So close, we can smell mortgage freedom!

Karmacat

That money stuff sounds good! That's on the list for me later this week, my easy access if only earning 1% still.  I think, anyway.  

Have a lovely day.

themadvix

Thanks KC, you too.

I have cancelled the physio appointment! It's good to have taken action, even if it's not entirely positive action. Just making a card and then will pop car down for its MOT. I am making progress with Cambridge work in between!

themadvix

Morning all, (written and not posted hours ago!)

Car failed its MOT - needs some welding. Not at all unexpected and it could have been much worse, so we'll see how much the welding is going to cost and go from there (we have a friend who'll be able to do it, so hopefully cheap rates!). We do technically have the equipment to do it ourselves, just not the skill (that's what we'll hone on the other mini).

Olio collection went smoothly last night - not too much. I've kept a prawn sandwich for my lunch (ridiculously excited about this!), a couple of bananas, a custard tart (it didn't last long) and a couple of cheese and ham toasties for Mr MV (in the freezer). As the donating supermarket likes to say, every little helps!

Had Cambridge meetings last night and will be cracking on with that today - hoping to send off drafts of two of the reports I'm working on by the end of tomorrow. Will be going into the office next Tuesday for a couple of meetings (and some work - have set aside some stuff to work on then). Will share a lift with my friend/boss, so that will save on fuel.

Dinner tonight is going to be sweet potato and chickpea curry as we have sweet potatoes that need using. Tomorrow is pizza night and I may also get ingredients for us to have gumbo on Saturday night (which we learnt to cook in New Orleans and haven't cooked again since - will have to dig out recipe and see what I need other than okra - I think we have most of the rest of it already). Next week the focus is going to be on using freezer bits and pulses/lentils etc. I may go to the butchers today, as well as Sains, for some sausages for Mr MV too as one of (my) favourite recipes for this time of year is a sausage and apple/cider hash - and we have all the rest of the ingredients. He could have veggie sausages, but it's not his favourite recipe, so only seems fair that he gets a meaty version! 

Was paid by Cambridge last night, so have transferred a chunk to savings, have paid off one cc (only a tiny amount to pay from this once I'd transferred MOT pot and railcard pot money for it - mostly milk and R'ford). Payment wasn't due, but it just was a good way to use the pay IYSWIM. Oh, and a £4.82 TT to my automatic cat feeder pot.

Mr MV's unhappiness at work has reached a tipping point I think. He is going to tell his boss he is looking for a new job. We will update his CV at the weekend. He is just not getting any of the support he needs and they are making more and demands of him. There's occasional lacklustre attempts to change things, but nothing ever comes of them. He's seriously underpaid for what he's doing and very overworked - it's really more the latter than the former that's the issue too, although of course, recognition of his responsibilities would be nice.

MS things:
* PA survey yesterday that paid £2.50 and gave me access to a mental health app for a year - was pleased I chose to do it!
* HW done and 50 free spins took me over the payout threshold for that bookie, so £5 withdrawn (cheeky beggars said it could take up to 7 days to arrive in my account - funny how it doesn't take that long for them to add it to your betting account). A small win on another bookie too.
* Clicks done
* RM survey item to post this morning

Gratitudes:
* Positive meetings yesterday
* It's Thursday (has recently started to be as much of a celebration as Friday night in my head!)
* Forecast for the weekend is dry - hoping to go for a nice walk

Have a good day all!

Cheery_Daff

Pah to the car, hope it doesn't cost too much. And all fingers and toes crossed for Mr MV finding a cheerful and better paid job soon!

savingholmes

Best of luck for the new job for MrMV

themadvix

Morning all,

Was up and at it this morning - dropped Mr MV at the station before 8 and went straight to Aldi for pizzas for tonight and then to Sains for a few bits on Nectar prices that were ending today - £3.77 saved there on things I'd have to buy there anyway. £10 spent in Aldi including 4pts organic milk and cheese as well as the pizzas for tonight. (Annoyingly I forgot the ice cream - one of our guests doesn't like custard (I know!) and the okra for gumbo tomorrow.)

Have just had a quick meeting about Cambridge stuff and have done one aspect of my work there. However, I need to nearly finish these reports today (will need Mr MV to help with some of it over the weekend as it eludes my technical skills!). Would like to get to allotment to do some weeding. Also need to make Mr MV a birthday card and start thinking about a present - I have a couple of ideas.

Lunch today is going to be some sort of bread (I have a baton, but also crumpets) toasted with egg and beans - to use up open beans! 

Looking forward to a low-key socialising evening this evening - BIL and SIL are good company and I don't need to worry about the house being immaculate, which it definitely isn't.

MS things:
* PA surveys
* Clicks and HW done - a few pence here and there on HW, but wasn't expecting a lot after yesterday's £ win
* Tiny ebay sale - postage money for me
* Need to submit time sheet for the week (another relatively big one)

Gratitudes
* A good walk with Mr MV yesterday when he got back - we probably both should have been working, but it was good to get outside for some fresh air and quality time
* A good book (am re-reading the Pern series)
* A relative that was taken to hospital in an ambulance has been discharged and tests came back negative - more investigations to be done, but he's OK

Have a good day all!

Karmacat

Tricky things going on, like for your poor relative, and you were saying about Mr MV's doubts about his workplace too - but I love the sound of low key socialising and making sure you make the most of Aldi and Sains.  And can I just say ... crumpets.  OMG, crumpets.  Yum, just yum.

Baileys_Babe

Have you ever made crumpets from scratch @Karmacat? They are so deliciously morish 😋 I enjoy HM crumpets as well as shop bought, both have their good points.

newgirly

The car run sounds like so much fun Vix, what a great thing to look forward to in the future getting the car you want! 

themadvix

Morning all and thanks for your comments - especially Cheery and SH - I missed you back there!

Weekend was a relatively good one - a mix of jobs, lazing about and some socialising. Had a great time playing Ticket to Ride with BIL and SIL on Friday evening - definitely recommend it as a game - sounds complicated before you start but actually quite straightforward once you get going.

Saturday was fairly lazy, with some housework and some Cambridge work done in the morning. In the afternoon we walked into the old town (the nice bit) to look in the music shop (Mr MV has asked for money towards an acoustic guitar for his birthday) and we had a drink in the brewery bar. Picked up the ingredients needed for gumbo and we cooked that in the evening - was almost as good as in N'awlins, but we noticed the lack of crab meat (couldn't get that).

Yesterday was more productive - I went to the allotment in the morning and did a fair bit of weeding (was there less than an hour, but still made great headway - no dig is excellent for that). Unfortunately I've definitely got allium leaf miner on my plot 😪 which means that growing alliums is out for at least a couple of years. It doesn't bode well for the garlic, onions and leeks I've got in! Chucked a couple of wrecked leeks, pulled a couple more to eat before they are wrecked too and looked sadly on at the lacklustre onions. Garlic still looks OK, but will keep a close eye on it as no point having space taken up for that long for no crop at the end of it. Picked the last couple of cabbages (one can barely be called that). Brussels are looking great though, and there's a couple of decent looking kale plants that I'll be able to start harvesting from soonish and there's a little bit of chard too. 

Meanwhile, Mr MV and his friend made a start on my car - but it didn't get finished. We (inc welding friend) had cabbage fritters for lunch, which were lovely. There's enough left over for Mr MV's lunch today too. My Cambridge friend and her husband popped round too so he could give us a quote for repointing the inside of the garage wall (very damp due to higher soil level on our neighbours' side).

Today I'm working this morning (mostly Cambridge stuff) and then seeing ex-Brownie friends - lunching at Brown Owl's house and then going for a walk. I intend to pop round to Mum's on the way back. I also need to call in to get the cats' chicken and some porridge oats on my way back.

MS things:
* Clicks and HW done
* YG safe updated - soooo close to payout there, just 105 points now
* S&S submitted
* Collecting some onions from Olio - including some red ones to make red onion marmalade for Christmas presents

Gratitudes:
* *Some* crops are looking OK at the allotment
* Lovely time on Friday night
* Enjoyed our excursion to the old town
* Have done 10k steps both days (this hasn't happened since our Devon holiday) - hoping to match that today too

Have a good day all!