Frugal Living Challenge 2011 - Part 3.

rubytuesday

flying_fresian wrote: »

Good luck Mini-Ruby

Thank you.

Not so mini flying she towers over me with legs up to her armpits!:rotfl:

tumptyteapot

Lola - we had that groupon deal here a while ago - I didn't go for it as I felt unfaithful to my current veg box people (who are brilliant - a huge box of fruit and veg plus eggs for £15) but I sort of wish I did it looks like a bargain. Thank you for the tea tree tip - I knew about it being an antiseptic but as usual forgot what was right under my nose literally and I didn't know mice hate it, I'll do that as soon as I turn the computer off.

It does sound unfair that you are the key keeper and on a minimum wage, would the CAB be able to help you, or maybe a job centre would have knowledge of pay scales?

Dizzy - it's a local adult learning course and covers 'printing techniques' so it will be a bit of everything - the teacher came to my art therapy group and we had a go at a proper printing/embossing press. It was really good fun and it needs things I just can't have at home - the press is £400 ish and I don't think a pasta machine would do it :-). I wish I knew if I had a place as I like to be able to plan my days but I have no control over that. It's only a 12 week course one morning a week.

Alic, Aril and Jill - if you ever see one of those beaded back rests for cars in a charity shop they have hundreds of paintable wooden beads in and come apart quite easily. The ones that look like this - http://www.amazon.co.uk/Wooden-Beaded-Car-Seat-Cover/dp/B000PLUG9E

Blairweech - yes it is Tinside, beautifully restored with very nice staff that warn you that the water is 16 degrees :-)

For anyone decluttering my tip is to have a cardboard box somewhere you pass all the time, like the hallway, everytime you see something that can be let go of, put it in the box. It's easy to get into the habit of decluttering that way. Mine gets taken to the local scrapstore when it is full as they take old toys, clothes, books etc.

Plans for today - there is a magic show at the Library, costs £1, bargain. It is raining a lot so we will get some fun splashing on the way there, or rather my 8 year old will have fun and I'll do some shouting at him to stop splashing me.

My sewing machine is missing stitches so I need to buy it some nice new thread and see if that makes a difference, I've been using stuff that is years old and the internet says to try new so it's worth a go. If anyone knows better I'd appreciate tips, I don't want to take it to the menders and I am nearly finished with the quilt I am making.

I had a healthy day of eating yesterday and a much better night sleep than usual so I'll continue with that and I've been reading Hamlets Blackberry which is about stopping information overload and controlling the amount of screen time you have. It's very inspiring, I've been feeling overwhelmed with it all for some time now.

Laters :-)

rubytuesday

Got the phone call and girlie was very disappointed but actually she has done very well!

A for Sociology

B for Philosophy and Ethics

B for Psychology which she didn't revise for due to her awful time table

And a bit of a shock and disappointment for her C for English but she hasn't done her course work yet so it could still be a B also long story she didn't start English until after the New Year and only has an hour a week so she has done very well!

LolaLemon

Well done tall mini ruby!

We have an outdoor pool too, I love it! Have really missed it this year as it got demolished to get renovated... gutted, as it was a Victorian build and they pulled it all down grr... can't wait till it opens next year! Oh, ours is heated! Makes for a freezing, goosebumpy run to get towel!

alec_eiffel

Fab idea about the beaded car seat!

JIL wrote: »

Sorry to ask, but I would love to try and do a bit of crafting, what sort of decorations did you make? I am not very artistic but my mother is, I could get her some and we could do some crafty work together. We knitted some Christmas tree decorations the other year and enjoyed that so this could be another project we could share. It will keep her occupied in the long winter nights when she wont be able to get out in her garden and greenhouse.
thank you

Like another poster I used wire to make wreath and heart shaped decs. I made a garland with a length of coloured cord beads and to spread the beads out I made some pompoms and fabric bows and stuck them all on. Others I just kept really simple and just threaded the beads onto a piece if cord and hung them on the tree, so they're just a big drop.

For anyone who has a load of buttons these are a simple and look really good (sorry I've forgotten how to do the neat and tidy clicky links)

http://www.folksy.com/items/809249-Button-Christmas-Decorations

These are not mine, I don't sell them they're just where I got the idea and though £4.95 are you mad!?!

I also bought some little metal embellishments from The Works, they're meant to be for cardmaking or scrapbooking. They were 2 packs for a pound, each pack had about 8-10 items. I just threaded some cord through them and hung them on the small tree. They look great.

HTH

slowlyfading

Well done to mini ruby! :j is she off to uni?

rubytuesday

slowlyfading wrote: »

Well done to mini ruby! :j is she off to uni?

Not til next year - she took a year out as she was having panic attacks and then went back to her old school rather than the sixth form college she had started, so a year to go.

rubytuesday

I started swimming in the outdoor pool just before Christmas when it was snowing.

I love it so much.

It is heated though!

slowlyfading

Aha, fair enough. She's done really well, you must be very proud

Kerry_Woman

rubytuesday - Congrats to your daughter. Great results.