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

thriftylass

Good morning,

Woke up early this morning to bright sun shine again, brought the rubbish out and inspected the blackberry bush in our communal back garden. Got a wee tub which I could fill with an amazing 100g . Well, still worth 83 p in MrT. I'll freeze those and hope there will be more as there are loads more on the bush but there still all green. Although my foraging efforts will never compare to you guys'. Maybe I go on a wander today beyond my back garden and see what I can find.....

P.S. Was to impatient and jared my pear butter as pear jam, yummy though.

Frugaldom

Good morning, we have a little bit of sunshine here, too, so I'm willing the washing machine to work faster so I can get the stuff out on the line before weather changes again.

I suspect SM may have been up half the night playing with her new toys. It's great having a frugalite across the hedge, can't wait to see what she's been up to next! My 3kg+ of blackberries made 4 pints of liquid after leaving the fruit straining overnight. I'm quite impressed by that, especially as the fruit pulp is now soaking in a bucket of boiled water with sugar and lemon to make some blackberry pink champagne! Fingers crossed this works, as this is first time I have tried using fruit pulp.

For anyone with the slightest inkling, foraging is well worth the effort, even if you have to walk quite far. Our normal walk is only a couple of miles, but we are really lucky to have so much along our hedgerows. The only thing we need to watch out for are tractors and farm machinery using the narrow lane, as it means practically climbing into the hedge to let them pass. Looks like there will be plenty more blackberries still to come, as a lot of ours are still quite green, too. Well worth the wait, though. What I find really funny is that rural frugalites have enough around them to eat like royalty, yet the very foods around them cost a fortune to buy in the shops. With the right equipment and licenses, we could be dining on venison, pheasant, partridge, salmon and trout, drinking champagne like lemonade and serving only organically grown veggies with all meals. Sloe gin/vodka probably costs a fortune in the stores, as do things like rowan jelly, rosehip syrup, freerange eggs, elderberry cordial etc. We are so lucky to have all these things on our door steps. However, before rushing off to rethink budgets for a self-sufficientish lifestyle change, the downside is not having the same level of income as most 'normal' people, not having mains water/sewage, power cuts, no central heating, limited drying during wet weather, no public transport, no opportunities to go 'real' bargain shopping, no holidays, escapee sheep eating your flowers & veggies and chicken poop on your back door step! LOL

Sunshine has gone again and it now looks like it's about to rain! Arg!!

Skint_Lynne

I'm going to do a list of 'to do's' for today, we will see how much I can get done:

Make soup
Do the dinner
Make tomorrow's dinner
Go out and pick more blackberries to put in freezer
Clean out my back cupboard
Iron stuff for work
Do washing and hang outside (weather permitting)
Clean out kitchen
Check my gift stash and do a plan if what I still need to get

That's enough for now, I'll see how it goes, I'm inspired by how busy you all seem to be getting the preserving done. The days seem to pass me by and I have done nowt!

Will check in later. xx

sophiesmum_2

Good morning frunchkins:D

I only stayed up until 4:30 am Nyk lol, luckily my kind neighbour had volunteered to do the chicken run this morning:A
Had a fun time playing with the pressure cooker, put five jars of chilli in but two didn't seal properly - I hadn't left enough headspace and some of the chilli had bubbled out and got under the seal. No waste though as they are now in tubs in the freezer. It's all a learning curve but at least I know where I went wrong. The other three jars worked perfectly:j:jand are my first bottling stores:D.

I think this could get quite addictive though:p
Just got some mixed fruits boiling up for jelly, then the potatoes will become mash topping for shepherd's pies for my batch cooking, and that will just leave enough green tomatoes for another batch of chutney and all yesterday's veg will have been dealt with. The chickies have just had boiled potato peelings for brekkie and the other peelings have gone in the compost bin so absolutely no waste whatsoever from everything that was on the table.:D

andromache_2

That all looks gorgeous sm! You are very talented

Blairweech

Wow SM, you are a true inspiration! Amazing

Not much going on here, OH is still in bed :rolleyes:

Had haircut yesterday and enquired as to how much a cut/colour is. £46 is the answer - well, my cut is £35, so only an extra £11. A good home colour is at least £5, plus the mess that comes with it and it never turns out *quite* the same I think, so may as well have it done there. Have said I will wait until Christmas anyway.

Tried some experimentery cooking last night - bought 50p diced chicken breast from Mr M and was feeling very uninspired as to what to do with it. So, chucked it in the casserole with onions, curry powder, tin of tomatoes, bit of water and some seasoning....did not turn out very nice though, very bland (apart from the spicy 'taste'. Shame, as this idea is used by student cookbooks, and I know Black Saturn uses it as well. Oh well, OH still ate it, bless him! Also tried making Naan bread and it turned out like a rich tea biscuit Maybe I should just give up

Making Stuffed breast of lamb with bacon and apricots today. Have some pears and apples, so might make make a crumble for dessert as the weather has turned grey and drizzly here.

Back on the wagon on Tuesday.

The_Saver_2

Blairweech - Have you thought about asking your hairdresser for just a wash and cut (rather than a cut and finish)? My normal haircut (wash,cut,blowdry) is £30 but if I only have it washed and cut, the cost goes down to £22.50. This would help offset the £11 for having your hair coloured.
PS If you're worried about leaving the hairdressers with wet hair :eek:, don't worry!! My hairdresser says they still dry your hair, they just don't blow dry it under, use hair straighteners, mousse, hairspray etc etc. (I rarely like how the hairdresser blowdries my hair anyway and I faff around with my hair as soon as I get home!)

TS

cheerfulness4

I had no idea that hair cuts were so expensive.:eek: I kept with my hairdresser when she left her salon she worked at and went mobile years ago andonly pay £5.50 for a cut.

The_Saver_2

The salon overheads are the main culprits which drive the costs up. I live in quite an affluent area and so, not only are the business rates high, but I guess the salon owners know their clientele and set their prices accordingly. I've tried salons further afield but the prices are pretty much the same - and I have then have to pay for petrol on top.

I haven't yet come across a hairdresser who has gone "mobile" but, when I do, I intend taking full advantage!

You'll have to work out how much you save by being fortunate and having a mobile hairdresser.

TS

shaz_mum_of__2

cheerfulness4 wrote: »

I had no idea that hair cuts were so expensive.:eek: I kept with my hairdresser when she left her salon she worked at and went mobile years ago and only pay £5.50 for a cut.

Me too i only pay a fiver .............i like to dry it myself too. i cut hubby and the kids hair though so our yearly haircut costs are £60