Progress is...

EssexHebridean

RT, with all the love in the world - sort out your flipping Dermatologist appointment - it’s been on the list forever, and I understand why it keeps getting pushed aside, but you have to look after yourself as well as OH or the wheels will come off! 😘😉

rtandon27

@EssexHebridean - you my love are an absolute darling - No excuses, it has been on my list forever & a day! 

I can promise you that co-incidentally as of today I've partially done it - have been on the phone with insurance so much I now know the key players (and manager's by name), they have approved my dermatology claim and I will either be getting an appointment at the same private hospital OH will be having his treatment, or the fancy dancy private practice in the city near my place of work.  Booking it is the next step - I now have a bit of breathing room as between insurance and private hospital, I have a team of (non-NHS) administrators who are so far doing a damn good job!

PS - the private hospital also has damn good coffee & snacks in the waiting room (free, so very MSE) - sure beats spending 5 pounds a pop at the C0sta in our local NHS hospital or having overpriced weak dishwater tea from the canteen!

rtandon27

I have never been so glad to see the back end of a week in my life!  Somehow I managed to juggle work - the good, bad & the ugly - OH's medical needs - my medical needs and still come out of it relitavely sane & with only one seizure!  All small victories but they added up to a whole lot of results. I'm well and truly wiped!

So as I am skipping my work social this evening and hunkering down at home with my dear OH, I thought it best to have a look at the list & update it before moving into the weekend...

...and like all good weekends, it has started with putting in a load of laundry!

important tasks...
 ❗ do bus pass application
 ❗ clean up of spare laptop sitting at the office, I've not cleaned it up yet!
🔱 never ending paperwork filing - piles have been sorted, envelopes ditched and ready for putting in the lever arch
⏳ my savings need juggling - not started yet

routine tasks...
✅ YNAB juggling
🔆 across the pond banking
✅ water bill - paid on the due date! (17th)
✅ 3rd Saturday of the month - pay off credit cards
✅ 8/10 mortgage overpayment for the year
✅ have a think about mortgage overpayments for next year - have a funeral in the budget now so large overpayments might not happen
✅ grocery order
✅ meal plan - have a look through the royal marsden cookbook
🔆 weekly digital planner
✅ supplements
✅ Weekly surveys & contests
✅ laundry - 1st load washed & dried - 2nd & 3rd loads washed & drying

non-routine tasks...
🔱 pack OH's bag using list - another scan on Monday followed by a course of radiology
✅ sort out formal wear for occaisions - all purchased and ready for the two dates
✅  pick up OH's new suit - he's lost 1/3 of his weight & the old one looked ludicrous!
🔆 steam formal wear  for both of us and hang up in closet
🔆 still on the hunt for ballerina wedges that fit for everyday use!
🔆 clean washing machine once laundry done for the week
✅ submit meter readings - still one month's payment in credit!
🔆 Delay Repay
🔆 EHIC card - is old one valid or do up application
🔱 BFF & I chatted several times & forgot to discuss money each and every time!

medical follow-ups...
✅ contact medical insurance to make sure they cover Thursday's treatment - specialist has organized this
🔱 ❗my dermatologist referral - have docs names - now need to book appt - insurance has authorized! (see above)
⏳🔆 follow-up on OT recommendations for work assessment - this can wait a bit, the Cerberus is currently behaving!
✅ physiotherapy appt for the ripped muscle in my arm
❗follow-up on private eye specialist for myself
❗write formal update to the NHS folks to tell them how unimpressive their administrations has been - 2ww has turned into 2 months - if it wasn't for private, OH would be well on his way out of this world as his NHS prognosis is 3-12 months

epic list of garden things...
🔱 harvest last of the chilies - the are gorgeously ripe
🔱 need to transplant two chili plants & bring indoors
🔆 pick and process apples (if the birds havn't had them all!)
🔱 once lavender is dry from rain make lavender bundles for drying
⏳ start getting quotes for new felt for flat roof & summer house & shed (needs doing in autumn) - on hold
⏳ 4 bags cotswold stone - trip to W!ckes postponed - on hold
⏳ transplant remaining baby trees into their new pots - on hold 
⏳ trim down and rehome butterfly bush - on hold
⏳ new trellis needs to go up for the climbing rose in the front - OH has acquired the hardware! - on hold
⏳ finish taming climbing jasmine & add more supports for it to grown on - on hold

social calendar...
💝 Oct - thanksgiving - carried over to this weekend! - it's been a hellofa week
⏳ korean street food - mate is back from Thailand, but he wants to partake of a Diwali themed lunch next week instead
💝 Nov 1 - family occaision & party in Melton Mowbray - hopefully OH will be well enough to go - it's his family
💝 Nov 11 - another occasion this time closer to home but more formal - friends coming in from London as well - we can't actually miss this one so life will be planned to accomodate! - another friend bailed - I'm shocked TBH & even offered to pay for her train fare down - I hope she takes me up on the offer!

Meal Plan...
Last Week

✅ 🍆 🧀 Monday - Veggie Day - Eggplant Parma from the freezer
✅ 🐟 🦐 🥬 Tuesday - Fish Day - Sea Bass & prawns & green veg & noodles

✅ 🍗 🥗 🍠 Wednesday - Chicken Day - Herb Chicken from the freezer with salad and sweet potatoes - nope we had Cornish cream tea instead sent to us from our friends in France as a cheer-you-up meal!
✅ 🍖🥔🥕Thursday - Meat Day - slow cooker Beef & Potatoes & Carrots with Georgian tomato sauce
✅ 🌭🍟 Friday - Fakeaway - Hot Dogs & Waffle Fries forgot about the fries!
✅ 🥧🍄🎍Saturday - Easy Peasy - Sheppard's pie, stuffed mushroom & pan-cooked asparagus
✅ 🦃🥧🎃 Sunday - Roast - Postponed Thanksgiving Meal - Turkey & all the sides (Sunday Roast Canuck Style) - Brunch - omlettes & parathas - Dinner - leftovers from the week

This Week
✅ 🍝 🍄 🥓 Monday - Veggie Day - Slow Cooked Gnocchi with mushroom sauce & bacon lardons
✅ 🐟 🦐 🥬 🍜 Tuesday - Fish Day - Cod Fillets & prawns & pak choi & noodles
✅ 🍗 🥙🥒🍅🧅🥬🫓 Wednesday - Chicken Day - Chicken Shawarma & cucumber/tomato/red onion/lettuce & yogurt with pita bread from freezer

🥩🥔🥦Thursday Friday - Meat Day - Paprika Pork Belly Cubes & spanish croquettes & steamed cauliflower

✅ 🍔🍟Friday Thursday- Fakeaway Day - Burgers & Waffle Fries & Spinach with buns from freezer

🥞🍤🍞 Saturday - Easy Peasy Day - ready-made dosa rolls, prawn baos & octopus balls

🥚🎍🍄🥕🥔🥬🦃 Sunday - Roast Day - brunch - eggs &asparagus & exotic mushrooms - dinner carrots & potato squash & sprouts and turkey steaks
🥬🧀🫓 Monday - Veggie Day - Saag Paneer & Parathas

EssexHebridean

Hey well done on making progress on getting it sorted - it’s so challenging when all we want to do is focus on someone close whose needs feel more immediate - but we definitely have to “put our own mask on first”  in this situation I think, don’t we.

i will also thank you for giving me a kick to sort a meal plan for next week, too! Seeing other people get their houses in order on that one always encourages me to to join in! 

beanielou

Enjoy your weekend. 

Cheery_Daff

Well done! I too get inspired to get my act together when I see other people doing the same. Love your emoji filled menu plan 😃

rtandon27

@EssexHebridean - I mostly do an OK job of keeping on top of my day to day medical - physiotherapy, chiropractor, massage thereapies, speech therapist, supplements etc. - it's the individual non-routine appointments that I need to book for myself that get postponed.  I keep my weekly list of doom, as otherwise I'm almost often in reactionary mode with work especially but of late with OH - I do find that keeping up with the habit forming activites really does help!  ...and meal planning is invaluable as my defalut would be doritos, salsa, guac & sour cream on a good day and a big bowl of popcorn on a bad one - OH would live on ham sandwiches given the opportunity

@beanielou - thanks beanie - you as well!

@Cheery_Daff - I too love seeing other's with a good list!  I'm very inspired when I see what others have been up to and what can be acheived in a day!  I'm always amazed that many of the procrastinated things take no time at all once you get down to doing them.  I've also been told that some of my emojis may have double meanings but truly I could not care less - they bring me joy & that's all that matters!

Merlin's_Beard

Ooof yeah I see how the church situation is difficult, and I've seen the judginess through my parents church. Best advice is accept the help and grit your teeth through the rest but it sounds like you're already doing that!

rtandon27

The reality of being mortgage free on one income...

So I've had a look at where we will be financially after the remaining two overpayments in November & December.  I've had to shift money from our savings budget pot to the funeral budget pot, so from January, it looks as if I won't be making large overpayments to the mortgage until such point as the savings are built back up.  Not entirely sure how I'll be acheiving this but will be thinking up some creative ways for this to happen!

We have power of attorneys in place as well as wills, but OH & I will be reviewing his will with a lawyer to see if there is anything we can do to maximize what will be coming to me after he passes.  The reality is that his pension is what currently makes the large overpayments possible, and without that income I'll need to figure out how to supplement my own income in order to retire before my mortgage end date.

Sobering food for thought.

KajiKita

Sobering thoughts indeed ….

Will you definitely lose all of his pension income, won’t there be any kind of widow’s payment? 

Also, do you have any kind of life assurance policy for the two of you running alongside the life of the mortgage?

KK