NST July 2024: A July jaunt around Madrid

lcc86

Yesterday I spent on a coffee at work but nothing else. Today I have renewed my car insurance, I was expecting the worst given everything I have read about prices going up, but my existing provider sent me a quote £100 cheaper than last year, I still went through a comparison site but nothing came close so decided to just renew it and grab the offer.

Nothing much else to report. Work has kept me very busy over the past two days, which I like. No updates on my DBS for the new job, I may be checking it slightly obsessively every day  there's no rush but I am not known for my patience!

ditty1234

Grateful for today being my first nsd day this month. 
Grateful for a bit of sunshine today and for work set for the rest of the week!

f0xh0les

Sticking on NSD 6. Although I have spent less than a tenner today, it is still a spend. 
Knackered all day, DH got into bed last night and I swear the man wriggled til dawn. I gave up at 6.30 and got up and dressed. Bone weary all day. 
Went for a free planning session at the big orange warehouse. They were rubbish. The layout they suggested was garbage. Nice to have at least started to properly look though. 

Shrewbie

Oh turtles I'm so sorry I have neglected you.  I had such a busy few days of work trying to finish things and will have to connect during the hols as I didn't manage to get everything done.

 Have packed all my things that aren't in storage into a small suitcase to take to UK and Huelva and a big suitcase for my housemates to take to their new house in Madrid when they move in in a couple of weeks  (they are currently having a nightmare with the bank - don't exchange on a house in summer in Spain guys!!!)

I am up at 3am to fly to UK. I will post then. Hope all is well xx 

thriftylass

Good morning,

That's my three day week done again and DH is in Glasgow to be with his dad. I'm not sure how long it is still safe for him to live by himself. But it seems sth needs to happen first before the home/assisted living option is considered.

This morning I decided to take better care of myself again. My diet (as in nutrition not weight loss) has been slipping and I developed a sweet tooth. So, today I will make a big batch of healthy lunches for work and clean out/declutter the freezer a bit at the same time. 

Harvested some more raspberries and blackcurrants. I wonder actually if I should just use all the raspberries for jam at least then they're cooked and I don't have to worry about a bit of mold I missed or that wasn't visible yet. What do you think?

Also found loads of seed packets that I didn't use last few years and they were a bit out of date. Had seeds for radishes, salads, kale, cauli and broccoli, peas, beetroot etc. I moved the good strawberry plants to a new place today and ended up with a whole empty veg patch and just used all those seeds in there. It's quite late for some but I might still get something from them. 

I now changed my DD date for 0ct0pus to the 15th as it was on the first but the meter reading prompt comes on the 17th. So they constantly sent me emails saying I'm in debt and could I please increase my DD or pay them x amount. They'r just as bad as 3ulb in that the calculations in their emails don't even match the prediction they show on my account. Maths works different for them.

Applied for and got a last balance transfer to clear the last of the CC debt before Christmas at least without paying interest. It just has a short term and had no fee. 

Off to do some cooking

weenancyinAmerica

My sister and her boyfriend really like Madrid. They also went over to Barcelona and had a great time there. He is from Mexico City but still occasionally had trouble with the word variations people used. Most people thought he was French instead until he started talking to them. Closest I have gotten is Rick Steves' book on traveling to Madrid. Or watching some of his videos. I enjoy watching House Hunter's International to see what homes look like in other countries. I used to travel a lot between 1976 and 2010, but have had to put travel on hold. Did make it all of the way into Los Angeles on the bus and tram to meet up with Mrs. Salad_Dodger a few years ago. That and trips to my sister who lives 30 miles away seem to be my limit right now. And my other sister usually drives for those trips. There is a new tram line going in to my sister's town soon and it might make things easier. I enjoyed using public transport when I was traveling before.

f0xh0les

NSD 7 today!  Quite excited because I will be on the company shilling from Sunday - Saturday so will be racking up 7 NSDs in a row, and if all goes well I will get paid at the end of this month, not next month.

Not managed this many NSDs  in a long time.  It is already making a huge difference to my bank balance.

I have not yet ventured into Spain.  I will however be returning to Bolton.   Different ends of the rainfall scale.

thriftylass

Good morning,

the courting wood pigeons woke me this morning. Then I thought someone is walking about the house when I realised it's just the ravens/crows (not sure what it is) walking on the roof with their claws.

I keep loosing track of my NSDs, so I kept all my receipt this month and it's only number 4 today  . I blame the locusts that raid the fridge everyday while on school holiday....need to plan better.

Yesterday both kids did some baking and I think today we'll spend ost of the day in the garden, got a few jobs to get done.

Have a nice day

lcc86

Evening turtles

Had a very long day at work yesterday but it was a NSD. Made it to the gym first thing then worked from home for a bit before going into work. Found a little wood pigeon on my driveway that had been hit by a car, took him to the vet quickly but unfortunately nothing that could be done. I couldn't have left him there to suffer though. Had a very frustrating day with a particular colleague who is making life very difficult and I cannot for the life of me work out why. I'm trying to just stay zen about it, whatever it is is their problem, not mine.

Applied for my student loan for my upcoming course. Have decided to pay half and borrow the other half. 

Today I walked to a physio appointment first thing so got my steps in nice and early! Had to pay for that but classing it as a health expense. Worked from home again today so did a bit of life admin and washing before logging on given my late finish last night. Popped to the gym quickly at lunchtime as well. 

Progress on the job front as my criminal record check is complete, just waiting for them to confirm they have all my references etc. Am hoping to hand my notice in by the end of next week all being well. Am on call this evening, this is my last month of any on call work in my current role as I get paid a month in arrears for it and don't want to leave with money being owed to me. Looking forward to the break from it!

Shrewbie

Hi turtles. I managed to forget my adaptor plug so haven't been able to charge the laptop and log on for a few days!! Just managed to buy one in a hardware store, so I am back!! I spent a day in Sheffield and got to the Lake District on Friday... got absolutely drenched today but having fun so far! I'm off to catch up on your posts x