Live on £4,000 for a year - 2009, Part 3

Frugaldom

Hello,

Sorry, I was so busy reading the schedule friend sent that I forgot to come back and add the price. Sellers are asking for offers over £145k for the lot, which I thought was quite good, even although there's only one completed house there at the moment. The potential looks amazing and they do have Tesc0 and a railway station up there, which is more than can be said for down here! :rotfl: Speaking of which, I took SM along the road to our 'local' train station, but I'm not sure she'll be in much of a hurry to use it. :rotfl:

Groatiequeen, I have used the AppF00ds website but it isn't all that cheap when you take into account the cost of deliveries and the lack of choice when trying to make up an order. They aren't exactly heavy on the healthy food options, although I have had several real bargains from there, like rice, kidney beans and dates for baking. (Except I baked no loaves because DS and I eventually munched our way through the entire box! )

SM, guessing you went back over to Wigtown, which is Scotland's national book town, hence all the book shops. Not long until the book festival (25th Sept - 4th Oct) when the famous names descend. :rotfl: I wonder if HRH will pop in again! Hard to imagine that it's almost a year since then! I wonder what famous person will pass my front door here? Prince Charles, to see my butternut squash plant, perhaps? :rotfl:

BB, good luck tempting OH out cycling. I've been thinking about my 'fitter not fatter' and have decided that if I just stop eating too much then I should lose weight whilst getting fitter. As my friend said, just half the amount and then half it again if it makes no difference. Trouble is, I get bored really easily and if there's food available, my boredom heads for the kitchen cupboard and I can't stock it full of low fat goods when two thirds of the household are on weight-gaining diets! :rolleyes:

Oh! I just looked outside and it is now pouring rain! Guess I'll have to think along the lines of housework today, rather than playing outside.

skint_chick

Nyk - I know how you feel about the fitter not fatter, I'm really struggling with losing weight:mad: and I've been exercising and eating healthly. I don't really eat bread or refined pasta or rice because simple carbs seem to be banned in most of the diet programmes - WW, Slimming World etc - and cheese is apparently the source of food evil - unless its the really expensive low fat option - and what's the point if it tastes of rubber - a tyre would be cheaper and last longer :rolleyes:

I buy the cheapy mandarin bits in juice from the supermarket and the value oranges and apples seem to last well, but it's difficult to fill up on cheap but superslimming foods so any suggestions are welcome

CW - V'fone seem to have changed the offer with Quidco to less cashback - really annoying as it was still there when I checked on Tues:mad:

ram_murdock - I started paying for my TV licence by direct debit - it's £27.90 a month for the first few months - still better than £150 lump sum!

Had healthy breakfast of mixed pepper omelette, (it's a side plate in the pic omelette was made with 2 eggs)
lunch is fresh pinepple chunks in juice (reduced to 10p yesterday) an apple, and leftover bulgar wheat chilli from last night. OH is off work today so tonight we're eating together - salmon fillets with a peppercorn and sea salt rub, brocolli, cauliflower and carrots, and then for desert sugar free raspberry jelly. SC is downshifting in both weight and lifestyle:D

I got a new light yesterday - I love it although it was £70:eek: (and half price in the sale:D) so I bought it. I'm justfying this as I don't have cushions or rugs and the only money I've spent on my living room apart from furniture has been on paint, floor varnish and blinds. The light is the focal point in the room and needs to be large because the ceilings are so high and the room is big and open plan.

xnatalie81x

I GOT MY FIRST EGG - it is tiny but perfectly formed!! I have a blue, a brown and white hen and the egg looks like a tesco value one (don't buy them but see-through boxes) - which hen do you think laid it????? I AM SO SO HAPPY - 4wks since i first got them! On topic will reduce my shopping budget now. £2 week on eggs now just food which is so so so cheap - have a huge £8 bag food that is not even half way through (topped up with scraps) and now a pile of manure ready as well I LOVE MY HENS!!!!!!

Otherwise doing ok - veg is coming on lovely and peppers getting huge! Don't know how to put photos on but i have them on here so if anyone wants to tell me how................

Frugaldom

Yeah! Natalie, you must be so pleased! Congratulations on your first 'homegrown' egg. No way of knowing which hen laid your egg (possibly a double yoker as pullet eggs often are) unless the hens all have different coloured earlobes and then it MIGHT be possible to tell which is which by matching egg colour to earlobe colour. Any ideas on what breeds they are? Different breeds lay different colour eggs

xnatalie81x

I went to lottie yesteray and had some broccoli too! Allotment is very frugal and i am so lucky i never even entered a waiting list! I reckon seeds/soil all that and lottie cost £120 yr MAX - that is £10 mth for veg and i will have loads and loads.

The breeds of my hens iam unsure but i have pics if anyone wants to tell me how to put them on and then you experts might have a better idea. I want to treat my laying hen to some corn on the cob lol

Frugaldom

XNatalieX - upload your pics to some free photo storage or faceb00k or something like that and then add the link to your post in the chicken thread, as there are plent of people in there might know what breed they are. I got Captain Beaky identified in there.

S-C, Love the light, most unusual and a definite focal point. Well done waiting to get it in half price sale

xnatalie81x

princess looks like this http://media.commercialappeal.com/mca/content/img/photos/2009/04/25/b26chicken.jpeg

chowder looks like this (brown ones) http://types-of-chickens.weebly.com/uploads/1/2/6/8/1268326/7671760.jpg

and flapjack looks like http://www.nsppa.ca/images/classic2007/australorp.jpg

I wanted a variety

Frugaldom

That's making it quite difficult. I'm no expert but if they came from a commercial flock then I'd suspect Princess is Light Sussex, Chowder is a commercial hybrid like Light Sussex x RIR and Flapjack could be a Blackrock type, as these are all ideal types for egg laying. Unfortunately, you'r no further forward with regards to eggs, though, as they all lay light brown/tinted eggs.

xnatalie81x

lol - ok i shall treat them all then

sophiesmum_2

Hello frunchkins:D

Just started on a frugal mission to turn this messy walk in cupboard in the porch into a lovely store room for my preserving produce. OH is clearing it out as I type.
This is the before picture lol.


Off to help him now see you later