Put away your purse & become debt-averse

foxgloves

@scandimore - Re cat litter..... our cats are encouraged to become 'outdoor cats' in terms of ablutions ASAP, but when we have newbies or poorlies & do need a litter tray, we use the natural wood pellet-type of cat litter. It can't be composted because of cat poo, but it will break down naturally in the garden if buried. So we dig out a small trench out of the way - we have a long privet hedge boundary, so that's perfect as I don't go planting things under that - tip in the used litter & backfill with soil. It also helps new cats when they are finally allowed out, as their territory already carries their scent markers. But if it is raining or pitch dark when we are presented with a nuclear litter tray, it is bagged, securely tied & wheelie-binned.
F x

Sun_Addict

Thanks for the cat litter tip. I’m also using wood pellets for my kitten’s litter tray but binning them. I have an area under some trees where nothing is planted that would be ideal. Once she’s been spayed she’ll be encouraged to do her business outside like the older cat. 

marionmgcars

HI, I love the blanket Foxgloves, ....  that is a lot of work, but looks fantastic.  I'm nearly finished my partners jumper (on the second knit, as the first was too big and got pulled out).  Looking forward to getting it complete, so he can wear it, but also then I can start a jumper for myself.  Might have a go at knitting a pair of socks just for some variety. 

Frugal win this weekend.  I picked up a baby car seat from Freegle in our area,  gave the cover a wash in the washing machine, cleaned the plastic base and it looks amazing.  We only pick our grandson (20 months) up from nursery, but its getting too cold and wet to walk him home, so now he can go in Grandma's taxi.  so kind of the young couple to give it away to a new home.

scandimore

Thanks foxgloves, makes sense as usual!

Onebrokelady

Finally caught up with your diary and firstly congrats on your new furry friends they sound lovely 😍 secondly I hope your tooth behaves until you can get it sorted and thirdly I can't believe you're not really called Foxgloves 😲

Alchemilla

Onebrokelady said:

Finally caught up with your diary and firstly congrats on your new furry friends they sound lovely 😍 secondly I hope your tooth behaves until you can get it sorted and thirdly I can't believe you're not really called Foxgloves 😲

That shocked me too 

foxgloves

That's a great frugal win, @marionmgcars. Yes, the blanket was a lot of work, but I am unable to watch TV without a project on the go as I get too fidgetty (unless it's something with lots of subtitles, of course).

@Onebrokelady - Yes, the new furries are lovely, even if one of them is terrified of his own shadow. They will get there. Rescue cats do often come with issues from chaotic pasts.
F

foxgloves

Afternoon m'dears,
Feeling a bit IBS-y today but haven't let it get in the way of cracking on with some jobs. I woke up this morning feeling that I need to be a bit more 'on it' with all things MSE atm. I can't say I've exactly been slacking, but there are two or three things where I could have paid closer attention or spent a little less. I did my usual Monday morning budget updates, followed by my mid-month budget check-in. This would generally have been done a few days earlier, & I do find I get a bit twitchy if I put it off, as I like to know that the budget I set for the month is still going ok & no errors have jumped out waving party poppers & shouting 'Surprise!!' Nothing untoward found. I had missed that our car service plan came to an end in December so we actually had slightly more money than I was expecting.
I've done all this week's laundry (just got the final load to hang on heated airer) & also did rubber pork duties - that £10 joint did us a roast dinner yesterday & I've divvied up the rest of it for hot pork rolls & apple sauce tonight, a stir-fry tomorrow, a container of chunks frozen for a slow cooker chilli at some point & ditto for Mr F's next Epic Man Stew. I felt we'd had our money's worth, anyway.
I've also been doing a bit of research this afternoon - I don't want to go into the details, as it's something very specific that didn't get sorted out at the time we were dealing with the legal process of my Mum & Dad's estate. We were given some information that doesn't appear to have been true, although as it involves a possible company takeover, it is possible that the info was given in good faith but then the situation changed. Anyway, it does have a financial aspect to it & my sis & I have decided that we are going to pursue it like a dog with a bone to try & get what we are owed (or may be owed in the future). So I've spent an afternoon finding out lots of info & checking the Companies House register & my sister is now intending to take over the next stage which is to make contact. If we work together, I think we will be quite difficult to ignore. We'll see. I had been procrastinating badly over this as we came to an impasse with it just before Covid struck, & it was in danger of morphing into a rather humungous frog. Now swallowed. Hope it doesn't keep reappearing like that other one I had last year!
Cats still much the same.....Soot very friendly & trying to get his nose into everythng because he has been in the Rescue for a long time. Ash sooooo nervous, but he did accept lots of stroking yesterday & came out of hiding for it, purring his head off. That must be a good sign. He is very frightened if we are standing up & sort of looming over him. He may have been ill-treated at some point - we will never know his past beyond how he arrived at the Rescue.
Mr F has just pinged me to say there is a container of some or other hammy gunk in the freezer & that he'd like it defrosting for his packed lunch tomorrow - suits me fine as no sarnies to make!
Oh, & another knitting project finished last thing last night - dark fuchsia-pink cable wrap. It looks nice on, around my shoulders & pinned at the front  - I just need to block the edges before wearing it, so will wait until I have the ironing board out.
That's all from me today.
Hope nobody's feeling too horribly 'Monday-ish',
F xx

Four_Seasons

Hi Foxgloves, your blanket is so so lovely! it made me feel so guilty, I have finished my squares - not as many as yours - but haven't tackled sewing together yet - I did open the box and look for "sew up Sunday" but unfortunately just closed it again!
Your babies sound as if they are settling well I am sure that Ash will gain his confidence with all the love they will get in your home x

foxgloves

I do hope so, @Four_Seasons. I wouldn't be at all surprised if he'd been ill-treated in the past, or maybe bullied by kids when he was living on the streats, idk. The Rescuer-in-Chief thinks we should start to notice a little bit of progress after a couple of weeks. Soot helped with the budget today..... by sitting on it! Nice to have fur friends in the house again, though.
F x