Buying a little piece of Middle England; Manifesting my way to mortgage free.

debtfreewannabe321

Omg!! @greenbee! I think you just found my childhood cat!!! I've never seen another cat like the beautiful one I had, my mum always said she thought she was half main coon but she came rescued out of a barn so couldn't be sure...but I've just searched for the Siberian cat and THIS looks almost identical to my cat!
I wonder if this is why I was okay around her right up until she passed (at around 20) but other cats I was continually ill. I thought it was because I'd built a tolerance to her 😃 oooo I need to find someone with one of these cats to test it now! I'd be so happy if I could get one. This little one looks almost identical to my little fluffy that I had 😍

Watty1

Gorgeous cat. I've just caught up, I love the positivity that there is there, yes grief and sadness but a coming together of people saying well you could try this or that and out of that grows ideas.  What a fabulous thing this forum is.

(BTW whilst you are on the search for the right pet for you, have you thought about offering a foster space for the freedom programme?  Women fleeing domestic abuse often do not leave because of their pets and in most areas womens aid links up with a rescue that runs a programme for their pets to be cared for whilst they are in refuge The programme is not that well known but is a life line, and, hypoallergenic dogs will come up there from time to time).  I found out about it as it was suggested WattyDog would have a more stable life for a while   as PPH kept taking him.

daisy_1571

the downstairs study/library sounds like it could be gorgeous and very usable and useful.   

A sofa-bed in what was ds room sounds good.  It could be your daughter's sitting room until its needed as a bedroom at any stage so she can feel she has somewhere other than her bedroom to sit in, starts the grown up phase for her of contemplating furnishings for rooms other than a bedroom. 

A walk in wardrobe/dressing room/storage room sounds great.  Super way to organise the house, have things accessible and tidy but not cluttering every room. 

Brilliant!   All sounding quite positive

Dxx

Watty1

A dressing room features large on my list of wants btw - I had one at the place I rented, drying clothes, ironing, dumping shoes, it was just perfect.  Such a great use for a small bedroom - and my own bedroom was uncluttered and sleeping in it was a joy.

daisy_1571

aha, I missed there was a new page!  Wow that cat is gorgeous!!  Wonder if she was a siberian?   I'd never have believed such a floofball would not be an instant allergy risk.

Watty, I agree, I love how folk come up with ideas which leads to a new thought which leads to more ideas 💡 

Dxx

Jessy103

A library sounds amazing, with a nice comfy chair to sit and read, how wonderful! 

As there are a lot of cat enjoyers, I'm going to put a vote forward for team dog. I am bias but may I suggest a greyhound. There are lots looking for homes that are rescued or dumped when they're no longer good enough for the track. Despite what people think, they are very placid dogs, don't need a lot of exercise and make great pets. Some are even able to live with cats, chickens and other small furries 🙂

MeandO

Sending hugs DFW321. x I too am in camp 'make changes to YOU house to benefit YOURself.' I'm trying to do something similar presently with what was DS's playroom. It's gradual as and when I'm able to fit things in the budget, but I am shopping from home wherever I can with regards to leftover paint, moving pictures or furniture round. DS wasn't happy that I was considering changing the setup as I was planning on selling a big IKEA unit which used to house his consoles, games and toys (but is now mostly empty) and moving a console of his to a different unit, but as he spends most of his time in his room or the lounge now. it's tough! I need a nice space for me to relax in and a sour house is small, this is the only space I can 're-develop.' I know he will also like it when there's a big new comfy sofa to chill out on too, rather than the tiny little uncomfortable temporary sofa I bought for £80 over 6 years ago.

Make your house work for you, make it your retreat and you may feel much happier about staying there. Currently the spaces reflect memories of what you thought the future would look like, now you need to make turn that into what you'd like in your home instead for a peaceful and restorative space. x

debtfreewannabe321

I love this forum for support. I've been struggling so much and I just know there is always a friendly ear or helpful suggestion on here 🥰!
Thank you all @Watty1 @daisy_1571 @Jessy103 @MeandO and anyone else I missed. Jessy I love greyhounds, I have a pic of me sat next to one as a baby, it had got run over and had three legs, sweet little dog although he didn't live for much longer as he was already old by the time I came along. I'm allergic to them now though ☹️my ex sis in law used to rescue them and I was set off a lot with them jumping all over me (as they do 😆 they used to scare my old dog too he sat terrified of their energy in a corner lol). 

I ran my ideas past DP earlier and he loves the idea of getting out of the box room and downstairs into a bigger space. He spends 9-5:30 five days a week in his office so he definitely deserves a better space. We are going to work on that room first as it's mostly done. The most expensive bits will be a curtain rail (and I think I have make do curtains for now).. unsure where to get a bay window one from that fits hence why we never got it sorted before 🫣. Making the rooms work for us and swapping about will take a bit of effort but I'm hoping we can do it quite cheaply. Every room has wallpaper. In the past I'd have gone out of the way to strip, skim, paint but now I cast a discerning eye over the paper and if it's stuck on well, who am I to rip it off 😆 I will paint over it instead. So the jobs should be quicker than I'd have done in the past. 

Work is going ok. I've had to send a couple of emails to people this morning about a class I had earlier. Honestly I walked away scared myself the tutor was so loud and shouty. She singled out an ehcp learner (I didn't realise he was until afterwards when I did some digging) and so I've emailed a few people trying to see if I can offer him help in there. However the tutor was way over the top and not nice.
 
It's been nice too as four students from last year have stopped me today (all different classes and with their groups of friends and one I was convinced hated me by June 🙈🤣) shouting my name down corridors to say hello and catch me up on their lives. It's so lovely when I get updates and the students go out of their way to say hello and say how they miss me 🥰. It makes me feel valued which doesn't happen very often in my job. I've only one class left after lunch GCSE English 🫩 trying to get students to engage in this when they've done it upwards of three times now and failed I feel is kind of cruel and unnecessary and feels a bit like pulling teeth. Some are just not made for this type of learning and I don't understand why we have to persist for years on end (no wonder some mess about I think I might have done the same). It's mad because it hits their confidence in other areas too, some are amazing artists, cooks, photographers, with kids, or whatever else and yet if they fail eng and maths for years on end they think themselves stupid. 

Right rant over 🤣 off I go...

greenbee

Lots of options online for curtain tracks and poles that will work with bay windows - it's just a question of some time googling and checking the results (ikea have corners... https://www.ikea.com/gb/en/cat/curtain-track-18893/). Or you can put a track/pole across that cuts off the whole bay (and put a window seat inside it for a hidden space). Or you can put blinds on each section separately. Or a combination. 

debtfreewannabe321

I've ordered some curtain tracks! Nice and cheap for now just to get the curtains up and some privacy in there. Less than £30.  I think I will buy some window privacy film for the lower half of the windows as we face a road in that room and I don't want two Macs on display to the world for grabs 😬. DP has chosen a colour. I've found two (!) sets of curtains that fit nowhere else because they're so long that will work beautifully in there and DP chose a colour out of that (olive green type colour). I feel buoyed on to make a start in there and get that room done before Xmas 😁 seeing as though we can do it for approx £100 or less. The bookcase might need to wait until after Christmas though as that will be the biggest expense. And a new desk. We will squeeze his huge great big eye sore of a white laminate desk in for now. 

I've managed to eek the food out to plan enough meals till Wednesday instead of running out yesterday so that means the food budget should last now until the end of the month. 

DS1 messaged me telling me he'd double booked me the weekend of the Xmas market we had arranged to meet.  He's been seeing a new girl ...😃😃😃 And I said - bring her!! So he is. And we get to meet her in a neutral environment as I know how some get really nervy and anxious meeting parents. I feel really happy for him. He was really heartbroken over his ex and I'm happy to see he's found a replacement 🫣 even if for now all she is is a distraction rather than anything long term! I like to see the kids happy 😊😊.

Dinner tonight was Swedish plant balls from the Swedish shop with mash. Nice and easy and we used the air fry function in the oven to cook them. I think we should get rid of the clunky big ninja but DP thinks it's probably cheaper to run the ninja over the oven. He's probably right but I always go for the oven over it 🙈. Much easier to clean too.