Put away your purse & become debt-averse

Onebrokelady

I'm discovering there are far more idiots on social media than I first thought ( laughing because auto correct wrote social maniac, which seems apt 😂)

Toni'sfriend

"social maniac" I love it! 

foxgloves

Hello readers, 
Another busy day of building here & so I applied myself to as many tasks as I could reasonably access.
Today's pickings: 850g french beans, 900kg courgettes, 1.1kg tomatoes, 200g assorted chillies, 2 corn-on-the-cobs & a bunch each of sage & thyme, now tied & hanging up to dry.
Found a quiet corner for some financial admin - Emailed electrician to request a quote, contacted energy provider to request a smart meter & to have our Economy 7 tariff terminated in favour of a standard rate now that we no longer have night storage heating. Paid for our newly completed utility room, which is a MUCH better use of space than a whiffy old loo with all the inexpert signs of a past Mr Numpty installation. Also arranged a time with windmill owner to drive over to collect our bulk flour order.
Watered greenhouse veg, scrubbed flying rhubarb & skyr disaster off kitchen rug & will shortly be jumping in the bath to scrub it off myself & out of my hair.
Looking forward to a peaceful weekend. I can barely watch the news atm, even though I'm a news junkie.... it's just so depressing to see these big daily covid rises again, although I had every expectation that they would. I am looking forward to going into town tomorrow, doing a bit of kitchen witchery & maybe watching a film.
Be safe, m'dears,
F x

foxgloves

Hello Saturday Savers, 
Pleasant day. So quiet without the builders, even with Mr F gallumphing about with the vacuum (not that I'm complaining about that!) Town first thing, coffee & cakeypoo in our favourite cafe & stuck to my shopping list. Topped up household medicine box with unbranded painkillers, etc, as so much cheaper. The 3 make-up items I wanted were on 3 for 2 and the man on the home fragrance market stall charged me just £2 for more joss sticks than I'd have thought possible.... ylang-ylang sitting in the burner for tonight. 
Have turned the lemon drop chillies I picked yesterday into chilli jam. Well, it was like therapy. I woke up this morning with a headache which paracetamol & coffee failed to shift, but while my blitzed chillies were enjoying the 'rollicking boil' recommended by Nigella, I started sneezing, had to go & blow my nose what felt like about 46 times & by the time I was washing up, I realised my headache had completely gone! Clearly it was sinuses.
Mr F is cooking tonight, so as it is such a sunny evening, I'm going to take a new book down to my pondside bench - 'Magpie Lane' by Lucy Atkins. I got it from the library because it sounded good, so let's see.
Oh & I spotted something odd on the kitchen ceiling this afternoon. Rhubarb!! Could barely believe that yesterday's Skyr & rhubarb mishap had spread so far. Mr F asked me for an action replay (minus fruit & dairy product, of course!) & said it was definitely 'an achievement'.
F x

foxgloves

Ah well, m'dears, another weekend nearly done & I only need to set the washer for an Economy 7 wash (might as well use the off-peak tariff while we are still on the system) & sew in the ends on a knitted sock.... then it will be a hot bubbly bath before bed so I can hit the ground running tomorrow morning. I think the builders will arrive really early to maximise this week on our work.
I've enjoyed a bit of baking today - a sourdough loaf & a cake filled with my apple & ginger jam, as I still have a surplus pint jug of the stuff. Also did a bit more on my recipe folder project.
Mr F mowed the lawn & shifted 2 big buckets of the rubbish he dug up behind the shed to the skip, before deciding to shave his head to save £12. I started doing my regular post-weekend budget update, but was stopped in my tracks by wretched 'Verified by Visa' crashing again.
The Covid surge is both worrying & depressing, though not unexpected following all the mixed messages coming from government, plus all the folk who obviously couldn't care less.
Stay safe..... I mean, you wouldn't want to miss another riveting tale of mystery black fluff or rhubarb on the ceiling, would you......?
F x

Onebrokelady

I once tried to blend some soup and forgot to put the lid on the blender, I was finding soup in odd places for days after 😀 I read Magpie Lane several weeks ago now and really annoyed it 😊

foxgloves

The flying rhubarb wasn't a blender mishap, OBL, but I agree it is amazing how far these substances can travel!
I think I'm going to enjoy 'Magpie Lane'. I've just finished 'The Glass house' by Eve Chase, which I've made a note of, as I think it would make a nice birthday present for my friend.. F x

foxgloves

Evening September Sunbeams, 
Oh my giddy aunt, it's chaos here. Everything coming along well - tiny utility room finished & Mr F planning to paint it as soon as possible (which it isn't atm). Pantry building is underway & there are copper pipes everywhere & floorboards up, as the central heating installation progresses. I did today's veggie garden pickings - a few apples, 3 courgettes, 500g tomatoes, 6 corncobs & some chillies, then got tonight's meal going in the slow cooker (smoky black bean chilli) before heading back outside to start some autumn cutting back in the borders. I enjoyed being out in the sunshine, though had to stop when it got too hot. Although sorting out garden borders is physically hard work, it is a job where progress quickly becomes very visible, which I find motivating. Hope to continue it tomorrow. Might even put on my big girl's pants & de-gunk the pond, I'll see. Well, the lovely Mr F is just marinating his tuna steaks (this is not a euphemism!) then we are going to get competitive over 'University Challenge'. I hope I know more answers.... I think I shall have to spend Mondays stuffing myself with fish oils!
Oh the dust here atm.... but it will so be worth it. 
Peace, 
F x

foxgloves

A decent night's sleep, the big girl's pants are on, am on my 2nd coffee & intend to be elbow-deep in pond-clearing by 8.30 this morning. The sooner I start it, the sooner it will be finished....... she said hopefully. 
F x

foxgloves

Ok, well I'm pleased to say that by 10.15 this morning, I had de-gunked the pond, cut back the edges & lobbed 2 big trugs of overgrown pondweed & soggy bog iris into the garden waste wheelie. The frogs are so happy to be able to sit in the water without emerging bright green from all the duckweed. They've been loving the sunshine. I watered the veggie garden too, while I'd got the hose out. 
Today's pickings = 1kg french beans
Had a good catch-up with my sister on Skype. Couldn't get much else done as the work on the house is at a stage where almost every room is involved & some are completely inaccessible. Never mind, I took the opportunity to sit in the garden to knit & read. Not my turm to cook tonight, so I think that'll mean a few more chapters.
Anyone else received any charity Christmas catalogues through the post yet? Why do I love these so much?
Cheers all, 
F x