Simple living in the country - back to basics

themadvix

It's all very interesting Cheery, no need to apologise for waffling. 

I think if the living room is 9 degrees the heating definitely needs to go on! I think we're hardcore here, but it goes on at 15!

Cheery_Daff

Thank you all for your kind words about my waffling 😁

Funny old day. Mr Cheery is tired and out of sorts, I've been feeling unproductive but in the last couple of hours have started getting a sore throat, so maybe I'm actually getting a cold?! 😮

Anyway, some things have been done 😊

* banks and shuffling. Decided to take £2000 out of premium bonds - that will cover the £843 gas bill and the vets fees etc and will give a bit of a float. We'll see how this month pans out - I can't remember which episode of strike deductions are being taken when, so I might actually get a full wage in April but not counting on it. Not withdrawing from PBs until tomorrow when the results are out, just in case (I know the draw has already happened, just not risking it!)

* Happy Wheel - up £3 for April so far 😂

* couple of Prolific studies

* Made soup with a 38p bag of soup veg we got reduced yesterday - the veg was tasteless and hard, and the onions just tasted vinegary and weird. Mr Cheery did his best to rescue it - it was edible but not appetising 🙄

* made fried rice with some of the brown rice I batch cooked that didn't make it into the freezer, plus some cabbage and a couple of eggs

* Vet bill arrived, and the total for Bessie now in the last 2 weeks is £959 😱 We've agreed this is bloody ridiculous and has to stop now - that's more than we were planning to spend on our first holiday in 4 years. 

* Did some investigating about buying tablets online instead of from the vet. The vet has mentioned before potentially doing this with implants - each one costs £200 but I can see them online at 2 for £129, but you need a prescription. Similarly, the antibiotics are online for 30p a tablet, so a week's supply is £4.20 plus postage - the vet just charged us £40 for the same amount 😮 Local farmer said he can get them from his vet for much cheaper than we're paying - sounds like some kind of shady deal to me but right now I'm inclined to go along with it!

* Did some sorting in the study, which is now in disarray and looks worse than when I started 🙄 However, I've put aside 2 boxes of books to go to the charity shop, along with the 3 bags of clothes I sorted the other day. Also identified about a bag full of rubbish and recycling.

* Electricity bill came - apparently we used £46 in March so we're now £92 in credit. End of Feb was an estimate though so they likely overestimated it and now need to correct it - I won't be standing for any suggestion that we increase our DD just yet though... (nobody's suggested it yet but I'll keep an eye out). Maybe having a ceiling and properly plastered walls and double glazing is actually making a difference?? 😂

* while I was in the bank account I cancelled a DD for a magazine subscription - I got 6 months worth (plus free gift) for £15 in November but don't want it to renew at full price, so might as well cancel now.

* Had an impromptu video chat with a friend in Germany. We were trying to persuade them to visit, but one of them is having an operation in May so will be out of action for much of the summer. We might actually go over there for a couple of days, and see if we can invite them here in early autumn.

* Did an hour of flute practice, which at least took my mind off my sore throat

So I've not done half the things I'd planned, but still got a few MSE things done today. Back in a minute with tomorrow's list...

Cheery_Daff

So, Saturday (although all this will depend on how both of us feel, given that we're both feeling a bit ropey right now).

* more sorting in the study
* at least one trip to the tip
* batch cooking (cake, roast parsnips, other roast veg, maybe some kind of bake involving tinned spaghetti??)
* ring friend
* post card to cousin
* investigate new printer - ours has given up and it's already proving a nuisance 🙄
* some kind of exercise - some friends are going on a bike ride so I might join them, but that will depend on (a) how I feel, and (b) the bike being in working order, and (c) me being able to fit it in the car without too much hassle around all the other rubbish in there... Reminds me that I was trying to get my small foldy bike fixed and the bike shop couldn't get the part - might give them another ring since it's now months later. But I can actually manage without it, so...

Mr Cheery is out in the evening (some actual paid work! Not the first time since the start of the pandemic, but it's certainly been a long old haul 😮). So I need to plan myself a nice relaxing evening 😊

themadvix

Hate to say it Cheery, but sore throat/tiredness could be you know what… 

Our vet charges about £17 for a prescription - well worth it for the savings. I think they have to provide one if you request it too.

Cheery_Daff

Urgh 🙄 Hope not - managed to avoid it so far! Still got some tests leftover, will do one in a minute... 🙄

I didn't realise they had to provide one if you asked. I know we've paid £18 for one before when we were going to collect it from a different (more local) vets - I ended up not actually collecting it, but I wonder how long they last for?? I suppose they'd check they'd not been fulfilled (it wasn't - but they did write me a new one a few days later- I hadn't realised I'd be charged for both!) I suspect there are some kinds of rules about collecting prescriptions for animals that are already dead... 🙄

beanielou

Feels faint at the vet bill.

Enjoy your weekend 

Cheery_Daff

Thanks beanie,you too 😊

I've relocated to the sofa 🙄 will go back to sleep in a min but I remembered the premium bonds 😂

Delighted to report a £25 win! Our first win since November! (Can't complain as we did literally win every single month before that... but I was despairing at ever winning again!)

themadvix

I think you might struggle to get the one for a deceased animal, but they wouldn’t know if it had been fulfilled, I don’t think? Although then you could submit it to multiple online places… so maybe there is a way to check on that - I’ve never considered that!

Bluegreen143

@Cheery_Daff that bill is eye-watering! Eeek! Red mentioned to me you can get chicken antibiotics online, perhaps not the right ones if not prescribed but thought I’d mention. He did buy some for our poorly chicken last month (but she died before they arrived, this is the problem, ours seem to have approx 12 hours max between looking poorly and dying!). 

Cheery_Daff

Thank you both 😊 Yes I assume there must be a way of checking it had been fulfilled, otherwise you could just send copies of the same one to several places. But I've never tried it!

Bluegreen - they are very good at hiding their illnesses! We usually only spot something because Mr Cheery has been lying on a little recliner thing on the floor of the run for an hour and noticed something slightly off with their breathing - often I wouldn't have noticed at all 🙄

Will investigate buying antibiotics online, thank you 😊

Sore throat still here but not followed by any other symptoms (but then I'm not off the sofa yet 😂). Starting to suspect tonsillitis 🙄 Which makes me SO cross, because I had my tonsils removed when I was 7, and the bloody things grew back in my 20s. Had them out because of earache- never had tonsillitis as a kid, but I've had it several times since they grew back. Might see if someone can take them out again 😂😂