The Frugal Hearth: Stories of Simple Living and Living Well

Cheery_Daff

You're making such good progress on the house front! Fingers crossed the solicitor makes some progress too…

Sounds like a diagnosis would be helpful for you regardless of whether it comes with NHS support. Good luck.

And happy new blog! :)

Elisheba

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81907189#Comment_81907189

Yes, that's what I'm hoping! The joiner said he could fit me in early April so I should have to live out of boxes for too long.

Elisheba

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81888776#Comment_81888776

Yes, that's my plan @fionaandphil but it's going to have to wait until I can afford it. If I can make some temporary repairs to the current one then there will be other things that are more pressing I will need to get first.

Elisheba

Morning, frugalistas,

Well, yesterday was an expensive day, but it was mainly house related so it is what it is. Paid for a bulky waste collection for 2 armchairs, 2 single mattresses, a trundle bed, and a bedside cabinet. I had advertised them all twice on Freecycle and no-one wanted them, so no choice but it stump up the £77 for a council pickup.

Then I ordered 30m of cardboard bubblewrap stuff for the pictures, mirrors and TV, so that was another £17. And I filled up on diesel before it goes skyhigh, but didn't need that much so that was only £20. Then I had to order some vape liquid because I've never quite managed to kick the filthy habit, so that was another £20.

So altogether an expensive day, and nothing nice to show for it!

The doctor's appointment went fairly well. I always feel like a bit of a hypochondriac when I go to the doctor's and start talking about what is wrong with me! However, I had everything written down and I think I managed to say most of what I wanted to get across. Outcome is that I'm definitely hypermobile, which I knew but the physio hadn't sent a report to my doctor all those years ago so it wasn't in my file.

If I want an EDS diagnosis he needed to refer me to a rheumatologist, which he was willing to do but as I'm moving in a month there was no point. He would also have referred me to a senior physio, but again no point since I'm moving. So I'll need to be on the ball when I'm in my new house and go and speak to my new doctor so get moving on those things.

In the meantime time he gave me some exercises to do and said to look up prioperception and strengthening exercises. He said keeping muscle mass is important so it's a good thing I have silly dog to walk everyday, and he said throwing some swimming into the mix would help - but I don't have a pool close to me so I'll need to think on that. So it was all fairly useful, even if I'm not much further forward.

I put all the stuff out for the bulky waste collection last night. It's not due to be collected until Monday, but I wasn't sure if I could get the armchairs out the front door and needed to know whether I could in could time, so I could ask someone for help if it was needed. In the end after a bit of jiggery-pokery I managed it, so now my front garden looks like a junk yard, which I'm sure my neighbours will be delighted about 😆. Still it's not on the pavement yet so it won't be getting in their way.

I had a Rightmove email from an alert I had put on my local area, and it turns out my current house has been put on the market already. I hadn't cleaned or anything when the estate agent visited as I didn't realise they would be taking pictures, but that goodness for the decluttering as the house looked lovely and I've saved the pictures on the advert for my memories.

I also packed some more boxes - I bought 25 to start with and think I have about 5 left. It's difficult to say exactly how many more I'll need, and I'll need to have a good look at yeh garage, but my gut feeling is maybe only 10 more. I'll be able to pack up a few more kitchen bits this week, but then it will all be stuff I'll need to wait to pack until right before the move.

And to add a bit of drama to the proceedings there is an issue with the new house. It's on a private road and there is nothing written into the deeds about access. I said an indemnity policy would be fine but my solicitor says the mortgage company might have an issue with it, so waiting to hear back from them this week. I work with public access for a living so I have a working knowledge about private access, but that's in England and Scots law is a bit different. I think proving a prescriptive right in Scotland is quite a bit harder, despite the fact the road has been in use as the access track for about 10 houses for over 100 years looking at the the OS maps.

I guess I've just got to let my solicitor do her thing. If it all falls through at this late date though, I'm absolutely snookered. I'm not in a chain because I rent, and I've given my notice now so I need to be out at the start of April. I suppose I just put all my stuff in storage and stay with my Mum, but that is so far from ideal I don't even want to think about it. So all fingers and toes are crossed, and I'm not even stressed because I am Not Thinking About It.

Anyways, that's all my news for today. I asked the chap at the garage when I was getting diesel when he thought the prices would start rising and he said he didn't know but good on Trump. I thought of all the families that are going to struggle to pay for their heating and despaired of the voting public. Happy middle of the week, everyone! Hope you all have wonderful days.

daisy_1571

The access shouldn't cause a problem. In Scotland everyone has right of access to all sides of their property for access and maintenance. Hopefully its a Scottish solicitor and Scottish mortgage you are using but you can look up the neighbouring properties online and for a small fee can look at their titles if they are on the 'new' register (been going since the early 80s 😆). Usually it will have a burden stating the proportion of cost each user has to contribute to upkeep but it might be this has never been done so people have access without any burden of payment

DDx

MisterPym

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81907177#Comment_81907177

I'd love to readyour post!

MisterPym

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81909482#Comment_81909482

Sorry, I meant your blog !

Elisheba

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81909486#Comment_81909486

Hi @MisterPym. If you drop me a private message I can share the link with you there 😁

Elisheba

Thanks @daisy_1571. I looked on the Register and it's the big estate that owns the private road. I have them a call and they said they would be happy to put some sort of private easement into writing. So I've emailed them and cc'd my solicitor into it, so hopefully that will solve the problem. My solicitor is in Scotland, but my mortgage company is a big multi-national bank, so I'll see how it plays out. I'm much more at ease about it now that I know that, touching a lot of wood, it can be sorted out quite easily.

Elisheba

Morning, Friday friends,

In a spectacular act of utter daftness yesterday I managed to smash my cooker hob trying to break up a bag of frozen fruit 😳😳😳. It did make me reflect if how nice it is to have savings though. Even though every penny I spend now adds time onto how long it will be before I can afford new fencing, that is a much nicer position to be in than wondering what credit card I can chuck it on and whether a trades person will even take credit cards, and basically pulling my hair out and stressing about how on earth I'm going to pay for the repair.

So it's more of an annoyance than a calamity. I have someone coming out this morning to measure it up and he said if he can get the part he might even be make fix it today. Fingers crossed it's not too expensive, but it's not something I'm willing to attempt myself so it is what it is.

Good things that happened yesterday include a lovely walk in the sunshine, up a hill which is good for my back and my soul. And my knees didn't ping at all which is a fab consequence of the weight loss, even if other bits and pieces still play up. There are such amazing views over the Black Mountains where I love, and seeing them in the sunshine is just stunning.

Oh and also, one of my neighbours popped round because she had heard I was leaving and she took two items of my bulky waste. Which meant, including the armchair someone from Freecycle took the day before, that I was down to three items and could phone up the council and get a 50% refund on what I had paid for collection (as they charge per 3 items). So that's £38.50 I wouldn't otherwise have had, and 3 items going to new homes rather than landfill.

I'm not sure what was going on with me yesterday though - I was really off the ball on everything. Forgot to turn the hot water off after my shower, forgot to turn the heating off over night, forgot I needed to do a washing, didn't get any more packing or wrapping of items done. I guess some days are just like that, nothing much wrong but not quite firing on all cylinders.

Still it's the weekend tomorrow. I'm meeting friends for an afternoon tea and a wander in a lovely little town about an hour from me, so I'm looking forward to that. Hopefully will get the garage packed up as well, and cut the grass and tidy the garden a bit.

I'm off to get a shower now as the hob chap said he would be round about 8am. I hope everyone has a delightful and relaxing Friday, and that I'm a bit more with it than yesterday!