A Better View 🌄

Fortune_Smiles

Hot and Bothered 🌞

I had a long list of things I wanted to achieve today but not much has been ticked off so far 🙄  I thought I'd grab Mr F first thing (before he disappeared off to his man shed) to help me pad out my new dress form (I needed him to take measurements and photographs).  It took ages 🥱  I just couldn't get Dolly's boobs right 😂  Anyhoo, after some considerable time and rather a large amount of padding, she has become my twin.... it was a very sobering experience 😂

I did manage to get a wash on the line and rustle up a cheese and tomato bagel for lunch,  Also picked another kilo of raspberries which are destined for the freezer.  We are eating them like they are going out of fashion and I've already delivered another kilo to the neighbours.  I'm making some raspberry ripple ice cream whilst I type 😆

An Easy Sausage Casserole is in progress for supper https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/sausage-bean-casserole which will probably be followed by raspberry mouse made with some quark I have leftover from a previous recipe.  It's a good job we love raspberries 😋

We are sharing the fruit in the fruit cage with a pair of blackbirds at the moment.  We think they have been snipping the netting around the bottom to get in.  Once in of course they can't find their way back out, so we are popping out every hour to make sure they're not trapped in there in this very warm weather.  Mr F has made some temporary repairs, which we're hoping will keep them out for the time being, and has a plan to mend things properly over winter.

I'm planning a relaxing bath later.  I undertook Dolly's transformation upstairs where I could access a full length mirror but it's been very hot up there and I feel the need for a long soak.  Besides, S£wing B££ is on tonight and I can shut myself away in the bathroom to watch without any complaint from Mr F (he's not a fan).  I've had to open a bottle of white, as wine was required for tonight's supper recipe, and the rest will need drinking 😉 so I'll take a chilled glass up with me.  Bliss.

All the other things on my list will have to be carried over to tomorrow's list.. and possibly Thursday's... and maybe even Friday's 😆

I hope the sun is shining on you too.

Fortune x

beanielou

No sun here.  Cold & chucking down with rain.

Fortune_Smiles

beanielou said:

No sun here.  Cold & chucking down with rain.

Oh dear Beanie - sending some of our sunshine up to you pronto 🌞

Fortune x

beanielou

Fortune_Smiles said:

beanielou said:

No sun here.  Cold & chucking down with rain.

Oh dear Beanie - sending some of our sunshine up to you pronto 🌞

Fortune x

Much appreciated! x

Cheery_Daff

Ooh, well done on fixing up Dolly! Very satisfying to be able to use her to whip up perfectly fitting clothes, even if the process of padding her out was rather sobering 😂 a lovely bath with a glass of wine and a favourite programme sounds like a most excellent plan 😊😊

Fortune_Smiles

Cheery_Daff said:

Ooh, well done on fixing up Dolly! Very satisfying to be able to use her to whip up perfectly fitting clothes, even if the process of padding her out was rather sobering 😂 a lovely bath with a glass of wine and a favourite programme sounds like a most excellent plan 😊😊

It was a bit of a shock to come face to face with myself in all my 3D glory 😲 but she will be very helpful in the sewing department (and perhaps motivation to use my gym membership 😆).

Fortune x

Cheery_Daff

😂😂😂 I am trying to make more use of my gym membership too for similar reasons 🙄😂

Fortune_Smiles

Life in the Slow Lane 🦥

Life has slowed down a little.  We still have plenty we want to do but more time to do it in.

Health 🧘‍♀️

We have been swimming at the gym three times now... which works out at £215 a visit so far 😂  But I do feel motivated to go.  The pool is quiet and clean and there is a hot tub, steam room and spa to wind down in after.  I did 16 lengths of the pool on my first visit and 20 on my second (500 metres) but did have to stop for a little rest every now and then.  On my third visit I did 20 lengths but was faster and didn't have to stop at all.  My shoulder issue seemed to improve on each visit so I'm planning to graduate to dry land and some classes this week.

Wealth 💰

We have a little contingency money in the business right now but we should have more.  A new client hasn't paid us on time.  They are a large business and will pay us eventually but it always seems to be the large businesses that drag their feet about payment.  They want Mr F to do some training for their staff this week and a follow up client meeting in a couple of weeks time.  We won't be doing any of that until we're paid for what we've already done and they have further contracts in place.  We have two further invoices with different companies to raise tomorrow.

Window Man has come back with a date for our new door to be fitted.  We've already paid 50% as a deposit and the other 50% is ring-fenced in savings.

We still have someone coming to help with the garden each week.  Mr F would prefer to work extra hours to pay for these than involve himself in weeding 😂  The blackbirds are helping too... helping themselves 😆  We've lost all our pink currants and the majority of our red currants to them.  We will have to undertake some serious repairs to the fruit cage in the winter when the vegetation has died back and we can see what's going on in there.

We are debating whether to draw down Mr F's final pension.  The lump sum is earmarked to pay off our remaining mortgage when the fixed rate comes to an end next year.  If we have a change of government, the rules on lump sums might change so we're thinking we might drawdown now and put the lump sum into savings until we can pay off the mortgage without penalty.

Happiness 🌈

With less going on in the work diary, Mr F and I have been able to do more together.  We've enjoyed our trips to the gym and also popped out for lunch occasionally.  We're planning some days out when the weather improves (it's winter again in the Shire at the moment 🙄) and we have some social events coming up.

I've started a new sewing project - a V-neck, woven top with wide sleeves gathered into the cuff.  I had just enough of a blue broderie anglaise fabric in my stash for it.  I'm not sure how the fabric will cope with the gathers but I'm going to give it a go.  If it works it'll be fabulous.  If it doesn't I might have to forego the statement sleeves.

Hope you've all had a good weekend guys.

Fortune x

savingholmes

Belated Happy Anniversary.

Good luck with the sewing project. 

I'd try not to rush on pension as they're unlikely to change everything overnight but then who knows.

Fortune_Smiles

Decision Made 👍

After lots of research and discussion, Mr F and I have decided to draw down his final pension and use the lump sum to pay off the mortgage as soon as we can.  It will cost us a little in penalties but save us a little in interest.  It means we'll be able to relax about any potential changes in policy around both pensions and mortgages and won't have to worry about what mortgage interest rates are doing next.  We feel the peace of mind is worth the small cost.  @savingholmes - our fixed rate isn't due to end until July next year so we'll definitely have a budget before then plus we're not changing the plan, just bringing it forward a little.

We've been travelling towards this goal (and posting on the forum) for 12 years.  After so long, it feels strange to be considering life without this overriding aim.  Exciting too though and I'm very much looking forward to this next chapter.

It'll take a few weeks to process but watch this space - I'll keep you posted.

Fortune x