Page 1 - 1 degree centigrade and time for a dog walk with my mr followed by a walk to the allotment and a huge ham for tea cooked all day in the slow cooker in tropical pop. Yum yum
Friday, 1 January 2016
Page 1 Of The Latest Chapter In Life
A whole new chapter with 366 blank pages and because I documented virtually nothing last year I'm going to try at least a weekly page
Wednesday, 2 December 2015
My Life Is One Big Washing Machine Saga
I've written about this a few times before. In the last few years I've gone through at least one machine a year.
As we don't have room for separates and being a house of 6 (not any more but I'll get to that another day) we have a lot and I mean a lot of washing so a washer dryer is our best option. Whilst it isn't ideal because of the length of time it takes to do both a wash and dry it works for us.
Washer dryers are notorious for breaking down though. We had dryer thermostat issues with the last two. They were LG and Samsung. Both had to be replaced within their warranty period. This one is by Hoover and it was delivered at the end of February this year. It has been trouble from day one. Mostly the washer unlike the others but when the washer breaks it trips the dryer so both are then useless. This particular repair was as a result of a massive leak under the newly laid kitchen flooring. It took 10 days for an engineer to be available. He diagnosed a hole in the drum and ordered a new drum. Another week and a bit later he turned up with the drum. Drum was faulty. He left me with the machine shell and all the interior workings plus two drums outside my front door (original one and broken replacement) with instructions to leave them for the scrap man. I ended up heaving them to the tip! This was how he left the machine. Nice sharp edges on the metal there!
Another 10 days and another engineer visit scheduled but I got a text at 6:34am telling me the next replacement drum was damaged. Angry did not quite cut it. They emailed the next day to say they would be replacing the machine. Great I thought. My previous machines were bought from an online shop and when the company in question replaced them they refunded the shop and I got to order what I wanted hence replacing LG with Samsung and then Samsung with this Hoover one. Hoover, however do things differently to LG and Samsung and have replaced it directly.
Another 10 days and another engineer visit scheduled but I got a text at 6:34am telling me the next replacement drum was damaged. Angry did not quite cut it. They emailed the next day to say they would be replacing the machine. Great I thought. My previous machines were bought from an online shop and when the company in question replaced them they refunded the shop and I got to order what I wanted hence replacing LG with Samsung and then Samsung with this Hoover one. Hoover, however do things differently to LG and Samsung and have replaced it directly.
My replacement machine arrived yesterday morning. Words can't express how it feels to actually be able to just put washing in without having to heave it round to the launderette or having a relative do it. We have a massive backlog even with several trips a week. The launderette is £5 plus detergent so 5 weeks and 3 days without a machine has been very expensive and I shall be seeking compensation from them not to mention the damaged flooring.
Hoping this one is a long term fixture.
Hoping this one is a long term fixture.
Tuesday, 1 December 2015
Boots Revlon Freebies December 2015
Hello there. It's been a while. I kind of got caught up in a marathon of hat knitting for winter and Christmas craft fairs during October and November and didn't really have a huge amount to talk about. I'm done with all that now though.
It was my birthday in October and I got a couple of Boots gift cards. I used one on a Laura Ashley gift set which I'll show you another day. The other I used on some make up. Boots is fantastic at this time of year for make up freebies if you spend over a certain amount. Whilst I was looking I saw a few brands having promotions. Max Factor, Bourgois, No 7, Seventeen, Barry M, L'Oréal and Revlon that I can remember but there may have been more.
The Revlon caught my eye because it wasn't heavy on the dark colours and I prefer more neutral shades. You had to spend £15 on Revlon products to get the freebies and to be honest I could have spent it 10 times over. This is what you get free:
Super Lustrous Lipstick in Blushed
Colorburst Matte Balm Stick in Sultry.
Boots had the sticks on offer online over the weekend at 4 for £10 but they were out of stock very quickly.
I really like the offer I got on this and the freebies are well worth the £15 spend. The other brands looks like excellent offers too and I may have to go back for another look.
It was my birthday in October and I got a couple of Boots gift cards. I used one on a Laura Ashley gift set which I'll show you another day. The other I used on some make up. Boots is fantastic at this time of year for make up freebies if you spend over a certain amount. Whilst I was looking I saw a few brands having promotions. Max Factor, Bourgois, No 7, Seventeen, Barry M, L'Oréal and Revlon that I can remember but there may have been more.
The Revlon caught my eye because it wasn't heavy on the dark colours and I prefer more neutral shades. You had to spend £15 on Revlon products to get the freebies and to be honest I could have spent it 10 times over. This is what you get free:
Photoready 3D Volume mascara in Blackest Black
Colorburst Lip Butter in Crème Brulee
Colorstay Gel Envy Nail Enamel in Perfect Pair
Colorstay Eye Quad in Addictive
and this is what I bought to get the freebies but to be honest I might have bought these with the gift card anyway.
Super Lustrous Lipstick in Blushed
Colorburst Matte Balm Stick in Sultry.
Boots had the sticks on offer online over the weekend at 4 for £10 but they were out of stock very quickly.
I really like the offer I got on this and the freebies are well worth the £15 spend. The other brands looks like excellent offers too and I may have to go back for another look.
Monday, 7 September 2015
Learning Something New Everyday
September is the month for learning and the month Shimelle prompts us to learn something new everyday.
So the first week of September went a little bit like this:
Day 1 - I learnt that looking through my youngest son's homework which was set by his new school to do over the summer that he is very good at his times tables but getting him to read is a flipping nightmare.
Day 2 - I learnt that going to the park with the dogs earlier than usual results in wet feet because the dew is still on the ground and my boots have a hole in
Day 3 - I learnt that the local library now opens earlier than I thought and planning a trip to town around it opening later meant twiddling my thumbs unnecessarily.
Day 4 - I learnt that when a job is supposed to be an easy half hour it can turn into way more than that - one broken needle on my sewing machine caused absolute chaos when I was making some hair wraps.
Day 5 - I learnt that I am not alone in my observations about cliques and bullshit.
Day 6 - I learnt that some people either don't care how they park or are oblivious to the fact that they are parked at such a crazy angle. That red car was parked with it's arse end stuck out like that for 2 days.
Day 7 - I learnt that the remnants of a gala in the park can leave interesting items that my Charlie dog just can't resist cocking his leg up at and burying himself under
So the first week of September went a little bit like this:
Day 1 - I learnt that looking through my youngest son's homework which was set by his new school to do over the summer that he is very good at his times tables but getting him to read is a flipping nightmare.
Day 2 - I learnt that going to the park with the dogs earlier than usual results in wet feet because the dew is still on the ground and my boots have a hole in
Day 3 - I learnt that the local library now opens earlier than I thought and planning a trip to town around it opening later meant twiddling my thumbs unnecessarily.
Day 4 - I learnt that when a job is supposed to be an easy half hour it can turn into way more than that - one broken needle on my sewing machine caused absolute chaos when I was making some hair wraps.
Day 5 - I learnt that I am not alone in my observations about cliques and bullshit.
Day 6 - I learnt that some people either don't care how they park or are oblivious to the fact that they are parked at such a crazy angle. That red car was parked with it's arse end stuck out like that for 2 days.
Day 7 - I learnt that the remnants of a gala in the park can leave interesting items that my Charlie dog just can't resist cocking his leg up at and burying himself under
Wednesday, 15 July 2015
Erm Hello
I haven't really been hiding under a rock all this time. Things have happened and for various reasons I haven't got around to writing anything.
We had a stay here
because of a nasty injury during a rugby match. The youngest landed awkwardly during a tackle and his own body weight on top of his arm dislocated his wrist and fractured the growth plate on one of his arm bones. Not a pretty sight and I've never been in A&E and seen them move so quickly. He bypassed the whole waiting room, was weighed and was on morphine within minutes of us arriving. This is a child who has a huge pain threshold and managed to sit through a whole afternoon of school and then walk home with a fractured patella sleeve 2 years ago so that told me how bad it was. They classed it as needing urgent theatre time. Unfortunately there was an emergency elsewhere in the hospital which prevented him having it operated on that afternoon so we spent the night on the childrens ward and he went to theatre first thing the next morning.
He was incredibly brave and went to school the next day. He actually didn't miss any days of school with it apart from fracture clinic appointments which is a massive achievement. His downfall on school attendance was a bug this year but hey ho that's how it goes.
Thankfully it was his right arm and he is left handed so he managed to sit his year 6 SATs two weeks later without the need for a scribe. I am so proud of him for managing to get through the most stressful time in year 6 and he did extremely well getting level 5 in every external test and level 4 in writing which is teacher assessed.
We had already booked a holiday to the Norfolk coast during half term in May. Rugby is his life so not being able to throw a ball about on the beach was a major issue for him. Football wasn't quite the same. He spent a lot of time finding skimming stones to throw into the sea with his good hand.
He coped incredibly well and I think the autistic part of him accepting that if something has to happen a certain way then that is what is happening has helped him a lot. He knew he couldn't do certain things and just accepted that. I won't say he hasn't been frustrated because he has. Mainly over not being able to play rugby.
His injury happened at the end of April and this weekend just gone he played again. He's been to training every week to watch and helped the coaches out at matches. As soon as the pot came off and he was allowed to join in again with general training he did. He did the exercises the consultant showed him religiously to gain strength and movement back. He counted the days down until he was allowed to do contact sport again. Determination has paid off.
We had a stay here
because of a nasty injury during a rugby match. The youngest landed awkwardly during a tackle and his own body weight on top of his arm dislocated his wrist and fractured the growth plate on one of his arm bones. Not a pretty sight and I've never been in A&E and seen them move so quickly. He bypassed the whole waiting room, was weighed and was on morphine within minutes of us arriving. This is a child who has a huge pain threshold and managed to sit through a whole afternoon of school and then walk home with a fractured patella sleeve 2 years ago so that told me how bad it was. They classed it as needing urgent theatre time. Unfortunately there was an emergency elsewhere in the hospital which prevented him having it operated on that afternoon so we spent the night on the childrens ward and he went to theatre first thing the next morning.
He was incredibly brave and went to school the next day. He actually didn't miss any days of school with it apart from fracture clinic appointments which is a massive achievement. His downfall on school attendance was a bug this year but hey ho that's how it goes.
Thankfully it was his right arm and he is left handed so he managed to sit his year 6 SATs two weeks later without the need for a scribe. I am so proud of him for managing to get through the most stressful time in year 6 and he did extremely well getting level 5 in every external test and level 4 in writing which is teacher assessed.
We had already booked a holiday to the Norfolk coast during half term in May. Rugby is his life so not being able to throw a ball about on the beach was a major issue for him. Football wasn't quite the same. He spent a lot of time finding skimming stones to throw into the sea with his good hand.
He coped incredibly well and I think the autistic part of him accepting that if something has to happen a certain way then that is what is happening has helped him a lot. He knew he couldn't do certain things and just accepted that. I won't say he hasn't been frustrated because he has. Mainly over not being able to play rugby.
His injury happened at the end of April and this weekend just gone he played again. He's been to training every week to watch and helped the coaches out at matches. As soon as the pot came off and he was allowed to join in again with general training he did. He did the exercises the consultant showed him religiously to gain strength and movement back. He counted the days down until he was allowed to do contact sport again. Determination has paid off.
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