Day 635 - New Car Monday!

Day 635...

Yes the day has finally arrived when we could take delivery of our new car, our new electric car!

But as we didn't know at what point today the car would arrive we nipped out first thing to our local Lidl to collect a few things. A quick weekly shop to pick up those items that are significantly cheaper than at Asda (where I get my main shop from) along with some bits for our 'fuddle' at work. We have one more week at work before we break for Christmas so we have decided to have a 'fuddle'; this is where we all throw in together and buy some nibbles. We have everything from chips and dips to crackers and cheese to bacon and brie and cheesy-beans jacket potatoes! (although I'll be giving some of the more 'carby' options a miss!).

Back home and it was time to cancel our old car insurances which we were able to do through the power of WhatsApp! I also ordered myself a replacement driving licence as my paper version had finally bit the dust and was no longer in one piece!

Just before lunch our new car arrived! Lots to learn and lots to get used to as we move from always having driven manual, petrol cars to fully electric and therefore an automatic. I think it's the automatic format that is freaking me out more than the electric side of things as I've never driven an automatic before. When we've had hire cars in the US they have always been automatic but Simon has always done the driving so this is a complete first for me!

We had a little time with the chap from the garage to go over a few bits and pieces and we were able to connect the car to our new charging station which worked perfectly...thankfully!

So later this afternoon we took a drive over to Derby as I had an appointment and it gave us a good excuse to take the car out. Simon drove us and we were both super impressed; a very smooth and very responsive car to drive. There are lots of cool features as well but I think it may take us a while to get our heads around everything. On our way home we stopped by my dad's house to show him the car before I had my first go at driving it! 

It is very strange not having to do anything with my left foot and left arm! Although I did find it easier than I think I was expecting but I am sure over the next few days I will have up and down moments with it. I'm hoping that as I drive the car most days of the week I will pick it all up relatively quickly.

One feature I have started to play with is the ability to set the climate control of the car from an app. This means that (if I've done it right) I should be able to get into the car each morning and find it nice and warm and ready to go. No more getting into a cold car on a winter's morning.

And despite all the excitement of the new car Simon has also been able to upgrade the lighting effects on his R2D2 and we have both found the time to jump on our new exercise bike. It was the first time on the bike for me and I wasn't expecting great things...I like moving weights around but am not too fond of any exercise that gets me out of breath! But with the bike we are aiming to workout at 'Zone 2' which is supposed to be good for heart health as well as good for fat burning, and I was actually rather happy with my effort. I managed to maintain the heart rate I wanted and stuck at it for 30 minutes...it will be interesting to see how my legs and bum feel tomorrow!

Right that's it for today, see you tomorrow.
xx

Day 634

Day 634...

Well we have had a Sunday and it turned out to be a bit busier than I think we had been expecting.

The day started with our usual weekly grocery shopping pick up, which seemed to take so much longer than normal. The store we collect from have changed their collection location and procedures and it now seems to take longer than their old way of doing things. We arrived this morning with at least five cars already waiting, their 'app' that didn't seem to be working and a store colleague who quite frankly didn't seem to know what he was doing. Thankfully another colleague appeared to help out and things started to speed up.

Our main focus once we were home, and the shopping put away, was to sort out the garage ready for the delivery of our new electric car tomorrow. Having had the charging unit installed this past week the garage needed tidying and reorganising as well as the floor cleaning. As we use the garage as our gym we have a rubber floor installed and with all the work of the last week it was in need of a good sweep and a mop!

We then decided to get out the power washer to clean around the parking area as there was lots of muck left over from all the work last week. As our parking area is a communal space shared by us and our four neighbours it is quite a big space so it took us a lot longer than we'd anticipated to get everywhere spruced up!

But being outside did mean that I was able to re-set some of my outside lights that had had to be moved while the new cabling was installed, and so they are now back where they belong.

By the time we had finished it was quite late on in the day and I remembered that I needed to sort out the car insurance for tomorrow. Having looked online yesterday I'd got a pretty good idea of what price I could get but decided to see what my current insurer could do. Well for some reason their online system wouldn't recognise my new car so I phoned through instead. But the automated system told me that department I needed was closed, which was understandable for a Sunday. But I then realised I could 'chat' online, but yet again they couldn't find my car...although while I was chatting online I decided to 'get a quote' from the same company posing as if I was a new customer and lo and behold the system could find my car!!! But by the time the online chat got back to me they decided they wanted extra money off me which meant that the annual premium was significantly higher than elsewhere.

So back to the compare sites I went and found a policy that I was happy with and was able to sort out my new insurance with just a few clicks on the keyboard. Phew, all sorted ready for tomorrow.

I now have the job ahead of cancelling old policies, old direct debits and ordering a replacement driving licence as mine has fallen to pieces. I've held onto my paper version as it was in perfectly good shape and there was no need to replace but as I unfolded it the other day it fell apart so I think I ought to get it replaced!

And there we have a Sunday, see you tomorrow.
xx

Day 584

Day 584...

It was an early start for a Saturday as Simon had a haircut booked for 8.30am!

But this did mean that once Simon was back home we had the whole day ahead of us. First job was to get out and sweep up the leaves that seemed to have appeared over the last few days, so armed with brush, snow shovel (ideal for scooping up large amounts of leaves) and a leaf blower we set to. It didn't take us too long and we also managed to spray some weedkiller over the moss that has also appeared in our block paving.

Back inside the warmth and Simon had a little electronics project he wanted to have a go at. One of his friends loves retro video games and had asked Simon whether he could make a custom game controller. Simon being up for the challenge had asked his friend to send him the internal parts and he would then have a go at sorting the electronics as well as build the box to house them. And with a little tinkering and a little internet help he was able to get all the wiring in place and working.

This afternoon we jumped in Molly's car with her and Dan and headed in search of a few bits for her new car; she wanted some car mats and some other bits as well as looking to see whether she could update the car stereo. As the car is around 10 years old the existing stereo won't support any USB or AUX devices so we wanted to get her upgraded so she can have her music of choice with her wherever she goes. There are a couple of options out there and we got a little excited when we were told her car had the space for a touch screen version but unfortunately it didn't have an inbuilt AUX facility and so we are left with a little more research to do online.

Molly also needed to get the reversing light bulb replaced so while her and Dan waited to get that sorted Simon and I walked over to the local Starbucks; one mile and 19 minutes later we were enjoying a coffee. Molly and Dan came over to join us but told us that they had been unable to update the light bulb as they couldn't remove the casing around the light fitting and recommended finding a local garage who could sort it. Having looked at the fitting when we got home Simon is going to have a try tomorrow to see if he has any appropriate tools that will do the job!

Molly and Dan then set about cleaning their respective cars although the afternoon light soon cut short  their efforts and although the outsides have been done the insides will need to wait till daylight tomorrow.

So while they worked hard cleaning cars Simon and I worked hard making keto pizza! Oh and I may have ordered myself a new pair of Dr Martens boots...well they were in the sale so it would have been rude not to! This will be my third pair of DM's; such good quality and so comfy!

Well we have keto pizza almost ready to eat so I best sign off for the day.

See you tomorrow.
xx