Did some work in the garden made one of the boarders bigger and planted some bulbs to come up next year , getting the cooker on the 21st of September fingers crossed , Guy started at college applied for EMA .won sisxty six quid on the lottery bingo at work .
no nights all week .

Totally skint till pay day I am owed £135 from the lady we sent the cat back hopefully this weekend I will get a cheque

Posted out to me and can get it banked , Helen sons stumps up £30 Tuesday and I have twenty three pounds in cash

In my wallet . did fill the car up and we have gas and electric on the metre which will need topping up before payday .

Trying to get a weekend shift but it’s not looking likely anymore I won’t have to rely on weekends anymore .

Still no offers on the house we have on the market looks like it’s going to be a uphill struggle to sell it before its repossessed

Hopefully we will still get some cash if it is but not as much if we are allowed to sell it privately .

Still waiting for the range to be delivered can’t see us getting it this week be lucky if its next week one of the reasons I am skint

Is that I had to pay the builder for opening up the chimney breast and capping off the chimney which was £350 plus electrical work at £125

and re-piping the gas £85 .

We also paid five hundred pounds for the cooker which is still at our friends house who are waiting delivery for a higher spec model to replace it ,

so we can have the one that they have now.

Guy starts college Tuesday hopefully he will get EMA payment of thirty pound a week which will give him some cash in his pocket for life’s little essentials
and before we know it It’s going to be bonfire night then Christmas. Then 2010 .

Helen is back on sick she won’t be working this weekend might end up at Saddleworth Moor again next week I have five nights off from my hospital cleaning job

LISTENING TO NOISETTES – WILD YOUNG HEARTS

Didn't do much today went to Harewood House near Leeds to see the steam engines it was actually free parking then when we got to the event there was a charge and it was going to coast over twenty pound to get three off us in so didn't bother we headed back to the car and drove on the A1 north bound to the services and went to Burger King and spent £19.99 on three meals then just went home

Went to Bingham Rocks haven't been there since i was at Primary School don't think its altered and it's not changed much , the rocks are still there i didn't remember much about the place it was OK for an afternoon out not much to do unless you want to break a leg.

up early today to take Guy to his school at Garforth to pick up his GCSE'S exam results. went to the Red Bus Cafe for breakfast then drove to near by garden centres bought some compost and herbs to plant at the side of the garage after i had taken the flagstones up next April May i want to plant chilli's , peepers, butter squash, swede, parsnips, potatoes, onions, tomatoes , and broccoli might have to re plan the planting space or get some raised beds where possible

we have got the gas supply sorted out and today the wire for the electric ovens is being fitted .We also Had the chimney capped off to stop rain coming down the chimney and soaking the electrics . The dining room gas fire we bought off eBay is also plumbed in fitted and working like new , it now feels like we are making progress even though we have still no cooker that should be getting delivered next week and has been paid for in full £500 .

Helen had to go back to work this weekend and has been placed on the ward that caused her to go on sick in the first place which seems to suggest where is the duty of care to staff and patients we have a meeting next Wednesday with senior management hopefully it will be resolved intuition tells us it wont at the end of the day our contract states that we will work anywhere within the trust .
I have four days off work from my day job next week after i have finish on Monday but i still having to work on a night Helen is trying to get a shift back on the wing she use to work on Monday to Friday hopefully this will be resolved at the meeting this should have had been resolved four weeks ago hopefully this will be manager and accomplished by said management i doubt it will.

we should get the cooker either mo day or Tuesday if we do and its all plumbed in. Then next Sunday we might be eating our first Sunday roast in our house and home since we moved in to on the 16th of December last year , this is a major event i don't think most people realise how important it is to have great cooked food they just take it for granted since we have been without a cooker we have only been invited for Sunday dinner twice which is better than none but not ideal guy has been with us over two months now and i think he is already realised what a cooker and freshly prepare meals count for its basic human rights to keep your self clean to clothe yourself in clean clothes to wash and keep your self clean and to sleep somewhere clean dry and comfortable and of course safe and to do with out any one does affect how you feel and how you view life it is depressing and it does get you down also it made me feel that i was in some way not looking after Helen and others as i should have been even cavemen cooked on or over a living flame.

Finally we should be getting our cooker delivered this Monday its a Rangemaster with double oven and is dual fuel both gas and electric which can cook 30% better than a normal oven without the need to preheat it , also it can be used to defrost food and there is a wok burner and a spit for roasting poultry so we might even get a duck going round and round ,we are paying five hundred pounds which bought from new would have been nearly £1300 .

We can’t wait to have a Sunday roast to and to start eating fresh roast veggies once again parsnips, butter squash and sweet potatoes covered in honey with mushrooms and onions thrown in to the middle of a home baked Yorkshire pudding and if she will for Helen to bake a banana cake and other mouth watering delights .

We have been well over eight months without proper cooking facilities since day one that we moved in , so it’s a new cooker is for us a life changing event , especially since the two ring hob has given up the ghost and went in the bin last Sunday the largest ring on it didn’t work right form new .Money should be saved too , last night for instance we bought three pizzas for £9.99 we must spend over £100 a month on take a ways which usually are great and tasty and freshly cooked to order and filling , but we could have bought extra food in from Asda and cooked loads of extra meals instead , so hopefully take away bill is going to be drastically reduced saying that, we will still be visiting the Red Bus Cafe on the A64for the odd fry up and of course still going to our favourite fish shop Murgatroyds at Yeadon . all in all standing of living and moral should be better and one thing missing from home is the smell of food cooking our cakes getting baked also we can start and use our whistling kettle again on the gas hob. .

painted the inside of the chimney breast stained the lintel and fitted a panel with two downlighters in had to repoint the brick work then acid clean it , wash it all down before painting the inside faces now we are just waiting for the range to be delivered in a couple of weeks fingers crossed we need a electrical socket fitting the gas is already there also need a concrete base for the range to sit on .

Had first viewing of the house last Sunday not sure how long it will take to sell in the current climate hopefully not too long .

My interest in owning a camper van has occurred and the thought of having your home with you is very appealing , for weekend breaks and get ways.

Also travelling further afield would be possible without the need of b&b or hotels which also makes getting away so much cheaper.

With the cooker and fridge we be sorted for simple meals and teas and coffees, As there is always somewhere to get breakfast with someone somewhere with a van

Doing fry ups , breakfast and hot sandwiches. Would have to make sure the sleeping was combatable don’t want to aggravate bad backs the lighting and ventilation and warmth

Where adequate get them right and I guess your half way there , also carry extra fuel would like to visit Scotland up to Skye following the coastal roads taking a laptop digital camera

For updating blog and storing photos also the laptop would be an entertainment system as well for , films music surfing and streaming TV channels , all I need is for my house to sell

And this dream could easily become a reality might have missed this summer but have van will travel.

I meet Helen outside from work for the very first time 2 years ago today that day and that meeting changed everything and altered both our life’s forever.

I Wonder what the next two years will bring , all I know is nothing ever stays the same does it and things are always changing , jobs , people , houses ,money etc etc .

New things to discover and new places to go to and visit a lot more photographs to take and a lot more blog posts to write well fingers crossed there is .

Weekend gone Saturday we went back to the Moors at Saddleworth , Helen and I climbed up the hillside to reach the very top to locate and to photo Ashway memorial cross it was rough going and quite warm also it was hard on the legs once a the top we had our drinks from our tea and coffee flasks and we ate half of the egg mayo sarnies .trekked over the top off the moors to stand on the very top to the Trinnacle at the Ravenstones rock formation from up here you can see for miles took some photos of the reservoirs which looked like ponds from this distance .

Made our way back down from the top following the rocky path of Holme clough making our way down to Birchen Clough Waterfall , keeping to the left we made our way back down to Greenfield reservoir then on to Yeoman Hey reservoir and finished the walk back to the car at Dovestone reservoir.

All done in trainers and t-shirts we need to get some proper walking boots and some water proof jackets and trousers.

Guy bought himself some new jeans and t-shirts and sportswear he looked real cool in his new denims wish I was his age again he has it all in front of him and doesn’t realise what potential he has to do anything he wants if he only puts his heart and soul in to it .

The kitchen chimney breast has been open up to take a range cooker had a oak beam walled in to support the brickwork above the opening the existing bricks don’t look that bad we are going to clean them up and leave them exposed for now at a later date we might plaster board and tile out the back and side walls .

Went on a speed awareness course Thursday I was caught on camera whilst Helen was in Egypt doing 36 in a 30 mile an hour zone , I had the chance of going on this course and not having three points put on my driving license, which has to be worth it at the end of the day .So attending a four hour course was worth it in the end the course was very informative and showed the ways to identify speed limits and correct road awareness.

Saturday

Went to Saddleworth moor I have only ever past it via the M62 this time went through Holmfirth than on to the A635 stopped at Lockwood at the Lockwood pub and had hot baguette sandwiches’ and a half a pint , carried on to saddleworth when we saw the reservoirs from the road side finally manage to get directions and parked up at the car park we walked up past Dovestone reservoir and Yoeman hey reservoir and then up to Greenfield reservoir , I always thought the moors around saddle worth to be bleak and dreary almost baron and desolate there is loads of magnificent fir trees and waterways , raven stones rock formation and wildlife. It was raining constantly and it didn’t seem to matter neither did we seem to be getting that soaked we should have took water with us and something to eat must have spent a good three hours walking and hiking .

Sunday

Went back to Saddleworth moors this time took Guy with us before going we stopped off at Tesco and bought sarnies , mars bars , crisps , and bottled water .also bought some hot bacon and sausage sarnies to eat before we set off . parked at dovestone reservoir and did the same route as we did the day before covering the same three reservoirs we also climbed some of the Raven Stone rocks , we was trying to locate and find Adam’s cross the going got to strenuous , today also we went Wessenden Reservoir just off the A635 and covered even more miles , was very similar terrain as before and we could have easily spent more time here but it was getting late and didn’t want to be walking across the moors in the dark , also we didn’t have any hiking gear not even a rucksack we was carrying everything in a Tesco carrier bag not ideal for a day’s trekking over valley and hill. Finished the day back in Holmfirth eating fish and chips at Compos From “ Last Of The Summer Wine” fish shop we ate them outside .

i am updating blog using mobile phone.The house is on the market,Guy is still with us and its been a funny few weeks.

We have had the chimney breast in the kitchen opened up so we can fit a range cooker in to the opening this also will make the kitchen a lot bigger , to get it to this stage cost us £300.There was quite a few bricks to take out and quite a lot of making up to do .

Went on a speed awareness course Thursday got caught speeding whilst Helen was in Egypt going on the course was same as paying the fine and it means not having three points on my license which has to be worth going.

Go to Reed Rains today at Garforth i have to pay £350 plus vat which is £402.50p for the Hip pack doing as our house is going on the market to be sold if i don't pay it they wont put it on the market , we have been advised to market it at £130k its a great house with a decent size conservatory on the rear which goes over the kitchen and living room hopefully it will get snapped up asp , and we can both move on with our lives with a few thousand in the bank .
Helen still on sick for another two weekends.
Sunday
Took Guy to White Rose he bought himself four t-shirts and a pair of track suit bottoms and a grey hoodie , we dropped him off at Catleford he is staying over at his mates house for a few days .

Guy still here with us, it will be first month that i don't pay child maintenance in the last 18 months i have made regular payments , so there is no going back for Guy he is with me and not her anymore .I have been to see my solicitor and hopefully my house goes on market is sold and is split 50/50.

Getting the kitchen chimney breast opening up and a wooden beam put in , at the end of this month so we can fit a range cooker that we have bought from a friend for five hundred quid .

Guy still i s still living with us at our house it has been over a week now and he is still upset over the dog last Sunday we all went over to temple newsham and walked her round the grounds of the house.which took us well over two hours looked like we was going to get soaked but the rain never happened .The cat is still brilliant he is right at home he love all his toys and he loves being round people we couldn't have got a nice cat both in looks and temperament .

Picked the dog this Saturday up from the old house both Guy and i use to live in and collected the dog Bandit , drove over to Newmillerdam near Wakefield and walked round the waters edge.

loaded the biked in to the freelander can just get three bikes in all laid on top of one another and went down to the canal at Rodley cycled to Greengates to visit Mark and Sue , bumped in to them walking a dog that they had borrowed Sam a boarder collie so we walked back to their house with the bikes whilst there the heavens opened so make drove me over to pick the car up from Rodley.
SUNDAY
Went to the car boot at Crossgates Leeds its change only a third of the stalls of what used to be there was there a l ot of vacant spaces thought it would be over flowing with people selling unwanted good during the credit crunch . it was easy parking usually when i have been in the past its always been a nightmare to get a place today was easy loads of spaces .Was undecided what to do the rest of the day went to a place on the A64 that sells stone troughs , water features , old pieces of stone they had a lion for sale which was as big as the one’s on Leeds town hall steps. Went to Tesco bought some fresh chicken breast some fresh noodles and stir fry Chinese vegetables and some black bean sauce that’s Sunday sorted then went to Wickes Helen bought some white gloss , white emulsion and some pale green emulsion to paint the dining room walls and ceiling while we did the dining room Guy painted his bedroom floor black. Al that’s left to do is the glossing skirting boards and bay window and door frame .

Spice is not allowed out of doors we might one day consider him going out were not sure at the moment his play ground id the house he has more or less a free run of the place and goes as he pleases throughout the day whilst one of us is with him.

Spice is full of life and does a lot of climbing for a Ragdoll who aren't suppose to be climbers he is full of affection and plays all over the house he loves cuddles and snuggling up close he will follow you ever where and purrs constantly and will chat away to you.

Sugar went back to the breeder she is selling her on to another ragdoll breeder who wanted her before we bought her spice was to boisterous and a wee bit over powering ans Sugar was the total opposite and when we realised Guy was moving in with us with the dog we felt it right that we returned her , even though the dog as now gone.

Friday collected Guy and the dog from the old house after work got home don't think the dog is going to settle and we are scared she will attack the kitten she has already ruined a new rug and the Internet connection. After tears and heartaches we took the dog back home Guy is staying even though he had to say goodbye to his dog.


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Picked all Guys stuff up his TV ,PlayStation, clothes, books and dvds and his other belongings did all in the one trip.Both Helen and i are over the moon that he wants to stay.
Guy sorted out his new bedroom and all his belongings are in place and put away , like me i hope there is no going back for him as well and he stays with us and finds peace and happiness like i have. .Guy officially has left school i don't know what his immediate plans are hopefully if he is still not sure he will sit down and take stock of his life and what direction he wants to go in .Both Helen and i are there for him and he knows that we will support him .