The Frugal Hearth: Stories of Simple Living and Living Well

KajiKita

I wonder if all those leaks explains why the house felt so damp? 🤔 I'm glad you have some warm months to go through before the winter, to dry the place out FOC.

Reading your update, I am now tempted to send you a food parcel … 😉

KK

jwil

Sorry to hear about the plumbing, hope that's it for now!

foxgloves

Oh my life, Elisheba, this has been a bit of a 'baptism by fire' as an old boss of mine was fond of saying in challenging situations. It must feel stressful having so many problems come to light so early, but then on the other hand, it's better to find the really dodgy stuff like plumbing before you have gone to the expense & effort of decorating, etc. I do hope things settle down now & you can start to find your feet. It will be a worry seeing your emergency fund decimated - I felt this very much over the wretched roof replacement - but the pragmatic approach is that this sort of occasion is exactly what it is there for. Hopefully you will be able to funnel regular payments towards rebuilding it as things start to normalise. It always takes a few months to get realistic figures on how much things are going to cost after moving to another property. Some things are usually more expensive, others less so, it's a case of getting to know the actual figures & then being able to look at ways to adjust if necessary. We are currently on a learning curve since being put on compulsory water-metering. At least you know you have a good solid grounding in living a frugal lifestyle & we are all here cheering you on.

F x

beanielou

So sorry to hear this. Keep plodding.

fionaandphil

I think it was me that suggested Burnwell briquettes. We've used them this year, not as hot as coal but we do find that they burn for a long time once it's heaped up so will keep your house warm. They've still been glowing a few times in the morning when I've gone to rake them out so watch out for that!

Elisheba

Good morning, everyone, and happy Sunday!

Radio silence this week has been because I was so busy with work, and thankfully nothing to do with any more house disasters! I was down at the city in the SE of England where I work, staying with a friend, and I was so busy I wasn't even able to answer messages from my Mum nevermind posting anything in here.

The work thing I needed to be at finished on Thursday about 3pm, then I needed to drop things off at the office. Although my friend said I was welcome to stay with them until the weekend if I wanted, I preferred getting home so I bombed it up the M6 and arrived back at my Little House about 11.30pm on Thursday night.

My brother had been house and pet sitting, and as he doesn't fit in the camping bed I had to sleep on that and then, as he had a hospital appointment, we were up at 6am to get him home for that. So I was very, very tired on Friday.

Yesterday the weather was so glorious I wanted to do something. My sister was taking the kids to a farm and asked if I wanted to come, but as the farm didn't allow dogs and I don't have the fencing up yet thenleave the back door open for silly dog to pop out to toilet so can't leave him alone for more than a couple of hours, and it was to hot to leave him in the car for long, I had to decline.

So I decided to go south and investigate Dumfries, which I'd never been to. It has a lovely river which runs through it with walks along it, and looks like it has some good museums and interesting churches (which I didn't visit as it wasn't an indoors sort of day). Sadly the town centre, as with so many these days, has seen better days. A lot of empty shops, and a rather run down look to things. You can tell that at one point it has been a prosperous, bustling regional centre with a good selection of shops, but not many are left now. I think there are the usual big stores on the outskirts now, but that has left the centre quite bereft.

I think a cash injection of about £100 million, and a redevelopment along the river of eateries and such like would solve the problem, but sadly that's not very likely to happen. I did buy a jumper and a new dining table (which fits the small space in my living room much better) in charity shops, so it wasn't a wasted visit.

Then since I had time and it was only 15 miles away, I headed to the seaside. I just put 'beaches near me' in Google maps and picked the first one, so it wasn't a well planned visit and I ended up having to pay £6 for parking. It was absolutely gorgeous though. A little place called Sandyhills, which has a holiday park there (who are the ones charging for parking) and there is a little shop with the usual beach tat and ice-creams, coffee and drinks, and public loos.

I walked along the beach for a mile or two (no chance to paddle in the sea - it's the Solway Firth and the tide was out so that meant the sea was literally miles away) and the back along the coastal path which runs above the cliffs, and climbed a hill called Torrs Hill on the way. On the beach, as soon as you walk past the first headland you lose the holiday park crowd so it's very quiet, and then you get to cliffs with caves and little nooks and crannies. Then on the way back the coastal path has the most amazing views, Torrs Hill as an optional climb, and a bluebell wood towards the end. Altogether a most lovely trip, and I treated myself to an ice cream from the shop when I got back to the car. Silly dog had an absolute blast - he loves the seaside and sniffing around the seaweed and splashing in the rock pools.

Then home again with a stop at Aldi! for some much needed provisions on the way. So a very fun and productive Saturday after a long and stressful week.

Thankfully nothing disasterous occured on the house while I was away. The toilet was leaking a bit so D the neighbour came round and put some silicone mastic on it yesterday, and has left the mastic for me to reapply if it's needed.

Other than that my main gripe at the the moment is blooming Ik3a. As you might recall I ordered 3 big cupboards from them to fill a space in my living room. When the moan came to assemble them one of them had been broken in transit, so he built the two he could and I needed to arrange collection, redelivery and assembly for that one.

Redelivery happened, but the assembler never appeared and I had no communication on the matter. I contacted the company Ik3a use and it was oh very sorry, please contact us to rearrange. Then when I was away this week it was no, very sorry, we can't do this, contact Ik3a. So I did that when I returned, and they have rescheduled assembly for this Monday but I'm not holding my breath. I'm very concerned I'm going to end up with 2 cupboards built and a cupboard I'm going to have find someone to assemble myself - which will be more mean feat in a small, rural village. There is no way I can do it myself. Some of the pieces are so heavy I can't even lift them.

If that happens I'm going to complain and see if I can claim back some money - ideally all £900 odd. I'm probably going to complain anyway as it's been a lots of hassle and we are now going into week 3.

So that's all my immediate news. I need to update my spending spreadsheet this week, and full in all my end of the month figures into the annual budget s/s.

I'm going to visit my new church this morning, and then this afternoon I might start on the garden. With no fencing I can't let silly dog out with me which isn't ideal, but may as well take advantage of the good weather while I can. Might wash the bedding and get it out to dry on the line as well. I also saw a recipe in a Nancy Birthwhisle book for putting on windows that collect condensation so might give that a go, and I also need to finish the thermal curtains for the doors.

I hope everyone is having a very jolly weekend and taking advantage of the fabulous weather while we have it 😊.

fionaandphil

Sounds like a glorious day out Elisheba and glad you have found a nice walk nearby. Some of my family live up that way so we visit a few times a year. Annan also looks nice with quirky shops and there is also an Aldi if you want to combine with a shop.

Have a lovely day

daisy_1571

You'll get to know people at your new church plus there might be rural to join. Or your lovely neighbour could maybe suggest a local fit man/teenager who could lend a hand or is an actual handyman. Or a local mens shed?

Dxx

Dakota_Rose

Just a thought… would a long dog lead and ground-spike work (camping style) for the short term so that dog can enjoy spending some time in the garden with you? We bought one when we first moved house and needed gates to separate us from a busy road. It only cost around £10 and was a bit of a life saver for a couple of weeks.

KajiKita

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81977501#Comment_81977501

I wondered about this but couldn’t find the words. Thank you.

Sounds like you’ve had a lovely day yesterday and it was much needed. Could one of the mind neighbours help with the IK3a cupboard?

KK