Sometime in December when I know I'm going to be visiting the bank I tip the whole lot out, bag them up, pay them in and use that amount of money to get something for Christmas. (When we were selling stuff at the gate on the smallholding I got a lot more 5p's than I do now! ........it used to be enough for the Christmas Ham and the Turkey).
This year there were enough 5p's to fill a £5 bank bag almost enough 10p's for another £5 bag and one pounds worth of pennies
Diary Notes from the week so far
Today's post should have been about the WI speaker who was supposed to be coming to talk about the 'Tradition of the Christmas Goose and other Christmas food'.
But she cancelled and we entertained ourselves with some paper folding to make a star -(as seen in WI Life magazine) It's very strange that 3 speakers have cancelled this year at Big WI - or in the case of one - just not turned up - quite disappointing and 1 cancelled at small WI too. Of course there is usually a genuine good reason - illness or similar but it's a bit annoying because WI isn't cheap to belong to and I really like a meeting with a speaker - always different and usually interesting.
At last I can add a book to the books read page after racing through "Shadow over the Fens" by Joy Ellis. Another good crime story featuring DI Nikki Galena and DS Joseph Easter, the second in a series and published back in 2011 and I'm still puzzling at how I'd not come across this author before - but better late than never. I've got the next 2 on order from the library.
I'm enjoying the charity shop except for one thing............the overwhelming chaos and muddle upstairs! People are bringing in tons of stuff and there isn't enough volunteers to sort it. Then every week someone brings more stuff from the other charity shop in Eye because its so teeny and they've been storing everything for our new shop. So all in all chaos! with no idea where to start sorting but as I've now got the workings of the till sorted (mostly!) the manager lady left me downstairs while she made a start upstairs. She spends quite a lot of hours a week on her own in the shop at the moment so never gets time to sort things out.
And the best news HE'S GONE, FINISHED, I never have to have him in the house again....... The kitchen man is who I'm talking about!
I'm going on a small........ actually a BIG rant here to explain how close I got to screaming!
I have been driven to complete madness, by his faffing about, worrying over nothing, preciseness and losing things! He has been doing all the cutting of the worktops, plinths, skirting board etc etc in the workshop which is about 50 metres from the house and I reckon he must have gone back and forwards about 50 times every day.
He worried about anyone he saw walking down the footpath and started locking and unlocking the workshop door each time he went in and out until I said "for goodness sake just put the key on the inside of the door and shut it, then it looks locked anyway".
He worried one day when he saw someone walking dogs across the field in the distance - he thought they could be hare coursing! I said they were probably just walking their dogs along the footpath that crosses the field.
He worried every time a van drove up the lane turned round and went back again - usually they are delivering something to one of the other houses or to me and it's the easiest place to turn round - he thought they were "Looking for something to steal".
He was constantly losing things and having to turn out his van and toolboxes to find whatever.
When I said I didn't want some tiles regrouted he said he had his reputation to consider! Gawd know why as I'm certainly not going to recommended him!
I've had the kettle at the other end of the kitchen while he's been working where it usually is and he said I should leave it where it was and move all the cups; coffee etc to a different cupboard - Er NO!
He almost had heart failure when he discovered the existing wall tiles in one place were not level, which meant there would be a slightly bigger gap between tiles and worktop at one end. I said it wouldn't matter as that was were the toaster stands but he kept on about it for days.
Everything is double, treble fixed and I feel sorry for whoever takes out these units sometime in the future - For instance a piece of skirting board which was fixed with 3 screws is now fixed with 8!
He was disgusted at the poor workmanship of what was there already which was nothing to do with me!
He kept hinting at how many things he would like from the workshop when I clear it out - Sod That! there are several family members who will get first dibs on Col's tools and workshop stuff when I clear out in the spring.
Phew ........apologies for that - good to get it off my chest! Although I've already ranted about him to everyone I've spoken to recently. He will never be mentioned again
The plus side is that the kitchen does look very good, the lighter units and smooth wood effect worktops have made the room look much bigger. Now I just have to put everything back in the new cupboards......... pay the other half of the bill..........and get on with some Christmas baking.
Many thanks for comments yesterday and sorry to everyone who got "God Rest You Merry gentlemen" stuck in their heads for the rest of the day!
Back Tomorrow
Sue
Wow, that was an epic rant, Sue - well done for getting it out of your system so it won't fester there anymore....I certainly know how that feels! ;-)
ReplyDeleteHe sounds like a complete nightmare, very OCD (I have 3 family members with OCD, so I'm not running it down, but I DO know what it's like). But at the end of the day, you have a lovely kitchen.
And now I have God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen running through my head again....hahaha!
Have a good day sorting out the kitchen cupboards.
I have jam jars for loose change as you, pennies and two p's and 5p's but they are getting less and less in them since I started using contactless for small transactions.
ReplyDeleteI agree about the OCD but I expect when you look back on it you will be able to giggle about him. At least he sounds like he did a good job for you. All those coins reminds me of the saying “many a mickle makes a muckle”. Not sure where that comes from, do you?
ReplyDeleteI smiled my way through today's entry, albeit sympathetically at times. Thank goodness he did a good job. To cope with all that and then be left with a less than acceptable result would be intolerable!
ReplyDeleteFunnily enought, God Rest Ye was an answer in the Christmas version of University Challenge which a caught up with on iPlayer yesterday and it was one to which I knew the answer!
xx
He sounds like a complete and utter nightmare! Eight screws in a piece of skirting and he's complaining about the workmanship of others? I hope he's countersunk the screws and filled all of those holes!
ReplyDeleteI have an old chocolate tin for loose change, and so does my Mum. Quite often she gives hers to me, which is much appreciated.
It´s great when your loose change mounts up to buy something nice. It is very frustrating when someone is so pinickerty, but glad you are enjoying your new kitchen. xcx
ReplyDelete😂😂He sounds like my dad!! Excellent at DIY - and an absolute perfectionist - so every task has to be perfect. He drives my mum mad. I bet your kitchen looks great.
ReplyDeleteGodness me, Sue, it’s bad enough having the disruption of kitchen fitting without it taking longer than needed. Hopefully you will have everything back in the cupboards shortly and that’s the kitchen done and dusted.
ReplyDeleteIt's always good when workmen leave, especially after such a fusspot!
ReplyDeleteI know just what you mean about the charity shop, it sounds very similar to the place I work. We have some incredibly generous donors but recently we've had actual rubbish donated too, I think partly because the tip/recycling centre is a bit of a drive away, leaving it with us is more convenient.
We have two saving boxes, we are not opening either this December, the small change pot is not that fill, so we can leave it to grow. We also save £2 coins, which we hope to have enough to have a weekend break next spring. Glad the work on the kitchen is now finished, the guy who fitted our wooden floor when we moved in took two weeks longer than expected, again fussing over every little detail, lovely man but a pain in the neck, now we just love our floor.
ReplyDeleteGlad to hear the kitchen fitter has gone. What a nightmare! He sounds very OCD and paranoid to boot! May you enjoy the new kitchen and soon forget the long endurance test!
ReplyDeleteSo pleased the MAN has gone. I have got a money box like yours except it has different solders on it (Bentleys of London on it) I empty it out when somebody is collecting at the door. I am finishing if the cards today. I remember when I was a manageress I worked at the charity shop and we use to get bags with rubbish in it and if stuff was left outside when we were shut ii I would put it in to the bins. Have a nice day what ever you are doing Sue.
ReplyDeleteHazel c uk
That really was an epic rant, hopefully you will be able to look back and laugh now. I am nit sure I would have had the patience to let him finish the job so well done for that.
ReplyDeleteThat would have driven me crazy too. At least it's done.
ReplyDeleteI had to laugh...albeit sympathetically...to your rant about the fastidious and frightened workman. Very tough to be around someone who is afraid of everything from not doing the job perfectly (according to him) to being so nervous about strangers. I can understand what a mental toll that took on you having to listen to that kind of frenetic talk all day. I am envisioning you shutting (slamming?) the door upon his departure with great relief.
ReplyDeleteAgggghhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Is what I would have been screaming!! I am glad for you that it is all done and the he is gone. Hope you are happy with the results though and that you will enjoy it once the memory of the workman has faded!
ReplyDeleteOh Sue I do hope you got a fixed job price and wasn't paying him by the hour lol xx
ReplyDeleteYes fixed price - thank goodness
DeleteYou survived it all, and now you have a beautifully finished kitchen - I hope!
ReplyDeleteAt least your skirting board won't drop off. Enjoy your baking session.
Reading my post again makes me sound quite pathetic and moany - sorry.
DeleteI should be pleased the kitchen is perfect and nothing will fall to pieces for about 100 years!
Absolutely no need to apologise at all! We all need a therapeutic grumble now and then; I can imagine how frustrating it all was. That kitchen will be featured on a Time Team programme in 3018.
DeleteOh it is all perfectly understandable, I had a chap take 3 hours just to replace a windowsill and another one 2 hours to hang a bleedin door, aagghhhhhhhh is right, as the daughter of a builder it was hard not to slap the tools away and do it myself!
DeleteEnjoy your new kitchen! You can now set it up as you like. I wonder if his paranoia is the early signs of dementia. Many people appear to become paranoid and suspicious when this dreadful disease first raises its ugly head. At least you now have a beautiful space for Christmas. Enjoy.
ReplyDeleteYour description of the workmanship of your kitchen fitter reminded me of a couple of houses we've moved into in the past. My husband still mentions so-and-so who used screws instead of nails and botched many a thing, although your workman sounds like he did a good job and was making sure nothing would fall apart, lol. As long as you're happy with it that's all that counts.
ReplyDeleteI've always put spare change in saving tins, sometimes devising a saving plan. Too long and complicated to go into here, but it was to do with my age, lol. Now we put 1p, 2p and 5p in a container, which isn't growing much at all, we'll wait until next year before emptying it. I also save £2 coins in a Rovers Return plastic bottle and so far have £174 and it isn't up to the bottle label yet. A long way to go I think.
I put my bits of loose change along with the odd £1 coin into a tin on the side then when I go to a jumble sale,church fair or fete during the year I’ve my spends all sorted
ReplyDeleteWe have a couple of tins on the go. One for the girls 1p's up to 10p's and another for 20p's which we save for Christmas. The girls tin gets emptied about three times a year....it fills very quickly because the self scan till at T***o won't give you a 10p if it can give you smaller change and likewise it won't give you a pound coin if it can give you five 20p's so the other tin fills quite quickly too.
ReplyDeleteGolly you must be glad to get rid of Mr Pernicketty. Enjoy your new kitchen.
Hugs-x-
I have a 'holiday fund' china piggybank - the slot is just big enough for 5&1p's. It's about 2/3 full so hoping for a couple of pounds-worth when I empty it. Great way to save!!
ReplyDeleteSorry Sue but I laughed along with your rant. I hate some workmen come in, particularly like he who tell you what to do in your own home. He would have driven me mad! Well done for seeing it through to the bitter end.
ReplyDeleteI had to laugh when I read your rant although not funny for you while he was there. Good workmen are so hard to find now.
ReplyDeleteCan't wait to see the photos of your new kitchen. He sounds a nightmare! I imagine he would have no work at all if he worked by the hour.
ReplyDeleteI wonder how younger people will save as they seem to all use debit cards and carry no cash and have no change to toss and save. My kids carry very little cash but I wouldn't feel comfortable doing that.
I too have coin pots - an old terracotta candle pot for 1ps and 2ps and a pretty glass jar that I came across a few years ago for silver - when I went to work I used to empty the silver change out of my purse into at the end of each month, now its a bit more ad-hoc - it's then there for dipping into whenever change is needed for parking or bus fares or just accumulates until ready for paying into the bank. This year we have had advanced "warning" of the Lions' Santa Sleigh coming around so I will be able to add a nice donation into their buckets next week. Commiserations over the workman's foibles - enjoy your new kitchen
ReplyDeleteOh my goodness! What a workman. Bet you won't be asking him back again. I save my excess change for my holiday. I have a large 'piggybank' in the shape of a cake that daughter bought me. It holds quite a bit and, even though I have a lot of pennies, it does all add up.
ReplyDeleteThe charity shop sounds like somewhere I would spend too much money at. It must be very tempting when you see nice things come in.
Your workman sounds lovely to me; too bad the middle of the USA is such a long commute. I could use some decent help upgrading my kitchen....
ReplyDeleteGood grief - imagine being MARRIED to him? Bet he's single!!! He sounds incredibly OCD. At least the work is now done and he need never darken your door again and you certainly won't recommend him - even to your worst enemy.
ReplyDeleteI had my kitchen redone this fall and I understand where you are coming from. I knew the man that did mine and this is his third kitchen he's done for me in the different houses I've had. He is OCD and does great work but moans and groans about everything!!! He just about drove me CRAZY!! But the work is done and I have a beautiful kitchen that I love. We just have to try to live through the work in order to enjoy the result. I don't want to see my guy for a long time. LOL
ReplyDeleteWe've just emptied our Sealed Pot for this year and had a very pleasant surprise. Your kitchen workman sounds like an absolute nightmare, you deserve a medal for putting up with him. Fancy telling you where to put your brewing up things and dropping hints at what he would like from the shed ... cheeky bugger, I can just picture your face!!
ReplyDelete