Make do, Mend and Minimise in 2015

vhalla1478

Sorry about that - thought I'd lost the first so wrote another -
I hate computers!

silvasava

OOoh I do love Alan Rickman - 'Christmas is Cancelled' from Robin Hood lol. I am also very partial to Brian Cox - he has such a purry voice and can really play the villain too.

GreyQueen

Evening all. Or is it late afternoon?

This morning I used a trick I got from Shirley Conran's Superwoman book, the original 1970s one; use the sprouted tops of past-it onions, chopped up, as if spring onions. I had them in an omelette.

Work today, then scooted back to wait in for a plumber. I now have water coming thru both the tank cupboard and the airing cupboard ceilings - these cupboards are side by side. Plumber thinks it's possibly the pipes, possibly a split in the water tank upstairs. She isn't home, calling card was left for urgent contact, but I have been warned if it is a split, it could rupture, that the concrete between our flats is already saturated and that they'll have to get in upstairs to sort it, even if it means forced access from the housing dept.

I rang Housing this afternoon and have asked them to chase her down telephonically, so have to leave that in their hands. Hope she co-operates about making herself available to let them in.:(

Blessings are, I don't have any carpet, so have removed the hall runner for its own safety and will look at getting a few other things which live on the floor of the hall cupboards like the vac stored somewhere they can't get wet. Never mind waiting for the other shoe to drop, I'm waiting for a big old water tank to dump its load thru the ceiling..........

And breathe.........

cheerfulness4

Oh GQ, nothing worse than plumbing problems. Once upon a time we were living in a house where I practically saw the plumber more than my DH. Nightmare!

Alan Rickman in Robin Hood was hilarious. I kind of liked Keith Allen as a baddy in the TV Robin Hood series. Like a bit of humour.

Grabbing a read up while DH is cooking our steak. My night off cooking as he's home tonight.

We just had some new raised 'borders' arrive. They are long and narrow-ish packing cases in strong wood that are sold as planters. They are incredibly strong and we're thrilled. DH nearly got a hernia lifting one.
I can't wait to get stuck into planting those up once he has prepared them for me. We bought 4 and they are 7' long. Will make things much easier for me.

Regarding dressing up little girls, I was another that would pull the bows out my hair as fast as I could get round the corner and out of sight of my mum.
I do have a little granddaughter but, like Dawn's babies, she seems reluctant to grow a head of hair. She does however allow me to put sweet little dresses etc on her and is even very helpfully pops her own arms through the sleeves, unlike on of my sons who would rather you break it than him bend it.

Bit concerned DH has sat down next to me and is talking about making a cuppa. Where's me tea??

villagelife

Created a rose bed in my old garden with a couple I had been given as presents and a couple I had in pots for a couple of years.

Worked today so am limited to what I can do outside but am cooking salmon for tea which I've just marinated and having with green beans and carrots which need eating today.

grunnie

GreyQueen I have Shirley Conran's Superwoman book too. It brings joy and sits with Marie Kondo's book. Hope your water leak problems are sorted out OK. My late aunt used to get her sitting room roof down at least once a year when the idiots in the flat above who had a washing machine whose hose used to come unstuck from its outlet.

cheerfulness4

Spends for today:


MON 23 MAR


DAY 23


Money Spent Today - £3.45 Vouchers Spent - £0
Money Spent in Total - £67.59 Vouchers Spent in Total - £6.80
Money left in purse - £1.41 Float left- £0/£15
Jan non-foods left- £2.90/£15


Just a net of onions bought from Morries today @ 69p


Later in the day we nipped to Aldi and bought 1x Cucumber @ 44p, 1x pasta n sauce @ 39p, 1x tin tomatoes @ 31p, 1x tin Baked Beans @ 24p, 1x net of Oranges @ 69p (super 6) and 1x punnet mushrooms @ 69p (super 6).


From the non-foods budget we bought 1x thick bleach @ 49p.


Very tired tonight so up the stairs to Bedfordshire I go.

Finefoot

I hope the water woes have a swift solution! x

Lynplatinum

Oh dear GQ - not a good situation to be in. Do hope they sort it ASAP.Is there water not on a separate riser main? It should be if all the flats pay their water bills by meter. then the water could be turned off externally to the flat. This would still leave the water in the flat but at least the tank would not keep on re filling itself or, if it s a pipe it should stop the flow of water through it eventually! Best of wishes being sent your way.

Had another one of those very low cal meals today - salmon with courgette 'pasta'. I have not got a 'spiraliser' so just cut the courgette v fine instead. Filling but not as filling as last night but never the less tasty!

I have had a very productive day today - paid some essential bills - put cheques into bank - weeded all my pots in my yard (which contain my herbs - which are all shooting again - bar the sage that suddenly snuffed middle of last summer. Went for a walk with a friend and had one student! Phew! Good thing about this chap's recipes - they really do take 10 mins! will let you know on Wednesday if I loose any weight on this tho!

Re villains - what would the character be??? An advertising executive trying to rule the world (bond movie style)? or some evil chemist who has developed a something that makes us spend unnecessary money?? Like Alan Rickman idea - he does make a good villain - Christopher Lee?? Eddie Redmayne??? I suppose it depend on if we think he could be reformed by the efforts of a good woman!! :rotfl:

If it were a banker it would have to be the guy who plays Penguin in the new Gotham I was just watching - totally repulsive!! Do wonder what he really looks like tho :rotfl:

GreyQueen

Lynplatinum, I'm on a meter and have a stop tap which will turn off my supply, you have a choice of being metered or not here. But, as do all the g/floor flats in this block, I also have access to another stop tap. The one which will turn off every flat in a direct line above me! Sort of a tap-of-last-resort.

As recently as last week, one of the upper floor neighbours had to call out the water board as he'd totally lost supply. They investigated and found a g/floor neighbour had turned off the master stop tap as well as their personal one, and accidentally taken out a vertical line of flats above from their supply.

If I'm at home and she blows, I shall have to use the master stop tap, but I can't justify using it to deprive all my vertically-stacked neighbours of their supply unless for the shortest possible time in the most extreme emergency.

Today's cunning plan will involve work and possibly archery, depending on how knackered I am. Glad I'm not the only Superwoman book fan. Some aspects of it are a little dated now, but it's still a useful read. I particularly liked her stance of eliminating things, not trying to do it all.