Swings and roundabouts

Evidence of the cold here, yes, that's snow. And below are the mattresses which are making a reappearance as the temperatures plummet. Last week we had to replace the dryer as the one that came with the house gave up the ghost, and this week we've had to replace the washing machine. Both these items together cost nearly £600 which (of course) we hadn't budgeted for. On the good news side, we were told today that our bill for the rest of the glass on the extension was going to be £300 cheaper, thanks to the 2.5% reduction in VAT. For anyone not in the UK, the VAT reduction is supposed to give the economy a kick start but I'd poo-pooed it as it seems such a paltry amount when buying day-to-day items, but when you're spending thousands 2.5% does make a difference! Our mortgage looks set to tumble too, it's already almost half what it was when we took it out in February. There's light at the end of what seems like a very long expensive tunnel...