LEATHERED UP

 TUESDAY - Day off work we went to Meadow Hall I bought two white T's from Joe Brown two for twenty five pounds .Helen got a brown Leather jacket so we both have new leather jackets well we will if mine arrives by delivery .The best of it was they had the jacket I ordered in the shop after saying they wouldn't be getting any more in stock I tried it on it fitted perfect at least I know when it lands it will fit ok . . I also needed some going out going out shirts after our restaurant visit to the Fox House I felt a bit under dressed . So I purchased  two going out shirts from Fat Face which I needed since the others I own are a bit too tight but  I will keep these just encase I loose weight one never knows .Helen went to the Office show outlet and bought a pair of Ugg trainers super warm super comfy that's Uggs for you .

 Forgot it was half term from school and the hall was packed with kids so we didn't both to get anything to eat .On the way home we stopped of at Fox Valley and went to a little restaurant called Zorro's Helen had a bacon and cheese toastie and I ordered a  flat bread Lamb kofte kebab we shared onion rings and fries the food was really good we had seen it in passing almost every time we have been to Fox Valley but never ventured inside .

I bought two now Levi T's and another two pairs of black socks . I also bought a bottle of Mont Blanc platinum explorer, I tried some of the fragrance on in Meadow Hall and I really liked it . its not often I find a scent I like this hit the spot and seeing as  I have had not had any new cologne for  the last couple of years maybe even longer I invested in a bottle as pricing goes it is extremely affordable  . I bought Helen a bottle of Ysl Libre Vanille couture .

Good news my leather jacket I ordered online last Saturday arrived just after seven p.m. we was waiting to go to Helens brothers house in Crofton .

REJOINING GOING BACK

 MONDAY - Not sure why but I rejoined Netflix for £5.99 a month with adverts they still had a lot of the same films and series that where on when I first joined will give it a few months if I am not using it will sack it .

Back at work it is amazing what you forget after a few months off the like of user names , passwords , and logins plus my desktop had changed we upgraded to windows 11 so it was a new desktop so all my saves and short cuts not just  no longer worked they were not present .I am on phased return and finished at twelve o'clock midnight I got on to the motorway when I remembered I had left my wallet in my desk drawer I had to u-turn and go back I was twenty minutes out before I could turn round I eventually made it back and retrieved my wallet it was well after half one when II got home battling the rain and wind .

I t was nice seeing staff I didn't get to see everyone but telling everyone my updates did kill the time I quite enjoyed being back it was very nostalgic I know that will be short lived back to reality will eventually kick in .My next day at work is Thursday nice one .

DINNER AT THE FOX

 SUNDAY - Clocks fall back one hour its that time of the year again darkness is coming the temperature as already dropped some .

Went to Fox Valley stocked up on cat and dog food and human stuff like brown sugar , coffee , tinned tuna and Pek all of life's essentials .

Booked a table to eat at the Fox House it has been refurbished and reopened a few weeks ago I booked the table for half past six we ordered the same pork to start and pork for the main course the food was really good I had a desert Helen didn't .

The starter was pork with a nice crackling the sauce was superb really nice 9/10 .

The main course was again really nice nothing to dislike I ate it all the only thing I didn't eat there was sugar peas in their pods I disliked so left them .

The choice of desert was limited so opted for the chocolate brownie the bill came to £92 with drinks a pint of cider for me  and  a lager and lime for Helen and service charge of 10 % .The interior very nice staff a little slow but it was quite busy .

HANGED UP

 SATURDAY - Yesterday went to Meadow Hall I was going to buy the patch leather jacket which I saw on my last visit and I swore I was going to get it in the next few weeks if it is one thing I am is patient ,It was sold out and they didn't think they would get anymore in but told me it was still available to order online which I did hopefully as I never tried it on that it fits and it suits me .I didn't try it on in the shop when they had them in stock I tried another similar style in the size I wanted and it was ok .

Helen was having second thoughts bought the size of the corner sofa we ordered yesterday another concern was the ottoman bed headboard wether it would go up the stairs we went back to Furniture Outlet store to change them both we took out a section from the sofa and completely change the ottoman for a different one with a smaller head board which has led strip  lights around the headboard good news we are getting a refund for the price difference of £300 .

Went to Marks & Spencers food hall to the restaurant no hot food the oven was out of order .Went over to Next bought three pairs of Jeans and two set of white duvet and pillow cases for the new bed .We then went to Curry's and I succumbed I couldn't help myself I bought a 15" Mac book air in midnight I have wanted another Mac book since I bought the Lenovo think pad a couple of years ago the build quality not a patch on Mac books .Did I need one no but the last Mac book I bought is thirteen years old if I could update the IOS to Sequoia or the latest being Tahoe I would have not bothered .

In the evening I drove Helen to Bramley she had three readings to do I went to the Tesco where we use to shop just for old time sake bought some dog and cat treats .On the drive back home we stopped at the Kingfisher chippy and got two chip butties with scraps  I had a curry sauce .

SUNDAY - Finally mad the coat hook wall hanger and shelve and stained it with some dark pine wax looks ok its rustic plus its done its job got all of Helens coats of her seat at the dining table .

BORING

 THURSDAY - Its my birthday yippee and my twin sister Anne .Got a new debit card still waiting for a pin number so can only use it to transfer and pay bill through my online banking app .Helen bought me a chocolate cake candles and most of all pouring cream. .

Went to B&Q Helen bought some wood and coat hooks so i can make a feature in the hallway to hang up mass coats and jackets mainly Helen's .She also bought me a Bosch cordless drill with two batteries its only for hollow walls , wood and screwdriving screws in or anything else I want to bore .

FRIDAY - Stayed up until after one checked my bank my pension as been paid out so I paid of some bills which will save me money each month  /

Later we went to Furniture village paid for a electric reclining corner sofa and an ottoman king size bed there was change from £3k the sofa we have as seen better days the bed with added storage is a big plus.

After later in the afternoon we drove over to Meadow Hall to drop Helen's phone she was trading in when she got her Iphone 17 max pro .We had fish and chips from one of the outlets on the food stall they were ok .

IT'S A SCAM

 SATURDAY - Went to Fox Valley bought a chicken tikka masala for tea with sticky rice and nan bread .Helen bought three new sweat shirts from Regatta she shops there a lot so much all the staff recognise her I have had a couple of jackets from there in the past .

SUNDAY - Went to Helens parents at Acaster Malbis York we went to the Wetherby Whaler again we are getting regulars I had a large haddock and chips with baked beans yum , yum .

MONDAY - My bank account or card got scammed and my card got blocked I went to buy some Jalapeno and cheese Max crisps I tried to pay using my phone it got declined .I remembered I had a email from Virgin saying my the was fraudulent action on my account I thought it was a scam email anyway I rang my bank someone had tried to use my account to buy bus tickets to the cost of £48 it got declined then my account got suspended so I have a new card coming in the next few days .I have cancelled my payments for Amazon , Ebay , Google and PayPal.

TUESDAY - Rang work going to do a phased return next week I will do Monday 18.00 to midnight will also do this on Thursday the following same hours but working Monday , Wednesday and Friday .Week three doing four days with Wednesday off working 18.00 till midnight , Week four full hours Wednesday off .Week five back to normal .
 

IT LANDED

 MONDAY - Went to Home Sense in Birstall Helen bought new cushions for our settee a couple of throws , a table runner oven gloves nearly £200 and that's supposed to be cheap I have had settees that cost less .

TUESDAY - Went to Home Sense at Birstall Deja vu bought more cushions and one more throw and another plant pot .To make matters worse we then had to go to Ikea prefer the Sheffield store it was a nightmare the self service wouldn't take cash and card although it said it would , you need a receipt to scan to open the barriers plus there is security guards watching you was not a great shopping experience then to top it all we got a hot dog no mustard jut tomato sauce not good enough shitty service not going back  to the Leeds store again .

THURSDAY - Later on Helen received a text message saying her new Iphone Pro max 17 had landed and  was ready to collect we was busy until after seven p.m so we had two hours to get to Meadow Hall Sheffield and get the new phone collected  after showing her passport and bank card we more or less was given the phone and we left on the way out Helen bought another pair of Croc slippers .

Got home started to set Iphone up using using the move to iOS app all it moved was messages and contacts all the other stuff the apps I manually downloaded the only issue was with WhatsApp it worked the date timeline was going back to 2023 this was the last time Helen had a Iphone and I think it backed up using the cloud it is  working just all old messages are included /all in it took a couple of hours thank god for face id and having a secondary device you can link to for authorization purposes .

IN HALIFAX

 FRIDAY - I am with Giff Gaff and at the moment online  they are selling the latest  Iphone 17 pro max in cosmic orange for £25 down then £35.12 an month for 36 months I think that is quite a good deal .Compared to what Vodaphone are charging Helen to upgrade its a fcuking steal .

Completed the first level of my Crash Bandicoot game got to admit its a great game really liking it and I don't mind dying and getting respawned all part of the fun .

Helen had four readings to do in Halifax from 16.00 hrs below is picture of historical monument Wainhouse tower I sat in the car waiting for her I watched some Prime and You Tube just over two and a half hours .Afterwards went shopping got a curry and sticky rice for tea .

SATURDAY -  Went to the local farm shop bought a turkey crown , cabbage , leek and Yorkshire puddings for tomorrows dinner .

Had a minor flood the hose from the dishwasher as a crack in it a large puddle formed on the laminate floor luckily I threw a load of tea towels and got it mopped up and dry extremely quickly. 

SUNDAY - Washed the car which is a pain seeing the hose pipe ban is still in place it was a mediocre clean looked better than it did before I started no spray polish for the paint work so I ordered some of Amazon Car Plan Demon shine spray it  comes tomorrow to be continued .

 Cooked the turkey crown had it with stuffing also cooked some cabbage and leek and mash potatoes the turkey was ok was not impressed with the mash it was bland even though I put butter and milk in the cabbage and leek think it was undercooked it was chewy 

CRASHED AGAIN

 TUESDAY - Helens Esr phone protection screens and iPhone case came today the Esr screen protectors are easy to fit it aligns it self in its special cut out fold cover pull the tab screen fitted no messing she used one for her iPad air 13" and it applied it no messing first attempt .

Helen set of to Skegness with her cousin Sharon who's birthday it is today the are going for a couple of nights in a caravan static home so I am home alone .

I have Crash Bandicoot "It's About Time " , Curry and cider I will be fine plus the dogs and cats hardly on my own am I .

WEDNESDAY - Played on Crash loaded the game had to update the console then update the game played on it for a hour its a great game so better than Zombies and killing people .Crash Bandicoot and Tomb Raider was two games we got with the Ps1 years ago I used to enjoy both , I have the original Tomb Raider on my Xbox one .

Had a curry Dansk for tea with onion bhajis nan bread and rice , took the dogs out for a early evening walk just before dusk spent rest of night watching You Tube .

THURSDAY - Helen will be home later this evening not sure what time , put some washing in will get it dried cleaned the bathrooms , toilet and kitchen , before cooking breakfast .

Completed my Dbs check for my job at Leeds teaching hospital didn't take long to do obviously being an upstanding citizen all my life unlike some  I have no issues convictions or spent convictions I could be come a priest I am that without sin although I am human and  I do have faults just not criminal ones .

Helen arrived home late afternoon she has readings to do from half past five onwards she is also going to be busy tomorrow no rest for the wicked .

MEGA BOX

 SUNDAY - Ribs still hurting , bending , stretching and sleeping is still causing somewhat  discomfort if I am out walking I look fine my breathing is better or at least 98% better and I look fit and well .Its doing household tasks special when trying to bend . lift , stretch that I get pain and twinges a reminder that broken ribs take time to heal and mend , but is a full recovery obtainable or will I never be 100% recovered I can now manage to sleep sort of on my good side but its not comfy its tolerate it for a few hours before I wake up and move back on to my back .

MONDAY - Helen wants to check out if she can upgrade her mobile phone she is feed up of her Samsung and regrets switching from Apple so we are going to check out her option at Meadow Hall after her 11.30 reading .

We went to Vodaphone after getting her details up on their system it was agreed that she can upgrade to the new Iphone 17 pro max costing £1199 ,  of course a new phone will always be dearer than the old phone you are using specially if its been a couple of years and you are getting the latest phone she is getting the 17 pro max in cosmic orange they didn't have it in store it will be around two to three weeks before she can pick it up so its ordered all signed up ready to go .

We went to the Apple store the only iPhone 17 pro max was the 2gb for at £1999 they didn't even have the case she wanted which will be cheaper either on eBay or Amazon .We looked at the Apple watches she will need one now she as both iPad and iPhone it makes sense to get a apple watch.

We went to the food court Helen had McDonalds fillet of fish and I went to Kfc and got the gravy mega box 

 

HOW MUCH IS ENOUGH

 THURSDAY - Still waiting for  a letter from Nhs pension with my final statement of my settlement for my lump sum and monthly pension amount if I  carry on working I wont be paying into a pension anymore will increase my monthly pay by around £250 a month , also I will pay no national insurance another monthly increase of around £125 my monthly Nhs  pension at roughly £475 a month and my state pension of £1001 a month plus my wage because as I have retired and returned of around £2350 plus  my lumpsum pay-out from my pensions from 2013  .if I can do it for at least twelve months should 18 months max I will then quit work full stop and life of my pensions and pension credits .

The big big question is how much do I spend on a camper van and when do I  buy one I think early next year either the end of February beginning of March as I cant see us doing much winter camping specially when the first port of call  will be more likely than anything will be Scotland .

There will be other items we need to buy for life in a van purchasing the van will be just the start that is one reason I want to carry on work .Other things I want to buy is a new Mac book might get the Air and not the pro still be a good buy ,  the last one I bought was in 2012 its still fires up ok but cant run latest OS I put a SSD drive in and upgraded the memory it was £999 when I bought it if I get a new one should be good for the next ten years or so .

My current Iphone is 13 pro max upgrading to the new 17 pro max would make sense but just getting the 17 pro even more sense then I would have the  more storage option  at 512 gb .

I purchased my current phone day before Christmas eve 2021 so the changes would be a great  benefit .My Apple watch was a present from Helen Christmas 2020 I have worn it every day should I up grade money soon spends hence the reason  why to I want to  carry on working .

I also want some new clothes jeans , leather jacket , T-shirts and trainers as well as hoddies and after shave  and of course wont see Helen go short of a new phone she is feed up of her Samsung also might get her the Apple watch for Christmas  hopefully then start saving a regular amount of cash every month the concept also with the van if need arises God forbid I could live off my pension using the van as a home .

 

NEW PAD

 FRIDAY - Went to Penistone Tesco bought a Mexican old Elpaso chilli beef burrito bowel  was not that good not very filling less meat than I expected and a bit bland not impressed ,I also bought ice cream and bananas and Mars bars we have peanut butter and Nutella going to make a milk shake with the Ninja blender , Helen bought some thick glass straws for our morning smoothies . 

Storm Amy hit Hade edge its very dark with rain lashing down with very high winds one of the palm trees in the garden looks like it might be struggling keeping rooted I guess it will make it its roots are ok its if it snaps its trunk .

Helen got her £799 refund paid back which means she now can go buy her Ipad  Air 13" in space grey hopefully they will have one in stock .

SATURDAY - Went to Wakefield's PcWorld they didn't have any Ipad's that you could purchase and walk out with we had to upgrade the storage to 256gb and then nearest store which had any in stock was at Pontefract  about twenty minutes away we paid got the receipt and went to Pontefract picked up Helen's Ipad Air .

On the way home we stopped at Burger King as usual the place was empty and the food cold storm Amy was still ongoing although we had some sun got home set the iPad up it took quite a long time Helen never keeps records  of user names or passwords so set applicants up took ages some were set up using emails others with her phone number got there in the end it a nice bit of kit we put on a Esr screen protector what a breeze no air bubbles .

WET WIPES AND BEER

 WEDNESDAY - Raining that's not good for all the weed killer we put down yesterday would have been better if it had not rained saying that the reservoirs have enough water for the next six weeks so I guess we shouldn't moan the picture below was taken yesterday its Winscar reservoir one of a few from around  two miles from where we live all the brown light brown sand earth looking material that is showing should be covered by water hopefully in the next few months levels will be topped up at the moment we are still under a hose pipe ban which as been in place since the start of July this summer. If things don't improve will be wet wipes and beer for us all ,

 Started watching the series Peacemaker I don't normally binge watch T.V series as I usually get bored after a couple but watched the first six episodes of season one in one day John Cena is brilliant the script brilliant , Eagly  the eagle is also brilliant even if it is CGI originally it was going to be a real eagle but apparently it was pissed off and didn't want to be  on set so James Gunn felt sorry for it so scrapped the idea of a real eagle .

THANKS H

 MONDAY - Went into Trust headquarters at St .James's hospital Leeds .I sorted out my pre employment check list all was ok and is getting processed .Then in the same building went to the pension department and sorted that out he checked my forms and will process them asp , I think it will be November when it is sorted they are not quick.

Latest Amazon purchases blue ear pads for my Bose headphones the left one needs replacing they are good headphones but look plastic and cheap think I might look at some different brands see if there are any nicer looking ones with better qualities .  Helen bought me a headphone stand thanks H , it will sit on my bedroom drawers I usually wear my headphones in bed either to listen to music or podcasts sometimes also to watch YouTube.

TUESDAY - Did nothing much Helen sorted out the front garden mainly a tidy up we placed the pumpkins we bought at Gordon Rigg garden centre last Saturday .We also sprayed  the block paving drive to kill all the moss , weeds and grass that are currently growing in between the cracks -