Renewed focus: the (less-than?) five-year plan to move

themadvix

Morning all,

Attempting a MS experiment this morning - not giving B&W Cat his anti-sickness pill on the day he doesn't have chemo. Results are not great - he's clearly not feeling 100%, but he has eaten sufficient so far (albeit, with more attention from me than normal - although not in the realms of one kibble at a time, fortunately). To give the tablets daily would work out at £140/month (they are specially compounded for him 🙄) on top of the £70 for the chemo plus the steroids (which are much cheaper). If we can manage to keep it to every other day then this would help. I do feel sorry for him feeling so crap though. Either way, it will hopefully only be until we reduce the chemo (all other things equal, by Christmas - and perhaps sooner, depending on what the vet thinks). His insurance renewal comes around in January, so at least we'll have a pot to drawn on then (although I hate to think about the premiums). After Ginger Cat refused the kibble all day yesterday, he tucked in in the evening, having realised he was hungry - and seemed quite happy. He's eaten plenty this morning, so hopefully that was a one-off.

Have had a good time on Prolific over the past 24 hours - did the interview (annoyingly the original survey said it would be 35 mins for £15, but later sources said 50 mins + another short survey (and £14 - I've not checked what I actually got) - and it was an hour + the survey. Still, better than nothing (although well below the going rate for an interview-type study). Lots of other little ones done - I've got nearly £30 cleared and another £23 pending currently.

Dinner last night was leftover lasagne and crumble. Tonight we're out to celebrate FIL's birthday. I have a meal plan for the rest of the week to use some bits up. (I am meeting friend for breakfast at the bakery tomorrow - spends from personal spends.)

Have done a R'ford order (first in a while; pretty small, but a few things we really need) and about to do a supermarket one too - quite a bit we need, but I haven't actually done a proper shop in over a month. The grocery budget looks OK at the minute, so hopefully should all come in under (I think underspend will be sent to the kitty kitty - every little helps!). Also need to go to the refill shop later in the week.

Plenty of work from main client still (and news of another wider project, so things should remain busy).

I have a wash on - will be hanging it out shortly as it's glorious again out there.

MS things:
* VB clicks and HW
* Ginger Cat ate the kibble
* YLive survey
* PA surveys
* 1P surveys

Gratitudes:
* Despite me stressing, both cats ate plenty yesterday (I feel hugely more positive about going away in October (1 night only) knowing we the drugs to ensure B&W Cat eats while we're not here
* Gorgeous sunshine - yesterday and today
* Further progress with caravan - so close to finished now!

Have a good day all!

themadvix

Morning all,

Had a lovely meal out for FIL's birthday last night - was lovely to see them. Feeling a bit fuzzy this morning as shared a bottle of wine with SIL, which stopped my head from calming down all night (some weird dreams when I did manage to sleep!), plus B&W Cat thinks he is now allowed to come in in the middle of the night and wakes us up crying and scratching at the carpet outside the door (entirely my fault for wanting him in with us while he was ill).

Fortunately I got all caught up on my work before I left yesterday and while there's plenty in the pipeline, I've only had a tiny bit for a US client today. Am going to make the most of this (and having the car) - need to pop to refill shop and Lidl and will also get my free Greggs cuppa (insurance perk) and see Dad and Stepmum briefly.

Our mattress has arrived and is slowly inflating. Looking forward to sleeping on it tonight as I was very uncomfortable on our existing one last night. Supermarket delivery is coming later too. Mr MV's phone came back yesterday, having been repaired (hopefully, time will tell) by the insurance company (Virgin bank account) - this should mean he won't need a replacement for at least another year.

Dinner tonight will be masala carrots and flatbreads, to use up the rather elderly carrots in the fridge.

In less MSE news, I think I'm going to use some of the earnings from earlier in the year to fund the expensive tablets for B&W Cat for the next couple of months. Not ideal, but I want him well and these seem to help a lot.

MS things:
* YLive survey
* PA survey
* VB clicks
* Collecting outstanding monies from cat sitting client tomorrow

Gratitudes:
* Lovely to see in-laws last night - because we've not been hosting due to cats, we've not seen a lot of them recently
* Sunshine again here today - all my washing was dried yesterday
* New mattress!

Have a good day all!

themadvix

Morning all,

New mattress is so comfy and supportive - really pleased with it so far (Mr MV yet to be 100% convinced but this particular one did say it softens a bit after two weeks or so, which will help him I think). Have diarised 80 days in (typically 100-day trial ends on 1 Jan, so that's not much use!) to ensure we'll make a decision in time.

Things have been going well with B&W Cat this week, so that's good. He's booked in for more bloods the week after next. Ginger Cat OK too, so hoping the tests booked for the week following won't show anything of concern (i.e. the hypoallergenic diet will have resolved issues).

Kitchen is back to square one after mouse issues. Mouse man is back on Wednesday to remove the bait and hopefully all will be well. Mr MV has blocked up the access. It's so lovely to be able to cook safely in the kitchen again and I've got bread dough on first prove at the minute. The inventory of the cupboards I took last weekend has highlighted quite a few things we could do with focusing on using up, so that's good.

Had my gym induction this morning (not sure if I mentioned that we're joining the gym from 1st October). It was good and I am optimistic that 3x/week will be doable, and also makes the cost acceptable per use! In other expensive news, currently awaiting my slot to get Oasis tickets for Knebworth… very much not impressed by the price, but it is by far the most convenient venue for us and will be an epic concert. Plus, we've not paid for two of the last big gigs we went to as we were hosted at Wembley by Mr MV's suppliers, so it feels like it balances out a bit. We'd need a hotel and transport for either Manchester or Glasgow, whereas this we'll be able to get a lift - and that reduces the cost too.

In exciting news, the teardrop is finished! It still needs testing, so no chance to use it yet (maybe not before spring now? Unless we camp in it on the drive/in the garage 😂), but it is a thing of beauty.

MS things:
* Cooking at home properly again, including bread
* Lots to harvest from the allotment
* Clicks and surveys getting done
* Busy with work
* B&W Cat's anti-sickness tablets are slightly less expensive than I thought they were

Gratitudes:
* B&W Cat doing well - and I am slowly relaxing (it was their birthday yesterday and we had a lovely time in the garden with them for the first time in ages)
* I got a code for Oasis (although no code would have solved the dilemma of paying that much)
* We have a beautiful caravan - Mr MV is very talented (it was a kit, but still a lot of work and patience required)

Happy Sunday all!

ETA: No Oasis tickets for us - very MSE. Can't complain - we had an amazing time at Wembley last year.

Baileys_Babe

Do any of your or Mr MV's family have a drive you could trial camping in your beautiful caravan?

themadvix

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82150343#Comment_82150343

Not where it wouldn’t be just as weird as doing it on our drive, I don’t think 😂

ladybird1106

That looks amazing.
love 🐞

cheesymouse

That is a beautiful caravan 💚💚💚

Baileys_Babe

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82150359#Comment_82150359

That's a shame, what about wider family or friends?

I can't offer here, as we don't have a drive.

beanielou

There’s a drive in Scotland. Looks great.

themadvix

@Baileys_Babe I'm sure we might be able to find a campsite that's still open - but it depends when the test appointment is. Plus it needs to be local enough that we can get home to pill the cat at a reasonable time (he'll have missed two lots this month, so trying to keep it to a minimum). If it doesn't happen until the spring, it doesn't happen. We're very much looking forward to using it though - especially if our wings might be clipped for most longer/more distant adventures for the foreseeable.

@beanielou That is definitely too far in a mini for one night 😂 We'd never get out of the car, we'd be so stiff!