Friday Five!

Every week is the longest short week for me

1. Our oven died. Figuring out which appliance tripped the breaker was fun but I was glad it was just the oven and not the fridge.

2. Due to 1 we ordered an air fryer from Argos. Said it'd be ready on Saturday, 6 days from order - not great but not the end of the world. Get a notice last night at midnight the order was cancelled because we missed the pickup window. Their cs said it's out of stock, but it's still available to order on their website. Never ordering from Argos again. 

3. So now we are waiting for it direct from ninja (went for the older generation grill/dehydrator/air fryer due to stock levels). And hoping the oven is repaired soon.

4. We were selected to do a transport survey by the government. Unsure how they pick but we get to fill out a journal for a week. It will be a very boring journal as we barely leave the house!

5. My wool and resist material arrived so getting going on learning wet felting hats this weekend. My favourite felt hat artist started a patreon for £3/mo to teach her techniques, which is exciting. I just wish wool people didn't use fragrance around the places they dye and store the fibre. It's so incredibly stinky, really hoping the felting soap washes it off. 

Sent from my Pixel 6a using Tapatalk

Bummer about the oven!  On the good side, a small table-top oven is a lot cheaper to run.  Hope your substitute arrives quickly! (We had Argos do that a couple of times to us while we were there - which is why we stopped shopping with them.)

Agree on the stinky factor - My daughter says that in some cases it might be the dyes used on the wool. "Especially the chemical dyes - they just stink!"  She says that eventually it rinses out, and that vinegar in the rinse water helps a little bit.

AUK, the Reading Costco has the all singing all dancing Ninja Foodies in stock if that helps.

AUK, the Reading Costco has the all singing all dancing Ninja Foodies in stock if that helps.

We don't have a membership, but the slightly less bells and whistles one shipped today so *phew*. Sad to not get the temperature probe that lets you grill unattended but better than going without an oven any longer.

Sent from my Pixel 6a using Tapatalk

We don't have a membership, but the slightly less bells and whistles one shipped today so *phew*. Sad to not get the temperature probe that lets you grill unattended but better than going without an oven any longer.

Sent from my Pixel 6a using Tapatalk

   If you ever want to borrow my card, just let me know.  That goes for anyone, I'll mail it to you.

Happy Friday!!

1.) Ahhh, been a week. It's Friday though......

2.) Wind band rehearsal this weekend 

3.) Need to get some beers packaged up and shipped off for competition

4.) Snowy weekend ahead

5.) Cleaning and organising , lots and lots 

Friday!

1.) Ahhh, Friday again!  Been quieter this week, thanks to Chinese New Year.   

2.) Also had a few things cancelled because of snowy weather 

3.) Making fish & chips tonight 

4.) Bottles shipped away for homebrew competition yesterday. Hopefully they make it one piece 

5.) Dreaming of a holiday, somewhere warm and sunny. Hrmm.   

Friyay!!

1.  Will have lots to update on my health but will do that on my thread.  I have been CLEARED TO FLY so long as I feel fit and well. Let the holiday bookings commence!

2.  Took my daughter out for a date last night. We ate in one of those snow globe things and had teddy bear drinks. I’ll post a photo. She was like the cat who got the cream. I asked if she’d go on another day with me and she said “tomorrow?”  She then suggested every Thursday. I have the best girl!!  I look forward to taking my son out after I’m on the other side of chemo but don’t think he’ll be quite as into it as his big sister.

3.  We chased our tails all week after finding what we believed would be the perfect car for us. However after test driving, my husbands back really hurt.  We went back yesterday and he literally sat in it for an hour but we decided it was a no go. It was a Land River Discovery and while the seats are much larger than our current cars, the seat shape was pushing his shoulders forward (he’s much taller than average). We were bummed that it wasn’t comfortable for him but I’m glad he spoke up and we didn’t buy a car that hurt him.

4.  My parents left Saturday and it’s been weird being just the four of us in the house. My mom has been a mess. She just LOVED LOVED LOVED being with us for 4 months and REALLY getting to know her grandkids.  She desperately misses them. I’ve always said that people who want kids should have family support if it exists.  I so wish that my parents were closer or that we were near them. Sadly with my diagnosis, I feel more “stuck” here but my parents have said they are going to visit much more frequently.

5.  House stuff we have a “housekeeper” starting in 2 weeks. Slightly more offering than a cleaner. Think with everything that’s going on we need someone with a bit bandwidth (they will do laundry, ironing, tidying, organising, etc). We will start just with cleaning but great to have those additional services available as needed.

Yay for cleared to fly! Book all the trips! 

We had a Land Rover Discovery Sport and it was a money pit and a half. We were glad to see the back of it, truth be told! 

We need to go car shopping once my other half has his full license to find a small SUV with no lip on the boot so I can get a ramp for my wheelchair. There are a lot of options with bigger seats now, definitely keep looking. I have a 6'5" friend with a mini and I have no idea how he manages.

1. Discovered it's £45 to have the health exemption for Life in the UK completed by my GP. It's not an issue for us, but for anyone scraping by to pay the visa fees it could be. Rather unfair to charge so much for government forms.

2. Partners aunt owns a ground floor flat they haven't lived in for 30 years (they moved overseas but held onto it) so we are going to see if it'd be safe for me in order to save up a proper downpayment for a house. It's close to his parents and cousin, I'd be able to take my wheelchair to the seaside any time I wanted and that would do amazing things for my mental health, and it's close to a few people I knew before moving, so I truly hope it is.

3. I accidentally ended up with a severe B12 deficiency. Of course the terrible NHS doctors keep saying "your blood work is perfect!" but no American doctor would agree with that (I showed a doctor friend and asked their opinion). I started a liquid supplement w/ both active forms & folate and after a few weeks it's making a difference. In the weeks before that blood work I had a lot of scary moments where I couldn't find words for everyday objects, the most severe aphasia I've ever had. Terrifying. How much harm and disability does the NHS cause the population here? It's an invaluable resource, but there's also a very dark side when doctors stop using anything except numbers on a paper without ever considering the clinical presentation of the person in front of them. Things like methylfolate & Methylcobalamin/Adenosylcobalamin are cheap and fairly low risk/high reward if your body is in need of them.


4. Thanks to 3 I finally had the energy to update my hair. When I became more sick in 2020 having fun hair colours helped me stay happier, but I haven't had the physical ability for about 8 months to bleach it/colour it. Will be finishing the colour tomorrow now that it's bleached (which looks very weird to me every time I look in the mirror). Shades of bright pink, orange and purple this time.

 5. Love the air fryer. It cooks so much faster than the oven! 

Sent from my Pixel 6a using Tapatalk

2. Partners aunt owns a ground floor flat they haven't lived in for 30 years (they moved overseas but held onto it) so we are going to see if it'd be safe for me in order to save up a proper downpayment for a house. It's close to his parents and cousin, I'd be able to take my wheelchair to the seaside any time I wanted and that would do amazing things for my mental health, and it's close to a few people I knew before moving, so I truly hope it is.

Got all my fingers and toes crossed for you on this one!! That would be amazing for you both!

Number 2 AUK!!!  Everything crossed.

Only thing I would suggest, would be having budget (even if down the road) to add acoustic boards on the ceiling (or shared walls). I know it can be a small or large expense, depending on many factors. But when I lived in a ground floor flat here, I could hear my upstairs neighbour urinate. Like he was in the room. 

If possible when you look at it, maybe someone is brave enough to knock on neighbours doors and ask them to crank up the tv and vacuum at the same time. 

Number 2 AUK!!!  Everything crossed.

Only thing I would suggest, would be having budget (even if down the road) to add acoustic boards on the ceiling (or shared walls). I know it can be a small or large expense, depending on many factors. But when I lived in a ground floor flat here, I could hear my upstairs neighbour urinate. Like he was in the room. 

If possible when you look at it, maybe someone is brave enough to knock on neighbours doors and ask them to crank up the tv and vacuum at the same time. 

Yes definitely a good plan! I don't know how well constructed it is, but I honestly would be willing to suffer and use noise cancelling everything for a year if it meant being able to have a nice house in that area later. I've been asking for 2 years to at least see it, it took until I broke down in tears multiple days in a row struggling in pain crawling up steps for him to realise that yes - we need to move. Soon. The bigger issue is volatile chemicals/air fresheners - shared entrances can be extremely toxic for me so it'll depend on the layout. We have the break clause in our lease this summer so not much longer to go.

Sent from my Pixel 6a using Tapatalk

4.) Bottles shipped away for homebrew competition yesterday. Hopefully they make it one piece 

  Did I mention that I am running a homebrew competition?  It's mostly focused on Scottish women brewers!  You'd be perfect for the stout or Porter category.  Please PM me for the shipping address for submissions.

Happy Friday!

1.) Need to find my motivation for Friday afternoon 

2.) Mega laundry pile shifting this weekend 

3.) Trombone practise required 

4.) Walks out on the agenda as well 

5.) Cleaning the store room and utility room as well, they're minging