Finally Debt Free After 34 Years, But Still Need to Live Frugally

HairyHandofDartmoor

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elizabethhull wrote: »

I love hearing you talk about your TWO clothes horses - what a good buy that second one was !

Glad to hear of the Xmassy feeling too. My family all pass round lists, and my friends generally get nice things to eat.

A group of us (4 couples) have exchanged edible presents for a few years but since one was widowed he finds the present-selecting a trial. So, at his instigation, we are all giving to charity instead. This is all very noble, but I'd ALREADY bought the presents and some very cheap pretty bags. So 3 friends of mine are getting a one-off non-reciprocal present this year !!!

Thanks Elizabeth . The second clothes horse was definitely a good buy. If fact I have three now because DS3 had a small one but in his rented house there was one provided so we brought it home again :rotfl:.

I don't suppose the edible presents would last long enough for birthdays. It seems a shame to stop but on the other hand a charity is a very worthy cause. Your general approach to present giving sounds very sensible.

HairyHandofDartmoor

Finally_Solvent wrote: »

I agree that having 2 clothes horses must be invaluable but I often wonder, HHOD, why you don't have clothes lines in your garden. There's nothing like seeing lines of lovely clean washing flapping in the breeze on a nice sunny day (IF we ever get any sun:rotfl:). Things dry so much quicker. Quick, cheap and easy to install, plus, with more drying area you wouldn't need to be using the washing machine so frequently if yours takes bigger loads at a time. All very:money:

We do have an outdoor washing line FS, but it's at the top of a twenty foot pole and it's stuck at the top of the pole so we can't lower it. We don't have a ladder long enought to reach it (and I wouldn't want to risk DH or I falling off a ladder at that height even if we did have one) so we would have to pay a workman to come and do it for us. As we're short of money we haven't paid for it to be done.

It's not a massive priority in truth because I always fill my washing machine to capacity anyway, so more drying space wouldn't mean less washing loads done. When it's a rare dry day I put the clothes horses in the garden and they dry out there very nicely. This also has the added advantage that if it suddenly comes on to rain I can bring the clothes horses indoors with the washing still on them and I don't have to rehang all the washing .

HairyHandofDartmoor

Nicnak wrote: »

What a lovely day Hairy. That sounds amazing x

Thanks Nicnak we did enjoy it . I think family days out give priceless memories.

HairyHandofDartmoor

I've been quite efficient today so far today :A.

I've put another load of clothes on to wash, I've thoroughly cleaned the sink, bath and shower in the bathroom so that the grouting is brown instead of black :eek: (I used an old toothbrush for the grouting). The grouting is never going to be white because it's donkeys years old and needs replacing, plus we need an extractor fan fitted, which is another job we can't afford but it does look a lot better now :T. I've also emptied the bin in the toilet.

The rest of my to do list for today involves ironing five tops for work (DH is going to do the trousers :smileyhea), hanging up the washing once the machine has finished and showering.

Apart from that my schedule involves reading my book and watching Christmas films with DH and DS1 . We've decided that as it's only a month until Christmas we can start watching seasonal films. Last night we saw a truly awful film on N3tfl!x called 'The Knight Before Christmas'. It was so awful that we enjoyed laughing at it and it did make us feel Christmassy :rotfl:.

elizabethhull

Finally_Solvent wrote: »

Elizabeth, shame about the edible gift exchange you enjoyed with your friends. I agree about charity giving instead being a noble gesture but there's probably still a place for small gifts too. Maybe your widower friend could do the charity 'thing' (Christmas must be a very difficult time for him) but it shouldn't cause the rest of you (6 people after all) to completely reset your tradition. You could always donate something to charity as well as giving some teeny weeny foodie treat to friends.

Thanks for your input FS, and tbh I do feel disappointed at this new idea. The thing is - we have a December meeting, (festive pm tea at one house for the last 4 years), and exchange gifts and cards then, and no-one is local to us. The whole point was not a large sum of money and no posted presents - I loved the planning, selecting, making up little bags with goodies, making them look pretty, but I can hardly turn up with things when he hasn't brought any.

Still, the 3 friends selected to receive them instead will be unexpectedly happy !!

[Deleted User]

HairyHandofDartmoor wrote: »

I've been quite efficient today so far today :A.

I've put another load of clothes on to wash, I've thoroughly cleaned the sink, bath and shower in the bathroom so that the grouting is brown instead of black :eek: (I used an old toothbrush for the grouting). The grouting is never going to be white because it's donkeys years old and needs replacing, plus we need an extractor fan fitted, which is another job we can't afford but it does look a lot better now :T. I've also emptied the bin in the toilet.

The rest of my to do list for today involves ironing five tops for work (DH is going to do the trousers :smileyhea), hanging up the washing once the machine has finished and showering.

Apart from that my schedule involves reading my book and watching Christmas films with DH and DS1 . We've decided that as it's only a month until Christmas we can start watching seasonal films. Last night we saw a truly awful film on N3tfl!x called 'The Knight Before Christmas'. It was so awful that we enjoyed laughing at it and it did make us feel Christmassy :rotfl:.

You've had a good day:T:beer:. I do our grouting with an old toothbrush too, it's ideal for the job isn't it? I wish ours was white again but like you we need to redo it. DH can do that job but it's something he doesn't feel necessary. He's of the ''if it ain't broke don't fix it'' school of DIY and although he can turn his hand to pretty much most things (eliminating the need and expense of 'getting a man in' 99% of the time) he doesn't believe in wasting time and money on inessentials. I've stopped mentioning the grouting as he accuses me of nagging:(. It isn't cracked or missing, just grubby-looking however hard I try:eek:


I hate ironing trousers so I really envy you having such a helpful and skilful ironer for a husband. I dread to think of the result if I let my DH loose with an iron:rotfl:. That's one of the things he's never mastered.


What book are you reading at the moment? It seems a while since I really got engrossed in one and I've loads to go at at the moment. I had a big sort out of some of my books recently and was almost tempted to take them straight to the charity shop unread (that's where a lot of them came from in the first place:rotfl:). The charity shops in our nearest town are very small and a couple have signs up saying no book donations. Another limits them to a maximum of 5 at a time and I dropped off 5 one day which she seemed quite pleased with. They were hardbacks in great condition. I went back a whole week later with another 5 and before I got through the door the manageress held her hands up in horror and said ''PLEASE, no more books''.

HairyHandofDartmoor

Thanks FS it is nice to be productive . Our grouting is a bit cracked and all our bathroom tiles need replacing but it's a big and expensive job so we'll just have to put up with it for now.

I'm reading a series of crime fiction books by Louise Penny at the moment. They're set in Canada and are psychological thrillers rather than police procedurals. I think they're very well written and hard to put down.

I'm lucky in that we had a gigantic warehouse style charity shop a short drive away and they will take an unlimited supply of books or anything else for that matter. They don't even look at what we bring but just tell us to leave it by the storeroom door :rotfl:.

DH is good at ironing and prefers to do his own shirts as he's very particular about how they look .

milann

Your NT day sounded lovely...the presents sound good too.

Onebrokelady

HairyHandofDartmoor wrote: »

That's the one we went to. It's a shame you can't get there by bus. I hope you get to your local Christmas market.

I love it at Nightshayes, it's one of my most favourite places to visit along with Heligan, for my 50th birthday I asked for some days out and my DDs took me to Knightshayes and Heligan

I also have a problem with the grout around my bathroom tiles,I use Dettol mould remover on it and it mostly comes off,my DD1 has just done her bathroom with slate grey tiles and they have used a grey grout, it looks lovely,I'm thinking of tiling my bathroom with grey mosaic tile sheets and I'm going to use the same grey grout I think

milann

I’ve got grey tiles and grout in my bathroom - been done nearly 3 years now and still look like new. Grey grout is the way to go I think.