Cheery's path to fulfilment - finishing the DIY, looking after myself, appreciating the garden 🌻

VintageHistorian

TCB often doesn't show up until they pay the money to you, we took out home insurance through them in November and it showed as £0 all the way, until it suddenly updated to say it was £30 and ready to pay out, all in one go.

Cheery_Daff

VintageHistorian said:

TCB often doesn't show up until they pay the money to you, we took out home insurance through them in November and it showed as £0 all the way, until it suddenly updated to say it was £30 and ready to pay out, all in one go.

Ooh, that's useful, thank you! 

Just rang the old insurers to cancel. I told them I'd found it cheaper elsewhere, didn't want to go through all my details again on the phone when they already had them, told them how much the renewal quote was blah blah. 

Anyway, miraculously, without altering any of our details, their renewal price changed from £585 to £336 🙄 but obviously I'd have to go through all my details again to confirm nothing had changed. I'm afraid I denied - first of all I strongly suspect that quote would have somehow mislaid all the extras (legal cover, Mr C driving other vehicles etc) and just be the very basic amount, which would increase anyway, and secondly I can't be doing with all these stupid shenanigans - if you'd had cheaper quote then give it me at the start! And thirdly, I didn't want to ring up at all, let alone go through all my details on the phone again! Aarrgghh! 

So I said no 😬 and I'm having minor doubts as it's £150 less 😬 although I bet it wouldn't be with all the correct details 🙄 And I'd lose my cashback that I haven't even got yet.

Anyway, I was happy with the price we got yesterday, but next year it might be worth having this phone call first. YAWN.

Still, that's car insurance SORTED til next year so I shall put it out if my mind! 

Been out in the garden, just for an hour or so - it's chilly out there and the wind was picking up even during that time. Shifted a few mole hills onto my flower beds, and raked the soil into the lawn. They never dig up the beds, only the lawn 😂it's not anywhere near a bowling green, but I'd rather it also wasn't a sea of mud. I might just give up and sow a potato or a courgette in every mole hill, or some flowers, and let them design the garden 😂 

Also dug some compost out of the heap and spread it on one of the rhubarb plants which is just starting to show. And shifted the other, which is under the fruit bushes in the windbreak and doesn't have enough space. I knew it was damp in there, but its roots were basically in a swap, no wonder it hasn't grown for a few years properly. Wasn't intending to split it, but I couldn't lift it in one, so now I've got two smaller plants in a far less boggy bit of garden, and gave them a good dose of compost too. 

Back inside trying to warm up and pondering tea.

Planning to go out to a talk by a local nature group tonight - mustn't forget and get sucked into sitting here in the warm! 😂

Cheery_Daff

Just sownloaded the CtM app and rewards have already started, so that's nice - we might try using our coffee discount tomorrow. Mr C sometimes goes on his own so I think we're going to do as @peb (I think!) said and buy him a cheap travel insurance policy so he can save individually too. 

They had a free prize draw for a spa break so I entered that while I was in the app too 😂

badmemory

I do hope you told the insurance that if they had come up with that quote in the first place they would most likely have got the business.  I miss the days (60yrs ago mind you) when I used to go into the insurance agents & just sort it.  It was much less stressful.  Even the 16 yr old knew what she was doing, none of this customer service telling you that you need to speak to someone else.

Humdinger1

Chocolate buttons...or maybe a chocolate casting so big it has to come on one of those lorries with a crane plus block and tackle? I feel your pain but you have done brilliantly @Cheery_Daff! Onwards and upwards love Humdinger xx 

Cheery_Daff

badmemory said:

I do hope you told the insurance that if they had come up with that quote in the first place they would most likely have got the business.  I miss the days (60yrs ago mind you) when I used to go into the insurance agents & just sort it.  It was much less stressful.  Even the 16 yr old knew what she was doing, none of this customer service telling you that you need to speak to someone else.

Oddly enough Mr C and I were talking about that yesterday - I was harking back to those days (which I never really experienced) as being far more straightforward, but he (who did live through them) said yes, but it was also far more expensive! 

I think I just need a virtual PA 😁

Humdinger1 said:

Chocolate buttons...or maybe a chocolate casting so big it has to come on one of those lorries with a crane plus block and tackle? I feel your pain but you have done brilliantly @Cheery_Daff! Onwards and upwards love Humdinger xx 

😱 give me that much chocolate and it'll be me they'll need the crane for 😬

Anyway, just popping in with a little list for tomorrow before the weekend runs away with me: 

* banking
* clothes away
* washing
* hoover downstairs
* mop kitchen floor and stairs
* clean bathroom
* flute practice! Still haven't got it out of the case and I have a lot of complicated stuff I need to learn! 
* find a time to invite neighbours for tea
* someone gave us a calendar so need to add stuff to it!

That'll do. There'll be yoga first thing (a longer one tomorrow) and we may take our coffee discount out for a spin.

Cheery_Daff

Just been doing the banking. Amounts remaining in pots with 6 days of the month left.

Food & household: £69.72/£350
Diesel & parking: £9.12/£300
Joint treats: £47.00/£200
My treats: £22.06/£150
Mr C treats: £110.40/£150

So overall £248.30/£1150 left. 

Shouldn't need another big food shop before the end of the month, I don't think. Might need a tank of diesel, we're both doing a bit of running around this week. Might even have something left in the joint treats budget at this stage. My treats budget has been decimated by little things (bought a few books this month) and I'm meeting a friend on Friday so will need to save bit for that.

badmemory

Mr C is right it was more expensive, but it was more for everybody not just for people who were not good with technology & haggling.

Cheery_Daff

badmemory said:

Mr C is right it was more expensive, but it was more for everybody not just for people who were not good with technology & haggling.

Indeed. Often the way with many things unfortunately! 

We have had a tidy and clean of the house, so things are looking rather more civilised (not perfect, of course, but also not embarrassing if someone needs to pop in to the loo 😂).

I put a post on FB to see if any of my real life pals have a heat pump, and have had a few useful responses and an offer to visit one, from someone I've not seen in about 15 years, so that's nice and I'll definitely be doing that 😊 Nice to reconnect with her too 😊

We used our new 25% coffee discount today for the first time, and saved ourselves £3.70 😁 The treats budget is very pleased 😂

Didn't get some stuff done, but am nicely rested for a week at work. Three days in the office this week, annoyingly (Tuesday is necessary, Thursday the car is in the garage, and Monday is all my own fault as there's a particular meeting I'd rather have in person). Friday I'm going on a day trip with a friend, and Saturday is a little event I want to go to, so there'll be a lot of driving round. I'm glad actually - want to get my audio book finished before it gets zoomed back to the library 😂

Cheery_Daff

Finally finished my audio book - I confess I actually zoomed the last hour up to 2x speed, and the final half hour to 3x speed because it was so distressing and I wanted to get it over and done with 😂😂 might need something super cheerful after that 😬😂

In other news, Mr C has submitted his tax return early (I don't want to hear how 'early would have been April, thank you 😂😂 It's earlier than the deadline, and earlier than usual! 😂). I confirmed what the car needs at the garage on Thursday, booked the heat pump survey for in 3 weeks time, and stopped to get a new windscreen wiper on the way home, as mine unhelpfully managed to turn itself upside down on the way to work, goodness knows how. I suspect I dislodged it when scraping the car this morning, who knows. I tried to fit the damn thing myself but it was dark and cold and I couldn't see, so I ended up paying. Obviously it took about 5 seconds - £7 well spent i think 😬