Moving on

Cherryfudge

Saturday again: I've decided against the car boot sale as I feel guilty spending for fun! That's probably something that needs to be kept in balance, but we might go next week as our friends like car boots. Of the things I bought while away last week, I don't feel guilty for the books or jumper, the hot water bottle was useful and a lot newer than the ones lurking in the drawers at home (and we've added it to suggestions for the air bnb person, though the cottage was delightful and heated up well), and I love the jumper I bought, but I feel the dress and scarf weren't needed. I'm not sure I'll get much use out of either. So no car boot for me today.

DH is breaking another section of concrete, having taken last week's to the tip. Next door isn't in so we've been unable to borrow a second garden fork yet, but the fern is on the 'to do' list.

Meanwhile, the dining table is littered with receipts and books that I need to deal with, and later today I may just do some baking. H has asked me to pick up a parcel for her, so there's a walk into town later, too, and maybe a run - I forgot to pack running things while away and it's been too cold/I've been too tired since.

Cherryfudge

DH has had a busy day: another foot or so of garden path is reduced to rubble and the lounge door has been taken down and planed, as it's never fitted properly. Then he remembered that L suggested it could be hung the other way round to make more space in the room, so it's currently propped up in that position to see if we like it that way.

That in turn showed a spot of paint was needed behind it, so DH dug out the paint and I painted, only to discover it was a darker cream that we'd used in the kitchen and we've no idea what happened to the remains of the paint we used in the lounge. There are two massive tubs of white, but I'm pretty sure it wasn't that. We can't make progress till we have daylight on it, though.

We had our fish and chips for lunch but used fish from the freezer and mushies from the store cupboard, thus saving a fiver and some space.

In the afternoon we wrapped up (still cold and occasional spits of rain) and went into town where I collected H's parcel and DH talked me into going to a local art display. That was worth going to, with some lovely pieces.

Afterwards, it was on to Sains to make use of some offers I'd seen on my Nectar app. That only resulted in 50p off in the end as it turns out I should have downloaded another app. Whether I have phone space for that, I don't know. DH isn't worried as we bought things we'd normally buy, but I feel rather put out. I just hadn't noticed that detail as generally it's about swiping the app that gives the details of the offer.

We wandered home via a couple of charity shops, so DH bought a DVD he remembered, and I got a couple of yards of fabric with a view to getting the lounge scatter cushions to match each other.

I also managed a chunk of Duolingo, which is currently giving me all the vocabulary I need if I stay in a haunted hotel, while trying to persuade me I can get a bus from the Duomo in Milan. That would be very useful if I were going to hear voices in the night in Milan, but probably isn't going to be massively useful for a few days in Rome. Nice try, though.

Expenditure:
Housekeeping £22.24
Hobbies £2
Entertainment £1

ETA: I've been wading through the receipts so the dining table looks a bit better. I checked my Santander account only to find the interest goes down 1% on 24th May so I need to investigate whether there's anything I can do about it. It will still be at a much better rate than I could get if I opened the account now. I also note it's time to wake up our travel money accounts and work out what we need, find the cards and check they are still working. Also make sure we know who has the Railcard so we can get home without paying out a fortune (tickets already purchased but that's no help if we don't show the card).

P.S. I've just seen the first bats of the year zooming over the garden.  

Cherryfudge

I woke up this morning to the sound of heavy rain, which went on till lunchtime. It reinforced my decision to stay at home and watch church on YouTube! However, it cleared up later and the forecast is for warmer weather to come, after weeks of us all being cold and rained on. I've looked ahead (pre-empting holiday) and Rome is in the mid-20s...

Our main meal was mackerel with veg and cous cous, and we watched more Race around the World before DH set off to an antiques fair for a couple of hours. I finally got round to baking the rhubarb and ginger muffins, and had a last-minute idea of adding pecans to the tops of some. That worked quite well: the texture is really unusual though I think it might have worked better if I'd broken them up and mixed them in. I've warned DH that they contain dairy (working my way though fridge and freezer contents) but he wants to have one for lunch tomorrow, regardless.

Later in the afternoon I walked down to church for a one-off meeting, and got some exercise while I was at it, then later spent a bit more time in the garden trying to push back the ground elder tide. It comes up so fast! I'm hoping that by keeping on top of new growth, I'll gradually weaken it.

DH has checked the airline requirements and booked us a larger baggage allowance. Last year the case I had turned out to be slightly too big (they measured the wheels and we didn't) so I ended up paying an extra £40 or so. This year we've paid £87 and our cases are carefully chosen and measured. We don't need vast amounts but even wearing a jumper and jacket, things take up space. I noticed last week that my basic medication is really quite bulky and space-consuming, but I don't want to do without.

Expenditure:
Holiday £87
Hobbies £25 (DH bought something from the antiques place).

Sun_Addict

How lovely to have a trip to Rome coming up 🙂 Although Duolingo often teaches completely random things that you’re very unlikely to ever say, it has massively helped me with my Spanish. I’ve used it quite a bit during my holiday. 

Cherryfudge

Sun_Addict said:

How lovely to have a trip to Rome coming up 🙂 Although Duolingo often teaches completely random things that you’re very unlikely to ever say, it has massively helped me with my Spanish. I’ve used it quite a bit during my holiday. 

Well done on getting to use it! I guess this includes explaining to the waiter that the ratatouille was delicious but you can't possibly eat so much! I woke up this morning reflecting that I can tell the hotel that there's a strange ghost by the bathroom door, but I can't remember the word for 'breakfast'.

DH has been asked to swap work days this week so he's there now. I have quite a bit to do: prep for tomorrow night as I have my friends round for our pizza and study evening and at the moment there's no study. After lunch I'm ringing the manager of the debt advice centre to chat through how to get started on Wednesday. I have a notebook with some good links if the person turns out to be an internet-savvy type. I didn't get that vibe but it's hard to tell from a quick meeting. I've also started a page of sound bites to give us things to work round ('Shop at home first', 'Meal plan', 'Make a list', 'Try using cash') and am thinking of drafting a few goals for us to choose from - but I don't know enough to structure a whole session.

All the decluttering of receipts has calmed the dining table down a bit, but other stuff just creeps in to take the space so I need to go on rehoming that, and start on the guest room where a load of summer clothes have been dumped. We've not put the heating on this morning, and it's not entirely due to 0ctopus asking us for more money. It's actually a bit warmer, and might get to 14 degrees later so those summer clothes may yet be used.

I've also remembered I used to do feedback for supermarkets based on the link that goes on till receipts. It's worth a few pence a go so over time it's a free small treat or can go towards a railcard when that comes due. I've also got points to be spent or lost by the end of May so I'll see if there's anything special to put them towards.

Cherryfudge

Oh dear, the boiler won't start. We only bought it in December and there's a ten year warranty, so I've contacted the company and are sending someone out on Wednesday.

Meanwhile I got myself dressed and presentable in case they sent someone round at short notice (:D) and have been having hot brews rather than get a heater out of the loft which seems like overkill when tomorrow's forecast is 18 degrees.

Sun_Addict

We did actually stay in a villa in Menorca that I’m pretty certain was haunted 😬 I kept waking up in the night and seeing shapes in the hall although Mr SA was adamant it was the sangria 🤣

Cherryfudge

Ooh, that would have worried me, @Sun_Addict! It's just occurred to me that Duo hasn't given any hint of how to say 'I'm going to brave it out' or 'It's just the Sangria'. I suspect it's more about showing us how to ask to change rooms... much less colourful.

A colleague told me about strange shadows in one of the areas at work, but it's a basement which gets light at odd angles so I'm resolutely attributing it to that! In another workplace, a colleague heard 'noises' behind a door when all the residents were out so I offered to accompany her to investigate (I'm like that). Turns out someone was mending the door sensor, but she could have been overdosing on the Duolingo and talked herself into hearing a ghost. All care homes, by the way, seem to have ghost stories. I can think of three or four from that place, two of which I investigated and disproved to my satisfaction. The other two were... molto strano.  

Cherryfudge

So I've made some progress this afternoon but I'm getting a bit of eye strain from sitting at the computer.

The call with the manager was useful and I have a couple of pages of notes, but I don't think I can do a set plan until I've met the client and got talking. I've also been mugging up on Martin's words of wisdom so I can get a structure in place to give clients an overview. The manager has tracked down the training course that I can do should I choose, and I think if all goes okay this week and I don't let myself be frightened off, this might be a good opportunity. It's an actual live course not online study so I just have to show up and pay attention, so ADHD won't be too much of a factor.

Well, half an hour before I need to set out for work so I'll have an early tea (it's in the microwave), get changed and any remaining time can be used to write up some notes.

Cherryfudge

Today got off to a wobbly start as the house was cold last night but not cold enough to warrant lighting the fire. I was a bit achy - think I pulled a muscle a bit and cleaning sets it off - so I went to read in bed and get warmed up. Consequent early night meant I woke at three for a couple of hours and tried to redeem the time by sorting out my credit card payments, but got an error message so I can't tell if it's gone through.

Then I slept till ten, but having had breakfast in the middle of the night (because I'd missed supper), I just had coffee.

DH is at home and has been busy filling holes in the lounge door frame.

I've texted my friends and I think tonight's meeting is going ahead here. If so there will be pizza and salad to buy. I'm relieved I have this evening's stuff all sorted out, though I need to refresh my memory. I did it two weeks ago, when I thought we had a meeting and we didn't. That means I may have some time later to sort out more of a plan for tomorrow, though I seem to have spent hours on it recently. It occurs to me that the best thing is to work from Martin's budgeting advice, but I will have to play it by ear as I need to get to know the client and gain their confidence. It's all very well throwing a lot of stuff at someone, but that won't work if there are other things in their lives that get in the way.

DH and I will probably use the bit of time freed by already having things ready for tonight, and get our free coffee from the garden centre. There was also a voucher for a free plant that came through the door, but that will depend on there being some left at the shop. The voucher also gets me entrance to a hanging basket workshop but it's about £30 and the internet is 'free', as are the hanging baskets in the garden/shed/who knows where I stashed them.