Dusty's Frugal Fortnights

beanielou

You are on a roll

dustydigger

Also want to go to that library an hour away,and get books to fit in with my book challenges starting in January. I will then be able to renew them for 9 weeks so dont have to go back till near the end of February,hopefully when there is no snow!:D
I am continuing to eat up stuff from the freezer,it needs cleaning out badly. Next week I will be doing Xmas cooking,and need the space.
On the survey front,I cashed out on Prolific last week,£20,and that will be my total book budget on Amaz*n for next year. I dont intend to spend a penny of my own money on books. Last year I spent a lot on books for my Hugo science fiction challenge for titles not available free in libraries or online. I have all of them now - with 7 books still to read,so apart from a few fave authors whose books I always buy,I am mostly sticking to library books 2019 for my challenges.
I am now on £38.45 for my YouGov.Still going to be a while till I get to £50,but I'm getting there!I'm lucky if I make £2 a month.
And as for Opinium.they offer me at least 4 surveys a day,but unless you can do them immediately,by time I come an hour or two later they have been filled..And you only get about 20p anyway Its taken 9 months to get to £8/£30. Its going to take years.
OnePoll,they give you 10p a time,and its taken 9 months to get to £9.90/£30 I will NEVER get there1:D
Panelbase is a lot better, I am at £18/£25 and manage about £2 a month,so I hope to get there soon:)

dustydigger

:)Phew! Busy week. Fortunately feeling fairly healthy,so I am able to get some things done.:T
Trotted off to Icel@nd and Asd@ local supermarket n the next town and the bills came to £58,but due to bonus/savings cards,I only had to spend £15 in cash,so very happy.But the trolley was seriously overladen,it was a major struggle getting on and off the bus - especially with the horde of schoolkids on return.I almost had to mow them down to get through the crowd. They seem to love to congregate in crowds at the front of the bus to the inconvenience of everyone else getting on or off. :mad:

Still dont have the big bar of Galaxy chocolate for my son,the only chocolate he eats,probably will have to just get 2 small ones but all the present bags are sorted only Cinders little buggy to put together and her things to wrap,but I need a small doll for the buggy. Will get that today,plus the magazines for the girls,and thats it,presents fully sorted.
Got the carpets shampooed this week,very very tiring,that machine is really really heavy.and I could barely walk the next day because of knee and back pain.I expect to get the tree up and wall decorations sorted today,but I am not putting up streamers,first year ever just too difficult getting up and down the ladder.Both boys have been away in Worcester or Cumbria these last 2 weeks,so no help there

Yesterday at last Mr D and I put the kitchen table together. Hate those fiddly allen keys!.Both sons are away working,and we have been waiting 3 weeks for DS1 to come and do it,so we gave up waiting.Not a drop leaf,so it takes up more room than the old one,and the breakfast nook,(too small to call a dining room,7ftx7ft) is so small I had to move out the bookcase and the pan stand and just put my pans in a plastic washing up dish under the table!:rotfl:
The 4 tier pan stand is now sitting on the yard,and I am reluctant to throw it away,it has been so useful and practical.Wish I had a garden shed. I really do have that on my dream wish list.The mower and strimmer and carpet shampooer,and rarely used kitchen equipment/crockery and the Xmas trees could be stored there,leaving my under the stairs all purpose cupboard available for other things (books,family history files even my hoover,mop and sweeping brushes)easy to get at,instead of the whole cupboard needing an avalanche warning sign!Jobs still to do include curtains,and washing the stair carpet,and the bathroom.But as long as this reasonable health continues,its all doable.

Off now to unpack the tree.after putting on Mr Ds potatoes of course. At least the beef casserole is done,only the carrots and creamed broccoli to do.

The Imp's 9th birthday today,where does time go?I am only putting a tenner in her card,since she will get masses of toys in 10 days time off santa!At least no money to put aside for birthday funds this time,No more birthdays till late February:T

beanielou

I dont know how you do it I really dont.
On so many levels!

dustydigger

I need to go shopping straight after dinner to get back by 4 for the Imp coming.I have a host of places to go to today,mostly for just one or two items at each.Busy all weekend with visitors,hairdresser perming my hair Monday,Tuesday need to go to Hartlepool library,Wednesday last family history group/credit union session for this year,having a mini party,so its got to be today I do all sorts of bits and pieces. So on the list,starting at the library:
1. library - collect 2 reservations,including the latest Ben Aaronovitch Peter Grant novel.Thats what I'll be reading after Boxing Day when I politely ban my family from visiting till New Year. Serious relaxation time then!Still have to finish off 2 books,around 600 pages from this year's challenges before I can indulge myself
2.Her*n - pastry,frozen broccoli.So annoyed they have stopped selling Aunt Bessie's carrot and trunip mash,was only a pound,other shops £1.50:(
3. Post Office - book of stamps. Ran out one short
4. Ald! - some milk,peanut butter,tikka pastry slices,corned beef pasties.Probably big crowds there it being Friday
5. butcher - order xmas chicken,buy lamb leg steaks,and beef sausages for weekend
6. drop a bag of books off at charity shop
7. get a doll at H*me B@rgains for Cinder's buggy
8. new saucepan and omelette pan at Wilkos. Broke the lid on the my most used saucepan and am barely escaping scalding myself when trying to drain it.Plus non stick has gone on my frying pan,definitely need a new one,always make my daughter an omelette on Boxing Day morning,the only time in the year she has one,I think! family tradition. Mr D,of course,has them at least 3 times a week,thats why my pan is worn out! :rotfl:
9. magazines at newsagent.
I'll be running around like a headless chicken:rotfl::rotfl:


Oh dear,cant see me doing the tree now,will have to do it tonight when everyone's gone

mark55man

Wow - I needed a break just after reading that lot :-)

dustydigger

mark88man wrote: »

Wow - I needed a break just after reading that lot :-)

:D:
It was a hectic day,and I didnt get everything done,but I'm getting there. Finally struggled up and down the ladders on Wednesday to put up streamers. I originally decided not to put them up,but with the walls and tree embellishing the lower parts of the room,the ceiling looked bare,and I couldnt stand it !:rotfl:
I only put up a small tree,an artificial 3 ft white one . Very minimalist with only a dozen or so little white lights.So as ever I followed my Xmas rule,not a scrap of that anaemic tree should be seen! :)Chains of gold beads and tinsel draped everywhere,gold baubles and snowflakes hanging from every branch,its wonderful,sparkling,lovely to look at.I now finally feel Xmas is coming.:j:j

dustydigger

Last Friday when I had that marathon session of shopping I spent ages looking for a frying pan and omelette pan,and couldnt see exactly what I wanted in our small town,but did get a new saucepan,£9 from Wilko.(reduced from £12.50) and I am very pleased with it,it is cutting down potato boiling time by at least 15 mins,which is going to help with electric bills,as I cook every single day .And a 10 year guarantee,so smiles all round.:D
I moaned to Mr Dusty that I hadnt got the frying pans. He offered to get one in town,and I categorically refused,saying I needed to choose for myself.So naturally he ignored me entirely, went to T K M*x and bought a Tefal massive frying pan,£16,and tore off all the packaging and threw away the receipt while I was out so I couldnt return it :mad:/I have a little metal stand I normally keep the frying pan on,tucked away in the corner between by the microwave and my condiments,but this too big,and I have to keep it on the hob,which is annoying. After a meal I clean the black ceramic hob and buff it up and it reflects the light and looks lovely. Now I have a huge frying pan ruining the look.Not amused,and of course it is big and heavy,which doesnt please my arthritic hands. Having a nice pain free spell at the moment,very rare,and dont want this stupid pan hurting my wrists.
Big argument ensued with Mr D,and i refused to pay for it,so he said he would pay and that would be my Xmas present!:eek::eek::rotfl::rotfl: Ah,life in the dustydigger home never runs smooth. Probably after Xmas,when I have time to look around for a more suitable pan,I will give this one to my son,who loves cooking ,especially stir fries. Perfect.But for now I am using the monster,and got to say making an omelette is annoying,the egg spreads out too thinly over the big pan. So I have resorted to using a small saucepan,perfect size etc,but trying to turn over the eggs in a 6 inch deep pan without messing it up is no picnic,Ie nd up with what looks like scrambled eggs half the time..
How I have avoided killing Mr D these last couple of years is a mystery to me!:rotfl::rotfl:

dustydigger

Never got the stair carpet washed,and am not going to bother,just refresh it with a damp cloth.The knees are protesting from all the working and walking,so I am having to take care. the leg gave way when I was in the library the other day,I nearly fell down. Its quite a few months since that happened.Hope I dont have to go back to using a stick:( Of course putting a lot of weight back on these turbulent few months hasnt helped.
At least I got my books renewed and will now renew them online,wont venture out on that hour long journey again till end of February.At my local library they had no less than 5 books waiting for me and there is another one today. I have been sorting out my book lists for 2019 and after 7 years of doing a 12x12 challenge(12 books in each of 12 categories,total 144) I have now decided to cut it down to a 10x10,only 100 books. Life is just so hectic and busy I just dont have so much time for reading,and I didnt like feeling pressured or rushed this year. I still have about 250 pages left to read in my last 2 challenge titles,and the library want 2 of the books I got out this week back on the 2nd January for other readers,so I have 1200 pages,about 40 hours of reading in my slow only 30 pages an hour reading level these days,used to be 40 or 50 pages. So 40 hours reading to fit in over the busiest time of the year:)

dustydigger

My house looks like an Amaz*n warehouse! DS1 has been away in Worcester all week,and I have no less than 9 boxes and parcels stacked along the wall by the stair door,bit of a squeeze getting through,but I have all the stacked family presents on top of the cupboards in the corner,plus two sacks and the kids usual toy boxes standing beside the TV.On the only other wall space is propped my daughter's hostess warming buffet set.no room for it in the diner nook. I also have two big boxes and a small carpet stacked on the couch for my daughter. Hopefully they will go away tonight.But my son says he will come on Sunday to wrap all the parcels,so I will still look like a warehouse till then I have also had several parcels for DS2 and GD3,but thank goodness they took them away during the week.I also get parcels almost everyday for my neighbours,who both work,they are always stacked at the foot of the stairs waiting for them to come home.
Aah.....I can only daydream about a minimalist home,and a serene,quiet life........nice fantasy,no signs of it in any shape or form in real life:rotfl: