Getting to know you........

meanmarie

Welcome LumpyMoo,

You will enjoy being here...good luck with the GC, it almost keeps me in line so its good!

Marie

pineapple

Recently retired. VERY careful what I spend.
Busier now than I ever was! Re-decorating the house inch by inch, de-cluttering, taming the garden/growing veg, making own bread, yoghurt etc. Just on with the seasonal plum brandy... :beer:

Seraph123

ooooh plum brandy. Sounds delicious. Do you make it like sloe gin only without the gin and the sloes?:)

pineapple

Seraph123 wrote: »

ooooh plum brandy. Sounds delicious. Do you make it like sloe gin only without the gin and the sloes?:)

I suppose it should really be called plum vodka. Kilner jar between 1/3 and 1/2 full of stabbed or pricked plums, vodka, soft brown sugar, cinnamon sticks, cloves. Leave top loose. Stir weekly and sample for 2 - 3 months. Add sugar if necessary. Tighten lid after 3 months. Delicious! And you can eat the plums later...

marshfleur

Hello everyone.

I’ve used this site for Martin’s articles and tips for a long time but have just plucked up the courage to join the forums. I think after having a look through a few of the areas, this OS one is definitely suited to me!
I am 30 and married, with a daughter who will be 2 in October. My husband and I started our own business last September – a milkshake shop. Scary times! I work part time in an office based job to cover our basic bills while DH works 6 days a week in the shop. It’s doing ok and the fact we’re managing to pay him plus 2 part time members of staff after less than a year of being in business is fantastic. However winter cometh and last winter was utterly dire (we only opened the shop in mid sept and naively assumed people would know we were there after 2 months!) after a very busy first few weeks, and we ended up using all of our savings to see us through. That said, I still feel immensley proud that not a day went by when we didn't do any business at all. We live on a small budget anyway (always have even when times were relatively flush. I’m not sure I’d know what to do with a lot of money!) as I’m trying to slowly slowly repay a credit card debt, but I feel it is time to tighten the purse strings that bit further as, while I hope this winter will not be as quiet as the last for our shop, one can never guarantee these things. So I’m working on a fortnightly meal-planner basis (to shift a few pounds and save a few pence), coupon cutting, using reusable nappies for DD, growing veg and brewing our own wine, carbooting and ebaying like mad and doing everything I can to snip a bit here and there from our bills. I’m also in the process of setting my own little business doing peoples ironing and basic sewing repairs to hopefully bring in a little extra money. It leaves us with very little time for relaxing but we’ve just splashed out on our first holiday in 4 years to a friends villa in Spain (a very thrifty holiday of course and worked out even cheaper than going away in the uk). It feels awfully naughty and a crazy time to do it given I’m fretting like anything over the impending winter but the opportunity was there, it was a great deal and I’ve no idea when we’ll get to have another holiday.
So, anyway, I’m starting to ramble! I’d just like to say hello to everyone, I look forward to chatting with you and picking up some good advice – and maybe even being able to share a few tips, who knows!

Marshfleur.

meanmarie

Welcome to Wilding_Arms and Marshfleur....you will enjoy it here, congratulations on your already OS ways, very impressed!

Marie

Chickenopolis

Hello marshfleur and welcome!

Wow loving your motivation already! Well done and good luck with the businesses

LolaLemon

Lou76 wrote: »

Lola, firstly I just wanted to say; you're an inspiration. :T

Secondly, with regards to your insurance (don't even start me :mad: - turned down for my Mortgage insurance when I was 25 and diagnosed with M.E. &, subsequently, Crohn's, because I had been in a car accident when I was 16 and suffered whiplash. :eek: Sadly I didn't have the energy to fight it at the time, so they won ) surely if you have a Dr's note that overides any 'opinion' they have that you could have worked?

Thirdly, ahhh !!!!!! it, I'm not "counting" anymore, just replying. I'm jealous that you can crochet. My Mum is fab at arty/creative stuff, but I'm crap at anything that involves concentration/precision. I think I should've been a man; I never use an instruction manual, prefer to figure it out myself, I have a "bish bosh" approach to recipes, but at least I keep the toilet seat [and lid] down - when not in use, of course. :rotfl:

Jealous (again) that you're learning Gaelic. I'm struggling on at the moment to learn BSL, it's not easy to learn a language when you're an adult, I would love though to know my "mother tongue" but that'll have to wait another wee while.

Good luck with your battle, you'll get through it though and this site will help loads. :T

Just wish I'd found it 8 years ago...

Omg, I am soooo sorry, I have just seen this... when I posted, I was very confused at how to keep up with posts and subscriptions etc...

I only learned in past few years how to crochet, and learned via you tube! Search out TJW1965 her videos are fantastic, even tho its American terms, the stitches are the same as UK ones... I have successfully taught a lot of my friends on how to crochet too

I noticed u are in Glasgow, they have Gaelic classes dotted around, more so in the west end, possibly due to the Gaelic school being there.

Not getting anywhere with insurance but decided today I'm going for ppi ....

Bsl is very hard, I've done a little myself and had taken my son to 'tiny talk' classes... ment I understood what he wanted before he could actually talk, and so far, (he's now 4) we haven't had any tantrums (soo going to pay for it when he is a teenager haha)
A good place to get a little help is on BBC iplayer, cbeebies and watch 'something special' it may be too basic for you, but my son and I still watch and try and use the signs daily.

cattysmum

Hi thought it about time I introduced myself, I have been a regular loiterer and occasional poster on the grabbits board and I jointed the August grocery challenge, I am a working mum and Grandma and work nights so am usually up and about by lunch time and have the rest of the day to myself, hubby recently retired so money is a little tighter. Imagine my delight when I came across Old style moneysaving, my grown up kids think Im miserley, but don't complain when I can afford to treat them occasionally, I am trying to instill in them that if you can save some money on the day to day stuff it leaves more money for treats. I love the recipe boards as well, at the moment hubby can't get a look in on the Laptop as I am still finding my way around the site. I love the tips and info and challenges Thanks everyone!!

Beetlemama

Hi, Sue here, working 19 hours a week part-time.

DH is medically retired but we chose not to claim his pension early as it would be reduced by 50%, so I am our sole income. Only 2 years to go now until we can claim his pension at 100%.

It was really hard at first, we reduced all our bills and purchases, like only shopping in ASDA for economy brands and reduced items, changing the pet and home insurance from M&S to Tescos and getting rid of the car and the garage we rented for it.

We're not in any debt and we don't claim benefit. I screwed up my credit in my 30's and got a CCJ - and am forever grateful that it was a kiddie-cash-debt that ruined it (just £900) and not a great big scary £30k credit card debt or something. But since no one will lend to a non-working no income man or his part-time working financially dubious wife we actually never managed to get ourselves in debt. We bounce a few DD's every now and then and scramble to make it up (it happens) but we don't have debt.

We grow our own fruit and vegetables and we have a couple of rubbish chickens who only lay eggs when they feel like it. I've learned to make jam and pickles and to preserve our veg so we can use them through the winter - still too scared to can them in case botulism ruins our happy lifestyle, lol, but the freezer's looking ok.

We're big freecyclers/freeglers, ebay and charity shoppers.

Anyway, that's us and how we came to be here.

xx