Make do, Mend and Minimise in 2015

katherinedrex

So glad I have found this forum. It is really beginning to get me motivated and doing what would appear to others as a small job but to me at the moment they are quite large. I am battling one of my bad depression dips at the moment and my pain management has gone all to pot so not at the top of my form right now. I am also managing to finally get through to my DH and he is beginning to come on board with wanting to be wiser with money. He has always had a view that if you work hard then you should be able to spend on what you want. He is not a spender by any means whatsoever but where I would go for cheaper brands of things he tends to go for what catches his eye. He is brilliant though, and since My health issues started some 9 years ago he does everything and works long hours. I am getting stronger now so want to take back the reigns on the home front. I am down to working only two days a week now but on those two days I am so exhausted I fall straight asleep after my dinner and that's me for the night lol. We are planning to get completely debt free including the mortgage. Need to total our debts and address which one to start on. I have had such a clear out today. Every time I stop for a rest I have a read on here and it gets me fired up to do some more. Good job all and thanks x

silvasava

Beautiful day here today - really lifts the spirits.
Still working on the boat with DH - he was polishing the hull back to a semblance of a shine while I was deep cleaning the cabin. Discovered the small lockers were lined with dark brown shag carpet - yuk! I'd 'skip dived' a few weeks ago to retrieve a small roll of leftover foam backed vinyl that matches the headlining. There's enough to reline the lockers so they'll be lighter and easy to clean.
Mamaninie - know what you mean. Our local cleaners has a shoe repair section & they're cheaper than T#psons but not much.
Kathrinedrex - welcome to the club! Baby steps at first - everyone has to start somewhere

cheerfulness4

Hiya Katherine you'll have to share some of the things you're hoping to make, mend or minimise with us. Lots of people with very clever ideas in here. I've learnt loads.

And hope you and prinzess will soon be feeling better. Spring will soon be well and truly underway proper and that will blow some of the ails away.

Awww needed. Be back in a mo.

kittym

Evening all

Glad you found us Katherinedrex, the peeps here are a lovely bunch with great tips, pictures, recipes and chuckles and they will definitely lift your spirits as well as save you a bob or two..:)

No 1 putty tat is still in the huff, well who can blame him, I would be if someone had chopped my bits too. :eek:

Today has been lovely for a change so I managed to get some more gardening done.
For tea I made pasta with sausage, bacon and left over chicken in a tomato sauce. Made enough to feed the estate as usual. So have frozen 3 portions.

Have a lovely evening all as I better go and wash the pile of dishes left steeping in sink. xx

vhalla1478

Evening All,

And welcome, Katherine; the more the merrier.

When I got back from chez DS, I minimised all of last year's paperwork - most of it is irrelevant, including the DWP telling me how little they were going to pay me last April; it made me feel better just burning it! I also started on the garden, and it really isn't as bad as I thought; however, I'm a bit like those of you who say you have no confidence with your sewing machine; I feel the same about the garden; it's so big, where do I start etc., etc... I even did a little more clearing of the shed and brought in the emulsion to do any touching up jobs that might be needed. I have Farrow and Ball paint everywhere (generously paid for by my landlady and I got to choose all the colours) and the colours are gorgeous -India Yellow in the living room, Joa's White (which isn't white at all in the kitchen) and Mizzle upstairs in both bedrooms. The only problem is, it's very soft and flakes off these old walls if it's even slightly knocked. I also want the weather to improve so that I can wash all the cushion covers in the living room; it must be a sign of Spring!

Have a nice evening.

Viv xx

silvasava

Vhalla - take a look at the garden from you house. Which bit do you see first or pass everyday? How would you like it to look? Tackle that first & then work out from there. There's plenty of advice and ideas here and on the net but little & often works best when you are unsure

meritaten

I can remember as a child moving into our house and the garden was like a jungle - Dad started at the back door and moved away from that! He did a couple of feet at a time, clearing all the flipping elder trees, then removing the unwanted shrubbery, weeds etc - and found some gems! Roses that hadn't seen sunlight in years, perennials that suddenly found new life! we even found what we called the 'Palm Bush'! and a shed! falling down, but dad 'rescued' a lot of the tools in there, and we discovered the garden was about 20 foot bigger than we thought it was! Dad fell in love with gardening and mum complained she didn't see him for years! He did initially think it would take him years - but working every weekend and summer evenings he got that garden cleared in less than a year.

vhalla1478

From my bedroom and living room I look out over a field (my back garden - there's been nothing done there for years apparently - just rough grass) and then onto an uninterrupted view of the rolling hills of the Lincolnshire Wolds. From my kitchen window (the opposite side of the house), I look onto a lawn with two small beds with a few shrubs in them (planted last year) and then onto a field full of prize-winning sheep. The side of my house has a drive (cinder) and a partial 'windscreen' with a small gravelled patio (again done last year) tucked at right angles between the lobby entrance and the living room. I would love it all to be stuffed full of flowers, but have been told that they all have to be rabbit proof. I have lots of pots that I can fill (I have had several patio gardens in the past) without difficulty and as I've said before, I want to grow climbers to soften the walls. I have garden furniture and am ok with the bits round the house; it's the wide open spaces I'm tentative about; they've also not been cultivated for years. I bought a big bag of wild flower seed last year with the idea of having a wild flower meadow instead of all these tussocky grass bits, but not one flower came up apart from some daisies which I think were already there.

Viv xx

Herbyme

Hi all, have been lurking for a while, reading very late at night on the tablet in bed which makes typing awkward, hence no posts. Downstairs now waiting for bread to rise so it can go in the oven. Made do with the tin of old fashioned yeast instead of going out for a new tin of easy blend, so its a bit of a learning curve, this loaf...

I like the old fashioned cold remedies. Im sipping mulled 'wine', a copy of a posh one i bought at christmas when such extravagances seem somehow more acceptable. Its close enough for me and makes a lovely late night warmer. Grape juice, a dash of elderflower and blackcurrant cordials, a little orange juice, some sugar, nutmeg, cloves and cinnamon. Simmered for about 20 mins then strained and some hot water added. Speedy recoveries to coldies and to anyone else feeling below par.

Cheerfulness, the only kind of green im feeling is envy - i admired the pics of yours, but my seedlings remain pathetically slow.:D wrong face but its the only green one i can see... What am i doing wrong?! Sown in reasonably new bagged compost meant for seeds, watered, a little fertiliser, in light conservatory that doesnt get too hot as 2 rabbits live in it. I like gardening but am not often successful with seeds. Vhalla, i read about your field and thought of a great book that might help: 'Old garden, new gardener' by (wait for it!) Geoff Hamilton (yes, its quite old!) chapter 2 is titled 'hacking back the wilderness' - you can see why i thought of it!

cheerfulness4

Oh I love Geoff Hamilton. I was only just getting into watching Gardeners World when the poor man passed away. I loved his frugal way of making homemade cold frames, etc. Lovely man.
I might get out my Ornamental kitchen Garden dvd and watch again.

I'm not sure what the problems are with your lettuce, though. I'm still giggling about growing lettuce where you house the rabbits.:rotfl::rotfl:

I'm having a few problems with some of my lettuce but I'll be patient and see what happens. My brand new lettuce seeds are now up (iceberg and Webbs Wonderful) but my older lettuce seeds (Little Gem, and two posh Seeds of Italy lettuces) are a no show. :mad:
I won't go in poking around with a biro just yet as its guaranteed that the little perishers will be just hiding beneath the surface if I do and I'll kill the things.

Have you any other seeds that are newer? If you persevere you will be shocked how easy it is to grow them. I'm really forgetful but mine all hang on in there and its turned into a real pleasure for me each year.
I still can't get my head around it that the tiny little tomato seed I plant in Feb turns into this huge plant with loads of tomatoes just a few months later.