An in-between phase

beanielou

I did the photo one yesterday. 

No doubt it will be the same. 

Eh~~ keep meaning to say to you that a pub near where I went to school is the Scottish winner this year for CAMRA 

PennysIntoPounds

So frustrating about amazon, obviously I'm not going to waste ten quid for the sake of it but surely there must be something that's useful for me to get £5 off £15 of!

That's exciting @beanielou, get yerself down there and report back!

PennysIntoPounds

Today's doings:

Up early for any last bits of the big work job

Admin and household bits and bobs

Finished the survey I abandoned yesterday which surprisingly let me pick up where I'd left off

Couple more surveys

Unsatisfactory amazon research as mentioned above!

Mum made stewed apples so the flat smells very Christmassy and I'm resisting putting on a tinsel scarf and buying a bottle of Baileys

Went for a neighbourhood walk before meeting a friend/colleague and we had a good brainstorming session

Found 20p, a whole 20p!

Decided to have a weird mix of leftovers for dinner to prevent waste and make space, and it was all very tasty!

PennysIntoPounds

Happy Friday everyone!

I had a productive start to the day, with a decent walk to pick up an Olio book, drop off a Vinted sale, get a couple of bits from Aldo, and use up some McMo tokens on a hash brown and a fruit bag for brunch

I also did very well resisting all the delicious smells of coffee and panini and other morning tempting things. It's a good thing I work from home as I don't think I'd last terribly long before I cracked if I was commuting. Very easy to say 'just take something with you' but when you're bleary-eyed and breakfastless you need a lot of willpower to overrule your body begging you!

Usual admin and household bits, including a bit of a clean of the bathroom. Listened to my shoulders saying 'no more right now'

Did a couple of surveys

Relisted something on Olio as they sent a notification saying 'don't lose your streak!'. No idea what streak this is but don't want to lose it 😂

Had a sale for £10 on FB Marketplace which tbh I'd forgotten I had so that was pleasing and a good reminder that it's worth putting the listings work in just in case someone gets in touch months later. That money has gone into the flat pot

Did another survey that paid £3.15 for 45minutes, all the while thinking about how I'd have to put 20% of that in the tax pot while billionaires are paying half a percent in tax

Managed wussy situps and a shower & hairwash

Put a couple of Vinted listings up

Met Mr PIP for post work beer, and mum volunteered to make cheesy potatoes with the spuds I'd got from Aldo, so am going to scoff, have a glass of wine or two, and collapse my exhausted self into bed

PennysIntoPounds

Most of the day spent trying to find genuinely useful items to take advantage of amazon deal- this will have to continue tomorrow as my brain went on strike

Local lunchtime walk with Mr PIP to drop off our first eBay sale, hurray! For the grand total of £3 profit, but it's all money in the pot (we hope)

Got some bits in from Aldo

Attempted LPAs but bamboozled by needing to show a tax return that covers a period that doesn't exist yet. At least the forms are mostly filled in

Have been thinking about the money in the pot if Housing Association don't get in touch within a month and sting me. I think I should put 1k in the LISA next tax year. I only started it in the last possible year and have never had enough money to take full advantage of it but try to put the minimum 1k in each tax year as a 25% return is too good a rate to miss, and I don't have any other pensions. I feel a bit remiss that I didn't think of needing that pot but now I've been reminded and am fortunate/unfortunate to be able to allocate that

Will give £450 to mum for increased council tax, not sure about how to allocate the rest between flat pot/current account/possible night or two away. Still feeling very torn about whether winter trip with the good deal is a really good use of money or really stupid. If only we had an answer from council to vaguely know what our life looks like in the next six months!

After all that thinking, Mr PIP and I felt we'd earned a beer or two so got steps in going to the further away decent pub (with Camra discount), went into Lil on the way and used their discount promotion to get cheaper pizza and dip (which we'll chuck some onion on for a bit of f&v), and enjoyed some Saturday evening time out before it all got Halloween-lairy.

I'm baffled year after year as to when Halloween turned from having a think and a drink to honour the changing of the seasons and acknowledge the dead/landscapes beyond our ken and how one will survive the winter, to wearing a sexy nurse/cat/murderer outfit and downing shots on the nearest Saturday, but each to their own!

We did however appreciate the occasion-themed beer of Lacon Phantom Black IPA, a lovely and not too heavy drop at 4.4%

PennysIntoPounds

Continued with amazon search and finally completed the order. Made good use of the £5 discount and £10 amazon voucher I had for opening a Kroo account, got a couple of Christmas gifts and some household bits that would've been bought in the near future anyway

Tried to switch my phone to Mr PIP's old one. Lost the will to live. Need to get back on that this week but there's only so much a woman can take, especially on a Sunday!

Entered some competitions, today I'm mostly looking forward to winning a White Company hamper

We made another eBay sale so have packaged that up

Had a decent walk going to meet a friend for a catch up and some Sunday afternoon beers using Camra discount. A very enjoyable Five Points Green Hop Challenger for those interested!

Blackcats

I agree about feeling perplexed about how Halloween has turned into such a big, commercialised event.  I don't mind some aspects of it as long as it's fun for all concerned but I don't like the macabre/super scary bits.  My mum was a devout Catholic and would always frown at Halloween and preferred 1st November to celebrate All Saints and 2nd to pray for All Souls and those were times to remember our loved ones.  I'm certainly not religious like mum was but I shall think of her particularly on 2nd even though I already think of her every day.

foxgloves

I agree, too. I don't see any connection to mummy/vampire/sexy nurse/other costumes of that type, or fake blood & gore. It was mostly just ghosts when we were children, which of course aligns much more closely with the original pagan festival. That's what is celebrated at our house. It's that turning of the year when the veneer between our world & the spirit world is thought to be thinner. This became "All Souls" in the Christian calendar. While parts of the UK have Mischief Night & door knocking for soul cakes (never baked one, but would like to), the wretched trick or treat stuff from the US has turned the original pagan festival into a commercial tat-fest.
It'll be the Old Ways here,
F x

badmemory

I don't remember anything at all about halloween as a child.  Now bonfire night, that was a whole different story.  Watching my father light fireworks & the bonfire from the dining room window.  We were never allowed out in case I caught tonsilitis yet again.  Penny for the guy too, with all the neighbourhood kids collecting so they could have some fireworks.  Can you imagine them being allowed to buy fireworks now?

PennysIntoPounds

Today's small mse wins:

Woke up early- I think I have clocks changing jetlag! Bit tired but at least I got on with the day

Had a bit of a read of a Saturday supplement magazine that had been abandoned in the pub yesterday

Dropped off the ebay parcel

Mum had been looking for a long flexible cotton jacket for body coverage without getting too hot. Completely impossible to find at any of the usual retailers. Popped into the charity shop while I was out and found one so she went and bought that. £12 instead of the over £100 shops were asking for something not even suitable

Did a couple of surveys

Bits and bobs of work

Another walk going to get dental brushes- I was a bit annoyed I didn't have the energy to go for a longer walk to get the next cheapest up from Wisdom, which I'm not going to use anymore as they must be using cheaper materials according to how often the brush has broken between my teeth recently! Much as I hate paying more I'm not having a choking hazard every night for the sake of a quid.
But happily Superdrug had their own brand ones on a 3-for-2 which amounted to the same price so will see how those go. Handy to get members points too

And went to McDonald's with my token for a veg bag and they didn't have any so gave me a fruit bag instead, which was my preference so that was nice. Left the final token for a coke zero or milkshake in the communal hall in case a neighbour can use it

Leftovers planned for dinner.

Hope you've all had a good start to the week