Champagne Lifestyle on a Lemonade Budget - 2021

Siebrie

It's 9 weeks of summer break here in Belgium. I normally work fulltime, and have opted to take two full weeks off in the middle, and all afternoons off for the rest. Dds are at home, they were not interested in any summercamps, which are a big thing in Belgium. They just want a break from all the social work of being in a group.

Budgetwise: I have explained to dds that due to our renovation we have to take care of the pennies, so we only have €5 per day to spend on extras. We can save this up, and use it to go somewhere or buy something more expensive. So, yesterday they wanted to go to a trampoline park, and a friend came along. I made them prepare waterbottles and an apple, and said we wouldn't buy anything there; friend was informed of this as well, although she was of course free to buy something if she wanted to. She did, dds asked, but only once, and continued jumping without moping. I count that as a win. They had the whole park to themselves, which was such a bonus!

sugarbaby125

Happy belated birthday Helen.  Happy 4th birthday to your grandson. I hope he really enjoys his birthday party in your home. 

Great news on the house front 

Phoebe your husband really found a great bargain with those bamboo plants 

sugarbaby125

My Champagne moments yesterday:

I went to see the film ELVIS at my local Picturehouse cinema, which is the Ritzy in Brixton, in the afternoon. I had used £3 of my Tesco clubcard vouchers and exchanged them for a £10.50 Picturehouse voucher, so I only had to add another 30p in cash to purchase my cinema ticket. 

ELVIS was a complete delight for me. I have always been an Elvis fan and Austin Butler gives an outstanding performance as Elvis Presley. The only way this film could have been even better for me, is if it had been longer. I absolutely loved every single minute of this film. For me it is a 10/10     

I bought 2 Nike outfits from Sports Direct online for my Great-granddaughter as both had been reduced by 90% of the original selling price saving me just under £50 

sugarbaby125

My Champagne moments today:

I went to see the play Evelyn at the Southwark Playhouse this afternoon with my daughter. We both enjoyed the play, but she enjoyed it even more than I did.    It was lovely having my daughter's company as I watched the play.   I only paid £7.50 for both of our tickets when they would have cost £18 for my ticket with the discount for me being disabled and £22 for my daughter's ticket, so I made a good saving. As it was so hot outside, I really welcomed the air conditioning in the theatre.     

liberty_lily

My champagne moments -

I still can't believe that the structural beams are finally in situ and the acrows down! It's taken a whopping nine months from when we first removed the wall between snug and old extension/supported the weight above with the acrows 😯 We still have to make good the surrounding walls but it does feel like the end (of that mini project) is in sight at last! Can't wait to get on with the rest of the space now.

On Sunday morning DH dragged himself off to a carboot sale, returning with a decent sized trachycarpus for the jungley area of the garden....£20 😁

In the afternoon we found a bit of time for Pimms and tennis and on Saturday night we had the first BBQ of the year 😀 

It's another scorcher today but I've stuff to do in the  - shady part - of the garden. If it gets too unbearable I'll go inside and do some more work on my little piece of art for the kitchen!

helensbiggestfan

Good Morning my lovely friends.  

Wow.  Phoebe Those bamboo plants were a great bargain and as for SUgarbaby and all your theatre and cinema tickets at bargain basement prices.  Fantastic,  it's ages since I've been to the cinema or theatre,  never mind, once I've moved I shall be out there again.  

My grandsons birthday bash was fabulous, the children had a whale of a time.  And it was nice to see the adults lounging around, eating, drinking and chatting,   I was exhausted afterwards but It was happy tiredness.  

Currently waiting for my trusty gas fitter to come and service the gas fire.  Chimneys have already been swept,  just getting everything ready either for winter or for the move, whichever happens first. I have just filled a bag for the clothes collection people.  Probably got several more to go.  Also need to start on the  Loft.  😱🤣. I am being ruthless, no more saving things for "Justin" (Case). Lol. 

Feeling a bit mithered with the heat, it's very sultry here. 

helensbiggestfan

Think we need some rain......

helensbiggestfan

Just lying on my bed, staying cool, being lazy, conserving my energy.  

liberty_lily

helensbiggestfan said:

Just lying on my bed, staying cool, being lazy, conserving my energy.  

I don't blame you, Helen, it's definitely scorchio and going to get hotter ☀️🌞☀️ 

We did have a few very light showers yesterday but back to wall-to-wall sunshine today.

Yesterday's champagne moments were garden related - I did more cutting back, then helped DH with chopping logs in the evening - these were small(ish) fallen trees that were already down when we viewed the property four and a half years ago, so should be nicely seasoned by the time we use them in the wood burners...and a good saving on fuel costs 😀

Today, between shifting the logs and doing more work on the kitchen art, I've been taking frequent breaks relaxing in the egg chair (which is now situated in dappled shade 😎) with lots of cold drinks and a favourite book (A S Byatt's 'The Children's Book'). The dogs are lethargic and reluctant to go for a walk, so it must be hot!!! 

The garden is still looking fairly green here, although we don't really have a lawn as such , mainly due to a conscious decision to have more planting and also due to one of our dogs being a digger 🙄

David Austin 'Grace' (a reduced bargain last year!)...

A bevy of blooms on David Austin 'Lady Emma Hamilton'...

A glimpse of a tidy corner (!) in the courtyard...

MrsPorridge

Been very hot here too - and we normally have very windy weather.  My lawn is feeling very crispy underfoot