Make do, Mend and Minimise in 2015

candlelight_2013

Hello all,

I haven't been on in a while because I didn't have much to say, however have achieved one or two things recently.

DGD1 had cleared some stuff for the Hospice shop (2 black sacks) so before we took them I managed to find things we were not using any more. In the window of the shop was a TV unit that I had wanted for such a long time at a price of £20, they go for over £100 new. We bought it (it needed a good clean and polish but that is all) and the following day took our old one into the shop.

Then the living room carpet, which isn't that old, but looked really tired and the cat had scratched round the 2 door ways leading off. We shampooed the carpet and it has come up almost like new. We will give it another go tomorrow, but that didn't address where the cat had scratched, and then I had a brainwave, could I get extra wide brass carpet strips. I went on to my favourite shopping site Am**on, and lo and behold there they were, and one of the reviewers had actually bought them for the very same reason. I was chuffed to bits and they should be winging their way to me on Monday. They were just over £5 each, and I needed 2, but weighing up that and the price of a new carpet I am quids in.

When we first had the cat I didn't know they did things like that if the door was closed, and it looked a mess,but not for much longer hopefully.

Have a good Sunday

Candlelightx

zaxdog

LynP - freezer filled at FarmFoods. Lots of good deals on at the moment :j

Just about to get up and make a quick sc casserole from the leftover gammon joint, super 6 carrots and new tatties, onions and a freebie garlic & parsley stockpot.

NSD today so planning on getting sorted for next week at work, more crochet and catching up with the laundry. Want this shawl finished before it gets really cold

misstara

Afternoon all

Just been to Morris*ns and got the weekly shop. I got a good YS haul including a wee roast for tea tonight, gf bread, rolls and muffins plus normal bread and rolls for OH. I'm currently making some soup which will go with the rolls for lunches during the week.

Now I need to tackle the mending pile and the ironing. Think I'll start making christmas cards today as well.

Hope everyone is having a good Sunday

Lynplatinum

Hiya all

Well done on Chazzer bargains Candlelight
Misstra - well done re meat bargains at Morri - when I went there one Sun the meat bargains were there but the scrum like behaviour of folks trying to get the bargains and how they were badgering the poor young lass putting them out put me off - have tried other days but seem to have always just missed em!

Have Minimised a lot of the garden today - given roses their final pruning for the year and mowed lawn and trimmed shrubs!! Phew! Also minimised some of the stuff in my freezer by eating some HM American pancakes for lunch :rotfl:

Made do - all food was from stocks today and also had free entertainment of a walk with my friend an NSD :j

Need to do some mending and get that pile down - how DID it manage to grow so??? shuffles off hanging head in shame

vhalla1478

Evening Folks,

I'm still around but have been doing a great deal of MMMing for my DS and his family and my DB is still out of work so have been seeing him more often than I would normally.

Anyway, I'll explain about the MMMing for and with my DS and DDil. They decided that they would redecorate and revamp the living room, albeit on a very tight budget. Their first bit of luck was finding tubs of Dulux paint reduced from £29.99 per tub to £9.99 in a lovely soft terracotta. They bought three tubs but we had to dash back for the fourth (and last) one the following day as their room is huge with high ceilings. We also managed to buy some plaster uplighters which you paint to match the walls, far more innocuous than the revolting 1980s wall lights that were in situ when they moved in.

To restuff the sofa we wrapped the existing feather seats in an old cut up duvet. The cushions on the sofa had been chewed by a family pet in the past (my old sofa , but very expensive when I bought it 20+ years ago and wonderful fabric), so myself and DDil gritted our teeth and remade the cushions and the feather innards - the farmyard looked as if we had murdered several ducks! And to make extra cushions we used old cotton velvet curtains that we had been hoarding from CS buys. I've also rehemmed four large and extremely heavy curtains which hang at the French windows and we've made a pelmet out of other fabric - a sort of dark terracotta corduroy - that we had squirreled away and we used lining and interlining from a pair of deconstructed curtain bottoms - I had to alter my bedroom curtains ie shorten them when I moved here.

Our major buys were a huge hand made Persian rug/carpet in blues and golds, in wonderful condition, that we found for £55 at the antiques centre in Louth and a Georgian mahogany tilt top table for £35!! The antique dealer in me wants to weep, but I'm pleased that the children have something lovely for so little money. My son also bought his wife a set of four oil paintings of Hubbards Hills for £32 (they're at least 100 years old as we've looked up the framer's shop and it didn't exist after 1905) and my Ddil has started to collect etchings - all around £1-£2 each at the same centre and we've been scouring the charity shops for appropriate frames and have painted them black and arranged them in a group on the walls - still more of those to buy when time and money allow.

All we have to do now apart from fix the pelmet up is recycle an old flat weave Laura Ashley rug into a pouffe, using the same material as the pelmet for the sides, and fingers crossed, hope that my friend has managed to unearth the chandelier from her garage left by her previous lodger!

Will read all your lovely posts later and I'll post a couple of recipes as well.

Have a lovely evening,

Viv xx

grandmasam

Well done Vhalla for family mmm'ing!!

debbiedodge1737

Well , Last time I was here I told you all I was knitting gloves from wool found .... Im still knitting them lol. I put it down life took over and I forgot what row I was on and unless I want uneven gloves I better rip out and start again lol. This time with a pen and paper

I did rehem my curtains and also made 2 matching cushions with the fabric I made curtains from so thats one job done

I come to all you make do and menders with a problem tonight. My Youngest son is 4yrs now and he goes through his jeans in the knees so quickly ... I am buying them like they are dispossable . I am happy to patch up nicely but the patches he would like ( thomas the tank ect ) cost more than a new pair of jeans . Do any of you have this problem , have you found cheap patches or another idea to fix it.

Hard_Up_Hester

Patch the inside of jeans with tights, on the inside before the holes appear.

vulpix

hello,thank you for your good wishes.am home and in one piece.Vx

vhalla1478

Hi again, Everyone,

I forgot to say earlier that I also revamped my headboard with a piece of embroidered upholstery fabric, all sewn on, invisibly by hand after I had staggered down my twisting staircase with my kingsize headboard; I also took the remaining8 inch strip and sewed it to the leading edges of my curtains so that the headboard didn't look completely random.

Here's one of those recipes I mentioned earlier; I'll post the other one tomorrow when my eyes aren't quite so tired.

I dug this out of an old Delia Smith book, as I had the sad remains of a cauliflower and about a third of a broccoli head left; it's easy and delicious as well as being quick and cheap. The recipe is for 4, although I altered the quantities as I was on my own tonight.

Oven-Roasted Cauliflower and Broccoli with Garlic and Coriander - Serves 4

225g cauliflower, 225g broccoli, 2 tbsp. olive oil, heaped teaspoon whole coriander seeds, coarsely crushed, 2 garlic cloves, peeled, salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Pre-heat oven to 200 degrees/ gas mark 6

Trim cauliflower and broccoli into florets, 2.5cm in diameter and place them in a mixing bowl, then sprinkle in the crushed coriander seeds. crush the cloves of garlic together with 3/4 level tsp salt in a pestle and mortar until you have a paste. Whisk the oil into this, then pour the whole mixture over the broccoli and cauliflower. Use your hands to toss and mix everything together to get a nice coating of oil and coriander, then arrange the florets on the roasting tray and season with salt and pepper. Bake for 25-35 minutes or until tender when tested with a skewer. Serve straightaway.


Good night, Folks, More tomorrow.

Viv xx