Five OS Pleasures in your day today

miss_cupcake_2

balmaiden wrote: »

After watching the pennies for all of my adult life. After being considered very odd for the way we lived our lives, by most of our friends. After years of embarrasing the children with our frugal/strange ways. The old man and I were able to retire early. 50 for me 60 for him. Those same friends are still chipping away at the coal face.

We meanwhile are enjoying every single second of our time, and probably getting even more eccentric in our money saving ways! As said by others it is a game really, albeit a very enjoyable one IMHO.

I'm only 24 and just starting out in my money saving ways and it's so inspiring to read things like this! I really hope to be in a similar situation when I'm older

[Deleted User]

Hi everyone

Haven't posted for a few days, don't seem to have had a spare minute, its taken all my time to read the posts. Hugs to those who need them. My five from "down under"

1. Got up at 4am to watch the cricket with OH, NZ lost, but only by one run, so I guess that's not too bad.

2. Exciting week for us - DD is moving house, she and SIL have bought a few acres and have built a house - I have been so concerned about them, as she is does not handle pressure well, and building your own home is a huge pressure. Still its all completed, and will be helping them move over the weekend. Will be great to see her in the country - she's a real urban kid, and I never thought she would go back to the country. At least she knows what its like, have spent her childhood in on a farm.

3. OH continues to improve after his operation, still has a few bad days but they are becoming fewer and fewer.

4. Have promised to make OH a "restaurant meal" tonight, that's when I pretend that we are in a restaurant, try out new recipes, put the good china on the table, light a couple of candles and enjoy. Its much nicer and cheaper than going out for a meal, and gives me the opportunity to extend my cooking skills. We also find it great to sit and slowly enjoy a meal together, instead of our normal rushing to meet commitments etc.

5. Got a huge stack of firewood delivered from the local sawmill, OH is determined to cut it ready for fires for the rest of winter. Haven't purchased it before, cos I didn't think he would be well enough to deal to it.

Blessings be

Jennie

sparrer

Missed yesterdays post but it was a quiet day with little to report other than still being blessed with all that money can't buy.

Balmaiden if you're eccentric I must be the Mad Woman of Bedfordshire for my money saving schemes. DS and DD think I've lost it sometimes, but DGD2 understands me...even joins in the game, as you so rightly call it, quite naturally when she's here at weekends

Tuesday blessings...

1. A lay-in til 8.30am. I so agree about retirement, it really is the best time of my life when I can get up when I want, stay up all night if I want, eat what/when I want, and only have the commitments of charity work, the grandchildren to enjoy at weekends, the dog and cats to groom and cook for, my DM to phone and laugh with every evening, growing my herbs and a little food in my wee garden, OS'ing by cooking from scratch, washing my own car, mowing my own lawn....and to think I used to go to work just so I could pay for most it to be done by someone else. Madness!:eek:

2. Put my bread maker on Freecycle so someone else can enjoy the pleasure of home baked bread...I'm not giving it up, just upgrading

3. Tidied both chests of drawers and now my stock of sweaters, tee tops etc is sorely depleted...I have to food shop tomorrow so will have a look to see if the charity shops can help me fill them again

4. DM has decided to come and visit for a few days after next week, we can go to the coast for a day, have a session at the college haidressers and beauty salon, parhaps a little retail therapy - lots of charity shops in the area - pensioners pub lunches...so much to look forward to at very little cost

5. Blessing the short, sharp downfall late afternoon which has saved me having to water, and replenished the water butt yet again. It almost seems that 'Someone' has got His timing just right for me this week

Night night, sweet dreams and take good care of You
S x

ampersand

Here is the song, origimal version:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3MH4k1etDHk

and there's a more sultry one by Imogen Heap.

mumoftwins

Reverbe wrote: »

No they are always friends of my flatmate. I don't have any actual friends of my own. Since moving down here I have either been out of work in which case you have no money etc to go out or in work and not met anyone who is interested in making new friends.

Hi Reverbe,

Don't give up on making friends, it takes time to find a really good friend. There will be some that come and go - these folk are not the ones who are destined to be a good friend for you.

When I moved back to where I live now I left a great circle of friends. Apart from getting divorced I was totally bereft without my friends and wondered why on earth I had moved away.

For the first year or so I was alone with 2 children, didn't even meet anyone at the school gate as the others mums were really cliquey. I felt so lonely too and wondered if I would ever make friends.Eventually, I got friendly with the Mum of one my daughter's school friends and to this day we are still good friends. She is very nice but not like my old friend V but I cannot live in the past.

Anyway, I then went through a really rough time and was supported very much by people from a church that I didn't actually go to! Eventually, I found work so have now have nice work colleagues too.

So, I guess what I am trying to say is that making true friends takes time. All the suggestions given have been good, but have you thought also about joining a church or suchlike? Maybe voluteering in a charity shop?

Its not easy but keep posting online with these great folk and you will never feel alone - they are a tremendous bunch!

It will take time Reverbe but there is a special friend out there just for you xx

Primrose

Recent blessings:
1. Picking enough strawberries for desserts and freezing two bags of the surplus - nice in porridge in winter months.
2. A lazy hour spent just watching the wildlife in the garden - 3 visiting ducks, squirrels, crows, two pied woodpeckers and various families of newly fledged chaffinches and bluetits. This is a big blessing for me because when I was working, under pressure and with the phone constantly demanding attention, I dreamed of this kind of tranquil escape. Now I have it, its pleasure nevefr diminishes.
3. First tiny fruits appearing on my outdoor mini cucumber plants.
4. Garden looking refreshed after the recent rain. It saves me watering.
5. Delighting in the amazing display of foxgloves in our garden this year. The bumble bees have loved them.

bellaquidsin

Mmmmm..., quiet day here at Quidsin Castle, I never enjoy cleaning bedrooms but lets look on the bright side:-


1. Bedrooms are all cleaned.

2. Nice chicken salad for lunch with the last of Monday's chicken.

3. An afternoon crafting - a decoupage card for DD to give a friend and a box to put it in.

4. DH making £9 on the half price final clearance sale of my cards at work before he retires on Friday.

5. Catching up on Springwatch on iPlayer.

Bella.

Caterina

Good evening everyone,

Missed yesterday so I shall give a few mixed pleasures from yesterday and today:

1 - Still getting some babysitting work that supplements my short hours - light work (even if not paid at my usual rate it is still money coming in!) and the baby is delightful.

2 - Indian dinner with work colleagues, very pleasant and discovered that we will probably have some (at least) hours reinstated in October (crossing fingers).

3 - Catching up with a friend I haven't seen for ages (she is also a colleague - see above) and finding her well and serene after a lovely women's weekend where she managed to let go of stuff.

4 - Today: great workout this morning!

5 - More babysitting work today again, baby was totally delightful, loads of smiles and gurgles. Nice job (in the short term!).

6 - Coming home to an almost ready meal, pasta with courgettes, courtesy of DD and her BF.

7 - DD and DS taking the mickey out of me and saying loads of words in Italian with heavy "!!!!!" accent (the pleasure is mainly in realising that they still remember a lot of Italian even if they make fun of it and also the laughter that we had together!).

8 - DS still not smoking, 5th day today, I am so proud!

9 - About to go to sleep, early night, am whacked and need beauty sleep NOW!

Goodnight everybody, sleep well xxx

SunnyGirl

Good evening all. A fairly quite day here or what passes for one around these parts with my lot :rotfl: My 5 for today are:

1. Chuckling all day as I've not been able to get THE song Amperand was talking about out of my head ............ I will survive etc

2. A lovely hour long chat with DD while I was in the bath. We put the world to rights and then some.

3. Hearing that my Mum had the all clear on her latest cardiac tests. She was diagnosed with heart failure 8 years ago at the age of 61 and is still enjoying an active, busy life :T

4. A lovely chicken sweet & sour for tea made with only 2 chicken breasts and padded out with lots of veggies so it fed us all easily.

5. We've had our Beagle, Max, a year today :j

I wish everyone a pleasant evening and a good day tomorrow.

mineallmine

Evening all,

Great to read about everyone's old style pleasures.

1. Making HM potato wedges for lunch with baked tomatoes, I was famished and so I really enjoyed it. So much so I had a sleep afterwards!
2. Attacking the kitchen today. Donating "surplus, leftovers, unwanted, no room for" to a friend. The cupboards can breathe again.
3. Attacking the bedroom today. A friend said how the charity shop she helps at has very little stock coming in. So I dug deeper in the bedroom and went round looking for clothes/shoes unworn for a year, ashamed to say there was 2 bags worth.
4. Finding my Nintendo DS, which I'd lost weeks ago. The excavation work in the bedroom unearthed it!
5. "Composting/food recycling" more bits today via the local council scheme.

Hugs to all and I hope Reverbe finds some routes to meet people. :A