Mortgage Free now aiming for FIRE

TallGirl

Morning more golf last night it was really nice and almost played well both of us until the very few last holes so annoying. It is lovely to get to know more ladies too. Hairdresser was lovely but my hair is more blond than I normally have it so might have to get used to that.

Got a message from my council asking me to call them. I did I am still registered here as being married to my prev husband. I did take down his death certificate when we registered but obviously did not get a copy taken. It is fine of course they have a secure portal you can write to all Councils and government departments and send documents very easily.

My sister is coming over for lunch in an hour so that will be nice to catch up with her. They have just got a new electric car so I need to find out more. I am still toying with getting a new car and have been asking AI some questions. A lot of people lease them here so you do not get the big drop in the value of new electric cars but that might not be so good for someone who does not drive a lot.

Lunch will be freshly cooked chicken breast in a wrap with salad. I have just been to get it and taken the bottle back for deposits so got a whole 5 pounds off the bill.

I did splurge on the garden yesterday as I it has been irritating me only to have 1 battery charger for the two batteries that goes in the mower and the strimmer. I managed to break the strimmer but a new part was only £5 so got 2 and as you pay £4 postage I wanted to add a double charger as that would speed things up. I then saw they had sets with a leaf blower/sucker for £130 that included two batteries which are stronger than mine and a double charger. When adding it all up the leaf blower was free so although I did not strictly need the leaf blower mine is rubbish and a cheap from the UK so I ordered it.

DG is likely to lose the part time UK job as they cannot get insurance for her. Even if they do they will look for a UK based person which makes sense. I think it is the best thing she really is not happy there and if she did not have that job we could really focus on the other side and gain more traction there. I have signed up for a marketing course on linked in and I will do my utmost to get us more clients. Things have gone quiet and we still only have 1 paying client. I think the last ones went against our advice and just changed the locks (the police told them to) which is not correct.

Anyway best prepare for my sisters visit.

TallGirl

Morning I had a lovely afternoon with my sister yesterday it was lovely just spending time with her and chatting. DG even took the afternoon off too. I think we will become even closer after our holiday together the 3 of us. That is in 36 days by the way!

She did help with some weeding yesterday but there is still so much to do the garden feels like it is running away from me. I must cut the lawn again as it is growing like mad.

Starting the marketing course today and I also need to get DG to give me some information so I can do a case study ready for Monday. I must crack this getting clients in.

We have cinema tonight where we volunteer. I really hope we get some customers that would be nice for a change although I think we will stay and see the film.

So that is it hopefully a productive day for me today.

TallGirl

Cinema was great as we had 12 people come to see the film so lots of drinks and sweets sold. We did have another volunteer come in and say it was his night but I was sure it was ours and it was super busy so I kind of just let him go off. I think they had a board meeting so maybe it was that. I think we did ok with the volunteering bit and we even washed up our glasses afterwards and locked up.

Sweets and a glass of wine each came to £10 so quite a bargain really. Film was long but really good Hail Mary not something I would usually see but worth seeing for sure.

I have completed the work for DG so today I am back in the garden. My order for the batteries and garden tool is 2 min away at the local shop so need to go and get that before I start. We are playing golf this evening but only the par 3 as the main course was busy. We are booked in for Saturday as well and then it is the knitting festival on Sunday.

I do still have one project to finish but it is only very quick so I need ot buy my next one as i do love knitting and its less time on the screen.

I did do some money saving I cancelled my subscription to Danish WHich £12 a month saved and my Premium Membership to Moonpig I really do not use it £10 saved.

Right off to pick up my stuff but first a nice Icedlatte it is getting warm here which is lovely.

TallGirl

Nice weekend gone and now its a lovely sunny Monday and I have my favourite carpenter building me a bin storage. I will need to paint it as the communication went awry but I am sure it will be fine. It will be good to get it done as it really does look like a mess with all the rotten wood.

Anyway back to the weekend on Friday we did get out to play some golf and regretted not having signed up for the pairs competition it looked really fun. We did play Saturday too but it was so cold we actually only made 7 holes it was windy too. Then yesterday was the knitting festival and it was actually good fun. It was an event in a old factory that will be transformed into a new culture centre and library but it was fun to see it before the transformation started. There were lots of stalls and I did buy a kit to make a really summery top. DG paid half the idea is we can share it. It is quite complex so will be a challenge but it will be fun to make it. That was £70 then there was £8 on drinks but the entrance was only £5 each at least.

Then we walked into town (2 min away) and lots of shops were part of the festival and so was one of the museums. We got to see it for free which was cool. We also went up in the clock tower which has views all over town and the area. You could really see the islands and the waterways very cool. That was only a £5 for both of us. A beer in the high-street outside and then we went back to the harbour. This is where there will be pop up street food stalls from June and there are already quite a few gourmet places to eat. We chose to sit outside the smokery and have fish and chips plus a beer. So for £25 you got 2 pints and one mean. There was enough chips for 2 but the fish was tiny still it was enough. Denmark is expensive especially tourist places. £15 for one tiny portion of fish and chips it did come with home made dip which was lovely. Nice day out and I will definitely do the knitting festival next year it was fun to see all the people knitting in town.

I also completed the tasks for that job I applied for it was really quick and quite fun to switch between the languages.

I am busy planning DGs birthday I am going to take her to Germany mainly to do the shopping but also to stay overnight and have a bit of a weekend away. It will be a surprise but I do also need something else to give her on the day.

Today I must get the marketing sorted for the sites I do really wish we would get some customers soon that would really help. Looks like DGs part time job will continue so that is money coming in for a bit longer which is handy.

TallGirl

Morning bin shed is almost complete I do like it its very sturdy and will last but the price might be quite ouch. Still it was needed and it means you do not have to remember to take bins out on set days it is all on the curb for the binmen.

There will be a fair bit of rubbish left over which I will have to take to the tip as the carpenter could not get a trailer. It is very annoying but that is how the trades keep their costs down if they have to take it away. He is using the slabs the mower sits on and the sand I bought for the patio so I will need to get some more of that. A bit annoying but at least I get slabs laid by him and not me.

I sorted DGs birthday out a hotel stay in Germany actually at the shops lol (hotel does have an outdoor heated pool which looks so cool). Then in August we will go and see the golf locally when all the pro's come over.

We have golf today at 4pm so need to make sure we are ready to go on time. I need to clean the house and also get to the tip. A local shop is doing the cheap butter so worth getting some even if you can only buy 3 at a time it saves about £4 on 3 packs. They also have my ice coffee stuff and something else I wanted to worth going for.

Marketing course has been restarted because I did an old version so a bit annoying. It is quite boring. I did find an interesting article I would like to do something with.

I that covers all today tomorrow will be busy with the car test drive, my medical app and a look at pergolas.

TallGirl

Morning a bit of life admin before we set off to the car dealer, my medical app and to look at Pergolas. Amazing what you can do in one place about 1 hour from here and all 3 are super close together.

I completed the tidy up after the bin shed build and ordered some black stones to fill up where it has got bare and you can see the liner which is ripping up. I was just under £200 delivered so that was what it was needed it. I even got some test stones before i ordered to check they size they are grey but all mixed together it should be ok. I also spent money on some proper weedkiller as some of the slabs have weeds in between you just cannot get to.

Went to the shop with the offers on butter, coffee pods and my ice coffee and they had everything in stock so I bought as much as I was allowed (6 per person). Now this shops is great as the offer started on Saturday but because they limit to 6 there was still plenty left. For each item it was about £1 saving so Lurpack spreadable (small packet) was £1.70 which is cheap here. Happy days I also got some parsley seedlings and some sugar snaps £2.20 per pack with 8 in each. I think plants are super cheap here.

I have passed the voice recording I did in Danish and English so hopefully progress to next stage. It was quite fun doing it so if they wish to pay me bring it on. I have also signed up for a site that trains AI and that was good too. It also gives you access to all the AI bots for free.

I need to call the Council at 9am as I have had a bill in the previous owners name and it obviously needs to go to me. I can see it is late so they have added fees but this is the first time I have seen it. It came straight into my Ebox (secure mail from various organisations tax etc) so wasn't lost in the post lol.

Had a lovely afternoon playing golf last night. It was a fun format and I played with two lovely ladies and we won! My first Danish win happy days. Dinner was delicious and company good. Met someone who knits as well and had been to the knitting festival so I said I would have to come with her group next year. She even thought I was English (she has a Scottish SIL). £18 for dinner and I had one drink so that was cheap. It is only once a month but nice evening and chance to get to know everyone better before we go on the trip in June.

We need to leave at 10am so I best go and get sorted so I am ready to call the Council and also sort out paying another bill. That is 2 bills this week I have not paid do not want to make it 3.

Finally the cats were real English hooligans yesterday. Sweet little cat from two doors away decided to walk through our garden (yes he should not have done this) and our big boy pounced on him. Then fat small Ginger came running to help with the beating and they were both on him. He is tiny and only 2 years old and our are large and heavy so totally unfair. DG got them off him and we caught both of ours, put them in a room in the house and locked the cat flap. DG also insisted on us not talking to them all evening. That bit was hard as ginger is just so cute and he kept trying to get a cuddle while we were on the sofa. I am sure they had forgotten by this time but DG was insisting and it was uncalled for. Poor little cat I hope he is ok.

beanielou

Oh no. Poor wee cat. My cats are both gingers and I can never resist giving them cuddles.

TallGirl

Hi beanielou Gingers are just something else aren't they utterly resistible (as are most cats I know). He has already bitten me hard this morning so clearly not learnt any lessons. My crime was touching his paws to check his nails.

We had a great day yesterday really got a lot of things moved on but my medical appointment was not all good. I have been referred to the hospital to remove a benign cyst in my abdomen as it is 10cm in diameter. I have no hassle with it just went to get my HRT looked at. Interestingly over here they say only be on HRT for as short as possible time. She wanted me on the gel and some tablets (not the ones that are increased risk of breast cancer something for reducing the risk of it actually.). I have quite a few of my UK patches left so I will finish them before I get the prescription. Hate to think how much that will be.

Anyway back to the good things from yesterday. We went to test drive the midrange Skoda electrical car. It is actually the same type my sister is picking up today but I did not know this when I booked the test drive. Anyway it was far too big for what we need and it is 5cm wider than our old Skoda Oktavia so parking in the local town would not be good let alone drive along the tiny cobbled streets. They did have a Skoda Fabia Estate 3 years old same colour as my old Oktavia so it looked like its little brother. I did fall for it but electric is the future and the new Epic that is coming out in August has a bigger boot than the one we thought was too wide (Elroq I think) but is 3cm slimmer than the Oktavia. They only had a cardboard cut out of it so we just have to wait. Any electric car recommendations or tips very welcome! We drive very little but do have golf clubs and will use it to drive to England once a year we think.

Reason waiting makes sense is the 3 year old Fabia was £18K and the new electric car will be around £28k or £30K as they tax it less. Yes we could have bought the Fabia and kept it for say 3 years but still it might be worthless then is petrol cars really are out (Denmark is super hot on regenerative energy and public transport). We can live with the beat up Mazda a bit longer and my sister can figure out best options around charging and how to live with an electric car. Funnily enough she drive a Kia and wants a new car and is thinking of the Epic. Now that would be weird. DG has never owned a brand new car it is kind of her bucket list where as I have been spoilt 3 brand new cards I have bought myself and at least 3 brand new company cars. The Skoda was a demo so not quite brand new. Anyway long story short we left without a test drive but a long chat with dealer about what to see and do in London and how to save money.

We were early to my medical app so walked down to the beach it had loads of benches and we brought our own drinks.

After medical app we went to a huge permanent outdoor and indoor exhibition of building stuff. It has full size mini houses, huts, tiny homes you name it. They did also have the pergolux models I have been wanting to see. My friend in England has one and it looks great in his garden but my mum and sister thinks they are ugly and would block the light in this house. They stayed somewhere with one so has not seen my friends set up. Anyway my goodness they are ugly and huge and my main issue has been you cannot get them close to this house as it is a bungalow. Anyway they did have pergola marques which are a mix between the two and they are lovely and would not block out any light as you just wind the cover back in. THis one one we like even has rain gutters and is waterproof so you can sit under it. So next step is to see if it can even be fitted to our type of house which is not very tall but is the type of house that lots of Danes live in.

After that it was 3pm and we were starving so found an outdoor food place that had massive queues for icecream but no one was eating and the menu was not that great. Went to a chain restaurant instead and £25 later had two sandwiches and unlimited drinks. It could have been done for £20 if DG had not had chilli cheese bites (she didn't even eat) and I had not got the extra dip). On the same estate was the supermarket with the good offers so stocked up some more and we now have 17 frozen packs of butter in the freezer.

Felt like we made quite a few decisions yesterday and got a few things to research now. Saturday we are going to my aunts 95th birthday so I am getting the present which is a hamper of local things. I had actually forgotten and now DG does not want to come so need to tell my cousin. Anyway all good. Golf Sunday so busy one rest of the week.

TallGirl

Morning stones arrived yesterday and I started shovelling them and tidy up around the new bin shed. There is 1000's of dandelions and yes the bees need them and love them but there are really a lot. I bought some top soil to lay on top of it and I shall have to seed for sure. Looks like you cannot buy weed and feed here just a small spray bottle for the lawn. I do love nature and wildflowers but dandelions just spread so crazily.

I looked for a hamper for my aunt for Saturday but they were a bit small so I am going to look today in the bigger town. I will join DG when she goes for her lesson as I have also got a couple of freebies to collect over at the local supermarket across the road from where she is.

Yesterday she got some annoying news that the part time job is due an audit and she has to attend in person. It is the same week we go on holiday so que getting totally stressed out. We found flights and she can drive to the airport just means I cannot do golf that week or I drive her the 1.5 hours each way. She should also be able to deduct the trip in tax so that will be handy. They have now got insurance so she can continue but they are still looking for someone to replace her which will be the best solution. She will still have to go over in July as well.

I have got an email from the Danish/English AI project asking me for dates so I will do that next as that would be interesting to do and also would earn some pennies. Other than that shovel stones before heading to DGs lesson and then do some more marketing. I must be ready for Monday too.

QueenJess

It’s interesting re: the different approach to HRT. Did they say why?

I can’t help with cars I’m afraid, not my area of expertise. I just want to get from A to B safely with as little hassle as possible! I’ve only ever had two cars in my life.

I quite like dandelions, but I do agree they do take over everywhere. You can make edible things with them, although I’ve not tried it myself. All the things I’ve seen I’m not sure what I would actually do with (eg dandelion syrup).

I do love a ginger cat 🐈. Our next door neighbours have one, although it’s quite wary of me annoyingly. I’m a sucker for a furry face!