Mortgage free in Forever Home :-)

KajiKita

LadyWithAPlan said:

Lots going on at the KK household it seems.

I am currently decluttering and have a new to me bedside cabinet that I have laid all my makeup in the drawers, especially with my new xmas stuff, so much fun but much like your shower gels - with the exception of mascara I may not need any new makeup in 2023!

I have always filed my own s/e taxes - its easy as you do online and hmrc guides you through the process. Just have your figures ready before you start - it honestly is simple.

There’s always a lot going on here. As Mr KK says, life was boring and then you met this mad Forester …. 😉😂❤️

Thanks for the reinforcement about the possibility of Mr KK doing his own tax filing. We were talking about it over dinner and he said he’d have a look at it April / May time 😊

Kk

Cheery_Daff

I've made a spare duvet into cushions in the past - just chopped and folded and sewed by hand with a curved mattress needle. Might not be your thing, but it meant I could make nice big cushions! Got given another one by someone else recently to get rid of so will do the same again I think.

badmemory

I hang my old duvets on the garage wall as I have to get as close as possible & I scraped the side of one 30 years ago & it is not happening again.  As its an external garage they look decidedly disreputable after a few years & are only fit for the bin.

KajiKita

badmemory said:

I hang my old duvets on the garage wall as I have to get as close as possible & I scraped the side of one 30 years ago & it is not happening again.  As its an external garage they look decidedly disreputable after a few years & are only fit for the bin.

The garage is for (WW2) military vehicles, not domestic ones!! 

Cheery_Daff said:

I've made a spare duvet into cushions in the past - just chopped and folded and sewed by hand with a curved mattress needle. Might not be your thing, but it meant I could make nice big cushions! Got given another one by someone else recently to get rid of so will do the same again I think.

Hi Cheery - not sure I would have the patience for this or anywhere to use the big cushions either.  

@SandyShores - thanks for the suggestions. I will see if my local Freecycle group is functioning - been years since I last looked at it. Otherwise it will be off to Dunelm with them.

KK

 

KajiKita

Had 1:1 with boss and boss’s boss today.

Told boss about wanting a substantial pay rise and he didn’t flinch. 

Boss’s boss told me to calm down and not be emotional as it doesn’t help. He also said how well we’d done as a team in November (made a profit for the first time in years) and December (reduced the forecast loss by £500K). Basically things are going in the right direction and to hang on in there. I told him that my strategy for Q1 was survival, Q2 was onboarding and getting new team members working well, Q3 doing some of the stuff we should have done already as foundations, Q4 we should really be starting to function ….

Mr KK has found a nice piece of oak for our new fireplace (we are turning the room around and relocating the wood stove on the opposite wall) at a local reclamation yard for £130. He has suggested that I look at it on Saturday, he sand blasts it (to clean it up) and then seals it with clear varnish (probably matt). I love how engaged he is with this project 😊 He’s currently sketching out ideas / plans for the fireplace structure (with a cavity wall behind it etc. ) on a wooden drawing board he made when he was at school (some time ago now! 😉❤️). 

In less positive news, my car is making a weird clanking, springy sound, I think from the driver’s side rear …. Booked in to the garage after work tomorrow to see how bad it is …. I will bring my laptop home tomorrow in case they declare it unsafe to drive!

NSD day today. 

7.2 steps today, so a bit below target (8K)
Did do my weights and squats before going to work though 😊

KK

KajiKita

Had two YNAB transactions to record and did a TT from current account to At0m of £8.53 😊

KK

redofromstart

The oak sounds lovely, and a good investment.  Wood has gone sky high in price. 

Mr Redo would be exactly the same about it. Today he has stripped a bit of left over shed flooring down to make some moulding to match a door frame.  This is when the toys tools pay off. 

KajiKita

Daily accountability:
- Steps 8.025K 😊
- Did my weights and squats before heading off to work 30 minutes early 😳 this morning! Added two more reps to every round 😊💪
- NSD!

Just come back from the most cheerful, upbeat and positive Parish council meeting I have ever attended 😊

I have some ‘homework’ to do off the back of it, including feedback to a neighbour on being allowed to set up some ad hoc salt bins and I have a county council zoom meeting to attend about CoL support next Wednesday evening, and then report back. 

Had one odd thing happen today.  

Aviva emailed me today to tell me that they have taken a payment for my car insurance renewal, £208! But ….. my last insurer was Churchill not Aviva, Aviva was the year before ….

Tried to contact them but they don’t have any phone support for car insurance apparently. They sent me a link by text but it didn’t work … Have I been spammed in some way? Checked with my current account and they say they can’t see any payment or pending demand and if the previous payment was set for my JL c/cd then that account has been closed …. I suspect the next thing might be that I get a grumpy letter from Aviva saying that I have broken my contract with them as I don’t have a payment arrangement in place …..

Did manage to get the car to garage to check out the horrible, twangy, spring noise I kept hearing ….. 😳  Apparently it’s just the bearing under the strut at the very top of the suspension on my front drivers side wheel having gone a bit dry. It will need replacing at some point, but is not a safety risk, doesn’t invalidate my MOT etc and can wait a while. We had a ballpark discussion on likely cost - worst case would be £130 or so with VAT. I think I will book that in to do in the week before Easter as I have some time off then and no plans apart from playing in the garden 😊

KK

KajiKita

Weights and steps done.
NSD - 8 out of 15
6K steps - too many meetings today, tied to my desk all day

@viva were my insurers last year (my brain must be in planet Zog atm - I could have sworn they weren’t) but have very sweetly cancelled my policy and waived the £28 admin fee after I contacted them via FB! Phew ….

Had a horribly wet 70 minute commute home this evening but managed a ‘re-set moment’ back to being 17 when Billy Idol’s Rebel Yell came on the radio ❤️

Hubby was meant to be out tonight so I was going to stay late for a meeting and then have quick tea for food. His going out has been cancelled so he is cooking! 😉😊

Had a nibble via FB MP for the single bed etc from someone I know - she wants it for her youngest daughter. It would be cool if I could get rid of it that easily! 😊

KK

KajiKita

Feeling flat and fed up. Not sure if I am coming down with something - everyone keeps telling me how pale I look. I have dosed myself up with iron water and an effervescent vitamin c tablet this evening. I will keep going with that for the next week, if I remember.

Did my weights and squats this morning but it felt like a real struggle so didn’t do any extra reps. 

8.5K steps so over target there. 

Ate ‘all the junk’ when I got home tonight …. Sigh ….. Oh well, just have to try again tomorrow.

Got £9.60 sitting in TBC to whisk out and across to my savings. 

NSD today 😊

Done all my chores, just need a shower. Early night is on the cards I think. 

KK