Moving on

badmemory

Re your NI contributions for the last year.  Provided your earnings were above the LEL (lower earnings limit) then even if you paid no NI you should be covered.  Look at your P60 if you already have it.  I think the LEL at present is over £6k but I'll check.

ETA £6396.  The only time that wouldn't work would be if that was all earned in one month - not a problem most of us are likely to encounter.

Cherryfudge

Thanks @badmemory, I was over the LEL but definitely didn't earn it all in one month, so I think those are covered. Your advice is much appreciated.  

Cherryfudge

Donations are made and ironing done. DH has gone through his wardrobe and found four tee shirts either for recycling or for donating. We've also dug out the camera in the hope of aurora photos but it's not as active tonight.

We had a walk into town, but the optician can't fix my glasses as the right person isn't on duty. I'll go back on Monday. We did some shopping, picking up cheap sunglasses for DH, midge repellent for me and a lightweight backpack for DH to take on the flight. Then I spotted a lovely dress on the rail at a market stall and - dithering having happened - bought it. I have such difficulty finding anything my style when I need to dress up, that it seemed daft not to. However, I'm looking for really comfy white trainers now, so I can wear more skirts and dresses. I have a pair but they are too stiff for everyday wear.

My eye drops arrived about six days before they are due, but that's good and deserves positive feedback.

Tea was salmon and chip shop chips.

Expenditure:
Housekeeping £12.41
Medical (that includes sunnies and mossie repellent) approx. £9
Clothing £39.

badmemory

Please check what I said.  There is a reason my username came to mind.  Thankfully lifelong not age related, but has lead to some very embarassing incidents.  If I don't write it down it hasn't happened.

Cherryfudge

badmemory said:

Please check what I said.  There is a reason my username came to mind.  Thankfully lifelong not age related, but has lead to some very embarassing incidents.  If I don't write it down it hasn't happened.

Will do - but don't worry, I suspect you know what you are talking about!

I have very little memory for faces, but fortunately people's stature and general presentation are useful reminders of identity, and hair - which gets changed too often for my comfort - is too. But you can imagine I sympathise with you for those moments when it doesn't work. In my case, I've developed a line about 'Sorry, I was in a world of my own', which people seem happy enough to accept.

Cherryfudge

We've fitted plenty into today.

In the morning we drove to near Leeds to see J and L run the Rob Burrow Leeds marathon. They spotted us before we saw them and shouted, or we might have missed them, having mis-identified the cheerpoint we were at so we didn't know to expect them at that time. It was a good atmosphere as always.

That five seconds of excitement over, we had a picnic in the car then went to a café for drinks before setting off home. Sometimes we go point to point but there had been a diversion and signs of an incident on the main roads getting there, so home felt a better option than trying to meet up with them later. As it was, we followed them on the app and they finished exactly as we drew up at our house.

I fell asleep for an hour in the afternoon then read for a while, eventually getting up to make dinner, which was chicken and chorizo pasta again. Quick and easy as we had a meeting in the evening and just made it to that on time. Afterwards I had half an hour in the garden fighting the ground elder and hearing a bit of thunder. It's rained slightly since but hasn't developed into anything much.

Duolingo kept giving me 15 minutes of double points so I put in some effort and have kept in the same league but nothing dramatic.

Spending:
I think DH got fuel, don't know how much.
Entertainment (Earl Grey and cappuccino) £6.10

Cherryfudge

Going away is getting close and this morning when DH said he was going to print the documents needed, I felt a bit panicky. I'm asking myself what it is I'm afraid of, and trying to sort those things out. The answer so far is pickpockets (someone we know got pick-pocketed in Rome: I have a cross body bag and DH will put things in front pockets and we'll carry minimum), something going wrong with airport transport (happened to us in Barcelona because we didn't understand their system and ended up costing us), spending too much (we are sorting out the money tomorrow and we generally pay for a dinner and get something from the supermarket for lunch), not sleeping (hopefully the aircon is good and the beds are comfy), not having wi-fi (easily solved by booking a place with internet: done), my phone throwing a wobbly (it does this quite often and needs the off-and-on-again and I'm looking at replacing but putting that off while this one limps on), not being able to live in jeans because it's too hot so I have to wear non-snuggly stuff which is a sensory change (but I've been practising in recent warm weather), being hungry when we get there as it will be late (planning snacks so we don't have to think about a meal).

For goodness sake, it's only a few days! Most of those things I can plan away. I'm afraid of becoming anxiety-ridden like Auntie, and limiting those around me by being so.

So today I'm doing a load of laundry, getting my prescription which has showed up at the chemist, getting my glasses fixed and buying some spray on sun cream because the stuff I bought is very runny.

Cherryfudge

Some improvement! Lots of washing is on the line, taking advantage of a sunny, breezy day. That will actually lead to a load of small mending jobs later, as a lot of it is DH's jumpers, which always acquire holes. Catch 'em before they get bigger.

I've remembered I have contact lenses and will take some with me in case the glasses repair doesn't last. I have far too many and only kept them because I'd paid for them and for that once in a blue moon occasion when I want to be seen without glasses. The glasses are so nice that that's not happened for ages, but the glasses are also delicate and I've had them two years, so I suppose I've subconsciously got a list that starts 'Phone, glasses...' of expensive things I will probably need to replace this year.

Looking at the hotel booking is quite reassuring, breakfast will happen in the hotel which is generally the best reason for going on holiday said she, tongue in cheek, but a hotel breakfast is nice.

Some garden has been wrestled back, this time the road side of the house where the plantains reign. There was heavy rain late last night so the lush green will last and weeding will be easier. The big fern is winning the race against me and the new growth could already be too much to handle, but four fernlets (?) have been rehomed so it's only three quarters what it was.

Lunch is the rest of the soup but I don't yet have a plan for tea apart from 'use up'.

Karonher

Hope you have a lovely time in Rome. Can I just suggest a couple of things? If you get a taxi, announce the notes that you give them when you pay. Also try googling the distance so that you dont get taken the long way round.

Cherryfudge

Thanks @Karonher, that's worth knowing. The initial taxi is paid in advance so that hopefully won't be a problem, and we have the company number in case there's any delay getting off the flight. A friend has suggested we get the hop on hop off bus for sight seeing which I think should work well as we are staying close to the centre.