Put away your purse & become debt-averse

foxgloves

Morning Campers!
Soot & Ash say thank-you for all your nice comments. They are both lovely friendly boys. Ash, who was probably dumped as a big kitten during Lockdown & was living rough is still terribly nervous of other people, but he's very cuddly with us. Soot loves a fuss & is interested in everything. The Rescue charity said he hadn't 'a bad bone in his body' & they were right!
BTW @Whatlifeis, you wouldn't think that if you saw our garden now! It is packed with weeds but the earth has been too dry & compacted to get on top of the job. Raining today though, so hopefully I can get some serious weeding/clearing done soon.
Well, the invalid was feeling much better by last night, which is just as well as he's had to go into work this morning to cover for an absence in his team. Both my planned Annoying Jobs were garden-based today but have been postponed due to rain. Instead I have had a useful ferret through the contents of both freezers to assess them for available space. I do quite a lot of batch cooking this time of year while our garden produce is at its peak, as well as simply prepping & freezing things like beans, blackberries, rhubarb, etc. I've also decided which tomato chutneys I'm going to make this year & checked through pantry stores to make sure I am aware of use-it-ups rather than simply buying the entire ingredients afresh. Worth doing, as we've definitely more of them in stock than I anticipated. I'm not intending to do any garden pickings today, will leave the plants to enjoy the (so far) constant drizzle & do pickings tomorrow.
Have got the coffee machine primed but I am also waiting for supermarket delivery & I know that the moment I pick up the jug & pour my piping hot mug of caffiene loveliness, there will be a knock at the door & groceries to bring in & put away. We don't have substitutions so will need to pick up a packet of rolls & (horrors!) a box of cat meat as both have been flagged up as missing as none in stock. 
Well, still no door knock, so I think I will see if I can do a survey or two while I'm waiting.
Enjoy your weekends all,
F x

foxgloves

@Deni_debt-free_dreamer - I think it was sensible to take that dress back if it didn't suit you. Also re the blanket, I think there's a bit of a temptation in charity shops to think 'Oh it's a charity shop, it's only £x' & buy it, but even at a few £££s each item, it can soon add up, especially for people who really enjoy charity shop hunting as a hobby. I shall have to be careful re the cermaic pot holders I intend to start hunting for. I don't want to buy one because it's pretty then it's the wrong size so therefore doesn't solve the need I currently have. Tempting though, when confronted with bargains......a bit like my old Spendy Era sale rail habit.
F x

foxgloves

Checkiing-in to say I've been keeping the stepped-up frugal faith.  Hello Sunday Savers - a pleasant low-key day here. Raining this morning so chose our wet weather option, which was my favourite garden centre. Very restrained. Yes, we did frequent the cafe, but we shared a scone which saved £2.95. I only bought the items on my list - plant food, 2 packets of rocket seed (I get better results from a later sowing) & some nice sweeties to add to my sister's birthday box. Pleased I remembered to check my seed box before we went as I actually already had 2 of the packs I'd intended to buy, plus I found some forgotten-about parsley seeds which I will definitely sow this week. There followed a small petrol saga - On way out of garden centre, we passed a petrol station with unleaded at 177.9 There is another one opposite & that was advertising 178.9. Well, Mr F needed petrol for getting to work this week so he was about to swing in & fill up when we remembered that a big supermarket chain (the only supermarket petrol in our town) was supposed to be dropping its price of unleaded significantly, so he decided he'd swing by town on our way home. He got there & there were so many cars filling up that the queue was blocking quite a big road - we only sat in it for a very short time, however, as by the time we'd moved up 2 car-lengths, the price board became visible - £183.7 !! So much for having the cheapest petrol & supposed big reduction! Well, he went off on one & said he wasn't staying in this stupid dangerous queue to pay 6p a litre more. As we were in town, I suggested we go to Waitr*se so I could pop in for a few preserving ingredients (ready for tomatogeddon) & he could look at the petrol price there, which turned out to be £!78.3, so he was all sunny smiles again by the time I came out with my demerara sugar, beer & sultanas! I bought an extra couple of beers for the presents stash as I found one we only ever seem to find when we're on holiday in East Anglia on offer 2 bottles for £3. B-in-L & Mr F's B-in-L always have a couple of nice real ales in their present bags so I felt I couldn't leave them there at that price (probably more about December C-word from me this week or next).
Today's garden pickings: 2 aubergines, 1.5kg tomatoes, 4 courgettes, french beans, chillies & chard. Oh rats...forgot to go back with a yoghurt pot & collect blackberries.....will do that as soon as I sign off.
Annoying jobs: 1 (Weeded jungle beetroot bed, uncovered it as leaves now not vulnerable to sparrow attack & packed the hoops & mesh away) It seems particularly satisfying when it's a job that's needed attention for ages.
Money stuff: Had a useful conversation on way to garden centre about our subscriptions (the annual pass variety) & which would theoretically be first to drop off the list if we need to divert funds elsewhere to pay future energy bill costs. Didn't come to any conclusions but I'm glad I put the subject out there,
Mr F has just fed all the veg & has put a chicken in to roast so there's nothing more for me to do other than fetch those blackberries in to add to my freezer container & find a new book to start tonight. Just finished 'The Doll' - 5th in an Icelandic crime series by Yrsa Sigurdardottir - I think it was the best of the series so far, couldn't put it down!
Enjoy your evenings all,
F x

DawnW

Envious of your rain @foxgloves. We haven't had any for ages, and the water authority next to ours has announced a hosepipe ban, so it is only a matter of time before ours does as well.

amber03

My DH is like that over petrol prices. Tho he is right in saying, people are getting excited about the drop in prices but it has a long way to go to get back to where it was before the dramatic increase. 

foxgloves

@DawnW - It's certainly not the sustained heavy rain we (& farmers) need, but a few good periods of drizzly stuff has helped revive the garden a little. Hosepipe bans seen inevitable, though parts of the north may avoid them.

@amber03 - Yes, you make a good point there.....we get excited about a reduction of 2p a litre, but it's not all that long ago that we were appalled fuel had reached 140, so prices have much further to fall before we should be smiling. Just been reading that petrol prices in some European countries are 20p per litre lower than ours in the UK. There's profiteering going on somewhere, I feel sure.
F

ladyholly

The duty and VAT on fuel is lower in many European countries and the exchange rate from £ to $ (I think oil is paid for in dollars) has fallen. Having said that I am sure a certain amount of profiteering is going on and not just on fuel.

foxgloves

I think so too @ladyholly - ever increasing shareholder profit is the bedrock of capitalism after all. I strongly suspect that high inflation is being used to mask quite a lot of exploitative price hiking.
F

Baileys_Babe

foxgloves said:

I think so too @ladyholly - ever increasing shareholder profit is the bedrock of capitalism after all. I strongly suspect that high inflation is being used to mask quite a lot of exploitative price hiking.
F

This echoes the sentiment of most people I speak to in RL ☹️

Blackcats

Gorgeous cat photos.  As you might guess from my name I have 2 of the soot variety - one has a fat face and the other a thin face so they are easy to tell apart except for when they do synchronised swirling around my legs when pestering for food.  Then it's just a blur of black furry legs and tails.  

I'm surprised that no-one enquired further about the peanut butter down your bra incident.  We are either very polite or not much surprises us on your diary anymore 🤷‍♀️