Put away your purse & become debt-averse

foxgloves

Thanks all. Our family picnic was lovely. In addition to the stuff I made, my sis had baked chocolate cookies & a victoria sponge cake, so we had plenty of nice food & only used the cafe for coffees. The venue where we met up was deserted because of the heat. It didn't really bother us as Mr F & biggest nephew moved a picnic table into the shade. From a covid safety pov, it was perfect as 90% outside & we maybe saw about another 6 families all the time we were there.
Must finish my coffee & crack on with some jobs - lots of budget updates to do before I forget what exactly they are. 
Chat later, 
F x

foxgloves

@Baileys_Babe - Good idea about the trolley as a social distancing tool.
F

foxgloves

Am chatting from our coffee bench on the courtyard. A breeze has blown in & it is so lovely after the heavy recent heat. A very ordinary routine day today, yet it felt quite satisfying to catch up with a few things. Two loads of laundry line dried in the sunshine for free, used up some picnic leftovers & altered the meal plan to use up leftover ham. Did today's garden pickings: strawberries, courgettes, spring onions, lettuce, rocket & watercress using my new trug. It made me think of @QueenJess talking about 'shopping from other people' s homes', lol, as my sister offered me "a basket which is going to the charity shop if you don't want it". I'm a bit of a sucker for baskets so said I'd have it. Turned out to be a long flat trug-shape, perfect for gathering fruit & veg. I have been thinking about buying a traditional trug for ages but haven't succumbed as the big ones are rather pricey & now I have no need to be tempted.
Other tasks today included doing my Monday morning budget updates & finishing my 144th bedspread square, which was the final one. Will start piecing it together this week & look forward to using it in our refurbed bedroom this winter.
Sofa time now, m'dears,
F x

Baileys_Babe

Congratulations on knitting the final bedspread square.

Well done on shopping from your sister's house, making you both winners.

foxgloves

@Baileys_Babe - My sister gave me a top too, which she didn't wear any more. I'm wearing it today with my black linen maxi-skirt. My weight went up by a big chunk during the lockdowns & though it is coming down now (7.9kg off so far), I am reluctant to spend money on clothes in bigger sizes. So it was nice to put something 'new' on today.
She (sis) was pleased with her box of preserves from my pantry & some pieces of family china I found in the loft. Mr F cleared out a pile of DVDs to the nephews too, so winners all round!
Ah well, coffee break over. On with bindweed removal...... 
F x

Hazelnutty

CRANKY40 said:

We'll be mostly staying in too, especially now it's the school holidays and places will be even busier. If I go to the supermarket it will be very early in the morning but I've done an online order to come on Tuesday. I do go for a walk by the river with my looked after person on a Saturday but we favour an out of the way path and usually only encounter one or two dog walkers. I don't care how much less vile it is if you've had the jabs, I still don't want it. 

Us too @CRANKY40 I've been shopping in-store but back to online now bar the odd milk run to the local co-op, where people seem thankfully to be still wearing masks. 

foxgloves

Hello Sweetpeas,
I have clearly been channelling the spirit of my oh-so-frugal Nana today. Not a penny has left my purse & I have been proper 'old style' money saving. So far, I've done today's garden pickings (lettuce & 500g french beans), planted out another batch of lettuce plugs & done meal plans for next week. I've done a quick triage of the fridge & managed to incorporate 5 'use-it-ups' in my lunch. Tonight is freezer dive night.... basically a jacket potato with whatever we fancy from stores. I shall have salad with prawns & avocado. Mr F appears to be gearing up to make an Epic Man Stew with various leftovers he has been squirrelling away.
I've done today's quota of bending & stretching cutting back & weeding one of my big flower borders. Traditionally this was a bit of a spendy time as I used to go off to the garden centre to buy plants to fill the late summer gaps. Nowadays, I move a colourful pot - an agapanthus or geranium - into the space so I get that new zing of colour but for free. Frugal activity will continue this afternoon as I need to mend a top where the neckline has become unbound (it is the sort of fabric which will fray if I cba to do it) & will get grocery shopping list written, as well as feeding & watering veg garden.
Not exciting, but useful stuff & it all serves to keep me out of mischief.
Cheers m'dears,
F x

foxgloves

Hello Sunbeams,
Another day of frugaldom here with several small wins from just simple old-style activities which will save us a bit of money along the way. Today's garden pickings = courgettes, tomatoes & heaps of basil too, so as to get my pesto made. Was able to use some nice plumptious cloves of our home grown garlic in it too. Pesto-making fills the kitchen with such a lovely fragrance, not quite as redolently seasonal as blackberry & apple jam, but it is one of those domestic activities which sort of says 'We are where we are in the year".I've potted it into yoghurt pots, sealed & frozen it. It' s nice to pull a reminder of summer out of the freezer in the colder months.
Talking of the freezer, I think I shall have to stick my feet in there in a minute! Way too hot atm for me, 
F x

janb5

Is that the basket your sister gave you...very nice indeed!

foxgloves

Yes, @janb5, it is! She was going to send it off to the charity shop if I didn't want it. I'm glad I had it, as it's perfect for collecting our fruit & veg. It holds loads of courgettes (which is just as well atm) as well as a decent sized bundle of rhubarb. I suppose it's that saying 'Somebody's trash is another person's treasure'.
F