Progress!

I've had quite a productive week list-wise :)

I volunteered an hour to help a mate - driving to meet her halfway and loaning her my sat nav (as well as teaching her how to use it!) in order for her to go over to Belfast and collect her daughter whose relationship had gone a bit sour. As it turns out, she didn't need to - but I may well be volunteering some more time to help move her house round to accommodate said daughter when she eventually does come home for good. (Mums are like that - always there when you really need them!).

I've been researching retreat sites and I think I've found one I'd like to attend. It's basically a Buddhist place (although there's no emphasis on religion) and it's a week long silent retreat. With today's consumer emphasis a week of silence is equally attractive and terrifying.

I have ordered my pedometer so I can start counting steps. 10,000 a day is supposed to be healthy - I suspect I do less than half of that - so more walking is in order.

Note to self : Get back to the gym and start swimming again!

I've been forecasting next year's budget in order to work out what I can save for. I reckon I'll have reached the "Rainy Day Fund" target (6 month's wages) by next December, after which I want to save for a really special holiday for my 40th birthday (May 2011). I could do the Banff Rocky Mountaineer train journey (first class all the way!) for about £4,000 so that will be the next target.

(Looking back on that, I feel the need to add that I really do know how lucky I am to have a job that pays well and that I love. There are an awful lot of folks who struggle to make ends meet - I used to be one of them and I am eternally greatful to not be there anymore.)

All the regular tasks are ticking along nicely and I've updated the list over there ~~~~~~~~~~>

101 in 1001 - 12. Give someone flowers "just because"

Sunday lunch at the folks.

I did all Mum's Christmas wrapping (and co-incidentally, got an extraordinarily good exchange rate on some Euros for my Dublin trip) and got fed.

Bargain!

(Not a bad shot for the camera phone, either!)

Another couple of books read - lighter stuff this time. Adrian Mole and the Prostate Years and Unseen Academicals. Both very good, the second one surprisingly so as it was all about football which I hate :)

93. Write a letter praising a company's service - Done (if you count an email!) - I emailed the company who sorted my new TV aeriel last week. The chap that came round was very professional - he rang me to say he was stuck in traffic and when to expect him, he fitted the aeriel splitter, tidied up after himself and was gone inside an hour. Marvellous. Now I have a TV in the bedroom I may never get up again!

List updated over there ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~>

Same old, same old

Nowt's changed :)

Weekly tasks have been done.

I baked a new thing this week - from "Economy Gastronomy" - a chickpea loaf thing. It's gone in the freezer in slices, so a review is yet to come....

I bought a new TV - *so* not on the list but after tomorrow (when aerial man comes to see me) I will be able to lie in bed and watch DVDs. I may never move again....(apart from fishing trips)

So - a few things done this week.

I saw the sun rise at the seaside (see previous entry) and it was spectacular! Unfortunately, by the time the sun set it was pouring with rain, so I couldn't kill two items with one stone :) Only caught one fish, too -but it's more about the company, to be honest.

I've read another book "The White Queen" by Phillipa Gregory. I didn't enjoy it as much as her Tudor series - the language and style were very different and I found it harder to follow who was related to who - probably because I know so little about that era.

Financials ticking along nicely.

I've made a few alterations to the original list. After a while, you get to know what's achievable and what isn't - and it's my list so I'll change it if I like. Hehehe.

Thanks for all the messages and views on my Flickr account - keeps me motivated :)

101 in 1001 : 54. Sunrise in the Bristol Channel

I caught one solitary fish but with a sunrise like this and the mad boys for company it really didn't matter!

The rest of the set (and the mad boys) are here.

Excited, me?

We're off to Wales tomorrow to go fishing.

The skipper says there's been a few early winter cod about and lots of these big blonde rays.

Woo hoo....

Only 96 fish to go to hit my target :)

OK, so what have I done this week?

• Work was pretty busy – travelling takes up quite a lot of my time as my patch stretches from Aberdeen to Penzance. Luckily, I don’t have to go to either end of the country all that often, but still…!

• On payday I transferred the remaining cash to my savings accounts so I’m up to 24% of my target (6 month’s wages). That way, if the sky falls in I’ll be ok while I’m picking the pieces up J I’m lucky – I have a well paid job, but it’s really only in the last year or so I’ve had enough of a surplus to be able to save. And I spent most of last year’s on a new car when my old one went to the scrapyard in the sky. Hey ho – almost a quarter of the way on that one!

• All the financial items are ticking along nicely – I actually update things way more than twice a week but this just makes sure I do keep an eye on things.

• Baking – I found a recipe for raspberry flapjacks and made some. NOT a rip roaring success. I’ve never been any good at flapjack. Won’t be making those again.

• New comedy DVDs – series 15/16 of Last of the Summer Wine arrived last week and has been keeping me entertained. The vast majority of my DVDs are comedy – I think I own about five feature films. I find horror films too scary (I’m such a wuss!) and thrillers too boring. I like my DVDs in half hour bursts that make me laugh J

• I still haven’t finished the spreadsheet for organising this – maybe I don’t need one and I should change that item for something else? I also still haven’t sent off my passport renewal. Procrastination rules!

• Looking forward to going to Dublin for five days before Christmas (can I say that word now it’s November?!) and then to my parents for Christmas itself. That should mean two weeks off work and no need to go shopping for food in the supermarket mayhem. Result J