Its tough, it will get better and guess what its freezing brrrrr!

Alison_Funnell

*says in a very hushed voice*

It's gloriously sunny here. Not cold at all.:shhh:



Anyway thought I'd jump in here, the other thread was very long and kinda impossible to do anything other than the odd jump back in pages.

I've bought clear bags from Lakeland that I intend to fill with bits for that annual event mid winter.;) They are big enough to put mugs in filled with sweets, pens and the like, I will also do some with various items like toiletries, crafty bits, socks/gloves etc. I will only be making them for a few people so I shall probably do a few each and put them in a suitable container (bag for DD, Games storage for DDs OH, etc). For the other eschelons of the family just a mug/case with some goodies in then bagged and ribboned.

On the store cupboard/home front I have been off with depression for 6 months with reduced income so I'm having to be very careful. I have just bought some tinned/dried goods to add to my stores and they had turkeys from that Norfolky place for half price at Mr T's so there is now one in the freezer at my mums for the big day.

mardatha

It's easy to disrupt a thread online, so if we stick together and ignore that stuff then we will be fine. Kittie, I'd like to ask your opinion on starting all this new life stuff once you're older ... You've done it so it must be possible, yes ? I'm 60, mentally 9, but physically 90. Is it too hard to start gardening/veg growing seriously at this age ? Are there shortcuts/cheats ?

jackieglasgow

I am coping so badly that I am off on my Sun £9.50 jaunt for the weekend to Dumfriesshire where I can pretend everything is fine for a few days. Be good ALL and have a lovely frugal weekend

Fruball

seasalt wrote: »

You should have seen me in my swimming goggles yesterday - got ash in my eye the day before - bit too windy!

No waaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyyyyyyy :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

PICS PLEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAASSSSSSSSSSEEEEEEEEE

That is very money saving (to keep on topic ) to save the tiny bits of coal :money::money:

Has the price of coal gone up much? We don't have an open fire anymore (wail wail wail) but used to love it so much. I think i am in a smokeless area now so if i ever have my dream of taking out the back boiler and putting a fire back in, i'm not sure what i could burn...

seasalt_2

You think I'd have been doing that if there was anyone about with a camera!! We buy anthracite - not a smokeless area but fewer black smuts in the kitchen and less build up inside the rayburn - it is about £400 a tonne (freight will be a big part of that here) and last year we used over three! In addition to old fence posts/driftwood etc. Have since found out that you should not burn driftwood because it releases dioxins:(

mama67

Frugal wrote: »

When i got sky installed i had forgotten that they give you a £25 M&S voucher and that arrived a few days ago VERY useful for a couple of Xmas pressies - the rest will be jars (if i can find them in a cheap shop) with HM coconut ice, cookies or fudge in. and thats it apart from DS and DDs

I CBA to spend out on stepbros and sis that I never ever see even tho its 'expected' so now I try to keep their gifts under a fiver Certainly gets the imagination going when you have to buy gifts for that price altho i have done it for less when i made wheat bags

No idea what to get nephews tho - early and mid teens Any ideas under or close to £5

Maybe a smellies set, boys that age seem to want to have the nicer smellies etc

mama67

seasalt wrote: »

Thanks frugal for pointing me here. And sorry if I was telling you things you already knew flowertot mum! Oops - pressed post before I meant to.

We lit the rayburn about a week ago because the weather was so bad and it has been lovely to have a warm house but today it is sunny. Have got it almost shut down - just enough to stop it from going out, but I still keep thinking I have got a temperature and must be going down with something!

One thing I have started doing this year is putting the cold ashes through a garden riddle and then tipping any reusable bits back in the coal bucket. Want to see if I can get our coal bill down. You should have seen me in my swimming goggles yesterday - got ash in my eye the day before - bit too windy!

I do this as well, and use those bits when relighting the fire, along with the kindling.

LannyLee

Thank you for opening this thread, I really enjoyed the last one, picking up hints & tips from other who have been doing this whole OS thing a lot longer than I have.

Thank you

Fruball

Can anyone recommend a good wine from Aldi - I see on their offers website that they do them for £2.99!!!

BB1984

Wooo new thread!
Shame about the last one, but I always like to see a shiny new one too!

Sammy kaye - tortilla wraps are on offer in the co-op at the moment - 85p for 8 big ones. Just realised you prob already know that cos you work there, but never mind, might be useful for someone else!

We had yummy beef chilli last night with some really good reduced beef mince from waitrose, not fatty at all. We had a big portion each, in wraps, then I had some for lunch (with a wrap!) and we're going to have a big portion each for tea tonight with spaghetti, yum. So that's 5 portions, possibly 6. Added chopped carrots, grated carrot, onions, a pepper, mushrooms, half a tin of tomatoes, a load of cumin, paprika etc, and a fresh chilli. Rough calc says it cost approx. 85p per portion or 70p if we get 6 portions out of it. Not my cheapest meal, but not bad considering it was delicious and felt like a treat!

I think I'm going to head to the coop tomorrow and buy an Elmwood chicken for £3, and have a roast on sunday. We had one last weekend too but it works out quite cheap if we aren't greedy with the chicken. After my big shop the other day I have about £30 to last the rest of the month (groceries-wise), so that should be ok - about £10 per week pretty much just on fruit, veg, milk and eggs.

Is there anything that should/can be planted in the garden at the moment? I haven't had much time to spend on gardening lately, but apart from leeks, and a sorry-looking few squashes, I haven't got anything much in over winter. I don't want to have to buy ALL my veg!

DH texted me just now asking if I fancied going out for a couple of after-work drinks. I don't know how he thinks we would pay for them - neither of us have much money to last the rest of the month, and we're not paying out of the joint account (mortgage overpayment pot!) that's for sure! I've suggested we have a cosy night in with a bottle of red wine instead - reduced from the Coop (I love that shop lately!) He's not bad with money, but he does always seem to want to buy/do things that aren't necessary, but cost money lately! He's well on board with reducing our joint expenditure so that we can overpay the mortgage and save up for kiddies etc, but I don't think he's adjusting his personal expenditure accordingly...I wouldn't mind, but he keeps complaining he's got no money, as if I have!

Ah well, I can't complain too much, he does have my tea on the table for me when I get home from work every day

Off to the gym in a bit, then home for said bottle of wine (hopefully he'll go for that option!)

Have a nice evening all

BB