"Isn't it nice to think that tomorrow is a new day with no mistakes in it."

greenbee · 25 March 2018 at 7:41PM

I've been to the library

So spent yesterday reading and feeling feeble. Today has been better - I've read, but also opened some windows, chopped lots of floorboards up for kindling, chopped 4 baskets of logs (finally getting to the end of the old ones, so hope to get them chopped and stacked, and the rest of the floorboards chopped and put away in the kindling bin ready to a. have a delivery of logs for this winter and b. split the pile of stuff on the patio for future use).

A friend dropped off a couple of decent sized fruit trees today (she thinks an apple and a pear) that they've had to take out of their new garden, so I need to decide where to put them. Somewhere I can dig a hole would be a good idea...

She also brought a couple of barrow-loads of rubble, which have helped with the work I'm doing to make my artificial stream less canal-like and create some flow. I did quite a bit last year, but it takes a LOT of rubble.

A bit of garden tidying has been done. And a bit of house tidying. My mum is coming to stay, so I expect more will be done while she's here, but I'd quite like us to go out and do things too. And hopefully we'll get a bit done in the garden if it isn't snowing...

I've been paid again

Two months in the new job now. Getting a bit stressed as it's a month until my probationary period is up and I really need that to get over the milestone. I won't feel secure in the job until it is. So I've decided to focus on building savings back up rather than spending the new salary, and not planning on getting the next stage of work done. I should probably have done this right from the start, as I've probably taken my eye off the ball financially (I really do need to look at my landline/broadband and mobile contracts).

Realistically I think I need to have 6 months' living expenses saved up, plus the cost of the work, before I get anything else done. So getting the kitchen and utility reorganised and useable as they are needs to happen over the next few weeks. And I need to put up the blinds that have been lying around since January!

I'm not doing hugely well with diet and exercise either - hopefully the clocks changing will help, if the weather improves is certainly should as I'll feel more inclined to go outside. All the log chopping today has given me good numbers on the fitbit, although I'm not convinced it should count as steps :rotfl:

greenbee · 29 March 2018 at 9:21PM

My mum is staying, so we've:

1. Rearranged the kitchen and unpacked the kitchen stuff so we can find it and use it (including all the food that was packed away). This has resulted in...
2. Clearing the dining room, which is now much nicer and has also meant that...
3. The spare coffee table in the sitting room is now back in the dining room where it is vaguely useful and...
4. The random table that was in the hall is now in the dining room...

We have also put up a clock and 6 pictures, as well as making decisions on where another 4 pictures will go.

Cooked a proper meal (just stirfry and rhubarb and ginger with custard, but it was nice to have lots of veg and we used up some ancient crystallised ginger and OOD instant custard!) as there was just about room to do so.

Started drinking herbal tea as there is a lot of it.

Been to the garden centre for lunch and accidentally come home with a carload of plants that we now need to plant if it ever stops raining for long enough!

The plan for tomorrow is to put up a few more pictures and maybe think about putting up the blinds if the rain doesn't let up for long enough to allow us to do some gardening. Oh, and chop some logs, as I need to clear the last of the seasoned ones in the hope that my brother will be over on Monday to help me get the new log pile under control!

redofromstart · 31 March 2018 at 10:53AM

greenbee wrote: »

Been to the garden centre for lunch and accidentally come home with a carload of plants that we now need to plant if it ever stops raining for long enough!

You sound busy as always, but that is my kind of accident

greenbee · 31 March 2018 at 11:00AM

Accidentally invited the family to lunch today... so lamb slow roasting in the oven and we need to get going on the veg and laying the table.

greenbee · 31 March 2018 at 4:30PM

We survived lunch. Plenty of leftovers. Easter egg hunt done. Two more pictures up... only half a dozen left to go. And 5 blinds. Also have a rough plan for shifting the log pile on the patio, but it's way too wet to deal with it at the moment...

redofromstart · 31 March 2018 at 7:58PM

Doing nicely on the steps too I notice

greenbee · 31 March 2018 at 8:12PM

Not doing as well today as yesterday... my mum has been on the sofa reading all afternoon and haven't been able to persuade her to go out! However, the DW needs unloading and reloading (again) shortly, and the leftovers from lunch need putting away and I could in theory stick another 3 pictures up in the kitchen. Stuff that requires drilling needs to wait until tomorrow...

Think we might have an early night tonight as it should be dry tomorrow, if rather chilly, so there's a chance we could plant some of the vast number of plants acquired in the last few days!

greenbee · 1 April 2018 at 4:02PM

I've taken several buckets of composting leaves and muck out of the stream, so you can actually see chalk and gravel in places (still lots of silt, but that's partly down to upstream neighbours). My mum has done lots of pruning and cutting back and tying up. I've done lots of weeding. And digging holes.

Candelabra primulas and erigeron were planted first as they're easy... oh, and we had a go at the hole in the hedge and pruned the things that are there to fill it up.

Sambucus niger planted next to neighbour's fence on the other side of the stream, so hopefully that will grow up and provide a bit of screening from the road. Laurel planted in front of the hole in the hedge (hard working making a hole for it there as there are hedge roots and an ash stump and roots), as well as an elder chopped down and dug up from elsewhere which may or may not make it.

Moved a lilac and have worked out where 4 other shrubs are going to go. And planted one of the second-hand fruit trees - I need to think of a home for the other. Some acanthus and dog tooth violets left to find homes for before we leave tomorrow. And the log pile to at least make inroads into. But it does at least feel like progress.

I'd like to get a shelf and coat rack up in the utility room, and maybe a shelf in the kitchen. And the 5 blinds up. But some of that may need to wait until next weekend.

greenbee · 15 April 2018 at 1:41PM

Got the shelf up in the utility room. But not the coat rack or the shelf in the kitchen. I did manage to put up pictures in the kitchen, and a metal grid for hanging stuff off, so lots of stuff is now unpacked and usable, and as a result I'm starting to eat rather better... I've also emptied the small freezer outside. The chest freezer has two turkey crowns and two huge hams (xmas eve bargains) in it, so I need to start making plans to cook and portion those rather than buying more meat (not that I'm eating much).

Weather was fabulous yesterday, so did lots of garden tidying - mowing and planting mostly, and also put the washing line up and dried the washing outside! Not so nice today, but have given the grass it's second cut so the mower blades are now at the correct level. Pretty hard going due to moss and damp, but hopefully that's the worst of it as long as I can keep on top of it. Funny how much tidier the garden looks when the grass has been cut!

Some bits of the garden are really starting to look good - snakes' head fritillaries under the wild pear are continuing to spread, as are cowslips. Looks as if some bluebells are coming up, and the primroses are everywhere (must move some more onto the banks where there aren't any). The mini bulb field I created where 3 stumps were ground out 4 years ago hasn't been as prolific as I'd have liked, but there's a certain amount coming up and I'm hoping it'll improve over time. I should probably scatter some wildflower seeds there too.

A few tulips are out, but the majority aren't quite there yet. I planted lots this year, so hopefully put the right ones in the right places! I guess I'll find out when they come up

It's a only a couple of weeks until my probationary period is up at work, so I'm getting very stressed about it. I'm hoping it'll all be OK, but won't be able to really relax and focus until I'm past that milestone. I'm not sure whether I should be making contingency plans or focussing on the things I have planned for the next couple of months. The stuff I actually need to do as part of my job is really only just starting to kick in, and I'm not entirely sure that anyone really knows what they employed me to do - different people seem to have different opinions!

However, assuming I get past this successfully, health insurance and pension contributions kick in and I can focus on building up my savings and start making overpayments so I feel more secure financially.

For the rest of today I need to pack, and make sure I have everything ready for my trip. Including booking the taxi, which I keep forgetting to do!

greenbee · 28 April 2018 at 6:52PM

Well my probationary period has been and gone without any comment other than questions to do with setting up my pension and health insurance.

Trip has gone well - I had 8 flights this week, and a lot of rushing about but it feels as if it was productive (mind you, I've realised I still have two presentations to put together as well as an event to prepare for on Friday). I spent some time in one of our new offices which is fabulous, with lots of air and plants and space and coffee... I also found I can use BA avios to buy gin & M&S food on the plane, so at least there is some use for them, although each flight uses more than I can spend.

The garden is looking pretty good with bluebells and cowslips spreading nicely in the wildflower area, the fruit trees flowering and the masses of tulips I planted looking fabulous (and I seem to have planted them in roughly the right places). I've made a start on splitting and stacking the new logs (having made an effort to split and use up the old ones!) and need to keep going on that. My brother has promised to come over sometime with the chainsaw and cut the big ones up into small enough chunks for me to get on the log splitter.

Electrician is coming on monday to do the dining room lights and give me a few more temporary sockets in the kitchen and utility room. I must also remember to get him to put up the fixings for the CCTV cameras.

Savings are now looking pretty healthy, despite rather a lot of clothes spending recently and an increase in maintenance costs (mostly nails...). I need to find somewhere to keep my 'big' emergency fund (which I'd like to be equivalent to a year's mortgage plus some living costs) other than the savings account linked to my current account. I don't have a year's money put away yet, but now I have about 6 months' worth I should find a home for it. I may end up spending on the kitchen out of the next lot of savings as live will be easier (and possibly cheaper) once it is done. And at some point I'll actually do something about mortgage overpayments!

I've got a 2 week trip to ANZ/Asia coming up at the end of May which I need to plan for - starting with vaccinations. I found my yellow fever cert this morning in my old passport, but discovered I need Hep A and Typhoid jabs, so have to get on the phone on Monday morning to book those. I also need to check out what work cover us for in terms of travel insurance and make sure I arrange any additional cover that I need.

"Isn't it nice to think that tomorrow is a new day with no mistakes in it."

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