Make do, Mend and Minimise in 2015

fuddle

FairyPrincessk wrote: »

Fuddle, I like to use empty fruit punnets--like the clear plastic ones strawberries and plums etc. come in for green house tops on larger plants--courgettes start out too big for the eggs. HTH.x

Thanks so much fpk. Much appreciated and learning curve avoided

misstara

Evening all

Just waiting for OH to finish cooking tea - having beef stew tonight. That's me on a few days holidays now so I had a relaxing morning then went a wander round the shops. I made a start on my christmas shopping plus got some bits and bobs for my sister's birthday. She turns 30 later this month so am making up a survival kit for turning 30. Found a box in the flat and have covered it in 30 wrapping paper, just need to fill it now and see what else I should put it. I bought some craft supplies as well so think I'll start making my christmas cards over the next few days.

Plan for the rest of the evening is to bake some bread and have a flick through the library books I got. Hope everyone has a lovely evening.

camelot1001

Still reading but not posting much. vulpix, hope you are ok.

I've been using everything from the fridge so it's empty for my trip away next week, DD was here for dinner so that helped!

Packing to go away I remembered my pjs, the buttons on the pair I want to take come undone at the front during my tossing and turning during the night so I sewed all the way down the front with the machine, that should sort the problem.

Minimised the ironing, an empty basket for a change!

Lynplatinum

Evening All

Despite its been a rainy day I have had good quiet one (ish) so had a friend round for lunch - and it was a good meal (diet wise) chicken, brocoli, carrots and a few boiled pots . Marinated chicken in lemon, garlic and oregano over night and it tasted good!! Followed by pears and a small amount of HM chocolate sauce. - well being completely saintly would nt suit me! Lets be honest

On that topic - well done Fuddle on your weight loss :beer: - how are you doing it???

Zaxdog well done on filling your freezer for that - where did you go shopping?

Went and gave over the last of the fund raising money to our treasurer and then on to return a tin which had been given to me (from a grateful student's Mum) full of Scotch Tablet!! :rotfl: not good for the diet but I spread the love around with my friends and it was time to take the tin back. Such a lovely family - I shall quite miss em!
Making do - the usual foodie things - Minimising - how did the recyle bag get so full again (have been chucking stuff out tho!) No mending here today!! Have a pile that it now needs to be my mission to reduce or bin!!!
Nite all :A

debbiedodge1737

Had a Lovely day in Hastings Seafront Yesterday , free day out and my youngest loved it so not much work done on my gloves , it is a very quick to knit pattern , they are fingerless as well , so great for seeing to the buns and garden on colder mornings .... if I only could grab a little more time lol I'd have then finished .
Of out today again , another free day out , my husband won tickets to the hornby factory and my youngest again will be thrilled with the day out , quite a drive away so I might get some knitting done on the way maybe.

Fuddle - I am looking forward to hearing your tips on dieting to .. I just seem to yoyo week to week

fuddle

There will be a veg curry in the slow cooker today. I'm using up all odds and ends that need to just go. The rest of the family will have rice and I will have quinoa.

I am collecting all sorts of plastic pots now, ready for Jan/Feb and want to look into plastic bottles as cloches.

Does anyone have any ideas for using squash seeds? I am collecting them but don't really have any idea what to do with them.

Plans are a foot for DH to make us a small summer house from pallets. I do need to be mindful of needing a shed for the allotment too but I also need to have a shelter that we own (private rented) and that can be moved as we move around. It will have a very small wood burner in it as a back up heated place. In a strange way is will be like our tortoise shell. Our's, warm and water tight. It must sound stupid so I'll just cover all that up and say we're building a lovely little space to relax in. :rotfl:

We're going to a reclamation yard at the weekend just suss it out, see what can be bought and how much for.

FairyPrincessk

Morning all,

I'm trying out a chicken and wild rice SC soup recipe with some YS chicken. We'll have that for tea as I have an early start tomorrow and it should mean clean up is easy and leave me free for prep for tomorrow morning. Might do some bread to go with it--just had that idea. Will also make a point to bring my rug project downstairs this evening so I can work on it. I need my brain turned on to work on my knitting at the moment so it is on the back burner.

Fuddle I'm sure you know about roasting the seeds, you can also add them to HM granola or on top of soup in place of croutons.

Life still feeling very stressful at the moment so just trying to remember the basics and stick to them.

One victory--I doubt this is very MMM--but I have a giftcard from my birthday in July that I've been saving for some posh cosmetics. I knew there would be a free gift with purchase eventually and it seems that will be this weekend. I'll have to put a bit of spending money with the giftcard, but I'd put some aside just for that purpose. Part of the free gift is a mini size of the product I use so I'll be getting a bit extra thrown in!

Hard_Up_Hester

MMM plans for the weekend.
The zips I ordered from Jaycott's arrived today, 67p each so I can sew them into my DGD's onsies & they can get more wear out of them.
I've picked tomatoes, peppers, chillis & onions from the garden so I will make some spicy veg soup for lunches.
I've unpacked my latest Neal's Yard delivery & dropped the empty boxes round to a friend who is moving soon.
Hester

GreyQueen

Hi fuddle, squash and pumpkin seeds are lovely roasted on a tray in the oven, although you have to be careful not to overdo it and scorch them (ask me how I know this, lol ).

If you were thinking of planting seeds from shop-bought squash, you need to bear in mind that they are extremely likely to be hybridised seed (F1) which means that you'll get something come up, but it's unlikely to look like what you harvested the seed from. Might be better, might be worse, but it's a risk.

However, if you'll have sufficient space to play with next year, why not give it a go and see what you get? Life should have room for random experimentation, I reckon. Keeps it fun.

Have been busy mending a few things these past days; my mobile phone case, a coathanger, a shopping basket and a pair of socks. I've recycled most of the stuff from the kitchen and have produced the usual amount of household refuse for my singleton household - a football-sized quantity per two weeks. Not bad, could always be better, I guess.

Yesterday, I cooked supper in my stacking pan set, and decided to pop a couple of eggs to boil in the bottom section, which is normally just water. Had one for brekkie today, one for tomorrow. Cooked on 'free' heat whilst doing something else, I love it when I can do that.

I've harvested what turned out to be a third of an IKEYA blue bag of beetroots and did the prep at the lottie. I like to do this for several reasons; lottie and home are over a mile apart and I only have a pushbike, I want to put the beet tops straight into the compost, not bring them down and take them back, my kitchen is tiny and cooking lots of stuff is awkward enough anyway, and the water up there is free (the standtap is still on but, even if it wasn't, I'd use waterbutt water) and the soil washed off the beets goes straight back on the bit of ground they came from. Win-win, I reckon.

Once the beets are cooked and cooled, I rub the skins off into a bucket lined with newspaper, and then this will go back up to the compost Dalek.

Trying to use my brain to save my back, and to avoid wastefulness whenever possible.

Lynplatinum

Hi All

GQ I so agree with you re fuel economy! I have a steamer (the saucepan type - saucepan thingy on bottom with 2 sieve like sections that stack on the top) I can use it either to cook several types of veg for a meal on one 'ring' (e.g. potatoes; brocoli; carrots; parsnips) or it will also steam fish and veg. you have to put the softer stuff in the top 'sieve' thingy (including the fish!) Its all made of stainless steel and I have had it for about 18 years! The bamboo ones dont last as long!:j

So I suppose that is long term MM&M! :rotfl:

Making do has not been too good as I have been unexpectedly busy and did not really plan for it properly
Mending - loads lined up but not yet done
Minimising - gosh and crikey I am STILL finding stuff to throw out!! Have been attacking the piles of stuff that has been hiding in the shed! am gonna have to get son to do some of the lifting when he comes to stay tho!
Nite all