Away From The Madding Crowd

Savvy_Sue

Humboldt said:

Trip to a local town for a dental appointment.  Took advantage of the government’s £2 bus fare cap, saving £3.  The scheme runs until 31 December 2024.  Due to the dental services being abysmal in our town we felt that we had no choice but to go private. We are considering joining a Denplan scheme.  If any of you would like to share your experience of these, I would be most grateful.

DH and I each have DenPlans, not sure who with, but as recommended by the dentist we use. It's a tad over £20 pm each, and covers 2 x dentist and 2 x hygienist appointments per year, plus a discount on any 'treatments' needed (ie fillings ...). I think it's worth it, but I haven't actually calculated it. Obviously it wasn't worth it throughout the lockdowns ... 

We gave up on NHS dentistry when I and the three boys were ALL in and out of the surgery within 20 minutes. I know it was only a routine checkup, but even so. When we joined that surgery I was very happy with the dentist, but he retired; the next one was great; after that it seemed to be a different dentist each time. 

The boys are no longer living at home, and despite regular nagging from me I am not sure any of them have seen a dentist since they were at University (and I could make appointments for when they were home and march them up there!) 

As an aside, I was at a very interesting talk the other day, mostly about fingerprints, but given by a forensic dentist. He says it's less common these days for people to be identified through their dental records, mostly it's just when they're fairly sure who it is, but can't ask a relative to ID them. There's no central database of dental records, and they're not kept indefinitely anyway. And I said it would be increasingly difficult with so many people unable to access a dentist! He did not disagree with me. 

sheilavw

hi I don't have Denplan, but I use Simplyhealth. I joined when it was the Hospital Saturday fund about 40 or so years ago. It covers cost of dentist, but it also covers optician, specialist apt, podiarty, stays in hospital and private gp consultations, there are different plans to choose from. I replace my glasses every year with having this plan

Humboldt

Morning all. 

@Savvy_Sue and @sheilavw thank you, I so appreciate you both taking the time to comment and share information regarding dental costs.

@Savvy_Sue the leaflet given to me by the private dentist is called Denpl@n and is part of S!mplyhe@lth.  It may actually be what you have, because it covers similar things i.e. 2 examinations by the dentist (including routine x-rays), 2 hygienist appointments and 15% off private fee per item charges.  The cost is £25.70 each per month (however the leaflet is dated 2023 so it maybe more now).  I have done a few calculations based on the cost of the routine checks, hygienist appointments, plus a filling that I recently needed, and I think that it would be worth it. I guess that I now need to check if other companies offer such a scheme, and compare prices.  

@sheilavw we also have a similar healthcare package but with Benend£n He@lth.  Having checked their additional packages i.e. dental, it would not be as cost effective as the Denpl@n for us personally.  That said, having had reason to use Benend£n's private diagnosis and treatment services in the past, I am more than happy to continue to pay for this.  

Today's simple pleasure - this morning I managed to get the bedding dried outside before the rain began.

bluenose1

Great update, love the Mark Twain quote and your summer house sounds idyllic.
For some reason our house has 2 garages, if we didn’t have so much stuff and a gym in one I could convert one to a summer house, got no chance of that happening unfortunately.
We are lucky as still have a decent NHS dentist who seems quite minimalist re any treatment, I do worry about my teeth as I get older.
Been loving getting the washing dry on line, one of my pleasures is getting into bed on day bedding has been changed. Been reading about laundry sheets instead of capsules , might give them a go.
Took our dog for walk in woods and decided to bath her on my return as she had been through every muddy puddle she could find, found 3 ticks on her, managed to get them off with husbands help but feel all itchy now…….
Really enjoyed Driving Over Lemons, thanks for the recommendation, and now reading A Parrot in the Pepper Tree, bought it cheap off eBay.

Savvy_Sue

bluenose1 said:

Been loving getting the washing dry on line, one of my pleasures is getting into bed on day bedding has been changed. Been reading about laundry sheets instead of capsules , might give them a go.

As it happens, I've just moved over from capsules to sheets, and no complaints! Was a bit worried as DH has eczema, and any change in that dept can cause problems. Got them (and a large quantity of loo roll) from myoceans.

I was always worried that the capsules would disintegrate if I kept them too long, or burst if they got too hot. And I definitely didn't want to take them away with me, whereas these would travel nicely if I was going somewhere with a washing machine. 

Humboldt

Morning all. 

@bluenose1 so pleased to read that you enjoyed the book recommendation.  I found the second book to be equally as enjoyable. I too know very little about laundry sheets, having only ever seen them for sale on a cruise, for use in the launderette.  I am now intrigued.  I was impressed to read that you have a gym in your garage.

@Savvy_Sue thanks for commenting about the laundry sheets. My0ceans is a brand that I had not heard of.  I will take a peep at their website.    

Thanks to you both for taking the time to comment.  I learn so much from the knowledge and experience that is shared so freely on these forums.   

Today's simple pleasure - enjoyed an early morning cuppa in my summer house.  It's like a little hide in the garden that allows you to observe the wildlife going about their daily chores without disturbance. Bliss.

Humboldt

Hello and welcome.

Motivational quote of the week

“What do you want to be when you grow up?” “Kind” said the boy – from ‘The boy, the mole, the fox, and the horse’ by Charlie Mackesy.

Money Saving

Our monthly grocery budget for me and my DH is £250.  Week 3 spend for May was £63.14.  Total spend to date for May is £183.47.

Having almost finished my Liz E@rle cleanse and polish, I checked my toiletries stash and found a R£N gentle cleansing gel which was part of last year’s M+S beauty advent calendar. This cleanser is currently retailing at £25 on the R£N website.  The calendar is a real treat, and an opportunity to try several branded products at a vastly reduced cost.

Buying tickets to a local event online rather than on the day, resulted in a £6 saving

This week’s main menu

Monday – Roast chicken, sage and onion stuffing, spring greens, carrots, butternut squash cooked in tomatoes and garlic, with gravy.

Tuesday – Ping meal – as above (cook once eat twice – save time and energy costs)

Wednesday – Harissa butter bean and roasted vegetables with herby dressing (He@rt UK recipe).  Chives are home grown. I will double up the roast vegetables and use half for tomorrow’s recipe.

Thursday – Roasted vegetable and mackerel pasta (He@rt UK recipe). This recipe is new to me and uses tinned mackerel in tomato sauce.

Friday – Eastern salmon (He@rt UK recipe) with stir fry vegetables and noodles.  Salmon was reduced in price and frozen until required.

Saturday – Hickory smoked beef brisket burger (Nect@r price £2.33 for 2) in a wholemeal bun, homemade coleslaw, and salad.

Sunday – Chicken Provençal (H@iry Dieter’s recipe).

Breakfasts continue to be mainly oat based.  This week lunches will include homemade soups from the freezer, salads, and a homemade mackerel pate.

Healthier Lifestyle

Completed 0 free workouts last week.

Step count last week was 57,809.

Completed 4 free meditations.

Simple Pleasures

I was able to gift tomato seedlings to others, including the community garden.

Planted cucumber seeds. If they germinate, I hope to plant them outside in one of my veg boxes.  This will be a first for me, having never grown cucumbers outside.

A trip out with DH to a pretty village.  A glorious sunny day, perfect for our picnic. Bought a couple of homemade jams being sold at a garden gate to raise funds for a local hospice. 

Thanks for dropping by and taking the time to read my diary.

bluenose1

Impressed as ever by your weekly menu choices @Humboldt.
Sounds like your planting is going well and hope your homemade jam is nice, even better that you bought it to support a hospice.
Havent been much on internet much this week as decided to wainscot lounge with the decorative moulding I see on Instagram. Bought a mitre box and saw, thought it would take a few hours for husband and I to do. Three days later still not finished .  Hopefully worth it in the end, but I can’t wait for the end to come. 
On the positive side my activity counter says I have been much more active than normal.

Katiehound

Free pleasure: yesterday evening was to see & hear a few 'ton up boys ' of the skies- swifts- whizzing, dipping, diving & screeching above the chimney pots.
 That's the first time I have seen them this year, sadly the numbers are greatly reduced- but a welcome sign of summer.

Nebulous2

Katiehound said:

Free pleasure: yesterday evening was to see & hear a few 'ton up boys ' of the skies- swifts- whizzing, dipping, diving & screeching above the chimney pots.
 That's the first time I have seen them this year, sadly the numbers are greatly reduced- but a welcome sign of summer.

Ours are back as well. They nest in our roof. We hear them much more often than we see them. We are always pleased to welcome them.