Monday

Good morning everyone, and many thanks for the lovely birthday greetings for Beth. I did one reply in comments for everyone and will pass your good wishes on.

I had a lovely time at hers and we had a feast!

The sushi was a great success; both Alex and Beth love sushi and the whole lot was eaten.  

I think we have another 'must have' to go with the Delia not-sausage rolls - which also vanished like snow on a dyke.  They both agreed that Brie, chestnuts and cranberry sauce (with shredded veg) would make a great festive filling and Christmas Tree Day isn't so far away really.  Maybe I can find out how to make a different shape of sushi before then.
And Alex wants to know how to make sushi so that's our next lesson sorted, isn't it?

Beth's main pressie was the laptop Alex and I clubbed together to buy her but I gave her some plastic storage cases and a project bag for her sewing and a glass rainbow sun catcher thingy from the Knit and Stitch show because you HAVE to have things to unwrap on your birthday, don't you?

The other day, I got a reminder that my Center Parcs repeat guest offer was about to run out so, as we had planned to go again next May anyway, we went online after lunch and got it booked and paid for.  

It's quite a good thing, this offer.

You get £50 off the cost.

You can pay a much smaller deposit (but we like to pay the lot and get it done with).

There's a lower price promise - but it is up to you to find it!

There's no amendment fee (the amendment insurance is hefty so this is worth having)

And you get two free visitor day passes - we could invite Dave and Anna over for the day, or a couple of Beth's friends.

Beth and Alex were so disappointed not to be able to go this autumn so this makes up for their disappointment.  Beth starts her new job in a fortnight and will book the time off as soon as she can but, if we need to amend it, we can do so free of charge.

This week there's no fitness classes so my starts to the day are more leisurely.  Not that they are ever a rush - I wake early - but it's that half-term feeling.  
I'm glad to be staying in because my lovely friend, Diane, is over for lunch.  I'm doing a roast chicken dinner so have plenty of time to get things prepped.  Roast dinners are easy once the prepping is done, aren't they?
Unusual for a Monday, I know, but I didn't have one yesterday and it's nice to share.

Now for the potentially silly thing that I did that has turned out to be not-silly after all.

You will remember the issues I had with the rechargeable vacuum cleaner I ordered and had to send back.
Well, I started looking around again but I really had researched this one, it was personally recommended and it was the one I wanted.  It wasn't an impulse buy or anything like that.
So I decided to re-order, knowing that it was unlikely for two consecutive orders to have problems - I had looked all over but couldn't find cutting out as a common problem at all.  If another one had the same problem, maybe it was me doing something wrong, not the vacuum.  And returning was a lot easier than I expected and the refund was rapid.
So I re-ordered, it came on Saturday and it is absolutely fine, just what I wanted.  I am so glad I took the risk, I really am.
But it could have been a very silly thing indeed!

And, finally, something that made me laugh.

Remember after Mum died, I got my financial things sorted out and took out LPAs for finance and for health and bought into a funeral plan.  I paid the lot rather than monthly because - well - that's what we do.
That was a mistake because Covid landed and the company went bust.  Oh, well, thought I, live and learn, it's annoying but at least I could afford to lose what I paid.
Then, earlier this year, I got a letter from the liquidators informing that there would be a bit of a payback by the autumn.
Oh, good, thought I - a few hundreds are always useful.

On Saturday, the letter arrived with a cheque - for the magnificent sum of £6.46!!!  Yippee!

More seriously, it isn't good, is it.  Yes, I could afford to lose the money but a lot of people probably couldn't and had gone without to make life easier for their children after they died.
I have an insurance policy now, that will cover everything - funeral, death duties, etc) after I die.  Beth and Dave know about it and I am comfortable knowing that they won.t have to go into debt, however temporary it is.

You have to think of these things as you get older, don't you?

So, on that slightly gloomy note, I will love you and leave you and go and peel some potatoes!  :-)  Have a lovely day and stay warm.  xx