Bathrooms & Budgets

The bathroom is complete! And yes it has taken nearly two weeks thanks to paint that takes 24hrs to dry between coats, and the need for three different types of paint depending on whether my brush is aimed at the ceiling, the top half of the wall or the bottom half of the wall, I have turned into some kind of mad obsessive when it comes to my bathroom and driven the hubby mad with colour charts although I think he enjoyed the many trips to B&Q.
The best news is I managed to come in under budget! £85.24 total cost which included new bath mat, shower curtain and mirror.  It has to be said however that buying the cheaper B&Q paint rather than splashing out the extra £7 for Dulux was a false economy.  B&Q took three coats before the walls stopped looking patchy, whereas having used Dulux on previous, less stingy occassions covers perfectly well with just one.

Before                                                                          After


The time involved has kept me occupied and out of reach of boredom, along with the continued good weather and subsequent runs to the seaside or round the woods, now the bathrooms finished though what am I going to do? My £100 budget won't stretch to refurb of the kitchen which requires new doors, plastering, flooring, cabinets and paint.
The next project is making a bathroom cabinet, although my belief that it must be cheaper to make my own than buy one is being thwarted by the cost of wood which seems ridiculously high, is there a shortage of trees that I haven't heard about?

Having stuck to my own budget this week, I watched George Osborne's Budget for the 2012 with trepidation, but was very relieved to hear that there is a commitment to keeping interest rates low, with two mortgages both on variable rates even a small rise would be hugely detrimental on my new vastly reduced income.  My hope for a lower fuel bill was not answered however and as such we will still be limited to local acivities for entertainment.
It seems that if my income stays the same next year I will no longer be a tax payer thanks to the new persoanl allowance increase, which is nice, but gave me a peculiar feeling as though I am no longer a contributing member of society, having worked fulltime since the age of sixteen I never thought or planned to be a part timer let alone someone who didn't pay tax!
In other news my grievance at work continues, having had the first meeting earlier this week the case is now being investigated with an outcome expected in 15days although I suspect they will take their time and drag it out.  The meeting took two hours and although not as unpleasant as expected it was emotionally draining and clear that my employer will use any loophole they can find to ensure that they come out on top.  So now we wait.

Good vs Bad

Thursday demonstrated the advantages of working part time gloriously well.  With the assistance of some gorgeous sunshine I got out of bed at a decent hour (a downfall of not having to get up for work every day is that it is all too easily to stay in bed for most of the morning) took the puppy for a long walk and then went for a run to the seaside and back (its quite nice having the beach only a couple of miles from home) The run and the sunshine really boosted my mood and kept me motivated through work in the afternoon and beyond.  These are things I would not have had the opportunity to do while working fulltime, by the time I'd have been on the way home from work the sun would have been fading and I certainly wouldn't have had the motivation to go out for a run (the puppy has ways of dragging me out for a walk however) The other benefit is that it didn't cost a penny!
The weekend brought rain, persistent rain, and a reluctance to do anything outdoorsy.  The problem being that anything indoorsy costs a considerable amount of money or is at least an hours drive away (as is everything from here) which means costly petrol and with hubby still only working a few hours a week and my wage so reduced I managed to talk him out of every suggestion based on the costs involved.  I worry that the goodlife can only really exist as long as the sun shines and in Britain that isn't all that often.  As a result the weekend time was used up with DIY, cleaning and snuggling on the sofa, not bad, but not ideal.

This weekend we're going to redo the bathroom (on a budget of £100, I'll let you know if we manage to stick to it)

Picture of bathroom as it is now and as its been since I moved in 18months ago, could be worse as I'm sure my best friend will tell you, green suite and orange walls are a little more difficult to live with!

I have just put a coat of primer on the window having spent many, many hours stripping the old paint off.  Admittedly we started stripping the paint at the end of last year, but soon got bored. 
So far though it has not cost a penny just a lot of elbow grease, some leftover paint stripper and the primer I used on my bedroom drawers.



I don't mind DIY its quite therapeutic and when the local decorators quote anything from £90 upwards just to paint the hall and landing (which with the right equipment would probably only take half a day) I find spending the day doing it myself very satisfying, although it does make me question whether I should have been a painter and decorator rather than a teacher as I know I have never been paid £90 for a days work despite being required to have a degree and a teaching qualfication!

The sun returned yesterday though and having walked the puppy I put my trainers on and returned to the sea front, much quieter than Thursday and I am definitely getting faster.  Hubby's work has also picked up a little and hopefully will continue to do so, for this reason we are treating ourselves tonight with a date to the cinema (Orange Wednesdays of course!)

Employment: Parttime 0.33 of a fulltime contract
Lodgers: 1 (potential lodger viewing this week)
Eating out: 2
Hubby: 1 (8 months of married bliss minus one argument)
Dog: 1 (all healed and fur growing back nicely)
Stepson: 1
No Spend Days: 6/14 (must do better!)

Progress

Okay so progress does not mean I have been perfect, my challenge not to buy anymore clothes until an existing item is relegated to the bin or the charity shop has not quite been met this month.  I confess I spent money on not quite essential items.  I did only spend £10 though! Yes I know I'm trying to justify it to myself, but I have some nice new running shorts and a vest, two things for £10 is a bargain right?
Other than that minor slip I think I've been quite good and as a result I have money left with only a week to go until payday.  Hubby and I are still amazed that we are more than surviving on a severely reduced income compared to the when we were skint on two fulltime incomes.
The puppy has also curbed his spending, he's healing well and has resisted the urge to scratch at the wound, for that reason he has been rewarded by not having to wear his silly plastic collar for the past few days and he can now play frisbee again.
The exam marking is finally over, having spent every evening, every weekend and the days inbetween when I wasn't teaching, attached to the computer I am glad its over.  It was however incredibly satisfying to see the extra money appear in my bank account and beable to transfer it straight away to the credit card account therefore paying off the vets bill, the two new car tyres and the flights to France in one fell swoop.  Don't worry I haven't forgotten about the laptop and the puppy didn't manage to spend every penny I earnt, I am still owed another payment, hopefully at the end of this week.  Now I have to decide whether to buy a laptop or something else, I have already treated myself to tickets to see Dirty Dancing at the theatre (something I've been longing to see) but that still leaves a nice amount to play with.  Hubby has recently upgraded his laptop however and mine has not died yet so I'm thinking the new laptop can wait and hopefully prices will continue to fall over the next few months as they tend to do with technology, in which case I may buy one for the exam marking in June.
I am still in search of another lodger, but supply appears to have dried up, that and I think I'm being quite fussy, one because I have to live with the person and two because we are not desperate for the money, to be honest the extra money would either be saved for a rainy day or spent on treats so I'd rather wait for the right person.
There are other downsides to lodgers besides living with a practical stranger.  Having just read the electricity meter, prompted by one of those little cards through the door, it would appear that our electricity usage is considerably increased.  Not suprising I suppose when at the point of having two lodgers that meant 3 televisions, 4 laptops, a minimum of 4 showers a day, 2 extra lightbulbs left on, not to mention the lights accidentally left on in the kitchen, hallway etc. over night because they are not paying the bills so are not a conscientious about energy saving as a billpayer is.  Happily I get to keep control of the thermostat (I have lots of warm socks and jumpers) and the weather has assisted in reducing the gas bill a little compared to last winter.
My employer has thrown a complication into my endeavours however by deciding that maybe I should have been made redundant back in September! Funny that considering I had a fulltime permenant contract and they couldn't provide fulltime hours! Trust me I did argue for several months before taking the cut to part time and many people would question why I didn't continue to fight, the answer to that is that for a few hundred quid (I had only worked there 3 years and it was statutory redudancy pay, about £400 for each year) it wasn't worth the stress and misery caused by the uncertainty, and the threat of making working life difficult.  Now however after so many grievance procedures against them (I was not one of them) they have been forced to investigate their actions, I'll let you know how that one progresses, but I do feel like its opened up a can of worms that I thought I had neatly packed away.

Puppy vs The Good Life

The puppy it would seem is fighting against me in my quest for the good life! He is spending money faster than I can make it.  The exam marking is still in progress in a stop start fashion, which means most of my time is spent with the laptop attached to my knees, much to the puppy's disappointment as this means he cannot sit on my lap as he prefers.  He does spread himself over so that his paws are on the laptop and his nose on the keyboard in an unsubtle way of getting my attention.  It is for this reason that I believe the morning his stitiches were due to be removed he ripped them out himself leaving the wound freshly parted and the quick trip to the vets turning into an hours session of cleaning up, injections, another bill and more to come for antibiotics and anti-inflammatories.  The new laptop I had planned is slipping away, but surely this was his cunning plan.  He may not have realised that his plan involved wearing a cone arouund his head and not being allowed off the lead for the next two weeks.  Hubby also plans to gaffa tape a sock to his back paw (the puppy's paw not the hubby's) every night to avoid any vigorous scratching.
My car (Tiglet) also seems to be joining in this war against the Good Life, having only just been returned from the garage after the Pre-Christmas accident she needed new tyres and the tyre garage helpfully informed the hubby that the car is not roadworthy due to some problems with steering components.  Surely the repair garage should have picked up on this and not let me drive the 100 mile round trip to Doncaster and back?  Don't worry I have made my self very clear to the garage and the insurance company that sent poor Tiglet there, strong words and tone were involved and I await at the very least an apology for the lack of care and attention.
It is for these reasons that, despite managing a few no-spend days, this has been a very expensive month and I have concerns that this months wage (newly reduced) will not spread over the next 29 days.
I have arrived at the point (after a couple of Tia Maria's) where I am considering what is is I wanted from 'The Good Life' I feel this needs assessment as I have after all given up a fulltime teaching career in the pursuit of said life.  My wishes at the start were as follows:
1. To travel
2. To visit nice restaurants
3. To beable to cover unexpected bills without stressing
4. To be able to treat myself now and again (posh food, nice flowers, clothes and shoes)
5. Not to work my contracted 37 hours a week and bring home the same amount of work to do or worry about in my own time.
6. To take long walks with the puppy
7. To take time to look around and take a breath (corny I know)
8. Not to be stressed and miserable

So far I think numbers 1,2,3,5,6,7 and 8 are pretty much covered, some days more easily than others, but despite the heavy load of outgoings over the past couple of weeks I am not panicking about money and wondering how I will cover the bills even though I only work two days a week.  Yes we are still budgeting and I am certainly not throwing money at luxuries, but I don't feel like I can't treat myself if I happen across the perfect pair of shoes.  Hubby is still not in fulltime employment and I have one less lodger so there is certainly room for improvement, but the quest isn't about being greedy, its not about having as much money as possible.  The intention was to find a better way of living.
I'm still holding on to the hope that I can buy the new laptop (it will be essential for the exam marking in June, mine won't last) and the puppy seems suitably upset about his situation not to continue sabotaging his treatment.
On a good note my little iwallet app is working well, over the past eight weeks it has shown me that me biggest non essential spends (vet bills count as essential) are:
1. Pertrol
2. Clothes
3. Snacks (mainly chocolate)

The petrol I know I can't do much about, we barely use the car as it is and the biggest journey is the bi-weekly trip to Doncaster.  Clothes however I have a wardrobe full of, to the point that if I buy any more I will have to start borrowing some of hubbies wardrobe space.  I know I don't need anymore clothes, but I love buying them! So my decision is not to buy anymore until I have to throw an item out because it doesn't fit, can't be altered or is worn out (unless of course there is a special event the calls for something particular)
Next item on the list, Chocolate. I'm a chocoholic, but the pennies spent at the local shop and the work refectory are not helping my waistline or wallet so second decision is to cut back (there is no way I can deny myself completely)
So I would advise the use of the iwallet, its nice to see the non spend days and the guilt works its magic when I see how much I have spent on things I didn't really need.
The newly reduced wage is holding up okay so far, I have money left after the essential bills have gone out, not enough for anything spectacular, but I am happy I can pay for Salsa classes once a week for the rest of the month, buy a special lunch after our spa day next week (£10 for 2 from lastminute.com) hopefully find a table at the auction we're going to on Saturday morning and still have enough for a few bars of chocolate :-)
So situation to date:
Employment: Parttime 0.33 of a fulltime contract (have been much better about only going in on the paid days)
Lodgers: 1 (finding the new lodger is proving difficult)
Eating out: 0 (lack of a car for part of the month and exam marking have scuppered my availablility)
Hubby: 1 (7months of married bliss minus one argument)
Dog: 1 (vets bill approximately £500)
Stepson: 1
No Spend Days: 8/14 (helped by the exam markign which has kept me tied to the house)

The Vets

Th puppy went to the vets on Wednesday, I nearly phoned up and cancelled several times.  He's been to the vets before and has no problem with it, actually he seems to enjoy the peculiar smell and the vet manhandling him.  A couple of the visits have even been emergency dashes like when he collapsed one summer after playing football or when he jammed a stick into the back of his throat leaving a little hole, and yes I admit I cried both times, but he was in and out, medicine perscribed and I took him home and molly coddled him even more than usual.  But on Wednesday I had to leave him at the vets. I wasn't allowed to stay and hold on to him while the vet did his work, this time the puppy needed anesthetic and had to stay all day with the threat of an overnight stay as well! So I walked him through the park to the vets, he was clearly puzzled by the change in direction, but happy enough when we got there, he didn't even notice I was leaving him so I only managed a rushed kiss on his little head before he was led away.  The walk home made it clear there was something missing and set the mood for the rest of the day, everywhere I went in the house there were little puppy reminders, his frisbee in the kitchen, his water bowl next to the cooker, his flying duck toy abandoned next to the dining table.  I had exam marking to do so would be in the house all day, usually the puppy does a very good job of keeping me company, not this time. I made toast and saved the corner for him only to have to eat it myself rather than throw it away.  The postman rang the doorbell and I wondered why he hadn't barked and why he wasn't under my feet as I jumped up from the sofa.  I know many of you will not understand my difficulty with relinquishing my puppy's welfare to an extremely well qualified individual, but the puppy is my baby and has been for the past 8 and a bit years, he goes everywhere with me, he's seen the boyfriends come and go and got me through the lonely bits, he's helped identify the bad ones and given the good ones a thorough going over before deciding that we can trust them.  He is my family as my blood relatives are not and without him I am more than a little lost.
The good news is the puppy was home by 4pm, just as I was going to work so again only a brief kiss on his head and the hubby had the luxury of driving him home and spoiling him while I went to work and wished the time away so I could run home and check his wound.
The results took a little longer, although much quicker than expected which in itself was a concern.  All clear for the puppy, just a cyst because he is 'an older dog' the vet stated.  No he's not! He's in the prime of his life!  Relief has not stopped me molly coddling him all week though and I have renewed appreciation for the wonder that is my furry baby although according to the hubby that appreciation is always abundantly clear (think he's a little jealous)
The tickets are booked! I am going to meet the in-laws.  Yes I have been married for a little over 6 months, no I have not met hubby's parents, to be honest he hasn't really met mine except for an accidental meeting with my father with not many words exchanged.
The in-laws however live in France and not the easy to reach part at the top, the posh Southern part which costs and arm and a leg to travel too.  Easyjet have made the trip possible by having slightly more reasonable prices and I'm working with the strategy that hubby, the boy and myself can fit everything in one 20kg bag and a couple of hand luggage bags so the additional fees weren't too bad either.  Although £9 admin charge and another £6 for paying on my credit card did make me think British Airways might not have been that far behind on price by the time I was finished.  Having had bad experiences with booking online before, I checked and rechecked the details and got hubby to check too before committing my credit card details.  All done, booked, we are going. Then it dawns on me, the names came up on the booking making us look like a proper little family, all with the same last name, shame my passport doesn't agree! The £70 quid it costs for a new one meant that it was the one thing I didn't change after the wedding, the visit to France just got a bit more expensive and I hope it comes on time, I've got 10 weeks it'll be fine right?

My part time life has been filled again, this time with exam marking, something I do every year for extra pennies and usually have to fit around a full time job, filling every evening and weekend to the brim with time spent attached to the laptop.  So this year it should be easier to fit in? Not really! I still spent all weekend at it and each evening after work so far plus a full day today, admittedly I had yesterday off to go to the dentist, visit Nan and eat free food (courtesy of retaileyes.co.uk) but surely I'm allowed one days rest?
The marking has not been a simple process either.  For the past three years I have marked exams so I have the system pretty clear, this year however because of demands by the Government the examining bodies are being harsher with the marking (apparently too many students are getting high grades) this would be fine if there was some sort of systematic consistency to it, but it would appear there is not and so the marking has become an even more laborious task.  It will however pay for the huge vet bill and a the flights to France and a new laptop (mine is slow, missing keys and has a broken hinge)

One Month On - The Story So Far

Having returned to work very briefly last Friday for the matter of a day I appraoched the weekend with a huge grin on my face.  That one day, hectic as it was, did not disturb the relaxed feeling that has developed over the Christmas period.  I have lazed for long hours in bed, happily snuggling with hubby without the guilt of knowing I should be doing something and without the constant nagging of work worries that usually follow me home even during the holidays especially with exams looming in mid January. If it wasn't for the puppy I think I may have lost several days under my two duvets (energy saving measures), but his gentle squeaks from downstairs soon develop into urgent barks once it approaches lunchtime and he feels too much is being asked of him to cross his legs any longer.
Even though 7.15am has become a stranger to me over the last three weeks it didn't greet me with the same sick feeling that it did when I was the classic fulltime worker.  Even Monday morning cannot dampen my spirits and I can genuinely say I have enjoyed the back to back revisions lessons that are necessary to ensure good grades for the little darlings, even though it seems to be me doing the work and them sitting listening as if they have never heard of differentiation, the monetary policy committee or sampling before!
It has been a little bit of a wrench leaving hubby behind for a day at a time, we have become very attached to each other in our non-working bubble.  Hubby I should explain left fulltime employment shortly before myself and has been waiting for his next job to start later this month with only a couple of temporary assignments inbetween. 
My work colleagues seem more pleased to see me than is usual and enjoy questioning how I am coping and if everything is okay, while marvelling at how lovely it must be not to have to come in everyday and talking about all the things I must be able to do now.  To be honest I haven't managed to fit that much in so far other than continuing with the running, New Years Day race achieved, after an entirely sober New Year's Eve with hubby and friends.
January it would appear is training month for me, with a three day stay in Oxfordshire for a potential new position and several days put aside throughout the rest of the month for exam board training, the good life may have to wait.
In the meantime I am attempting to have 'no spend' weeks (so far I've managed a couple of 'no spend' days) my spangly new phone has an iwallet which lets me track anything I spend on a daily basis, not that the idea of the good life is not to spend anything, but rather to spend less on the unimportant things and have more left over for holidays and adventures.  I'm feeling quite good about it so far, but with Christmas still jingling in my ears it is no surprise that I haven't felt the need to restock the cupboards or treat myself to a new wardrobe item.
My plans to study for a masters degree as part of my 'good life' are being scuppered by the inability of universities to offer the courses they are advertising.  They do seem very happy to let me go through the laborious application process and to subsequently offer me an alternative course, one that would involve me driving to Edinburgh twice a week (I live in Grimsby!) and the other would have meant attending fulltime in Derby which was offered while I was still working fulltime in Grimsby.  I wouldn't mind so much if I hadn't filled in all of my personal details and written a statement explaining my current situation in details, does anyone read these things or is it just to weed out the illiterate applicants?

Employment: Parttime 0.33 of a fulltime contract to be precise,one and a half days a week although its been more like two and a half so far (note to self 'only do the hours you are paid for!')
Lodgers: 2 (Lodger No.1 moves out next week, replacement not yet found.)
Eating out: Once a week more or less for free :-)
Hubby: 1 (6months of married bliss minus one argument)
Dog: 1 (quote from the vets to clean his teeth £200!!!!)
Stepson: 1 (cleans his own teeth)
No Spend Days: 5/14

Christmas

Thursday was the first day I realised that I am now a part time worker.  A pleasant feeling you would think? Not for me. Boredom set in almost immediately! I should probably explain that I am not a relaxed, chilled out kind of person (despite my husbands best efforts to encourage these traits in me)
For this reason I have filled my spare hours since going part time with numerous activities from preparing for the 10k a friend talked me into running on New Year's Day to redecorating the house that I am unsuccessfully trying to find tenants for back in my home town.  My Nan having recently been put in a home has also been graced with a few visits from her newly available Granddaughter (definitely a perk of part time work)
So on Thursday my beloved puppy (yes he's eight but still a puppy to me) got an extra walk, having been for a run the past two days I couldn't raise the motivation to it a third day in a row, the large basket of ironing is ironed and put away, all email accounts (I have several) are checked and dealt with appropriately.  My mystery shopping site has been checked at least a dozen times for new assignments to keep me busy and fed.  I would also have cooked and cleaned if my lovely hubby hadn't beaten me to it.
Even though I knew Friday would be a busy day with work and collection of the boy (my stepson) from a town 60 miles away this did not enable me to enjoy the quiet of Thursday's sparse itinerary.   This is something I am going to have to work on if I am to enjoy my 'good life' should I find it.
Friday? Much busier! The plan to swap cars with a friend to accommodate the boys visit (my car is a two seat convertible) was scuppered by some silly bint driving into the back of me! Straight road, on coming traffic so we were waiting to turn, had our lights on and indicator and yet she doesn't apply the breaks until she's close enough for me to hear her tyres scrape along the tarmac and slam solidly into the back of my poor little Tiglet (She's a Tigra) We were unceremoniously shunted about two metres past our turning.  So exchange of details and we're on our way again, me shaking like a leaf, hubby practical as ever states I'm in shock and need chocolate, who am I to disagree?
We did swap the car in the end, but only until the courtesy car came through from the insurance which was not a simple task, I must have spent hours on hold over the next few days, the accident was clearly not my fault so why am I the one dealing with all the crap?  Obviously being Christmas time didn't help, garages didn't seem keen to collect Tiglet and hire car companies not too keen to drop an alternative car off, isn't the country meant to be at risk of dropping back into recession? Shouldn't these people be scrabbling for the trade?
Anyway the boy is safely retrieved from his mothers and is ours for the week. 
My mystery shopping provided free cookies on Saturday much to the delight of the boy and I was quite pleased with being paid £4 to eat said free cookies!  Try http://www.retaileyes.co.uk/ if the joys of being a mystery shopper are of interest.
The boy is relatively easy to amuse, very much like his father in terms of liking being outdoors and doing anything practical.  He also loves the puppy, and the puppy loves him so they entertain each other quite well.
I have to say though that having a child around, even a really well behaved child like the boy, is knackering! I don't understand why, if he was naughty or troublesome then I'd expect to feel drained by the end of the week, but he genuinely is a lovely boy, he wasn't at all fazed by our trip to Meadowhall where he met my friends, two boys (yes they're in their 20's but trust me still boys) and my best friend who's an old lady like me.  He didn't seem remotely embarrassed when his father (the hubby) was escorted from a sports shop because he asked for a discount and the girl behind the counter clearly had serious PMT as well as being on a power trip.  We all politely left while she screamed and shouted about getting security and having hubby removed from Meadowhall entirely! I swear he is not a confrontational person, he teaches conflict management and the rest of our group and the multitude of staff she had managed to call up on her radio, were left completely bewildered as to what look he could possibly have given this girl to set her off.  He is well spoken, on the posh side if anything and doesn't tend to swear, especially if the boy is around.  I couldn't help asking her at the exit if she didn't think she was over reacting a little bit, apparently not.
Needlessly to say we were not removed from Meadowhall, four days before Christmas, actually all the screaming and shouting did had not manage to rouse any security whatsoever, it made us all wonder whether we should have robbed the place (if only we weren't the good people we are) instead hubby has written a letter of complaint, response still to be received.
After the dramatics of that day and very little money spent (impressive, think the drama got to me!) I thought a nice relaxing day out somewhere with a little more festive spirit than Meadowhall seems to have this year. So we trundled off to Burton Agnes in our hire car (its square and ugly, but its got five seats) they had decorated the place fantastically and hidden little snowmen in every room which the boy took great delight in searching out for his chocolaty reward. The place is fantastic and I've picked the perfect decoration for my hall ceiling.
The woodland walk was equally as entertaining for the boy as he searched out various animal sculptures.  Now I'm not going to say it was a cheap outing, £20 quid for the three of us, although it would only have been £21 if we had another child (not a good enough reason to have one)  but in my search for the good life it was an entertaining day where we all interacted, got some fresh air and exercise and even a little bit of culture and to be honest when I know the money goes towards the upkeep of such a fantastic building I don't feel like I'm being ripped off.  And the boys lunch box from the Cafe only cost £3.50 and would have fed all three of us, well hubby ate half as well as his own lunch.
The boy was delivered home after I hope a fun filled week including a special Christmas day just for him on the Wednesday and a little bit more decorating at my tenant less house on the way.
We dropped in on my Nan on the way home and took her an orchid and some more shortbread, she's fading away and shortbread and chocolate seem to be the only things she's tempted by.  The Orchid I hope survives until my next visit, she loves plants, but my parents and the home seem to discourage independence and doing anything for yourself so although in the past I know that little Orchid would have been treated with tender loving care, now I'm not so sure.
After a busy week it was nice to have the house to ourselves, both lodgers having gone home for Christmas, and just slob out on the sofa, cook gorgeous food for the two of us and open our pressies.  There was a budget which I pretty much stuck to (Santa had to stump up for a couple of things), but I suspect my gorgeous new handbag sent hubby over the limit. 

The peace was shattered briefly when walking the puppy in the local woods he was attacked by someone else's dog.  My dog is very submissive, did nothing to provoke the attack (for once he wasn't even trying to sniff the other dogs bum) but for some reason the other dogs owner decided to start waving a crutch (clearly not being used for its intended purpose) in my husbands face while verbally abusing us.  Okay so I admit I threw a few choice words in his direction too after he had hit his dog hard enough for it to release its grasp of the puppy's neck.  Episode over you would think, after all its still theoretically Christmas time, there are families and children in the vicinity, but no he stomps off in the opposite direction still shouting and then decides to charge back after us still waving that damn crutch about.  A few more people got involved saying they'd call the police (I'm not sure who they thought was at fault) and a nice man and his son basically telling the guy to leave us alone.  We kept walking, but it put us both on edge, and caused a sleepless night thinking about what on earth is wrong with people and what have me and hubby done to provoke such aggressive responses.  I'm beginning to think hubby is giving off some kind of pheromone that provokes female sales assistants and random dog owners to attack.



For that reason we took to the hills today (Derbyshire Dales to be exact) in the hope that we'd be pretty much on our own and couldn't provoke any kind of attack.  Although not on our own everyone seemed to be friendly and calm and other than the fuel costs the expedition did not hinder my money saving mission in that it didn't cost a penny but kept us entertained all day.

So after one and a half Christmasses, I haven't used my credit card, I did dip into my overdraft temporarily and we have enough food in thr house to feed us well into the New Year.

Its a bit windy on that there hill!






Burton Agnes, Driffield








The Long Gallery at Burton Agnes - Gorgeous!

The puppy loved the hills

Thor's Cave, Derbyshire Dales