So close, we can smell mortgage freedom!

themadvix

Afternoon all,

Cheery, yes we were still queuing at the time of your message. But went into Westminster Hall at about 8.10. By the time of your message Karma, we were on our way to the Wetherspoons in Leicester Square for some much needed breakfast!

 Definitely worth it, but still absolutely shattered despite a good 2.5 hr nap. Will fill in the details later. Went to Green Park afterwards to see the flowers - amazing!

themadvix

Morning all,

So the lying-in-state was quite an experience (as was the Queue, as you can see from my earlier posts!). They felt like two very different experiences. The Queue was very friendly, fairly free flowing and while we didn't make friends for life, it had a companionable atmosphere - especially as we were with more or less the same bunch of people for the entire 11 hours (lots of people watching and eavesdropping!). The lying-in-state itself was very moving and quite emotional (even Mr MV said so, and he'll admit he is a very unemotional person). I'm very glad we went and it's certainly something we won't forget. Watched the funeral on TV yesterday and that was also quite incredible.

Back to normality now and I've had a blitz this morning to keep up with everything that had slipped a bit over the weekend - have sent some work back to my main client that he was probably expecting sooner (but he's Canadian (albeit living in Europe), so relatively understanding of the day off yesterday - public sector workers there had the day off). Also remembered to do something that should have been done for Cambridge last week - whoops. Fortunately it's neither entirely my fault, nor going to be the end of the world. Am also cat sitting (since Friday) so have been to see them - they're lovely and have an automated feeder so I'm mainly there for fuss and cuddles!

Scaffolders have been and taken half the scaffolding down (will be back later for the other side - as we're a terrace access is different), so solar scaffolders should arrive tomorrow as planned.

I have picked up a cold from someone in London, so feeling very sniffly, despite taking cold and flu stuff. However, brain is currently functioning normally, so will plough on.

MS things:
* London train tickets were last minute singles which were an absolute bargain (nothing else about London was MS though - ate at Zizzis but decided not to use voucher as a) the waitress said we couldn't and I couldn't be bothered to argue the point (which we may have won) and b) it was a bit of a rushed meal as we only had the table for an hour and so noisy we couldn't hear, so hardly an enjoyable experience. Wetherspoons in Leicester Sq is not your average Wetherspoons prices either! Ended up with takeaway Friday night too as too tired/achy to cook)
* Harvested lots of tomatoes and have been using these, including the split ones
* Clicks done
* Another £10 withdrawn from HW due to bonus rounds being won - that's £25 in September now and am going to start keeping a record of this

Gratitudes:
* We got to see the Queen lying-in-state
* Scaffolders arrived as planned
* Allotment friend has offered me a load of onion sets and garlic cloves

Have a good day all!

themadvix

Forgot to add, I won £10 in the RM Survey draw too (it's a voucher, so haven't cashed it out yet).

Karmacat

Sorry about the cold, but otherwise it sounds amazing!  I'm glad you feel okay to work, hope the otc meds end up helping you.

themadvix

Morning all,

Thanks KC. Sadly the OTC stuff is not doing a lot, although I think I might just be beginning to be past the constantly sneezing/streaming stage, which is a welcome relief! Piccadilly Circus here this morning - original scaffolders here at 8.15 to finish taking down the first lot and now the second lot have arrived to start putting the next lot up... ridiculous! The cats are seriously unimpressed! I have to keep reminding myself that it will be worth it in the end. The roof looks hugely better for the work (and given the state of it, I'm really glad we had it done) and the loft is more usable. The solar will definitely be worth it.

In money news, my mum has given us £1200 towards the roof - she was evening things up as she'd given my sis some money (to help get rid of ex-partner). Totally unnecessary, but much appreciated. Have paid the bill for the roof work this morning. This additional money will have the knock-on effect of us having a bit more towards paying down the mortgage come Jan (when we can OP again) and June (when we come off our fix and the race is on to get rid of it completely).

I've also had a tax rebate from last year as I did my tax return and had overpaid on account quite considerably. Some of this has been stashed for the payment on account due in Jan, but some will be put into pension (shiny new VG pension is one of my aims for this month) and the rest into savings, with the exception of some for a) further physio, b) a couple of months gym membership and c) a heated airer. The latter has long been on my list as we are a tumble drier free household and given that it will now be free/cheap to run and keep a room warm as well as drying washing, it's time to make the purchase. I have signed up to My Lakeland and will wait to see what offers they send me before ordering though - I know they do good offers, so if I can get some money off, I'll be a very happy bunny.

In work news, my main client is keeping me busy, I'm cat sitting and I need to spend some time on Cambridge stuff today - it rather got neglected yesterday because of my stuffed head.

Mr MV cooked us stir fry last night, which was much appreciated as I wasn't fit to cook anything. Not sure what we'll have tonight, but it'll be simple or from the freezer (maybe shepherd's pie?). On way back from cat sitting I collected 6 bags of apples and 6 bags of bananas from an Olioer (he had hundreds of bags of each!) - intend to dry some banana slices and will stew the apples and either freeze, bottle or just eat! (Might also try making some fruit leather). My Olio slot has been skipped tonight as I don't think people want a cold with their free food (and I didn't sleep for more than a couple of hours, so I'll be in bed very early tonight!).

Have had a phonecall from the mattress retailer this morning, apologising for the delay and saying that we should hear from a company within 48 hours who will send a technician out to look at it. Result - I was going to have to chase them today, so that saved me a job. Have also sent email requesting a replacement laptop to laptop company - will see what they say. Just need both of these things sorted now!

MS things:
* Clicks done, HW done - a few pence earned
* Avoided takeaway last night, despite us both feeling under the weather (the option would have been to use the McD's voucher I got in the summer, so homecooked was a vastly better idea!
* Lots of work
* Tax rebate - lovely!
* Gift from mum
* Free food

Gratitudes:
* Gift from mum - as above, very unnecessary, but very much appreciated
* An hour's peace and quiet and light between scaffolders - it was lovely
* Plenty of work

Have a good afternoon all!

savingholmes

Lovely gift from your mum. 

Glad going to see the Queen lying in state was worth it for you. 

Good luck with your latest building works. 

themadvix

Morning all,

Thanks SH!

Feeling much better today, thankfully! Just received supermarket delivery with my organic September stock up - about £20 saved on things I'd normally buy (won't need to buy weetabix* or passata for a while!).

*Organic Weetabix might sound unnecessary, and I'd agree, but we once made the mistake of trying them and the consistency is entirely different to normal ones (so much firmer and nicer), which made it impossible to go back - Mr MV runs on Weetabix (and has done all his life), so stocking up when they're on offer once a year is the best way to MSE them!

Yesterday afternoon's scaffolders were awful in comparison to the roofing company's scaffolders - they took ages, were really loud (and occasionally sweary) and moved/broke/damaged several things. When they've removed the scaffolding we'll definitely be complaining to E0n/the solar company/whoever about them. Not impressed at all. And we've not heard from the solar fitters, so no idea when they'll be turning up! Mr MV is off to Manchester for an awards thing this evening (don't think he's likely to be getting an award though) and I'm planning on going about my day as normal, so if they turn up unannounced, I may not be here (not planning on going far but may pop to M*S for a cuppa/change of scene and need to visit kitties after I've taken Mr MV to station).

Despite the noise and disruption, I was remarkably productive yesterday and got on well with my work and the Cambridge stuff. Still didn't feel up to anything inspirational cooking wise (not helped by the fact we were very short of ingredients), so grabbed pizza from Sains (it's right next to cat sitting job) - much cheaper than a takeaway (and nicer too). 20 bonus Nectar points awarded on the scratchcard - I keep doing better on those than I'm earning through spending lately!

Had notification from Barclaycard that I reached my spending goal on it and have been awarded 50k Avios. These are being sent to my Avios account and as soon as they hit there, I will downgrade my B'card to save the £20/month fee (even if the points are only used in Argoose, it's still a huge win).

MS things:
* Clicks done
* Opted for cheaper lazy dinner 
* Organic September savings 

Gratitudes:
* The cold is on its way out
* No scaffolders today! Hooray!
* Lovely cuddles from B&W cat last night - you can tell the weather is turning (although I did have to remove a dangling poo from his bum fur first - sorry, TMI!)

Have a good day all!

Karmacat

Lots going on, madvix - some unpleasant (scaffolders!  poo! 👀) but lots are really good too.  And if Mr MV likes weetabix, I totally understand about finding a texture he likes as well - I remember thinking of weetabix as portable wheat porridge, back in the day.  

Plus thank you for sharing things like the Avios points work - I'm sure reading your diary has helped me start to set things like that up again.  They take ages to set up, but keeping going is fine.

themadvix

Thanks Karma. Re Avios, I'm also loving the automated Nectar conversion (and you can convert back too, without loss of value) - every little helps as another supermarket likes to say. There's always a possibility it won't take another 8 years before we go to America again (by business class!)!

Another set and forget is Airtime Rewards - because I mainly use my Amex card, it's taken me aaaaaages (literally years) but I'm about to get my first £10 towards my phone bill. Totally easy money as you just add the cards to it and it does the rest. And because I've been spending on a (Barclaycard) Mastercard recently, it's shot up! (Just had a look at it and the Zizzis meal earned me £3.38 - wasn't expecting that! It's mainly tiny sums in Boots/Argos/Wilkos).

South_coast

I can't do Airtime Rewards, they don't support Sky Mobile 😥

Thanks for the cat bum story, read it just as I was eating my lunch 🤣!