Settling in for the long haul

Dakota_Rose

It has been a really chilled out day, with Mr D and the kids spending most of the day in the back garden. Mr D put in some hard manual labour digging up old patio slabs and planting a new border with rehomed plants. The patio slabs will be put to good use closer to the house where we’d like our new patio area to be.

The garden is bursting into life and it is looking lush. I can’t wait for slightly warmer weather to be able to enjoy the new patio furniture we bought last year (second hand naturally 😉). It is a large cast metal circular table and chairs in a lovely colour. We also picked up a in new condition parasol at the end of the season so it just leaves us to buy a parasol base to finish the set.

I have been completely lazy indoors reading and starting a jigsaw puzzle that my mum and brother have already completed. We had pizzas and chips for dinner and eldest and I took Dakota dog out for an evening walk to finish. A quick-paced one tonight out and over the fields. It was glorious in the sunshine and we saw very little of anyone else. It is rare I do anything with just one of the children so it is nice when we get time to just chat one on one - they are at a stage where every conversation becomes an argument! We didn’t talk about much other than how quickly the new houses in the area are being built and D dog’s antics have us a laugh.

I have no plans for tonight other than more reading and a peppermint tea. Feeling grateful for the peace in my home life (when the kids stop bickering of that is).

Hoping everyone else has a Saturday night that is as peaceful or rock-and-roll as they’d like it to be.

Dakota_Rose

I have finished my next read of the year. It wasn’t a book I had heard of or would’ve picked for myself but in a bundle of new books my brother had bought, never read and was clearing out. It’s called ‘before the coffee gets cold’ and is a Japanese bestseller. I really enjoyed the premise of the story but as it’s been translated it doesn’t flow the way you’d expect and seems to include statements rather than storytelling in parts. Still, it was an unusual read and I enjoyed it.

26 books for 2026

1.You Are Here (easy read) 9/10

2. The Seven Murders of Evelyn Hardcastle (time-travelling murder mystery) 9.5/10

3. Love Untold (ending made a middling read worthwhile) 8/10

4. Way Back (engaging easy read with a farm theme and a few typos) 8.5/10

5. The Cuckoo’s Calling (first of the Strike detective novels) 8.5/10

6. Yellowface (‘too awful to look away’ page-turner) 10/10

7. A Thousand Splendid Suns (emotive, heavy but worthwhile read) 10/10

8. Before the coffee gets cold (Japanese coffee-shop time-travelling scenarios) 8/10

Dakota_Rose

Have made a tiny overpayment of £4.20 to the mortgage to round it down to the next hundred. I don’t have enough spare change to round down the car loan as they’ll only accept a minimum payment of £10. Something I find quite frustrating as I’d be far more likely to send oddments over if they did.

Mr D is out this morning with a neighbour friend which is really nice for him. Being a stay-at-home dad, the social invites are low so I’m happy he’s been asked along, even if it is just a Sunday market type thing.

It’ll be a quiet morning for the rest of us and we’ll probably visit Mum is she is feeling up to it. We need a top up shop for packed lunches too.

Dakota_Rose

…no I did in fact make a loan overpayment last night, rounding down my home improvement pot to the nearest hundred. Home improvements £400 - car loan £15.25OP. Still frustrating to have to send a min of £10 a time though!

Dakota_Rose

Found my sunglasses online with a considerable amount off, taking them to just under the total in my personal spends pot and with free delivery. After another migraine this week, I’ve taken the plunge and bought them. Let’s hope nothing else comes along as I only have £10 in my personal spends left for the month now.

I’ve also cleared the home spends (new mattress and bathroom parts) on the credit card with the last of home improvements pot. The balance of the CC and the pot are now £0.

My monthly spreadsheet is looking very empty for now. Nothing much to look forward to until payday but at least nowadays there’s nothing financial to dread either. Still waiting for the P60 to arrive too. Really hoping we’ll be able to keep some of this year’s child benefit payments for college buses and new uniforms but I can’t work it out until I get it.

Dinner tonight will be fast, as Mr D just fancies a bacon and egg roll. Will get them made shortly so as to be able to enjoy the evening ahead.

Let’s hope the week ahead is kinder than last. My aim is to find the moments of joy in my job again.

_Dolly_Rocker_

I've been craving a bacon and egg roll all weekend.

Baileys_Babe

@Dakota_Rose said:

I don’t have enough spare change to round down the car loan as they’ll only accept a minimum payment of £10. Something I find quite frustrating as I’d be far more likely to send oddments over if they did.

You could set one bank account aside and add all the little bits to it and whenever you get to £10 pay it off the car loan.

Dakota_Rose

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81970230#Comment_81970230

It was delicious not nutritious 😂 we even found some rogue hash browns in the freezer so they got bunged in too.

Dakota_Rose

@Baileys_Babe Really good idea and I must do it. Just need to find a pot that can be put to that purpose. Thank you.

Dakota_Rose

That’s Monday at work done and it was unbelievably busy. It flew by though and I managed to achieve most of what I set out to do.

We didn’t watch TV all weekend but last night I turned it on for a change. The Rocketman movie had just started and we enjoyed it. The problem was, with so many adverts, it ran on too late for me so I missed a good chunk of the end.

A couple of little marketplace sales today. Have sent £15 to my spends whilst I decide what to do with them and £5 to daughter for her savings as one of the items was hers. Payday seems an awfully long way away with nothing much left to come in or go out.

Fish and chips from freezer stores tonight. Well we thought we had fish but it turns out Mr D mistook the boxes of fish fingers we got on a good supermarket deal for fish. So it’s fish fingers all round - can’t remember the last time I had one of those! Thankfully we had very healthy breakfasts and lunches to balance things out.

The weather outside is bright but I’m feeling the cold this evening. I’m wrapped up well in my winter cardigan and socks but seriously considering the heated blanket because those radiators are staying off! The energy balance is going back up nicely and I want it to stay that way. Especially as I’m the only one in the house who seems to feel the cold.