SAD TIMES

MONDAY -No work today laid the second piece of linoleum in Helen's outbuilding used double sided carpet tape to fix it in place only needed a 800 cm piece to finish the floor .
Wired another L.E.D outside light , so when Helen is working the outside id flood lighted and she can see out at night when it is dark.

TUESDAY - Ordered another cordless phone from Bt it arrives on Thursday hopeful this will suite Helen's needs .

Carved my pumpkin head it is outside on the patio table at the side of Helen's I think mine is the better of the two Helen's don't even scare the cats away .

Back at work tomorrow at least it will be a short week three days till the weekend is nice be dark driving to work and dark driving home .

WEDNESDAY - Helen's uncle Ken's funeral at the grave yard and church where we use to live .The Church is shut down for repairs so the service was done at the grave side they lowed the coffin into the ground said a few prayers and a couple of speeches by the resident vicar or priest then we was throwing flowers and dirt on to the coffin . The coffin looked like it would only take  a few months to rot down of once the earth has been put back into the grave it was a good six feet down if not more .

To think of a person being placed  in a box and being put in the ground for the next hundred years does not seem right to me thank god for cremation.

MAC MALI

SATURDAY - After getting up had shower and a coffee before going to the chiropodist was there at half ten which after getting to bed after three was not that impressed .

Drove over to my sisters house she going to the Apple store to get her new laptop .she opted for the 13 inch Mac book pro in space grey with 8gb and 256 ssd at a cost off £1449 she also bought a usb c to usb lead for another £19.99 .

Helen had another party to do I was sat in the car from seven until half eleven at night I went to the Kebab shop got  a tray of kebab meat and fries with chilli sauce and a can of Dr Pepper's which killed half an hour I watched some episodes of  " Killing Eve" .The time did drag every hour sat in a car at night seems twice as long .

SUNDAY - Went to Gordon Rigg garden centre over at Todmorden went with Anne and Alan had a burger from the burger van they are really good burgers and for a cheese and onions its only £3.

We all went to the Indian restaurant  that we got a take away from Grameen Spice  a few weeks ago for a sit down meal we had four starters my sister got a chicken chat and the rest of us onion bahjees we had four main dishes I had a lamb Mac Mali between us we had three rice and two nans , I had two bottles of pear Magners ,Helen had half a larger my sister cider and Alan had a pint of Cobra the bill was £85.

FOUR DAYS OFF

My work team clubbed together and bought me eight bottles of Jack Daniels cider greatly appreciated and a big bar of Galaxy chocolate nice again great appreciated will do nothing for the waist line but hey ho.

Driving over to Doncaster to pick up a pc chair Helen is buying off the Facebook Market place for £30 to put into the office it also vibrates and massages your lower back and bum which is quite intense and loud gave it it good clean and it is now on the office its a pity it does not have a heated seat  .

We had a quote from a telecom company for the phone extension and broadband going to cost us  £180 which is more than I though but less than Bt which came in at £205 it gets fitted next Thursday .

FRIDAY - Last shift of the week then I have a whole four days off , need to get breakfast food in , pizzas and pasties might get some decent steak for Saturdays night tea .

Cleaned out the fish tank and filter system it is amazing how dirty the water is when you refill it and turn the pump back on 24 hours later the water is crystal clear the fish seem happy and healthy .

4 ALWAYS

My Daughter gave me some money for a birthday a gift she gave me prior to my holiday which I spent on drink and eating out it made for a great holiday even better she also gave me a recent gift she bought me different chilli  oils from mild to extra hot great on pizza she also got me a succulent plant the pot I will keep and plant something else should the succulent die .

I Ordered a black steel tactical pen of Ebay my Son had paid some money into my account for my birthday , I like gifts that will last and stand the test of time , unless I loose it I will have it always which is a nice thought .

BIRTHDAYS

Bought three Kindle books off Amazon  Small fry and Shoe Dog that I mentioned in a older post and I also bought A bite in the Apple about Steve Jobs written by his first girlfriend and mother to his daughter Lisa , should read them all before Christmas I got them my sister got me a gift card for Amazon for my up and coming birthday.

Jack Daniels whiskey is on offer at the moment I might treat myself to a couple of bottles for Christmas .

Going to the Indian curry house where we got a take away from a couple of weeks ago fingers crossed we should be there next Sunday.

My forth week coming up of doing 6-2 shifts ,  I won't know how good my pay will be till next month .

My sister is going to buy a new Mac book pro next Saturday at the Apple store in Trinity Leeds ,  if I go with her I can hopefully get her 10% off the price .

Break up this Friday I get four days off to make for an extra long weekend which will be a luxury hopefully the weather won't be too cold .

TUESDAY - It's my birthday and my twin sister's , we are  another year older and it has been another year that as flown by the years are disappearing fast .
After walking the dog Bailey , I fitted the linoleum down in the outbuilding it does a look a lot better and it will make the room warmer as well .

BLACK AND GOLD

Went to visit Helen's uncle Ken he more or less waiting to die in a rest home at Roundhay near too the park .He is facing a wall which needs painting and is bare wall with out any posters or art its just a wall at the side  of him is a picture window looking out on to trees which are turning their colours for autumn .The squirrels are running up and down and you can see the grass verges and people walking past , why they cant change the lay out of his room so he can have a view is beyond me .

He died on the Friday not sure of the time and he is now in a chapel of rest Helen does not want to see him not sure if we will go to his funeral service .

THURSDAY - My daughter called round with my Grandson and her partner Lee who she split up from but still see's him regular but they live apart , He just bought a 2nd hand Bmw M5 and it is fast he will either crash it , or end up with speeding endorsements or end up with a whacking garage bill for repairs every 200 miles it needs a litre of oil and it does around 18 mpg .
Went to our favourite fish restaurant .
Then we both had our hair cut Helen had her colour done I had a grade one cut .

SATURDAY - Both my sisters came round in the morning in the evening Helen had readings to do in Ireland wood I waited in the car eating doner  meat and fries with chili sauce and a can of coke .

Helen as been working on her room we bought some flooring and she re -painted the dresser top  black , and then  glued on some gold embossed wallpaper  using pva glue on to the back of the panels it looks good .

COST A LOT

Painting the walls in the out building at the Side of the  van , with matt white emulsion and a two inch brush  , the walls are breeze block you can guess the fun level of doing this , at least it is not red summers day hot but one block at a time is tedious .

Helen glossed the window frame and cill the door is pvc and is white she also painted the dresser top blue .

She also needs a new microwave to re heat her coffee and some other bits and pieces there is oil filled radiator in there and it does a good job of heating the room hopefully at a low cost .

Helen did her first hour on the psychic phone lines at the end of her allotted time it gives her the amount of money she as earned for one hour it was  £13.95 for working from home I think it is quite a good rate .

Bt open reach will not fit an line to an out building the only run extensions to internal rooms in your house we have to get a telecom engineer we have one booked for Thursday afternoon for Bt to fit an internal socket would be £130 for the engineer and £75 for the socket £205 seems to cost a lot.

EXHALE BREATH OUT

Get up when the dog wakes me up just before half past eight which means I am getting roughly under six hours sleep.
I get dressed jeans t-shirt trainers and feed the cats if they are in , I then put the lead on Bailey and take him for a walk up the lane and across the fields I can see Emley Moor mast in the distance .
The walk usually takes a good half hour .
I come home let bailey off his lead and make a cup of coffee for me and a tea for Helen who will normally get up in the next thirty minutes.

WEDNESDAY  - Was up just before half past eight to take Helen to the doctors she was having to complete breathing tests where you exhale and it is measured she had to breath out for a minimum of six seconds harder than it sounds , then she was given a inhaler to open her air ways and tested again
she failed at the last attempt we are rebooked for the 23rd of October fingers crossed she passes .

Helen once again is working on the psychic phone lines they have agreed to set her back on it is  not a job she loves but it does allow to work from home and have a regular weekly income , hopefully this will nail on our holiday for next year .

We might get BT to put in an extra line in to the out building so she can receive calls and use the Internet £140 she also needs a high stool to be able to sit down and work from the worktop that is in there , it is double glazed and has good light and heating with plenty of electrical sockets for a kettle laptop etc .

A DECENT INDIAN

SATURDAY - It was nearly ten in the morning before I got out of bed .A full six hours sleep luxury tonight I will go to bed around ten o clock if I do be the first time in over ten days I have been to bed so early .

Drove over to Dobcross garden centre the other side of Saddleworth we bought a battery operated lantern with flickering flame looks good , Helen wants to go back and buy another surprise ,surprise .

On the way home we was debating getting a Chinese last one we had they got the order mixed up and the food as gone down hill so we stopped at our nearest Indian restaurant and take away  Grameen Spice we have never been here before in the three years we have lived here I ordered a chicken Jafrany and Helen had a butter chicken we had chapatis and poppadoms and pickles both of us had mushroom pilau rice the food was excellent very nice it looked great and tasted great we will be going there again , might even go to the restaurant bit its only 20% more for dining in .

MONDAY - Went over to Helen's parents home in Acaster Malbis ,  it is her fathers birthday Tuesday so we took a card and voucher over I had to set off for work at five which spoilt the day , I do have two days off end of the month which will make for  a long weekend to be honest it can't come quick enough .
Got my Midori replica black leather  travel note book for the price I paid it was well worth it .
Still undecided where we are going next year on holiday if at all ,  trying to get a decision out of Helen is hard work .

HETIC WEEK

TUESDAY - Last night was first night finishing at two in the morning woke up just after eight a., head banging from lack of sleep usually it does not bother me , this morning it did hope this is not a sign of things to come.

Bailey our West Highland terrier is so disobedient he does not come to us when he is out in the garden Helen was trying to get him in for over an hour last night and he was just running around the van and ignoring her , she was quite upset . He is still only a puppy and still as puppy tendencies hopefully he will improve .

Download the latest Apple OS Mojave all seems ok liking the News button that appeared on the task bar and the new dark mode and the gallery view in Finder there is more I need to discover what else is new .

Took Helen to Dewsbury for a MRI scan results in a fortnight , got fish and chips for dinner from our favourite little fish restaurant diner at Durkar .

The switch over to fibre seems to have been a good choice so far its been really good noticed a big improvement when using the Fire tv stick to watch tv .

The working till two has been ok ,  the week as gone really fast  but has been hectic  and I am getting a lot less sleep I am getting to bed well after half past two in the morning yet still getting up just after eight roll on the week end .

Downloaded samples from two books from Amazon "Shoe Dog" by the CEO of Nike Phil Knight and "Small Fry" by Lisa Brennan Jobs , Steve Jobs daughter .both seem good reads .

FRIDAY - Going to Meadow Hall I might get a peanut milkshake from Five Guys yum yum .

ANOTHER MONDAY

Bought a tech organizer of Ebay only when I paid for it did I realize it was being delivered from China oh well roll on November see if it turns up .

Also ordered a leather note book from Liverpool hopefully it will arrive before the package from China .

Cant believe how good the weather is ,  last few days it has been really sunny and warm  there as been a breeze blowing but to say Monday we are in October it is exceptionally good.

Helen made over £130 on eBay selling her white stuff clothes that no longer fit her or that she no longer wears she has also a few readings booked in .

Went over to her parents static home at Acaster Malbis we was late setting off  as we stayed over  for tea it was late in the evening before we got home .

SUNDAY - Lazy day did nothing went food shopping for bits and pieces we had steak and onion rings for tea with three cheese spread well nice steak cooked perfect had a jacket potatoes and stuffed mushroom .
Started watching "Bodyguard " entertaining but totally unbelievable have watched worse .

MONDAY - First day of October the year is flying Washed the front windows of the van  then washed and polished the car it was looking well dull also vacuumed the inside and polished  the interior .
Went into Wakefield Helen bought some T-shirts I bought some cherry Coca Cola ice cold with ice .
first week doing 6-2 roll on the weekend already .

ITS LIVE

As from next Monday I should be working six at night till two in the morning for the next nine months , all paid at night rate which is good news for booking another holiday .
The weather the last few days have been sunny but with a breeze making it feel cold.

We are now looking at Greece Kefilonia for a two week break instead of going to Turkey although I think the country is safe enough to travel to regardless of past incidents .

We switched over to fibre broadband it was 10mb/s the  download speeds for tonight it was 25 mb/s a big difference hopefully our b/b issues are resolved once and for all now it as gone live .

I am working tonight six two instead of starting Monday a few extra hours all helps fund 2019 holiday need money .

PHONE SCAM

Did a two in the afternoon until half two the following morning which was unexpected today I am doing a six at night till six in the morning I  need to save money so we can holiday in 2019 the more cash the longer we can go away .
The weather here is very windy with heavy torrential downpours  totally depressing and the trees are dropping leaves on to the road making driving a little bit scary  , also the wind on the motorways is shifting  the car about we are currently are getting the tail end of hurricane Bronagh once this passes hopefully we will continue with our Indian summer .

The all nighter went ok it did drag but I did go cross site at St ,James's hospital they did not have any cover after midnight so I had to go to cover which made the night not as bad .

We have a possible two holiday destinations in mind  either Pefkos on the island of Rhodes in Greece  or Protaros in Cyprus if we go to the latter  we have to fly out of Manchester as they are no flights out of Leeds .

SATURDAY - Had a lazy day we ended up having fish and chips in the car we took knifes and forks bread and butter and tomato sauce bliss .

SUNDAY - Had a text  today from Mobiplanet thanking for subscribing to their download store and that they will be charging me £4.50 a every two weeks through my phone provider  , of course I have not subscribed to this company I called my network O2 they think that  I will have already occurred charges  really I said , which will be on my next phone bill ,  no way I told them that any added charges I have not authorised and  I will cancel my contract if they cant police the network  then I won't be paying for any scams they cant control , this company is not new and O2 know about them then why are they getting away with this , I have already cancelled the direct debits for me and my partners phone .

Best thing is when we originally got the phones through Car Phone Warehouse they put both of the contracts for two phones in my partners name so technically I am not liable for the bills she is .

Went looking for new suitcases saw a nice back pack I might buy when I get paid this coming week
Liam Helen son called round we all had Sunday dinner together he is also getting another tattoo on his arm

TURKEY

Got my Howard Schultz book Onward it was waiting for me on my return from our holiday so far I have not picked it up I will start reading it this week .
Passport organizer came , being optimistic I know but you got to believe it will happen or it definitely  won't.
I have also been looking at a case for my tech and leads so they are all together and a bit more organized than just throwing them into a plastic zip bag .

Well in one months time or there about I should be starting a seven to eight month stint of working six in the even till two in the morning will need a holiday after that .
Going back to work was hard my heart and soul was not in it the only good thing was I got a parking space which was a blessing did not really want to go out to move my car .

We have been looking at holidays in Turkey in the resort of Antalya only issue is it is very close to Syria , Istanbul is the other side of the country , one good thing is that the all inclusive hotels are far cheaper here  than in a lot of European countries also the Turkish cost of living is very cheap .
We are looking at the Rome beach resort .

FINGERS CROSSED

The broadband is shite once again , I phoned up our service provider which is  good old BT they say the same every time they are sorting it out  , but  we have wait 48hrs so the can check our speeds  why do I have to wait this long when  technology should be instant and it should not take 48hours to sort out .

I am tempted to go to fibre its priced ok for the first 18 months before it  more or less doubles in price , I  will phone them up and make the switch which I did the new connection date is 27th of September they might also send out a new router the new price is only £2.50 more per month than what I am paying now.

The weather at the moment is wet grey and cold typical English weather and it is also back to work Monday cant wait ,  mean I cant wait for pay day so we can go book a holiday for next year , then working will have a purpose might even go for two weeks if not ten days but they way I feel now a another week would be more than  fine.

SUNDAY - Was supposed to go over to Skegness to meet up with my daughter , but we was up late and the weather did not look great so we decided to stay put.
We did go to crown point in Leeds and went to M&S food bought some more pasta dishes and a chicken for dinner .
Helen's son Liam called round he did not stay for dinner he is getting over a split from is long time girlfriend Nicola if I was him I would go on Holiday a break is as good as a rest .
Down loaded the Tui app on my phone will be checking out holidays hopefully fingers crossed it is not just a dream and we can book for next year.

LESSONS LEARNED

We had a great time away travel does broaden the mind and the horizons without a doubt , so need to make sure that we some how by hook or crook that we go on holiday next year .

 I cant do anything till this months pay day but we need to make a booking and going out of season saves around £350 - £400 per person so we have to look at our options and make sure some how that we do it and get a hotel booked for 2019 , we have regretted the years that we have not traveled abroad so we have learned and aim to make amends starting now .

Being home is good we are unpacked and all the clothes are washed the passports put away we still have some sun tan lotion and after sun lotion left  hopefully for next year  .

A few lessons learned should have took a usb plug socket for charging the phones , Helen should have took extra tablets she took enough for only for seven days when she need eight days .
Need a lighter back back as well as the Super dry rucksack I bought .Extra sun tan lotion just in case we stayed in the sun longer . Passport boarding pass wallet a tech bag or wrap .shaving oil in stead of a pressurized canister .decent wash bag . Lockable luggage strap the snap on ones came off although we did get them back .We should have bought sun bathing mats to go on top of the sun loungers lying on your front was not that comfortable also one of those neck cushions which you also can put in a bag and use as a regular cushion .Should also have to a mini cube speaker .

We are going to the coast this Sunday and of course I am back at work Monday after two weeks of is not going to be easy.

HOME

Every night we would leave one of the door swipe keys in the light socket on the wall near to the for as you walked in with out inserting it no electric then we would leave the air con on and go out coming home the room was super cool  we would leave the curtains open and I would always wake up early , we also had a big set of glass doors leading out to the veranda and we sleep with the curtains pulled all the way back  we was on the third floor and no one could see in , the first view on morning made you want to get up , I use to put the towels on the sun beds for the four of us my sister Anne did the first few mornings then I took over .

I would lay the towels out then go for a stroll to the marina trying to take some worth well photos the only camera used was on my Samsung s8 which to be honest did a great job , what follows are a few photos from these walks which I like the most .

Guessing some of these yachts must cost hundreds of thousands to buy apparently the bigger yachts are in Ibiza town were they also cost a lot more cash I would love one who wouldn't.

The flight home went pretty good check in was not that long boarding went some and take off also fine , really sad to be leaving such a beautiful island I never really scratched the surface .Will miss so much I already want to travel somewhere else , next time I get any serious money it will go on travelling , big thanks to Alan my sisters husband and to Anne my sister and my daughter Tuesday who all made this possible .

Such a simple idea paint a tree white don't think it will work in the U.K guess you need blue skies golden sand and turquoise seas and magnificent sunrises and sunsets .

HIPPY CHICK

We landed safely at Ibiza airport as always after getting off and air conditioned plane the heat hit you when the doors opened . Leaving England we had jeans on it was 6.00 am when we flew it was not that warm .
Our  Hotel room had a balcony and  a sea view , with two big beds with white sheets which  put together to form a giant size bed another plus memory foam mattresses  and another big plus  air conditioning unit that worked to keep the room cool .
The bathroom with bidet bath and shower toilet with soap and lotions that was replenished every day.

The clouds came and went it was still hot with out being uncomfortable on the sun loungers the heat felt intense and it was easy to sweat even with a sea breeze you felt the warmth , the pool was a blessing . and quite empty most of the day some times we had the pool to ourselves and the Jacuzzis .

The first night we went by taxi to the Hippy market a few miles away loads of stalls selling hand made bags and clothes bracelets and art it was a great first night . Load son talented people the leather bags cost  mega bucks upwards of £200 .

UPDATE LATER .

Had a shower just after midnight and a extra large strong coffee not sure when we will get to bed over the last few days I have lost sleep it will catch up with me doubt I will sleep on the plane We will drive to my sisters house and get there for three A.M , we need to get to Leeds and Bradford airport to check in at four , our flight is  at six then to Ibiza for eight thirty. if this blog ends with this post , I am either doing life in a Spanish jail I have been kidnapped  or abducted by aliens either way its been a blast.
Of course none of the above happened we flew out to Ibiza as planned we did not go to bed and made are flight on time and landed in Ibiza we got to the hotel safely will do a update later  , we had a great time and took lots of photos .

A STIFF PINK ONE

Well will be jetting  of Monday at six in the morning to Ibiza we need to pack and drop both of the dogs off .Need to pack my suitcase and my hand luggage think I will take my Samsung tablet need to put films and some books on and some music .
Bought a polo shirt and a Miami printed  t-shirt  with palm trees seemed a good idea at the time getting into the holiday spirit  I have enough shorts and t-shirts and socks for a fortnight  never mind a week .
We have two suitcases and we will split our  clothes between the two ,  that way one goes missing and we both have something to wear .
stocked  up on cat food the cats won't go hungry whilst we are away be the first time w have left any of the animals whilst we have gone longer than a few hours , cant wait to see their reactions on our return .
All packed hand luggage is done my suitcase is 8 kg under weight which is good if I buy anything should still be well under Helen is only taking a small hand bag as hand luggage weight allowance is 5 kg.

Hope the flight is good and we land and transfer on time we get to our hotel and get unpacked and get out the first day is going to be tiring working until two in the morning will help my body clock hopefully we won't be to tired out .

All electrical items are charged or getting charge got an external power pack the tablet , wireless  headphones and cell phone should all be on 100% don't know whether to take my iPod classic and amp  or leave them at home got the full season of Jack Ryan to watch season three of "Mr Robot " which if I admit is hard going and season one of "Start up" I also have three episodes to "Orangutan Jungle School" to watch , I also updated the music on my phone and added some books .

SUNDAY  - Pip is with my daughter we dropped her off yesterday , Bailey we took to the kennels I don't think he was that happy Helen was emotional to leave him it has to be done .
Went over to Acaster Malbis to see Helen's parents before flying Monday morning  ,we went to the Ship Inn Helen had a pink gin and lemonade or a stiff pink one as I call them .