So close, we can smell mortgage freedom!

themadvix

Morning all,

The cabbage thoran is pretty nice EH - in fact, I'd forgotten how nice it is as it had been a while since we'd had it. I had the solid half of a can of coconut milk to use, so used that instead of coconut cream. Unfortunately (and I'm really cross with myself) the broccoli had had it - I'm all for cutting bits off but it was yellow and beginning to have fur growing on it. I did use some sprouts, but they aren't great either (also tiny, as homegrown) and were overcooked. At least the cabbage was good!

Re putting up with stuff - yes, totally for 10+ years.... it'll be so novel to upgrade some things once we've got rid of the mortgage! Not that with two house cats you can have too much in the way of nice stuff (claws and fur!), but some things will definitely be sorted.

Average-sized Olio last night and no pastries (which is a good thing). Mr MV has taken a salad for lunch and has a chicken and mushroom pie for dinner. We also kept some paper decorations and a jar of hosin sauce (as well as a lovely bunch of flowers).

I am going out for lunch with Mum to celebrate both our birthdays, hence the pie for Mr MV. We were planning on going to a nice pub, but it was fully booked and we're constrained by time as she's got to get back to pick Niece up from school, so Harvester it is. But I have found a 50% off voucher to use!

Workwise, I've been busy with bits for main client this morning and am just making a start on the large American project. Have done a quick check of Cambridge stuff, but probably need to spend some more time on that this afternoon. Will walk back via cats from lunch, combining exercise and cat sitting duties.

MS things:
* Cambridge pay received - £2.51 TT to savings, the rest off CC 
* £5 withdrawn from a bookie account - to savings
* £4ish from TCB requested - for savings
* PA surveys
* Free food

Gratitudes:
* Looking forward to lunch out with Mum
* Work - it feels good to have plenty on the go
* Have put Gdansk in my Countdown app
* And I think my birthday present from Mr MV has arrived!

Have a good day all!

themadvix

Had a lovely lunch with Mum and she paid 🙄 Walked back via cats (and drs to book an appointment). One of the cats is ill again, so I've just ordered some probiotics online (via TCB). Need to do some more work but just settling down with cat on lap for Sunday's Call the Midwife - Mr MV has said he'll be late home, so I'll do the work later.

themadvix

Afternoon all,

Another cold but sunny day here. I have access to the car (I mean, I do also have my car, but I'm trying not to use it - both because it's cold and damp and because it's better for me and the environment), so I will probably use that to visit the cats today, alongside a trip to Sains. I will fit in a walk down to the pharmacy though. At Sains I need to get loo roll now I can save 75p/pack and ketchup (which conveniently is also on my Nectar prices). I need some other bits too really, but know that Sains isn't the best place to get them price-wise (and I have struggled to get some of them plastic-free since my zero-waste shop closed - others don't stock them).

I have more work to do on the American project, but I've spent this morning working on Cambridge things - discovering that I needed to do quite a bit more to something I thought was nearly there. In the meantime both my 'bosses' have found additional things for me to do! Fortunately one doesn't work Fridays, which gives me a chance to catch up.

My present from Mr MV was a lovely hardback photobook of our trip to the US It's perfect as I was only thinking the other day that we take all these photos on our phones, but then so few of them actually get seen by the person who took them, let alone by the subjects of the photos!

Lunch today will be egg mayo in leftover Olio baguette. Not sure about dinner yet - either curry from the freezer or something I get inspired by in Sains (tempted by pizza!). 

MS things:
* Clicks and HW done
* YG surveys done
* 1P surveys done
* RM survey items to post later
* Cat sitting
* Usual leftover food! (Apart from chips last night, Mr MV's dinner was Olio pie and Olio mushy peas; I had Olio 'couldn't give it away because it was past its use by salad'.

Gratitudes:
* Weighed myself and the scales are going in the right direction at least!
* It's Friday! It feels like it's been a long week.
* Lovely present from Mr MV

Have a good afternoon all!

Cheery_Daff

That sounds like a lovely present from Mr MV! I made us a photobook a few years back of all our adventures from our first 10 years together, and I was planning to do the next five as another book, but I never got round to it, and we're now over 17 years so part of me is thinking I should just wait til we get to 20 and do it then

Suffolk_lass

A very late Happy New Year from Mrs Lurgy over here. Still covid positive after two weeks, and not 100%, I have utterly failed to catch up on all the diaries but have skimmed through yours - I was going to chip in on duvets (I may have missed an update).

 - We bought a pair of all-seasons silk ones for the motorhome and had the best sleeps ever (our body temperatures are very different). We have not gone for them in the house as we are content with the ones in use but if your ethics allow, they are great. Ours came from big river company at this link, but not at that price - we got them on offer, with a voucher for around £100 cheaper

newgirly

A photo album is such a lovely present 🙂

themadvix

@Cheery_Daff 😂 Yes, I think you might need to wait for 20 years now. In good news though, I think you can just upload photos to them these days and they use the tag data to put them in date order, auto lay it out and add maps if desired - rather than spending hours tweaking the layout etc.

@Suffolk_lass, so sorry to hear you're *still* not well - I hope it shifts soon. I have a feeling the doctors would say that you're unlikely to be infectious after 10 days and it's probably just dead virus, but totally get that you don't want to take the risk. Thanks for the tip about silk duvets - I think I'll have to investigate how that fits against down ones... I have a feeling you might be able to get reclaimed down duvets, but I definitely need to do more research into the ethics as well as the options. It's another of those things we'll probably put up with until the mortgage has gone!

@newgirly thanks, it is! I hope you're feeling better too.

Today seems to have really dragged! I'm very glad it's now 5 o'clock here (rather than just 'somewhere') (random sidebar: Siri is telling me she is playing 'It's five o'clock somewhere' but she's very definitely actually playing 'Margaritaville'.... very irritating!). Submitted timesheet for Cambridge and it's been approved. Also had a meeting after that and have been given another project. Have warned them that I'm beginning to get a bit tight for time, but for now it's OK.

Spend £18 in Sains - pizza for tonight (on offer), eggs, ketchup, 3 packs of loo roll and gravy granules. Cats fed and watered. Cat client that's meant to be starting on Sunday has now got a family member house sitting (not his fault), but still wants to pay me and keep me on standby, which is fine by me!

Have a good evening all!

themadvix

Just sorted my car insurance as Mr MV was fiddling with his renewal too. Switched to TPFT cover as we definitely wouldn't claim on the comp cover. And cover for the year was £155 - from a budgeted pot of £250, so nearly £100 sent to savings - I should easily hit that EOM target now, just £22 to go, before the interest (approx £15) is paid!

Cheery_Daff

Ooh, well done! I'll be doing car insurance soon - doubt I'll beat your quote though, that's darn good going!

themadvix

Remember it’s for a very old car Cheery that does very few miles… even fewer the way things are going!

 Have just placed my order for seeds for the allotment for the year - £17.70 posted (to come from allotment pot). Didn’t need much, but have got tomato, chilli, pepper and cucumber seeds to grow in my heated propagator. 😊 Of course, most of these will actually then stay in the garden, but we’ll gloss over that!