It's getting tough out there. Feeling the pinch?

Longwalker

Well some good news for me, I started back to work yesterday

16 hrs a week - 4x4 hrs over 7 days. Its more then enough for me now with mum doing less and less and my own aches and pains and commitments. Its an above NMW job as well and I get 30% discount company wide. Small family owned department store - they have two, and Im working in the tea room

That extra money is going to help MASSIVELY. 

We have a family wedding in Florence next month, the electric bill is due and then we need to get oil in and start buying coal, then Christmas. I was getting more and more worried as my wee pension isnt going far at all no matter how tight I try to hold on to it  

Only another 8 years till state pension, I think this job should see me there

sammy_kaye18

@Longwalker congratulations on your new job! 

I have my DD back at school today, husband is off but has gone out riding and my DS left for work at 6am. I've been up since 5.45 with the dogs being unsettled with the heat. 
I have managed washing on the line, most of downstairs cleaned other than mopping floors, went for a nice walk to the post box, and then took some jam over to see my mother in law who hasn't been feeling very well. 

I did some gardening last night and separated some chilli plants. I have a few more bits Id like to plant out but will wait until its a bit cooler to go and do it. 

YorksLass

@sammy_kaye18 - Ah, but there's only the two of us so a 6-pint is usually enough for our tea and coffee.  Come winter when we're having porridge I supplement that with cartons of long life.  Like others have said, I find my milk lasts in the fridge for 3-4 days longer than it says, so roughly 10 - 14 days from purchase.

Another good weather day today and I've made 4 individual pots of fruit & jelly (tin of fruit salad and a lime jelly from stores), a batch of fruit scones and have prepped the veg for tonight's chicken stir fry.  After I'd cleared up, I had to abandon the kitchen - the warmest room in our house - as it was getting unbearably hot and retire to a cooler room.  I'm not complaining though as the belated summer is most welcome.  

I'll make an early start tomorrow that's predicted to be even hotter so I can collect DH's meds and visit Sainsburys for the odds and ends I can't get on my delivery.  I want to be there and back before it gets too hot.  I'm not a fan of shopping in general but it will be good to have a look around - naturally I'll be seeking out any bargains so I may well come home with more than what's on the list!      

elsien

Congratulations Longwalker, sounds like it will suit you well.
I’m very jealous about Florence, been wanting to go there for a long time.

sammyjammy

London_1 said:

sammy_kaye18 I'm OK recovering slowly from my gall bladder op.Still not got a great appetite but make myself eat at least twice a day.I just discovered a large sweet potato where the veg box is that had been forgotten about so I've peeled it and diced it up and its on the stove at the moment being boil for mash it is quite a large one so once mashed I will use my ice cream scoop to 'ball' it up and once cold they will go in a small bag into the freezer.

I'm off to my youngest DDs late afternoon,I had a dig around my freezer and found several bits to go into hers as I'm trying to run mine down for a defrost before Christmas.

She was sadly flooded a couple of days ago with a bad storm but her decorator bless him turned up that evening with a water vacuum which helped her get rid of a lot of the water, then my son-in-law popped in yesterday and I emptied all my airing cupboard of towels which they will use to soak up any residue, and hopefully can get some of the carpet at the bottom of their stairs dried out a bit They have had all the windows open .basically the flash flood turned their road into about 4 inches of water as the drains just couldn't cope so although her house is around 25 feet from the road the whole of the ground floor was flooded Luckily the electrics survived OK, but the flooring in the sitting room is dreadful and her new stair carpet at the bottom of her stairs was completely ruined (its only been down three weeks) They have taken lots of photos so the insurance will help but its the awful mess thats involved. So I will be doing lots of "there there's" and making tea for her, She was really upset mostly about her carpet and its the first proper new one they have had on the stairs for 15 years (The old one had five children pounding it to bits ) and when the youngest flew the nest to Uni it was her dream to get a nice new carpet.They live in a three storey town house so its an awful lot of stairs I'm hoping its the bit on the ground floor that just needs replacing  

Eldest DD has just landed at Heathrow with her OH, they have been in New York for 10 days visiting my eldest grandson  Danny and wife, and the new much longed for baby daughter Daisy . They have been living out there for 7 years and this baby has been a long awaited arrival So I'm sure I will be seeing her tomorrow

Re stocking up the cupboards its a great idea and I do it virtually every year as because I have to use a walking stick to get around if the weather turns snowy or icy I sensibly stay indoors in the warm.

 I'm not a 'Weeble' I don't bounce back up if I fall down, and hospitals don't need daft old ladies with broken hips cluttering up their beds . So I always make sure I have a good stock of basics and tinned stuff, its surprising what you can cobble together from a few tins and some herbs or spices. I always have UHT milk in stock and fine it OK for most of my needs plus it lasts a lot longer. Several tins of tomatoes will make a nice tomato soup to keep you warm and noodles chicken into chicken soup make it a bit more heart I save the broken bits from the pasta boxes to chuck into soup as well. A good stash of books and knitting yarn and plenty of tinned stuff and I can survive the worse the weather can throw. tinned spuds are handy for curries or casseroles.You won't die if you have to eat tinned stuff for awhile  

JackieO xx

What a shame about the new carpet - silver lining is she will be able to get the same carpet to match the undamaged bits.  Maybe worth looking at some future proofing, I think flooding will become a bigger issue in the coming years, maybe one of those metal gates you can put on the doors.  I bet that would help with future insurance as well.

YoungBlueEyes

Upgrades like that should bring down insurance, but there's no way to account for them on the websites when you're buying insurance. We had new windows and doors a wee while ago, and while it asks if they are BSnumber they never ask about the type of doors (that I've seen). Our front door is a super-secure solid something or other with brilliant locks and an unbreakable keyhole and god knows what all else. You should able to say "my door is this brand/model" for the insurance and get a bit off your premiums Should be the same for anti-flood measures you've taken imo.

Are you reading this bots/AI? Get on it would you please? 

Siebrie

I

YoungBlueEyes said:

Upgrades like that should bring down insurance, but there's no way to account for them on the websites when you're buying insurance. We had new windows and doors a wee while ago, and while it asks if they are BSnumber they never ask about the type of doors (that I've seen). Our front door is a super-secure solid something or other with brilliant locks and an unbreakable keyhole and god knows what all else. You should able to say "my door is this brand/model" for the insurance and get a bit off your premiums Should be the same for anti-flood measures you've taken imo.

Are you reading this bots/AI? Get on it would you please? 

In the Netherlands there are insurance companies who do this, but you need a certificate issued by the local police. They come and check all locks, etc.

YoungBlueEyes

That's good Siebrie, hopefully it'll catch on here in one form or another, I doubt our police have time to do it tbh.

Actually, couldn't the fitters issue a certificate that confirms what they've just installed, then you could give that to the insurance? 

sammy_kaye18

Well yesterday was a complete write off.

Son came home the night before not feeling 100% so just put it down to a bit of dehydration and that he'd be in small crawl spaces rewiring a building etc.....sent him to bed but he woke up yesterday with a stinking headache. Gave him painkillers and told him to see how he felt in an hour. Hour later , headache has eased slightly but still pained so thought Id get him to do a covid test because he goes to so many places servicing things. 
Father came downstairs and tells him he needs to go to work, its the crappy part of being an adult yada yada yada, boy goes off to get dressed, they leave the house and as they do I check his covid result and had to run out the door after them as there was a positive line. So he had yesterday off which seemed to magically give him some energy so he drove me up the wall all day because men and being ill......we all know. 

Then father went in for an opeation, didn't hear from him until 4pm but all seems to have gone well with his spinal surgery but he was grumping because they were keeping him in overnight for observations. 

Then went to feed our pets to find one of our older lizards had passed away. So had that fun to tell husband when he got home. Now in a debate about whether to get rid of the tank altogther (its 4ft x 2ft so a good size) or if he wants another lizard (not that he paid attention to the last one) or if he wants to convert it to give remaining lizard double the space. Id rather get rid of it and start decluttering the living room tbh. 

BUT silver linings.......
- dads operation seems to have gone well and he's now not in pain
- mum is on her second to last dose of radiation today
- the house is quiet because boy was told he can go to work with Covid as long as he doesn't have a fever (he just has a headache) and has made coworkers/boss etc aware plus he is double vaccinated. 
- I'm drinking coffee and eating cookies in my pyjamas at 10.52 and I don't care. 
-  I pulled more potatoes the other day and now have a rather healthy pillowcase full and some king edwards to cook up with tea later put aside. 
- Today is a me day. I will go and get showered in a minute and then I dont know what Im doing. 

sammy_kaye18

Well I feel like today has been a productive day. 

- Mum rang the bell and has officially finished treatment. 
- Spoke to my dad and he seems relatively pain free, more discomfort but he's alright. 
- I was out in the garden this morning burying our beloved Rhodri the bearded dragon and we are making a flower bed where he is now. 

Daughter also came home and asked if she can start taking in a thermos flask with things like pasta in etc for food because she is finding that by the time she is getting into line for dinner most the options are things she doesn't like, or she's having to chose quickly because she is trying to get to a club. So I had a look yesterday and Argos has a sale on a proper Thermos flask for £17 with the small fork/spoon too which I think will be good for her for school and I know its reliable, wont leak and will hold a decent amount etc so now I'm thinking of things that she will eat that I can put into it for her. Curry, pasta, casserole, soup etc. She will still have her Friday lunch because she enjoys it but with the cost of school dinners at the minute we were looking at £15 - £20 a week and that's with her taking her own drink! 
Also money saving since I remembered I was given a One4All gift card at Christmas which had some money on it which covered the cost completely :-) 

I then used the rest of the card treating myself to some new tea towels in TK Maxx and a small candle holder and a few limited edition shower gels in the boots sale. My MIL has been looking for it and so has my niece so I brought 6 bottles for £1 each and I plan to give them a bottle each now and then Ill hide the rest away for Christmas for their hamper bags. 

Dinner today will be relatively easy too as its only me and DD. DH and DS have gone mountain biking so they will probably not be home until it starts getting dark and even then maybe longer since they invested in some good bike lights for night time rides. 

How is everyone elses days going?