Milann’s mutterings through retirement

milann

Spent £50 in orange DIY shop. Fence paint and compost and a few other bits for the house. Might as well paint the fence before the shed goes in.

beanielou

Good idea to paint the fence first.

milann

it was a nice change painting the fence in a different colour from the old house. Grey instead of forest green. I managed to paint 3 panels - I was very pleased with that. I was sitting on a stool as I did them and even managed to hold a slightly bigger brush than last time I painted. There’s still a lot to paint though and Dh will help over the weekend. He was out this afternoon. As long as we get behind the shed done before it arrives I’ll be happy….and we’ve not even ordered it yet. The rest might have to wait until we prune the roses so we don’t get prickled to death.

I wrote the above yesterday but didn’t post.

Soooo…..I’m going out to paint another fence panel then we’ve got somebody else coming to give us a price for the shed base.

I’m heading back next week and staying at ds house for a hospital appointment. Dh is driving so I don’t need to buy a train ticket. I’m quite pleased we plumped for an electric car. It’ll cost us about £5 to charge this end and the same again at ds house. (I know we had to pay for the charger and the car was more expensive but it’s definitely paid off) We might need to a £10 top up, depending on the journey. I dread to think what it would cost in petrol. Not bad for a journey of around 240 miles. I could end up going again very soon as my close friend’s mil passed away yesterday and I really want to pay my respects and support my friend. She was in her 80s and had dementia so it’s a mixed blessing. I think everyone is mourning the lady that was…..before the illness took over.
im having my hair cut later….im dreading it as I had my neighbour who was a mobile hairdresser for over 20 years. I don’t like going to the hairdressers at all and I suspect it’ll be a lot more expensive 😳 I’m hoping to meet Dd and youngest gdd afterwards. This is still very novel as we weren’t able to have impromptu meets before we made the move 😁

milann

Where has time gone. I headed back last week for a hospital appointment. The procedure was much better than I expected although the doctor didn’t fill me with confidence as his first words were….‘I’m not sure if I can do this or how I’m going to do it as it’s very deep in your shoulder’ Any way he managed first time and it was fascinating watching it on the screen. So cyst is now drained although he says it will most certainly make another appearance.
The friend I’ve had since I was 5 has lost another close family member so I was pleased to spend a day with her whilst I was back. We just sat watching rubbish tv in the background to our chatting. We ended up going out for tea and she dropped me at ds house afterwards. I’ll be heading back again to attend the funeral. Not sure of the logistics yet as we’re hoping to have a shed delivered and Dh has to take his car back to the garage near our old house as he’s got a prepaid service plan. We might have to do relays up and down the country so one of us is here for the delivery of the shed.
That said we need the base laying first. We have had a guy visit a couple of times….we found him on Mybuilder site. He’s having the materials delivered tomorrow and starting on Tuesday. He asked for the cash for the materials and DH tried to arrange a bank transfer yesterday. The bank wouldn’t approve the payment and blocked our acccount 😳 They’re concerned it’s a scam….anyway we’ve agreed that we will phone the bank once the materials have arrived and we’re happy with them. The rest of the payment is due after the work is completed. I’m hoping the bank is just being extra cautious as I know there are a lot of scams out there. He seemed a genuine guy….but I suppose all scammers do. The problem was it wasn’t a business account but a private on line one. Watch this space…one day we’ll do a straightforward job.
The insurance company have given us a figure for the breakages in the move. It doesn’t cover the cost of replacing things but we’ve accepted it. I don’t want to spend my time fighting, I want to enjoy my new home. Once the money hits the bank I’ll be straight on the review sites giving them 1 ⭐.
I ended up babysitting last night for youngest grandchild who is now nearly 10. And it’s DDs birthday on Tuesday so I’m doing it again midweek whilst she heads out for a birthday meal with her hubby. It’ll be lovely being able to spend some of her birthday with her - we’re meeting up in the daytime - and a 10 minute drive is so much more appealing tehn a 61/2 hour one…which is what it used to be.

I’ve just been doing some washing, hoovering and Dh charged the car on the free hour of electricity octopus offered. Might as well make use of the offer.

Right I’m off to paint another fence panel. It’s taking forever - and I’m only doing the area next to the shed base.

milann

The bank finally approved the money for the workman. It was a tad annoying as it’s our money that they wouldn’t release but I suppose it is in our own interest, as there are a lot of scammers out there. They came as promised and the 3 of them have worked like Trojans. He’s still got a couple of days work to do. He’s laying some reclaimed Yorkshire stone for a smaller patio than I imagined…..the shed area is massive. The shed is being delivered on 28th so there’s plenty of time for the base to set. We ordered it yesterday - it was reduced by £500 originally and then by another £200 so we were very chuffed. We found the same shed advertised elsewhere and it was over £1000 more than we’ve paid😄

My trike has arrived but I haven’t had chance to have a go yet…I spent most of the day with Dd yesterday as it was her birthday and we’re babysitting tomorrow as they’re off out for a birthday meal with friends. Today I’ve had various phone calls regarding the move to the new GPs. I. Impressed so far.

beanielou

Glad all going well.

milann

The workmen were going great with the base for the shed and the patio area. They were on the last day and planned to complete and have an early finish before the rain set in. Unfortunately nobody told the rain it wasn’t supposed to arrive until very late afternoon. It was torrential and they had to stop and clean a lot of the work theyd already completed as the concrete was getting waterlogged. They’re hoping to return tomorrow but it has poured it down all day today so I suspect the ground will be too wet 🤬Could only happen to us…..it’s been a drought and the minute we do something weather dependent the heavens open 😂 We definitely need the rain but would it have ruined some eternal plan to hang on another 12 hours to let the work be finished and a few hours to dry. Ahhh well…..

The problem is I should have been heading back with Dh on Tuesday to stay at ds house as the car has a pre booked and prepaid service…i was going to see some friends and family, then stay over a couple of extra days to attend a funeral. So Dh will have to go alone and I’ll follow up on the train just to go to the funeral.

We found a lovely garden centre yesterday but we couldn’t fit what we wanted in the car and had intended heading back, it’d have been no fun in the rain though so will leave it for another day. There was a museum, wooded walks and cafes on the site so we will definitely explore again.

I did head out on my trike yesterday - a seaside place about a 20 minute drive from here. We unloaded the bikes and rode about a mile along the coastal path - had a cuppa and drove back to the car. I enjoyed it but couldn’t remember anything about the electric controls he’d mentioned on my little test drive way back in July…..I got to the dizzying speed of 4.8 mph 😂😂😂. I’ve no intentions of doing too much too soon and will try and get out as often as I can on it.

Dd and family have been around for brunch this morning. It’s lovely- I’ve seen the gks 4 times this week 😁 We just need ds to move down now. Work is happening on his house now - all the old extensions have been demolished 👍

beanielou

Lovely to see so much of the grandkids.

milann

I didnt have an Iceland particularly close to my old house, but have one in the high street not far from the new place. I put £50 on a savers card last month and if I put another £50 before 5 November (I think that’s the date) there’s a £15 bonus. I thought that was a pretty good rate of interest…..will come in handy for Christmas……which I haven’t even thought much about this year 😯