Put away your purse & become debt-averse

foxgloves

Loft clearing saga - Chapter 4 - the 'good finds'........I am pleased to say it wasn't all about bird poo & guilt-inducing wasted money reminders. There were some items up there which I was happy to find.

*My old knitting machine! This was a 21st birthday present - not one of those huge ones which produce jumpers which look shop-bought, mine, though operated in a similar way was more of a hand-knitting frame & was brilliant for knitting 1980s colourful mohair jumpers. I haven't used it since the late 1980s & had assumed it would be chewed by mice & in a terribly neglected state, but it wasn't! I had kept it in its proper case which was in perfect condition & everything looked fine inside. I must get that out one day & revisit it, maybe when my sister, who was also a jumper fanatic during the 1980s knitting revival is here.

*An old coffee table made by my Grandad decades ago. This was in our family home & given to me when I moved into my first decent (as in not a student hovel) rented flat. This is a real 'shopping from home' find, as we have been looking online at coffee tables, but had found nothing we liked or that would fit the space available. Have fetched it down for a good polish & will use it instead of buying one. I love Grandad's frugality with crafting it  - he made it from a vintage walnut headboard from an old bed, so there is some lovely natural patterning in the wood. Lovely. And our money saved!

*The bag of 4 wreaths - I will definitely make one of these into a Spring/Easter decoration next year......but there is further shopping from home potential here, in that the others, especially the fir cone one, would make nice Christmas gifts if I decorated them. 

*Jewellery findings - I think I already mentioned that I put aside a container of various fixings which will be useful for jewellery repairs, from the remains of my jewellery-making stuff. I've put jump rings, earring hooks, fasteners, anything useful, where I can get at them when I need them so as to mend things straight away.

*A dozen flattened removal firm boxes - no use to us, but some family members are moving house soon, so much better for them to have these than pay for additional new boxes.

*Spare Le Cre*set kettle - I know, who has a spare one? They last for ever. I paid a lot of money for this when it was new (yes, it was during the Spendy Era) but to be fair, it has lasted well over 20 years. It is only in the loft because Mum & Dad also had one (a smaller one) which I brought back with me when we cleared out their house. It reminds me of home as it has a whistle. I had forgotten the other one up in the loft. I think this should mean we are sorted for kettles for a very long time!

There were other things too, but I don't need to do an inventory, lol, I'm just giving the overall picture.
OK, must go & sort out the slow cooker & get on with the rest of today's jobs.
Loft saga complete.....we now have Wardrobe Saga, but I won't bore you with the details of that one!
F x

Baileys_Babe

We have 2 Le Creuset kettles (larger size), both live on our multifuel stove, giving us plenty of free hot water which we use to make hot drinks, cook rice or pasta, washing up etc.
The first was passed on from friends when they were downsizing and the 2nd I bought preloved with birthday money. Ours are in complementary colours, I like that they are both practical and beautiful.

Great news finding your Grandfather's coffee table, it is lovely that you will be able to make use of it with the added bonus it will be money saving as well 😊

I can't imagine there is going to be such great discoveries in our loft when we finally get around to sorting it. Years ago there was a lot up there but it was organised, I then had major problems with my back so OH and dd have been going into the loft as and when, neither are known for tidiness nor logic when putting things away 😏

foxgloves

@Baileys_Babe - Yes, I had forgotten about Grandad's coffee table, even when I was actually sitting at my laptop searching online for any I vaguely liked. Out of sight, out of mind, I think. A good saving, though.
It is more difficult when we can't get up into the loft ourselves. My difficulty is the loft ladder... the rungs are quite far apart & while I can get up it, I find it quite a big stretch for my short legs (I'm only a little over 5'3") on the way back down.
F

foxgloves

Busy day here, m'dears.
Nice skype chat with my sis first thing, a bit of greenhouse maintenance, liaison with decorator who started work on main bedroom today, a good general house tidy, put dinner in slow cooker, did meal plans for next week plus grocery shopping list & took a few useful ex-loft items down to the shed for use in the veggie garden.
Then put a couple of hours into raking out old prunings, sticks & debris from under the hedge. A decent workout there, despite tights constantly falling down (the worst black 80 denier tights I have ever bought) & my many trugfuls filled the entire garden waste wheelie......getting my money's worth there as it's council collection day tomorrow.
Feeling a bit tender following yesterday afternoon's dentist visit but not as bad as when I had a previous back tooth filled very close to the gum line.
Oh, & of course I have a bedspread square on the go too..... no. 84 /144. Well Mr F has just arrived & informed me it's due to be minus 2° again overnight, so I am off to fetch a few plants back into the greenhouse.
I could SO eat a walnut whip. A proper one. Not a silly brexitty one with no bloody walnut. Will add to birthday wishlist. 
Love to all,
F xx

Chrystal

I used to love the proper Coffee Walnut Whips.  Looked for them in vain.  Why oh Why do they stop making the things that people like!

Baileys_Babe

I'm just a touch shorter than you, not quite 5'3" and you are correct the descent is more difficult.

Walnut whip I haven't had one of those in years 😋

foxgloves

@Chrystal - The coffee ones were nice. There was also a very short-lived limited edtion one in a dark red wrapper, which was maple & pecan - gorgeous. But if you blinked, you missed it.
M&S does their own version WWs in assorted flavours. I usually prefer more expensive chocolate, but WWs are excluded from my chocolate snobbery because they are soooooo nice.
F

savingmore

oh my foxgloves to the male traits.  definitely confirmed it for me.   might have a little more grace, just might, also might not!!  got to love them.    thanks for the great visual stories of the loft sagas!   shall greatly look forward to wardrobe sagas.  hopefully no bird poo shall be found, unless you have narnia-esk wardrobes 🤣🤣.   I ish the weather would just settle down, and the polar regions keep their weather to themselves.

scandimore

Sounds like you've had another busy day Foxgloves, I just came on to recommend you have a look at snag tights- they really are the best, so comfortable! I've bought quite a few pairs in different colours and haven't had to replace any yet so well worth the cost. I did have a case of daily downy knickers during a walk yesterday which led to quite a bit of embarrassing ducking behind trees to sort myself out. Gah!

foxgloves

@savingmore - The wardrobe saga is kind of just that we no longer have any wardrobes because we smashed them up. Had not budgeted for new ones but luckily the home improvements fund will stand it. Nothing as exciting as Narnia.... & definitely no turkish delight in there

@scandimore Thanks for the recommendation. I have heard that 'Snag' are good so I will have a look. I am a size 18 atm, but am short. That's the problem really. If I want a comfortable fit round my hips, it seems I must have vastly over-long legs. I bought two packs from a quality department store chain during Lockdown & they honestly are the worst tights I've ever had!

F