Make do, Mend and Minimise in 2015

vhalla1478

Hi Silva,

I'm still here, but have had a couple of busy weeks what with looking after my grandchildren, celebrating several birthdays, and also my DB has been here.

I finally received £875.49 from Scottish Power on Wednesday after a battle of many months - numerous emails, letters, phone calls, and I still had a phone call from them later in the day asking why I hadn't immediately confirmed that I had received the money so that they could close my complaint. My answer was that as they had been extremely leisurely in answering my emails, I saw no reason why I should inform them immediately and in any case they have still to move the meter - supposedly on 17th August, so as far as I was concerned the complaint hasn't yet been fully rectified!

Now I have a little more leisure (grandchildren away on holiday), I'll start posting a few recipes again.

Hope you're all enjoying the summer and the (intermittent) sunshine. I've picked my very first cucumbers, tomatoes and strawberries this week.

Viv xx:rotfl:

Ps if anyone is coming to my part of the world, there is always a welcome and a bed here. Food as well, of course! Just pm me - Lynn, I've tried to pm you twice with no result. xx

silvasava

Did wonder if DB was on the scene Viv Glad you are OK though.
I decided this evening to get a wet & dry cleaner as my prima Donna cat brings in more mess than a four year old! After deliberating and researching I made my choice & mentioned it in passing to DH who promptly informed me that there is a Henry in his shed that I didn't know about - probably cos he's never used it!!!!! At least it means I won't have to spend out. I'll be giving it a try in the morning

Lynplatinum

Hiya All

Not been on here for a few days (sorry Valhlla - going to look @ your pm in a mo!) as was returning from Cornwall via Hastings (where my son and his GF live). Poor souls - returned home to find that the electrician had been in and left their fridge and freezer switched off! All stocks of food had gone mouldy and stank" Poor GF could not clean it out as she suffers v. badly from epilepsy and it can be started off by strong odours (for example she cannot go through Debenams where the perfume counter is. So me and DS cleared it up. Not before we had called out the landlady (who ignored GF's phone call but did not ignore mine!!!) She refused to believe that her electrician had done this but switiching off all appliances and unplugging them is standard practice to test a ring main! She tried to say it was the folk who fed the cats/they should not have left anything in the freezer while away/it was down to their contents insurance (who would not pay out as the appliances were switched off!!) Thoroughly unpleasant person. :mad: Now, if she had come in and said 'Oh dear - how terrible - I ll get the fridges professionally cleaned and would you like £50 towards the food' Probably no more would be said but now she's got a battle on her hands. DS is furious - and is going to take over dealings with this unpleasant person as she reduced GF to tears - she tried it on me! Ha! Wrong!! Saw fat, cuddly, caring Mum type and thought she could walk over me! Bit of a nasty shock for her TBH!

An unpleasant end to a lovely holiday! Apparently it was a working holiday - dog sitting and house sitting - some one at my writer's group said I could make a lot of dosh doing it!!?? Mind you - comming back here to a garden that's rioting (all this growing lark) and having my gutters and facias changed today! Phew!! Nice workmen tho - clean tidy - cheerful - helpful! And inspirational! SO I have - planted the remaining tomato plants/pepper plants out/ mowed the lawn/ audited my freezer/ trawled thro 2 weeks work of post & paid and filed appropriately/ washed all holiday clothes &put em away/ done a (walk to) L!dil shop for fresh bits (£7.50 for tomatoes;cucumber;beetroot;spinach;onions; oatcakes;15 eggs;punnet of peaches;jar peanut butter! Good value!) Am goin back on Sat as they have a half price offer on their devine vine tomatoes over this wk/end. :j Phew!

Am keeping to salad/soup for lunch with R!vita and dinner of meat/fish and veg with a fist size bit of rice or pasta for tea and aiming to go for an hour's walk each day + being more active during the day - I need to loose this flippin weight as it is stopping me doing stuff! e.g.walking with ease in beautiful Cornwall! Bending over gardening/ fitting into a load of my clothes!

So Making do with what is in freezer; Mending in that I am restoring garden to how it should be (aiming at 1/2hr each day) Minimising - well me + stocks + still turning out stuff as I go past it LOL!

I have a jamie O recipe for a courgette salad I'll find tomorrow!
Nite all
PS v impressed with knitting and gardening going on and friendly tips and helps!

vulpix

Good morning,It is very quiet on here at the moment.Everyone otherwise engaged.

Lyn I will join you on the weight watching if I may.6lbs seems to have sneaked on due to family meals,wedding anniversary,couple of days away etc.I will join you in cleaner eating until it has gone again and possibly taken a bit more too.

Such a shame about the landlady,gives us nice ones a bad name.

We had a lovely time in Harrogate and Scarborough.Didn't go to Betty's.There was a massive queue down the street so we found a hotel nearby which did 2 cocktails and a Yorkshire platter for the same money as one tea at Betty's.Very nice,and half the price.

Scarborough was busy,a lovely time was had on the beach with frisbee,football and kite.

Went to the GP last night,have got some alternative painkillers as I have developed an intolerance to codene.Hope they help,got a busy day today.

Builder phoned last night,he is coming at 8am to make a start on the downstairs toilet and reinstating the loft.I was going to do some decorating in dd2's room but will get myself in the front garden as it is a beautiful day.Need to lay the stone flag path,dig the flower borders and start to plant up the plants sat on the drive in pots.Am home alone today so no distractions or excuses not to get on.

Son and GF coming to stay tonight on their way to Cardiff for the rugby tomorrow.Hope they are not expecting a meal as I am not expecting to cook!Mr V in Nottingham all day,dd2 at her friends.

better get dressed.Vx

GreyQueen

Morning all.

I have been busy on the allotment and reading my way through some lovely 2nd hand paperbacks, bought for 20p each. I know, what a cheap date, lol.

Have had a couple of days off this week, one of them a washout due to a migraine, pity. Feeling a bit wan as woken by loutish neighbours at 4 am, didn't get off to sleep and gave it up at 7.15 am as another neighbour's brand new kitchen was being offloaded off a lorry and onto the patch of grass outside my bedroom window. Grrr!

And breathe. Am letting my brain warm up with it's daily tea ration before heading up to the lottie. I was given a tip about something called courgette picnic pie, when talking to a fellow plotholder about the courgette glut, so will look that up and get the ingredients on the way back. Haven't made it before, but it shouldn't be beyond my abilities (hopefully).

I still have a gardening glove on the table awaiting mending, I really must take the 10 minutes to sew up the index finger which has developed a hole. I have several pairs of these idential gloves and thought about slinging it, then realised that each pair is likely to wear out on the same right index finger and I will eventually end up with a pile of lefts and no rights. Mustn't waste, must we?:rotfl:

Been eating as much lottie produce as possible, and spending almost nothing otherwise. Good to use up what you've got.

misstara

Morning all,

It's a beautiful day and I'm stuck on a bus travelling to see my parents. Will get there about 2pm so hopefully the weather continues to be nice all day. I'm away for 5 days and have budgeted £100 which should be more than enough.

My dad has a veg garden, polytunnel and keeps hens so am hoping that if he has a lot of anything, he'll offload it on to me

I've been having a bit of a clear out of clothes and anything that hasn't been worn in the last year is in a bag waiting to go to the charity shop. I have lost a stone since going gf so at some point I will have to have a clear out of all the clothes that are now too big for me but until I have more money to buy replacements I shall have to embrace the baggy look.

silvasava

GQ - DH bought me a pack of gloves (DIY ones!) that are rubber coated on the palms & fingers but the backs are a sort of Jersey. I've had them a couple of years now & I think they were about 3.99 for 3 pairs. They've been much better than expected!
PS: Could you turn the good glove inside out for the other hand??

GreyQueen

Not really, these are knitted-type gloves with rubber dimples on the palms and fingers. It won't take me long to mend once I stop procrastinating, lol.

vhalla1478

Hello Folks,

I hope there is sunshine in your part of the world. It's sunny here this morning although the wind is still pretty strong - great for drying the bedding, but it does mean I'm watering the garden more thoroughly. I'm up fairly high here in the Wolds so the wind is sometimes a problem with the garden. I do have a new gardening mantra though - do not garden, especially if you're digging, in flip flops.:mad: It's taken quite some time to get the soil out of my toenails!!

As a successful slimmer, can I just give a little hint to anyone dieting - fat does not make you fat - carbs make you fat AND they accelerate the aging process. Obviously I don't mean cut them out entirely, a balanced diet is all, but if you cut them down sufficiently, you will see a significant weight loss.

I'll dig out a nice recipe for later - just have to put the washing on the line.

Have a great day, people, whatever you are doing.

Viv xx

FairyPrincessk

A rather belated good morning from sunny (yes the actual bright stuff not the liquid variety!) Manchester!

My work task today is rather tedious so I thought I'd save my first post for my tea break this morning. I suppose this is on the making do front--I've dug out a nice day trip plan for us tomorrow, a discount train fare for two to Buxton and we'll take a nice picnic. I looked at various English Heritage and National Trust sites but most of those we could access via train either the fare was just too high or there was a steep admission charge. I don't begrudge them--I know it goes towards preservation but it just isn't in the budget for us right now. For food I'm thinking cole slaw or some other salad, devilled eggs, some sort of plain cake or perhaps brownies and I need to come up with something or other else. Maybe I'll go French with bread, cheese and pickles or maybe I'll feel inspired this evening and make a batch of sausage rolls.

Sunday we're meeting OH's parents for a morning coffee and then the vintage fair. I'm hoping to find a few more £1-2 table cloths, and maybe a dinner plate or two. We'll do the shop this evening so we don't have to do it Sunday afternoon, and I'm caught up on washing. I think OH said he may do the vac this afternoon and I can manage the rest of my normal chores on Sunday afternoon. As I find more dishes I'm slowly getting rid of the chipped or cracked ones. It is amazing that the stuff I'm buying is from mid 20th century or a bit earlier and is in good nick and the stuff we've acquired in the last 6 or so years just isn't.

Nothing to mend at the moment, but I've got another batch of mint cut from the garden to dry into tea. I've two peanut butter jars full as of now, I'm trying to do enough to last the winter. Sure you can get a box at Ald! for not very much but mine is nicer and pretty much free!

Right, time for me to get back to work.