Teetering on the brink

biggerpickle

Yay for getting well enough to get back to work - argh, that's not meant to sound like you were skiving and it's not meant like that but great that you are feeling better!

Am with you on the debt rollercoaster - it does feel like one step forward, two back at times, it's so hard but then helping out family when they needed it has to come first.

Enjoy your dishwasher! Like you, can't stand washing up and to fit an undercounter dishwasher would involve cupboard smashing and plumbers = considerable expense. I like empty counter tops so wouldn't consider a table top one - mind you could I butcher a cupboard enough to put a table top one underneath??? Ooh now there's a thought......

badmemory

I don't know what I would do now without a dishwasher.  It used to be one of (adult) DSs jobs to do the washing up, funnily enough when I suggested that we might get a dishwasher he was more than happy to contribute.  If it breaks I want a new one within 24 hours.

themadvix

badmemory said:

I don't know what I would do now without a dishwasher.  It used to be one of (adult) DSs jobs to do the washing up, funnily enough when I suggested that we might get a dishwasher he was more than happy to contribute.  If it breaks I want a new one within 24 hours.

This is me too - it is an essential! And it sounds like it’s definitely a worthwhile investment for you Beans.

EatingBeans

Oh, I am so glad to hear that I am not the only one that considers a dishwasher essential! I’ve been holding off getting one for so long as I thought it sounded crazy to consider one a must-have, but my gosh do I miss it so much! My kitchen is only a small galley kitchen, so as soon as someone cooks a meal the worktop is full and it drives me mad. Fortunately, since my tumble drier died, I have a spare space above my washing machine and it is recessed in a little alcove so is no use for pretty much anything else. Fingers crossed the dishwasher fits! 🤞

Sadly, the money I used to ensure everyone got fed was not a loan, it was a gift. It had to be as they have little chance of paying me back anytime soon. I am sure they would do the same for me should I ever find myself in that situation. Fingers crossed it doesn’t get to that stage. 🫣

flamingo22

What a lovely person you are 😊

Cherryfudge

Another vote for your dishwasher. Think of it as an investment in your energy and wellbeing. It's also supposed to be cheaper to run than separate loads of dishes done by hand.

And the money gifted to someone else is investing in their well-being. If you're able to pass some of you MS wisdom on to them it would be another favour but it sounds as though this wasn't a situation they had much say over.

For you, it's a step back but you were already in a much stronger place. Think how it would have been if this had happened a few months ago! Yes, it must be very disheartening to see a big step back, but you will go forward with new skills and cover the ground again.

And it's great you're well enough to be back at work. How long is the phased return, or don't you know yet?

EatingBeans

Dishwasher is now installed! 🎉 Running it as we speak and I can’t tell you how happy it has made me! 😁
I am so glad I decided to opt for the ‘easier’ place to put it because it turned out to be really quite a challenge to fit. I was totally confident I could do it by myself but after almost two hours I had to admit defeat and call my brother. Bless him, he was there within the hour (he lives over 20miles away!) and rescued me from myself. 😬 Tbf, it took him well over another hour to fit it and he struggled too so I didn’t feel so bad. The space is just really awkward to work in. 

Anyway, all fitted and working and it meant I also got to see my brother who I haven’t seen in months. 😁

Oh, and since he was visiting, he also helped me remove the bathroom sink which was my blocker from continuing with fixing the upstairs bathroom. The dd’s despaired slightly as the bathroom now looks even less like a bathroom than it did before, (it now has no toilet, no sink, no flooring and the bath is not boxed in), but what they don’t realise is, now I feel I can do something about it (budget permitting). Having watched my brother take the sink off, I realised I almost certainly could have done it myself, but after dropping the toilet cistern and cracking it when I dismantled the toilet (it was a lot heavier than I expected!), I was worried I would do something similar with the sink and crack the bath. That would have been an absolute disaster as I have no intention of replacing the bath, so I avoided the job altogether and being ill meant no progress was made. 😬 The sink was non functional btw, and hasn’t been for over a year, which is about the same time that I removed the toilet and flooring (we had a leak). Now though, I just get to piece it all back together and finally go back to a fully functioning bathroom! Of course it will need to be done on a shoestring budget so I will have to do it all myself, but even if I do a bit each month at least it will be going in the right direction. 👍To save a bit of cash I saved the sink tap as it works perfectly well, looks nice and matches the bath taps. Next step, box the bath in. 🙂

I have to say even though I had to ‘phone a friend’, it did feel nice to be up and doing something again yesterday. My body still feels like I’ve been run over by a train, but a few weeks ago there was just no way I’d have been up to sawing worktops and manhandling the washing machine. Lots of progress has been made! 🎉 I do need to remember to pace myself though because I am a !!!!!! for feeling a tiny bit better and trying to run before I can walk. 

Last week I was 50% time back at work, next week 70%, then it will be back to full time. Honestly, I feel like I could probably be back at work full time now but that’s mostly because my brain feels better. My body just needs to catch up. Unfortunately, getting fit again is proving to be a challenge. I have put on another half a stone over the past couple of months and my heels hurt so bad just standing upright and trying to walk is a challenge (very stiff and painful feet). It is a real challenge to lose weight as I need to move around to lose it, but the extra weight means it is now harder to move around (I now need to lose 5 stone). 😞 Yes, it is diet that helps actually drop the weight but my stomach problems means I can only cut food back so much without that causing me real grief. Like I said, it is a challenge. And i can only do so much at a time! 

Gosh i feel old. 🫣

EatingBeans

Dishwasher is on its fourth lot. Kitchen side is lovely and empty. Oh my, life is good! 😁 

My brother popped back today, determined to help me reconnect my printer this time. The issue began when I changed my internet provider months ago - I’ve never been able to set it up since. It is a very old printer and I was about ready to just give up with it despite the fact that I knew it still printers fine, it just needed to be able to connect to the internet. 7 different ways of trying to get it to connect later, he finally managed to do it by convincing my router to set up some weird compatibility mode which generates a separate signal, specifically for connecting to it. I didn’t even know that was a thing! lol Apparently it is because my printer is so ridiculously old it struggles to understand my shiny new router. But not anymore! The printer lives another day! 🎉

After also hearing that I currently don’t have my own laptop, my brother also brought with him a spare he had but no longer needed and then got it all set up for me, connecting it to my wifi, M365, Onedrive and google account, so all I have to do is log in. Bless him, he is so wonderfully good to me. And all I could do was offer him tea. 😬

I’m quite tired now - this weekend has been a lot, especially after my first week back at work, but I am feeling more in control again and now I have my own laptop I will be able to sort my budget out whenever I want without having to ask to borrow dd1’s when she is not using hers. Time now to go cook some dinner in my nice clean kitchen. 😁

Cherryfudge

That's several big steps forward! What a nice brother you have, too.

1stTimer

My dishwasher arrived on Friday and I’m now struggling to find things to wash 😂 why oh why did it take so long for me to get one!

I know how you feel regarding the clean worktops it’s mentally so satisfying and for some reason makes me feel calmer.

I'm so glad you are happy with it