Moving on

Cherryfudge

I spent the morning wrestling the instructions for getting the disconnected driver working again, and I can honestly say I now understand it well enough to explain it to someone else. However, there were other things I had to get on with: our new car is wider than the old one and the neighbour couldn't get his camper van past, so we parked at the end of the road for now, and I'm cutting the hedge severely back so we can park closer to the boundary line. The neighbour came out while I was doing it and has offered to do the rest with his hedge trimmer, which I've accepted, but I couldn't fit any more in the green bin so the job is only begun.

I also had a visit from the neighbour the other side, to say they are getting married tomorrow and not to worry if there are strangers in their house in the near future! Of course I've congratulated him and got a card for them this evening. Now I'm thinking back to all the couple we've seen in that house: first there were Phyllis and John: she was the sweetest lady and he was quite quiet, but really enjoyed teaching our five-year-old some woodwork. We later found he'd been in Burma in the war, which may explain why he wasn't outgoing. Then one day an ambulance came for him, and Phyllis was standing outside crying and watching him go. I didn't know what to do but I offered her to come in, which she declined. We stood there with arms round each other's waists as he went away, and he never came back.

After that there were Stuart and Charlotte, but I think she left him and I remember him telling me about it over the fence. Then a couple with two boys, one of whom was just starting at the primary school where our children went. They were there for years, always pleasant and chatty. The older boy is married now and the younger is a fire fighter. Then another couple who we got on with very well and who still live around the corner, so no names. They landscaped the garden: it was beautiful. They were there during lockdown and the difficulties of working from home led to their moving to a bigger property, and they were succeeded by a young man who wasn't there all that long before going to work abroad and letting it out to the couple who are there now.

So that's a lot of history in just one neighbouring house, and strange to think those people mostly don't know about each other. I could write a book - but I'd better not!

I never got round to going to church to sort out a few bits we didn't have time for last week. It's been cooler than recently so I'm back in jeans and a tabard for cleaning, and on the way home I called for my prescription and some cough medicine. The price of some of those cough syrups! I think I saw £12, but managed to find one for just over £3. Besides this, the laptop unexpectedly got all its ducks in a row and the driver is working again. I discovered that the computer cleaning programme I've been using had completely gone from the laptop, so I've reinstalled it and upgraded slightly (about £14 a year) so I can update non-M1crosoft drivers. I also downloaded a free anti-virus as the computer has slowed right down. It didn't seem to find much apart from junk files that hadn't been cleaned recently, but it's back at a useable speed, though nothing like it should be.

Other spending was a small grocery shop and a shirt off V1nted for DH, as winter office wear needs to be topped up.

WelshmansDaughter

It sounds like you have the same cough I have, seems to be quite persistent.

Watty1

There was once a TV prog about who lived in a house - I didn't see them all but the programme would take each week a "normal house" not your landed gentry type, and follow its history and the people who lived in it. Fascinating. I always wished I had done something like that with my first house (a late Georgian terrace) as during renovations I found a letter, mostly burnt, asking for money from a "batman" in the first world war.

House history is so fascinating, but the stories of the people are too

Cherryfudge

My Mum's grandmother lived in a house in Canonbury Square in north London. Mum always spoke fondly of it and one day there was a TV programme which featured it! Mum hurriedly taped the programme but sadly accidentally recorded over it.

The house where I grew up had the pencilled growth chart for some long-ago children but I never found out who they were. The house dated from the 1860s and the people before us were called Smith, but I don't think they had children. They bought it in the 1950s I think, but she died and he moved away.

As for the cough! It's not so bad but still persists. I can't decide if it's a new infection (most likely) or the one I caught a month ago. I hope yours doesn't last, @WelshmansDaughter , they are a pain.

Cherryfudge

Yesterday morning we were up early for a Saturday and tidied round so the solar company could come and do some quoting. By lunchtime I texted them to ask if by 'next Saturday', they meant next week (which to me was the Saturday after next from when I had the message). No reply yet, though they are generally quite prompt.

We therefore have a tidy house but no solar energy quotation. A colleague has recommended the 'Squid' company so I may contact them. We are already using them for fuel and I like what I've seen so far.

In the afternoon, we tidied the spare room - mostly this means a bag of summer clothes and lots of packaging materials are put away to prepare for Auntie visiting in a couple of weeks. It's still not tidy, but it's less daunting.

In the evening I spent around three hours catching up on work (when I'm not in a class I just have to record my hours). It turned out to be very good working conditions and I got quite a lot done.

This morning I wasn't on the children's rota, though I've spent some time sorting out admin bits from it later. I hepled with teas and coffees, meaning I got to take the coffee filters home for the compost! I explained this to a couple of people who clearly see eye to eye with me on this as they referred to 'black gold'! Our team (from the mid-week group) is very thin on the ground at present due to illness and holidays but DH kindly ran the dishwasher for us.

It was our first 'Squid company' hour of free electricity this afternoon: we had already put a chicken in the slow cooker but attempts to use electricity to the best advantage rather backfired. Yes, we had the free hour, but the dish washer and washing machine were still running for much of the next hour and so was the oven. Id decided to bake a cake and absentmindedly combined two recipes so I had milk in the carrot cake mix and had to double the amount of flour. To my surprise, it's turned out a large batch of very light, tasty muffins. We also topped up the charge on three laptops, a phone, a hand-held vacuum cleaner and an electric toothbrush, blanched and froze some carrots and boiled the kettle a few times to make drinks, fill a flask and scald the weeds sprouting in the paving, so the opportunity wasn't wasted.

Watty1

Does scalding the weeds work? I've weeds in the new gravel drive and I'd like a quick easy non toxic solution :)

Baileys_Babe

With the Octopus free electricity, you can save your hour to a different Sunday, if you have done enough to qualify for 2 free sessions you can book these as a block. We find a 2 hours block much more useful to make the most of.

Cherryfudge

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82150935#Comment_82150935

Excellent idea thanks! I'll do that!

Cherryfudge

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82150928#Comment_82150928

It certainly works with tiny ones, though it means a lot of boiling the kettle (or you could use cooking water if you aren't adding it to cooking - saves wasting when there's still a shortage!)

I've not tried it on weeds large enough to pull up by the handful as I suspect it wouldn't get rid of big dandelion roots.

I like it for not being toxic, too.

Cherryfudge

I spent a couple of hours working yesterday afternoon while DH was at his volunteering. One hour of that was Maths (on the instructions of my manager, so I can help with classes). I still can't find the course book but decided to start with the very basics so I went onto B1tesize and worked my way through some lessons. I skipped the 'dealing with numbers up to 20' as I can do that! I've learned what an 'array' is: it may have been called that back in the day when I had to do school Maths, but I don't remember it, which is one of the reasons I felt it might be useful to start with the primary levels: I need to learn terminology without trying to apply it to tricky procedures at the same time.

In the evening I was at work. Did I mention that my pay for the cleaning job hasn't come through? I've checked emails a few times but it can take a few days for them to reply to queries.

DH and the neighbour have completed cutting back the hedge which had to be done but makes us sad as it currently looks so barren. We are assured it will grow back. At least that gives more room to park and for other cars to get past.

The extra exercise set of DH's tachycardia and it lasted the best part of 24 hours, then he woke up in the middle of the might with cramp, so tonight I hope we both rest well.

Today has been childcare and it went well. We called in at a few charity shops after playgroup so I bought DGD2 a toy car and a scarf for me (50p each). Playgroup was £2. Library books have been returned and two that I wanted to get out turned out be on the library book sale for a donation, so for 50p each I got a book for DGD1 and a children's novel for me, which happened to be one I'd considered off Kindle but wasn't sure about.

DH has chased up a deposit he made to look at a car that turned out to have been wrongly described. He didn't have much hope of getting the money back but in fact the garage rang him back and have said they will reimburse him. He also got an email about his Pr1me subscription which was odd as he wasn't aware he had one. He went into his account and sure enough, there was a free trial membership with 29 days left to run, but nothing bought on that account in quite a while. It's very strange but he's cancelled it.

Some small grocery shopping has also happened (my favourite cappuccino sachets are now down to £1.50 in a couple of place which is miles better than the top price of around £2.35).

We had tuna pasta for dinner tonight then my Tuesday friends came round for coffee and a catch up while DH was out at a meeting.

Nearly time I was in bed…