Live on £4000 for a Year, 2009 Challenge, part 2

Frugaldom

:j Yeah! Another frugal meet! I reckon that by 2015 we should all be debt free and have enough in the bank to throw us a huge party to celebrate. Hope you both had a great day at the show and enjoyed meeting each other.

We'll be having a brief, late night Frugaldom get together for cuppa this evening just as soon as SM & Mr SM get here. I only hope Mr White doesn't wake them too early with his crowing! I also hope the weather stays dry for the weekend. It cleared up here this afternoon and has been really spring like, again. HS got the lawn mowed, I harvested some more radishes and lettuce, transferred more broccoli to the SFG to fill the gaps where the radishes had been, covered up more potatoes and then potted up a couple more plants in the greenhouse. The cherry tomatoes are now up to their 3rd cluster of flowers and I'm sure the first of the potatoes should begin flowering soon too, if the ducks haven't managed to scoff the shoots! :rolleyes:

4 eggs so far today, so I'm back to where I started after using a total of 4 between baking and making the cheese dreams for lunch. Expecting to get egg number 5 soon, jusging by the racket outside at the moment! :rotfl:Some of the hens do like to announce the arrival of their eggs very loudly! Off to check now.

Love the needlepoints, BB - you can guess which is my favourite

patchwork_cat

Thinking about tomatoes does it make everyone else annoyed when they have these tomato flinging festivals in spain? I also get cross at the CBeebies add with the honey, water and oil - don't they know that we are potentially facing a bee crisis? Maybe I need to get a life! I can't seem to grow tomatoes either they don't ripen. Grandparents always had loads, but mainly in the greenhouse.

credit_crunch

brighton belle do you have the recipe for the sweet potato soup? and do you know if it is ok to freeze it?

thanks a mill x

savingfortravel

BB-What beautiful xstitch. You are so clever. I love both. The colours on the trees are wonderful.
Had a great day out with Mr SFT and my parents. We went to a pretty town with a quay and had a lovely time walking around, nosing at houseboats. Saw a housemartin picking up mud from the shore for his nest above the doorway of a local pub. Wonderful. Lots more wildflowers out too. Red poppies (blowing around so hard to photograph), Dog Roses, Lesser Periwinkle and Common Birds-foot Trefoil (or Lady's Slipper as I've always called them-learned from mother a country lass). Treated parents to a delicious and reasonably priced lunch to say thank you for putting us up.
Like to say thank you to the person who suggested the wildflower calendar idea-was it you SM? Its really developing into a great hobby.
So not a NSD but well worth it. Oh yes and Mr SFT picked up a brand new colander in a charity shop for 29p.
14 days to go before the move.

Have a great evening all. Off to watch Springwatch..Fabulous!!
sft

cha97michelle

Evening gang.

I am a bit annoyed this evening. I have been sat in all day waiting for delivery of a water butt from Agr0s. 7am-6pm delivery slot, I rang customer services when it wasn't delivered to get some rubbish story. 1st they said they tried to deliver it and no-one answered, then it had been delivered to a different house, and then that the delivery driver noticed it was cracked so didn't deliver it. As they have no more in stock i feel like i was lied to. They offered to keep my money until they had one in stock again, but i declined that one. Grrr. Can't even spend my own money. :mad:

So a full day wasted really. The kids were going stir crazy and i was hoping to take them up the park or something. DS2 in particular was a pain as he can't walk but wants to climb up everything (bookcases, onto toy boxes, up the shelves on the TV cabinet) and also teething so bit me 3 times, once hard enough to draw blood. I was greatful when it was bed time tonight i can tell you. Far more difficult than DS1 was.

I'm going to chill a bit tonight, DH is working a long day tomorrow. The boys are at nursery and i have a to-do list a mile long.

BB i caught that programme too. I think Michael Moseley is fab in that sort of programme. Some good ideas that i think i knew some of, but worth a try. It made me think i should get out for a long walk with the kids at least on my days off and it would probably make a difference, but the bit i found funniest was the large lady who only ate 1100 cals a day but was really 3000. I bet she felt so silly.

Just going to eat dinner, so i will catch up with you all tomorrow when i'm all calm again.

Michelle x

skint_chick

cha michelle - I'm not surprised you're annoyed -it's so frustrating when that happens!

SFT -really excited about your move - and expecting to see pictures on your blog of the house and garden so I can be very jealous

BB - more impressive creativity - my cross stitch is going a lot slower -although I have til November to finish it. Glad to hear things are going so well for you with the decluttering- I'm obsessed with organising and clearing out so I wish I could be there to help

I got a blog! To keep track of my day zero project and chart my progress in my new life of frugalness and creativity. Not that I've written much yet http://skintchick101.blogspot.com/ - it's here - can I add everyone here who has a blog? How?? I need to put some pics up and make it more interesting but don't have time tonight - I have to go and watch ER now

slowlyfading

:hello: i'm baaaack

Brighton_belle

skint_chick wrote: »

BB - more impressive creativity - my cross stitch is going a lot slower -although I have til November to finish it. Glad to hear things are going so well for you with the decluttering- I'm obsessed with organising and clearing out so I wish I could be there to help

Get yourself on a train for an all expenses paid weekend by the sea NOW:rotfl:. Not that you'll see much sea from the attic, but I'd give you the odd hour off:D.
Nyk - I'm going to find the funds to get the sheep one framed and I'll think of you and sm and other country frugal peeps everytime I see it:D

Thanks sft - I haven't done any xstitch for years (so we'll see if I do finish it by xmas..)and I can't see it be a general hobby: I just fell in love with these 2: and the leaves are my favourite bit too, closely followed by the distant fields.
ChaM: yes I bet she felt very silly: becasue she was eating healthily, just waaaay too much . I agree - nothing particularly new but good reminders and I liked the scientific back up. I've just switched my plate size and had soup befoer my dinner tonight:A
Credit_crunch: here's the recipe and I always freeze it with no probs:
1 diced onion
1 tsp ginger
1 tsp corriander
1 tsp cumin
1 lge sweet potato cubed
2 carrots sliced
250g split peas
1 ltr veg stock

briefly fry onion in base of pan with spices (I think I add a little more than the recipe - perhapsheaped spoons)
simmer for 30-40 mins.
blend, then add up to another liter of stock to thin texture to more of a soup consistancy.
Really really tasty.

Delighted to hear of your frugal meet redglass and blairwich.

Hey, welcome back SF: did you have a fab time???

slowlyfading

Brighton_belle wrote: »

Hey, welcome back SF: did you have a fab time???

I had a GREAT time thanks! i'm trying to upload a pic, but can't seem to do it haha. was at work at 9am this morning so i'm a bit tired now

cha97michelle

skint chick i have just put myself on your blog as a follower. You can then click on my piccie to get my blog ;-). I dunno how you link anyone else unless you have an address for them?

BB i was thinking i might make up a batch of WW no point soup for my danger time of before dinner. DH puts the kids to bed while i start chopping stuff and doing schoolwork. I then get the munchies as i feel my blood sugar dip, so a small snack to keep me going then ends up being a major munch fest. I make sweet pot soup simply - 1 x red onion, couple of cloves of garlic fried. Water, couple of pots chopped, and a handful of lentils. Blend when cooked. Tasty but simple. Yours looks good too.

sf :jhi. nice to see you back.

Going to log off fairly soon i think and go and read my library book in bed. DH is leaving at 6am in the morning. last time he did that he woke both kids before he left, and i want to be on fine form to do things.

Michelle x