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What's Up in March 2017?


Athena

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I can barely believe it's March already!

 

The treepeople for the cycle path were, as far as we know, supposed to show up today but they haven't. We had a look in the garden, what they were supposed to have finished last week, is not finished. It's not just the noise that's the problem for me, it's also this uncertainty of 'Are they going to turn up? Are they not going to turn up? Will there be noise? What kind? Do the dogs need to be inside or can they be outside?'. I don't do well with uncertainties. Since they're not here, maybe they have the week off for Carnaval (holiday in the South of the Netherlands on Sunday, Monday, Tuesday), instead of just the days of Carnaval. Not much to do but wait of course, but it does bother me somewhat that their promise of "We'll have it done last week Thursday", did not come true. And it's not just now that that happens. Most times treepeople, construction guys, everything often takes longer than they promise. It's got to the point where I find it hard to believe their promises, so I didn't actually believe the Thursday promise. But it's still annoying, because I'm bothered when someone doesn't do what they say they will (or don't show up for an appointment). They haven't contacted us or anything.

 

In more positive news, I'm supposed to get some books delivered today (I hope they will show up soon).

We had a nice dog walk today and after a rainy start the weather seems a bit calmer now. We even had some sunshine.

 

What's going on with you in March?

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I think they're all the same Athena, we're trying to get hold of the guy who did our boiler to come back and fill in a form (which he should have filled in at the time) otherwise if anything goes wrong with it we're not covered by the 5 year guarantee. And they messed us around so much when they were working - turning up late, staying for an hour, then going off somewhere for 2 hours without letting us know when they'd be back, and not just once either.  It's odd for someone like me who's used to adhering to a 9-5 (more or less) routine with fairly fixed timings, but some of these workmen seem to work on a different level to the rest of us, which is very frustrating and annoying! :banghead:

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Good to know it's not just like that here, More reading time required and Madeleine. It makes me feel better knowing I'm not the only one who finds this bothersome :). I'm sorry though that this kind of thing happens in other places too!

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Things are going fairly okay for me at the moment. Work is okay (touch wood, trying to meet a deadline!) my house is okay, my anxiety is under control and I finally broke 1000 euro in savings (that's a lot for me, I'm used to being broke!) etc. So I'm pretty good, all things considered.

 

Things aren't so great for some people close to me. My bestie and her partner in London are struggling a bit - his employers just went into liquidation so he's not getting paid and needs a new job. She also needs a new job as her current one is very stressful, and money was already tight before the no-pay revelation. My mum is also having a hard time, as my dad has walked out (again, but seemingly permanently this time), while mum's workload has been cut down to week on/week off - meaning she's down over 100 euro a week, and she was already very strapped for cash. She suspects redundancy is imminent, and given that she's 57 this year, her age is against her finding a new job, so she's super stressed and lonely.

 

Mum's favourite singer is coming to Cork in April, so I've booked the two of us into a hotel for the night, and I'll take her for dinner before the show and shopping the next day. The hotel room has a bathtub, so while she's at the show I will be having my first bubble bath in YEARS (I've only rented places with showers since 2010). Will be as nice for me to have a quiet evening away in a nice hotel as it will be for her.

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I'm glad things are okay with you Noll.

 

I'm sorry about your best friend and her partner and your mum :(. I hope things will be okay for all of them.

 

I hope your mum enjoys the trip to Cork, and that you enjoy your bubble bath :)!

 

Surprisngly the treepeople showed up today so it's noisy here sometimes. I plan to do some reading during the later afternoon.

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Things are going fairly okay for me at the moment. Work is okay (touch wood, trying to meet a deadline!) my house is okay, my anxiety is under control and I finally broke 1000 euro in savings (that's a lot for me, I'm used to being broke!) etc. So I'm pretty good, all things considered.

 

Things aren't so great for some people close to me. My bestie and her partner in London are struggling a bit - his employers just went into liquidation so he's not getting paid and needs a new job. She also needs a new job as her current one is very stressful, and money was already tight before the no-pay revelation. My mum is also having a hard time, as my dad has walked out (again, but seemingly permanently this time), while mum's workload has been cut down to week on/week off - meaning she's down over 100 euro a week, and she was already very strapped for cash. She suspects redundancy is imminent, and given that she's 57 this year, her age is against her finding a new job, so she's super stressed and lonely.

 

Mum's favourite singer is coming to Cork in April, so I've booked the two of us into a hotel for the night, and I'll take her for dinner before the show and shopping the next day. The hotel room has a bathtub, so while she's at the show I will be having my first bubble bath in YEARS (I've only rented places with showers since 2010). Will be as nice for me to have a quiet evening away in a nice hotel as it will be for her.

kudos to you for doing a nice thing for your mum. Hope things continue to improve for you.

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Home from work, and don't have any plans for the weekend at the moment.  Don't really know what to do with myself! :lol:  I'm sure I'll find plenty to do when I think about it, but just about to make myself some lunch, so I'll have a think about it while I'm doing that. :D

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Happy March Y'all!

 

Noll, I'm so glad things are looking up for you and will pray for your friends and mom. I know all too well how stressful it can be.

 

Gaia! Hope the workers get done in a quick and painless (to you and your pups) manner. 

 

Madeleine, that sucks. I swear its a rip off, to just conveniently disappear when its time to do the paperwork. Hope you set them straight.

 

I'm going to a little play this evening and then its back home for a little pilates, a book and bed. I signed up for a real estate class and I will be starting on Monday, it'll last for two weeks (60 hours) then in April I'll complete the last 30 hours before taking the exam. I had to put it off last month because hubby was in a wedding and it took a chunk out of the available funds. 

 

I'm so excited!!!

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Started the day off with a trip to a favourite cafe where I normally just have a coffee, but decided to have some toast for breakfast.  Lovely fresh bread made on the premises, and toasted well, but let down by being served with unsalted butter. :(  Always to disappointing when that happens.

 

Anyway, went and did some food shopping and visited my Dad after that, and now home doing some planning for next week and have just put on an old film musical to watch. :)

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I got back from a lovely week in Malta a couple of hours ago to a mountain of dirty washing and emails. The washing is now going round in the machine and most of the emails were spam anyway and have been deleted. :smile: 

 

As for the holiday, when I first got there I wasn't sure if I liked the island, but as I started to explore it a bit more, I realised that it wasn't the island I didn't like, but its capital city Valetta. Don't get me wrong, it's very picturesque and all that with the waterfront and the old stone buildings and architecture, but it's also dirty, dusty and congested. The rest of the island though is beautiful, and the more I saw of it the more I liked it. Highlights for me were the beautiful weather (average of about 18 to 20 degrees with lots of sunshine), the walled city of Mdina and the Three Cities area, a night at the Maltese opera house, a day trip to Gozo and of course the delicious fresh fish. The history and the friendly Maltese people were also of course great.

 

I found that Malta is one of the best countries I have been to for gluten free food - it tends to be mostly Italian as you would expect, but most restaurants offered something that was suitable - many had gluten free pizza and pasta, and of course you can always get salads. I stayed at a cheap hostel in a town called Sliema, about half an hour from Valletta and met some great people there too from all round the world. It's back to reality now though I guess, with work again on Monday morning. All good things as they say come to an end.

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I'm glad you had a great holiday on Malta, June :).

 

I'm going to spend part of today resting, because I was out shopping in town for a while yesterday, which has tired me (I bought nice stuff though!).

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I guess that makes it worth it then. I am tired too. I tend to get that way after being away for a while and the routine, as when the body relaxes it tends to have that effect.

 

Sitting in Sainsburys this morning though having a coffee before we went to get the food, my glasses broke. The top part of the frame broke and the lens popped out. I managed to stick it with a piece of plaster, which looks ever so slightly ridiculous, but does the job and means that I can still just about wear them. I am overdue for an eye test anyway, so have managed to get one for this afternoon. They will almost certainly tell me I need new glasses, so I guess I shall just have to manage for a few days until I can get them. I am not looking forward to the bill, as last time I needed new glasses they cost me over £300 (varifocals) but it is important as I am about as blind as bat without them.

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I am not looking forward to the bill, as last time I needed new glasses they cost me over £300 (varifocals) but it is important as I am about as blind as bat without them.

 

Specs direct from the optician are always priced outrageously.  Have you tried comparing them online?  You can save yourself a fortune that way.  I always use selectspecs.com for mine.  

 

I had an eye test myself earlier this week, funnily enough.  Luckily my prescription hasn't changed all that much, so I don't need new specs this time around.  :)

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It isnt the cost of the frames that is expensive for me, more the extra things that I always need to add on. Like for example the fact that because I have quite a strong subscription I need thinner lenses - and the fact that they are varifocals. It is that that makes them more expensive. Last time I looked online it wasn't an awful lot cheaper. At least by buying them in the High Street you know it is easier to sort out any problems that may arise. I always need new specs. I have ordered them now anyway and should hopefully have them by the end of this week.  

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I guess that makes it worth it then. I am tired too. I tend to get that way after being away for a while and the routine, as when the body relaxes it tends to have that effect.

Yes, it was definitely worth it :).

 

Sitting in Sainsburys this morning though having a coffee before we went to get the food, my glasses broke. The top part of the frame broke and the lens popped out. I managed to stick it with a piece of plaster, which looks ever so slightly ridiculous, but does the job and means that I can still just about wear them. I am overdue for an eye test anyway, so have managed to get one for this afternoon. They will almost certainly tell me I need new glasses, so I guess I shall just have to manage for a few days until I can get them. I am not looking forward to the bill, as last time I needed new glasses they cost me over £300 (varifocals) but it is important as I am about as blind as bat without them.

Oh no, I'm so sorry to hear about your glasses breaking :(. How awkward. I have glasses too and can't see much without them either, so I can imagine. I hope your new glasses will arrive soon. It's a shame glasses are so expensive.

 

I had an eye test myself earlier this week, funnily enough.  Luckily my prescription hasn't changed all that much, so I don't need new specs this time around.   :)

That's nice :).

 

Yesterday I went for a nice long dog walk with my parents and our dogs, longer than usually. The dogs enjoyed it a lot and so did we. The weather was lovely.

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I'm in the same position as Talisman, because my prescription is so high I need thinner lenses otherwise they'd look like the bottom of a milk bottle!  And they're coated and have a tint to stop the glare from artificial light etc, I've just got a new pair also varifocals and can't get on with them at all, they make me giddy, I think my old ones are actually better for reading, and first of all they were too loose, now they're too tight!  I really think I'm going to go back to my old ones (which I'm wearing at the moment) and get a refund on the new ones, which are, as Talisman says, over £300.

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Thanks for the support, everyone :)

 

My friend in London just landed a job she really wanted today (with Barnardos) so she's delighted.

 

Glad you had a nice holiday June! Shame about your glasses - the costs really are insane I think. I wonder how much they actually cost to manufacture.

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I'm in the same position as Talisman, because my prescription is so high I need thinner lenses otherwise they'd look like the bottom of a milk bottle!  And they're coated and have a tint to stop the glare from artificial light etc, I've just got a new pair also varifocals and can't get on with them at all, they make me giddy, I think my old ones are actually better for reading, and first of all they were too loose, now they're too tight!  I really think I'm going to go back to my old ones (which I'm wearing at the moment) and get a refund on the new ones, which are, as Talisman says, over £300.

 

Yes, it is a pain. Rather than walk around with glasses held together by a piece of selotape (which are very distracting to try and see through) I am wearing an old pair that I found in the drawer. I probably shouldn't really do this, but don't under the circumstances have much alternative. Hopefully the new ones will arrive by the end of the week and then I won't have to worry about it. Normally I order polarising sunglasses as a second pair, but of course you can't wear these indoors. This time around then I have ordered reactor ones as my second pair as these are a lot more versatile and can if need be function as a second pair if disaster strikes again. These 2 pairs are costing an eye watering £377, but I have to have them, there is no 2 ways about it.

 

Not everyone can get on with varifocals, and for the first day or so I found them awkward as well. The worst was walking downstairs, which made me really dizzy. I did get used to them though after a few days. I know not everyone can though.

 

Great news about your friend though Noll. I bet she is chuffed to bits. It was back to work for me today after a week off. Everyone is excited at the prospect of a visit from our Patron Joanna Lumley on Wednesday when she will officially open a new part of the site. I expect most of the male members of staff will arrange to be rostered that day. :giggle2:  

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We took our son for an eye test on Saturday as he said he couldn't see the board at school and needed glasses. I thought it was just one of those ideas he gets in his head sometimes and just wanted to wear glasses because some of his friends do, but actually it was a good job we took him because he had really uneven vision (the beginnings of a lazy eye) and is long sighted so he's got to have quite a strong prescription to fix it. When we pick them up in a couple of weeks time, he'll need to wear them all the time.

 

My husband also managed to get seen at the same time as he hadn't had a test for 4 years and found out that he now also has to wear glasses for reading and VDU work.

 

All in all, that could have been quite an expensive visit, but with the NHS covering James's test & glasses and Tom having a voucher from work giving him a free test and £60 off glasses, it "only" cost £100 for 2 pairs as they had a BOGOF deal. 

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I'm in the same position as Talisman, because my prescription is so high I need thinner lenses otherwise they'd look like the bottom of a milk bottle!  And they're coated and have a tint to stop the glare from artificial light etc, I've just got a new pair also varifocals and can't get on with them at all, they make me giddy, I think my old ones are actually better for reading, and first of all they were too loose, now they're too tight!  I really think I'm going to go back to my old ones (which I'm wearing at the moment) and get a refund on the new ones, which are, as Talisman says, over £300.

I need thinner lenses too, but I don't need varifocals (yet). I also always get the anti-glare option. The glasses are expensive here too.

 

My friend in London just landed a job she really wanted today (with Barnardos) so she's delighted.

That's such good news :)

 

All in all, that could have been quite an expensive visit, but with the NHS covering James's test & glasses and Tom having a voucher from work giving him a free test and £60 off glasses, it "only" cost £100 for 2 pairs as they had a BOGOF deal.

Good luck to your son! £100 for 2 pairs sounds really good.

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