Help calm me. House buying and selling stress

Thanks Shandy !

There you are marymary62! Didn't want to ask on here as it is stressful thinking you have to reply. Very glad the move went well and sounds as though you have settled immediately. The motorbike noise is new and will irritate, but you'll be used to it in no time, bit like us at the station with the trains. Our local bikers are out delivering Easter eggs, it's a lovely tradition. Happy Easter!

Hi everyone , just to let you know we moved ok - all exhausting ! Spent lots of time with children and grandchildren already so that’s wonderful, all my immediate neighbours have called in to say hello, bringing cards, bubbly etc and they all seem lovely . Beautiful views. I’ve already joined local choir , tai chi and folk music sessions that we can walk 5 mins too,got the train easily into town to meet my girls for Mother’s Day . We have curlews and owls in the fields and woods behind us and birds galore. . I love the house, the garden, the position and the people .BUT the Easter motorbikes I can hear down on the main road are driving me crazy this weekend and are worse than we ever heard on any of our visits (all during the winter !) . I really don’t know if I will be able to stay here forever - which I am feeling sad about. Hey ho - such is life - worse because I am on my own as DH has a ‘project’ away and the girls are working . So - ways to cope. Accept it’s a warm Easter weekend and there will be noise here, wear ear pods for music, put up a wind chime, get a waterfall: fountain thing and look at doing the house up as a project and if I’m still struggling in a year or two we will move . Made my bed lie in it etc so I’m fine and being as positive as possible given all the good things here but any bright ideas or experiences welcome ! Happy Easter everyone !

I find that adding in Lazy Garlic and Lazy Ginger to soups really helps with taste. Add interest and texture to salad with Pomegranite seeds, nuts, dried fruit, etc. 'decorate'

top with grated carrot.

Some lovely veggie quiche can be purchased.

How nice of Peaches' owners to give you that lovely little present. Must make you feel (quite properly) good about yourself. Do not get too involved in worrying about the catering for when your friend is visiting,. It is YOU she is coming to see.

Afternoon all, I've just got back from my dog walk and Peaches the dog left me a present! A card with a beautiful little hand knitted basket with knitted flowers on top! I pass her house every day and give her a biscuit, so nice of her owners to do this for me.

Love your view Franbern. My friend is coming too late for the cherry blossom trees unfortunately, there is a huge display at Alnwick Garden. Enjoy your trip on Monday.

I was interested to see your food prep as I might have to feed my friend on one of the nights and I've been tidying madly trying to make it 'visitable' here. I made the most tasteless vegetable soup with a Morrisons veg pack last night, ha ha, won't be making that again! I cooked and added some Orzo pasta, made it more palatable. Think I might get the M&S veg kievs and salad, so glad I have the air fryer.

I have mentioned previously the view from my Living Room chair, with the Cherry blossom thought I would try to send you a picture. Actually looks better in real life than this piccie.

I must admit that I only prepare food, when I am actually in the process of using it for the next meal. One of the great joys (for

me) of living by myself is that meal preparation is not time consuming or a faff.

Most days I have a salad (rather a large one), for my main meal at around 5.00 ish,

So, this involves lettuce and spinach ( both of which I purchase in a 'pillow pack' keep in a locknlock box with kitchen roll sheets lining them, and last me a week. One red pepper also lasts the week, cucumber, wrapped in kitchen towel, spring onions, beetroot, coleslaw, tomatoes on the vine, sugar snaps. Often add in something like few chopped up walnuts, and dried fruit. With this salad I have chicken, or salmon, or quiche, Takes me about ten minutes to prepare each evening. Will sometimes add in some cooked pasta shapes, The protein section is cooked in my combi microwave. It is always very simple, and speedy.

For my lunch I usually have something involving eggs, boiled, scrambled, poached,, omelette, During winter months I make soup, (in soup Maker), and this gives me two or three lunches and a break from the eggs. Even for that soup I have found it easier, quicker and cheaper to purchase a small pack of diced sweet potato and butternut squash, rather than go to the time and waste of buying whole ones of these.

So, use my freezer for keeping purchased, packets of frozen vegetables chopped onion, , ice creams, and frozen chicken and salmon,bacon, etc. (I find buying the larger packs of these and then dividing them up and freezing works well for me.

So my time in the kitchen is minimal, and I do eat healthily (as well as the added non-healthy foods).

Another beautiful day out there today. Tomorrow I am joining my daughter going car-booting locally. Then I am away on Monday morning to Tuesday. My daughter and SiL are driving down to see their son at Uni and visiting former Uni friends of their own, and I will go with them, and have arranged both days of seeing friends of mine who live nearby (two from Gymnastics and one from Diving).

Gosh Franbern, three years already and now awaiting the final adjustment to make that flat your own. It seems that it takes three years to really settle, same here, the painting was the final settling process and that was three years on. The coat the builders put on was thin, much better now

I cancelled the kilmarnocks last night, slept on it and re-ordered today, cheaper elsewhere. I could not let the bee down, the one that was clinging onto the catkins in the wind

Keter boxes are coming soon, that, to me, is a lovely way to spend part of today, putting them up and sorting garden stuff. They were around £28 each, usually about £35. I love positive stuff like that

In the meantime I have been prepping bits from my fridge, tbh it is sometimes quite hard to think about being bothered to chop this and that, much easier to take from a lock n lock box for a salad. Did sliced red peppers and grated carrots so far. Leeks cut washed and now in freezer and I think I will slice celery too, for the fridge. Such a palaver sometimes cooking properly for one, there is often something else I would rather do but I always manage somehow, to get my assorted veg/fruit intake, usually between 7 and 10

Shandy there was someone similar in my last village, they had a lab, never ever took it out. Their tiny garden must have been disgusting. All dogs need to experience adventures in open spaces. Some owners should not ever have owned a dog

Had a sunny trundle along the promenade, Lots of people about, all ice cream places had queues, many small children and dogs thoroughly enjoying themselves on the beach. So good to see, - bustling seaside town.

Just remembering that it was three years ago, Easter Saturday 2019, a very hot day - that I first viewed the flat I now live in. So much has happened in those three years.

I'm just back from the beach, was very very busy, wise to stay at home karmalady. The willows sound lovely. Terrible traffic and terrible driving. I think I might bite the bullet and push my dog to our local beach tomorrow.

Had an upset on the way to the beach. I was driving past the bungalows in the streets adjacent to mine, and heard a dog yelp in pain - I saw the dog going down the side of the bungalow, the man behind it. I've lived here a year now and haven't seen the dog before. I decided to go round the block and back past again and the man and the dog were on the pavement so I stopped and spoke to the man, on the pretence of wondering what he was doing with the stack of pallets in his front garden.

I then admired the dog and he said 'I don't let it out'. I said you'll have to check his claws don't grow too long. He went on to say his daughter walks him and he does go out regularly. I've never seen anyone out with this dog. Things like this do upset me because there's nothing I can do - what an unlucky dog to get him as an owner. As I drove away, I remembered I had seen him in the front garden last summer, shouting at two tiny girls I assumed were his grandchildren. Someone to avoid I think.

seeing as I am at home, not out and about spending money, I have added to my plants. I already have one kilmarnock willow in a large trumpet pot and it is stunning. I love height and the bees loved the catkins, I have ordered two more as I have the pots. They need full sun and water and will be near my water butts. Cosmos ordered , echinacea green twister and a few dwarf lavender to replace tired pinks in pots

www.jparkers.co.uk/3-echinacea-p-x27-green-twister-x27/

No more for the garden, that is it. All easy peasey

It is great to have something to look forward to isn't it, I am excited to see my friend. We met at the BBC in 1973.

I've come back from my dog walk to the neighbour's builder bashing and crashing replacing her 'soffits' and gutters, with his radio on full blast.

Happy Easter! I bought myself a Thorntons milk chocolate easter egg, not as nice as I thought it would be.

HAPPY EASTER everyone xxx

* Shandy*, the prices for gas/leccie increased on 1st April, so it is not down to that increase that has made hour March bill so high.

I am fortunate, in that I have a fixed rate until next January and this flat is warm. I have not had any heating on for sometime now, and not feeling at all cold at all. Could not sleep last night, and came back into my Living room at 1. 00
am for an hour, and, even at that time it was showing 18* in there.

We had an sort of Easter themed coffee morning for our flats yesterday. Tea and Coffee and biccies and lovely mini HCBuns from M&S. Went really well, It helps to encourage our friendly atmosphere and we were able to find a replacement volunteer for a role that someone has just stepped down from.

Beautiful sunny warm day here, the cherry blossom is in full bloom now - so gorgeous to see from my Living Room chair. I am intending doing the Spring change-over of clothes today (always the optimist), and planting out some small plugs of Impatiens into balcony pots.

It is amazing how booked everywhere is, even with the incredible increases in their prices.

Hope you all have a good Weekend.

It is a nice idea to have nice things ahead, to look forward to.

I am very much in the moment today, I think everyone has gone on holiday from here, best to just be in the moment sometimes, to enjoy what is in front of me and the warmth of the sun. I woke up knowing how to sort some more garden stuff outside. Have dismantled (bashed) a very leaky, non-keter, storage unit and ordered some more of the very nice smaller keter storage that I already use. They absolutely never leak and are a perfect size for potting on top and putting plants on top too. I splashed out and have ordered 3, after measuring the space. Will arrive tomorrow and they were on offer

I am off to the tip in a bit, after my coffee and later will do some seed sewing. My boltardy beetroot (last years seeds) has failed to come up so I have ordered some cylindra from ebay. I am watering my neighbours seed trays, I noticed that the compost has shrunk from the sides and made a crust on top. Not even one seed has come up from sowing 2 weeks ago. Vermiculite is the answer. A sprinkling on top after sowing

I think there are millions of cars on the road today

Happy Easter everyone!

Thanks for doing that Whiff, how nice of you. I have got a smart gas meter outside, but it won't connect to the small worktop gadget.

I'm going to pinch your afternoon tea idea and take my friend to our local place if I can get in, it's something I wouldn't do on my own. As she's staying in the pub we'll be eating out for four nights, perhaps I should remortgage!

Shandy I put my smart meter on this morning to check my prices for you. It would only let me go as far back as March last year . So March 2021 it was for both gas and electricity £110. Then I just noted down the readings for this year. January £58.64, February £52.58 and March £57.53. I am with Eon. That's for a 2 bed bungalow Don't have the heating on over night as I don't need it. I always turn it off when I go out. This time of the year unless I feel cold I put it on at 6am for 2 hours. Then in the evening put it on if I feel cold for 2 hours. Or earlier if I feel cold and leave it on longer.

Sorry about your run around booking the Airbnb. My friend is coming in June I had to get her to book the cattery first before we could look at trains. Luckily she got some cheap tickets £22 return plus 50p booking fee. Proper price over £50. As it's her birthday beginning of June as part of her birthday present taking her for afternoon tea at a lovely hotel a short local trains journey away.

Have you got a smart meter? If not ask for one so you can keep an eye on your gas and electric usage. Just had a thought your bill is properly high because you had to have the heaters drying out your room after the roof blew off.

Happy Easter everyone.

oh shandy, I hope that peace now prevails, that was so hectic and worrying. 4 days is just the right amount of time, not too much and enough for those good chats and meals together.

Just had a look at last year's bill, but it's all over the place as the vendor had misread the meter, think I've already mentioned her mistake nearly cost me £200. Pipes shouldn't freeze now, just me!, all turned off.

Good to stay at home karmalady, it's very busy around here, streets and beach are heaving.

My friend in London wrote last week to say that she wanted to come up to see me in mid May for 4 days, and asked me to find her a nice Airbnb. I found one on Tuesday night but she wanted time to get a Senior railcard and find trains, and the Airbnb owner said it wasn't their policy to 'reserve' so it was an anxious wait for my friend to contact me this morning. She texted me at 9 am to say she'd booked her trains so I went online and booked the airbnb.

I then had to take my dog to the vets and got back about 11.30 am ish - I was shocked to find an email saying that the booking had been cancelled, and it 'will take a few days for your refund'. Apparently the booking system doesn't always 'sync' with her payments and the apartment was already booked I was annoyed and asked that she progress my refund of £750 as soon as humanly possible (£500 plus £250 deposit) so I had the money available to book an alternative.

Googled madly and the only accommodation left was at our local pub - rang through, yes to the dates, double room - but no ensuite. Rang my friend to explain she'd be sharing with three other rooms, she said she'd take a look. She rang me about 30 minutes later - the pub only had 3 nights, not the 4 originally stated. She had booked the 3 nights, I said I'd find somewhere for her last night.

I rang round the people I know in the local self catering/hotels, all fully booked, then one of them recommended somewhere I hadn't even thought of! Rang through, luckily one night is available, was told to wait for an email to confirm the booking and pay. Waited 30 minutes, no email - rang again - he hadn't taken my email address down properly! Correct email address and the booking arrived, phew!

She could have roughed it here but all of my guest bedding is packed away and the place looks like a bomb's gone off, not the first impression I'd like her to have. I haven't seen her since my husband died and she came up, I'm looking forward to a long overdue catch up.

Oh no, shandy, that is so bad

I haven`t ventured away from my property today, I am content enough, feeling sorry for all those people stuck in traffic, heading to devon and cornwall. I quite like simple pottering, a bit of this, a bit of that

For one month!

Afternoon all, I've just had my gas bill and my jaw is just hovering above the floor.

£128. I will definitely be turning the heating off now.

Have a good day!

Thanks Shandy I'll look out for the mag.

How awful for you Fran That's the bit I hate too. I've flown a lot over the last few years, before lockdown, so I'm very happy to stay in good ole` blighty.

I meant to remind everyone that the BBC Gardener's world magazine on sale tomorrow has the ticket/booklet for 2 for 1 entrance to lots of lovely gardens. Our local gardens cost about £15 per head entrance fee, well worth spending £6 on the mag.

So sorry that happened to you Franbern.

There was a 2140 flight, and I thought I should really take that, but I can't enjoy the day thinking of the flight ahead and always worry we might get 'stuck' somewhere and miss it.

Coming back from Thailand we had no choice but a night flight and I got a bit too tired sight seeing during the day. I found it hard walking through the airport at Dubai, it seemed like miles and we had to go up and down a lot of stairs.

My friend hasn't messaged yet - keep your fingers crossed the nice little local Airbnb is still available!