Mortgage free in Forever Home :-)

KajiKita

MissRikkiC said:

The sage looks very cool like that. We’ve had some broad beans, pak choi and spring onions this weekend too, as well as soft fruits. 

We had big plans for the garden today but the most I’ve managed is to stake my tomatoes and purchase more compost and feed. Everything needs a good feed and I have so much to plant out into pots however running out of patio! 

Your ‘done’ list is impressive, well done to you. 

Thanks MissRC 😊 I didn’t think I would get anything like that much done. I sat down a lot in front of a fan,  in between short bursts of doing / pottering. I think because we started the day relatively early for a Sunday for us, that helped 😊

KK

KajiKita

Not a lot happening here apart from the ‘work’ thing which has HUGE volumes of politicking and melodrama amongst the management team atm (not involving me directly thankfully but not good to be around and I am concerned for one of my colleagues who I am fairly convinced is being bullied and sadly will end up leaving as a result - sigh ….) which is fairly boring ….

Trying to get back into reading books again. I’ve been reading a big backlog of magazines in the hotter weather (shorter attention span) so have neglected my books target. Back on it now with a book that’s a bit too disturbative to read in bed (I am very prone to nightmares if I read anything vivid late at night - N3w Sci3ntist is a much calmer bet! 😂) but am on page 127 of a new novel after a couple of days, which isn’t bad going. 

First tomato from the greenhouse should be ready this evening …. ❤️

The hole in the lounge floor now has a sturdy walled void to build the fireplace on and Mr KK has done the shuttering to fill in the top with concrete to make it level. La Belle Floof is most disgruntled as she can no longer collect cobwebs nosing around under the lounge floor! 😂

Taken the photos for my Mum’s sort-of-birthday present update on what we are doing and emailed them to myself to shrink them. They need plonking into a PPoint and annotating. If I get her brooches wrapped and a card written this week, the whole caboodle should be ready for posting this coming weekend. Must remember to take a picture of the new stone house sign that she bought me for my birthday last year 😊

On 20 NSDs this month and should be good for a few more. Proper proud of myself for this as I am so instinctively a spender! I can really see the difference in terms of the numbers of transactions that need recording and in my bank balances etc. Right, must away to pretend to be a grown up …. 😉

KK

KajiKita

Oh, made some progress on the table in the kitchen (found somewhere to store the reusable food/freezer bags, taken away the bags for life accumulating there and relocated the glass base with clip lid food boxes that I only use fur work lunches in colder months) but then stalled. Next challenge is to find somewhere to store all the multiple spare nut butters … Probably the cellar shelves if I can make room down there ….

KK

KajiKita

The recruiter has been in touch about the directorship again - he’d lost my reply in his spam folder … 😂

He liked the sound of me - he said I sounded like someone credible that he could put in front of the COO. 

I would have 7 senior quality people across 7 manufacturing sites reporting to me, be taking over from someone who’s retiring after 20 years in the role. They have and are acquiring more sites so quite a bit would be around defining what good looks like and how to get all sites to a similar level. There would also be a CI element after time. 

I have lots of questions around the financial security of the organisation / individual sites! 😉😂

It sounds interesting so I shall send them an updated CV. 😊

KK

MissRikkiC

I think we must work in similar type corporate companies as so many of the things you’ve said in the past have made me think that we could even work for the same organisation. I don’t think that’s the case but I do think their structures are similar. 

This sounds really promising, I’m glad he’s come back to you however it’s easy to forget the reservations you had when everything is up sold by a recruiter, I’ve been guilty of doing the same. 

I found the mindset change of always been ready to progress throughout my career vs putting other ‘softer’ benefits first really challenging after I had children. I still struggle now and have to ground myself. 

Whatever happens, you know what is important to you and hopefully any prospective employer would respect that too. 

KajiKita

MissRikkiC said:

I think we must work in similar type corporate companies as so many of the things you’ve said in the past have made me think that we could even work for the same organisation. I don’t think that’s the case but I do think their structures are similar. 

This sounds really promising, I’m glad he’s come back to you however it’s easy to forget the reservations you had when everything is up sold by a recruiter, I’ve been guilty of doing the same. 

I found the mindset change of always been ready to progress throughout my career vs putting other ‘softer’ benefits first really challenging after I had children. I still struggle now and have to ground myself. 

Whatever happens, you know what is important to you and hopefully any prospective employer would respect that too. 

I just wanted to let you know that I have been thinking about your comments all this week, throwing the scenarios around in my mind. Totally not sure 😉😊

It will become clear I’m sure 😊

KK

KajiKita

Another intense day after another intense week…. Got ‘looked at’ for leaving (30 minutes after!) at my usual finish time - ugh! I’ve only finished ‘on time’ c. 3 times over the last 10 days and I’m getting really tired. I’m getting pretty fed up with this presenteeism culture! 🙄

Determinedly focusing on my weekend now and my work phone is OFF!

I have at least managed to knock over an awkward job that has been ‘looking at me’ for c. 3 weeks for colleagues in Shanghai who needed the information before shipping the next batch in a week’s time. 😊

I am now showered and sat on the sofa with nothing to do but slip in between my freshly changed sheets and fall into a beautifully deep sleep (hopefully! 😉). I turned the sprinkler on when I got home on one specific bed (the Border of Doom) as I am absolutely *DETERMINED* that it will be transformed by the end of the weekend!! I will start early tomorrow morning by ripping out all the things that are not required, defining a border edge and then move on from there. *If* I get it all done, I may treat myself with a run out to a posh garden centre i very rarely go to to treat myself to something special …. 😉

KK

Merlin's_Beard

Posh garden centre sounds like a good idea after a run of workdays like that! Hope you have a restful weekend.

KajiKita

Merlin's_Beard said:

Posh garden centre sounds like a good idea after a run of workdays like that! Hope you have a restful weekend.

Thanks MB 😊

Its a bit self indulgent but it is also about reinforcing good habits - I.e. making the space and *then* buying the plants, rather than getting washed away with excitement of PLANTS 🤩 without having anywhere to put them and then they die before I get to putting them in the ground …. or at least this is how I am justifying it to myself! 😂
There’s also the fact that I have unspent budget for the garden burning a hole in my savings account….!! 😉
Aaaand it would make Mr KK happy to have some big showy, in your face flowers to look at! 😂

I’m a bit too good at this self justifying malarkey, aren’t I ….? 😉🤷‍♀️😂

KK

KajiKita

Anyway, back to sensible, grown up head … (for three micro seconds! 😉):

Made start on the BoD but based on progress to date I suspect the garden centre trip will be next weekend rather than this. 

Mum’s present wrapped and posted in loads of time before her birthday on the 13th so I was able to send it 2nd class parcel post - registered was £7.something, in the end I sent it for £3.45! Had a brainwave as well - Mum has asked for pictures / explanations of what we are working on in the house so I have taken a load of pictures and put them in a pp presentation. I was going to print it and then thought … “why?! If I email it on the morning of her birthday she can look at it on the screen and ask my dad to print it if she really feels the need to have it in hard copy (which she probably will). Just must remember to send it now!! 

Cleaning of downstairs loo and bathroom DONE! Very pleased about this as I loathe this job. Whilst in the bathroom I did some work on the ‘corner of ugh’ - pulled out all the cleaning bottles and washed the dust off them and decanted the scrag end of one nearly empty bottle into another of the same type. It’s amazing to me how these little things add up so quickly. That action has exposed a whole area which I can go back to wiping up the dust / fluff from with my cotton wool pads again 😊 I also found myself (almost) enjoying doing this cleaning - it’s like a free upgrade to your home i realise ….

KK