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

shaz_mum_of__2

sophiesmum

take it easy .....................and well done oldies .fingers crossed it works

loopy lou ...............ouch i had mastitis you have my sympathies (frozen peas helps if you are swollen and sore)

Thriftylass decluttering is great isn't it i am collecting stuff from aroundthe house for a boot sale in may i have high hopes ....

Angela

we make wine and most of our stuff came from freecycle in fact we just bottled our first beer this morning it tastes like beer to me 3 weeks wait to find out how good it is now..............


Have a good weekend everyone

Shaz

savingfortravel

Sophiesmum: Take care my lovely x SFT (Thanks for the useful info too).

purplevamp

sophiesmum - :eek: how awful, I hope you're feeling better and putting your feet up. You always seem to be on the go, so that may be hard for you to do, but do it!!

thriftylass - I was decluttering the house today, but erm...got side-tracked and ended up on here . Well done on making some money :T

I'm having a quiet day in today, did mean to tidy up and declutter, but you know how it is!! Some of my seedlings are popping up now. I think they're carrots/tomatoes as I forgot to label them, so they may be chillis. It'll be a nice surprise when they grow bigger.

I had one of my neighbours round in tears yesterday as the rubbish throwing neighbours accused her of complaining, so DH and I went round to sort it out. The kids basically admitted that they throw rubbish but the Dad denied it, even though they were standing next to each other :wall:. Since their Mum left them 18 months ago the Dad has basically let the kids do what they want. What can you do?

slowlyfading

Sophiesmum, ouch! I hope you're feeling abit better soon, and take care of yourself. (((HUGS))) are being sent your way xx
Loopylou, I hope you feel better soon, that doesn't sound like much fun Sending (((HUGS))) your way too glad Daisy is doing well
SFT, I agree with sophiesmum about saving Boots points for buying presents over the year - the points can add up really quickly, and as each point is worth a 1p, you can get some great pressies in time for christmas!

I've been at work today at the bakery, and it was so manic. Was waitressing til half 11 last night, and then up at half 7 so its been a long, tiring day. Even the weather didn't put off people! Good for businesses in the area, but not great for the mugs who have to work there. I don't have a day off til a week monday, so I bet I'm complaining a lot this week

Been to the co-op as I'm cooking a curry for the bf tomorrow night, picked up some wine on offer and a couple of bits, but its surpising how much it quickly added up today! I'm looking forward to a quiet night in, though we've got to decide on a dvd

Hope everyone else is okay, and sending (((HUGS))) to those who want/need one.

sf xx

sophiesmum_2

Have supervised OH sorting out the smallest raised bed which is 3ft x 2ft, this took 100 litres of compost, organic compost from our compost bin and a bag of topsoil to fill it enough for growing.

Divided it into 6 square foot plots and I managed to plant out the seedlings I have been growing indoors

1. brussel sprouts x 1 plant
2. onions x 9 plants
3. cabbage x 1 plant
4. brussel sprouts x 1 plant
5. onions x 9 plants
6. brussel sprouts x 1 plant

The onions are quite well established but will have to try and keep slugs and birds off the brassicas, think a few empty plastic bottles are in order for mini greenhouses. Also stuck a few marigold seedlings between the squares as deterrents for the nasties.
That's about all I have managed today in the garden but I'm happy that the first bed is planted up.

Doing nothing for the rest of the evening but chilling out smothered in arnica gel and draped with a warmed up wheat bag, reading and catching up on here. OH is cooking tea even :0

savingfortravel

Hi Everyone!
We actually had a look around (hopefully) our little cottage today. Was even better than we remembered. wild primroses at the entrance, around the picket fence and wild violets in the back garden. Skylarks were even singing in the field. DH was very happy. Love the stable door and little conservatory. The present owner is going to leave a really pretty outside seat too. Apparently a scriptwriter lives next door who goes to his cottage for peace and quiet to write.
On a more practical note. It looks like we might be able to keep the summer house which has been built on the agricultural land ..if the council don't notice. Would be a great place for our office and it has a lovely, small veranda at the front to watch the sunset over the fields.
Nyk: There are electric/storage heaters in lounge, bedroom and kitchen and a little fan heater in bathroom. Also we have a multi-fuel burner. The present owner orders coal..has it delivered twice yearly..£80 a go..sounds a bit cheap to me. Water is heated via an emersion boiler. We will need to put a new bathroom in but hope we can do that when we are in Central America to avoid the upheaval.
When we came back, felt very calm. Maybe the magic of the place is already working on me. Just want to hold back a little until structural survey is complete and contracts are exchanged.
Just thought I'd update you all. So excited!! SFT

boring_beige

I hope anyone feeling down feels better soon.

I forgot about easter so mum and dad's vouchers have eaten a chunk of this months money.

i was given 8 free swede. three have been cooked/mashed and frozen. another's gone into a casserole and frozen. i manage to get some 30p bags of potatoes . I might cook/freeze them since it will take me a long time to eat them

I was wondering if I use a 14p jar of curry sauce to make a lentil or veg curry can i freeze the portions i don't eat? Before if i had a jar i would use about 1/3 of it three following nights i don't think i can face three curries in a row.

sophiesmum_2

No problem freezing the curry - I batch cook it all the time for my OH and freeze about 20 portions a time, it freezes well and you only have to cook once:D

DawnW

boring_beige wrote: »

I was wondering if I use a 14p jar of curry sauce to make a lentil or veg curry can i freeze the portions i don't eat? Before if i had a jar i would use about 1/3 of it three following nights i don't think i can face three curries in a row.

I always make a huge curry and freeze some. I tend to do meat (some mince usually) and veg together curry (though mostly veg to make it go further .) It is usually better when defrosted than when fresh! Alternatively you could just make what you want for now and freeze the rest of the curry sauce in portions?

taka

SM - hope you feel better soon - that sounds a little scary :eek:
loopylou - same goes for you - get well soon...
SFT - I love the sound of the cottage. I hope the survey goes well.

Whoever was asking about boots points earlier... I second the advice that was given! I got 500ml of reduced mouthwash for 90p today that gave me 150 points (using voucher from the advantage card machine) ie £1.50 worth of points! So I bought both that were left! I used some of the points for reduced price choc (53p/100g bag mini cream eggs or caramel eggs and 60p for box of 3 cream eggs) :T :rotfl: Now the hard bit - not eating them before we swap cream eggs on Sunday :easter_ba :EasterBun

boring_beige wrote: »

I was wondering if I use a 14p jar of curry sauce to make a lentil or veg curry can i freeze the portions i don't eat? Before if i had a jar i would use about 1/3 of it three following nights i don't think i can face three curries in a row.

I would imagine this'd be ok. Certainly home made veg curry freezes very well!