Make do, Mend and Minimise in 2015

Kittikins

Blackberry vodka is divine, I made some a few years ago for presents and everyone (including me) loved it!

Lynplatinum

Hiya All

Wow Valhalla - you have been busy - it would be fab if that was part of a hoard - shame Time Team is not still going - you could have got your garden dug over for free

I often make raspberry vodka - it has become rather expected at Christmas among my family and friends!!

Well, slept better last night - I took all sleeping 'precautions' Extra blanket (not just summer coverings); had a cup of hot chocolate before bed; put radio on low!

Feeling better as a result today - so I got ironing + chopping back bloomin Ivy invading my garden from next door for 1/2 hr + put out 3 :eek: bags of shredding for the bin man + went out teaching + had an hour and a half conversation with son who is a bit wobbly with live-in GF at mo (she keeps on spending what they haven't got - to the point where they struggle for the rent each month I am not baling them out - my son always had at least £1000 in his bank from when he was 17 and all the way through Uni) + paid bills + did some handwashing. OK one of this gets me very far with preping the house for sale but it does get rid of clutter (Minimising) and kept so busy it was an NSD (Making Do - pasta bake yummmy on second day LOL) um no Mending to report

Ah well new day tomorrow - can start preping house and deep cleaning tomorrow - in and around teaching and fund raising for CAMRA!
Frugalin on folks :rotfl:

silvasava

Lyn - I too find if I have the radio on low when I go to bed it helps me drop off as I'm listening and it stops my mind going into overdrive!!
Vhalla - DH dug up a cannon ball about 25 years ago when he was digging the footings for our utility room! It's still in the garage. The only other stuff he uncovered were old bike bits and corrugated iron as our house was built on what was common land back in the 30s. Certainly no buried treasure

Bubblesmum

Need to report that.....

The Bacon and Parsnip Pasta was absolutely yummy..... :j:beer::j:T:T

fuddle

Dig in our garden and you'll find a huge concrete ornate pillar that the previous tenants left. No one wanted to fix the problem and the weight of it meant a real difficult job for DH to sort so in a hole in the garden it went. :cool:

Finally been able to replace my slow cooker. I have veg odds and ends (even my rabbit double sniffed the carrot and refused) and some cooking bacon cooking away in it as I type. I'll add some yoghurt and whizz it up for soup for later. Also using up a bread end by frying it for croutons for the family to eat later.

I haven't been up to much recently really. I put a stop to my baking as I was feeling poorly. 2 weeks into eating primally and I feel really good. My digestive issue appear to be a thing of the past and I am losing weight. My skin is in good shape, as is my mood. I don't miss refined carbs, bread or baking at all now but I have to use up what I have in store before changing to more suitable things for me to eat as part of a family instead of my meals and meals of the past that my family are having.

1 egg 1 banana and cinnamon pancake is lovely and working well for sweet tooth, plus the girls can't get enough of it so using that as a way of reducing their sugar even further than it already is (monitored by me anyway) It's just a whole knew way and really quite difficult when every I know consists of wheat flour!

Nargleblast

fuddle I went gluten and wheat free early last year and my colitis settled beautifully. I also lost a stone in weight as well. It doesn't kill me to have the odd bit of wheat flour cake or bread, but I suffer the next day and produce enough gas to fire up our central heating!

I have also cut down on dairy products, and am a little less "phlegmy" than before.

misstara

fuddle glad to hear changing your diet has helped so much. Since going gf 4 months ago, I feel better than I have done for about 8 years. In fact I'm annoyed at myself for not doing it sooner.

The cook at work gave me some curry to take home for tea so had that instead of the planned baked tatties. Makes our food budget stretch a little bit further

Menu plan and shopping list for next week made up ready to go shopping on Saturday. I've got a weeks holiday from Saturday (other than a few shifts that I picked up with 2nd job) so it will be nice to be in for tea most nights.

H0bbycraft sent me an email earlier about christmas so spent a good time looking at lots of stuff on their website. I'm planning on making christmas cards this year again and saw some bits that I'd like to get so need to budget some money for this soon.

Lynplatinum

Evening all!

Well this morning I repaired a hole in my beloved 'Elephant!' To explain: many years ago I bought a wheat bag which was covered in pyjama fabric (lovely soft and cuddly!) the fabric had elephants skipping around on it. I warm it in the micro wave and the kids used to delight in saying 'Mum's put the elephant in the microwave again!' It used to get very funny looks!!

Its one of the natural ways I use to control the arthritis pain! :cool:

So have done my Mend of the day.

I also took my own packed lunch to eat and cooked American Pancakes (Lawson recipe) for breakfast as I have run out of my oatcakes!! shopping for the first time for 2 weeks tomorrow (bar loo roll top ups and a bit of YS). Need eggs now and oatcakes - still only second main shop of Sept. so am pleased. So that's my Make Do of the day!

Also managed to Minimise as I threw out a really old and disgusting hacking jacket that had been third hand in the first place and had been used for doggie walking!!

Smug mode - ENGAGE!! :rotfl:

Glad its not just me silversava
Fuddle any more info or a link to the diet??? Eat very little wheat as I know I am intolerant to it (have about 2 rolls per week) and that I try to make organic.
tomorrow is another day of MM&M planned - if it all works out I'll let you know!
Sleep well folks

FairyPrincessk

Morning all,

It has been a bit mad here and I've accepted a bit more work for the coming term so the MMM has more been survive without spending and the housework mostly up to date.

I went to my second WI meeting last night and have decided to join, at least until January. I can't make the craft group next week, but I'll try to make it when term settles down a bit.

OH seems to have caught his first cold/flu of the year. He said it came on quite suddenly yesterday at school, so I'm thinking it might be flu. I'm trying to keep my distance given I'm away next week and come back to an extremely busy week. That said, I did manage to get one meal in the freezer for when I get back and will try to get another in either Sunday or Monday night before I leave. I'll do a meal plan and leave OH a list so he can shop as I don't get back until late on the Sunday night. Hopefully he'll get some early nights while I'm away.

Vulpix I'm glad you have a surgery date and can get on with planning now.

vhalla1478

Good Morning Everyone,

I've been giggling at what some of you have dug up in your gardens; I'll keep you posted on my little find; I don't go into Lincoln that often, but if I don't get to the museum there, I'm going on a trip to London with my Ddil at the beginning of November so can take it to a museum there. The V & A have an excellent appraisal service in case anyone has an heirloom/find/purchase that they are not sure about. They don't do valuations but will give you a free consultation with a real expert; it's useful to know.

Vulpix - we'll all be thinking of you on 5th October, good luck and good health.

Bubblesmum - so pleased you enjoyed the parsnip recipe; I've been a little reluctant to post recipes now that we seem to have lost Cheerfulness and they don't get put together.

I had a bit of a bitting and bobbing day yesterday. Tidying up the garden - just one more painting session today on the garden furniture's legs and they will be ready to go into the shed until next year - maybe if I put them away now we'll have an Indian summer - I'm always optimistic.:rotfl:

Went over to DS and DDils to do my interior design consultation - ie arbitrate on a colour for their living room; it's hopefully settled on an amber which will give it some much needed warmth, contrast nicely with the dark blue curtains and bring the mahogany furniture to life; it's a dingy white at the moment and does nothing for the nice pieces they do have.

I also got on with my needlepoint cushion so quite a productive day all round. And as far as minimising went, I passed on a grey handbag to my Ddil; she gets through handbags at an alarming rate!

Have a good day today, Folks.

Viv xx

PS. Forgot to say, Silva, if you're planning on minimising that cannon ball, there are buyers for such things out there - not just scrap merchants.