Live on £4000 for a year - part 4 (Oct - Dec 2008)

Janey51

Good morning from a Frightfully Frozen Frugalite
There is still a thick layer of lying snow outside. It's amazing when you think that 6 miles away there is nothing.
My central heating is still not fixed and it's supposed to be the coldest night of the year tonight :eek:

Have forgiven moggies for their transgressions as they are free hot water bottles :rotfl: It would be interesting to work out the ratio between the heat they radiate in comparison to the amount it costs to feed them.
Now, there's a challenge for the mathamatically gifted on here
cha97michelle I would give them a severe telling off and lock the catflap. Wonder how long you can stand the pathetic cries before you give in
For those of you who have a love/hate relationship with your feline owners....have a look on YouTube at Simon's Cat...absolutely hilarious. Hope I don't get into trouble for advertising this

CW sorry life is so complicated for you at the moment. You really don't need this now. Have a :grouphug:

sophiesmum your oldies/kids party sounds wonderful :j Have just discovered that the home where Mum is has the Christmas Party the night before I go away for Christmas. I will be running round like the proverbial Blue A**** F**

Hi Blairweech ..love the username :T

I made cakes yesterday...again. One of my Lemon Crunch loaves sank like a stone :mad: Have no idea why because the one that was cooking next to it in the oven is perfect I will have to see what it tastes like...lots of times
I also made an Apricot, Cherry and Walnut loaf which looks gorgeous.
I am going to slice the cakes and freeze so I am well prepared for unexpected visitors over the festive season

I made a Christmas Hamper for my nephew and his wife. They don't have a big income and 3 kids but are so welcoming and share what they have. They were great after DH died.
The hamper was made up of BOGOFs I bought over the past few weeks and meat offers I picked up.
I planned the contents so there is enough for their Christmas breakfast (bacon, sausage and eggs) and Christmas dinner (Pork joint,stuffing, roast potatoes, vegs, gravy, pigs in blankets,apple sauce) and Christmas Pudding,custard and cream
I made a Christmas Cake and Pudding and included a Yule Log, HM mince pies, crisps,biscuits,popcorn,Bird's Trifle and even a jar of coffee!
I gave it to them early so they knew what they still needed to buy.
I had frozen everything that was freezable.
Only cost me £22 so I was very pleased and they were delighted

Today, I am cleaning :rolleyes: as I have visitors later this month. Need to get beds/towels sorted and plan some menus.
I will go and visit Mum and call into the Co-op and check for reduced stuff.
I need to make more soup as I have just finished the last of the gallon I made last time :rotfl: At least there is more room in the freezer :T

tryingtodobetter

Good Morning All

Currently in the middle of pulling up the old lino in the kitchen and bathroom ready for the new stuff (free of course) to be fitted on Thursday, DH was dreading the job so I am doing while he is at work this morning as a surprise. We have to pay for the fitting (£95) but as the flooring didn't cost anything it is a bargain.

DH taking the children to the cinema on Sunday, so I can get on with some Uni assignments, as DS2 is disabled DH goes free as his carer so it will be just under £10 for the 3 of them which isn't too bad.

Haven't had a chance to catch up with all the posts but I hope everyone is well and for those that need it here's a dodgy hug :grouphug:

TTDB.x.

thriftylass

Janey51 wrote: »

For those of you who have a love/hate relationship with your feline owners....have a look on YouTube at Simon's Cat...absolutely hilarious. Hope I don't get into trouble for advertising this

OMG they're brilliant :rotfl:. How do they know our cat?

Will pop into town today to get bits and bobs for hampers and pick up mystery parcel. Will cost me a pound as I wasn't home last week and I think it will be one of those freebies to test for a survey. Hope it's worth it.

Frugaldom

Good morning frugal friends

Grandma247 - I have made several folders for different gifts, even for adults! They just seem to be a gift that everyone can appreciate / use over and over again. I'm doing one for my gran in large print, to go with her Christmas present so she doesn't need to get annoyed at not being able to read her telephone & address books.

Janey, we are clear of snow here but the place is still white with frost and the ground frozen solid, so I'm no further forward with the garden preparations.

I have saved the huge, heavy duty polythene bags that were wrapped around the washing machine & cooker and these will be made into 'lids' for the makeshift coldframes. I also need to make a larger log store, at some point soon. DGD is getting a new bed this month! Just now, she has the old pine frame from DS's room, but I have a FANTASTIC idea for how to recycle it! :rotfl:

Half a gallon of split pea and ham soup simmered nicely through the night, so that's lunch sorted and then the rest will be frozen. I called the electricians and am finding out about getting a timer switch added to the immersion heater so it can come on in the early hours (during cheap rate) and see if I can get the electricity consumption under control. Although this house is much, much warmer than last one, it's still taking £25 - £30 per week plus lighting the fire. But, this includes heating, computers, coffee making and lunchmaking for 2 of us working from home fulltime, which probably accounts for about £10 of that.

Washing is on and it will be going out on the line in the sunshine even if it has to come back in frozen solid! :rotfl: It seems to dry much quicker indoors after it's been outside.

Haven't watched any cat videos, but will do so later. However, here's another guinea pig tale for you all:
It was about 10pm last night when I was preparing the soup - peeling & chopping veggies. Now, I don't know about anyone else's guinea pigs, but ours recognises the sound of carrots being peeled and starts whistling as loudly as he possibly can, so I don't forget to give him his share! So, from the pitch blackness of the porch room, all I heard was the rattle of the cage and frantic whistling! I went through, switched on the light and there he was, standing on his back legs, peering out his cage and whistling for all his worth, looking for carrots at that time of night! He should have been asleep! I guess he feels OK about venturing out in the freezing cold, especially since I lined the underside of his 'sleeping quarters' with the thick polystyrene that came protecting the cooker! :rotfl: (This new cooker has been an excellent bargain for extras and it isn't even wired in for use yet! I also got a basket of kindling from the wooden slats that ran from corner to corner! )

cw18

I don't know about guinea pigs and carrots, but I have a dalmatian who recognises the sound of a stalk being popped from a mushroom at the opposite end of the house !!!! By the time I'm "popping" the second he's shifted from a curled up state in the hall and is a drooling mess pressed up alongside me !!!!!!

slowlyfading

:hello: everyone!
its my birthday today so i'm off out in a minute, but thought I'd pop in and say hello.
Hope everyone has a good day xx

grandma247

getting a timer switch added to the immersion heater so it can come on in the early hours (during cheap rate
We got one in our last house and it saved us loads of money even though we were not on economy seven.
Re the guinea pig and hearing: this seems to apply to kids too who can hear a sweet wrapper at 50 yards!
Thats a great idea about doing the folders for adults. I have been toying with the idea of making one for a young couple I know who are getting married in March. I thought of putting in recipes and tips of all kinds plus money saving ideas, info on debt and staying out of it, consumer advice and anything else I can think of.

whitewing

Happy Birthday, sf!:beer:

grandma247

I have been reading the posts backwards and have only got to no.74 so I do not know what other ideas have been shared yet but before the bad weather started I got some boxes of shrink plastic for windows from wilkies at £5.49 and put it on our window frames (even tho we have double glazing) I did it in such a way that the windows can still be opened.
Also I made some very basic window quilts from old blankets inside quilt covers.
The difference is amazing. we watched the digi thermometer climb over two degrees in a couple of hours in the first room with the largest window , that was the only change we made just to see what would happen. It convinced my husband so I have made some more. I am just on the lookout for more blankets in charity shops now.
They go behind the curtains so no one sees them from inside and it just looks like curtain lining from outside (not that I care).
I raise them during the day to let the sun warm the rooms and put them down before it gets dark. Not sure if I posted this info before because it has been a while since I was on here my memory is not that good these days.

whitewing

Blairweech wrote: »

Is this running again next year?

Blair, I'm planning on doing it every year for the rest of my life. That will be approx 60 years if I live to 95.