Living the Good Life - mortgage free and living in line with our values

themadvix

TallGirl said:

Congrats on the job internal interviews are so so hard especially if you have been there a long time. Fab you can take your time to decide and who knows what it is will lead to once the secondment ends. 

Thanks TG - he's happy, I think. Fortunately while it's the same company in a lot of respects, it's a different division, so new people, different attitudes etc., while all the contractual stuff (leave, length of service etc.) remains the same.

themadvix

Morning all,

Have just been to Screwfix and the dump - what a glamorous life I lead! Screwfix was for new cartridges for the kitchen tap which has been dripping for a couple of weeks now - I am pressing for it to be fixed asap as a) the water bill is my responsibility and b) the noise is keeping me awake at night! Hopefully this will solve the issue. Was pleased to combine it with a quick trip to the dump - removing the last of the cloakroom wood flooring from the garden so it looks more presentable for wood-fired pizza on Boxing Day.

Am having a productive day work wise too - got one thing out of the way and made good progress with something for main client (also clarified that there's no rush to get it back before Christmas). Still awaiting a response from US client 🙄 Have just chased that, as more work arrived over the weekend from them (which is excellent news, would just like a steer and human communication!) (Just received an OOO from him 😡 - why couldn't he reply on Friday before he left?!). I have another piece of work for UK client due in early January, so will get on with that between Christmas and the New Year (as we're away/OOO 7-9th Jan - my birthday and then Mr MV's nan's funeral). While it would be nice to have a bit more of a break, this busyness is good and quite often it's very quiet at this time of year, which always makes me a bit nervous.

So today I need to continue with work, do some baking - mincemeat slice and lebkuchen, get the shopping list ready for tomorrow morning's early jaunt to the supermarket (ahead of picking up the pizza oven!) and wash the walls down in the loo, ready for touching up the paintwork where it's been damaged/marked by floor tiling. And I must post a final card!

Have a good afternoon all!

Watty1

Someone else still posting cards on the 22nd ... with fingers crossed mine that left yesterday will get there.

themadvix

Morning all,

@Watty, it was 1st class, so should get there today. Should....

Back to the glamorous life - I'm off to Screwfix again soon! This time for something for the cistern (don't ask me what) - toilet is leaking ferociously (into the bowl) and this will probably solve it (given it's the guest loo, it really needs fixing as we can't just not use it - especially after having retiled it ready for guests!). I've already been to Sains (again - we went last night too) and picked up the pizza oven. Was up at 6 as I had been awake since 4.30, so I've made good progress with work - will get what I'm working on back to main client before I finish for the holidays, which is nice. Tidied the garden before I went out this morning, so it looks less like a builder's yard and more like somewhere you'd want to have pizza (forecast for Friday is cold but dry and sunny, which is excellent news!)

Have a long to-do list of course for today and tomorrow. And I need to make a proper plan/timed list for tomorrow and Boxing Day at some point. 

Still haven't washed the walls/touched up the paint in the loo - I think that and popping to the woods for some seasonal foraging/picking a broccoli are my focus when I get back from Screwfix.

Followed up US client with the contacts left in the OOO and have answers, so have made a start on that work too.

Have a lovely day all!

Cheery_Daff

Merry Christmas! 

When you get chance after the festivities, could you tell us what your toilet part is please? Ours does that too and I should really get round to fixing it 😬😂

Baileys_Babe

Cheery_Daff said:

Merry Christmas! 

When you get chance after the festivities, could you tell us what your toilet part is please? Ours does that too and I should really get round to fixing it 😬😂

So does one of ours, so I took would be interested 

Suffolk_lass

Our toilet had a problem with the float ball - the screw thread bit it was attached to had a build up of mineral deposits (hard water area). Pouring a kettle of citric acid in hot water removed these and allowed it to reseat itself. If you have the other style with the cylinder mechanism it is usually the flapper valve that fails. There are loads of youtube videos offering advice on how to fix these. Silicone spray works well as a plastic lubricant (WD40 s a no-no), if it is just sticking. I hope this helps one of you

themadvix

Afternoon all,

I hope you all had wonderful Christmases - celebrating in whatever way felt most appropriate to you and yours. We have had a busy one, hosting on Christmas Eve and Boxing Day (we went to my Aunt's on Christmas Day and it was bliss to be in one place and looked after!). Christmas Eve was a Chinese takeaway for Mr MV's family and godparents - but with a homemade starter (crudites and dips) and pudding. And a full festive table etc. And Boxing Day we had family over - mostly mine in the end - for woodfired pizza (a much more chilled affair). Our poor little fridge was struggling to find room for all the food, not helped by MIL turning up on Christmas Eve with a kilo of cooked turkey for 'the cats/Mr MV'. I have two issues with this: a) she was only catering for 3 on Christmas Day - she could have cooked the turkey then; and b) she knows we only have one small fridge and that I was catering for 8 on Christmas Eve and 14 (originally) on Boxing Day. Where was I meant to secrete this turkey? Sorry, rant over - but it did annoy me - the hardest part of catering for me is ensuring there's space in the fridge (and our small kitchen) and I don't need unnecessary additions! (And yes, I'm having a moan here because I know you'll accept it.) Boxing Day was only 11 in the end - Mr MV's parents and uncle didn't come because he has developed a cough and so we warned everyone and they decided not to come (which was entirely fair - for both MIL and UIL things go to their chests and stay there). 

The fridge didn't appear any emptier after all the hosting! (And we're definitely up on bottles of wine!) We are fortunately now down to half a sherry trifle and some cheese in terms of perishables - cheese will feature for our lunches for a few days and I'm taking the trifle to Sis's later as it's Niece's birthday. (And any left will have to go - it's on the limit now). All the foodie Christmas gifts have been stashed away - hopefully I'll forget about them and only bring out a couple of bits at a time - Mr MV will have forgotten they exist already!

Mr MV turned the turkey into his traditional turkey curry recipe - four portions in the freezer. I've also frozen the leftover pizza toppings - friends were meant to be coming tomorrow to enjoy pizza with us, but we've postponed until later in the week as Mr MV is getting worse (cold-y now), not better yet.

We are both 'back at work' today. Mr MV is doing very little - he should be in bed, but is laying on the sofa instead. He was meant to be travelling to a site tomorrow but has cancelled that. I am making good progress with a piece of work for UK client and then have some more stuff for main client, but no pressure (bar the fact I'm OOO in early Jan).

In terms of the toilet, @Cheery_Daff @Baileys_Babe, we replaced the fill valve because it was sticking - and it kept filling until it overflowed. Usually it's the flush not sealing and water leaking through - that's just a trickle usually (unless the button is stuck in). This was gushing out as it was from the overflow. It's unlikely that this is your problem though - as SL says, some citric acid to remove limescale should work. (We live in a very hard water area and often have the button/flush sticking problem.)

Mention of a Frugal January on Cheery's diary appeal.... I will ponder on this... We're away for my birthday (overnight) and then for an overnight at the end (country music club night at the original - much better - venue), but the interim could be a good opportunity for saving. We've got a relatively decent stock of food in - although the freezer is heaving less than it was. And a challenge does make January seem a bit more fun!

As is usual at this time of year, I have more plans than time, especially with work being business as usual. I wanted to do some fiddling with figures, make up some more present bags (hoping to share them a bit more widely next year and not worry so much if they don't come back), get to the allotment, do some crafting.... I think I'll see how I get on!

Have a good afternoon all!

themadvix

Afternoon all,

I'm back on long-term cat-sitting duties as of today (for a week). I've been to see the little poppet this morning - I think she's putting on weight! (She's tiny and 19 so a little bit extra is definitely not an issue.) Also returned another key and collected several bits from Olio - PSA time: Olio is groaning at the moment with festive supermarket leftovers - do check in your area if you can find homes for stuff!

Sherry trifle was consumed at Sis's yesterday, which was good - it would have been such a pity to waste it. And dinner last night was reheated pizza. Friends due for pizza tonight are now coming tomorrow - Mr MV is much better today but an additional day of recovering (and not coughing his guts up) will help. I have a cough now though and am not feeling 100%. Hoping this is as bad as it gets though - my cough is nothing like Mr MV's.

Lunch will be cheese and crackers (Mr MV finished a jar of relish with his yesterday - woohoo, it's out of the fridge!) and I think I'm going to make fajitas for dinner. Need to make some wraps, but we have avocados that need eating courtesy of Olio, we've got peppers in the fridge, I'll make a tofu filling (normally beans but we don't have any that won't need soaking for longer than I've got) and there's creme fraiche which can double as sour cream (especially as it might not be edible/needs using up).

Work is going OK, although I am definitely avoiding Cambridge stuff and would far rather being doing fun stuff like making present bags or harvesting oca at the allotment. I'll make an effort to get to the allotment tomorrow if I don't make it today. Friends coming for dinner tomorrow won't stay until midnight - it's not their thing - so we'll see it in quietly. If we're both feeling well enough, it would be nice to get out for a proper walk on NYD - maybe at an RSPB reserve.

Have a good afternoon all!

Cheery_Daff

Thanks for the Olio reminder - I actually deleted the app a while back but have downloaded it again now, although not sure how much use it is out into he wilds - closest thing to us right now is 3 bags of donuts, which doesn't seem worth the 22 mile round trip 😂 I do think it's an excellent scheme though, and definitely will keep an eye out - if there's ever a pick up in our local town it'll be well worth it as we're there often. 

I'd not seen reduced stuff on there last time, is that new? It looks like the frozen shop has just listed its whole reduced section 😂 can't see a way to reserve anything, presumably you just have to walk round the shop, which I might do anyway. 

Definitely going to make more use of our waste not want not scheme this year though, Mr C got a massive bag from there the other day, and they were on the verge of the rest going in the bin 😕 Just put one of their celeriacs in a soup!