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Original poster

The friendly frugaleers natter on through November...

999 replies

blueteapot · 05/11/2015 22:07

Hope you dont mind me starting a shiny new thread Brew

OP posts:
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Whatabout · 21/11/2015 19:22

NSD here. DH went off to London after ds1 had his swimming lesson and by God ds1 has pushed me all afternoon. That and a screaming baby has made me very stressed. I'm hoping DH does the decent thing and gets an early train home in the morning. Ds1 has asked constantly where daddy is, he's been away for three weeks of the last five and we just got back off holiday, he's only 2 so is desperately confused by it all and acting out. I put him to bed early as I just couldn't cope any longer. Dreading now much DH will have spent on zilch at the stag do. It's a very, very rare thing so I'm trying to be ok about it, but it hurts my frugal ways. He's also been complaining hugely about the temperature of the house. Really pissing me off.

needastrongone · 21/11/2015 19:24

Good evening.

Ah creme, that's a shame. I have just found a gum shield in it's box, never opened. I think it's been a spare, as DS loses his all the time. I would gladly have posted, looks like a child size.

Ipsos I wouldn't be accepting the dishwasher response from Bosch either. They should at least be offering an alternative model rather than a long delay. I would, in your shoes, be considering whether I would be able to live with a below par plaster job long term when considering whether to continue with this guy. I personally couldn't, you might.

pointless Hoping that your cat is ok x

Happy birthday girlie Enjoy Cake

Glad you had a nice holiday what

Last night was way spendier than I wanted considering we were essentially having drinks in a local pub. DH was unusually drinking a lot and we were in quite a large round. Oops.

Today, £80 in diesel for the horse box and DH has my card to take more cash out, the end of the month 'aint going well...

Eggs and chips for tea Smile

AdoraBell · 21/11/2015 19:27

Hope you've had a great birthday Girlie Wine and Cake

NSD today but it would appear that DD2 left her brand new coat somewhere while travelling Angry there was nothing left in the taxi form the airport, nor on our seats on the plane, but she did go to the bathroom between passports and baggage claim. I don't remember if she had it with her or not.

Naturally it's my fault she has nothing warm, that she is willing to wear, and it's actually cold nowHmm

CremeEggThief · 21/11/2015 19:48

Oh thanks for the offer anyway, Need.

Babs, I know. I am actually tempted to learn how to drive now; well, I would be, if I could afford it! It must cost less in petrol per week than we spend on travel.

Adora, I am Angry on your behalf. I hate, hate, hate it when DS loses stuff. Grr!

Whatabout · 21/11/2015 20:16

Can't remember who mentioned the Eco mood on their television, but thanks, I've just found ours has one. I've put it on high energy saving and it seems fine so far. I might turn it lower for a movie, but for watching while doing something else it's fine.

Luxyelectro · 21/11/2015 20:21

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ipsos · 21/11/2015 20:48

Thanks Fluffy. Fortunately this warranty was the one that came free with the machine, so I haven't had to pay anything extra.

Sorry to hear about the struggles What. I can totally remember that phase with ds and I know how hard you must be working there. Can't begin to imagine how a small baby fits into that workload.

need You've read my mind. I was coming on here to ask advice about how to tell the guy that I'm not happy with his work and that I want to give the work to someone else. He's quite poor I think and quite large and got a bit aggressive with me about money the other day. It makes me nervous about how he will react. He will have to come back to get his tools. Hum. dh is even more of a soft touch than I am so I'll have to do it myself.

ipsos · 21/11/2015 21:02

Argh. I just sent him a long text message explaining, so that he can rearrange his week with as much notice as possible. Oh well. I'll see what happens. That'll be me phoning round plasterers and building companies again tomorrow.

Luxyelectro · 21/11/2015 21:05

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ipsos · 21/11/2015 21:24

Thanks electro. A friend of mine did say that she had to have her kitchen ceiling done twice. Gosh, what a thought.

Luxyelectro · 21/11/2015 21:31

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ipsos · 21/11/2015 21:35

LOL! electro that's very good thinking. We don't any new build sites near us, but it's a thought. I've got two sets of people recommended. One set said they could do it before Christmas and the other person said he might do it on a weekend for me, so I will ring them both tomorrow and ask when they are free. Realistically it means we will probably have the skim done before Christmas but not have the woodwork done or the painting done until January, but tbh, I don't think I mind that much. The house looks okay, and we won't have visitors at Christmas so no one will notice. Better to have it done right, I think.

Luxyelectro · 21/11/2015 21:39

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northender · 21/11/2015 21:39

Well I've been awol for a few days so am way behind with the thread.
I've got 2 slow cookers as well (different sizes) and use both of them quite a bit, especially at this time of year.
Interesting about the tumble dryers fluffy, ours is a virtual antique so next year would be a good time to invest in a new one.
We had a lovely time in York last weekend, spent more than I would have liked but it was a great time & it was my birthday so had some lovely gifts. Dh's sis is pregnant (28 weeks) after years of ivf, miscarriages etc so it was lovely to spend some time with them, they are so excited & bought the first baby clothes. Both DS and dd got to feel the kicking which was really exciting for them.

Generally a good week this week but ruined at the end by £380 spent on a new cam belt for the car. That is offset by the fact that because work is so busy and we're short staffed, additional hours for existing staff has been sanctioned. I'll have 15 hours or so which I should be paid on Christmas Eve. Yay!

Dh is away this weekend and ds is at a friend's house tonight so dd and I have had a girls night in with face masks, bath bombs, etc and now PJs, fluffy dressing gowns & casualty.........no spend!

ipsos · 21/11/2015 21:46

north that's a lovely sounding evening you're having. :-) Great to hear that your sil has a baby on the way too. I have a friend just embarking on ivf. Sounds a bit hard work.

Collieputthekettleon · 21/11/2015 22:18

Glad you found your eco setting what I think it's made a good difference to us. We barely notice that the screen is a tad darker.

creme our buses are pricey too. £3 return for 1 mile. And an £8 single to my mums who lives just 7 miles away :( it really sucks and makes me feel so isolated sometimes. Pah.

Good news here. DH has received a payrise equivalent to about £100 per month. Wowzers! I can now afford the bus Wink

northender · 21/11/2015 22:25

collie that's great news about dh's pay rise.
ipsos it's been a lovely evening with dd, good to spend time with just her. Haven't fully caught up with the thread but sounds like you've been having plasterer problems? Hope you get it sorted soon.

babsmam · 22/11/2015 07:05

Ipsos hide it with tinsel while you wait.
I do think the car can work out cheaper than the bus which is a shame for those without. £3 odd for a trip to town and back approx a mile.
Collie good news on the pay rise

SpottyTeacakes · 22/11/2015 07:14

Had so much fun yesterday despite having a temperature. Still got one now Sad

Dh needs to go to tesco today to get all the bits I forgot going to go over budget this week for food.

Pointlessfan · 22/11/2015 07:18

Ooh I wonder if our tv has an eco setting? DD is engrossed in Postman Pat but will have a look later.
She's poorly again, has a horrible cough. Might be a quiet day in today!

Whatabout · 22/11/2015 07:24

Both nine have coughs today Collie, I think calpol will be dispatched to DS1 as his behaviour was so bad yesterday I'm hoping its to do with the teeth he is cutting and feeling a bit poorly.

Spotty so glad you had fun! Was it worth the money? Feel better!

DS1 is always asking to go on a bus trip, but it's so much cheaper to drive where we are going!

Whatabout · 22/11/2015 07:25

That should say pointless not collie, it was the Eco to setting in my head!

Pointlessfan · 22/11/2015 07:38

I think DD is cutting a tooth too, she was very listless yesterday, awake at 3am and has a sore bottom - all the clues are there. With the cough as well she's just miserable, poor thing.
Hope yours are better soon what.

SpottyTeacakes · 22/11/2015 07:53

Mine have coughs too. Sending antibodies to all the poorly people!

It was really fun and I think it was worth it. Dh was shocked when I told him the price as it was a lot but they had such fun!

They made two toys in the elf workshop, decorated gingerbread with mother Christmas who also read them a story, then we went into the cafe where kids hot meal was £5 and proper adult meal £10 so not expensive. We met huskies, ice skated ( not me!!), they had hot chocolate stands, sweet shop and a shop, then we queued to Father Christmas which was a bit of a wait and cold but you walk through the enchanted forest, past the reindeer and fc's sleigh. An elf then leads your family to fc and he's really good we were in there for a good ten minutes, he was really friendly and they each got a toy husky. We went to pay for our photo the queue was so long and by now we were all tired and they gave us the photos free to apologise plus the dc then also got baby husky soft toys!

ipsos · 22/11/2015 07:58

Great news about the pay rise Collie. I didn't realise your Mum lived so close. That's a really major reason to stay where you are.

Good idea Babs. We could replace all the woodwork with tinsel. :-)

Sorry to hear about all these coughs. I've got a cough too, but it is just a cough with nothing else so far, which is a good thing.