Make do, Mend and Minimise in 2015

Prinzessilein

Afternoon all!


Well done on mastering the dreaded dpns cheerfulness! They are tough aren't they!


I have a loaf baking in the bread-maker...half white/half wholemeal flour with a few seeds added.....plus I have some homemade joghurt cheese in the fridge....and some homemade soups in the freezer (mixed veg and barley...potato and leek....and spiced bns) so that is lunches for this week sorted!


It is Pancake Day is just over a week! I am planning on making oat-pancakes which are nice and frugal and will go well with both savoury and sweet fillings.....then I will have about 40 days to work on this years Easter Bread recipe! (I make a few loaves as gifts)


Found a lovely wooden frame in a charity shop...the picture inside was a bit naff - but I just wanted the frame! With a bit of sanding on one edge and a good polish-up it will make a lovely frame for some embroidery!

silvasava

Fuddle - good for you & DH. I've lived near the sea all my life & come from a Naval family. I started learning to sail 2 years ago. (TBH I thought it was a bit 'snobby') but everyone has been so kind and helpful & given their time & expertise freely. I'm still very much a novice but I have taken my dinghy out on my own & my confidence level is improving - I'll be 69 this year so to anyone who has the chance to do something. They've dreamed of - just DO IT

Florenceem

Prinzessilein wrote: »

I used to work in a rental shop!...one of my first jobs was to go there before the shop opened and do the dusting and vacuuming! (Those screens attracted so much dust!)


We certainly only had one TV....for many years rented rather than bought. And of course it was Black-and-White. And we had the luxury of 3 Channels! (And none of them broadcast 24/7!)


It's fun telling nephews and nieces this....Black and White? Wot no colour?!!!....and no TV in your bedroom?....what about the internet...what no Nintendo either? What did you do with yourself?


We read books (half an hour walk to the library - and the same back again - but I loved reading and the library let me borrow 3 books at a time!)...played board games....went blackberrying (oh we knew some terrific sites when we lived in Devon...pounds and pounds of the most luscious berries all for the picking!)...did all sorts of craft (I was making my own soft toys at the age of 9 or 10 - hand sewn with felt..a few years later I was into making candles and soap)...writing letters (no e-mails....and no phone!....if you needed to use a phone you walked to the phonebox...and it was button A and button B - remember them folks!)...assorted Brownie and Guide activities...and this was in addition to 'chores'....polishing shoes (scrapping mud off, rubbing in the polish, buffing them up...all took time!).....handwashing socks (white socks for school - and those grass stains had to be scrubbed out!....learned to do this for my Brownie Housewife badge!)....helping to prep veggies for dinner (peas used to come in pods....not tins!)....mending (from about the age of six I was using a thick needle and learning to sew on buttons)


My childhood may not have come with non-stop TV and internet and mobile phones.....but it equipped with a plethora of skills for the make-do-and-mend lifestyle!

We played shops - Mum saved all her empty tea packets/custard tins/oxo boxes etc. Also played dressing up games. Made a tent in the back garden with old sheets and lengths of wood.
Played skipping in the street and two ball up a wall. Also played five stones and pick up sticks.
Loved cutting up old catalogues - also sat on the kerb and collected car numbers.

littleowl

silvasava wrote: »

Thanks for the info on the seeds GQ - last year 3 lots of my french beans failed & I though b**ger it - I put all I had left in a trug including the OOD ones & they all came up!! I think the seeds should just be BB not use by.
Hi FuddleGood to see you on here - Yes I am! Think I may have taken on a bit more than I can chew but will persevere!! DH is chief engineer (haha) & I'm skipper & owner. She's a small motor sailer built in the mid '70s and the interior is virtually untouched:eek: but she's clean, solid & seaworthy. Learning to sail was on my bucket list when I retired but owning a boat wasn't!!! I know the previous owner & she was a very good bargain. I've got 5 more cushions to do (shan't post piccy's 'cos they're boring)
Off to pot up the left over curries I made last night - think I've got enough for at least two meals each for us & not counting the veg & sauces I had in stock I'll have managed 6 meals for £4.00 - not bad!
DH has done a lot of wood chopping/sawing & had about 10 bags of sawdust so I posted them on my local Streeetlife & a lady's coming to get them for her chickens - yipee. Might also be a source of lovely eggs so I'll ask her when she gets here.
Off to do battle with the next cushion too this afternoon
Have a good day all & stay warm

Another good use for sawdust is making pincushions. If you use sawdust as a filling it actually cleans the pins you put in and keeps them sharp.

I am still using one I made 20 years ago.

sparrer

cheerfulness4 wrote: »

Grape boxes from the supers are good for little mini greenhouses, too. I don't often get grapes but dad does so he's to save them for me.


Mum buys DS two bottles of pop each week when we take them shopping and I've begun saving those ready for HM mini cloches when I pop my broad beans, lettuces etc out later. They worked really well against the slugs. A little stick down the spout stops them blowing away.

Some super ideas there to save waste, and fight the dreaded slugs cheerfulness, thank you . I use crushed eggshells so nothing wasted from the eggs in the clear box.

carolinerunner wrote: »

Sparrer, that's genius! Where did you get the eggs from ?!

Thank you carolinerunner, I bought them from Mr A last Wednesday. They were £2 for 15, I don't know if it was a special offer but couldn't refuse at that price, and I have the box as a bonus

vhalla1478

I so agree with you, Silvasava about going out and doing things whatever your age. When I got divorced in my early sixties I started spreading my wings. I travelled to Swaziland where I had lived in the 1980s, saw all my old friends, went hiking and camping up in the Highlands there. Then the following year I went to California and went rock climbing (without ropes!) to the top of Bishop's Peak - that was amazing. I've also travelled around Europe and Israel with no ill-effects and then there was my sailing adventure in the Caribbean; well,you can't win them all!

Just back from one of my grandson's birthday party. The toffee went down extremely well - in fact I think we all had a sugar rush.

Obviously no problems not spending this first week - not one penny and I've actually enjoyed it. Whether I'll be saying that in three weeks time remains to be seen. I do have quite a few 'dry goods' in because of the fact that I live in the middle of nowhere; but this week has taught me to be more careful. For example, I don't want to run out of 'proper coffee' so instead of making a mugful I've been making a cafetiere full and then reheating it throughout the day; consequently I've not used nearly as much as I would normally and I've tried to be imaginative with my leftovers. I've still kept to having an add to shopping list but when I do eventually have to spend money I shall only buy what I really need. I obviously have far more food that will go a lot further than I think; I need to change my perceptions somewhat.

Have a good evening, Everyone.

Viv x

HOWMUCH

Good evening everyone, nothing much happened here today just chilled and continued knitting DGS sweater. Managed to sell some of his shoes he's grown out of on Facebook selling group, still in excellent condition even though they were secondhand when he had them at 2 their feet grow that fast only worn for a few weeks. Not going shopping until Monday to max the YS shopping, hope the snow keeps away this time. If anyone gets chance pickup the co-op food booklet for Jan/Feb some nice recipes in there.

silvasava

Just a quickie!

Applemuncher - don't know if its already been suggested but Farm Foods & Home Bargains do Nicky toilet rolls & I think I may have seen them in Wilkinsons.
Littleowl - what a good tip. Unfortunately the sawdust we have is more like woodchips 'cos its from a chain saw. No good for me for a pin cushion & I could do with a new one too. Think there's a 'make' in the offing

cheerfulness4

Do egg shells work for you Sparrer? The slugs in this new garden are 'super slugs!' We've definite made a road through them but we didn't used to be able to walk up our tiny path without slipping and sliding on them as there was no place to put your feet. I've never known any where like it.


Florence- My mum did the same for me with the shops and she would give me a little bowl with fairy in to wash my dolls clothes and a little bit of string hung between the rose bush and the swing to hang them on.


I've got more of my knitting done. Its fun!

Its actually quite a bit more turquoisey than that pic shows.


I've also been getting on with pricking out my thyme and parsley. Sown my chillies in a pot, too. Quite a productive day.





As we decided to enjoy a lazy day in there were no spends today which is very good as I've a number of things to buy and I'm thinking hard about which are the priorities. Will have a little nip to the shops tomorrow and see what the YS might yield and buy some milk.


DAY 7

Money Spent Today - £0 Vouchers Spent - £0
Money Spent in Total - £16.13 Vouchers Spent in Total - £0
Money left in purse - £4.87 - Float left- £6.13/£15
Jan non-foods left- £4.79/£15

I've finally found something that I think will make the drawer organisers in my wardrobe. If it works I'll post a piccie as it works out completely free!

sparrer

cheerfulness I crush the eggshells with a rolling pin and sprinkle them around the pots and tubs. I also smear a ring of vaseline on the outside of the tubs, it seems to keep slugs off the plants but not off the path and patio. Someone suggested sprinkling salt down but I couldn't do that :eek:. And it wouldn't do my dog and mogs paws any good! I tried slug pellets before the eggshells but the slugs totally ignored them and I don't really like using chemicals if there's a natural alternative.