44%!

Well...the Rainy Day fund's looking rather good. I'm up to 44% of six month's wages now. Hopefully I'll never need it in anger, but it's a nice thing to know that if it all goes pear-shaped I can survive 'til something comes along.

The no-alcohol-for-Lent thing has failed miserably. Ho hum, I'll pick something more realistic next time... :)

I've spent today moving furniture and going to the tip with bags of rubbish. My landlord has got around to ordering the new laminate flooring for the two bedrooms. He did the rest of the flat well over a year ago. So, I'm taking advantage of this to redecorate the spare room - which is currently a fetching shade of lime green.

I've chopped six inches off the edge of the carpet all round the room so that I can gloss the woodwork - which is now done and tomorrow evening I will be tackling the once white ceiling. I've got some "magic paint" left over from redoing the lounge. Amazing stuff - goes on pink (!!?!*?!) but dries white - I assume through reacting with the oxygen in the air. It's brill - you can see exactly where you've painted and you don't end up doing the same area 4 times...it *is* something of a shock though, when you paint the first pink stripe. I was better once it had dried and had indeed gone white :)

Listy thing updated over there ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~>

Time for an update!

Life's been....frantic!

Work is approaching the end-of-year frenzy when I try to get all the things done I said I would (as well as all the others things that have been dumped upon me from a great height). It's better than being bored. Marginally.

Finances are going well - up to 39% of my rainy day fund (6 month's net wages) and I have £158 in £2 coins in the terramundi.

Not read a book recently, and hardly taken a photo - bad me!

Lent starts on Wednesday so I'm giving up booze until Good Friday. Bit of self denial is good for the soul. Or summat.

Baking - inspired by a colleague's new kitchen (put in by her OH during eight months of evenings and weekends' work) I dug out my old battered bread machine. First loaf was delicious and lasted well. I seem to recall losing faith in the machine the best part of four years ago when the resulting product went stale faster than I could eat it. Maybe I'm making smaller loaves now? Anyway - Allison's strong wholewheat and added seeds flour makes marvellous bread. Nom nom nom.

Getting back from work tonight I decided to try an old packet of cheese'n'onion bread mix that had been sitting in the cupboard for a while. When I say "a while"....is twelve months past its Use By Date shameful? Meh! Anyway...12 month out of date yeast is apparently unrevivable. There is now a warm, cheese flavoured brick sitting in my bin...it honestly wasn't good enough even to give to the birds. Unless we've got a local woodpecker with an industrial drill for a beak and the stomach of a cast iron elephant...

So, another loaf is now waiting to be made - but I've been adventurous and put it on overnight timer. Last time I tried this I lived in a different flat and the whirrings, rumblings and occasional beepings kept me up all night. This time there are two rooms and three doors between us, so I'm hoping for a peaceful night and an aromatic awakening :)