Make do, Mend and Minimise in 2015

ginnyknit

Meritaten sending hugs x

Ive been very good at clearing stuff out this last few weeks and made a few pennies along the way. Tomorrow the CS will benefit from a bag of rags - no I dont need them and a few more items to sell. Will call at the Post office with more sold things - not huge but probably a carrier bag full. Thats the second lot of posting this week! I am working my way through junk in the bedroom and thats going slowly but steadily :j

Recycling paper bin was full to the brim this week so pleased with that. I am just about to put the microwave in the car to go to the tip as it sizzled at me last night - very rude!- and I wont be replacing it, that means more worksurface to use when Im baking which is good.

mcculloch29

Meritaten, my sincerest sympathies on your loss. How practical and focused you seem, but it can't be easy. It never is.
Hopefully the house will stay in the family and your culinary talents will be appreciated for years to come.

The last thing I did together with my Mum was to take cuttings from her garden in Cardiff for my townhouse flowerbeds in County Durham.
My sister always kicked herself for not buying my Mum's place. The people who live in it now do not keep it to the same standard. (Frankly it shames the street. Google Earth tells no lies).

camelot1001

Sorry you have lost your Mum Meritaten, taking cuttings is such a good idea if the house goes outwith the family.
I have lovely memories of the IOW, my parents had a holiday house in Gosport so we used to go on day trips, I remember well the old London underground trains that ran from Ryde, along the long pier and out to the other beaches.

Yesterday I picked 4 courgettes and a bowl full of peas from the garden, I had one of the courgettes with my dinner and it tasted all the better for having grown it myself. The tomatoes have flowers but still no fruit, I think they have failed! Everything is suffering from too much water and not enough sunshine I think.

silvasava

Meritaten - so sorry to hear about the loss of your Mum, my sympathies x
Just reading through the posts & it seems it doesn't matter how old we get we all miss our Mums. I think especially as we get older we understand and appreciate their lives and how fortunate we've been.
I love that so many of us have something growing to have that living link - Hugs to everyone today x

Caterina

Meritaten I normally just lurk, but could not just pass your sad news without stopping. My sincere condolences about the loss of your mum. Thinking of you xx

vulpix

What a fabulous idea to take cuttings from your Mum's garden,I will store that idea.

Suffering from too much water and not enough sunshine,not just plants ,me too!

Spiral staircase gone.Filled the space with sons double bed! Only temporary as i am now starting to decorate dd2's bedroom.She will have the double bed when it is finished and then if we have a couple visiting she can go in the small room in her old single.

The single room is currently holding everything which would be in a loft,mosses basket,suitcases etc and all the mirrors and pictures and lamps.

Today I will do a few spots of emulsion touching up I have noticed in the sittingroom ,put my curtains up,clean the window and then I am ready for the carpet tomorrow.

I looked through 14 banana boxes in the kitchen yesterday before I found my dairy cookbook.I also found quite a few other things I wanted.

Builder coming on Saturday with the plumber to look at the pipework needed to put a toilet under the stairs.We will be just like Mrs Brown,lol.

The window frame in dd's room is already white but oak colour on the outside,so that will save ages of time.I have been given some old white with a bit of pink schrieber bedroom furniture.I have scrubbed it and will paint the drawer fronts and wardrobe doors turquoise as it is the colour of the curtains.

I cut up an old pillow that I rescued from sons move,washed it and have stuffed 3 cushions I have made with it.1 just light blue with white spots,1 blues patchwork and the third a needlepoint one which has taken about 15 years to finish.Like I need cushions! there are 2 black bags of cushions in the little bedroom.I have an old church pew and they look nice on it though.

Ooo whilst my mind is in the kitchen,I was about to empty the fridge and turn it upside down in an attempt to stop it freezing everything and it started to behave.It has taken it 3 weeks to stop sulking.

Lyn your holiday sounds idyllic,if ever you cannot help your friends out please remember i am at the start of the queue for the job.Its the holiday dog that swung it for me.

jackie your holiday also sounds fantastic.I love making memories and organise a lot of family get togethers.This saturday I have family coming for tea and next week we are off to Harrogate and then Scarborough.If fine we will all be digging on the sands.Sadly my eldest daughter will be at work.

I have been looking at Betty's tea room on line.It is almost £19 for afternoon tea.Has anyone been? Is it worth it?We had tea at the Tate in Liverpool for the same price and I don't think it was worth it.

Better get cracking,Vx

vulpix

Forgot to say,spent ages on the perfume site,thank you.

camelot1001

vulpix, I was at Bettys last year and thoroughly enjoyed it. I'm not an afternoon tea kind of person but I did like the way it was presented and having a teapot, cup and saucer and strainer was lovely. The service was very good and they didn't hurry you despite the big queues outside.

That said, I've done it now so wouldn't do it again but it was worth it just the once!

Your house sounds to be coming along, can I ask how you now get upstairs? I thought the plasterers had finished the messy stuff here but I can hear them scraping away again - more dust!

Nargleblast

Afternoon tea at £19 sounds a lot but if you are planning to meet someone for a celebration meal somewhere you could pay more than that for lunch or dinner, so not so bad when you look at it from that angle.

Alternatively you could dig out Granny' s old china teaset, do a load of baking, put some relaxing music on and have your own vintage afternoon tea party.

vhalla1478

Good Morning, Everyone,

So very sorry to hear of your loss, Meritaten, my thoughts are with you and your family; may you always remember the happy times you spent with her.

Love and hugs,

Viv xx