MeandO's money-shuffling

MeandO

Morning all,

I hope your weekends were lovely and Monday is kind to you.
I had a really nice weekend of time to myself and time spent with others, it was such a welcome balance and despite the tiredness of not sleeping well, I feel grateful for the past few days.

DS isn't normally with me Fridays but was this past week which was a nice change. He had a training session which I took him to and picked him up from, then cooked some of his favourite food. He chilled out in his room, did some homework and came down occasionally to say hello/get more snacks. 😁 I relaxed downstairs, weeded the front garden and pots (finally), did some reading and then went to bed reasonably early.

I cooked DS some breakfast on Saturday morning before his dad picked him up, dropped OH at the train station as he was going to an event (which I wasn't interested in) with friends, then had a hair appointment for 'de-greying' and a trim which was paid for from the 'hair' savings pot. THEN, I had the whole afternoon to myself, which is unheard of if I'm not working! I took myself off to my favourite shop (Danish shop, translates as the Green Sisters😉) which I have never actually had the chance to have a good, unhurried browse around on my own before, and I spent ages looking at EVERYTHING in there. My lovely Sister knew of my plans that afternoon and so kindly put £25 in my bank account and insisted I spent it on myself. I felt guilty, but she insisted. 💕 I bought myself some completely fingerless gloves (basically, sleeves with a thumb) to wear whilst working in the Winter as my hands get freezing being at the keyboard/mouse all the time and I can't get on with fingertip-less gloves. I have started to suffer from Reynaud's now too so I'm hoping these will help as they are 100% wool which should keep me nice and toasty. I also bought a few things for the house and some gifts to put away for people for Christmas.

I parked in a free car park a little way out of the town to save on paying for parking but regretted it slightly on the walk back as I was really hurting and aching. I was so glad to see the car! I had some leftovers for a late lunch when I got home, had a lovely long phone chat with my Mum and Dad, then did a few little jobs around the house.
I put a pretty new decorative seashell hook up in the downstairs loo that I bought in the shop for a couple of pounds, replacing an ugly paint-covered one that had been there since we moved in. I also washed down the front door and downstairs windows with a bucket of water and long brush, removing all the spiders hiding under the window frames, waiting for their chance to sneak in! The front of the house looks so much tidier now, it feels like a job well done. On Saturday evening, OH returned and we were invited over to dear friends' for beef stew and a TV night in front of the fire which was just lovely.

I was hoping to lie in on Sunday but didn't sleep well, so was up early. We went to 'Tosco's' to buy something DS likes that I can only get from there. I had a £5 voucher which covered the cost of that and bought some blueberries there as they looked fresh and were reasonable.
Then off to &sda for the bulk of what was needed to take advantage of their 'app' mission and earn £'s for planned spending to go towards Christmas groceries. OH also used my app so I reached the threshold for another £1 back. :)
Two loads of washing, one load in the TD, a dishwasher cycle and cooking of a pear and almond cake was all completed whilst the electricity was half price.
I set to and continued tidying the utility room, moving a summer jacket to my wardrobe and utilising an empty storage box and space on a high shelf for hats, scarves and gloves. I re-purposed the 'ugly hook' and put it up inside the boiler cupboard door to hang backpacks (of which DS seems to have loads) and threw out one which was worn out. I also found a few more bits to donate to charity so have started another bag which I will donate when filled.
DS came home for an hour, I got hugs from him 💙, then OH cooked us something small for tea and we met friends for an hour and distributed cake.

Three bundles of DS's clothing also finally sold (and was quickly collected) via FB over the weekend, so DS has £85 in his bank he didn't have before and I have a huge space in the cupboard in my box room. I don't know which of use was more pleased! I was just glad to finally sell it without having to resort to using OH's 'minted' account as there was no interest on fleabay and I'm loathed to use 'minted' after their recent behaviour.

I bought DS a new rug in HB for his bedroom at the weekend too, replacing a more 'tweenish' one. He hasn't seen it yet but I hope he likes it, it looks really nice and more grown up. Money has been taken from the relevant savings pot for that. I also bought loo rolls, kitchen spray and some replacement loo brushes whilst there as much cheaper than the supermarkets for those items.

My Mum is having her surgery today, so I am really worried but trying to keep busy as a distraction. I'm concerned for my Dad and Sister too who are both not in good health but have travelled an hour away to the hospital with Mum and will be there until this evening, longer if needed. I know they will be exhausted and my Dad will be in pain. It's just such a worry.

Not much else to report for now. Hopefully I can find some ways to pay a few more £'s off the 'debt' this week, I shall report back.

Much love to you all x

debtfreewannabe321

Positive vibes for your mum's surgery and recovery 💓💓💓 I hope your dad is okay too waiting around that long.

DancingInTheRain

Wow what a busy weekend! How kind of your sister to treat you, the gloves sound ideal.

Hope all goes well with you Mums op x

Mrs_Money_Penny

Sounds like a lovely weekend. Hoping all goes well with your Mum.x

Newstartforme

Try not to worry too much Meando , hopefully you get positive news regarding Mum soon xx

Skint_yet_Again

I’m glad you treated yourself & hope the gloves help. When I was working from home I chopped the fingers off an old pair of gloves to try and keep my hands warmer but still be able to use the keyboard and mouse. They did look a bit tatty but really helped.

Hope your DS likes his rug. Best wishes to your mum for a speedy recovery

MeandO

Thank you for the positive vibes everyone, you’re such a lovely, caring bunch. 💗

I’ve heard that Mum has made it through surgery and is in recovery. They’re waiting for her SATs and temperature to stabilise before she’s moved. Fingers crossed her recovery is rapid and the op is successful, she has been through so much.

DS is home and loves his rug. 😊 He’s full of cold so has had some food and is just running himself a hot bath. I changed his bedding earlier so he has a nice fresh bed to get into too.

I had a bit of a fight with a new black pepper grinder (99p disposal one from HB) today. I finally got to the end of the previous black pepper, opened the new one and went to grind some pepper onto the big pan of risotto I’d just finished making for DS and the whole lot emptied on top of the food, into the pan and all over the work surfaces and floor. I even found some in my slippers! 😖 I just stood staring at it for a moment, not knowing whether to laugh or cry! I spent the next half hour picking peppercorns out of the risotto, getting annoyed because all of the pepper and a good portion of risotto was wasted. I had to hoover the kitchen and just carried on and hoovered right through downstairs and then upstairs as well, so at least I got that job done, albeit unexpectedly.
DS has eaten most of the risotto but there is a small portion left which I’ve boxed and put into the freezer.

I had poached eggs on a protein bagel with avocado earlier and I’m still full, so think I’ll just be a two meal a day type of girl today. I have done that a lot lately and am finding it suits me more, I don’t feel so full and bloated going to bed.

This evening, I’ve ironed all the T shirts and school polos that needed ironing and those have been put away. I’m still loving the ease of the table top ironing board, it has made ironing so much less of a chore now I don’t have to struggle with a big ironing board.

I have to go into the office tomorrow as my workplace has relocated slightly and I will need to try and go in 1-2 days a week. I’m not looking forward to the extra petrol spends that will come with that. I’ll pack some fruit & yogurt with me for breakfast as I don’t normally have it until bout 10am when I start to feel hungry. I’ve packed some coffee, tea bags and some spare mugs and cutlery to leave in a locker as none are provided. 😐️ I need to remember to take a bit of milk with me in a flask so I can make a coffee or cuppa.

Randomly, I found a £10 note in my work bag today. I’m not sure where it came from as I wouldn’t normally put a loose note in there, I’m wondering whether it was DS as he tried to get me to keep the money he made on the clothing sales at the weekend, but I can’t be doing that. I banked it for him today and he has put it in his savings account instead. Anyway, I’ll ask DS about it shortly, but for now I’ve added £1 to it and paid it off the ‘debt.’ If it is DS’s I’ll transfer £10 to his savings account. :)

I’m looking forward to a cosy evening of not doing much. I may change my bedding though as I fancy the idea of a fresh bed tonight too! On second thoughts, that will leave the washing basket full so I’ll wait until I’ve washed DS’s bedding first.

Have a lovely evening, all. Xx

MeandO

So much for my ‘cosy evening of not doing much.’ 🙈

DS informed me his coat needed washing and he will need it tomorrow, so I decided to put it, and his bedding, in the wash just after my last post. Then it dawned on me that the washing basket would be cleared in that case, so I changed my bed so I too have a fresh bed. :)
I unstacked the dishwasher when it stopped, made my breakfast for tomorrow and packed my work bag ready. I had a shower, washed and dried my hair and got PJ’s on and put the washing in the dryer. DS decided he was hungry again 😲 and requested pancakes, so I made him some oat/egg/greek yogurt pancakes with fruit & honey. I sat down with a cuppa to start the cosiness and not doing much bit of my evening, only to hear a weird noise coming from the utility room and the dryer stopped. It was dead as a dodo and I could smell burning and had visions of it going up in flames, so pulled it out, unplugged it quick and DS and I pretty much threw it outside where it now sits. It’s not even 3 years old. 😔😫 I’ve arranged for a scrap merchant to pick it up tomorrow.
I called OH and asked if I could borrow his clothes airer as mine was full and I had nowhere else to hang anything, so he kindly dropped two he has up for me. My kitchen now looks like a laundry.

I’m not sure if I’ll bother buying another dryer to be honest. There’s no outlet/vent so this one was a condenser and did take ages to dry things and they’re obviously not economical, but how do people dry things at home in the winter without one? I’m a bit tetchy about drying too much on radiators due to previous damp/condensation/mould concerns, so how do I get things like bedding dry? I’ll have to look into it I suppose. Something else to pay out for now. That’s the car, the washing machine, microwave, windows, roof, roof windows, dishwasher, hall floor and now the dryer all replaced within 18 months! 😫

foxgloves

What a nuisance with your tumble dryer. There's always some or other expense rearing its head, isn't there? I've never owned one so it is defo possible to do without. I peg out for free line-drying when the weather is suitable as even getting bigger items part-dry is a help. In Autumn/Winter when it's too cold or wet for line-drying, I use a heated airer & a dehumidifier. I have a 3-tier one (2-person household) & dry larger items like bedding over the top. The main difference (apart from I assume cost) is that faced with say, one of you needing a coat laundered 'for tomorrow', you would need longer than overnight to get it dry. I always set ours up in our cold conservatory so I like that the heated airer slightly raises the temperature in there. You can hasten drying time by moving items around on there but it's a much slower process. Having said that, I still have no desire to own a tumble drier, so the heated airer/dehimidifier combo works for us.

What a busy night you had when you'd planned to relax!

ArtyJ931

I never had a tumble dryer until convinced by a partner about 5y ago and the impact on life of clothing/electricity costs meant I stopped using it anyway. Big items like bedding dry very quickly on banisters due to (I assume) heat rising. I have a heated airer too but tend to just put things on radiators and crack open windows for ventilation.

no damp or condensation issues so far so worth a try. Difficult times are now when the heating isn’t on but it’s not too warm so things can take forever to dry on the radiator. However I’m still line drying at the moment.

I wonder if it might actually be cheaper to fire up heating for a couple of hours to dry clothing than do a couple of loads in a tumble dryer?

(just had a quick google and apparently drying clothes on radiators is a big no no - thankfully nobody told me over the last 30 years 😂) airers are better in terms of condensation.