A Year of Living Frugabulously

RosaBernicia

Oooh nice bike Lula

I want a wicker basket too, there's just something very relaxed about them

The Ode*n loyalty cards are well worth having as it's basically 10% back plus extra for film of the month and British films, and cheaper on a Tuesday night - though I don't think it quite beats the 2-4-1 with Or*nge Weds.

Have you had rain yet? We have here - I think I'm a county or so away from you - and there's snow up north

Rosa xx

Lula-Hula

Good morning all,

( see, time off work-job means more time for thread bothering )

Well the bike turned up :jIt turned up during the only 45 minutes that we were out of the house :rotfl:. I'd left a note on the door to ask if it could be left behind the shed & the driver had taken it all the way to the garden & hidden it behind a bush. A large bush addmittedly, but still, I was impressed with his efforts :T.

DD & I had just returned from a brief trip to the orthodontist - baby teeth not budging so they have to be forcibly removed in order to allow adult to teeth to come through at which point the braces can start to be attached. Although, he suspects that even some adult teeth will have to be removed too _pale_ - End result is that DD will today have the pleasure of visiting lovely dentist to have some teeth removed & then get recalled to orthodontist again in 6 months time. This is turning out to be a lengthy procedure but the good bit is that because it is deemed essential for future dental health that it will be done on NHS so I don't need to pay anything :T

Which is indeed rather fortunate, as rather than saving money towards this, I've been buying sofas, clutches & bikes.

So, back to the bike; as it started to hail, I decided it would be more fun to build it in the warmth & comfort of the living room so we hauled it up the steps & proceeded to marvel at the cunningesss of the packing ( secretly praying it was complete as no way on earht would I be able to get it back in the box) & then assemble it.

My first impression was that it's very gothic looking. A very dark ruby purpleish red colour with black wheels & spokes, moody looking, but does match my nail polish very nicely

My second impression was wow, it has got the mudguards & rear carrier ... although, how I extricate them from the box is another matter ... :rotfl:

It really wasn't that hard to put together; handle bar stem slotted straight into hole, likewise for the saddle, pedals were clearly labelled & self explanatory, the front wheel was easy, realigning brakes a bit more tricky & as for fitting the front mudguard (back one & carrier pre-attached) it was very easy once we'd sussed out where to attach the spokey bits.

Third impression was, " I cannot believe the work & components that have gone into creating this bike & that I have only paid £100 for it, someone, somewhere has probably been underpaid " so I must make sure that I get a lot of use out of it & appreciate it.

Fourth impression; it's heavy :eek:. I can lift & manoeuvre it & am 5'4'' & a bit of weakling, but it's certainly not lightweight.

Fifth impression; "it's very 'dark looking', should I have spent the extra £30 & got the shiny silvery one :think:

Sixth impression (this morning) ; it smells funny ( rubber) & is making my house smell funny so I really should go & put it in the shed :rotfl:


So, after gallons of rain were emptied over the garden yesterday it's now bright & sunny & I want to try out my new bike . Must get properly dressed first though; working only at home means I've fallen straight back into wearing lazy lounging clothes

Money-wise things are a bit squeaky; I still have about £275 owing on the CCCCC & having checked my statement, I'm rather ashamed to reveal that in fact I spent over £260 in Sainsbugs last month :eek:. That is appalling - although £50 of that was on fuel & I did get a fair few easter egg type things - so I am definitely back on the weekly cash spends method. It just make life simpler.

I withdrew my £50 & already only have £27 left. I did get 2 x £2 coins so they went in the pot, but the rest just kind of drifted off ...

Have invited DD & her BF over for lunch on Sunday so will need to do a quick trip to Waitr:)se for chicken & some veg & conjure up some kind of pudding too.

DD very reluctant to do anything resembling tidying, clearing or sorting in her room & has agreed that it would be far better to have it done while she's not here ( she knows I'll just do the lot & she comes back to the finished product so no effort required on her part ) & that suits me fine. DD1 has offered to come & help so that will make it more fun & less of a chore. As for the hall ... cannot be bothered at the moment, will for inspiration & energy to occur simultaneously

Have a happy day all
xx

Lula-Hula

Ps - completely forgot to say - Thank you to short bird re the orange wednesday films - I'm on vodafone though, so sadly not applicable.

Rosa - no Odeons here, but will definitely be using our local cinema loyalty card from now on ( still sneaking own food & drink in though )

xx

RosaBernicia

Lula-Hula wrote: »

will definitely be using our local cinema loyalty card from now on ( still sneaking own food & drink in though )

xx

So am I :shhh:

although one of our local ones now has a Costa within it, and I am considering writing to the manager to tell them just how excited and utterly grateful I am at being allowed to have decent muffins and proper coffee during a film instead of nasty sugarladen pop and even more sugar and additive laced sweets. Why on earth can't they sell any decent food in cinemas, quite apart from it being three times the price of anywhere else?

Hurrah for bike - especially one that matches your nail polish :rotfl:

Rosa xx

Cheery_Daff

I always wish I lived nearer to the one in Hebden Bridge where they make you a mug of tea for £1 and sell custard creams and you can take them all in with you to watch the film

moo2moo

Cheery_Daff wrote: »

I always wish I lived nearer to the one in Hebden Bridge where they make you a mug of tea for £1 and sell custard creams and you can take them all in with you to watch the film

I used to love going there, it was a bike ride from home along the canal towpath. Scary to think that according to one of the broadsheets its now the lesbian capital of Europe. Clearly there aren't many lesbians in Europe because its a tiny place.

taxi73

love Hebden Bridge was there last year for a festival with SIL and loved the unusual shops and the fact it's very small so easy to get around.

Lula-Hula

Hmph was feeling very ignorant as had never heard of Hebden Bridge, so off I googled & just look at what I found :j:D

I'm packing now

What a wonderful looking place, I have just been paid £3 in paypal coins so am off to buy a basket for my bike that will take my shoe collection & then I'll be on my way :rotfl:

Taxi - thank you for your continued presence here :A & I am slowly catching up with diaries, I keep getting sidetracked by new places but promise to get to yours soon

xx

RosaBernicia

*debates balance of decent cinema food vs even lower chance of single men*

Rosa xx

Karmacat

Hiya! I think Hebden Bridge is the alternative capital of the North, rather like Dartington? Not sure, mind, and I saw a tv piece about the cinema too, it looked lovely.

Lula, a thought just occurred to me - I had to rejoin Waitrose online recently, to get a delivery to my mum, and she told me when it turned up, that because it was the first delivery on the account, she got a lot of freebies - the makings of one of Heston Blumenthal's Easter cakes, including 6 eggs, 4 unwaxed lemons, that sort of thing. You have to do a minimum spend of £50, but they don't have a delivery charge either - it could well be worth doing for you?

Rosa ... if you find any single men you're not lusting after, chuck them this way, would you?