Make do, Mend and Minimise in 2015

GreyQueen

Hi fuddle, tomatoes split when they suddenly get more water after a spell of dryness - the fleshy part of the fruit expands more quickly than the skin can handle, a bit like porking on a bit of weight and splitting the seams in yer troosers.:rotfl:

Unless you can guarantee they have exactly the right amount of water at all times, relative to the amount they are losing through their leaves, there's no way to stop this happening. Some years will be worse than others, but you usually get some splits.

If you cut out the damaged bit, the rest is perfectly good to eat. HTH.

fuddle

Ah, we have had a fair bit of rain lately. Thanks GQ

I'm a bit peeved. I need 1 more ball of wool to finish my cardi. I only need to sew together and edge so it's really rather annoying. I have chosen a new project (a shoulder poncho) and sourced the yarn so when so nearer to pay day I will order the last ball and then new yarn to make it worth the postage.

In future I think the wool shop in town is going to be the place. I avoid it because I get seduced but in this instance it probably would have saved money... maybe - they sell Rowan yarn and I love Rowan. :cool:

A lazy day today. I got a book from the library, did sudoko and the crossword in the free paper and made a quick and easy stir fry for tea. We're thinking of trying orienteering tomorrow though, with the National Trust.

Oh, the fair isle head band? I have a grasp of what to do but my stitches were all over the place, my yarn got muddled and the back looked a hot mess of strands. I think I need more practise. :rotfl:

Ches

Fuddle hold all the different coloured wool, except the strand you are using to make the next stitch, in your left hand. When you put the needle through the stitch put it under the coloured threads as well. Then when you pull the stitch through the strand you are knitting with it will anchor all the loose threads down. Takes practice to get the tension correct but worth trying.

Lynplatinum

Hiya all

Well, Im back!! Have been v busy barrel sponsorship raising for our beer festival and so far have raised £1150 and look set fair to raise the other £350 to reach my set target of £1500. Which is cool - its been a lot of work but it will mean the festival will pay for itself and more of our profits can go to charity - so in a round about way it is raising money for charity!

Have also finished doing what renovations I can do to the house and my son is coming home to do the larger areas of plastering and any heavy lifting and sorting out his stuff!

Ember - I am glad its working for you - some honesty often breathes fresh air into a situation. Well done for following it through.

Celtic - I know how difficult it is when you are self employed - my 'flat time' is August and then in September I could be working twice over!! I often stray into my overdraft at this time of year. Bless you - it is so hard when you are aware that you are just the victim of a game of political statistics. I am sure if you ended up contesting it in a court - the judge would laugh at them. (It happened to a friend of mine under similar circumstances.)

MM&M has been a bit laxer this week - but still cooking from scratch except for today when I have taken a friend out for Sunday lunch - all budgeted for under my 'Entertainment ' budget! Making do - loads of small repairs (filler in a wooden door for example) but found filler and paint in the shed so no extra expenditure there!! Minimising - boot is full and its going to the chazzer tomorrow!!
Furgalin on folks

FairyPrincessk

Afternoon all,

Just a flying visit in today--I'm back from my work trip away and have a very busy first week of term at work. I've just picked up a lovely little parcel from Vulpix with a perfectly sized piece of hessian for a rug and she has even done a few for me in one of the exact colours I might use myself!

Thanks Vulpix!!!x

misstara

Lyn - well done on all your fundraising efforts, that's a fab amount to have raised

Fairyprincess - hope your work trip went well and how lovely of Vulpix.

Currently heading up to work, cba but it's double time for the PH so that makes it a little better.

Went shopping yesterday and got all the supplies in for the week. Have done really well this month with sticking to the meal plan, making meals from scratch and reducing food waste. Will aim to continue this next month.

fuddle

Smashing amount of money raised LynP.

A bit of a MM&M day for me today:

I used cardboard packaging to make seed cards, enabling to organise my seed tin.

I used left overs from Christmas garland making to wrap around a small tin, transforming it into a red and white spotty number to keep my pens in.

My DD has an old lap/sofa trolley as her desk. The DD's have decided they are going to share the bedroom desk now so I have the trolley for a desk/laptop table. I have unscrewed the slip rails, will fill them, sand and spray paint in an ivory colour. I don't have many spaces that are just mine but this is going to be my laptop come desk come sewing station and it's going to be indulgent red and floral. Yes I know it's only small but I feel the world is my oyster :rotfl: ok, can you detect I am a little excited.

I also made a plan of my allotment space ready for Spring next year.

Lynplatinum

Evening all

I was sitting here thinking to myself - 'well Lyn, you havent done much today!' then I thought about it and realised that i finished the minutes of the meeting that I took - sent them off - co ordinated stuff for the BFest and have secured another £50 - to pick up tomorrow! Went to the bank :-( and went to the pound shop and Lidil - total shop £13.42. (Bank and shopping done as an hour and a half walkies!) Then went out teaching, came back and made myself a lovely salmon grilled with lime and sesame oil; organic potatoes and green beans! I meant to make a cake tonight but go CBA mode on and sat down! :rotfl:

Thanks for the congrats re fund raising - landlords by en large are a lovely bunch - some a bit excentric but fun all the same. The worst and most unfriendly are those belonging to chains (known as Pub Coes - such as Pun!h Tave!ns) who can be quite stroppy - especially if the place is more aimed at food! A few of the managers stand up to them tho and still sponsor!! :cool:

Am gonna have to change my signature tho as am going on about £10 - £15 a week at the mo. I have eaten up most of the protein in the freezer and cans of tuna etc so I think this is why. Still have some lentils to go that need eating up so I wont starve!
Nite all

vulpix

Wayhey,Good Morning.I managed to lock myself out of MSE!But now am back.I have been reading how you have all been getting on. Lyn you achieve so much,I am in awe.I am on the new format now,it seems very white.

FPK I am pleased that you are pleased with the hessian,thought it would be a good size to start with.Although the material I used on it is lovely vintage stuff it frays like mad so if I were you I would choose a less fraying type.A couple of garments from the charity shop is a good start.

The loft is finished.Everything the poor builder touched turned into a bigger job.It now complies with building regulations should we ever sell the house.The downstairs loo will be finished today,plumbers and electrician coming later.It will be nice to have the front door shut!They need it open as they are in and out to their vans all the time.

I have begun the big clean,washing everything down.Black,black water.I have put curtains up in our room now.It feels much more homely.It has felt like camping during the work but with no fun!

Much more of the same for me today plus my hairdresser is coming.

On the MM&M front I am soldering on,We did a swan song carboot sale last Sunday,the remains I took to the charity shop yesterday.It feels so much better to have the house a bit less cluttered and much cleaner.I have £135 from selling stuff and a few more to go on fb/eeeeeeeeeeeeebay.Now I have got a new vacc I am saving up to revamp the bathroom,I would like it re tiled.

So we can now put everything currently in the single bedroom in the loft and put the single bed we have had propped up in our room in there.A few weeks of calm is about to descend before we start more renovations.

I go in hospital next Monday so I will disappear again for a while.

laters Vx

meritaten

I am having the bathroom gutted and redesigned after Christmas and got our builder/handyman/plumber/tiler in to have a look and give a guesstimate to cost/Time.
I want the bath taken out as neither of us use it and I think it would look better without the 'boobytraps' (cat thinks its a giant litter tray so we boobytrap it), and have a huge shower enclosure. except that I didn't realise most of the 'walk in showers' are too wide as the ruddy window only allows for a fairly narrow shower. so getting the largest 'rectangular' one I can find that will fit. that's 'making do' isn't it?
any ways I stated that the shower works perfectly and we have great water pressure so he suggested we buy a larger shower head. great! we can do that now! priced one in 'getonyourwicks' and it was £14.99. luckily neither of us had enough cash on us - but later we popped over homebraggins and the exact same shower head was £4.99! that minimised the spend! or did it? OH fitted the new shower head and when he went to take a shower............it conked out on him! he went online, found the problem and as the shower is still on sale was able to order the part..............which with the postage cost more than the head from 'getonyourwicks'............and the make do???????I am still working that out! the basin and loo will have to go - design way to dated and I want 'contemporary' but classic and timeless. so found that budget white tiles will save hundreds as I want all the walls tiled.