Squizz's Fizzy Diary

Pippilongstocking

Poor you hands a tissue

Tootling is good for the soul - well done on having £7.22 left in the bank unless you're going on a flute induced spending spree that sounds OK...................:)

Working whilst essential cuts into ones social time..............................very naughty of that pesky work.

How big is your local city farm? I've always thought these are a good idea, but never been to one.

And spill the preserves, what have you made?

redsquirrel80

Thanks Pippi *sniffles*.. work, seriously considered phoning in sick this morning, cold isn't that bad, I just don't want to be here.

No spending between today and tomorrow! Debt payments set up to come out tomorrow and have updated my sig a bit early as needed cheering up. Though not entirely sure it's done that as it's not as healthy as it should be.

City farm is hmm.. about six fields (useless at estimating area.. they are small fields but big enough for the animals to wander about fine), a few pig pens, some stables and a couple of sheds with small furry animals. Plus a fair sized vegetable garden of raised beds and a mini "garden centre". Nice place to visit and watch the chickens and scratch the goats heads Always feel they could do more with it though, there always seems to be veg going to waste!

Ooh yeah preserves - got a load of crab apples from someone at Mr S's work, so apple and chilli jelly, plus apple cheese from the pulp, apple-flavoured vodka (that's a preserve, right? )... also picked elderberries and have elderberry cordial and, erm yes vodka on the go. Sorted out all the jams and stuff in the cupboards and yes I think we will survive the winter :rotfl:

redsquirrel80

End of month sums...

Budget Actual
Rent 350 350
Phone 45 48.50
Groceries 100 112.27
Eating out 30 29
Lunches 10 29.80
Badminton 24 24
Books 30 34.78
Sheet music 20 33.25
Flute lessons 45 45
Debts 382 339.68
Paris 200 411.00

Other non-budgeted stuff
Newspaper 2.20
Notebooks 3.49
Theatre tickets 31
Seeds 17.54
Dad's birthday present 10.79
Spa for October 90 (but will get 55 back)
Charity donations 12
Old flute from ebay for fiddling about with/ taking to bits/ attempting to fix 22
Postage 1.09

Total budgeted 1236 total spent 1647.40 - difference 411.40 (strangely almost exactly the amount of the Paris apartment!)

Savings account balance £250.. bank account balance £7.22.. spreadsheet balance £27.55.. whereabouts of £20.33 unknown!

Main messing-it-up factors - boiler breaking down, no pay from second job.

Budget for next month in a mo...

redsquirrel80

September

Rent 350.00
Phone 37.60

Groceries 75.00 (taken off a week for Paris trip)
Eating out 30.00
Lunches 10.00

Clothing 50.00 (squirrel jumper and waterproof trousers!)
Badminton 24.00

Sheet music 20.00 (dunno if I need this but just in case)
Flute lessons 60.00

Debts 400.00

Paris 200.00 (food etc while we're there, might not need this much, dunno!)

---

Total 1256.60

Income
7.22 (carried over from this month)
1263.02 (slightly less than previous months as Student Loans finally caught up with me)
1000.00 (owed from second job)

---

Total 2270.24

Balance 1013.62

There are a couple of other things I would like to buy this month, but those are absolutely dependent on getting all the money from second job. Otherwise it's lots into savings and a bit more to debts.

lionheartedgirl

booooooo to waiting for money from 2nd job :mad:

and yayyyy to nice surprises about the music you like :j

my mum is a bassoonist so is Baroque mad - not my cup of tea but that's not to say I don't like/can't appreciate it

On my course this year, I was the only person there who wanted to be studying classical harp, most other people were studying classical and wanted to do jazz :rotfl: it's taken me years to realise that while I don't want to be pigeon holed, I really really do love the traditional harp repertoire and am looking forward to learning more of it

now.... about this apple vodka, how does one make such a creature? :cool:

redsquirrel80

It's a curious thing this musical thing.. I really 'went off' Baroque as a teenager but some things my teacher said really made sense - about the fancy showy off French Romantic stuff being more suited to moody teenagers.. and actually easier to 'fluff' because it's so showy, whereas Baroque is simpler on the surface but less forgiving. Definitely good not to be pigeon-holed.. but also to get to know what you really like

Ah yes.. apple vodka, please see my new favourite website http://www.danish-schnapps-recipes.com/ (it says schnapps - it's just stuff soaked in vodka ) .. only problem is, waiting for months!

lionheartedgirl

oh bum that's me in the moody teenager bracket then :rotfl: - the harp as we know it only really came into its own in said French Romantic era, so most of the most well known stuff now is from then.

I totally know what you mean though, one of my grade 8 pieces was slushy to the max but it is so hard it really has no place on the grade 8 syllabus! I'm glad I did it then as there is no way on this earth I could learn it now!

You are right, there is less to hide behind on the Baroque stuff :eek:

thanks for website, I will study it intently :rotfl: wonder if I can do it with blackberries as we get loads here!

Karmacat

Missing only £20 isn't bad at all! Especially when the confounded second job is acting up ..... sorry you've got the sniffles, tho, mine isn't at the sniffly stage and I *think*, if I stuff loads of vitamins in, it won't get there.

Can't play the flute at all, but it does sound very beautiful. No idea about classical vs baroque, tho **hands head in shame** - any chance of a youtube link?

redsquirrel80

I think there's a blackberry one on there We were going to do blackberry stuff too if we hadn't been too lazy to go picking them at the weekend

Of course the French Romantic stuff done well on any instrument is amazing, I think it's just on the flute with all that rushing about you can hide things like slightly dodgy tone better. Going to see a concert in a couple of months with someone playing one of my favourite pieces of that era (one of my Grade 8 pieces too) and it'll be interesting to hear it played really well - at least I hope it will be!

I always struggled to find the emotion/ beauty in the earlier stuff before, but it is there Grrr I want to go home and practise now!

redsquirrel80

Karmacat wrote: »

Missing only £20 isn't bad at all! Especially when the confounded second job is acting up ..... sorry you've got the sniffles, tho, mine isn't at the sniffly stage and I *think*, if I stuff loads of vitamins in, it won't get there.

Can't play the flute at all, but it does sound very beautiful. No idea about classical vs baroque, tho **hands head in shame** - any chance of a youtube link?

I need to add £2.25 in there for Boots version of Lemsip - I will not be defeated by bugs!

Ooh of course..

Baroque (Handel, Bach etc - about 1600-1750)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-3knNCTfemc (this is what I'm playing at the moment, not totally convinced about this guy's interpretation but gives you an idea)

Classical (1750-early 19th C, Mozart, Beethoven etc)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kc0J-mGoKxI
(this is what I played/ massacred at my first lesson)

Romantic (basically the 19th C into early 20th C)
things like this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1CxYqcXjKZs
and my favourite Grade 8 piece, although this is a little bit later... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PwHptt7cfnY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7vVwyMlMAAQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ztcGclCKFJw