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

jwil

Sounds like you've had a lovely fortnight and achieved loads.  Mr T sell a bag of suet pellets for the birds and it's £1 a bag.  We've put that in one of our feeders and the birds are loving it!  We can't keep up with it.  Our feeders with seeds in don't get used a lot otherwise.

Great result on the washing machine and dryer!

beanielou

Glad that you have enjoyed your break 

Sun_Addict

Sounds like you’ve made the most of your time off. I love how you’re enjoying your garden now. 

doingitanyway

The holiday sounds like just what you needed

Fidelia

Sounds like the ideal combination of work and play, HH.  I agree, your DH needed some R&R time, it must be very hard for him working from home and seeing so little of the outside world and other people (in pre-Covid days anyway).

DH buys fat balls for the birds.  They go in hanging cages on the trees and the birds absolutely love them.  He's forever replenishing them.  I think he gets them from Wilko among other suppliers and they are pretty reasonably priced for a big plastic 'bucket' full.

A man on our local street market sells huge bags of apples labelled 'for birds' at a giveaway price because they're a bit bruised and he couldn't sell them otherwise.  DH buys these for the blackbirds, a couple of blackbirds can demolish a whole apple in no time!  I threw 3 out onto the back lawn after tea last night but I think all the blackbirds had already gone to roost by then.  The outside security light came on about 9 and there were the 2 badgers that I'd seen before eating the apples.  That'll teach me not to put anything out in the evening although I like the idea of the badgers visiting us regularly.  I read that badgers like catfood and I've got a couple of tins of supermarket own brand that my fussy cats won't eat so I'll put that out tonight instead of any apples and see if it disappears by morning.  I don't want to attract any feral cats though or , even worse,rats.  I haven't seen any rats about but I saw on TV that they've gone rampant during lockdown!

milann

It sounds as if you’ve had a lovely half term. Enjoy being back at work now 👍

Sunshine_girl2

Great to hear you had such a lovely Easter catching up with the family during your lovely walks , great photos . 

The garden is looking lovely and a tranquil place to enjoy your coffee with DH. I am sure you will miss DS3 but am sure he will be back before you know it. 

Have a lovely weekend after your first week back at school.

Seasidegal58

Your garden sounds really lovely Hairy - You and OH have really made it so peaceful and relaxing and now you have all the spring and summer months to enjoy it at its best. 🌷
I was also pleased to read that you managed to do all that you wanted to do on your holiday break. Doesn't get much better than that. 😀

HairyHandofDartmoor

jwil said:

Sounds like you've had a lovely fortnight and achieved loads.  Mr T sell a bag of suet pellets for the birds and it's £1 a bag.  We've put that in one of our feeders and the birds are loving it!  We can't keep up with it.  Our feeders with seeds in don't get used a lot otherwise.

Great result on the washing machine and dryer!

Thanks Jwil   

beanielou said:

Glad that you have enjoyed your break 

Thanks Beanie    

Sun_Addict said:

Sounds like you’ve made the most of your time off. I love how you’re enjoying your garden now. 

Thanks SA    

milann said:

It sounds as if you’ve had a lovely half term. Enjoy being back at work now 👍

Thanks Milann    

Fidelia said:

Sounds like the ideal combination of work and play, HH.  I agree, your DH needed some R&R time, it must be very hard for him working from home and seeing so little of the outside world and other people (in pre-Covid days anyway).

DH buys fat balls for the birds.  They go in hanging cages on the trees and the birds absolutely love them.  He's forever replenishing them.  I think he gets them from Wilko among other suppliers and they are pretty reasonably priced for a big plastic 'bucket' full.

A man on our local street market sells huge bags of apples labelled 'for birds' at a giveaway price because they're a bit bruised and he couldn't sell them otherwise.  DH buys these for the blackbirds, a couple of blackbirds can demolish a whole apple in no time!  I threw 3 out onto the back lawn after tea last night but I think all the blackbirds had already gone to roost by then.  The outside security light came on about 9 and there were the 2 badgers that I'd seen before eating the apples.  That'll teach me not to put anything out in the evening although I like the idea of the badgers visiting us regularly.  I read that badgers like catfood and I've got a couple of tins of supermarket own brand that my fussy cats won't eat so I'll put that out tonight instead of any apples and see if it disappears by morning.  I don't want to attract any feral cats though or , even worse,rats.  I haven't seen any rats about but I saw on TV that they've gone rampant during lockdown!

Thanks Fidelia . We'll have to see what gets eaten and what doesn't. I hope your cat food attracts badgers.

Sunshine_girl2 said:

Great to hear you had such a lovely Easter catching up with the family during your lovely walks , great photos . 

The garden is looking lovely and a tranquil place to enjoy your coffee with DH. I am sure you will miss DS3 but am sure he will be back before you know it. 

Have a lovely weekend after your first week back at school.

Thanks Sunshine    

Seasidegal58 said:

Your garden sounds really lovely Hairy - You and OH have really made it so peaceful and relaxing and now you have all the spring and summer months to enjoy it at its best. 🌷
I was also pleased to read that you managed to do all that you wanted to do on your holiday break. Doesn't get much better than that. 😀

Thanks SSG .

HairyHandofDartmoor

Hi everyone 🙂. I've had a good week back at school and enjoyed seeing the children again. Two little girls picked me a bunch of wild flowers at lunchtime on the first day back and a little boy said he'd missed me 😍. The weather has been amazing, sunny and warm which makes being out in the playground very pleasant 😎. And I''m earning more money again 💷💷💷. 

I got paid today and I've added £200 to my SEF 😃. The rest will go towards bills. Speaking of which the plumber still hasn't sent his bill 😡 . Things will be a bit tightish this month as although DH did get a payment in, it may have to last a long time as he needs to get more work in. At least I'll get paid more in May.

This is my last weekend before DS3 goes back to uni 😥. I've got mixed feelings, I'm pleased for him that he can go back and be with his friends, but the rest of us will miss him 🤔. I think we'll save about £30 a week on food though not to mention the electricity bill will go down, so there are some positives.

Our washing machine is fully  mended as of last Thursday 🎉🎉🎉 . Today so far I've put two washes on and one is already drying in the garden. I'm going to do a third wash today. Our two washing baskets are still full but the pile on the floor next to them has disappeared 😂. I've also emptied all the bins in the house. 

DH and I have had coffee in the garden ☕☕ and enjoyed seeing azaleas, lavender, clematis and orange tulips blooming in the sunshine 🌺🌷🏵. We also saw some flying insects investigating our bug hotel 🐝🐞. Now I'm going to catch up on diaries.

Have a lovely Saturday everyone 🙂.