Day Out

Yesterday my son came around ours for tea with the girls.We decided to have a BBQ and then an an Easter egg hunt as the girls are going with mum to Scotland to stay with Grandma.That's the side thing about breakdown in relationships you don't always get to see your grandchildren on holidays.
The Easter egg was fun and both the girls loved it.

This morning bright and early my in laws came over and we all set off to catch the train to London .I managed to get 6 free tickets to the Ideal Home show.The train worked out at £8.50 return each,I took drinks and snacks and we all enjoyed our day wondering around.

Easy journey home in time to take eldest daughter to the station for her train to the West Country.
A wonderful frugal day out.
Up early again in the morning as DD starts work at 6, then a bit later off to support DS doing his half marathon.

Until later
nto

Blossom on tree.

 Easter egg hunt

 Ideal Home show

Jubilee cake competition

Mother in law being pampered(would you believe she is 73)

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Good Morning

Just wanted to pop by and say Morning all and Thank you.
Its lovely to see the stats of where you all are.....

I start my new cleaning job this morning ,i spent half the night dreaming i was late for it....Going to see another lady afterwards that just wants a one off clean of her kitchen and bathroom but you never know it might lead to more.
Unexpected bonus hit my account this morning so was able to pay a bit more off the debts which was wonderful.I broke through another barrier this morning the amount owing went into a lower thousand if you get my drift its now 7 something and not 8.I know these figures probably scare most of you to death but compared to where we were this time last year its an amazing reduction.To put it even more prospective Oct last year we owed more than this amount to the tax man alone.This has been achieved by making our own austerity cuts and ploughing every penny into it including a lucky bonus of getting some ppi back.

Must now go and get ready for work (no school run today,which is a good job really with all the panic buying of fuel that's going on in my area) or my dream of being late will come true.

Until later
nto
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Today i managed to secure another private cleaning job and the good news is that i will now be able to give up the pub,The extra job is only for a couple of hours but monetary wise it earns me half what i get paid for doing Friday and Saturday at the pub.The wages i was on weren't bad but the tax on the 2nd job was a killer.
I hope I'm doing the right thing and hope that i get one more customer so i break even.It will be nice to have weekends back.

This evening i attended a meeting at the village hall for the residence of my lane.We were flooded quite badly in 2007 and part of the problem was sewerage pipes controlled by the Water authority.So an action group has been put together to try and get the problem sorted.
I have been volunteered to be part of the committee.eek

until later
nto
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ps have a look at the stars tonight they as well as the planets are really clear.Venus and Jupiter are very close to the Moon.Its hard to get your head round how many thousands of light years some of the stars are away.

Evening all

Wasn't it a lovely day today...This afternoon//evening i managed to do some pricking out (is that the correct terminology) Planted some more seeds and just enjoyed being outside.Even though its quite sad that the weather is going to break this weekend its quite a relieve for the 1000s of people doing the half marathon in Reading this Sunday.My son included,this will be his first marathon and hes doing it for charity
CLIC
So i will be cheering him on Sunday.

Ive just been watching the One Show,they had a little girl on it that survived meningitis. The Dr was saying don't just look out for the obvious symptoms like the rash as this is one of the last symptoms.My eldest daughter contracted viral meningitis 4 years ago.Luckily the Drs caught and treated it very quickly and she made a full recovery.If your ever in doubt contact your Dr and get it checked better to be safe than sorry.

New Layout

My blog has changed to the new layout,not sure if i like it.....
DD had physio today,she has now been told she is doing too much and that's why her ankle keeps swelling.Lots of new exercises t be done and back again in just over 2 weeks.

Granddaughters were around tonight and once again we had a BBQ which the little ones enjoyed and lots of playing in the garden

Mia waiting for anything to drop.

,Its such a shame that the temperature is going to go back to normal at the weekend.

Baked some cheese and onion bread this evening and it was delicious,Not good for the waistline though.

Hope you are all well
nto
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ps
welcome to my new followers
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Simple things

I find that the sun always makes everything feel better.
Yesterday was a simple day, a little bit of work .Lunch out with DS and home for a bbq .BBQ put together by DD2 and food cooked by her boyfriend.Chimnea lit and then a leisurely tea and chat in the garden.
Didn't cost much but was very enjoyable.

We are currently having our lane dug up and a new drainage pipe laid to try and prevent the lane being flooded again.We have 2 workman doing the work from about 7.30 am till 4 pm.Before i go and when i get home ,i always offer them a drink,hot or cold,they are so grateful and out of about 21 homes in my lane im the ONLY person that offers it.
Well my kindness pays off as whilst everyone else couldn't get to there drives, they moved things,laid things down so i could park in my drive,They didn't even do that for my OH .( i can get out again)
Debt busting is still ongoing.Hoping i do get my adsense money next week so i can put a bit more into it.

Hope you are all well,im just going to catch up with all your lovely blogs and see how you have been spending your weekend.

Until later
nto

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It went really well...

Here's a brief explanation of how things went and how come this was the first time i met my brother.

Like a lot of families my mum and dad were married before they met each other, my mum had 4 children from her 1st marriage and my dad had 1 son.
I always knew about dads son but never questioned why he didn't see him.As i said before my parents died when i was in my very early 20's and it was then that i started questioning why i had never met Kieron.
It took me a number of years again to finally start researching my family tree .With the help of a newly found cousin i found details of his birth,requested his birth certificate to confirm it was the correct Kieron.Then the search began .I couldn't find him and virtually gave up.Every now and then i would search facebook to see if he popped up on there and low and behold 1 day he did.I sent a message to his partner saying i was researching my family tree and would she know the name of Kierons parents.She replied giving my dads name. I then as subtly as i could had to say i think im Kierons sister.Within seconds she asked for a contact number and Kieron rang me....
I have always said to people that i know my dad had flaws but i was only going to speak as i found and he was very good to me,i love him and nothing anyone could say would change that.
I was worried with Kieron though as my dad had left him,i will never know why and Kieron doesnt either but he holds no malice.
It turns out he lives in Ireland (ROI) but most of his partners family live in my hometown,my DD used to catch a bus to school with what would be a 2nd cousin and they knew each other.The family they stayed with live no joke a 2 minute drive from my house.
Well they came over yesterday to England and we were invite to a party to meet them. I was so nervous as i didnt feel this was the easiest circumstances to meet someone but we went,rang bell and heard someone call out Kieron your family are here.
They were all lovely , Kieron is the spitting image of my dad i will try and post a couple of pictures.And if im honest it was really sad because seeing Kieron stood in front of me was like looking at my dad the last time i saw him.

He didnt introduce me as his half sister i was his sister,which i loved,

So a brilliant evening and it we are all looking forward to meeting again.

Think of me

As tonight i meeting my brother for the 1st time and im so nervous.
Will let you know how it goes later

until later
nto
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Im Still here...

Been busy the last couple of days,so haven't had the chance to blog or read much.
Wednesday i picked my eldest daughter up from work and went and got colour for my hair. I cooked dinner for her and she coloured and put a few subtle highlights through my hair.Back in the day DD started training to be a hairdresser, she passed the colouring side and then decided it wasn't for her.It was lovely having her around and to see my 2 daughters just chatting.
Yesterday apart from work i had to pick youngest DD up from school early and take her to DR'S and hospital for an xray.Her ankle is still causing her so many problems.

Yesterday evening we were invited up to my sons for dinner,he cooked lasagna and it was the nicest lasagna i had eaten,Alot better then mine.We looked at the pics they took in Iceland and heard how they wish to go back later in the year.Lovely evening.

You all must know by now i love something for free or at least a coupon well yesterday it was free teabags.In the town i live in we are the 1st place in the UK to have interactive adverts on bust stops.Near the hospital i saw one saying free teabags at Morrison's. You scan a box next to the advert (down loadable app) go into the supermarket they give you a pin number and hey presto 40 free Tetley teabags.Apparently you will be able to get free music,tickets and money off at different times.
I'm at the pub today and really don't want to go would love to spend the day in the garden as I'm missing out on all this glorious weather we are having.

Hope you are all well
until later
nto
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Dressing up

The little one is obsessed with Peter Pan and Jake and the Netherland Pirates and i mean obsessed.
When we wet out on Saturday we saw a little dressing up costume which we knew she would love.So when she came over this evening we gave it to her and she loved it.

The toilet did get fixed and I'm so glad we had the cover as he was here 2 1/2 hours and had to take the whole cistern off , so i can only imagine how much it would have cost.

Today was MOT day, i fear this as much as the dentist.It was OK though, just needed 2 tyres and a bulb.

The day has whizzed by just need to go and catch up with what everyone else has been up too.
Until later
nto
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At home during the day on a Monday what is going on....

Look at me at home on a Monday morning,lovely as it is its not by choice.
This morning something went wrong with my toilet.I ve had to use a skewer and a piece of wool to stop the cistern from filling and emptying.
We were given 6 months free cover for home emergencies with the AA so I'm currently waiting for a man that can fix it. When i phoned i was given 2 choices until 12 or 12 till 4 , Neither of them easy to do but when you have no other choice you just have to pick one or not get it fixed.

Ive managed to get 2 loads of washing on the line, whilst listening for the dog to bark if someone goes near the door.Few more seeds planted ,hoovered and now having a cup of tea before tackling upstairs.
( cant have too much tea though what with not having a working toilet.)

Inlaws came over last night and we had a lovely evening. Meal out with dd was fantastic so all in all Mothers day was a success.
Hope you all enjoy your day and by all counts (well in my area) is going to be a good weather week.

Until later
nto
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Happy Mothers Day

Here in the UK today is Mothers Day,A day we celebrate the joy and love our Mothers give to us.

Sadly my mum died when i was 22 of Cancer,not a day goes by that i don't think of her and miss her.As she wasn't living near me when she passed i had nowhere to visit (same with dad) so i planted a tree in my garden a flowering cherry tree(mums favourite)

This is now called my Remembrance tree and when i feel like a chat or to wish them Happy Mothers day,birthday etc.I go down the garden to my tree.The blossom is just starting to come through so it will be in full bloom by mums birthday.So today Ive wished my mum a happy Mothers day.

I've come down to beautiful bunting hung across my front room.A large bunch of flowers and a scroll detailing the itinerary of today.

Which reads like this

Happy Mothers Day
Try not to eat anything till i wake up,seeings as you're not too demanding.I cant do breakfast in bed,so i will sort it when I'm up at 8ish.
I love you,i don't say it enough but i really do...
Today's schedule

8am Pastries and tea for breakfast
1pm Lunch for 2 ( my daughter and i ) at a lovely restaurant.

One thing i am eternally grateful for is that my children make me feel special all year round.

Hope you have a great day
ooh and i nearly forgot i won a prize from New Beginnings this morning so today is going to be a great day.I am loving being at home at the weekend.
until later
nto
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Lovely day

Even though my day started really early its been a nice day.

Youngest daughter started work at 6am. We then had to pick eldest daughter up and take her to the train station She was off to Devon To meet up with her boyfriend,I needed to make sure she got on the correct train as from previous experience  she doesn't always manage it.
We then went to our sons, who made us tea and breakfast. After breakfast we loaded the cases in the car to as we were driving them to Heathrow as they are flying to Iceland.

We then drove to Tesco to get rid of some aluminium cans and then on to Home Bargains both of these are only a couple of miles from the airport.
Managed to pick up some good bargains ,especially planter bags.

And to top it all in the post today was my pin code from Adsense, I'm well pleased.

Hope your day was good
until later
nto
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Work today

The good news is
I still have my job ( until i can find more of my own work)
and
I have all weekend off.
When i arrived at worked today the manager i had arranged the time off with asked me if i was ok.
I said no to be honest I'm totally pi**ed off. Lots of ranting by her about the other manager which i told her I'm not here to score points or get involved in arguments between the 2 managers, i just wanted the time off.
Well she is going to cover the shift.
Glad i don't work Monday as major ructions are going to happen.
So I'm going to put an ad out and try to get a little bit more private work so i can leave,because i can imagine my name will be mud next week
until later
nto
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Im so annoyed

This morning my eldest daughter was coming with me to work as she wanted me to help book her train travel,after we had finished.
Whilst we were at the ticket office my phone kept ringing then text messages kept coming through.It was my 2 nd job trying to get hold of me...I rang back and wished i hadn't.
The conversation went along the lines of
" I have just been informed that you had asked to book holiday for this weekend"
Yes i  spoke to Rhona 3 weeks ago and she said she would make a note of it/
" I'm in charge of you why didn't you speak to me"
Because i rarely see you and wanted to give as much notice as i could.
" Well you shouldnt have spoken to Rhona ( shes a manager too) I have no one who can come in can you cancel your plans."
No I'm taking my son to the airport and Sundays mothers day, hence why i couldn't swap shifts as i knew i couldn't swap to anything.
" Well i can get cover for one day you will have to come in Sunday"
My daughter has something arranged for me
"well you will have to get it done as quick as possible"
Thanks alot.
Im being penalized due to lack of communication between two rival managers.

So now i have to work Sunday, my daughter is disappointed and i hope i haven't spoilt too many of her plans for me.
My OH wants me to tell the where to go but its not as easy as that.I wish i could,I have done so many favours for them lately for what.

Well rant over,I'm just going to keep my head down and not get involved with any of them, because not 1 of the bu**ers will do anything in return.
Hope your day was better than mine.
nto
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Today was a payout day...a large chunk of money was paid to 2 debts(£275)
Its always hard when it comes out but lovely to see it come off the spreadsheet and snowball.
I'm still trying to sort out a few missing payments from OH's van loan,this is proving difficult.The woman i spoke to questioning the missing payments asked me "why did you pay £10 one day then £10 the next day"
erh i just wanted to pay it off.I have now had to photocopy the receipt and send it to them.

My day tomorrow is a bit easier ,one of my customers is unwell.Still have a busy day though but eldest dd is coming with me as she wants me to go with her to get train tickets for her trip to Devon this weekend.

May i ask a question, all you other bloggers that have the ads, how long did you have to wait for your pin to arrive after you were informed that your pin had been issued?

until later
nto
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Lovely evening

Today is Tuesday so the little one came for tea.Only one this week.
School activities and friends occasionally stop the big one from coming but that's how it should be.
We spent a little bit of time in the garden but it was a bit nippy.
So we came in and planted some seeds,Little one wanted to do her own so we have labelled her on little pots of peppers so we will watch them grow.

Dinner was chicken pie which was delicious even if i do say so myself.Food does not interest the little one but you have to try.

Its all quite again now,we all love Tuesday evenings.

We have been told there will be a hosepipe ban coming into force just before Easter, so its not worth me buying a pressure washer yet.
So Water buts are going to positioned in correct places so I'm not carrying watering cans all the way down the garden.
On the news yesterday they showed how dry the earth was and that some farmers aren't even going to plant some crops this year , so food prices are going to go up.
So definitely going to try and grow as much as possible this year.
So far i have sown
Peppers,chilli's,parsnips,Brussels,carrots,peas,lettuce,tomatoes.cabbage,spring onions,onions,potatoes and garlic.A little bit of everything started off, will do more again as they start to grow.

Off to catch up
until later
nto
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Say Cheese

Evening all.
I had a little red card left on Saturday from postman, so i went and collected it.Wasn't expecting anything so didn't have a clue what it was.It turns out i had been accepted to trial the viakal spray.

If you get a chance have a look at the supersavvyme site.They always have coupons and trials available.

Heads up to all you UK followers,Tesco have the extra mature Cathedral city cheese for £1 a block,use by May.

Its all clearly labelled.Also PG Tips the Delicate one is being discontinued it is 67p a box long dated.


So I'm now well stocked up on cheese and will have a mass grating session tomorrow.

hope this helps a few people.
until later
nto
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Giveaway from New Beginnings

http://craftthriftandlove.blogspot.com/2012/03/birthday-give-aways.html

Its New Beginnings birthday this week and shes having a giveaway so pop over and have a look.

Spring has sprung...

As i have mentioned many times,today was my day off and i was so looking forward to it.

I did have a basket of ironing to do so not a full day off ...
I was up bright and Early, sowed some more seeds,1st load of washing in the machine...
Burnt my finger ( steam burn) ironing, it hurt....

Once i finished the ironing i went in the garden to jet wash the decking,attached new hose turned jet washer on  
and nothing
Changed fuse and still nothing, luckily my neighbor offered me hers so i was able to go over it once.

BEFORE

AFTER

Will have to get one to do it again as i was paranoid i was going to break it.
It looks a lot better but needs a soapy scrub and then going over again.

Planted 6 raspberry canes so hoping they will thrive.

Went over to inlaws for dinner and it was delicious as normal.
Mil mad a cake from a different recipe,it had coke, marshmallows and cola bottles in it (not that you could taste any of them)

The day has whizzed by,
Hope you all had a fantastic Sunday.
Until later
nto
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Thanks Marmalade and Catmint

I followed your instructions and changed my header.

I now have a selection of memorable pictures on display ,
including a competition win to meet the  the Courteners.DD 2 with the lead singer.
Day out at Peppa Pig world
.Madame Tussauds.
Comp win to IOW festival where Paulo entertained me and the whole festival experience is one i do wish to repeat especially the IOW.

Hope you all enjoyed this lovely fine day.

When i finally got home i sowed some seeds and had my dinner cooked for me.
Perfect end to the day.

Until later
nto
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Good morning all

Just wanted to pop by and say hello.
Early start today.DD started work at 6 am so I've just dropped her off.

I'm now just sitting in the glow of my solar lights,

we seem to be getting enough light during the day to charge them up for a fair while.Its pleasantly mild outside this morning 9 degrees so, i shall put some washing on in a mo and should be able to get that dry outside.

Until later
nto
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Something to look forward too

As i mentioned yesterday,i did the ironing at work on Wednesday.


(this is similar to what they use at work)

Well today when i got in i was told they were really pleased with it and would i consider doing it again.
I don't mind it makes a change to sit down and listen to the radio whilst working. Work went ok today,
Good news is I'm not needed on Sunday and it made changing all those beds today more bearable. I have a day off yippee.
What will i do....i think i will jet wash the decking.

a couple of my tomato seeds have started to come through as well as the cabbage .I planted some pepper seeds today so will wait and see if they germinate.

Received my 2 nd swag bucks Amazon voucher today, these are being saved for ink cartridges.

Well i hope your all looking forward to your weekend.
until later
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Life is busy

Didn't get time to post yesterday ,had a long day.
DD had a 6th form evening to talk us through the University process.This started at about 7 pm so i dropped her at her boyfriends just after 4 pm and went to the pub to do a few extra hours Ironing.Left pub at 6.40 and met my dd at school for the meeting.
DD is adamant she wants to go to the University in our town as she doesn't want to leave home.
Today as some of you might know was results day for the 1st lot of exams at AS level,she picked her results up this morning and she got B,C.C.
She only had exams in 3 subjects.She was pleased with the results but she wants to do better to make sure she gets on the course she wants.( She needs A,B.B) she is going to resit them in May.This is her choice but as her head of year said last night, you are going to get £45000 of debt so make sure you pick the course and University you want.She is going to make sure she gives it her best shot to get what she wants.

DD had to go to Dr's this afternoon to get her referral back to the Hospital for her flat feet, so sometime in the future we will be back to hospital for another round of appointments.

Managed to get to Tesco earlier and managed to get some of the chocolate bars i had read about on mse.
Lovely sales assistant put them through so i didn't have to scan them all and when i asked if i could grab some more she said no problem.
So i got a box full for 36p a 1p a bar(well 2 box full) and the y don't go out of date until September.

Hope you all have had a pleasant couple of days
until later
nto
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What a day...

You all probably remember all my woes with the tax man,well a shock came in the post today i a little white envelope. They had passed the debt on to a debt collection agency, who insisted that it be paid in 7 days
wtf ( excuse my language.)
OH phoned and gave permission for me to speak on his behalf and it was trauma all the way.
Phone tax office to ask why as we had stuck to our agreement and it was being paid every week, she was surprised and said she didn't have a clue and i would have to negotiate with the debt collection agency. Phoned them and spoke to a real jobsworth who wanted it paid off in 3 months and an instant payment of £500,he finally agreed on a slightly lower figure spread over the month,I said i didn't agree with the amount and he said it was a figure given to them on 20th feb and i would have to contact HMRC to get them to change it.
HMRC said the agency had to contact them and they would give them the correct figure. Back on phone to agency and spoke to a lovely woman, i explained i felt the figure given was unrealistic and she was as nice as pie, settled for the lower figure of what i normally pay and said just pay more if and when i can.

Cant wait to get this off our backs,
Decided after sorting this out to sort a few other things out.
I queried a builders merchant that Oh owes too , asked how much he owed and what the dates of the last invoices that had been added to the account and just by him going back the last 18 months 6 invoices had been added to the account totalling £1014.OH has not been in this merchant for nearly 3 years!!!!
The man i spoke to is going to speak to his boss in the morning to see about getting these removed and send me a statement showing all outstanding monies and all payments made so i can cross check them.

Lastly mobile phone bill. overcharged by £4.50 on an £18 bill.

You have to keep on your toes with all these people,before i started to be so aware i dread to think how much we overpaid on things.

phew that was some rant.

Hope you all had a better day than me
until later
nto
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Evening all.

I worked all weekend so nothing much has happened in my life.
Yesterday the weather was horrible and i got absolutely soaked moving the bedding over to the hotel,

We had some family over for dinner last night which was lovely. My eldest daughter popped in for a drink with her boyfriend, i knew of him but had never met him and I'm pleased to say he seems very nice and they are smitten with each other.As i have said before my daughter had been estranged from most of the family for a number of years so to have her under my roof and introducing us to her man was wonderful.
She was very keen to find out what we thought of him.

Heard on the news that banks are going to start putting up mortgage rates which is a bit gutting as we are on a low rate and it means i have been able to plough a bit extra into paying it off.Hope it doesn't come into affect too quickly....
Wouldn't it be lovely to have no outlay apart from normal household bills,I'm literally counting down the days and months till this is the case.

I found out a bit more about the rewards scheme that my council will be operating come April and have registered already. You get points every time yo u recycle, i manually enter that i have recycled now so not sure how they will know come April. You can then redeem this points for money off like £5 off when you spend £25 at M & S and a free bar of lush soap( which i have ordered)

I always like getting something for little effort....

A few of my seeds are starting to come through in the propagator, I'm hoping to have the time and inclination to have a bumper crop this year. Now i have 3 freezers i have no excuse not to be able to freeze my crops to last over part of the Winter.

Has anyone else started planting yet all be it indoors.?

Until later
nto
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Green clubcard points

When i arrived at work yesterday,one of my colleagues informed me that they had saved all the cans that had been left in the hotel all week, 2 box full and 3 bags full.
This afternoon after work we went to the automated recycling machine, we had approx 300 cans,collected in less than 3 weeks.Oh took a couple of bags and picked loads up on his walk.I know it doesn't sound like alot but this would have got me £1.50 in clubcard points. so £6 in rewards.(£5 would buy us £20 worth of food in a local pub)

My fridge freezer was delivered this evening,its standing now not allowed to turn it on for 4 hours.
I'm really pleased.

Apparently the hotel is busy tonight so i have work tomorrow. Ive been shown how to iron the bedding so will have to go in Wednesday afternoon /evening to do the ironing that has built up. Its all money so cant complain too much.

Hope you have all had a good day
until later
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Happy St Davids Day

This is the view down the road that leads to my lane.

I get all excited in February as you can start to see a pinky/purple tinge on the trees and then virtually overnight the blossom starts to come out.All these trees have preservation orders on them so as long as i live here i can look forward to driving down this road.

I ordered my fridge/freezer this morning and its being delivered Saturday,just need to arrange for someone to wait in for me, its a full 12 hour slot 7 am till 7pm and you can guarantee that it will turn up at 6.50pm.

Received the paperwork from ohs van loan today as they are saying we still owe £20. i have been through all my receipts and 4 payments are missing and not showing, making i have overpaid by £20.Apparently this cant be resolved instantly which is frustrating me.

My topcashback and bingo money arrived in my account today so i was able to send this straight to the car loan.As the figures are going down the more impatient i am getting to pay it off.

Don't know if anyone else uses the snowball calculators but don't you just hate the start in the new month as it pushes your figures back a month until you pay your normal payments.

Utility bills came in this afternoon, available to view on line, not a pretty read.

They anticipate we will spend £at least £2000 in the next year on gas and electricity.....

It gets worse every time i look at them.

Maybe someone is tapping into my gas and electric or is that wishful thinking.

Before next winter we are going to have to install a log burner......

Harduphester still not had your address. could you possibly send it to me so i can get your bag off to you.

Thanks

Until later

nto

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