RENT BUY OR STAY PUT

Finished at half past two its weird going to work on a Wednesday then leaving on a Thursday does make the week go pretty fast .leaving work hearing the birds singing and driving home in the early hours of the morning listening to the Pet shop boys new album is a nice end to the day or start to the day how ever you want to look at it .

Might buy a pair of Anker ear pods reviews look good sound quality and functions look good too they are available in black or white and are under £50 for the Soundcore life p2 .

Went to Ikea bought some sofa cushions gone back to grey and white looks better than the stags .

Doing some oven cooked chicken instead of using cornflakes like I got in the Nando's meal kit using Doritos's should be ok bit more spicy .

FRIDAY - Had another four hours sleep had to get up to go to Huddersfield to  see a mortgage advisor have application waiting to see if we get approved .
Also applied to part buy and rent a property in Holmfirth which we have been approved waiting to hear from the developer so things are moving forward slowly .
if we don't then we neither stay put or rent think staying put is the best option .

FISHY GOING ON'S

TUESDAY - First years snow fell this morning does not look like it is settling where we are although it could as the snow was falling quite fast .

WEDNESDAY - Helen bought the ingredients to make a fish pie smoked haddock , cod , salmon and small prawns with mash and cheese on top had it with broccoli spears she cooked it then oven baked it first time we have had this dish it was really really good we will be doing this recipe again .

Bought a large pack of chicken breasts from the farm shop we also bought £10 of long thin pork sausages one of theses are enough for a sandwich or if doing a full English breakfast .

Filled out my application for my visa to visit New York all done online pretty straight forward ,  it was only $14 which was just under £10.50 I think it is good for two years , doubt I will ever go back but never say never.

My son was involved in a car accident on his way to Barnsley he went into the back of a Range Rover and did a lot of damage to the front of his car with hardly any damage to the Range Rover apart from some  damage to the rear bumper , my son will need a new bonnet , off side head light , front bumper , front grill and radiator , how the fuck don't you see a Range Rover in broad daylight fishy if you ask me  .
He was driving his Mothers car and had to get it towed back to where he lives in York he drove it 15 miles before her called for the break down service to rescue him , still can't believe you cant see a Range Rover if your that unaware you really should not be in charge of a car .

LISTENING TO - Pet Shop Boys "Hotspot' got to be one of the best British duo's ever a great album..

BLACK AND WHITE

Had someone else another couple came to view the static home they did not realize you can't get a mortgage on a van its cash only they was gutted as they loved it .We do have a firm offer now and the ball should start rolling we have an appointment with our estate agents to discuss our options either way we will be moving on in some form or the other where to we don't know if we buy , rent or part buy and rent we will see .I think our best option is part buy and pay part rent .

Have to take Helen for more readings tonight which means another three to four hour sat in my car will watch Elton John film Rocketman and Freddie Mercury's bio Bohemian Rhapsody  hopefully it won't be too cold and the time will fly.

I waited in the car my feet after a couple of hours my feet where freezing even though I had two pairs of socks on a pair being thermal the rest of me was ok it was just my feet next time I think I will get a hot water bottle .

MONDAY -Took Bailey to the  groomers in Wakefield for his coat cutting  it took me over a hour to do two miles not sure why or what the hold up was when I got to the front traffic was moving it was all clear weird .

Working at seven tonight which is good bad is I am working till three a.m  . It is my daughters birthday today she is 29 years old how time flies unbelievable .

Helen's son Liam called it has been a while he took her to the Alchemist in Leeds for afternoon dinner she had charcoal battered fish,  looks weird black coating white fish .

FLOWERS AND CHIPS

Bought the ingredients to make some home made chocolate chip cookies made eight large cookies with milk chocolate chips they was pretty good for a first attempt they tasted ok the first batch where a bit too thin but just out of the oven tasted better than I had hoped for , I think the next thing I try and do is home made fudge I have a bottle of jack Daniels for flavouring will have to see if I can get a recipe as I have no idea how to make fudge I like fudge more than cookies .

Took another two year contact out with my Internet provider I don't have to pay anymore money which is a bonus if we move I hope to upgrade to fibre or should I say when we move .

Helen bought another two pillows for the bed the are all white with embroidered butterflies on them they was twelve pounds each I saw some really nice Habitat coffee mugs I might buy a couple , We did go back the following day , and got the matching duvet and pillow set and three coffee cups .

Seen a nice iPhone case that I want to get  for my iphome  XS Max it off eBay I have had the case I have now on it since I first got the phone .

SATURDAY - Went to the local garden centre Helen got a bouquet made up for her mothers birthday we got a two free drinks voucher for the cafe whilst we waited for them to create the bouquet it did look pretty good when they had finished the creation .

We drove over to York with it I manage to keep it upright on the back seat although I did nearly trash it going round a sharp bend .We also went with her parents to the Wetherby Whaler fish restaurant in York been to one Wetherby Whaler been to them all the design and layout a always very similar even the food seems the same the bill for four of us was £54 which was ok I paid seeing as I had not bought her mum a gift for her birthday .

Helen bought yet another duvet cover and pillow cases and another throw for the sofa , well its her cash .

FULLY SERVICED

The people who are wanting to buy our home are coming around again tonight not sure why but that asked if they could so it was agreed .If they want to knock the price down it is highly unlikely if they want to secure it by leaving a deposit then they can will find out tonight .I think they will genuinely buy our home they are not messing around they want it , if they had the money we would be moving out an d they would be moving in.

Bought some cornflakes defrosted some chicken breast and cooked my own version of cornflake chicken . dipped in flour then I used a beaten egg to dip into before coating with cornflakes .
The chicken breast we buy is very moist when it is cooked it does not dry out I did some fries and uncle Ben's chicken flavoured rice I  had mine with soya sauce excellent .

WEDNESDAY -Took my car in for its 30,000 mile service I also test drive a Skoda Scala its 6 gears but only 1litre and it drove like a dream at the moment it would cost too much each month maybe next year . I borrowed another Fabia same as mine but in blue whilst they completed the work on mine it was in the afternoon when I picked it back up.

MCR SHOPPING

SATURDAY - Helen has readings in Bramley tonight not sure how many she is doing I know it is going to be cold sat in the car will need my thermal socks, Vans  hoodie , Levi quilted jacket and fingerless gloves I might also wear some jogging bottoms over my jeans .Will take my iPad to read my book and will have my phone my stainless steel drink bottle of ice cold cherries and berries and hopefully a big bar of chocolate.

MONDAY - Picked my daughter up from her house and drove over to Manchester to visit counterfeit street , it is where the shops sell all the designer knock off copies that are made in china at a fraction of the price of the real item. The shops start  more or less opposite Strangways prison which makes it feel more foreboding for some reason .The sun was out in Manchester most of the shops you need to go up the stairs to the upper levels you been in one then all are more for less the same layout .The sellers where friendly enough they want your money but in a nice way , they have people outside ushering you in they are also look outs in case the police are about , they do get raided and stock does get confiscated but selling continues it is big money, We bought fake Gucci , YSL , LV bags in different styles and designs at a cost of £200 .They also sell watches , belts , training shoes , perfume , socks and t-shirts , I also noticed some fake iPods and Beats headphones , are we going back you betcha we are , is it funding organized crime more than likely , obviously the police know the shops whereabouts yet let them carry one trading , why not legalize them and get the taxes some shops are making thousands a day at peak times .

CORNFLAKE CHICKEN

Think this year I will buy myself a new Apple Watch I have never had one also I do want a new x-box one .
Must also buy. new mattress for our bed and a cordless vacuum anything but a Dyson.

Bought some chocolate chip  cookies from the farm shop you have to bake them in the oven they was great when they came out and was still warm but not so good when they had completely cooled down.I also found a apple crumble in the freezer we bought from another farm shop and I baked that it was excellent had it with some ice cream .

Helen bought a kitchen blender we are going to do some smoothies and some different soups hopefully the will be nicer than shop bought ones .

Bought a Nando's cornflake meal kit basically just need chicken fillets plain flour and peas .
cut the chicken breast up into smaller fillets set three bowls up , one with flour , one with the Nandos sauce and one with the corn flakes dip the chicken pieces in to  the flour , then dip  them in to the sauce and finally dip in the corn flakes , place on a baking tray  cook for thirty minutes .Cook the rice in the microwave and boil some peas .I liked the result the rice was a bit too scented I would have preferred normal rice I guess its easy to just buy your own cornflakes and sauce and do your own recipe also be cheaper , I have never had a Nando's meal at one of their restaurants this was probably just as good .

FOREVER JANUARY

Well nothing really going on spoke with my son Guy he is starting a new job next week assembling static homes .He is doing a similar shift pattern to me .Starting in the afternoon and finishing at ten at night .He can't say you have a job until you have been there at least six month .If he messes up he will be down the road hopefully he won't .One of his issues is transport or the lack of a car or owning a car the firm is in Knaresborough he will need wheels .He is using his late mothers car but that is only temporary basis. The VXR he had his pride and joy the car he use to take all day to clean  is long gone nought to sixty on a back of a truck for none payment of loan .

He will also need a new place to live he has to move out at the end of the month he told me he is sorted with living with his girlfriends sister house trouble is loose the girlfriend loose a place to live.

Looking forward to Friday break up again for nine days off work , money and days off and a pension is all I am interested in the job is getting worse and it won't get any better the atmosphere is shite every one is pissed off yet the managers refuse to acknowledge it as always the bury their heads in the sand and just set shitty dead lines and cleaning scores in departments the are open 24/7 and is a constant battle to keep clean specially at peaks times .

Wish I was younger would look for a different job but I pay in to a pension and the years I have left would be a silly move to leave now .Got to grin and bear it working 18.00 - 02.00 helps .

Anyway January seems to go one forever roll on payday roll on going to New York the count down has begun .

MORE CHIEFS

Out of this months wages I need to buy a suitcase for hand luggage to take on the plane have a view on eBay I am watching a bright orange one and a white one I am leaning towards the orange on but it is bright .
Still full of cold went back to work doing 18.00 till 02.00 the longest shift ever made it through was glad to get home and go to bed .

Helen had two readings this morning so I manage to stay in the bedroom just relaxing reading "Someone We Know" by Shari Lapena a great read gripping from page one highly recommend it if you are going on a flight or planing a stay in hospital buy it you won't put it down.

They are making two of us supervisors a higher grade which means more duties for extra money all I can see is the higher grades trying to boss us lower grades around they will soon forget they was one of us all I can see is problems , we have already too many chiefs , its just someone else barking orders and demands at you that is going to piss you off big time  .What we really need are more Indians .

FULL OF COLD .

SATURDAY - Bad night sleep was awake at four had no sleep it was windy and I just couldn't settle .
Helen decided to burnt some dried sage we grow it in our garden drive it out on the radiators so it smokes when it burns it was a wolf moon she did every rooms if you have smelt sage and seen the dense smoke it outs out you will understand , was like being in a blues club years ago .

I was up at nine had a letter to post and walked the dog I checked the fences was still up after a night of gales  all was well.

Went to the range Helen bought more bedding another duvet set plus extra pillows when we washed them we noticed a stain on the duvet so they will have to go back .


SUNDAY - Still full of cold Helen did me a sausage sandwich and coffee in bed we watched You Tube .
Took the bedding back got a new set then drove back home I went to bed ,Helen cooked the last turkey crown for our Sunday dinner .

Had a shower updated my pen written diary Helen had a reading I watched "Enemy At The Gate " a Great War film based on true events about a Russian sniper killing German officers he left other German soldiers alone just went after the high ranking chief's of staff.

ONLY THE BRAVE

FRIDAY - 10th of January last year was the funeral service for my ex wife ,  my daughter is a hair dresser she has her own salon with her friend  , as a mark of respect she went to work totally dressed in black I think she did her nails and eyes as well  .
When my mother died I went out and bought a stone garden gargoyle and called it Ethel that was years ago it is still in the garden I still speak to it and it always reminds me of my mother I think she be laughing I know she would approve secretly I think she would think it was cool .

Last day off of course I am not at work  for the weekend returning to work on Monday for a whole five days then I will have another nine days off,  a great start to the year more time off work than at work will do for me.

Took Helen to the doctors she was lucky to get an appointment they wanted her to wait until 22nd of January she has an infection she can't wait the long nobody wanting to see a doctor should have to wait more than 24 hours .

Went to the farm shop Helen bought some long thin pork sausages and 10 chicken breast fillets as well as frozen fruit for her gins and a bottle of vanilla syrup for my coffees  .She cooked a dish a You Tuber covered in one of her posts , chicken teriyaki chicken cooked on a bed of rice and pineapple it was great using a whole can of pineapple rings was over kill but the dish was great could have done with some prawn crackers .

Started using Brave web browser on my Mac book and I have to say I am loving it it loads pages a lot faster than Safari specially You Tube which takes forever to load when I was on Safari , try it and see so far I am sticking with Brave I believe it also blocks trackers and ads .

OUT OF THE BLUE

We bought the Britta 2.4 litre filter jug we filled it up with tap water twice to rinse the filter out , filled it up a third time and placed it in the fridge .

 I also bought four boxes of cappuccino coffee pods I bought one box from Aldi' it was an unfamiliar brand but after trying them was quite impressed its a saving of £1.50 per box , or like four boxes for the price of three .the others i bought at Asda they was on offer £4 for one or £10 for three .

My son called me today totally out of the blue he was on the phone for over an hour  i have not spoke to him for over eight months he now has a new girlfriend and told me he was starting a new job  living in new accommodation , hopefully all he said to me was the truth but as always time will tell .He also said he had his car repossessed for not keeping up the payments

Did a shepherds pie for our tea with Yorkshire puddings we had not eaten all day .

MEET UP

Booked the car in for an oil service  I pay a monthly service plan so I don't need to pay its all ready taken care off , they will be doing later in the month because I need a loan car .

Cleaned the fish tank which meant taking  all of the water out and all the gravel we washed and scrubbed everything I cleaned the filter cleaned and all the bags of charcoal and lava the polishing pads I  bleached got to make sure they are bleach free when putting them back in the filter would kill all the fish , washed the rocks with the garden hose on jet spray and thoroughly washed and rinsed all the gravel  it is a long process and takes the best part of three hours it can and has taken longer .But seeing the water in 24hours once it is all settled and gone through the filter is worth it as it is crystal clear which is what you are aiming for .

Meet up with two old neighbour's Nik and Erky I  used to live a few doors away from them this was back in the day they now live in Bradford .We went to the Kaye Arms for lunch Helen and I both ordered the beer battered fish and chips they have a weekday offer two meals for £15 and the food is excellent we meet up at one and spent a good couple of hours chatting away it is amazing how time flies and years go buy , of course we wont leave it as many years next time we meet up .

POSH BUT NOT

First Monday of the new year and I have the next seven days off work not that I don't love my job . .Have already had four cups of coffee from my new coffee  machine they are way  too addictive and drinking  regular coffee after wards  sucks the taste of the coffee from the pods are excellent  .

Went over to my daughters house at Kippax we got there for midday . She cut my hair it had been a while  ,and it was extra long . I had a grade one and the sides and back and scissor cut on the top she also coloured and cut Helen's hair .

On the way home we stopped of at Asda bought some lemon muffins , chicken Kiev's from the freezer section a bag of frozen golden veg rice and green vegetable rice as well as dog food and cat biscuits we also bought two packets of thins bread a bit like pitta bread but squarer, as well as two lottery tickets for the Euro draw .

For tea I had fried chicken pieces and dripping chips that's chips cooked in beef dripping then oven cooked really nice sounds posh they sell them in Asda .

WATCHING  - It Chapter Two.

LISTENING TO - Post Malone "Hollywood Bleeding ".

NEW MACHINE

Helen bought me a new white we previously had red Nescafe Dolce Gusto coffee machine we bought it from Curries/PcWorld,  it was reduced by a massive £80 and cost only the sale price of £39.99 plus the two boxes of cappuccino  coffee pods where only £3.60 for a box  of 10 .We did have to go over to Rotherham to buy one as all the local branches near us had none .

Went to Primark Rotherham branch bought six pairs of underpants I got socks for Christmas but alas no undies .

Cooked a roast pork Sunday dinner with roasted sweet potato , swede,  stuffing and Yorkshire puddings.

Did nothing else really watched our favourite You Tubers and the Tv series Dark Angel the true story of the first female serial killer in England Mary Ann Cotton .

WATER NOT ON TAP

Think we are going shopping for a Brita water jug I suppose until you try it you put up with the water that flows out of your tap expecting it to be pure but it contains limescale and other chemical will see if I can notice any difference  once we use the pitcher .

My automatic self winding watch has stopped working the hands won't budge I manual wound it still no joy it has been ages since I wore it last and though I would put it on today only to find out its fcuked .I read to manual wind the watch which I did still no joy not really gutted guess the next watch I will buy will be an Apple one .

Finally bought a 2020 page per day black diary in A5 size was only two quid from Asda .

THREE DAYS IN

The cottage we wanted to buy in Holmfirth has had a offer out in and is now subject to contract we won't look for another house until we have a buyer for ours which is logical and sensible there are always house on the market to buy or rent .

Need to buy another Amazon fire stick the one in the bedroom seems to be playing up which is a pain in the butt . I have taken the one out of the living room for now we tend to watch more You Tube in bed than in the living room .

Need to sort out the frozen food that we have in both  freezer the upright in the kitchen and the chest freezer in the out building  both are full with stuff I can't remember buying , I also need to load up the boot of the car and go to the local tip the black waste bags are mounting up the bin men missed a week it being Christmas .

Break up to night a massive nine days off when I go back I am doing 18.00 - 02.00 for a week then I have another nine days off a great start to the new year like working part time with full pay .

Already looking forward to the summer months hopefully it will be blazing hot need to buy a pressure washer and need to do some creosoting of decking and fence panels .

I was thinking of buying a diary so I can hand write my 2020 year so far I have not bought one better be quick we are already three days in . I do hope that every one is having a good start to the year.

TURKEY AGAIN

DAY 1 - I have not made any resolutions for the New year I don't smoke or hardly drink I am mostly polite and pleasant , I suppose if anything I could be more active but I do walk a lot at work and during the day I would like to read more so that might be my choice read more books .

I got up and walked the dog as always Bentley the cat followed George my other cat stayed indoors he had been out all night .
Arriving home I prepared our New Years day dinner a turkey crown with roasted potatoes , carrots and swede mash and Yorkshire puddings we will do a bowl of stuffing and have a new jar of cranberry sauce . I go to work at  14,00 at my job as supervisor at the Hospital in Leeds .

Washed the car I parked up yesterday at work and birds our feathered friends shat all over the windscreen , door mirror car wing and passenger side door.

I have next week off on annual leave when I go back on the 13th I will be doing 18.00 - -2.00 shift extra money for New York .

Some old friends from back in the day got in touch with me yesterday we are meeting up next week at The Sun pub for a catch up should be good .

Went to work for double time as it was New Years day if our wages was that all the time be laughing .

TWENTY TWENTY MADE IT

Wishing everyone all the best for 2020 hope its better than 2019 and if you had a great 2019 then hope 2020 is awesome those who had a bad 2019 , hopefully things will get better anyway we all made it plenty didn't and whilst you live you can change things and life can improve just got to stick in there .

THE MAIN THING IS EVERYONE READING THESE WORDS , IS THAT WE MADE IT AND THINGS WILL CHANGE HOPEFULLY FOR THE BETTER , SO GOOD LUCK AND STAY POSITIVE , ALL THE BEST TO ALL .