A new season

Starlight_at_Sea

It's certainly chaotic Saving Holmes! Am adjusting to being less career driven, but it's from necessity rather than choice. Havent yet built many new routines or rhythms that suit current responsibilities, or fully shed others that I picked up or set up ahead of this new season. I hope settling into the new flat and having a bit of space that is my own, even if I can only be there for bits of each day rather than based there, will really help. We'll see! Until then, we ride the rollercoaster and see what each day brings. 

Today it brings tedious life admin, but I am making some progress. I hope a round up tomorrow night might show significant progress with the tasks I set out at the start of the week. Currently it feels all-done, a bit. 

I loved reading about your holiday/writing break SH, it made me wish I had booked somewhere for a weekend to push on with my current task. Would have led to more focus and been more fun! 

Starlight_at_Sea

Week ahead! 

Work-work

🥰Book AL for May

😳Sort out Flexi hours - resolve historic recording glitches

😳Submit expenses 
🥳See friend for evening while in her city for a work trip 

Side-hustle
😳 submit proxy voting - have until Tuesday night to do this I think 
😉 plan food for long day next week - I have plenty of snack from the hospital trip stash I think 

Bank switching

😳Speak to NatWest re online account

😳Awaiting saver account details thru post (had been so long since I opened it without doing anything, they closed it!)

Current house

🥰 send new temp lodger bank account details 
🥰 check she has everything she needs as welcome evening was fairly hectic. 😳Empty a couple more shelves (take storage boxes)
😳organise landlords gas safety certificate and poss boiler service at same time.... 
😳before doing that check the BG service deal we have (pre-cancelling it) 
😉take photos so can get advice from BFs DP about the odds and ends DIY jobs that I think I can manage with instruction in the bathroom 
😉 Give 🇺🇦D music lesson payment details and progress moving this so she pays direct for it 
😳 look for cleaner. 

New house 
🥰 organise viewing whilst my fairy godmother is visiting next weekend so as to get advice about flooring 
😳 tell estate agents about gutter leaking 
😉 do calculations for gap between savings and stamp duty if it goes through in May rather than June 
😳 sort out interim storage for the donated furniture

🥳consider ordering wheelchair friendly table whilst it is on special offer 

other financial stuff

😳 book car in for garage to do advice things from last MOT before DD using it this summer 
😳talk to DD about her plans and when she is where this summer

😉make sure a member of loyalty scheme for hotel chain work booked me into this week 
😉sell on Eurovision ticket 
🫣 finish the blooming financial aid form for uni overseas. This requires me to also: 🫣check info on all pensions. The only easy bit of that form is where it asks me how many farms I own. Still zero! 🤣 

But first packing, because a ridiculous day tomorrow: 

0600-0730 final sort out of everything so I can be away for a few days. last load of washing is on, medication boxes up to date, have made a note of the phone calls we expect to happen and can assist with these whilst away. Just need to photograph their diary in case need to organise anything over next few weeks. 

0730-0815 travel. drop off frozen olio stuff to friend on the way. 

0900-1000 online meeting from (parked) car. must remember to charge batteries now. 

1000-1030 doctors

1030-1100 travel

1100-1700 WFH at my house, sort out shelves in new lodgers room (should only take 20 min, can easily do in a break). Take photos as above. 

1700-1930 travel for work, on train, catch up with work admin and eat! 

1930-2030 arrive at hotel. Rest!!! 😍😍

Think I should probably have started tomorrow about a week ago! 

Starlight_at_Sea

also need to transfer friend who picked up my prescription for me the costs for this! 

savingholmes

Hope you manage to create some mini oasis of calm in your busy schedule.

Starlight_at_Sea

Thanks SH! I came back last night, and am still weary after the journey, but did have a good time. Plenty of progress on the work front, which was reassuring, as after all, they do pay the salary...

I did manage to fit some activities in that were good for me in different ways - negotiated my schedule to allow me to walk to first meeting of each day, and I do enjoy central London early in the morning before the crowds! So my step count has been plentiful, and I reconnected with a couple of friends for text/phone calls as well. Managed to shower regularly despite the palava of wound cover and care, and felt so much better for it. Invested some Boots points and some nectar points in nice conditioner, nail file and razors, and had one spa at home night at the hotel. Also fitted in a eyebrow and lip wax at Benefit at Boots one evening, more expensive than the lady that I usually go to, but convenient and at the moment that's worth quite a lot!  

I met at friend at Mildred's vegan restaurant one night, that's been on the wish list for a long time! It was lovely to catch up and a really nice meal and atmosphere, I would definitely go back. My three courses and alcohol free prosecco came to £50, but work expenses will cover about half of that. 

My friend is taking the Eurovision ticket, so that's one job off the list and will make my time up in Liverpool even more fun. I have just over a week off starting next Thursday, when I am working on the elections, and it's now filled with nice things that are mainly already paid for 😉 A massage that's been rearranged many times, an afternoon tea with good friends that's paid for by vouchers, DD flying home, and Eurovision extravaganza. 

Delighted with my new travel cup that keeps tea hot for ages, and pleased I was organised enough to generally remember to take tea with me everytime I left the office, hotel or meeting venue, as it made a real difference to overall costs.  

Also pleased that I made time to go and enquire about a rain coat that I left behind in a different hotel a month or so ago. They located it (eventually) and there was also a lovely scarf which I hadn't noticed I had lost, so pleased to be reunited with that. 

Payday has happened, and my mortgage for current house is now just under £500 over £80k. 

Am off to see the new house this afternoon to inform choices of flooring samples, as we are getting closer to the next stage of the purchase.  Taking mum and hopefully my fairy godmother will meet up with us there - I hope they approve! 

savingholmes

That sounds like a win on the coat.

I'm still in denial over things like lip waxes... 

Great news on the Eurovision ticket

Starlight_at_Sea

Thanks for popping in @savingholmes .. I have been too, but I do have very dark hair, so it shows up.  Never had my lip done before - The Benefit lady that was doing my brows asked 'and the lips too' matter of factly, so I went with it, and I think I would add that in in the future to my brow waxes, as it has made me feel much less self conscious. We'll see!  

beanielou

I am at the age of lip waxes. Shudder.

Starlight_at_Sea

It wasn't actually as bad as I had imagined Beanie, but I would probably have preferred not to be sat in an open plan counter in the middle of Boots Covent Garden! 

Viewing to select flooring at the flat went well. Not a overwhelmingly wide selection on offer, but I think I'm settled on a wood parquet effect for the main living area, and a beige/brown/barley colour for the bedrooms - not too dark, natural hues. Everyone said lovely things about the flat so I am hopeful it is a good choice! It didn't seem over full even with 6 of us in there at once, which bodes well.

None of the conditions of sale we requested are met yet, but I suspect they are not going to happen until we are at the very final stage. It was good that the estate agent noticed a problem with the guttering (blocked right above my door) and has passed that onto the vendor already. I've been mulling the floor selection over during the weekend but think I'm happy to go back to them about it tomorrow or wed with firm selection..Estate agent also mentioned that they are going to seek a conveyancing update from the solicitors on Tuesday (I was expecting an update last week) so we are moving gradually onwards. 

I've had a lot of life admin to deal with this weekend, plus a bit more caring activity than recently to facilitate having friends of my parents here for the weekend. Having been away for a few days in the week, stuff stacks up, or starts to go slightly awry. All stabilised now, and a couple of days WFH at my folks before I am away for 24 hours yo do the election job. 

Have set out my goals for the month over on NST. Amongst them, a couple I have made some progress towards today - spring cleaning of the room I sleep in at my folks is well underway, with the clothes drawers, 2 boxes of papers and 2 bags of 'stuff' to review, but all is tidy and clean, and desk is set up ready for the few days ahead. 

Made a significant dent in sorting through papers tonight, and pulled out all relevent info from my 3 lgps pensions. I've been pondering how to try to make sense of this and make a decision about combining or otherwise. I've started reading up on the pensions boards but am finding it all a bit hard up get my head around, and also listened to a couple of podcasts. I might persevere a bit more there on a less tired day, and am also considering using the IFA my parents use. She seems really switched on and helpful, and I would just to make sense of it all. Will think about that a bit more this week.

Baileys_Babe

All aspects of your life seem full on currently @Starlight_at_Sea how is the flat purchase processing?