Sat/Sun 31st October/1st November - what small DFW spooky things are you doing this e

princess_pea

Hello everyone,

Thanks for starting Jonno and many congratulations on the job DNMS

Today will be a NSD but yesterday I bought little bits from the food budget, less than £10 all told. We made two small-ish lasagnas (6 portions) and a huge vat of vegetable curry (20 portions), so along with some chilli, Thai green chicken curry and Thai red prawn curry already in the freezer our main meals for the month should be sorted! We still have £130 in the food budget too. I need to do a loaf in the breadmaker today, ready for next week's lunches.

We carved a pumpkin yesterday and had candles in the windows but didn't get any trick or treaters, meaning we can have the little bag of sweets and lollies I had ready

Hoovered and cleaned bathroom yesterday. Will need to hoover the bed (dog hair!) and change it today. I also have a huge pile of ironing to do and want to mop the kitchen and bathroom floors. Just put a wash on and will do the towels afterwards

Poochy has to go back to the ex tonight

I did my OU managing money course and a couple of surveys this morning. I still have some work for work to do... :eek:

Banking checked and spending diary updated. FPL to do and more surveys if there are any

I think I might write some Christmas cards this afternoon! That way at least I know how many short we are so I don't buy any unnecessarily!

Have a lovely sunny end to the weekend :beer:

Bobarella

Determined - congratulations on your new job glad to hear it will help your family whilst you figure out your next steps.

ClootiesMum - I love Minsgame. It's a great exercise. I did several waves of it last year. Are you playing along on twitter too? It's one of the only hash tags I have found has put me in touch with similar minded folk in the same way this forum does on the money saving front.

Also it's interesting hearing how everyone does Halloween. I wonder if it was quieter this year due to it falling on a weekend and a half term weekend at that. I saw quite a few little kids going to organised Halloween events on Friday so I wonder if that sort of killed any random on the night activities. Last year there were so many children out doing it and a lot more people doing the pumpkin thing too.
On that, I think the pumpkin lit being an invitation to call may be an import from across the pond. Halloween is way more of a 'thing' now than it ever was when I was a child. Like babyshowers etc I suspect the US has a lot to answer for

allydowd

Hi all,

No list today. Had a bit of a bottom-lip-tremble type wobble earlier when I looked at how much I had planned to do this weekend and have run out of time for. Been left with a horrible, random, doom-and-gloom feeling.

And my working week starts in a few hours which always makes me full of adrenelin.

Best I can do is re-plan all the things that need doing and try to get some rest and chill out before work. Can't turn up in this state.

foxgloves

Afternoon all,
Just a few money saving things today:
*Been using leftover roast spicy pumpkin seeds for snacks.
*Re-filled all our tiny plastic boxes with value dried fruit ready for next week's snacks.
*Free fitness, as put pedometer on & went for a walk in the autumn mist. Saw some fab rosehips. Good job I didn't have my foraging bag with me, or I'd be leafing through books now, wondering what to make with them, & thus giving myself another job to do.
*Washed hair & let it dry naturally. It seems to be working, with minimal use of straighteners once it's dry. Hopefully improve condition too. Cheap shampoo & conditioner over summer plus loads of heat styling & home-colouring has totally knackered it.
*mr f washed car, gave it a full valet & did a bit more work on the more cosmetic parts of the damage we sustained when our car was involved in that accident over summer. Car is in for a service tomorrow. I've got £280 saved in the Car Piggy. I am thinking that will cover a full service & some tyres. Just hope it doesn't end up needing any big jobs. We are aiming to change it in March 2017, so need it to keep going until then. Only 2011 reg, but mileage at a level where things like clutch & cambelt start going. Fingers will be crossed tomorrow, for sure.
*29p ys crumpets for lunch. I like Waitrose 'Essentials' crumpets better than most of the big brands.
*Only just starting to feel chilly now I've sat down. Nov 1st & we have so far had the lounge heating on just one evening. The storage heaters upstairs are on at low setting & we've had the stove on a couple of times in the conservatory as it's very cold in there.
*Still no energy bill. I know the company are having trouble with their new IT system, but bills were promised for end of Oct. Posted letter of complaint on Fri. I know we will be in credit, so I'm not worried about that, but I want the figures so I can plan.
*Decide what to do with old mobile phone. It works fine, but the power off/on button doesn't work, so it needs to be left on all the time. I won't be able to trade it in to any of the phone-buying companies, as being able to power on & off is one of the criteria. Shame as it does work fine. Could list on ebay with a very clear warning of the on/off problem, but I am bound to get the awkward buyer who then demands money back. I still think that for someone who needs a mobile for just a few quid it would be a goer. Will think about it.
*Today's outfit: Jeans - given to me by my sister ages ago. Top - Charity shop. Cardi - Charity shop. Socks - Knitted by me :-)
*Mr f's cooking a roast dinner later. All I need to do is set the timer for a cheapy wash overnight & read the energy meters.....
*.......so it's leisure time for me now - read newspaper, do some family history, knit & maybe groom cat, though after spending all day so far trying to blag a 2nd breakfast, he's just settled down, so I think I may leave him where he is. He's going to watch some Dr Who with mr f.
Have a nice evening all,
f x

foxgloves

Bob - Yes, you are probably right that the local kids interpret a lit pumpkin in the window as code for 'Please knock here for sweets'. Can't blame them for that, really, I suppose. We love Oct 31st & celebrate it more as the old pagan festival rather than the American dress-up, buy plastic tat & trick or treat, etc. The tradition of hollowing out root veg to make jack o'lanterns is really old & way pre-dates the American pumpkin tradition. The UK tradition is actually swedes or turnips, but they'd be a lot tougher to hollow out, & not nearly as big! So like many people of a rather pagan persuasion, I carve & light a pumpkin for my front window in the same way as I decorate & display a Christmas tree & Easter tree, to mark the occasion & keep an old tradition going. Oct 31st or 'Samhain;, as you'll know was the ancient Celtic new year. I quite like that, as it's the time of year when I'm busy clearing out the veggie garden & starting to plan next year's crops. I expect that if I had children, I'd maybe have got more involved in the trick or treat side of things, but I think I still prefer the 'mischief' type things we got up to on Hallowe'en....well, not me, as my parents were strict, but kids on our estate would 'TP' people's gardens (wrap trees, shrubs, car, etc, extensively in toilet paper!), spread syrup or jam on door handles, little tricks like that, as well as dress up of course. Our street sometimes had a children's party too - nothing expensive, everything home-made, funny party games, etc. When I see all the plastic 'made in China' tat on sale for Hallowe'en dressing up, I get quite nostalgic for 'sheet over the head ghosts', 'bin liner draculas', etc, lol.
f x

ClootiesMum

Last update for the weekend from me - must go and make a Thai curry for the worker coming in tonight.
Bob - I've never got to grips with Twitter - but now I have a reason to conquer it


Proactive MSE-ing

• Attempt to make firelighters using old candlewax & revolting teabags - not this weekend
• All meals from stores - done
• Was going to give the wee bit macaroni & cheese remaining from the other night's tea to dogs for a treat - but had this for lunch myself yesterday - sorry dogs - you have bones
• Need to take photos of wonky mattress & send to Ikea to complain to get a replacement - photos taken - will deal with complaint once DH comes in as he made the original call to them
• Wanted a good digital camera for a while - found our old one in a drawer so am trying to resuscitate this - not yet managed to make it work - will need to have another look at this

Winter prep

• Make up Black out box & put in newly cleared space in living room unit (I have all the stuff - it's just not all together) - not yet done

Christmas prep

• Cheating but had brilliant idea for aunt's Christmas - she doesn't have a CD / radio any more but has CDs - on Christmas list for her
  
  Round tuit
• Go to stamp buying shop locally & sell childhood stamp collection (been on the round tuit list for ages) - stamps worthless - but at least I know. Stamp man recommended I put them into local auction as would get a better price (hopefully £25 - £30 rather than the £5 he would offer) so dropped these off to auction yesterday
• Clean out a couple of drawers in living room unit - to be done

Good habit forming (28 days to set a habit into daily routine or something like that - I'm going for 1 a week)

• Post on here once a day 7/28

Happy cheapness and freeness

• Watch "Still Alice" on free Amazon Prime. I've read the book & want to watch the film but DH wouldn't be able to handle it as my Mum had a very similar type of dementia so I'll need to watch it on my own - turns out it's actually £3.49 but I still need to watch it - it's so close to home - on the cards for this afternoon. Watched - and it made me cry. Excellent but glad DH didn't watch it or he'd be sending me for hereditary screening.
• Ask butcher for free bones for dogs (Diego & Tora asked me to add this - sadly Clootie's gone to Rainbow Bridge) - done - happy doggies - although Tora wants ALL the bones and I have to keep rescuing Diego's bone from her (dug named Tora as she's a Toerag - just wish she didn't feel she had to live up to her name)
• On to series 4 of "The Walking Dead" - waiting until DH comes in

Painful - but gotta be done
Go to butchers & L*dl for weekly shopping - done - will only need a wee bit bread later on in the week
Money shuffle & bills review as DH got paid yesterday - money shuffle done to pay all direct debits. The bills will be a problem this month - but can look at this tomorrow
Pick up prescription from chemist (thankfully up here in Scotland it's free) - done
Stepford day - clean house / washing / ironing etc - as much as will be done has been done

And I'm adding another category for myself - Mins game but adapted. You've probably already seen this but you're supposed to get one thing out your house on the 1st, 2 on the 2nd etc. For November this would mean getting rid of 465 things so I'm just starting with that and counting down how many things I get rid of. I really aim to count actual things rather than bits of paper & odds & sods I would get rid of anyway


Mins game - 17/465
1 scabby doormat gone to bin - it has been sitting beside the bin for months - now sorted
7 ramekins
6 balti curry dishes
1 cocktail shaker
1 chocolate shaker things with Baileys written on it
1 ....thing....I think it held something like a mustard dish and this had a wee lid on top


And that was just one kitchen cupboard


Off to play in kitchen to look like a domestic goddess

DawnW

Final update for the weekend:

DawnW wrote: »

List for today:
Picked a few raspberries from the garden and had those, together with a left over half banana, with my breakfast porridge and yogurt
Continue to use up moisturiser from cut open tube Done
Quick hoover round needed (might get OH to do this!) OH did it
Quick bathroom clean Done
Make a game pie for lunch, as DS is coming round I have the filling ready prepared from the freezer, so not too much effort needed there Done, ended up doing extra veg, as DD2, SiL and baby GD appeared in time for lunch
Washing out on line to dry if only this fog will clear. Not the first foggy autumn morning for us, as a river runs through our town, and the mist seems to hang around it some mornings. Well, the fog didn't really clear today, but I hung a load of washing out anyway. Surprisingly, it dried a little, and is now finishing off on the airer
Bit or ironing later :eek: I've put this off till the shirts that are currently on the airer are dry enough (well, that is my excuse anyway
Gardening later if the weather turns out nice Weather not nice
Walk and groom pup Walked, will groom him when he wakes up
Meal plan for week - I had an expensive end to last month, with vehicle tax and insurance, plus other costs, so am determined to keep food spends low this month to try to compensate a bit Planned for a few days, then ran out of steam! Still, all sorted till Friday at least

Didn't manage the hoped for NSD, as we needed milk, so popped to the corner shop. Decided we also needed something to go with the crumble I had made for pudding as Lidls hadn't any cream yesterday when I did the shopping, so picked up a tub of ice cream and took it to the counter. However, I soon put it back when the assistant said 'that will be £5.69 please' :eek: It was nice ice cream, but not THAT nice! Had to make do with some of that elmlea artificial cream stuff, which was all they had apart from nearly-six-quid ice cream I really don't like buying that kind of thing, but didn't have time to trek into town to buy proper cream, so it had to do

Love the variation on Min's game Clooties Mum, and I am going to pinch that idea, so:

Mins game - 1/465 Large new hide dog chew / bone bought for my pup but bigger than he is and consequently just lying about in the outhouse - donated to DS for his spaniel who will be able to make much better use of it!

Not sure I will get to 465 without counting the sort of junk that I would throw out anyway, such as bits of paper etc, but it will be interesting to see how far I do get!

Won't need anything much for supper after our big lunch, maybe just some toast or a piece of cake with a cuppa later. The woodburner is alight now, and pup flat out asleep in front of it :rotfl:

Have a nice evening everyone

foxgloves

I did the Minsgame-style chuck-out in February this year. It really focussed me on getting rid of some clutter. I loved doing it & have continued to chuck out ever since!.
f x

YORKSHIRELASS

dnm well done on the new job and what a worthwhile thing to do, you have my respect there.

Dawn I read the KonMari book a few months ago and was totally hooked on the whole decluttering thing. Makes life so much easier. I dont think I have 465 things that I could get rid of though!

Thanks for the kind words, all your help and support is very much appreciated (and needed!).

I had a disaster today. Tried a new beef madras recipe for the slow cooker. Got home from footie at 4pm, everyone hungry, and the beef was still as tough as old boots. Its still cooking, luckily I found some burgers and oven chips in the freezer. Thank goodness my family are so easy going, OH was laughing.

Hope you are OK ally. I hate that feeling of too many things left undone.

Right, need to check my to do list, then feet up time.

ziggy2407

foxgloves wrote: »

*Decide what to do with old mobile phone. It works fine, but the power off/on button doesn't work, so it needs to be left on all the time. I won't be able to trade it in to any of the phone-buying companies, as being able to power on & off is one of the criteria. Shame as it does work fine. Could list on ebay with a very clear warning of the on/off problem, but I am bound to get the awkward buyer who then demands money back. I still think that for someone who needs a mobile for just a few quid it would be a goer.

It does seem a shame too but like you no matter how I listed it I'd still get an awkward buyer too. Perhaps list on your personal facebook page - someone with kids may want it What network is it (just being nosey)

foxgloves wrote: »

Bob - Yes, you are probably right that the local kids interpret a lit pumpkin in the window as code for 'Please knock here for sweets'. Can't blame them for that, really, I suppose. We love Oct 31st & celebrate it more as the old pagan festival rather than the American dress-up, buy plastic tat & trick or treat, etc. The tradition of hollowing out root veg to make jack o'lanterns is really old & way pre-dates the American pumpkin tradition. The UK tradition is actually swedes or turnips, but they'd be a lot tougher to hollow out, & not nearly as big! So like many people of a rather pagan persuasion, I carve & light a pumpkin for my front window in the same way as I decorate & display a Christmas tree & Easter tree, to mark the occasion & keep an old tradition going. Oct 31st or 'Samhain;, as you'll know was the ancient Celtic new year. I quite like that, as it's the time of year when I'm busy clearing out the veggie garden & starting to plan next year's crops. I expect that if I had children, I'd maybe have got more involved in the trick or treat side of things, but I think I still prefer the 'mischief' type things we got up to on Hallowe'en....well, not me, as my parents were strict, but kids on our estate would 'TP' people's gardens (wrap trees, shrubs, car, etc, extensively in toilet paper!), spread syrup or jam on door handles, little tricks like that, as well as dress up of course. Our street sometimes had a children's party too - nothing expensive, everything home-made, funny party games, etc. When I see all the plastic 'made in China' tat on sale for Hallowe'en dressing up, I get quite nostalgic for 'sheet over the head ghosts', 'bin liner draculas', etc, lol.
f x

I too wish for simpler times