Put away your purse & become debt-averse

foxgloves

How lovely to come on here with my coffee & read all your memories about growing up in the 1970s. Re Monty Python - yes, lol, I can't pretend that I grew up in an old crate in the middle of the motorway as money-wise, we were a pretty standard middle-class family. We had central heating from 1971, but before that when I was very young & we lived in RAF quarters, I can only recall a coal fire....that may be my memory though. It had a funny little compartment at the back of the grate where I used to leave my letter to Father Christmas. 
@Tescodealqueen - I don't think it's just your Yorkshire-ness......I have never met anyone more frugal than my Nana & she was Suffolk born & bred. It was just the times she'd lived through. She used to be aghast at my ability to burn my way through money. She'd have been utterly horrified if she'd known how much debt Mr F & I accrued before our reformation, but she died 5 or 6 years before we met. 
@marionmgcars - Thanks. The colourwork chart certainly showed that I am long overdue some new glasses. I agree it's good to challenge ourselves with more difficult projects now & again.
@2Scratters - They do find the best spots, don't they? Ash likes to go on the sunny lounge windowsill with his front legs dangling down over the radiator.
F

foxgloves

Afternoon Frugal Diary Friends,
Well, the key thing today is that it will be an absolutely no-spend day, so that's a start.
My free exercise this morning was cleaning the house top to bottom. Plugged our vacuum in to charge first thing & the lights started flashing in an unusual sequence I hadn't seen before. It's quite new, so my first thought was that it'd be going back for a replacement, but I went to check the manual in case it was something I could sort out myself & there in black & white was the answer: Top & bottom light flashing = Suboptimal temperature for charging battery!! Or in plain English - "Your house is too cold, Missis!" Brought it into kitchen & it righted itself within a few minutes. Thermostat when I got up at 5.48 this morning said "15 degrees". I think it had dropped a little below that overnight as the setting changed automatically, as usual, to 18 deg at 6am, but by 9.02 when I popped in the utility room to check the smart monitor, it was already at £4.47. At two minutes past nine!!! I think it must have come on during the night to reach that kind of cost so early. Our lawn is still completely frosted but the sun is streaming through the front windows & I know that always makes a difference to room temperatures, so hopefully the boiler will be triggered less frequently this afternoon. 
Other stuff, very low-key & old-style - Packed wrapped Christmas cake away in the pantry ready for marzipan-day, did a small amount of budget admin & some surveys. Had a really good piano practice session - I don't know if it's biological clock or bio-rhythms or what, but it is very noticeable that my best practice sessions, where I make the most progress, are mid-morning. There must be something about that 10.00 - 11.00 window which maximises brain/eye/fingers co-ordination, idk. While I was looking for a new piece to learn, I realised how much of my music has come from our local charity book shop for very small amounts of money - mostly 50p to £1.99. Music scores can be quite expensive, so I regularly have a look to see if there's anything suitable.
I've written a list of everything we can usefully do in town tomorrow, when there is also a festive market on, so it should be nice. Most of what we need is household stuff & a few inexpensive refills from the eco shop.
This afternoon, I am going to test a festive recipe - pecan snowball cookies - a recipe I found in a magazine, but have never made. The suggestion was that they look nice gifted in a glass jar, although I am wanting to make a batch to serve with coffee on Christmas Eve when our guests arrive. Mr F has already said that he'll be happy to assist with the testing, however they turn out - no surprise there!
So, I shall leave you to your day & go & put my pinny on & start weighing ingredients & lining my baking trays.
Love F x

Makingabobor2

Have fun with your baking. You certainly do pack a lot into your day. 

foxgloves

I did have fun, @Makingabobor2. I've got some in a glass jar as suggested & the rest will go in Mr F....sorry, I meant in a tin, so I can see how well they keep.

Makingabobor2

They look good

marionmgcars

Oh they look scrumptious, and such a treat for your family arriving.  

Sun_Addict

They look rather delicious 😋 Hide them from Mr F 🤣

ladyholly

My first experience of central heating waswhen dad was posted to Germany in 1960 - 62 where we had a huge boiler in the cellar, then none until 1968 when my parents bought their first house. None again when we moved to Lancashire in 1969 until we bought our first home in 1979. We got married in 73 but only had a coal fire until then.

I wish I got as much done in a day as you do but I never seem to do much these days - poor breathing, aching limbs and lack of will.I am not sure which is the most debilitating. Cooking fancy things would be a waste of time as Mr LH wouldnt eat them. He left half his dinner tonight and is eating very little in general at the moment.

foxgloves

Have just found a v similar recipe for the snowball cookies in the latest edition of Waitr*se's free weekend paper, so maybe they are a 'thing', idk. They certainly look & taste v Christmassy & are not too big, so would be a perfect accompaniment on a saucer with a cup of coffee. My recipe is from an old Sainso's mag.

 @ladyholly - The physical symptoms you describe are just how my Mum was - I think I've mentioned that she also had myaesthenia - she was diagnosed at the age of 65. She was always better on her 'steroid day' - she had to take them on alternate days. On the in between days, her muscles were not as good. And on the rare occasion she forgot to take her steroid, the difference was very noticeable. You do very well to be as active as you are. Your love of dogs probably helps keep you fit because of the walking.
F x

ladyholly

foxgloves said:

 @ladyholly - The physical symptoms you describe are just how my Mum was - I think I've mentioned that she also had myaesthenia - she was diagnosed at the age of 65. She was always better on her 'steroid day' - she had to take them on alternate days. On the in between days, her muscles were not as good. And on the rare occasion she forgot to take her steroid, the difference was very noticeable. You do very well to be as active as you are. Your love of dogs probably helps keep you fit because of the walking.
F x

Thank you. I would possibly be better if I gave in to the neuro and had steroids but the side effects can be horrible and I am more than
fat enough so for as long as i can I will continue as I am even with the limitations. I do go out with the dog 2 or 3 times a day and although the walks are not that long it does keep me going. Our new dog is exhausting to walk at the moment but hopefully that will improve fairly quickly as he is a clever dog.