1111 Days to a New Life

how odd, I posted yesterday, as 900 days seeme d a good time to do so, but the post has vanished. Ah well, if it re-appears and I'm repeating myself I do apologise.

Its very busy here, we are still on track we think, have just paid off the Ikea card so thats one more small debt out of the way, but I suspect I'm over working a bit. We have a wool festival coming up and I'm spending every hour I'm not at work knitting and generally preparing, and I don't feel very ready yet.

I really need to swap my mobile contract to a PAYG which will save us £25 a month, (and believe me its amazing how much time that would take off the mortgage), but I just havent found time to pick up a cheap sim card, and I'm so clueless about what needs doing. I think that can wait until after the show, though its money down the drain in teh meantime.

and things are looking good. Just done my accounts to date so the end of year panic won't be too bad, and it looks as if we'll have turned a £500 profit this year on the craftwork. Doesnt sound much, but we also have a lot of materials and stock in hand, so letting the taxman near £500 is plenty thank-you-very much.

Also looks as though, just maybe, a circular sock machine is coming my way. Wanted on of these for ages and I want to start making socks with local, organically produced wool rather than having the family running round in cheap nasty socks that were probably made by child labour in a sweatshop. Course, these machines are antique and will take a bit of getting used to, but I reckon that once I'm through my current wool stash I should be about ready to send some fleeces off for commercial spinning tomy specifications.

Knitted a sheep shaped hat today, which was fun! Back to work tomorrow, not so much fun! I achieve so much when I'm not at work

Not posted for a while, mostly cos we've been up to our ears doing the living history fair again, which went very well indeed. I'm fairly certain that I can now expect a certain basic level of sales at those which we can write into the Grand Plan. I do however have a stinking cold, and its half term, so nothing new there.

Day 1000! Started with a nasty shock letter from the bank telling us the mortgage had bounced, but a frantic phone call later revealed that they had taken it the same day as my wages went in, and of course they take money out first thing and credit us last thing. All sorted now, but I bet they slap us a fee for the letter.

But all in all, we are 1/11 of the way through the 1111 day plan and we have paid off one of the debts and are chipping away at the others steadily.

Day 1011, and the first debt has been paid off! Had a letter from the bank today to say that a loan that seems to have been around 'forever' is now clear! YAY!!! So, that means £170 a month more to pay into the mortgage. Freedom here we come...

Had an unexpected boost on the way to clearing things today, read the gas meter and found the gas people owed us £250 approx! So that pays the next couple of bills. Very pleased about that. 1016 days to go by the way.

1017 days to go, has been a tiring week. A house we really fancied came on the market, but at twice what we could possibly afford or would have expected, so that was a bit of a disappointment. I suppose the plus side is that we really are not quite at the stage to be thinking of moving, but the house was perfect in so many ways. Ah well.

Been back at work for 2 days now, Yule is already fading into a pleasant memory! The hand knitted socks and scarves and the homebrew went down well as presents, so that was a huge relief. Hoping to spend very little money this january and I must get the garden dug or there wil be no veg later this year.
1033 days to go, and I feel as if we're doing ok

Well, its Yule eve, and the house is almost tidy. Got up in a rush to get the binbags out as the bin men rattled down the street, so haveing a quick cuppa and will then get on with sorting out the last of the laundry. Think I may have drunk one whisly too many last night, which was my own silly fault really...

http://www.downsizer.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=191

This is the most concise overview I have seen to a very worrying fact that many of our governments seem to be ignoring. We are now at the midpoint where we are halfway through the oil reserves on earth, it can only get 'worse' as we continue to use up this finite resource.

However, its also an opportunity. One of my goals on my 1111 day oddysey is to learn to be less reliant on the 'commercial norm', so, if I can conciously choose not to use my car on my days off, or if I can choose to eat food that hasnt travelled halfway round the earth, then I am making personal choices that perpare me for the day, about 30years hence, when there is no oil left. Hopefully, almost everyone else will do the same and the current 30 year supply will be eked out to 300 or so as we gradually become less reliant on it. But I have to make that first step, becaiuse no-one else can make it for me.
Sobering stuff. Am I equal to the challenge?