Steadily climbing the mountain, enjoying the view along the way

Merlin's_Beard

sounds like a wonderful time at the festival!

As far as language apps go, I like babbel - I've got the paid version and I'm learning german but I'm pretty sure that if british english is your base language you're only offered european spanish

julicorn

For learning Spanish, Dreaming Spanish was an absolute game changer for me, together with practicing speaking with other people :) I mostly lean towards European Spanish too, but for my learning, it's really not made too much difference consuming Latin Spanish content as well.

I also still use Duolingo and actually think it's brilliant, albeit not the most efficient strategy (neither is comprehensible input tbf, but then it's a whole lot more fun than just drilling grammar and flashcards!).

KajiKita

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82142468#Comment_82142468

Small world! 😊

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82142595#Comment_82142595

Thank you, I might try that when I switch back to Italian ….

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82143016#Comment_82143016

Bit late for a game changer for me - I go to Spain on Tuesday … 😉 But thank you for the suggestion.

Went to the gym this morning for a new programme. Lummee … I am so weak and unfit … Lots of interesting exercises especially for my arms and shoulders. The cross trainer is VISCIOUS! 😂 Only did two minutes on there and my legs were like jelly afterwards! My hard copy programme is now stuffed full and very scribbly, so a job for tonight is to type it all up in a logical order. My monthly cost for sessions at the gym is now down to £11.66 per session … 😉 I won’t make it again this week due to travel (I’m packing my swimming costume to take with me for the Wednesday evening 🤞) but also I’m not sure how my body will react to today’s session … 😳. I will aim to go again next Sunday.

Spent most of the afternoon either reading a novel or in the garden. Planted out everything that I brought home from the festival, so I have popped in a richly dark pink echinacea (against a backdrop of pale violet salvias), some pale pink South African, flower at this time of year, strappy, soft leaved thing (where their pale pink will echo the pink of the hibiscus behind them 😊), two perennial kale (idea being that they will get their roots down through a wet winter and be able to cope better than late planted stuff next year in the new heatwave summers we have) and a small pot of walking Welsh onions (also intended to be a perennial vegetable).

Whilst working in this bed I found my smothered shallots. They are pretty small but for the sake of plant hygiene I have lifted them all, will spread them out to dry, clean them up and then use them in salads etc.

Mr KK mowed 😊 Oh and apparently finally mastered the magic ‘rule of 9’ for adjusting the tappits of his engine. I think I follow what he was saying (you adjust them in relationship to each other) but wouldn’t want to describe it here in case I mislead anyone! 😂 He was very chuffed though 😊👏❤️

EDIT: Rather to my surprise there seems to be no additional charge for the session with the trainer to set me up with a new programme. I try and ask but the trainer had vanished when I finished on the treadmill … 🤷‍♀️ I will try again next week.

KK

rtandon27

Well done on getting your head round the exercise programme! I start mine on Wednesday having finally mastered the latest ouchy physio exercises. I'm going to take inspiration from you and take a notebook with me!

KajiKita

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82143130#Comment_82143130

It’s always worth doing that as it is surprising what nuance of detail you forget it you don’t. Then after two or three run throughs it becomes familiar and ‘easy’ and the notebook seems pointless … 😉

KK

debtfreewannabe321

That festival sounded great!

Have a lovely time in Spain. And I didn't know there were two types of Spanish....learn something new every day 🤔!

Humboldt

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82143094#Comment_82143094

Morning @KajiKita, your efforts at the gym put me to shame. Refreshing the pots in the back garden is on my list for today. I will use fresh compost, reuse the ornamental grasses and ivy, and replace the summer bedding with pansies and spring bulbs. I always feel a bit guilty when removing summer bedding that is still flowering, but I know the frosts will have them soon enough. Wishing you a wonderful holiday.

KajiKita

@debtfreewannabe321, I wish I’d found out a bit sooner about the Spanish … 🤷‍♀️😊
I’m about to switch back to Italian, in the hopes that we will one day do a road trip to Herculaneum and pompeii … 🤞 I will do a goggle of which is the best app for Italian and may ditch duo altogether.

Ha! @Humboldt, not that impressive on the gym efforts … only managed three sessions last month, in part due to being away this week. Hoping to go this Sunday … 🤞

Boy am I glad it is the end of the week and I have relatively quiet weekend ahead. Working crazy hard atm to stand still and had three days out on visit to two suppliers in Spain this week. Interesting trip, but I hate hotels (never sleep properly) and planes (sooo peoplely!) and I am shattered now. Next week is also crazy (three full days of two different assessments) and then the Monday after will be the group QSHE manager coming in, being demanding and perhaps, after that, things can become a biiiit more normal, maybe … ugh …

In more MSE-like news.
-Have finished the month with £140 left in the joint house account, so £120 of that will get shuffled off to the joint house EF (which is still a bit low but steadily climbing).

-Had to send off meter readings the night before my work trip - now had an updated balance. We are £289 in credit. Not as much as I might have hoped by now, but okay and we haven’t put the heating on yet (in part because the plumber cancelled for today 🙄 …).

-Renewed the house insurance with existing provider. £40 more than last year, but searching and comparing didn’t bring it down. Will have to remember to chase Mr KK for his half (I don’t want to take that out of the house EF as it isn’t an ‘E’.) I have all the monies saved but as Mr KK won’t reduce the contents value (even though I don’t think they would pay it as he has no proof of his collections) I think he should contribute!

-Two loads of washing quietly drying out on the line 😊👏

KK

KajiKita

Washing retrieved as the sky became threatening - it didn’t actually rain, but it wasn’t going to dry much more. Now on clothes horse in conservatory.

Fresh bed linen on my bed and have swopped from heatwave 1 tog duvet to summer 4.5 tog duvet. Managed to roll up the 1 tog in such a way that it slid very tidily into the linen drawer under my bed - a win! 👏😊

Bakers and frozen bolognese portions for tea, so super easy! 👏😊

Tidied away most of my luggage from my two trips away (festival and work trip) so it feels possible to move around in my bedroom again. However, I do have rather too many books around now … <ahem> 😂

Typed up my new gym program from instructor’s scribble. It will be interesting to see how long it all takes. It had better not be more than an hour! 😉

Emptied all internal bins so that’s one job down 👏💪

KK

rtandon27

Welcome home! Well impressed that you are unpacked!