Well I am blogging early this week as I have a busy weekend ahead, starting with my flu jab first thing tomorrow morning. It has been an up and down week for me really
I was very cross on Monday to get a letter from the tax people to say that they could not refund the £400 odd pounds they had taken from my trivial commuted NHS pension as I had not sent various parts of a P45, which I had told them on the form I did not have. I spent the best part of the next hour holding on the phone whilst listening to all the messages that are recorded to prevent us from actually speaking to a human being. Briefly the tax office told me I needed a P45, I explained I hadn't got one. I was told to contact my employer. When I pointed out that I last worked for the NHS in 2006, I was told to contact NHS pensions, to ask for a P45. They also said I 'had started receiving an NHS pension'. I replied that I have not and would not receive a penny over the amount they had sent me. NHS pensions said they could not send me a P45. They suggested I spoke to 'The Paymaster'. More hanging on. The paymaster's office said they could not send me a P45, but the chap to whom I spoke did concede that he could send me a letter of explanation. I asked what was meant by the assertion that I had started receiving a pension, and he said 'Well you have, but you got it all in one'. I should receive the letter in the next 10 days. By the time I had finished my head was reeling and to be honest I felt like crying Latr in theweek we got our mobile phone bill and found they had used some of the huge overpayment to reduce our bill. they were intending to carry it forward, till husband insisted on a refund.
I went for a walk to help clear my head, then spent quite a lot of time sorting out summer clothes, ironing and putting stuff away. I have kept a few T shirts handy though, as it is quite mild. I got the winter stuff out, I can get into one of the skirts that I couldn't get into last winter, but the other is still a bit tight. Funnily enough they are both CC, and the same size. I hasten to add that I can't normally afford CC clothes, these 2 skirts were both reduced considerably when I bought them. Sadly we have lost our CC, the nearest is a good 5 miles away. St Albans has also lost its Edinburgh Woollen Mill. I often get Mum in Law a voucher from them. I'll have to wait till we get to Llandudno, or Chester. I need warm joggers, most of mine are ancient, but M&S don't do much in the brushed lining these days, and they are not as warm without.
On Tuesday I called my friends C& C with a view to visiting them. However the husband said the wife was unwell and had gone for a nap, so I decided to go to Watford instead. I have been keeping my food processor upstairs as since husband bought a coffee machine, the working surfaces are too full. When I get my new cupboard up, things will improve. So I decided to buy a mincer from Lakeland as bits of my old one were missing, and rusty so I had ditched it. I also went into John Lewis, they have their Christmas decorations out in the basement, very beautiful, but I intend to make do with last year's. I may buy some new lights, but that is all.
I walked as far as the old TJ Hughes / Clements, the furniture dept of Clements now have 2 shops near the market. good to know they are still trading. I grabbed a wrap form M&S, stocked up on low fat sausages, and got back to the lifts to find they were not working and hiked up to the 3rd floor of the car park. I pottered around doing things after lunch, then left home about 5.15 for an appointment with my consultant. Bad move, I should have left earlier. Rush hour traffic was awful, but after taking a short cut in Harpenden I arrived in plenty of time. When I made the appointment, 6pm on October the 11th sounded ages away, but here it was! He was very pleased with me, and said he would like to see me again in about a year, but to ring him if any problems in between. There was a query recently over whether husband's medical insurance would continue due to the merger, but it seems to be safe, at least till he retires.
Husband wanted to look for something and did some tidying. he unearthed my 'round tuit' which I had taken down last Christmas to put up a decoration. It is now back in place but I now need a new place for the picture of Nathaniel which had taken its place. Husband asle produced 3 paper piles, one for shredding, one for recycling, and small one for filing.
I got my Lanham's brochure for St Ives this week, we haven't been for 2 years, so I got the go ahead from husband to book the flat which wasn't in the brochure last year. On Wednesday I set off for Weight watchers thinking I hadn't lost, only to be told I had lost one and a half pounds. Strangely enough, I seem to beeating more on this diet than before. I have reached my 5%, so am going for the next 5%. I took off for Sainsbury's afterwards, didn't spend quite as much, then after lunch daughter and I went to the last hour or so of parent and toddlers. Nathaniel seems to enjoy it more now that he can run around. We stayed to help clear up afterwards.
Yesterday I picked Nathaniel up at 8am, then brought him back to my house. I needed to go to town to transfer some money to pay the deposit for next year's holiday, so off we set with the buggy. There is a narrow pavement, and I could see a young woman with 2 young labradors coming towards me. I pulled as far over as I could with the buggy, and Nathaniel said 'Dog, dog'. The young woman was struggling to to control the dogs, and I was speechless as once again poor Nathaniel had his face licked by one of the dogs. The young woman told him to get down, but he repeated his actions, the young woman did not apologise, in fact she spoke only to the dog. As I wiped Nathaniel's face with a baby wipe, I said 'An apology would have been nice'. I don't know if she heard me but I feel like firing a letter off to the local paper about inconsiderate people who don't control their dogs. I am a dog lover, but wouldn't have let my dog behave like that when out walking. Fortunately Nathaniel doesn't seem to have been put off, But I dread the day when it is an unpredicatable dog. I met an old friend in town and we chatted for a while One of her Daughters was a dancer and led a fairly glamorous life, now she has 'retired' from dancing (she is 27), and is working in an art gallery. She is one of these very attractive slim young ladies, who seems to look good in anything she wears.
Nathaniel fell asleep in the buggy again, and I left him asleep when we got home whilst I did some housework and prepared lunch. I waited till he was properly awake before I gave him his lamb casserole, and he ate quite well. I was annoyed to be rung by BT for the umpteenth time, asking to speak to husband. Why do they expect him to be at home in the middle of the day? If I go out when I get in they have always tripped the answering machine when I get back and it sits there beeping at me. I told the young woman that it was tantamount to harrasssment. They haven't rung today!!
We made it to women's hour, just halfway through the first hymn. I had prepared the study, but couldn't answer the questions as I couldn't find my glasses to read my notes. Nathaniel played fairly quietly with the other young children, but insisted on giving toy farm animals to our oldest member, 95,one by one. She ended up with a pile on her lap, poor dear. At the end of the meeting I found my glasses in the pocket of my fleece!
Afterwards the little ones ran around the hall again, full of energy and shrieking with laughter, Oh the joy of being alive, with no cares!
Home, and we met a neighbour whom we hadn't seen for a while, she was amazed how he was walking. we caught up on news then I came indoors with N. A nap for him, and a soothing cuppa for me, then after an hour, up for a tea of scrambled eggs with cheese and then toast. I barely had 5 minutes back at daughter's before she arrived home, followed by her Dad, who had taken my car home and walked up the hill. We stayed till 6.45 when Daughter's husband came home.
Today has been different, N's Daddy has had the day off and has been looking after him. I haven't been at a loose end, have been catching up with house work, walked to Sainsbury's found some new exciting Oatso simple flavours, including a chocolate and raspberry. I also spent part of the morning potting up some bulbs and winter flowers, then planted the rest of the pansies in the flower bed. I also tidied the garden a bit. I spent an hour ironing too.
I called in on Son-in -Law to lend them something, he had had a doze whilst N was napping. No wonder, he had walked miles, pushing N in a pushchair a lot heavier that my lightweight buggy. N was having a snack, he indicated he wanted me to hold him, but it was only so that he could reach the microwave, he wanted to play with the buttons but is not allowed. Just as I left he wanted to come to me too, but only to reach the door handle to try and turn it; cupboard love, that's what it is. He was weighed today and is apparently now 24lb
I had planned an easy meal, oven fish and chips, but it was not very successful, as the oven wasn't hot enough, some of the thermostat numbers have worn off the dial. I really must start to seriously look for another cooker. One burner doesn't work at all, and one burns with a lopsided flame.
Well it's almost time for bed, I hope the weather stays warm for a bit longer, one forecast says it will, another says it will get colder, do they really know?
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