Money again

I need to find the rest of the money for the holiday by the beginning of April. It seems a lot of money to me, but it is perfectly doable. In theory.

Last night I slept in OH's room as he did the night shift. I spotted a patch of black mold. I could have cried. I have been nattering away at the damp in this room for years. We have got the guttering fixed, we have the roof fixed, now it is just condensation. I did look carefully at the roof, but OH's room is the top floor of four, with all the warm air rising and then all the water condensing out in a cold room at the top of the house with no insulation in the attic (no access to the attic, and no desire for it - the local scallies used to hide from police by going into one house and into their attic space and then down into another house until all the houses got locks except for us as we don't even have an access hatch). OH has piled stuff against the radiator and against the outside wall - it just seemed common sense to put stuff there at the time.

We do have a dehumidifier in there. Of course, half the time I am not actually fit enough to climb the extra set of stairs to empty it and make sure it is set off in the morning, and OH rarely remembers. However I have noticed that it rarely manages to fill in more than a day or two, and the one in the dining room, at the bottom of the house, is emptied twice a day, and that room feels dryer. Then I remembered that the dehumidifier in that room is at least fifteen years old, and the setting switch stopped working a long time ago.

So I am setting up a new regime. A new dehumidifier has been ordered (optimum conditions removes 12 litres per day and runs on 220 watts), and a small halogen heater. Regardless, first thing in the morning after OH goes to work, I go up there, open the window a crack and set off the dehumidifier. It doesn't feel right for it to run while OH is sleeping. If I empty it, I empty it out of the window and it is one of the minor pleasures in my life seeing Oscar pause in digging up darling father's garden and running for his life. Then when little bear starts his bedtime routine, the window is shut and the small halogen heater is put on, until OH goes to bed.

The new dehumidifier and the halogen heater have cost just short of a quarter of the holiday money.

I shall have to put in a very rigorous budget in place as OH doesn't get paid until the end of January. We are well stocked with practically everything, so it shouldn't be too hard for groceries etc. And January isn't a bad time to start sorting out finances.

I am off now to MSE to look at the storecupboard challenge thread.