Things that have made you happy today' 2024

Dordogne is one of our very favourite places. Travelled there many times in our Motorhome.

 

Thank you @Victoria

Thank you @Busy-Lizzie ... I don't do posh, I'd be the odd one out for many miles around if I did.

I've just got back, had a very enjoyable time talking about cats and gardens

 

I must be posh as I will only drink out of a bone china cup and saucer

 

Drinking out of a saucer probably would not qualify as posh!

 

I remember you now, you was in that pop group.

 

In Belgium they déjeuner/break fast at breakfast time, diner/lunch at midday and souper/dinner in the evening. They also have their 10 heures/elevenses mid morning and gouter/tea at around 4pm or when school is out.

Imagine then my delight, when walking into a Paris restaurant at about 1pm abut 20 years ago and asking for a table for two to diner, and the supercillious waiter correcting me and saying I wanted to déjeuner. Now we've moved to France I've had to change quite a bit of vocabulary, including counting.

 

I expect you know now @Obelix-Vendée that déjeuner in France is lunch and petit déjeuner is breakfast!

 

Yes @Busy-Lizzie. The Belgians don't really do "petit". Gourmet/gourmand the lot of them so plentiful servings. I had to look up "ajeun" when told it was needed for blood tests.

 

Our car insurance renewal letter came today and the cost has gone down by 5%. Funny that for the other car they doubled it earlier in the year and hubby complained on the phone. They obviously don't want him ringing again.

 

My very first pension payment has arrived. They said it would never happen! (OK, at least the DWP did their damnedest to make sure I pegged it before getting a sniff ). Well it didn't work! The overwhelming temptation is to splurge it all on plants and topsoil, but EDF and the water Co. might have other ideas about that Skips off, singing 'Money for Nothing'......

 

@noisette47, mine is due in October but daughter getting married in November so most of it will be spent on that.

 

Mine came in March! I remember the thrill! I've not yet got out as much as I put in by purchasing a couple of extra yrs, but when I hit that target, from there on it will feel like bonus payments for continuing to grace the planet with my presence.

 

We put in some cash to top up my years too @ViewAhead and we both deferred our pensions for a year to get the extra 10%. They very kindly offered us that as a lump sum when the time came but we both opted for the monthly payments instead. Good gamble so far.

I have a very small Belgian pension too after doing a few years of admin for OH when he was independent. It helps towards my plant habit. They even give me a holiday bonus!

 

It was a great gamble on living just over 3 more years to get our money back on paying arrears of NI. That was a long time back and now we are eating in to all we paid in to the state pension in the way of NI (although payment of such was for more than RP). Life is a bit of a gamble I guess...

 

It certainly is a gamble. Expire the day before you're 66 and the "pot" goes POOF!