Make do, Mend and Minimise in 2016

iamsalt

Evening everyone,
Just catching up as I am back from holidays overseas.
People have been busy as always, and it's inspired me.

I had managed to arrange a shopping delivery, having considered the order over most of the week, it definitely got smaller, and less junk than if I go to the supermarket with OH! I was pleased to have milk delivered for a cuppa just after I arrived back without being tempted by getting a pint at the airport and all the extras that would have entailed...snacks for the way home.

I made 2 portions of frozen spaghetti bolognase sauce stretch to three (invited mum for a catch up) by coating the spaghetti in it rather than adding it on top, I also made a salad.
I managed to not bring back 3 tubes of beauty stuff which I used up out there.
I have one more day off before back to work so tomorrow will be washing, picking up post, and then getting another chunk done in the garden.
, I also want to do some more clearing out in the house.

Lyn - I have been foraging apples, crab apples, blackberries, Mirabelles, cobnuts and plums over the summer, I am looking forward to sweet chestnuts being ready. I will also be swapping produce with the neighbours to will swap tomatoes and chillies I have grown for beans and plums others have grown.

S x

[Deleted User]

Good evening chums back from the wild hills and glens of Bonny Scotland, had a great time with a large family reunion on Friday night, and a great deal of walking around the 'New cemetery' and Brechin Cathedral yesterday, eldest DD bought us dinner last night and it was amazing.Spent a bit more than I should have but my Canadian relations and my Australian relations have come a lot further than I did, and we all get along like a house on fire and its only every two -three years. We flew up on Friday morning to Aberdeen then picked up a hire car. I have just got home.Belt-tightening from now on is the order of the day though
Thoroughly enjoyed our mini break,ate far too much but it was such a smashing B&B and everyone was so friendly.

We have all come home with lots of lovely memories of the weekend My cousin from Winnipeg brought his two DD's over as well and the eldest is 6 months pregnant with her first baby and she is a lovely lass and we all looked after her and her little 'nestling'
DD really enjoyed the break as well and its done her good to get right away from the stresses of her day time job for a few days as her job is quite an intense one.I feel fit and ready to face the autumn and winter now.
Normal frugaling service is now resumed :):)
Cheers chums JackieO xxxx

misstara

Glad you had a great time away JackieO. I was down in Montrose yesterday, was a beautiful day for a wee trip

Lynplatinum

Evening all

Feeling terribly spoil t today took a flask of hot water; milk; tea bags; piece of cake in my trusty rucksack to a cliff top (about half mile to walk along to sheltered spot) and sat watching the sea and drinking tea and eating cake. It was mostly grey but still warm and hot even when the sun broke through. The sea wasn't up (i.e.surf) but still enough to watch a dad trying to teach his kid to catch a wave to surf it. So nice to sea. Such a treat! Have to keep on pinching myself to believe that I actually live here and can do this

Wow iamsalt that is a lot of foraging!! Impressive!! what do folks do with crab apples other than crab apple jelly???

I did get some blackberries today - they were growing along the cliff top!! So tomorrow its crumble time :j Also gonna make brownies to use up eggs and have oven at same temperature!

Glad you had a great time Jackie O what a lovely thing to do!!!

Went to L!dils today and spent £12 but there was a gammon on offer which will also be cooked tomorrow and will then be frozen after a couple of days thus providing Sani meat for several days in the future!
Make do: Came home late from my rambles so made a quick pasta dish and used some frozen lentil patties for the protein part of the meal.
Minimise: As you know am trying to loose weight. So actually weighed the pasta used tonight :eek: about 1/3rd less than I was giving myself!! Won't be doing that anymore!! Its a waste as I don't need that much (am not hungry as I sit here and if I were there is loads I could eat in the house). So eating less carbs might help to minimise me as well!!! :rotfl:
Mend: Nowt today!!! did a load yesterday!!
Let me know re crab apples as I think I've seen rather laden tree of them down one of the lanes!
Ta :A
Nite all

mrs-moneypenny

Morning all
Welcome back jackieO, glad you had a good time. Everyone's foraging expeditions seem to be very productive.
Hope all are as well as can be.

I minimised 6 big bags to the CS, 5 carrier bags into the clothes bank and some coat hangers into the recycling bin.
Need to minimise the ironing pile today and clear stuff that's built up on the dining table.

Dd2 has given me a pair of dsgg leggings and asked me to make something from them, the actual fabric is ok (covered in marvel characters) but they are going at the seams. She's asked me to make them into something as she loved the fabric. Need to have a think. Was originally planning bag of some kind but might see if I can make a rag doll.

Need to get the lads off to college & work now then I can get on with today's tasks.

Have a good day all.

Floss

LynP crab apples can be the base for hedgerow jelly (with any other berries you find such as blackberries, sloes, rosehips etc) or herb jellies such as mint, sage or rosemary.

savingpennies

Lynplatinum wrote: »

Evening all,

Savingpennies - I really like the sound of your knitted decorations!! What fun!! Are the patterns very complicated? Do you think they would be suitable for a 'returning' knitter??? I fancy starting on something small and I was wondering if they might make good Christmas presents? I wonder if they have Christmas ones? (Appologies for mentioning the C word but I will be mostly making for that event and need to get started - if I am doing while listening to the radio I will not doze off and hopefully this will help me to sort out sleep patterns - which I am getting there on)

Morning all,
Lynplatinum - the pumpkins, are from a Jean Greenhowe pattern but the cones and acorn patterns are on ravelry and are free patterns from Franki Brown. There are lots of free patterns on there as others have said.
Jackie O - it sounds like you had a fabulous time. I love the idea of a nestling.

Making do: Yesterday I went foraging with one of my brothers, his wife, my mother and eldest DD. We go every year to a local farm which is owned by my brother's friend. We picked sloes, blackberries and elderberries. The sloes have been cleaned and frozen to make sloe gin in a couple of months. The blackberries have already been stewed and will be frozen this morning. With the elderberries I'm thinking elderberry cordial. The hedgerow jam sounds good - anyone have a recipe?. I'm off today foraging for crabapples. When they built our houses 20 years ago, they planted crabapples, Mirabelle cherry trees, hawthorn, rowan and lots of elder, so we are well provided for.
Not much on the minimising and mending front but it's on the list.

[Deleted User]

misstara wrote: »

Glad you had a great time away JackieO. I was down in Montrose yesterday, was a beautiful day for a wee trip

It was indeed a beautiful morning on the beach at Montrose yesterday and DD took some great pictures. we sat by the 'minesweeper mans statue' looking across the sea and watching the birds.The last time I was on Montrose beach was 1954 and it was freezing and I remember my late Father insisting how it would be 'good' for my brothers and I to get into the water.Even though it was a gorgeous day yesterday no way would I have dipped a toe into the north sea .We went on to Stonehaven and had a nice lunch almost on the beach, and it didn't break the bank either, filled us both up and for the two of us watered and fed came to under £15.Lovely spot,sad we didn't have more time to explore it though. The castle looked good but just ran out of time before we could get up there.still never mind its not going to go away and we know where to go back to

Lynplatinum

hiya All

Well, was doing a using up day today and made myself enchilladas with the last 2 wraps left and sauted half a pepper + onion + 2 small tomatoes + squirt of tomato puree and put salad and this and some thawed HM chicken into the wraps and grated a bit of cheese over. Yum yum yum :j

This MAKE DO was soooooo filling that I wasnt hungry till much much later! By which time I had made that much promised blackberry and apple crumble - which was all I had for tea with a small amount of ice cream. My crumbles are very healthy using very little sugar + wholemeal flour + less fat to flour + seasame seeds toasted and added to the crumble mix!

Also did my walkies and my yoga today so hopefully that is helping to MINIMISE me!!

Mend - nowt today but did copy some of my poetry scribblings into my book of poetry rather than having them on bits of paper - which makes it easier when I am asked to perform (i.e. reading them aloud to somesort of audience). So pleased to have minimised that clutter.
Nite all!!

mrs-moneypenny

Morning all
Hope everyone is well

Just paired the socks and threw a few Holey ones away - so that's minimising. Need to go through DGS toybox this morning as there is a lot of baby stuff he there that is too young for him now so I'll minimise sone of that into a CS bag.

Got some mashed potato left over from last night so will make do with a veggie shepherds pie for tea using that up.

Dd3s fiance popped round with her last night and gave ds2s bike a quick service putting pedal back on one and chain back on the other so that counts as mending. Dd3 bought cakes round for mils birthday - I'll drop them round later as she's taking them to her age concern group today.

Right better get on I suppose, have a good day all.