Make do, Mend and Minimise in 2015

dND

JackieO wrote: »

dND its been a real warm few days in France hasn't it,my brother lives about 10 miles from Ruffec and when I was talking to his partner yesterday she said it had been very warm and even their pool was too warm to swim in :):).she is like me and doesn't like it as hot as that yet she has lived there for about 10 years
JackieO xxx

Not quite neighbours, I'm a bit south of Bergerac Bracing myself for temperatures into the 40's :eek: Far, far to hot to think let alone work. I hope your brother is doing fine too.

And thank you Floss, I'll make a note of that, especially the bean soup bit afterwards; waste not, want not and all that

Still no water here but have booked the estate agent for Wednesday so some rather desperate de-cluttering has to be done today and then enough water drawn from the well to give the place a good clean before the pictures are taken. :j

HighlandLass

I hope I can join you all. I have read through all 166 pages and found some fantastic advice and tips.

Fell quite proud of my self this morning - My DH offered to buy me a new laptop for doing my open uni course in Oct. I said that I would use the old one as there isn't really anything wrong with it. So he is going to wipe it for me and I will buy one of these stands with a fan to help keep it cool (£8.97 & free P&P)...it does tend to get rather on the warm side.

Right I better get back to the paid stuff.

S xx

misstara

Afternoon all and hello to any new folk :hello:

Last night me and OH went out for tea and to a concert with some of my family. It was their treat which was lovely of them and it was great to catchup with family, in particular an aunt, uncle and cousin that I hadn't seen since my brothers wedding last year.

Today me and OH went to supermarket for the weekly shop and spent £20.17. We'd agreed that we could each have a treat item costing £1 and that would be the only deviation from the shopping list. It worked well so will do that next time I go food shopping with OH. I tend to try and go myself as he usually forgets about the meal plan/shopping list and tries to put anything he likes the look of in the trolley.

vhalla1478

Hello Everyone,

And a warm welcome to anyone new here.

Not much MMMing this weekend because my DB came and we had a very happy weekend and yesterday went to an outdoor concert and then spent a lovely evening with two of my friends at an upmarket Indian restaurant and DB insisted on paying for everyone which is so like him. We also made plans for our holiday but have decided to wait until after the school holidays as I have babysitting commitments with the grandchildren and he is in the middle of a 'hush hush' job offshore which will continue for most of the Summer.

The only bit of 'make do that I managed on Saturday was painting some rescued wooden planters and getting rid of some of my more disgraceful clothes to charity and the rag scheme at my grandchildrens' school.

Nice to see you are around Cheerfulness; hope you're ok and we haven't heard anything from Prinzess for quite some time - or Grey Queen for that matter.

Jackie, I ran out of envelopes but my friend is coming tomorrow to help with the garden. I've got my very first cucumbers (tiny but they're there), strawberries and tomatoes - I'm ridiculously excited, but why oh why do sunflowers keep planting themselves in my hanging baskets - most inappropriate.

Have a lovely evening.

Viv xx

Bluegreen143

misstara that makes me laugh as my husband is the exact same for putting treats on the trolley! When I felt sick at the start of my pregnancy he took over the shopping, which was lovely but we spent so much. Might have to try the £1 treat tactic!

Just popping in to say the move went well and we're getting through the unpacking (I too today and tomorrow off work to get as much done as possible). Loving the new house, it's sooooo much nicer than our old wee flat and I keep feeling like I'm house sitting for someone lol! Wonder when it will sink in we get to stay here?

Did a proper shop yesterday and made a big batch of spag bol sauce today. Was great to cook again as I've not had full use of a kitchen for a while with the move!

Picked a bowl of strawberries from the garden today. Not enough to make jam with so will just have to eat them all myself... What a shame

At the weekend I'm going to get some garden stuff, at the very least some seeds for herbs and salad leaves.

cheerfulness4

I have small cues too, Viv. Aren't they amazing! They seem to literally grow inches in a week.

I'm back to my tight budget again from Wednesday and frantically trying to work out how I can afford my quota of ice creams and favourite lollies and stay on target.
I'm sure with a bit of jiggling I can squeeze some icey treats onto my shopping list still.

meritaten

well, I made the jam today, the first time using 'jam sugar', and its been very successful! (I am normally 'hit or miss' with jam, it either doesn't set or sets like tarmac, or very rarely, is perfect). the bits I scooped up off the outside of the jars (yes, I do make a helluva mess) tasted heavenly!
will definitely be using jam sugar again!

iamsalt

Morning all. Awake early because I forgot to pull down the black out blind before bed last night and I am terrible for waking up with the sun.
Day off today, taking mum to Hampton court flower show. It's our girls day out each year, tickets, parking paid in advance - last year for early bird rates. We have packed a picnic, I have frozen water in bottles to drink as it melts and keep food cool.
I have been saving, and have some birthday money too just in case, but I often only buy a couple of packets of seeds (my weakness). It's all about the atmosphere and beautiful gardens and plant displays, and a good natter with mum.
Viv do you feed the birds, I do and I have sunflower seeds and wheat growing in my baskets and pots near the feeder. I think the birds are growing their own just in case I stop feeding them!
Made salmon en croutes for Sunday supper, reduced side of salmon which I had cut in half before freezing( so cost £1.20), left over pastry from pie making at the start of the week - oh and I didn't mind it was shortcrust not puff, watercress and chard from the garden and leftover ricotta for the sauce, and some home grown garlic too. It was really lovely, and we both had it cold for lunch yesterday, and said it tasted even better!
Hello and welcome to all and congrats on the new house bluegreen, enjoy every moment.
Jam sounds great, my strawberries aren't ready yet, but I can't wait!
Cheerfulness - I have frozen fruit juice into lolly moulds for my treat!
S x

[Deleted User]

Good Morning all,blimey its baking already here in north Kent.My friends came yesterday and we had a massive clearout and her car has a lot of my old junk (discarded oddments )which she will find a home for .It got so hot by the afternoon that we decided to go to the cinema last night as its got air-con .We saw Ian McKellen in Mr Holmes really enjoyed it the acting was superb and the little lad who played Rodger in the film was terrific.Nice to see a movie that wasn't full of noisy music and swearing.I have a CEA card which means my pal gets in free and so it cost £7.50 for the two of us.She bought the coffees and cake and I bought the ticket.
My study (a.k.a.tiny boxroom )is now clear of mounds of books and paperwork and boxes of crafting stuff I rarely used.I can actually see the carpet now and stacks of family history stuff is filed neatly away :)She is great for de-cluttering bless her and I never feel bad about the clearance afterwards ,just pleased that I once more have some sort of semblence back :)We will finish it off this morning ,then will have a walk over to the wool shop as she wants to get some more wool to make a cardi for her little granddaughter
all in all a great day yesterday and probably another good one today
Hope no one got too hot yesterday its going to be even warmer today I think
Cheers chums
JackieO xxx

GreyQueen

Morning all, another scorcher of a day already, with the sky that beautiful hot clear blue. Sadly, I will be spending the greater part of the day earning my living indoors, but I suspect it might well be too hot for gardening in a couple of hours, anyway.

Have been working on my charity blanket project (making), not spending anything for days as I have plenty of food and can't think of anything else I want, and have minimised my household by one spare landline phone and two cones of yarn and a reusable shopper, the latter items going back to the pal who gave them to me last weekend (they asked, I wasn't being an ingrate). Haven't mended anything for days.

After work, I have some errands to run and then want to go to the allotment as some more strawberries should be ready. These will be my reward for minimlising some of the weeds. The weed growth seems to have slowed slightly, but I have things which are flowering, like the black medick, which will be a nightmare if they set and drop seeds, so they need to come out and off-site.

Allotment's looking pretty good (buffs nails, which are looking pretty battered as a result of a lot of gardening ). Lottie shed has also had a pig-out and it much better. Am having the gang up the plot in a fortnight and want everything spic and span. Socialising is 'interesting' when your home and garden are over a mile apart.:rotfl:

Keep up the good work, lovely peeps, and mind no one gets sunburn.