Sunday, 20 July 2014

Hand book

There was no hand book with my new car, I've looked on ebay but no joy, so I've emailed Nissan directly, this is what I wrote, I hope they can help.

I recently bought a 2nd hand 09 Nissan Note Tekna, I am absolutely delighted with the car, but there is one small problem.
The car did not come with a hand book & whilst I am gradually working out what all the buttons & switches do, my beloved husband is having problems. He does not drive as he had an industrial accident many years ago & is now partially sighted, but he is a very enthusiastic co -pilot when I drive & he is driving me mad. He is constantly asking me 'What does this do?' & 'What happens when I press this?'. It's like driving with a disruptive toddler in the car, I have driven through France & Spain with 4 children & believe me, that was easier. I have come to terms with never listening to a track on the radio all the way through as he likes to change channels, I can also drive without using the rear view mirror as he is fiddling with the interior lights. But although I love all  bells & whistles on the Tekna almost as much as I love my husband, his constant fiddling & questions are a problem. Please can you help? It would be a shame if such an otherwise kind & loving husband should die from being pushed out of the car whilst travelling at speed. 

Saturday, 19 July 2014

Back on the frugal bandwagon











Not that we really fell off it.
I've not bought any veg for ages, thanks to my L&M's hard work we have potatoes, cabbage, carrots & runner beans to go with hot meals. We also have lettuce, cucumbers, tomatoes, chilies, beetroot & peppers for salads. We are sharing our harvest with my DD's so their food bills are also reduced.
I'm having stewed rhubarb & HM yogurt for breakfast every morning. This is saving us money on our food bills. 
Yesterday evening we had friends over, we sat in the garden & had a frugal feast, I bought 4 different cheeses, also hummus & some french sticks, all reduced. These were served with HG salad & the french sticks were turned into garlic bread using HG garlic. I also stretched half a bottle of white wine by spending 15p on a bottle of lemonade & serving spritzers.
If my L&M wants a roast dinner tomorrow, I have some cooked sliced pork & stuffing balls in the freezer. If he wants salad there is cheese left from y'day & some cooked sliced ham in the freezer, any cheese left will be grated & frozen.
We've taken out a short term low interest loan to buy a newer car, There is money due in 8 to 12 weeks which will pay this loan off, any extra will be paid off the mortgage. We could have waited until we received the money before buying the car, but by purchasing it now it means we are better placed to assist MIL if needed. This has made DD's life has been made much easier as she now has my old car. We feel we made the best decision for us at the time.
My DD's visited last Wednesday & we spent some time discussing holiday arrangements, my daughters do the same as I did when they were little. One paid activity per week, the rest free.
The free days out include, visiting Nana to cook, sew, play board games or play with Giant connect 4 or Jenga, trips to the park with a picnic, feeding the ducks, visiting the library, there are also various free activities on in the area listed on getreading that DD's will take advantage of.
Paid activities include bouncy castle £1.60 per child for 2 hours, face painting £1.60 per child for 2 hours. I've treated both DD's to a family ticket to Bekonscot. I try to pay for one day out each year, previously we've gone to Beale Park & Jakes Playworld.
That way the children have lots of good memories without spending too much money.


Tuesday, 15 July 2014

Nearly there

It's nearly the end of term & everything is reaching fever pitch, a lot needs doing for work & years of experience tells me that some staff will drop shedloads of work on my desk at lunchtime on the last day of term. I have 5 days of holiday work so I will have time to get stuff done then. Next year I'm not doing holiday work, it means another drop in pay, but I'm not that bothered, we'll manage.
I'm getting on well with my hearing aids & my new car, the car has a much better driving position for me & is more comfortable for me.
My L&M has been allowed to order new uniform, not only is it better quality than the previous one he has been allowed to order 5 polo shirts, at the moment he only has 3, so I can wash them all at the weekend instead of washing twice a week.
DD2 is feeling much better now she has my old car, she can get out & about with less effort, she is also able to do more work now she is mobile again.

Friday, 11 July 2014

Drowning not waving

What a week & it's not over yet.
My L&M has worked stupid amounts of overtime this week & is working the weekend too, even though it's his weekend off. The new team member had their start date delayed as the correct paperwork wasn't done, eventually, when a member of the management realised they would have stay late to lock the site, they were suddenly able to complete the paperwork to enable him to start.
I've collected my new car & I'm gradually getting to grips with all the bells & whistles. My DD2 now has my car so her life is being made easier too.
DD1 visited with the twins, they are 9 weeks old now. I held them, one at a time in front of the fish tank, little Ted was very interested and moved his head to try & watch the fish. Marla, on the other hand had a brief look & promptly fell asleep,
I've also had my hearing aids fitted, I don't notice I'm wearing them apart from the background noise being a bit loud.
Last night I worked until 10pm as part of my contracted 'holiday hours'.
Tonight, it's DGD to gym club, I'm not sure if she's staying tonight of if we are going out, my preference would be for an early night, but I'll see how my L&M feels.

Monday, 7 July 2014

Using it up night.

I have some leftover cooked new potatoes, some leftover veg & 2 hard boiled eggs. I have onions & tomatoes in the garden, cheese & more eggs in the fridge & herbs & spices in the cupboard.
I shall use the veg, half the potatoes, some onion & tomato & make a fritata. The other potato I shall mix with chopped hard boiled egg, some onion & mayonnaise. This will last me for a few days for lunch & dinner.

Sunday, 6 July 2014

Done it

We have bought a new to us car, it's a Nissan Note, there were 2 for sale at the same place.
The showroom has a good local reputation but even so I got my son to look at both cars before I bought one.
We have taken out a bank loan to tide us over until my money comes through in September.
We did this for a few reasons, our bank had a low interest loan on offer, with MIL being ill, we never know when we might have to rush off, also DD2's car has been off the road for some time now and her SPD is getting worse, she borrows my car when I can spare it, but it isn't ideal. If she had a car of her own she could take on more babysitting work & more work with her other job and therefore save for another car quicker.
By buying a new car now I have been able to sell DD2 my car for £1, it has a years MOT & 6 months tax, it needs a repair that will cost £75 that I have booked to be done next week. I'm collecting my new car on Wednesday.

Saturday, 5 July 2014

True Love

My darling L&M is very intuitive, he always knows when I want sex. Is it the look in my eye? Is it the way I walk? Or is it because I walk into the room wearing black high heels, black hold ups & feck all else!!

Spending spree

There was a car boot sale in the pub car park this morning and I went along. I bought a cardigan from M&S, it feels really warm and as I...