I have lost my OS ways, help!

moments_of_sanity

meritaten wrote: »

arrrgh - tops of kitchen cupboards!!!!!!!!!!!! here's a tip for you MOS! its not mine - OH did it after he had to clean them. just cover them with cling film! its invisible and you only have to remove the film, give a quick wipe with a damp cloth and replace the film! saves hours of scrubbing with a brillo pad (yes, mine DO get that bad!).

I had to scrub mine with a Brillo pad too!

Thanks for the tip re cling film, I will get DH onto it this afternoon

Caterina

Hello all,

A warm welcome to retromother, I hope you will find the thread useful. DH and I also plan on saving around £12,000 in 2015 as it is likely to be the last year before DH's retirement. He does not have to retire but we are planning to live on an income similar to his forecasted pension, as a trial run, just in case he decides to pack in his job at 65.

MOS thank you for your kind words, I feel ok but I have to undergo a small surgical procedure, the nuisance is that it will be under general anaesthetic, the good news is that it will be done in early January so hopefully I shall be recovering soon and putting this palaver behind me (I hope!).

Meritaten, cling film on top of kitchen cupboards, what a good idea! Another possibility is greaseproof paper I suppose, but it won't stick. Or plain old newspaper. I have new kitchen cupboards do I should cover them now before they are filthy!

I have been wondering whether to keep posting here or join the multitudes on the Good Ship Not Buying It, which is such an excellent thread. However, after a bit of thinking, I decided that I will lurk there, only coming out of lurkdom for odd posts but continue to post here, treating this thread for what it is, my regular(ish) diary of OS enterprises.

Among the other health issues, I have discovered that I have put on a lot of the weight I had lost in the last couple of years, bad enough, but worse is that I have rather high blood pressure. I spoke with a doctor friend and he advised me the following:

1 hour per day exercise, vigorous enough to break into a sweat.
1 hour relaxation/stress relief/meditation a day. I wonder if knitting counts!
Make my midday meal the main one and have a light supper in the evening, as early as possible (I suppose I can make it 6:30ish as I work with the boys for 3 evenings a week.
Reduce caffeine (no prob, I only have very weak tea and plenty herbal drinks)
No salt. No problem because I normally do not add salt o cooking, but got to watch cheese intake.
Plenty of water.

Lots of little challenges there, but I am determined to give them a serious go as I want to regain my health and get in top form (for my age and limits).

Ah well, it is good to be back!

amber03

Take your time Caterina and start looking after yourself. I think most of us at one stage or another has a break from posting. I haven't posted in a while as real life gets in the way. Sadly the last couple of weeks have been hard and now I prefer to come back on the boards where it is nice and peaceful.


I have decided that 2015 will be more of a simple pace of life. I spend to much time on the computer which means I don't have time for other activities, so I have closed my FB, instagram and twitter account and deleted some blogs. I will just visit this site as this is the most enjoyable one. The rest of the time I will start reading, gardening and walking again. The simple pleasures of life.


Will checkout the " not buying it thread".


Also want to live on less as OH is hoping to take early retirement on 2016, so we can practise this year.

Caterina

Amber03 then we can practice being "pensioners's wives" together!

mumto2monkeys_2

I would imagine knitting can be relaxation as long as you are mindful doing it - not chewing over stressful things and raging whilst knit! I anger-crochet. A lot of work-angst went into my most recent creation .

Caterina

LOL mumto2monkeys, I can so relate to rage-crochet! During a visit by my mother that lasted 3 weeks I practically finished crocheting a double bed sized crochet cover, like a giant granny square, it saved my sanity!

moments_of_sanity

Today I popped into town and having been inspired by the 'not buying it 2015' thread, i didn't buy anything that wasn't needed.....well, if you exclude the 2 bird feeders I bought in the 99p store! :eek: we have 2 cats and one of them is a terrible hunter, his Brother is too fat to even make it onto the fence but we had the most beautiful wren in the garden this morning, throwing leaves around looking for food so I decided I would get 2 cheap feeders, hang them somewhere I know the cats won't be able to get the birds and where the birds can see the cats coming. Nothing has landed on them yet but hopefully in a day or two something will come and investigate and fortunately my cats hate cold weather so don't go out much.

I have a couple of hours to myself this afternoon which is absolute bliss after a house full of teenagers, youngest DD has gone to her boyfriend's until tomorrow and eldest DD has taken her Boyfriend out for bowling and a meal as it's his Birthday today. DH is working but should be home by 6pm and has a day off tomorrow. Mum's Taxi will be called tonight though as they won't want to pay another £7.50 taxi fare to get home.....maybe I should charge them £4!

I hope you have all had a lovely day

retromother

I also ventured into a pound store (poundland)! I had some bits to pick up, toothpaste, mouthwash, laundry powder, handwash, some storage boxes (to cope with all of the kid's new presents!) and I got myself some face powder from their new cosmetic range. I usually get my face powder from there anyway, but they've introduced a new range so thought I'd try that instead. The other cosmetics looked pretty nice, but I don't need anything else right now!

Caterina

Good evening,

MOS we used to have two cats, brothers, one died a couple of years ago sadly. He was an amazing hunter, but never birds, just mice. The number of beheaded mice I had to remove from the corridor, or the doorstep, goodness knows. DS even removed a live mouse from his mouth, as he saw the tail dangling out of Twist's mouth! He was a right character. His surviving brother, Ziggy, is not a hunter, he just likes his home comforts.

Retromother well done on your low cost cosmetics find!

I had an accidental NSD today, just did not need anything so I did not buy anything. This morning I accompanied my friendly Italian builder to open his first UK bank account, about time after a year trading and putting all his money into his GF's account, what a trusting man!

Then he drove me back and had a long chat with DH about the next stage of the works needed in the house, all the cracks in the plaster repaired and skimmed, so he will start on 5th January.

Then after he went I decided I had to go out for a walk, as the late afternoon sun was just setting, it was lovely in the park and I walked fast up and down the hills (it was also meant as a form of exercise).

I finally made a flask of yogurt, just caught the milk in time before it turned.

Early evening, we visited friends who were having an open house and I ate too many mince pies, so no dinner for me tonight, just camomile tea. I am in bed with a nice mug of tea, the iPad, a book and a couple of old mags, happy as Larry, while DH is still watching TV, or maybe just Aikido moves on yootoob!

Nice, peaceful, simple day. I loved it. Good night.

moments_of_sanity

Caterina, ours are Brothers too and like yours, completely different characters. We have some decking at the end of our garden (I say end, that makes it sound huge when in fact it's only about 25 ft long) and we have mice living underneath it so we occasionally get mice brought to us and they even let them go inside the house sometimes too. 3 adults chasing one tiny mouse which eludes us for a couple of hours, always brings an evening of entertainment! :rotfl:

Today I have taken down all of the Christmas decorations and thoroughly cleaned the living and dining room, washed down skirting boards, radiator (dog goes passed and makes it greasy/dirty), hoovered and dusted and now sat down with a lovely cup of tea.

It is looking like a NSD day for me today, my goal is to achieve 10 a month from the New Year, this should be achievable if I focus more time/attention to the shopping list, meal plans etc and keep a closer eye on how much money I allow the kids to spend. The youngest one (17 & studying A levels) gets £80 a month pocket money but she invariably runs out and I end up paying her early or giving her extra money......this will stop in 2015 as she has to learn to budget her money better! With her pocket money she has to buy anything she wants over and above the 'basic' things I provide, so things like Main and Tail shampoo, Converse trainers, designer jeans etc. I provide basic shampoo, basic trainers, shampoo etc but if she feels these aren't good enough, she has to pay for the items herself.

Right, the dishwasher is beeping at me so I guess that means it needs emptying. I hope you all have a lovely OS day x