Living Large, on a Small Income, by the Sea.

doingitanyway

Thanks @Skint_yet_Again

Popped back in to say, I had a spurt of energy when I brought the clothes in from the garden. I planted up the hydrangea and it looks lovely 

savingholmes

Great result on the potential room adverts and the unexpected money.

Eek on the insurance. Well done for spotting it. Sounds like you had a lovely setting for sorting it too.

Sunshine_girl2

Sounds like a good day apart from the bank error. Enjoy your time with your friend , I've just had a fish and chip dinner with mine. When did fish and chips become so expensive . It may be where I am though inflated prices for tourists. 

beanielou

A tenner here for fish & chips! 

Sun_Addict

Welcome back and so pleased you finally have your own place 🥳 How wonderful to be living by the sea! 

doingitanyway

Thanks @savingholmes @Sunshine_girl2 @beanielou @Sun_Addict

I had my day with a visiting friend. I planned better this time. I made a batch of soup and bought some bread and cake from the local bakery. We had tea and cake after I picked her up. We had soup and bread for lunch. We ate chips later by the sea. My usual spend for a visitor is colossal. This time I spent under £5 and she treated me to my chips. I want to get to the stage of baking a cake for visitors and offering a nice, but simple lunch. And that is it. We had a good day!

Someone came to pick up the garden rubbish. My friend thought I should keep the bin for planting a tree in. I can have plants growing around it so the container isn't visible. I had a heavy parasol base that she convinced me I just needed to spray paint it so I will do that. The garden looks clearer already. Still thinking about the tools

There is an alley at the back of my house. There is a problem with litter dumping. I would like to have it gated. The houses that need to use it would have a key. I might be able to get help with the costs from a safer communities fund. A few others alleys in the area have been gated  I spoke to one neighbour who is up for it. She will give me a list of the people/addresses that use the alley that she knows of. I will see a local councillor at her surgery next weekend. I'm not looking forward to doing this, but someone has to do something. It might as well be me.

I saw a bread maker in the cs. It retails for £99 and is there for £12. it has a GF setting so I need to be there early in case someone else has their eye on it. Baking my own bread is on my list as GF can be highly processed and is expensive. 

I haven't heard back from the bank so I will chase them tomorrow.

PennysIntoPounds

Sounds a thoroughly lovely and very mse day.
Definitely nab that bread maker.

Could you try to look forward to doing it? Might be too big an ask 😁 But there is something very fulfilling about making your community and the world in general that bit of a nicer place, and I am impressed and proud that you're taking it upon yourself to do so. 
While it doesn't stop flytipping, might be worth asking councillor or a council contact if a bin could be installed nearby that can be included in the council collections rounds.
In a previous flat I lived in there was a lovely little path nearby that got horribly littered and I liased with council about getting a bin put at one end of it, and lo and behold, people did mostly use it! 

doingitanyway

Thanks @PennysIntoPounds. You are right to pull me up on this. I should look forward to it and I will. The idea of taking it on is daunting but I will do my best to embrace my challenge. The litter is an understatement..think fly tipping and possible vermin bigger than your mouse! It will need clearing out...but I can see potential. 

And yes, the bread maker has my name on it 

PennysIntoPounds

I am also an introvert and completely understand the dauntingness, but it's well nice making something nicer innit ❤️
And it doesn't need to be taking on a challenge, you're going for a nice chat with someone else who cares about the community to exchange ideas about potential ways forward 😊

savingholmes

DIA - your council has a duty to resolve such flytipped waste - so if you report it daily they are supposed to collect in something like 2 days. If it gets reported often enough they'll effectively put your alley on a 'route' to resolve by scheduling a team to go there regularly. They are usually pretty open to alley gate initiatives and may even offer funds towards community clean ups and 'prettyfying' e.g. raised bed planting and the likes. It can then lift a whole neighbourhood.