Feeling cold.
It’s warming up soon
But had the heating on
Too much.
Bills due soon
Too soon
Yeah well
You have to survive
Don’t you?
Winter to Spring
Frosty sunsets
Will turn mild.
Keeping warm
Tag: bills
Distracted
Things have got in the way and I have hit a block with my painting of a teapot. I mean both physically and mentally.
You can see some of what is obstructing it. I need to move things, it’s just that I am mentally stuck. I think its the low light levels as this seems to get me every year. One day soon I hope have this finished.
Coots feet
Padded paddle feet on a Coot. Their feet actually look bluer than this in real life, their legs are yellow. I’m posting this because an American friend wrote about their Coots which have similar feet, but yellow coloured.
I’m always getting Coots and Moorhens mixed up. But Coots have a white blob on their forehead and their beaks are white too, Moorhens have a red blob in the same place plus the top of their bills are red, and they have similar feet and legs to Coots, but they are yellow. Maybe they are related?
Cost of living
Life costs money
The more I think about things the more I wonder how I will manage my finances. My hubby was the main breadwinner, recently I’d given up work to look after him because of his health. We had the cushion of his money coming in over those years and I got used to it. Now? A lot smaller income. Probably a third of what we were getting. Savings will have to be made. I don’t know if I can afford to keep my car. All expensive bills come in January. I’m dreading it. But I think I will cope. If not I will try and get a job.
Pets….
What animals make the best/worst pets?
First of all, best or worst is a hard question. Basically it will depend on the owner and their capabilities.
Live in a big house with a big garden? The best pet might be a dog or a cat, or even a horse if you have fields for it to roam in. Live in a small flat or a single room apartment? Then your best pet might be a fish or a small snake.
Then it depends on whether you can afford to pay for their food, vets bills or vet insurance. Can you get a pet sitter if you go away on holiday? Someone who is able to come in and check everything is OK? You might have to pay for kennels.
Then you need to think about the pets needs, can it cope with being isolated if its on its own? Does it bark or make loud noises, are you able to exercise it or clean up after it? Will it shed pet hairs, does it eat live food? Are you allergic to it? What is its lifespan? Some small mammals only live a few years, others, like parrots or tortoises might out live you!
The number of pluses and minuses you need to weigh up are important. Don’t get something you won’t want to care for if it gets too big, complicated, old or ill.
Think before you buy (or adopt) it’s your responsibility at the end of the day!
Bad news
We got a letter off our energy company today. Our yearly bills are set to DOUBLE. I then saw a video of a comedy programme from the 1970’s on Facebook in which a man is being encouraged to save energy by using a hot water bottle, to which he responds he can’t afford to boil a kettle. Other suggestions include using a car less (he doesn’t own one), eating healthily (on his income he can’t afford to), and heating meals thoroughly (he can’t afford to have his cooker on). It was funny, but it shows things were not so different fifty years ago! Later on they showed a public information film from about the same time. This was to encourage the population to save energy by only heating one room in their home instead of heating the whole house do that the NHS and hospitals would have enough energy to stay open!
Seriously though it does make you wonder about open plan living, maybe people should rebuild internal walls?
Cost….
My friend is offering a beautiful print for sale and as a limited edition (not the image here, it has similar colours). I would love it, and it’s at a fair price for an artist to charge. But all I could think was, car tax and other bills are due in January. I have to realise I cannot afford it. Now I feel guilty for just enquiring.
I realise I don’t charge enough for my art. I have this strange idea that I want my art to go to a good home, so I undersell, swap art, or offer ways people can pay in installments. But I’m also doing other artists a disservice. If I charge less, how can they charge more? I think it might be my upbringing. Having a belief in myself? I guess it’s just how I am.
Mallaband-Brown 