So close, we can smell mortgage freedom!

themadvix

Have tried the coke SL. It's very hardcore limescale round here and all the coke did was dye it brown (yuck!). I used to use vinegar, but citric acid is better as you remove as much water as possible, pop crystals in and then pour in warm (not hot) water - the heat adds to the effectiveness, which of course you can't do with the vinegar.

themadvix

Ugh... struggling to focus here as piece of work is tedious to say the least. However, I am very grateful for it, given that I wasn't expecting anything today. Also aware that this is my fidgety time of day and I should really go and do something else instead of trying to press on (I have time to leave it for a bit). Weather is too minging to go to town, but I might pop to the local CS and have a look in there.

Have just had email from M&M about milk refund. Despite my very clear message regarding which delivery was missing (and that I'd like a refund for), she's refunded me for a different day (containing 2 pints instead of one). I cannot be bothered to go back to them again, especially as this is entirely their error and their loss.

I am now up to £40 on PA, with £9 of that still to clear. However, I've just done a part two of a survey, so hopefully I will now get both lots confirmed.

Karmacat

themadvix said:

I used to use vinegar, but citric acid is better as you remove as much water as possible, pop crystals in and then pour in warm (not hot) water - the heat adds to the effectiveness, which of course you can't do with the vinegar.

I'm boggling a bit here (but very interested, hard water round here too) - how do you remove as much water as possible, from a toilet?  😮🤐  I'd love to know, but I understand if it's a bit graphic 🤣

themadvix

Karmacat said:

themadvix said:

I used to use vinegar, but citric acid is better as you remove as much water as possible, pop crystals in and then pour in warm (not hot) water - the heat adds to the effectiveness, which of course you can't do with the vinegar.

I'm boggling a bit here (but very interested, hard water round here too) - how do you remove as much water as possible, from a toilet?  😮🤐  I'd love to know, but I understand if it's a bit graphic 🤣

🤣🤣 just push it down with the brush!! 

Karmacat

themadvix said:

Karmacat said:

themadvix said:

I used to use vinegar, but citric acid is better as you remove as much water as possible, pop crystals in and then pour in warm (not hot) water - the heat adds to the effectiveness, which of course you can't do with the vinegar.

I'm boggling a bit here (but very interested, hard water round here too) - how do you remove as much water as possible, from a toilet?  😮🤐  I'd love to know, but I understand if it's a bit graphic 🤣

🤣🤣 just push it down with the brush!! 

🤣🤣🤣 Well, somebody had to ask!

themadvix

Morning all,

@Karmacat too true! 🤣 

Another poor night of sleep last night, so still feeling tired and ropey. A bit of an unknown day today as Mr MV may or may not come home tonight and it could either be straight after work or quite late if he does come home.

The lady came for my bike last night so I have gained some space and acquired £40 (Mr MV thinks I'm dead jammy to have got that much for my old bike, but she didn't quibble!). This has been transferred to savings, along with £25 skimmed out of our Santa current account (which has a small balance for just in case, but it doesn't need to be £75 now I could be earning interest on that money elsewhere). Current savings for month total £300+, which is pretty good. I'm hoping to be able to add more than the additional £300 needed for the month tomorrow, given fairly good earnings last month and a relatively cheap month. We will see. Once car is sold there will be the money I put away for that each month (within reason - Mr MV and I will adjust some of who pays for what - I've said I'll contribute to upkeep of his car) as well as the tax refund (and insurance refund??) to go into savings too.

Olio last night wasn't at all small - 80 items, so kept 8 bits, including some veg for tomorrow night (or tonight, I suppose, depending on what Mr MV does), tomatoes, pastries, a pack of cookies that Mr MV has taken away (I had to confess to eating all four of the last pack - two yesterday, two the day before, whoops), and some lunch bits. Most of the rest of it has now gone, which is good.

So today.... I need to finish this work that arrived yesterday. I didn't get out again yesterday afternoon, so I would like to get down to town for various bits and the exercise. If Mr MV doesn't come home it'll also constitute my contact with other humans, so is needed (cafe visit might be called for). I also *must* strain my kefir (I haven't since I sent Cheery some grains and it was featuring in my dreams last night!). I also need to sort the fridge out as it has frozen the milk and the cats' chicken overnight. Not helpful. We've had this problem before, but from memory the instruction booklet doesn't indicate what the numbers on the dial mean, so it's not very helpful when you're trying to warm the fridge up! No idea whether the cats' chicken is now too dodgy to give to them - I'll try them on a little bit when it's defrosted again and see what happens. I had to run the milk under the hot tap to extract enough for my tea...

MS things:
* 1P surveys
* Clicks and spins - a relatively big win with one bookie today (60p - it's a lot these days for that one)
* £40 for my bike
* Good Olio collection

Gratitudes:
* There's a bit of blue sky here this morning, which is lovely after yesterday's dullness
* It's Thursday (why do I feel I'm constantly limping towards the end of the week?)
* I get to go for a cycle later

Have a good day all!

ETA: Main client has just been in touch with two smallish pieces of work which he wants back asap (not him per se, but his client), so I might take laptop out with me and do them in a cafe later).

Baileys_Babe

themadvix said:

I also need to sort the fridge out as it has frozen the milk and the cats' chicken overnight. Not helpful. We've had this problem before, but from memory the instruction booklet doesn't indicate what the numbers on the dial mean, so it's not very helpful when you're trying to warm the fridge up! No idea whether the cats' chicken is now too dodgy to give to them - I'll try them on a little bit when it's defrosted again and see what happens. I had to run the milk under the hot tap to extract enough for my tea...

The numbers on the fridge dial relate to the power used the higher the number the more energy used so the colder the fridge and equally the lower the number is set the less fuel used and the warmer (or at least less cold) the fridge is. For years I used to regularly need to ring my Dad to set the fridge correctly.

themadvix

Thanks BB!

However, it was only set at 3 out of 7/8... it shouldn't be freezing! I have double-checked the manual and it does indicate that the higher the number the colder the fridge (so totally illogical!), so that should be right. I've turned it down to 2.

I have strained the kefir... can't put it in the fridge though as a) existing kefir is frozen and b) don't want to freeze this stuff. Have no unfrozen milk to add to the grains either until my R'ford delivery arrives.

PA survey done though and work is going well.

EssexHebridean

Check the drain hole at the bottom of the back of your fridge - our old one used to routinely decide to freeze everything from time to time and usually a good old fish about down there with a twisted wire tie followed by a cotton bud did the trick for a while... 

Well done on selling the bike - that's an impressive amount as well I'd agree! And we too have a bit of blue sky now - after a distinctly grotty start to the day! 

themadvix

Thanks EH.... there was no blockage in the hole (didn't think there was as it would have been floody, but I have since had a good 'proggle' with a bit of wire. No improvement, so I've turned the fridge off for now. Mr MV is likely to be home tonight (after the event he's going to), so perhaps we'll have it out then and see if we can see a problem. In the meantime, today's 4 pinter of milk from R'ford is sat on the side, along with the cats' chicken.... not ideal at all (especially as the sun will now be coming in the kitchen window).

Cycled into town - freezing (and wet) on the way in, absolutely blimmin' roasting as I walked around and returned though! M&S still didn't have what I went for, but I did get citric acid in B&Q, and I popped into the CS and while they didn't have what I was looking for, they did have a Death in Paradise murder mystery dinner party set.... I had to have it! Bit cheeky though - it was marked as £2 but at the tills there were laminated signs on the counter asking you to donate an additional 50p to breast cancer research - this is for a major national cancer charity and the signs had obviously been there a while. I didn't feel I could say no to the server, but I felt it was a bit unnecessary when they could have just upped the prices of everything - and where is the rest of my 'donation' (i.e. £2) going?

Am off shortly to see a woman about a cat (two really). Not sure what I'm going to have for dinner, but it may be a portion of salmon and some (frozen?!) potatoes in some form or other. I have some more of the work for my main client to do this evening too (this is what happens when I haven't got Mr MV at home.... work just bleeds into the evenings!).