So close, we can smell mortgage freedom!

themadvix

Hi TallGirl! 🙋‍♀️ Poor you, reading through all that - I had no idea that I was so many pages in! I hope you skim read/skipped some of it - lots of waffle!

Loving your allotment shed improvements EH - sounds like a great idea. I wish Mr MV would spend more time with me there - I could happily relax down there, but for the fact that there's a limit to how much I like my own company. If we had the second allotment, I'd be looking to plant it up with strawberries or other perennials (vines?), but it's not likely to happen any time soon (if ever). The plot looks completely abandoned now and I think I'll be saying something to the site agents when I see them - although I am aware that they are not the most diplomatic (dropping my allotment friend in it (and saying patently untrue things) when he said something about one of his neighbours).

Have just been on the phone to Nationwide as my debit card payment to Vanguard was being declined. Used chat and they were pretty hopeless, but said to ring the fraud line. The man there couldn't have been more helpful - he apologised for the inconvenience, explained that it wasn't actually Nationwide (hence they hadn't rung me), but Visa and that the actual problem was to do with the browser - I just needed to clear my cookies and try again in a new tab and it went through. So a useful thing to know!

So pension payment made for the year and a smaller amount to ISA. Half of pension payment went into my S&S LISA to spread my options. 

After having said I had nowhere to be, it turns out I did, I just hadn't written it down - had message from new cat client saying wasn't I supposed to be picking up the key? Whoops. Whizzed down there on my bike and all OK of course. I assured her that I wouldn't forget her cat!

Suffolk_lass

I still put old carpet over our raised beds in winter. They always have mouse holes underneath when we remove them to turn over the soil and add spring compost. This might be the last year though as some re-engineering is planned to make beds narrower (and no, I won't be trimming down the 10 year old carpet remnants!)

themadvix

Morning all,

Fortunately old Harry (whose allotment it was before it became mine) left me plenty of thick plastic weed suppressant material (not the thin flaky stuff but proper tarpaulin type stuff), so between that and cardboard, I don't need to worry. My concern with carpet is that it's usually plastic and starts to degrade, resulting in microplastics in the soil. I popped to the allotment very briefly last night and I really was hoping to spend some time there this afternoon as it really needs it. However, it's been raining and the forecast is for more, so we'll see. I picked a tiny courgette (I think they're pretty much over now, two strawberries, four baby corn, some plums and a whole bunch of chard. And then we went out for dinner!

We visited a pub in a nearby village that does wood-fired pizza and I've wanted to go to for ages (so did Mr MV, but he managed to meet some colleagues there recently, so he'd had the enjoyment). Excellent pizza and we cycled there which was nice. Was rather dark cycling back afterwards - we had lights but they were definitely more for being seen than seeing on tree-lined country lanes in late dusk!

Have been nicely soaked on my bike this morning visiting cats, but have also received a text saying the owners won't be as late back as planned (probably due to weather), so I don't need to go this evening - hooray! If the weather improves, I'll pop to town when I visit the other two later and pay in the cash from this morning's sitting and the cheque from the long-term ones as my new debit card for my business account has arrived.

Hoping to get to pub this evening as I need to hand over key to friend for long-term cats, but we also need to install new battery in Mum's car, so it depends on when Mr MV can get away from work (not looking promising in that regard - he's fire fighting today). I'm finishing up this work for main client; I've done another bit for another client and I've also done a bit of Cambridge work. I need to submit my timesheet for that once I'm done.

Other life admin stuff is coming up - need to change my phone contract (and provider) as coming out of contract soon; also may need to renew accounting software licence, but we'll see - if I can use it without a current licence I will (it might just be that I won't get support). Also another piece of software is putting their price up - if I can afford it, I'll renew the licence for that before then (the renewal will be added on at the end of the current contract). 

Money for pension and ISA had arrived with VG, so I've invested both of those.

MS things:
* HW and clicks (ooh and I'm at payout with VB as I was selected for a quote research thingy, so £5 for doing nothing)
* 1P is getting there - thanks for the motivation Cheery
* Free food from allotment
* Used loyalty card at pub (it's part of a local to Herts and Norfolk chain - perfect for us!) - we'll get a free pizza when we've bought 8!
* Cycled rather than drove

Gratitudes:
* Tonight's cat visit has been cancelled - both the weather and timings mean that this is a huge help
* Will see Sis and Niece as she's forgotten her Costco card and needs petrol!
* Lovely pizza and change of scene at the pub

Less grateful:
* Found a lump of cat sick that must have been delivered yesterday
* Milkman had dropped a pint on our driveway in the night and left glass all over the drive 😡
* Didn't sleep well at all (heard milkman spending a long time, but didn't hear the crash)

You win some, you lose some! Have a good day all!

themadvix

Morning all,

Excellent, busy and social weekend here. We did fit Mum's battery *and* make it to the pub, and she gave us a tenner for a drink too, which was totally unexpected. Home after a drink so that we could finish the stuffed marrow for dinner.

Saturday, Mr MV woke up feeling very dizzy and faint. To start with we thought it might be labrynthitis or similar, but it seemed to fade as the day went on (turning into a headache) - he slept for two hours in the afternoon, so it must have been something - he never sleeps during the day. I got on with the housework and gardening - filled our compost heap and the council bin - mowing front and back, weeding, cutting back the raspberries, removing ivy, etc. etc. Then after lunch I went to the allotment for a bit and did another weeding session. Home in time for a quick shower before we met some friends for an escape room and dinner. We had a great time and have discovered a lovely Mediterranean restaurant in a nearby town.

Yesterday we watched the football and then I headed back to the allotment in the afternoon - strimming and more weeding, and this time I've put cardboard and wood chip down where I weeded (around the base of my currants/rhubarb), in the hope that this will stay tidy! Picked more plums and some blackberries both days, so these are now the fruit on my porridge in the mornings. As they ripen, I'll pick enough to freeze/make some blackberry vinegar. Saw a new courgette coming along, which is good - I thought the plants had had it, so nice to see a more manageable level of production. Also borlottis are doing well - just need some dry weather to get them drying out on the plant now. Lots more to do at the allotment, but I'm hoping I'll be able to pop down for half an hour most days this week - little and often is the key, but it's not been the case recently. After the allotment I popped to see my family (Mr MV still had headache, so declined) - lovely but select group. Came back to a lovely BBQ cooked by Mr MV (including hg potato salad and hg chard) and we ate in the garden.

MS things:
* NSD yesterday
* Clicks and HW done today
* Finally got the booking for my hotel stay sorted - less than a month away now, so looking forward to it!
* Work from two US clients - was beginning to worry that the US side of things was a bit quiet, but it has picked up again now, must just been the summer slump

Gratitudes:
* Work from the US
* Lovely dinner cooked by Mr MV
* Good time with friends (it was my Olio friend and her husband who we know quite well, her brother (visiting from their home country, and another Olio friend - unfortunately her husband had been in hospital so wasn't able to join us) - it's good to make new friends!

Have a good day all!

themadvix

Mr MV has just had an unexpected call - the parts for his car arrived this morning (with no notice given to the dealership either) and his car is being fixed! He finally got around to sending a complaint email only yesterday - too late to have caused this action, so it's just coincidence. Hooray, in any case... although it's been so long, I'd kind of come to expect to be living in this limbo for a while yet!

Mr MV is still hoping for some acknowledgement of the inconvenience caused (read compensation), but we won't hold our breath. 

In the meantime, work is going well and I'm thinking it might be time to pop to the allotment. Also need to return a cat sitting key, but it's in the opposite direction... ugh.

Cheery_Daff

Ooh, good news on the car being sorted! Excellent allotment work. Hope Mr MV is feeling substantially better soon x

themadvix

Morning all,

Thanks Cheery! I think Mr MV's headache may finally have gone (he's on the phone now, so I can't ask). 

Allotment is looking much better for some TLC. I'll go down again later and take some cardboard - I'm going to attempt to adopt the bit of land behind my shed - technically we think I must be paying for it as the plots should be square. It's quite shady, but I'm thinking I might try some wild garlic and mint there (in pots). But first I need to kill the grass off! Courgettes seem to have recovered and are producing - there's three little ones, so we'll be back to a mainly courgette based diet in a few days I imagine!

This morning I've finalised my R'ford order - as the garden/allotment is producing, it's only a few random bits including lemongrass, limes (for the freezer) and ginger - things I don't have the ability to grow myself (although I did try the lemongrass a couple of years ago - it was in the horrible compost, so maybe I should try again next year). I've also collected some organic leeks and cabbage from an Olioer. Unfortunately the cabbage is quite small, so I've added another one to the R'ford order as I planned to make sauerkraut from it and it packs down very small once brined (this sauerkraut will be ready about the time I'm hoping to harvest the first of my cabbages). I plan on making a batch of Glamorgan sausages with the leeks in an attempt to have something easy in the freezer that isn't ultra-processed (the Goodlife bean burgers are great, but variety is good too!). Haven't made them before, so it'll be interesting.

Chickpeas are currently in the IP, to make houmous for sandwiches. Also trying to cut down on cheese (yes, I know about the sausages!), given it's really high climate impact. And we both like houmous, so... I'm feeling really motivated in terms of climate and health at the moment - just wish the pesky income-earning work didn't take up so much of my time! 😂

MS things:
* Olio food - cabbage, leeks and oranges
* Transferred tax money interest (only £6.57 as only a part month) to my savings
* Transferred Cambridge earnings to savings - they should be good to stay there this month as I've got a good SE income, but in any case, better for them to be earning some interest in the meantime
* Cat sat (on my lap - caught up on surveys whilst cat sitting, without any neglect of kitty 😊)
* Clicks and HW done
* PA surveys

Gratitudes:
* Free organic food
* Cat cuddles
* Plum crumble - using up the last of the jarred plums from last year - I need to be less precious about using them this year!

Have a good day all!

EssexHebridean

Ooh I can identify with the thing of using stuff you've preserved etc - or rather NOT using them! It's that thing of "but if I eat them I won't have them any more" isn't it! 

QueenJess

I know what you mean, work is a hindrance!

themadvix

EssexHebridean said:

Ooh I can identify with the thing of using stuff you've preserved etc - or rather NOT using them! It's that thing of "but if I eat them I won't have them any more" isn't it! 

Yes! This is totally it!