NOT BUYING IT! 2015 - A consumer holiday

VJsmum

Hello all - i am loving this thread.

Thanks everyone for your contributions -most interesting.

Re frozen banana

I make - banana bread, banana and date flapjacks, apple and banana cookies all with frozen (but defrosted) banana

The best though is "ice cream" as said above. Skin and freeze your banana. Take one out and defrost a little. Put in a bowl in chunks (maybe 5 chunks) and blitz with your hand blender. Add a little milk if necessary (or cream) but it is the consistency of ice cream - it's like magic. i often add a spoonful of peanut butter while it's blitzing - you could add cocoa powder or vanilla. Totally yum, totaly healthy.

We have two big purchases in the new year - two bathrooms and two sofas. however when we extended our house 15 years ago, we could only afford basic stuff as we ran out of money. it is badly in need of replacing and we thought we might as well get some benefit before moving away in a few years time. The sofa is dead - totally uncomfy. To be fair, I would probably buy a second hand one but OH won't hear of it - so i am sucking that one up.

I guess for me it will be buy less rather than buy nothing and buy thoughtfully rather than wantonly.

I have just paid £375 for bifocals :eek: that was a shocker!

lessonlearned

Thrift wizard

Well done on doing the right thing for you daughter. I am sure she is far happier and fulfilled as a result.

I think our education system has a lot to answer for.

It seems to me they just want to turn out clones and worker drones, heaven help you if you show any signs of being "different" - not quite as bad as the film "Divergent" but our schools will insist on trying to fit square pegs into round holes.......

It used to be that in peace time we were factory fodder and in war time,we were cannon fodder. Now it seems the powers that be just want us to be mindless consumers.

Well I'm just glad to see so many like minded people. I have to say that in recent years I ve looked around and been sickened by the greed, excessive consumption and waste that surrounds us.

I hope this is one ship that sails for many a long year.

I see our ship as a lifeboat for those in debt and dire need Bur also as an ark, keeping ideas and skills alive for future generations.

Ooh get me being all philosophical on a Tuesday.;)

[Deleted User]

lessonlearned wrote: »

Here's another idea that might interest you, I did it for my boys 21st.

I bought a really nice leather photo album, and did a mini Who Do You Think You Are, going back through each set of grandparents as far as I could, some as far as great, great, great grandparents with photos, dates of weddings etc, dates of birth and any little snippets of information I could find for the fist section, starting with the ancestors and working forward to my OH and I in chronological order.

The second section was their childhood pictures, I themed them into baby, school, hobbies, holidays, friends etc

I left a few empty pages for their own weddings etc

I wasn't sure how they would react, but they were absolutely thrilled and fascinated. Those family histories went down a storm.

Talking about keeping up with the Jones, loads of people who have seen them have asked if I mind if they copied the idea:rotfl:

The biggest expense was the album, I think about £20 or so from Costco, but they are large albums, made of leather and with really good quality paper.

What a great idea ,as an amateur genealogist I only wish that someone had thought of this when I was young.As a small plea if any of you have photo's in a box try and date and name the folk on there as if and when your descendants want to find out about people it helps no end if the names are written on the back I have a photo of a grand chap in a top hat laying a wraeth down outside what I believe was my late Grandfather's house I don't know if its a friend,relation or just the local undertaker the date from the clothes is around 1890s and my grandfather died in 1897 so it could be from his funeral !!! he is buried in the grounds of Brechin Cathedral so had quite a smart burial place.

girlinayellowdress

lessonlearned wrote: »

What a fabulous present for his 18th.

Here's another idea that might interest you, I did it for my boys 21st.

I bought a really nice leather photo album, and did a mini Who Do You Think You Are, going back through each set of grandparents as far as I could, some as far as great, great, great grandparents with photos, dates of weddings etc, dates of birth and any little snippets of information I could find for the fist section, starting with the ancestors and working forward to my OH and I in chronological order.

The second section was their childhood pictures, I themed them into baby, school, hobbies, holidays, friends etc

I left a few empty pages for their own weddings etc

I wasn't sure how they would react, but they were absolutely thrilled and fascinated. Those family histories went down a storm.

Talking about keeping up with the Jones, loads of people who have seen them have asked if I mind if they copied the idea:rotfl:

The biggest expense was the album, I think about £20 or so from Costco, but they are large albums, made of leather and with really good quality paper.

I love that idea and with his wicked sense of humour he will love it too (being autistic).
The thing that will amuse him is my grandmother gave my mum up to her husband at the age of two. My mum always said to everyone she had a calling from god and lived in a convent and was known as Sister Vincent. Well all my life this story never added up and about 20 years ago I was in hysterics when I went through my grandads belongings when he passed. Well did I laugh at my "keeping up with the Jones' mother". Don't worry, she finds it funny now. Well my grandmother was in a convent but only after she came out of prison for being an alcoholic, bigamist and was caught running a house of disrepute. My mother has always said, don't you dare tell anyone and here I am telling you all. Don't get me started on my great grandad :rotfl:

But yes, I think I might actually get all the resources and do the book with my son because he also was home educated because of his needs and I am still home educating him now. Thank you for a lovely idea.

What an eventful day, gold pocket watch, brilliant idea with the photo album AND I found out I can freeze bananas ..... :T

lessonlearned

Blimey I thought our family history was a bit unconventional.

We too had a couple of females who were tucked away in convents! sons being packed off into the army in disgrace, A couple of distant ancestors were transported to the colonies and even A very distant ancestor circa 1600 hung for sheep stealing.

As for my husbands lot..........:rotfl:Apparently they came over with William the Conqueror, cue all manner of mayhem.......

I'm glad you like the idea, and yes I think it would make an excellent research project for your son. I have an autistic niece and she loves sinking her teeth into any kind of project which entails research and detective skills.

girlinayellowdress

It was odd though, my grandad passed in 1988 and we found out my nan was called Sister Vincent at that time, but my eldest son was born in 1985 and I had named him Vincent. It did make me feel a tad spooky when I read it.
My dad's family changed their surname name when one was called up for one of the wars (deserter). When I got divorced and decided I wanted little family ties I discussed it with my mother and reverted to the original proper family name. DS will love finding all this out. Going to scout about for a lovely album now as my official frugal times will start January.

Butterfly_Brain

Aaaargh I have water pouring out of the ceiling, waiting for an emergency plumber, thank goodness I have pipe insurance :eek:

moments_of_sanity

Oh no BB, hope they come and fix it soon

I_want_a_baby

Eek!

Hope you get it sorted quickly butterfly!

Xx

moments_of_sanity

I bought my last Christmas present today and so pleased to have finished. I didn't leave the house for any presents I have bought this year, even the ones I bought in the sales last year were bought on line :rotfl: I did pop out to our local shopping centre with eldest DD yesterday as she had an apt at the opticians and couldn't believe the amount of shopping people were carrying, it also seems to have been made a lot easier to just 'pop' into McDona!ds as they now have machines where you order and pay for your food and then go to the collection point to pick it up, it was packed to the rafters, all 10 machines were being used and people were queuing behind to use the machines! :eek:

My dishwasher has lost it's beep when it's finished and it making a weird sound so really hoping that isn't on it's way out, although to be fair we only paid £2.70 from the land of Bay 2 years ago for it but still! . I am not sure if I will replace it once it dies, i think it uses less water than washing up but can't work out the electricity cost to compare?