Put away your purse & become debt-averse

foxgloves

Hi, @jadewest94 & welcome back. You may feel better to know that I've been giving myself a kick up my own butt, recently. We all need to re-set our motivation levels now & again - nobody's perfect. You'll get there. 

@Blackcats. How interesting about the eye contact/blinking with nervous cats. I like the calming mantra you used. Ash actually ventured downstairs for his breakfast this morning. It was too scary though so he ran back up, eventually feeling brave enough to eat his food halfway up the stairs.
F x

foxgloves

Hello m'dears,
Was utterly determined to get out in the garden this morning. Mr F fortified me with coffee & porridge with a drizzle of golden syrup, I put on 2 tops, a big jumper & hat, & out I went!
Very useful. A decent workout from all the reaching, bending, stretching & raking and a noticeable lift in spirits. I had no plans where to start & decided to cut down & clear one of the big flower borders. I was able to fill back of border gaps with shopped from home lovelies - some of the hollyhocks I grew from free seed last year & several nice big healthy-looking self-sown foxgloves & sweet rocket.
Thoroughly enjoyed the fresh air & have plans to do a bit more every dry day this coming week. Our robins enjoyed pecking over the earth as I raked.
So that was a mental boost....... then when I came in, the lovely Mr F had made me a quorn sausage cob for lunch & suggested I write him a job list! To borrow a phrase from @Sun_Addict, I shall be on that "like a rat up a pipe"!
Well, it's chilling down here, I'm off to close all the curtains, then peruse a seed catalogue. 
Take care, 
F x

Alchemilla

Yum to quorn sausage cob!

Pixiehouse55

Good morning and a Happy New Year to you all. Sorry I've been AWOL we got up to Surrey for Christmas 2 lovely days spent with friends. Day after Boxing day we were going to move on but we couldn't as the current and water levels were high. So the Lock was closed.We went for a walk in to the town. Oh tut tut they hadca White Stuff shop with a sale!! So I did get myself to jumpers in the sales. I had been looking for a couple of proper wool jumpers forms while. Job done!
So after 2 days we could move on, that was the River Wey. We then got on to the River Thames another 2 days no movement high water and current. Moved on again 2 locks down and stopped again 6 days this time, its fine, lovely walks with the dogs although it was like a mud bath!!   Walked to local village they had a vets, lovely vets weighed our dogs and worked how many worm tablets needed for each dog. Paid for, job done. Picked up lots of firewood whilst stopped there, Henley-on-Thames I think that place was. Wahoo locks open and we are on our way. Cut story short, back on the Kennet and Avon canal. Picked up iur mess at Reading. That's pretty easy, we phone our Boots back home, they put a request in for our meds they are now in the Spine which means we can got to the nearest chemist give them our NHS Number and they give us our mens, sorted.
Picked up enough dog food at Petsat home for the next month. Ohs cousin took me to Sainsburys and I done a food shop that will keep us going for about 3 weeks. I thinkmim the Lock Queen now I've done so many🤣😂 . 
We put an order in at a DIY store as tge windows in the ceiling need sorting out, wood damp and hinges broken. Today we are making a list ofcwhatcwe need at DIY store and ohs bil is coming with his car and trailer to pick-up  wood etc to re fit the boatmans cabin in to storage for our craft stash,  I'm buying a cricut maker to be able to make and sale things as well as my knitting plus I'm teaching myself Crochet. 
Where we are moored up now near Theale the  lock is closed and being repaired t won't be open till at least end of 1st week in February. We have plenty to keep us busy and loads of walks for our dogs. Plus all the amenities are here so a good place to stop. Today is shower for me. Dog walk and then start the massive pile of washing, generator on to keep us in electric. We are so loving retirement life on the canals. 
Happy New Year to you all. Keep Safe and Take Care.
Loving your Diarynas always Mrs Foxgloves loving the chats and the banter
Bye for now. I will pop in again soon xxx 

foxgloves

Hi, @Pixiehouse55 - Your new life on the waterways sounds both exciting & relaxing. Lovely that you can moor up & explore local walks, towns & villages when conditions aren't right for travelling through lock gates, etc. Sounds like you have plenty of projects to be getting on with.
Stay cosy, 
F x

foxgloves

Hello Monday Money Savers,
Quite a good MSE day here, today. An hour of free fitness first thing, as I went outside & cleared almost half of another big garden border, assisted by the robins. Did my regular Monday morning budget updates. Pleased to see that despite the recent pantry stock-up at A*di plus buying in supplies of cat meat, biscuits & litter, it looks as though we will finish this month with a £32 underspend on groceries.
Also prepped last batch of marmalade oranges & divvied up the rest of the spiced Indian chicken Mr F roasted last night & we ate with rice & a portion of courgette curry from the freezer (remember all those courgettes, lol?) Enough to eat cold with home made jacket wedges & coleslaw tonight, to stir-fry with veg tomorrow to stuff into pittas & to do tomorrow's packed lunch.
On the less positive subject of energy bills...... I'm sure any of you with the tentacled provider will have received the same email as landed in my inbox today. It explained the background to the further price rises in April when the price cap is lifted again & among other details, flagged that this is likely to translate into people's monthly dd payments increasing by £60 a month. This is a huge amount & really will mean 'heating or eating' for a lot of people. We are fortunate that we can accommodate our energy payment rising to £179 pm, but it will definitely impact on money available for other things, esp savings pots, when also factoring in rising petrol & food prices.
I think I'm being quite careful with energy use atm, but intend to keep an eye on our usage habits to check we are not paying for gas & electricity unnecessarily. I'm going to start right now by turning the stove down as it is plenty warm enough on a lower setting. 
Hope nobody among our number has begun the week with a grim Monday. Take care now,
F x

amber03

Like you foxgloves we can accommodate a price increase but I am worried about others. Praying that we don’t have a cold spell. Even tho we can pay it I am determined to get the bills down as low as we can possible, which will mean me following my DS around switching off lights, unwatched TVs and videos. I help my other DS and his family by bringing their washing here to dry off, it can feel like a marathon going around switching clothing on the radiators when they are on. In our early days of marriage when money was tight my parents helped us out by doing things like this so I’m carrying it on with my family. 

foxgloves

@amber03 - That's exactly how I feel about getting energy bills down. There isn't any point changing provider atm as they are all affected by these v high wholesale prices. I think ultra-careful use in order to effect an overall reduction in use is the only way to help ourselves at the moment.
F x

foxgloves

Hello Diary readers,
Hope everyone's managed to have at least a passable day today. Mine has been rather dull & routine, but I did receive a call mid-morning from the workman I left a message for & he has a gap next week when he can come & do our tree-work & a couple of similar jobs. No gardening for me today. I am aiming to get out there tomorrow so wanted to clear the decks of domestic tasks today. I've jammed the 3rd batch of sevilles (the free box) I prepped yesterday into marmalade & I can honestly say that if our house is not actually THE current marmalade capital of the village, it must be pretty close. I have sometimes sold the surplus for either myself or charity, but I don't currently have any plans to do so this year. It is useful to take as a host/hostess gift in a nice bag, to add to birthday gifts, Christmas hampers, etc, & just to share with family & friends. I love it on toast myself & also use it in a few recipes as well as to stick marzipan onto cakes as it has a more festive flavour with its splash of orange liqueur than the more usual bought apricot jam. So I don't think there will be any problems getting through our big supply!
What else have I done? Sorted dry laundry, did the ironing & also pressed the border of the wrap I finished knitting last week - looking forward to wearing it. Also made soup for my lunch today & tomorrow plus a portion to freeze & started going through my seedbox. It seems it's already difficult to obtain the variety of tomato I usually like to grow so I will spread my search wider & if I have to try something new, it won't really matter. 
I've done quite a long survey, which I think should pay me £5, but requires some more similar ones in the week, so I must remember to look for them. Keep forgetting Mr F is on leave next week. We are aiming to split our time together between a few trips out & getting garden jobs done. He is built like an ox & very useful with the bigger garden jobs I struggle with because I am nowhere near as strong, so it will be a chance really to move some stuff forward.
Ash was a very brave cat today & came downstairs for his breakfast. He also returned a bit later to eat the rest of it, but found that Soot had just finished it (as well as his own). Soot now likes a lap or a space on the sofa for watching TV in the evening. Ash is too timid for that atm, but does love strokes & a fuss as long as there are no sudden movements. He also likes Dre*mies & will take them from my hands, so I think he is definitely feeling a little braver.
Right, enough of my ramblings. I think I will close all the curtains to keep the heat in & do a few more jobs.
Be cosy,
F x

Sun_Addict

The cats are settling in nicely. Sounds like Ash is coming round gradually. 

Good idea to set Mr F to a few tasks while he’s off. 

What a productive day you’ve had, not dull at all.