Sat/Sun 18th/19th July - What small DFW things will you do this weekend?

Bobarella

Well I'm back. Just. This afternoon was one of the toughest shifts I've had in a while. So to get through the afternoons washing up fest OH had left the pipe untied so it could flop down into a bucket and drain that way. Each time it was full I had to carry it to the toilet and dump it. The party was really full on. Lovely people and all the food went down a treat but it was boiling and lots of very young children generated even more heat. Just before the clear down started I couldn't get the dishwasher to work. At this point I could have cried. I rang OH and he said he'd found a long pipe thing in B &Q for £10. It was 5 metres long. The idea being you feed it down the pipes for as far as it can go and try and access the foul blockage that way. So he came down after the party had ended to find me in 2 inches of water covering the entire kitchen floor where the bucket under the sink had badly overflowed whilst I was unaware.

First of all he fixed the dishwasher which quite frankly I am amazed by. Something had tripped out inside it. He sorted that in about 10 minutes. I had visions of needing a new machine. Commercial dishwashers start at around £1,000 for a 2nd hand model to give you an idea of my worry levels.

Then he spent 15 mins rodding the sink and he blooming cleared it!!! It stunk to high heaven and I suspect may have been all the grim things like milk and butter that you do your best to not put down the sink but it's a bit of a losing battle in a cafe.

I think in total he has saved us at least £200 just in call outs to a plumber and a dishwasher repair specialist as most domestic engineers won't touch commercial. And that's before they do anything.

I am sorry for my long post on such a boring subject but I am so relieved right now I don't know what to do with myself.

I do know I am off to soak my poor legs in a hot bath asap though. Thanks all for being sympathetic. Xx

katy_ann

Hi all old and new! I've been a bit AWOL for what seems like forever now! I've literally been ploughing everything into getting my debt cleared at the moment and I'm pleased to say that I only have 1 credit card debt left! Anyway today I have:

- Surveys on MySurvey
- Competitions
- Food shopping - Done! I LOVE Sainsbury's basics range!

Thats about all folks! Have a lovely evening before work tomorrow!

foxgloves

Hi Frugalistas,
Well, today has been a bit of a Day of 2 halves on the money saving front.
Part 1:
*Jumped in recycled hot bath water to save a bit of electricity bill.
*Packed a picnic for our trip to local historic gardens. We get in free as we are 'Friends'. We did buy a coffee but shared a piece of cake to save a couple of quid.
*Also today, bought some bargainmmongous electirc hedge cutters from Aldi & mr f has made a cracking job of the manky front hedge.
*I tarted up 2 flower tubs in the front garden rather than buying new plants to re-plant them. Will feed them tomorrow & hopefully they will regenerate.
*Measured the redcurrant extract that I put to drip thru the jellybag yesterday & turned it into 8 jars & one little pot of lovely redcurrant jelly using more of my 49p sugar.
*Roast pork dinner from freezer - the slices in gravy I did from some rubber pork a while back.
*Pulled bunch of home grown carrots from garden..
*Had useful conversation with mr f first thing about aiming to replace our car in March 2017. Decided to keep it in as good condition as possible & to save like mad so we have to borrow as little as possible. Mileage will be high then & it won't be worth much, but it will still be worth something & we are not in negative equity with it as we don't have a car loan. Felt good to have made a plan. Oh, hahahaha! Sounds of ironic laughter. See Part 2.

Part 2 - the bad part with financial implications: After a lovely relaxing picnic, we were driving home up the A1, in the inside lane, doing about 60mph when another car rammed us off the road. I have to be very thankful for 2 things - first that mr f, who was driving, managed to regain control of the car & we did not actually go through the hedge or roll the car. 2nd - that it was flat verge & hedge and not a sloping embankment or ditch, either of which would have been more dangerous for us. The driver did not stop despite causing an accident & so we got back on the road, I got my camera phone ready & we set off after him so I could take a photo of the number plate & hopefully the driver. We could see the car in the distance (stood out as foreign number plate, different colour) but he obviously spotted we were gaining on him for this purpose & put his foot down. I'd estimate he was doing over 90mph so we had to give up. Gutted. Car really needs a new wing. Now busy making a decision. Insurance excess is £350, I will lose my lifetime no claim bonus (have never claimed on car insurance in 26 years of driving) & although the work would be done on the insurance, having decided we are going to keep the car running as long as poss but defo part-x it in March 2017 when it will have depreciated a lot due to mileage, we are seriously thinking we might not claim. The black VW Golf paint is coming off with T-Cut & mr f reckons he can deal with some of the damage himself. I was shaky when we were rammed off the road as we were going at speed, but after about 3 mins, I was shaking with RAGE. If we'd had a swear box in our house, it would probably have filled up suffiiciently in IOUs to cover the repairs. I guess the important thing is that we were both unhurt. This financial decision to be discussed again later tonight. Bah!!
So that's my day of 2 halves.
f x

foxgloves

Bob - Sorry about the plumbing. Have you tried boiling water & old fashioned soda crystals - lots of 'em? I personally have more success with those for even blocked outside drains than I do the enzyme stuff.

FVD - Sterilizing jars is easy & effective. They just need washing in very hot soapy water or dishwasher, stacking in a roasting tray & popping in the oven at about Gas 2 from when you first start cooking the fruit prior to jamming. They get really piping hot, you then put the boiling hot jam in them & cover them instantly. There's no way anything could live in those temperatures. I've been making jam since I was about 12 years old (with Mum & Nan to start with).....that's a looooonnnnnggggg time, & I've never poisoned anyone from a dodgy jar!
f x

1HANNAH

Foxgloves, so pleased that you & your dh weren't injured, must have been scary.


Bob, sorry to hear about your troubles today, sorry I must have crossed posts with you this morning.

YORKSHIRELASS

Oh no Foxglove what a nightmare. A couple of weeks ago I was coming on the back lane home from work and a tractor forced me into a massive hole that has developed along the side of the road. There was this horrible scraping noise and I thought I had done something to the car, thankfully everything was OK but it really shook me up.

Got to go, one of the teenagers is demanding my attention!!!!

Bobarella

Foxgloves - I am so sorry to hear that happened to you. How terrifying. Why did he do it? Is it worth getting in touch with the highways agency to see if they had a camera on that stretch? It's sickening that he didn't stop to see if you were ok.
Yorkshire - an altercation with a tractor sounds rubbish too! Glad both of you are safe.

Also no I haven't tried soda crystals. Thankfully the long pipe did the job. But I will definately keep it in mind for next time.

I have had 2 car incidents that were both with the same vehicle a lovely old Mercedes that my husbands dad gave us when he retired and got his lump sum so had a new people carrier. We loved that car. First up, I was driving through Vauxhall around a corner that has about 4 lanes. A lorry came around on my outside and wacked my rear right side. There was a sickening crunch and he sped off despite obviously having hit me. Funny enough the car was not written off then. Later that year I was pregnant with my son and overdue as well so we really needed a car at that point. We were asleep in bed when we woke to a huge crash noise in our quiet south London street. A driver had fallen asleep at the wheel and ploughed into the row of cars ours was parked on. Long story short it snapped the front axle of our car and due to the age it was a write off. We were so sad. But that car was fated once we took it on. Thankfully we escaped unharmed on both occasion.

Hannah - hello, yes we must have crossed over. Hope the gradings went well?

Pepper - Glad you found the euros. Can you get them changed up tommorow?

Yorkshire - Glad you had some nice quality time with your son. It must be hard trying to get him to open up about his feelings. Teen boys are probably the worst for that full stop let alone when he may feel that you don't want to be troubled by his feelings about his sibling.

FVD - I think your next home will be really special and that's why it's taking you time to find it. The right one will be along very soon I bet.

Determined - well done on your brave decision. It is hard when you are out of work to do that so you should be proud.

Katy Ann - nice to hear from you. Well done on getting your debt down so well.

Maria - thank you it was so special. Glad you had a nice day making more jam.

1HANNAH

Bobarella wrote: »

Hannah - hello, yes we must have crosser over. Hope the gradings went well?

Thanks Bob, the gradings..... hmm well ds2 was pulled out of his, he was all over the shop... wrong direction.... wrong moves... not concentrating etc They've said they'd grade him again in 4 weeks.
Ds1, my dad & niece all passed with a 3rd but my dad isn't happy as they'd previously been told they were in line for a 1st. So he spent the rest of the afternoon moaning.

Bobarella

1HANNAH wrote: »

Thanks Bob, the gradings..... hmm well ds2 was pulled out of his, he was all over the shop... wrong direction.... wrong moves... not concentrating etc They've said they'd grade him again in 4 weeks.
Ds1, my dad & niece all passed with a 3rd but my dad isn't happy as they'd previously been told they were in line for a 1st. So he spent the rest of the afternoon moaning.

Well glad to hear your dad and the others did well. Even if your dad wasn't happy about his performance! DS2 will just have to try harder next time.

xxxJOJOxxx

Well its me JoJo, with additional x's in my name. Cant log in to my account (i broke my ipad again) so ive decided to start a new account as i miss posting so my much. A shame i loose all my previous posts but oh well!

I've had a massive sort out in dd1 room this evening. listed some things on ebay selling site (which will go towards new toys she would like) big bag ready for the charity shop as well. Will need to complete the room tomorrow as i have to she what dvds work and which dont (destroyed by dd2, would loves all things shiny!

Need to re-do budget tomorrow, as im not really sure where im at. I overspent on the week due to George sale and not wanted to miss out on all the bargains for dds who desperately needs new clothes (dd2 likes to get mummy's lipstick, mascara etc and paint herself at the moment)

First official day of the holidays tomorrow but will be spent mainly getting the house in order and the usual dance classes for dd1. i think were have a little picnic lunch though so the day's not completely boring for the little ones.

will try and think of lots of summer holiday dfw ways, as otherwise it could get very expensive!