So close, we can smell mortgage freedom!

EssexHebridean

I just very unexpectedly had a scheduled 20 minute survey from Ipsos that I whizzed through in 7 - maybe there's something in the air! 

I had the Frogmore survey too - an awful lot of "don't care" options got ticked! 

themadvix

That’s good news EH!

 I’ve just caught up on 1P - up a £1 on yesterday, so focus is paying off. Just over £13 there now, so I must persist.

 Washed a litter tray ready for our cat sitters (because when naughty b&w cat deigns to use it he stands up, it gets pretty minging - and that’s without considering the outside which he likes to decorate too), etched the bike register security code onto my bike (with the stencil and kit provided) and have been into town. £12.57 spent in Card Factory, remembered to use the right card for the cash back and only have a couple left to buy. Got a whole load on their 10 for £1 offer, which will certainly do for quite a few. Also bought some drain unblocker (oh the glamour, litter trays and drains!) and some hobnobs and crème eggs may have slipped into my bike bag too (via a till, I hasten to add!).

 Loved just being able to stop by a bench in the park on the way home and enjoy the view for a few minutes (no longer or there would have been school children all over the paths on the way home). So easy just to stop 😊

Karmacat

Waaait, isn't this your weekend away?  Have a brilliant time - and I'm all the more grateful for your help with t'other thing considering your trip was coming up.

themadvix

Afternoon all,

Yes, KC, it is, but happy to help anytime. Should probably do some packing but have been distracted by a concerning situation with Mr MV’s work. Has settled down for now (big sigh of relief), although has not been fully resolved. 

My work has been quiet today, but I have done a platform job and did a £10 PA survey (it was loooong). Have cashed out £30 from PA now and that will help next week with sorting my finances out.

MS things:
* clicks and HW done - small wins
* PA surveys
* collected some tortilla wraps from an Olioer
* 1P surveys - quite a few
* RM survey item posted

Gratitudes:
* a nice walk in a tiny patch of ancient woodland nearby (I had a read of the information board!)
* saw a wren 😁
* things have calmed down with Mr MV’s work - he’s by no means chilled but hopefully we can a) sleep tonight and b) have a slightly cheerier weekend than it was looking like

 Have a great weekend all!

Cheery_Daff

Sounds like the new bike is going well! 😊 Have a good weekend 😊

facethemusic

Hi, I've been reading your diary for a while, but never commented. 
An idea or two with your cat sitting/vet visits. I work in a vets, and technically without the owners consent we can't do anything, although we tend to work on the "you took it in so you can agree to treatment" theory. However  many of our clients phone before they go away telling us they are away, and details of the person  who has consent to authorise treatment  and we can agree to invoice the owner for any work done when they return/by email  so they can pay us direct. A good friend of mine runs a pet/horse sitting business and she has a form she gets signed by all her clients stating she can make veterinary decisions and if she has any costs from this it will be paid.  Worth considering what would happen if it was a serious scenario- bills can run up to thousands and what if you were asked to decide between a £4000 fracture repair or amputation? Or chemotherapy or euthanasia?  Mostly these decisions can wait 24 hours so you or the vet can contact the owner but some situations need immediate decisions, or the owner may not be contactable.
Do you know which of your clients have insurance for their pets? Do you have the details?
This is all a bit depressing for my first post on your diary but it's definitely worth considering before you land in the situation. 
I'll probably go back to lurking now! 

 

EssexHebridean

Hope the weekend away was/is going wonderfully - I can't remember when you were due back! Looking forward to hearing all about it, regardless! Glad that MrMV's work stuff calmed at least to a degree before it was time for you to head off too! 

And yes - one of the things I like about using the bike as "transport" is just being able to stop and admire something, or photograph something, or whatever! 

themadvix

Morning all,

Thanks EH and Cheery - yes, bike is going well and I'm loving the freedom it offers (and yes, have already stopped to take photos of crocuses EH ). Not so keen today as it's snowing/snowy here (only a light dusting), but I'd better take the opportunity to test my ability in these conditions as there'll be times when I won't have the option of the car (or my car, which I'm ignoring).

We had a lovely time away - if you've not been, I'd highly recommend Gdansk. It has a beautiful historic old town and there's the beach (the phrase 'literally Baltic' was used many times!), the canal and the bastions (protective earthworks, with a moat) to enjoy too. The people were friendly and almost all spoke English (there were a lot of English tourists there), which is good as we struggled with even the basics of Polish as it is *so* different from Germanic or Romance languages. The food and drink was lovely and it was all relatively cheap! (The only thing I'd caution about is that, like the US, prices shown don't necessarily include tax, which is added afterwards.) It was, however, absolutely freezing there - the winds from the Baltic... well the North wind is nothing in comparison! Stupidly I forgot to pack my thermal leggings, so I was pretty chilly the whole weekend! Haven't tallied up the costs yet, but it will come from holiday budget and shouldn't be too bad - we had two lovely Polish meals with starters/drinks and both costs less than £50 - huge portions, beautifully cooked and presented - we reckon we'd have paid £85 for the meal in the UK at least. Also fairly impressed with Wizz - flights were well managed and on time both there and back.

Back to reality today though. I have several bits of work that have arrived over the weekend to get on with and I also need to collect a cat key, return the long-term cat keys (and collect my expenses and get them paid in asap). My old phone also sold, so I need to pop that in the post.

MS things:
* YG survey done this morning
* A cheap holiday destination (I think we may do some more of these types of trips in the future - we have very little experience of Eastern Europe).
* Used the airport lounges to full advantage and were able to avoid a lunch and dinner last night

Gratitudes:
* Beautiful city
* Apart from being cold, we had wonderful weather - sunny and dry, with the exception of a few snowflakes
* Live music in the restaurant we ended up eating at twice - makes such a difference!

Have a good day all!

themadvix

facethemusic said:

Hi, I've been reading your diary for a while, but never commented. 
An idea or two with your cat sitting/vet visits. I work in a vets, and technically without the owners consent we can't do anything, although we tend to work on the "you took it in so you can agree to treatment" theory. However  many of our clients phone before they go away telling us they are away, and details of the person  who has consent to authorise treatment  and we can agree to invoice the owner for any work done when they return/by email  so they can pay us direct. A good friend of mine runs a pet/horse sitting business and she has a form she gets signed by all her clients stating she can make veterinary decisions and if she has any costs from this it will be paid.  Worth considering what would happen if it was a serious scenario- bills can run up to thousands and what if you were asked to decide between a £4000 fracture repair or amputation? Or chemotherapy or euthanasia?  Mostly these decisions can wait 24 hours so you or the vet can contact the owner but some situations need immediate decisions, or the owner may not be contactable.
Do you know which of your clients have insurance for their pets? Do you have the details?
This is all a bit depressing for my first post on your diary but it's definitely worth considering before you land in the situation. 
I'll probably go back to lurking now! 

 

Hi facethemusic, I thought I'd reply separately to this! When I work through CIAF I do use (have used) a form for veterinary treatment permission, and we did discuss this with this long-term client as it was likely (and I had written a 'contract' of sorts - outlining everything and sending it to the parties involved). The problem I find is that people don't want to think about it, so try to gloss over it!

I do usually know whether they have insurance. For the vast majority of the clients, they aren't even abroad, and are contactable instantaneously via Whatsapp. But you do raise some valid points - and I like the idea of them ringing the vets to let them know about their holiday - I'll definitely bear that in mind for future clients. To some extent, with CIAF I would let them do the heavy lifting - they take 20% of the fee after all (although they also don't have a phone number/24 hr contactability).

I do have insurance for the cat sitting, which would protect me in the case that I'd taken the appropriate measures and the client didn't agree. I also always have a second number for a client if they are out of the country - for a parent/someone else they'd trust to make decisions on behalf of them - and I have used it before, albeit not for emergency vet treatment issues!

Please don't go back to lurking - you've definitely given me some food for thought. I also try to avoid focusing on this stuff too much with clients as I see the look of panic/awkwardness in their eyes and don't want to make them uncomfortable. But I probably do need to make them think about it. Or at least have some terms and conditions that include it that they sign.

EssexHebridean

It's a tricky one isn't it as nobody wants to think about the worst happening to their pet, and particularly when they weren't about to make the decision for themselves. I know with HRH when we had her she had reached an age where we had already had the discussion about the sort of thing we would then have her treated for if it had occurred, and if we had been looking at using a cat sitter we would certainly have been happy to work together with them on ensuring that they were fully aware, but even in that instance there are still grey areas so it's not always easy is it! 

No snow over here as yet although it definitely feels cold enough that it could do! I think we are forecast for some tomorrow evening, and judging by the forecast that is getting more likely now too.