Put away your purse & become debt-averse

foxgloves

Well, why not see how they get on with it, CCL. It might be a project which they stick at for 5 minutes, or they might find they really enjoy it. It's good fitness, free vitamin D, fresh air & impossible to be simultaneously gardening & twiddling our lives away on social media/tech, etc.
I did just as much gardening when I was working full time with a 44 mile round trip commute. I just had to pack it into my weekends & evenings. It's my main fitness though. You'd not get me in a gym or out running in a month of Fridays!
xx

Kantankrus_Mare

What a coincidence!! I have just come back from the plot after potting on my peppers and chillies.

Chillies.....I have no problem with. They just keep producing.

Sweet peppers are a different matter. I have a go most years without much success. Not sure what I do wrong? The plants produce peppers but they are little tiddly things that are no use. I think its possibly the size of pot? I never really put them in a really large pot so this will be the year I will go for bigger pots and hope for more success.

Blackcats

Foxgloves, I think I frequented the same cosmetics counters as you. So shiny and beguiling. I had a make up consultation once. Primer, Foundation and blusher looked lovely - all purchased. But the eye make up. Shades of pink and mauve. I looked like a film star but not in a good way. Films like Trainspotting or Shaun of the Dead. I looked hollow eyed, gaunt, unwell and slightly scary. I politely mentioned this to the beauty consultant who told me I looked nice. Despite the clear evidence scarily staring back at me in the mirror I bought the eye shadow colour palette. Did I ever use it??? Certainly never seen in public with purple and pink eyes.

foxgloves

I think chillies are easier than peppers. I've had mixed success with peppers over the years. I tried a fancy long variety one year.... think it was 'Corno de toro'. They were awesome. Fabulous crop. The following year, hopeless! The only plant which cropped was the one I gave away to my Mum!
This year, for the third year running, I'm growing 'Summer salad mix'.... they are normal shaped peppers in a variety of colours & they've been very reliable so far. My aubergines are being annoying this year. Plants look strong & healthy but they haven't put on any new growth at all for ages. Will dose with seaweed solution this week.
Just seen weather forecast & it seems to be warming up later this week, so it should be a good time to plant the beans, courgettes & rest of the squashes out. I like it when the hard slog tails off a bit & it is mostly a case of just keeping on top of maintenance..... then picking stuff, yay!!
F x

foxgloves

Oh yes, Blackcats, my cosmetic counter of choice was a key temptress for getting money to jump out of my purse back in the day. I never had a make-up lesson from them (apart from when I bought the purple & iridescent white eye shadow) but I did go for a skin consultation. It was my 30th birthday & I decided to book a consultation in a big department store, treat myself to the basic skincare range.... (naturally I bought a couple of extra products too - a scrub & a mask) & see if they improved my skin (which was good apart from the occasional hormonal break-out). Loved the products & my skin looked great, so continued buying them for 10 years. Now these upmarket skincare brands know a thing about marketing so I soon started getting mailings with tempting offers, which had me trotting off into the city centre quicker than a greased ferret up a trouser leg! The offers worked thus: Buy two full sized products & receive a box of free goodies worth xxxx. The goodies were very tempting, especially when the selection contained a mini-perfume. I succumbed regularly. Clever marketing though, because of the 3 big department stores, they'd all have these offers on at different times & the freebies would differ, so I would tend to do the rounds, thinking I was getting a great deal. Don't get me wrong, the skincare products were excellent & the free gifts were lovely BUT once I got them home, they freebies were never as useful as I thought. The lipsticks were full size but mostly in shades of red or brown, which I never wear. There was often blusher, which I don't use. Sometimes there was a tiny mascara, which was always welcome, & I did use the little sample pots of moisturisers, etc, but mostly it was the mini-perfume which tempted me. So I'd be spending around £30 to £40 on the two qualifying products to get the current collection of freebies, when at the time, I could have bought the smallest bottle of perfume for just under £20. I ended up throwing lots of the free make-up away because it just wasn't colours I'd ever wear. What a numpty!
Anyway, when the state of our finances finally meant changing down to cheaper brands, you will be pleased to hear that there was no discernable change to my skin. No, my face did not fall off & I didn't wrinkle up overnight! I do treat myself to a £26 moisturiser, which is budgeted for out of my monthly personal spends money, & I use it sparingly. I save loyalty vouchers to reduce the cost. If I'm not able to stretch to a new jar when I run out, I buy something cheaper until next time. I use cheaper items for all my other skincare needs. Despite being a bit of a menopausal old crock these days, my skin is good. Think it's less a case of spending loads & more a case of finding what products work for us at a price we're willing to pay, then using them regularly & effectively. Oh my days though, I should think that particular counter issued a profits warning when I stopped visiting. How ever much cash leaked away there, I shudder to think!
Your Reformed Friend F x

foxgloves

Kantankrus - I meant to say yesterday......I've got my peppers in big pots, but two plants to a pot. They have been fine in these before, & I felt it would eek out my last bag of bought compost a bit further. Have mixed it with a lot of our own home made, as I do with all my tomatoes & chillies, as it helps it hold the moisture in better.
Had been looking forward to sowing my perpetual spinach bed & clearing half a big raised bed for squash planting today, but so far it's been very drizzly & feels quite cold. I might wait till later in the week when the temperatures look set to rise again. Never any shortage of indoor jobs here!
F x

HairyHandofDartmoor

I find your gardening tales very soothing Foxgloves and I love the latest Debtisode .

foxgloves

Aww, HHoD, am soothing, lol. Well I'm just having a cup of tea before popping back down the garden to get 2 squash plants in. The rain did stop & so I managed to get rubber chicken duties & budget updates done this morning, before clearing a bed for the squash & sowing spinach this afternoon. I just need to finish off & pack up, then I'm going to finish listening to my Scandi-crime audio book while making chicken & mushroom supreme for tonight's meal. Ooops, here comes the rain again, must crack on.
F x

Toni'sfriend

Oh, Foxgloves, I could have written that post on make up counters. I'm still using moisturisers and eye cream that I bought yonks ago. Now I use Boots cheapest cucumber cleanser and toner and my skin has never looked better. And why did I think blue mascara and eyeliner was a good idea? Blusher makes me look like Coco the Clown no matter what the intimidating lady in the white coat says.

Let's not even talk about face masks!!!!!!!!!!!

foxgloves

Lol, Toni'sfriend. Oh my days, coloured mascaras. I never tried blue, but I did wear purple for a while. It wasn't nearly as flattering as black, but about a thousand times better than the JADE GREEN I bought. Can remember sitting in a pub & my friend's boyfriend pausing his interminable tale of some or other rugby triumph, to peer at me & ask if my green eyelashes were fake. I was quite offended because at the time of purchase, obviously I thought bright jade green mascara was destined to make me look very cool indeed! Anyway, it ended up in the bin, which frankly is all it deserved. I can't think it would have suited anybody, but I bet I wasn't the only numpty to buy it!