Dusty's Frugal Fortnights

dustydigger

Green lipped mussels,hey? What if I want purple or yellow lipped?:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:Quite expensive,I am lucky to get my piroxicam free,and its quite good,but I use it sparingly,only when things are very bad.
Was not amused to find that it has been removed by my doctor from my repeat prescription list,they probably think oh her knee replacements means she doesnt need pain meds anymore. Oh yeah,with hands curled up like talons and burning feet?:mad:
They also took away my strong vitamin B,and my codeine,but I am glad about the latter,strong painkillers affect me badly. I think I need to take a good quality multivitamin now that I have thyroid issues,so as to bolster my body as much as possible.
I also feel that giving up the alcohol has had a beneficial effect for my liver,and giving up the sugar has helped fight the diabetes,so really compared with the wreck I was a for about 5 years I'm blooming....comparitively speaking,still couldnt raffle me off,no one would buy tickets:rotfl::rotfl:

Sayschezza

I take magnesium which seems to help with the energy and certainly helps with night cramps.

dustydigger

The man next door is making some sort of deck and extension outside his kitchen,barely 2 yards from my kitchen window(its a terrace) Today he poured some sort of stuff,rather like creosote,but smelling exactly like nail varnish remover. He and his wife were wearing masks and were of course outdoors,in a strong wind.
I on the other hand opened my kitchen door and nearly choked,the stuff was so strong.:eek::eek::eek:

An hour and a half later later the house is still stinking. I have a shocking headache and found making the dinner unpleasant to say the least.I dont suppose they realized the wind would blow the stuff away from them,but towards me.:D:D
My lips are still tingling and my lungs feel a bit dodgy.I am running late making the meal because at its worse it was very very strong indeed and I had to stay out of the kitchen. A lot lower now,but still noticeable:(
Hope it goes before the tribe arrives,with the babies.
I did open the sitting room window,but not the kitchen,which was just letting more of the smell in!

beanielou

Blimey that sounds dire.
I hate nasty smells.

Onebrokelady

dustydigger wrote: »

Green lipped mussels,hey? What if I want purple or yellow lipped?:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:Quite expensive,I am lucky to get my piroxicam free,and its quite good,but I use it sparingly,only when things are very bad.
Was not amused to find that it has been removed by my doctor from my repeat prescription list,they probably think oh her knee replacements means she doesnt need pain meds anymore. Oh yeah,with hands curled up like talons and burning feet?:mad:
They also took away my strong vitamin B,and my codeine,but I am glad about the latter,strong painkillers affect me badly. I think I need to take a good quality multivitamin now that I have thyroid issues,so as to bolster my body as much as possible.
I also feel that giving up the alcohol has had a beneficial effect for my liver,and giving up the sugar has helped fight the diabetes,so really compared with the wreck I was a for about 5 years I'm blooming....comparitively speaking,still couldnt raffle me off,no one would buy tickets:rotfl::rotfl:

It is quite pricey but it lasts for quite a while,another good one is Vicks Vapour rub,I was told to rub this into the soles of my feet if I was having trouble sleeping so I did and slept really well,a happy side effect was that it cooled my burning feet:A
I'm not sure the mussels come in purple or yellow :rotfl:
I have to stay away from codiene now because it gives me a horrible headache whenever I use it

dustydigger

Rather a dull fortnight ending today,did little,was depressed and down or in pain much of the time so the state of the fortnight report is not at all riveting!.
+savings:only £25 went to savings on the 23rd,and I have a princely £5.47 in coins to go to my Sealed Pot challenge and 3 £2,but wont be going to the history group because of a hair appointment on Wednesday, hopefully I will have a tenner to add by the following week to £30 bagged ready to put in the credit union for my House and Home Fund. It will then be over £430.:T
+I do have quite a bit of food in the house,as I went to Ald!,Asd@ and Icel@and for top up shops last week so I can put off the Asd@ online shop till later in the week.
+Surveys have been poor this last week or so,all my fault as I dont look often enough on my laptop to see when they offer me surveys,and one day there were no less than 12 messages when I looked on hours too late,and they had all been filled.Even when I am doing surveys my typing is so slow and clumsy lately that I am continually timed out on Prolific. They have given me some really long surveys,supposedly taking 10 minutes,but giving you 20 for leeway. I am taking nearly 30 mins and am timed out:mad::mad:I've lost about £6 this week Has even been happening on MySurveys which is normally not a problem.The ease of checking for surveys on a smartphone as opposed to opening up the laptop and having to drag the cursor across the page so many times thus being slow is perhaps one of the few reasons why someday I would very reluctantly be one of the last people in UK to get a smartphone! Apparently a massive 80% of adults now have one,double from 5 years ago.
So despite spending hours on surveys where I am screened out because I dont fit or I have been too slow or I am told I am have been too late to the survey and after the tedious filling in the usual details,I have made less than £1.At least YouGov usually still have places even if I am a day late,its only about 25p for a pretty long effort. Its taken 6 months to reach £16,and I need to reach £50 to cash out :rotfl:
+family history.Havent even opened the bag from last visit to group 10 days ago!:( Only thing I did was locate some coloured labels I wanted to differentiate the family lines,bt turns out they are only like post-its only one end sticky,so I will need glue or sellotape which is fiddly
+diet and exercise: pathetic. Did get out shopping a few times with my trusty trolley,did quite a few steps I suppose,but most of the time was stuck in the house. Started intermittent fasting this week,which saves a few calories, I think I've lost half a pound this fortnight.Had hoped to get thyroid meds to help mebut didnt,so the same old frustrating situation continues. Oh well,I am just going to have to aim for a pound a month loss,its certainly better than nothing,and going the right direction. And I think my eating habits are better so can bolster my health as much as possible.Will try to reach the 3 and a half stone mark by Xmas,and maybe the 4 stone level before going to my yearly diabetes checkup in April,determined not to have to go on insulin
What a miserable post this has been. New fortnight tomorrow,hoping to do better.
Will check out a few diaries,then I MUST watch some of my recorded TV programmes. I am getting up to the upper limits of recording space on my Freesat machine. I never seem to get the chance to be alone to watch TV!

dustydigger

Dusty's Frugal Fortnight 6th Aug - 20th Aug
income: from Mr Dusty £291 my pension £71 from CA £6 - total £368

outgoings;
gas and electric - £91
phone + broadband - £29
water rates - £36
birthday fund - £20
hair trim - £6
Asd@ home delivery- £40
delivery charge - £5
HBB - £141 (cash)
totaloutgoings

Oops,had to supplement my pay with £6 from the CA today,and put aside the passport fund till next time.:(Had to cut down really hard on the Asd@ shop,and still had to add a little cash from the CA to balance the books.Not even a personal allowance this time,so no buying stuff for myself:D Putting away that £50 for the USA trip month,on top of savings for Xmas,passport etc is making things a bit tight on the budget outline. I will have to do a top up shop from the cash budget for the things I cant afford from online accounts,and thats ample,so will be perfectly fine.
Its just the seeming lack of the surplus which I enjoyed popping in the bank each budget day. Now there are direct debits,which do the job and whisk away the required savings,but are not as satisfying as being able to transfer £50 or £70 quid by hand!:rotfl:
Anyhoo,the state of the savings:
Xmas fund - ££475/£800
US trip - £130/£1000
mixed bag -£200/£300
emergency fund - £400/£1000
house & home - £396/£1000

Sadly nothing available for Xmas savings this fortnight,first time for months,though I did put about £20 on my shop cards,so it wasnt a total bust:D

dustydigger

You Gov must have heard me moaning about a lack of surveys because they have offered me a set of 10 surveys for £5plus an extra quid if I complete the set.:T Quite short,perhaps 10mins each and I have done 5 so far.:)

MySurveys annoying still letting me spend 10 mins or more doing a survey,then screen me out,or time me out. Must have tried 15 surveys lately without earning a penny. I have 420 points,need 550 for a £5 Amaz*n voucher. 30 mins wasted again today on 3 surveys,not a penny gained. But I will persevere till I get that fiver then leave them.Could be 2 years cashing out from the other surveys,but my time is valuable,not worth the hassle.

dustydigger

Went off to climb the hill to Icel@nd and Asd@ with my trolley yesterday.Phew it was hot,very tiring.I thought I had spent the £10 minimum spend to qualify for my £5 bonus,counting as I put things in the trolley,but I miscalculated when I put an item back on the shelves and ended up 12 pence below the level,realized a second too lat after the card had gone through. :mad::mad:Good job there are almost 2 weeks left till 19th closing date,and I will be spending at least a tenner before then,but is irritating,and all my own fault:(

dustydigger

Its my week for suffering rotten smells. A few days ago it was the creosote or whatever my neighbour used on his new drive etc.Just like nail varnish remover and it was getting on my lungs
Today I went out to the bin,and was nearly knocked down by an horrific smell! I should have known when Mr Dusty said the other day the farmers had cut the cornfields,and the haystacks were there in plenty. I always forget every year,but once the hay is in,dried and removed the farmer covers his fields with the most godawful,revolting manure/sewage slurry or whatever. Its the most unbelievably bad smell.:eek::eek:

Might be excellent for restoring nutrients to the ground to replenish the soil for next year,but it is so,so disgusting. We are probably between 1/4 and 1/2 a mile away from the cornfields,and for the most part the wind is blowing slightly away,but its a really terrible smell. It is possible to treat the stuff to mute the smell,but thats expensive for the farmer,so every year for the best part of a week we have to suffer. Just when its so warm we want the windows open!:rotfl:
.........hmm,and just to add another fragrance,the garage around 60 yards away is having a petrol delivery right now.What a strange time to come!Normally I quite like the smell of petrol but my nose is rebelling from the smells I am being subjected to.:rotfl: