I've got a meeting at 11 so I know the next round is coming in the next half an hour 🙄

Anyway. Enough going round in circles. I am grateful that we have been able to give her a life after the battery cages (3 years with us now! That's twice as long as she was in a cage, which makes me SO happy 😊😊). I'm grateful there are antibiotics, and that we have a knowledgeable vet to prescribe them, and that we are able to pay for them. 

Not grateful for avian flu, which is the worst outbreak the UK has ever seen this year, and which means they're going to be shut in well beyond 1st April ☹ But I'm grateful we have a suitable space for them to be safe, and I'm hoping they'll be let out eventually before they have to go in again next winter.

Not having any more after this lot 🙄

Karmacat

Oh Cheery, it sounds like its really putting you off.  One suggestion I have, that I found worked for me, is to take all the sensible self-talk you've already got, and say it out loud.  For some reason, it registers when I say stuff like that out loud, rather than saying it in my head.  YMMV, but I hope it helps.

Cheery_Daff

Yes, it does help to do that, thank you - I've mentioned it to a couple of people today and saying both my fears, and the good stuff, out loud does help.

Just did another dose, only 9 left to go now. I've started snapping the tablets in half - one vet does this, the other doesn't. Means I have to do it twice each time 🙄 but I'm far less worried about them getting stuck. They're enormous, dog tablets, the size of two 5p pieces stuck on top of each other 😮

Have to keep reminding myself that chickens can actually swallow a frog or a mouse whole though, so something the size of a 5p isn't generally an issue 😂

Karmacat

You've cracked it, well done you!

Cheery_Daff

Karmacat said:

You've cracked it, well done you!

😊😊 Not over it yet, but I do feel a bit better the more I talk about it, as daft as that sounds. Talking myself into reasonableness!

So, it's now the weekend, woo hoo!! 😊😊😊 Not too many fixed plans either, which is nice, although I do have plenty i want to do

Friday - cafe breakfast
Saturday - swimming 1st thing
Sunday - band practice late afternoon

So in between those things
* oil the blithering skirting boards!!
* final coat of gold paint on one wall
* get Mr Cheery to help me remove the loft hatch so I can paint it
* banks & YNAB - make a final decision about withdrawing from premium bonds and if I can wait til after the next draw
* sign new gas contract - they've sent me a ludicrous email which I assumed would just involve me replying with a 'yes', but no, I have to enter all my own details. Also they'd not mentioned VAT on the phone so it's not as cheap as I'd thought- but I wasn't factoring in the VAT on top of what we normally pay anyway, so the increase is still the same, it's just £168 a month on average (including the standing charge) not the £145 i thought it was going to be 🙄
* washing
* throw some things away - feeling quite in the mood for some decluttering and spring cleaning
* bit of flute practice
* batch cooking on Sunday - at least a risotto and maybe a curry too

That'll do i think! Looks like we're not going to Mr Cheery's dad's this weekend so that will let me have a bit more of a rest. Might see if we can get some pals over on Saturday night 😊

Oh. And I might want to make a start on clearing out the greenhouse, we'll see.

fannyadams

Bluegreen143 said:

Wow that is a horrendous vet bill 😳😳😳 Bessie is a lucky chicken to have a home with you. We’ve not had the debate yet about how far we are willing to go cost-wise for a sick chicken - the two (of five we’ve had over time) who have died both died rather suddenly in the night time. One did seem poorly the day before but in our inexperience we didn’t realise how quickly they go downhill, the other two years later gave zero signs in advance and it was a total mystery. So minus £30 each time for cremation costs we’ve never had a vet bill for them. I was just last week £200 to have my cat put to sleep which seems an extra slap in the face when you’re already upset that the pet can’t be treated (wouldn’t mind paying if it had made her better!) but of course worth the cost to avoid the poor thing suffering ❤️

It's so hard losing them in the firts place isn't it, but the extra 'sting' from the vets bill is something else. The bill to have our elderly greyhound boy put to sleep and cremated was £280. He was fine before Xmyth, but seemed to go downhill fairly quickly in the weeks after. Other than him losing loads of weight but still eating fine and wanting to go for a walk, you'd have never known anything was wrong.

Cheery_Daff

It's so difficult isn't it? Chickens are notorious for hiding illness until they're really sick. We spend a LOT of time just hanging out with ours, and don't have very many, so we've been able to spot stuff super early, especially in the ones we've had for a long time. One of our young ones died last year very quickly though - we think she was better at hiding because she was so young, but we'd still noticed she was a little off and just didn't get her to the vets quick enough 😕 too sad.

Anyway, so much for my massive list. We had a nice trip to the cafe, and then sat in the garden with a cuppa, then I had the bright idea to turn the compost... Five minutes in and I'd twinged my back so badly Mr Cheery had to help me back to the house, and I'm now ensconced on the sofa raging about all the things I was going to do 🙄 Most vexing. 

Hoping if I can make myself rest today I'll be back to normal tomorrow and be able to do some gentle pottering (won't be attempting to turn the compost tomorrow though!)

Very much need to work on my core strength and general fitness 🙄

Cheery_Daff

Right, I have been using my enforced 'rest' to look at the budget, trying to work out if (a) we will need to pull some money out of premium bonds, and (b) we can delay it until after the next draw.

I think the answers are yes, and yes.

My wages went in today, but a couple of the strike days have been taken off so they're slightly lower than usual, and the vet bill went out yesterday, leaving us with a total of £2674 in there.

I've been waiting for a new pin number, so pretty much EVERYTHING has gone on the credit card (except the vets bill - they don't take American Express) - not an issue as I pay in full every month, so no interest, and there's cashback too, but it does mean the bill, which is approx £1300, will be going out tomorrow/Monday, leaving us with roughly £1374.

Mr Cheery's pension goes in on the 31st, and then all the bills go out on the 1st (mortgage, council tax, electricity etc), leaving us at that point with approx £675 - assuming we have spent literally nothing else from the bank account in the meantime, which is unlikely.

However, we do still have a reasonable bit of cash, £150 of Morrisons vouchers, and the credit card, so I think if we avoid the normal bank account for most things, we should get to the 1st ok, at which point we can withdraw from premium bonds (although we won't need to because Agent Million will have been by that point anyway! 😂😂).

If we don't, that £675 will have to last until my wages go in again on 18th (again lower because of more strikes), then credit card bill out on 19th (let's assume £1300 again), and gas bill out on 20th (£843).

Mr Cheery's pension goes in again on 31st April, and at that point we'll be stuck, because even if we spend literally NOTHING else from the current account, we'll only have £136 left after the bills go out to last til my wages (again, strike reduced) go in again on 18th.

I don't like sailing so close to the bottom of the bank account when I don't have to - this is purely a cash flow issue caused by me having shoved everything into premium bonds (including all annual savings pots for insurance, gas etc) but then trying to fund those costs from the normal bank account, without taking them back out of the premium bonds.

Impressed I've got this far actually 🙄😂😂

However, the question remains - how much do I take out of Premium Bonds?! There's £8500 in there at the minute. I'm not anticipating any more massive bills  - annual insurances are all paid etc, and our next MOT isn't due til late May, but you just never know, and I do prefer to have a float...

Hmm, might wait and see what the actual situation is by 1st April and make a decision then. And in the meantime get back on with some MB and try to generate some extra income! 🙄

It would be nice to have built the Premium Bonds back up to over £10k again by the end of the year, as well as having a reasonable float in the main account, but we'll see...

beanielou

Remember your friends when agent millions comes a calling