Prosperous & Creative Soul & MFW Year 3

TallGirl

Good to see you post again sorry you have been off sick. Seeing counsellor in person should be good shame about the bad news. Nice to have family things planned but do not overdo it. 

mark55man

good for your DD to get with cousins even if there is an age gap - always good for a laugh and lifelong bonds.  Plus free babysitting/child minding for your sister for the day!!

even nicer to hang out with your sister though

KajiKita

Sounds like you’ve been having a tough time. I’m glad your (new?) GP was kind though - that makes a huge difference. 

It will be interesting to see how the dynamic is between you and your counsellor being F2F again after quite a while. I hope it’s constructive. 

Lots of good positives there, especially the art improvement and family time 😊

KK

LadyWithAPlan

Blackcats said:

I can't imagine ever wanting to be a model at a life class let alone wanting to see the drawings of myself!  Bad enough catching a glimpse in the wardrobe mirror 🥴

Indeed!! 

Sorry you are not feeling well SH 
Hopefully you can sort your sleep patterns out as lack of sleep is terrible for MH 
Can you get out for a daily morning walk first thing in the autumn light? 

On the days I head to my gym sessions and walk 40 mins there (with coffee cup in hand) the day just works better and I feel alive 

jwil

Hope you feel better soon, and sorry about the bad news

savingholmes

Thanks TG, Mark, KK, Jwil, LWAP

I have been more productive this week. The adrenaline of the weekend is evidently propping me up. I literally had a night of no sleep again on Saturday after the bad news. I dozed Sunday from 6.30am so recovered a little. I went into work yesterday and had lunch out with a friend and saw my counsellor. I'm still doing arty stuff to keep me sane. I got complimented on some of my work this week which was ironic given how much I'm struggling but positive reinforcement is good for the soul - and I was pleased with that particular piece.

The kind of good news is that the blood test showed I have very low folate - and that could account for a lot of my recent MH and lack of energy struggles. I should get a prescription tomorrow but it could take 4 months for me to be back right... I only got tested as a family member had similar issues.

My new sofa and chair are being delivered tomorrow for free - saving me £50-100 on what it should have been. It was due to a mix up but good win for me. I still need to make that room look respectable and hoover in there. It looks terrible. I have been slowly reducing the clutter / organising my stuff in the back L shape now I've moved my existing sofa in (t)here. I've bought some wall plug in uplighters to address the lack of light and it helps. I prefer indirect light anyway and this way the light is more diffused. I'm glad I'm making more use of this space as it was wasted before.

I recently got a pension update for an old pension payable from 60 - and it's due to be around £5.1K which is great. The CETV value has crashed though as they moved to a group annuity rather than investment approach so that is no longer likely to be an option. It does have a lump sum of around £4.6K which takes me closer to my £127.5K target - or I could take a reduced pension of £3.8K and have a £26.6K tax free lump sum at today's values.

I'm still spending more than I'd like - but I am spending on things that are on my broader list so it feels okay.

savingholmes

Savings matured so sent £1800 to CC. Got £92 interest on that. Kept that in account to use towards my car bills as I need to sort my back brakes and tyres. I have earmarked another £300 towards the car. Hoping that will be enoght.

Had £85 in interest on my isa. Had £4 net cashback on bank account. £36 payable from cashback site. Another £4 in rewards from Mr A that I have put in a Xmas pot.

I've asked the kids to use a referral link if they do they'd get £10 each and I'd get £40. I'm now using that to get cashback on grocery shop gift cards etc. And for TKs....

Bought a lovely Stitch 00doe style hoodie the other day. 

SandyShores

Sounds like you are heading the right direction savingholmes and that's so positive itself, but in fact you are achieving so much.  

Sleep issues are horrible, just be patient with yourself, sometimes they just sort themselves while you are focussing elsewhere. 

I love that you are still doing your crafting/art, I definitely find it therapeutic when I get around to is.  I was watching an abstract artist online the other day and she was having to wait for paints to dry before adding more layers, I find that really difficult.  How do you put a bit on, then wait for it to dry then come back and do another bit?  I think if I lived on my own I'd set it up on the kitchen table so I'd be painting in between cooking (or cooking in between painting).  In fact I may do that anyway.

Hope your furniture delivery goes okay and that you can enjoy them tomorrow evening.

mark55man

A rising tide floats all boats just as a falling tide lowers them.  I think CETV moment has come and gone except for serious medical cases.  For me it was having all my eggs in one pension that stopped me pulling the trigger (that and being a bit too young to get the best offers).  Just enjoy the thought of all that guaranteed investment risk free index linked income coming from your DB.  You can do a lot of art with £5K pa. Plus I wouldn't want to be navigating the markets if my essential living income depended on it.

savingholmes

Thanks Mark and Sandy

Mark - on pensions I agree - I was offered the equivalent of £180K CETV a few years ago - and now it is £105K so a big drop. But guaranteed income is nice - and it does have a lump sum element that I was originally unaware of.

Sandy - I tend to use watercolour if I need something to dry quickly. Or acrylics if I have longer. But I also use water based markers/brush pens. I'm doing quite a bit of charcoal drawing at the moment to hone my skills but then sometimes use watercolour to make it pop.

I've realised I qualify for reduced water bills but the online system wouldn't accept my file so I'm awaiting a call back. Also awaiting a call back from the energy company. I haven't been given any info on when my sofa is coming today. I'm due at art group tonight which should be good fun. 

Best go and log on to work.