It doesn't get any better than this!

As it was so cold in this house; I slept in this morning and was woken around 8 am by the boiler man (Craig, Mr Kern's son and also our neighbour) and had the boiler fixed by 10.30! Well there goes our budget!!! Almost £300 including the VAT. February and April is when we have no Council Tax or Water DD, so the money we would have put towards debt repayment has actually gone on repairing the boiler. I think it was on its last legs as it was noisy and now it's silent! It's been on for two hours today and set to 18 degrees and the house is now so very warm.

We then went off to Plymouth to pay a flying visit to my daughter and were delighted to find her well and that the boyfriend (who she's moved in with) is just lovely. I love the journey up and back on the train as we trundle through the Tamar valley, past the water side at St. Germans and over Brunel's Bridge until pulling in to the bustle of Plymouth. We met up with Josie and Adrian, stayed a while and left them to it......young people are nocturnal and it was much too early for her!

Plymouth, like most major cities has the same array of shops as every other shopping centre and the shuffling masses flock there to pay homage to the till! We avoid the main areas and chose to browse and nose around Plymouth Pannier Market. It's a mass of indoor stalls, where food is reasonably cheaper and the service comes with a chat and some real human contact. Since the demise of Woolworths, there is a proliferation of 'Pick and Mix' stalls in the market and we treated ourselves to a bag each. I also treated us to some Naag Champa soap and incense, so now we and our home will smell almost divine, well like a Hindu temple any way and that can't be bad.

Next to the soap is my shower timer and we both allow oursleves 3 minutes each in the shower and I use 5 minutes when I wash my hair so I will smell lovely and save water, electricity and money!

I can hear you wondering what has happened to my frugality? What's with the money spending. Once upon a time; we'de have had coffee and even lunch but no more. We took sandwiches, coffee in a flask and a piece of homemade cake each which we intended eating in a picnic on Plymouth Hoe, but as it was so cold and as we had to wait for our returning train, we ate it on Plymouth Station on the way home. Mike used his usual rail pass, so his journey costed nothing and mine cost £5 for a cheap day return and it would have cost us that to park! before fuel and bridge toll. So it was a frugal day out. Total spend of a lovely day out was under ten pounds and don't any one worry - I will save what I have spent somewhere else this month.

Well the heating came on at five and I'm only wearing a vest, long sleeved jumper and a body warmer which is positively naked compared to the previous few days of dressing like Scott of the Antarctic. The heating's fixed, I spent time with my daughter, I had a lovely train ride, a picnic and the sun has shone! It doesn't get much better than this! I'll now go and put my feet up with my pick and mix.