2022 Fashion On The Ration Challenge

Laura_Elsewhere

Oh, welcome, @OldWomanWhoLivesInAShoe - I must say, it's nice having a family living in that shoe again. It looked so sad, being an empty shoe after the last lot moved away...

I can see why you chose your name, but what shall we call you for short? I can't go round calling you "Old Woman"! 

It sounds like you must have lived in a village like this before, as you're right up to speed and fitting in splendidly - and if you leave the jam in the kitchen, and the scones I think will go in this tin, yes, just pop them in there out of the way of the dog, and I should think when word gets round of scones AND jam we'll be inundated this afternoon for teatime!

PollyWollyDoodle

Oh yes please, and welcome to the village hall. We don’t have many families with children in the group, as far as I know, so it’s going to be interesting to hear how you spend their rations. It sounds as if you’ll be able to give us some useful tips.

I love the story of the dresses. My great niece was a year old last week and my sister and I were reminiscing about two lovely little smocked dresses that were passed down the family. I think they were pink and yellow or perhaps yellow and green, pastel colours anyway, with smocking on the bodices. There’s a photo of my sisters wearing them, aged about seven and five, and then I wore them in succession.  They are long gone, but I was wondering if I could re-create one of them.

OldWomanWhoLivesInAShoe

Ooh thank you, I already think I will fit in quite nicely here in the Borrow.

I think I'll stick with Mrs O for he sake of continuity and anonymity. This is my first breach into the modern world. As a family we have no social media or online whatnots, although I must admit to being a big browser of a certain site for PINspiration purposes.

I've just joined the grocery challenge and hope to do something along the lines of a declutter. The shoe is temporary, see that nice 3 bed that needs a bit of work at the top end of the village? We've gone and ruddy bought the thing without a mortgage! There is still other debt to pay off and plenty more that we need to do to save money but I would like the last few months in the shoe to be as active as possible.

I have 3 pairs of trousers to mend this week but they will all be visible mends, so I have taken on board the previous posts (yes I read ALL 29 PAGES!) And have just purchased a single pair of the 50% merino wool snag tights in a nice neutral Ish colour so I can give more time to my mends and re-employ some of my lovely skirts without freezing my unmentionables off!

Fizz2015

Welcome Mrs O. 

I have spends to declare after hitting JL at the weekend (so much for not buying clothes), had some amazing bargains for DD, usually wouldn't step foot in there but pleasantly surprised and good quality. All will be passed on to family once she outgrows them. So will tot up what we are keeping and do yet another sort out of the outgrown clothes. Also bought 2 tops for myself, so will make a decision about whether to keep or not before declaring.

Cherryfudge

Delighted to meet you Mrs O, I hope you'll all settle in and feel at home in no time!

And there was I thinking the shoe looked happy to be lived in! It's super-exciting you having taken on the empty house at the top of the village, I assume you are doing work before you move in, or are you going to work around the children? When it all gets a bit much please do drop into the hall and tell us how it's going.

These scones are such a treat too! Thank you for sharing your fat and sugar with us, makes them doubly good.

How lovely to have dresses handed down through all those generations. I remember as a small child having blue and a green dresses both with daisies on, and as far as I remember a white pinafore to go over them. We didn't find them when we cleared my parents' house so I don't know what became of them, but by the time my little grand daughter is a toddler, I'd like to be able to make something similar for her.

OldWomanWhoLivesInAShoe

Oh I do like it here.

The shoe is rented, we're staying here until the last GCSE exam for our eldest, the house at he top of the village is still early days, we have had our offer accepted and  handed Over all the information to the solicitor. Just waiting now for contract and completion dates and we are down to business! Short term we need a double garage built, longer term we are aiming for 2 extensions and a conservatory (don't tell the warden but we have 5 rather large dogs here, I know most people got rid of their animals at the start of the war but they are as much a part of the family as the children and I just couldn't. So we make it work!)

Have been doing my research, the children begin at 66 with the rest of us but are allocated an extra 10 each due to growing, although how much father up my 6'1" 14 year old can grow I don't know!

Love the description of your dressed Cherryfudge, I have a couple of pinafores for the top of DD3(5)'s dresses, I think I would love to try and make another. My skillset is very poor when it comes to craft, I'm happiest in the kitchen...

Cherryfudge

Fizz2015 said:

Welcome Mrs O. 

I have spends to declare after hitting JL at the weekend (so much for not buying clothes), had some amazing bargains for DD, usually wouldn't step foot in there but pleasantly surprised and good quality. All will be passed on to family once she outgrows them. So will tot up what we are keeping and do yet another sort out of the outgrown clothes. Also bought 2 tops for myself, so will make a decision about whether to keep or not before declaring.

Remember the children's things come out of the children's coupons, Fizz! GDG's layette has just benefitted from sales as well...

OldWomanWhoLivesInAShoe said:

I have a couple of pinafores for the top of DD3(5)'s dresses, I think I would love to try and make another. My skillset is very poor when it comes to craft, I'm happiest in the kitchen...

Me too but this is resolved to be the year I win the battle of the sewing machine...

I am sure no one will say anything about the dogs, you could train them to be on the look out for parachutes.

PipneyJane

Welcome Mrs O @OldWomanWhoLivesInAShoe

So sweet of you to bring along scones and jam.  Please tell us more about your food ration experiments. I have been tempted but would have to find a grocer who would be happy to issue a whole month's coupons' worth of food in one go and then manage on that.  (There's only two of us and, until Lockdown-walks-to-Lidl became a thing, I rarely shopped more than once or twice a month for food.  Now, it's maybe once a week.)

- Pip

PollyWollyDoodle

You might remember there was some talk of chocolate/sweet rations earlier in the thread. I counted up all my Christmas chocolate, and so far (four weeks) I have managed to stick to it, mainly by just not eating any chocolate at all! The weekly ration of 3 oz or 85g adds up to about four Lind*r truffles or similar. I began with some “stocking filler“ size packets so it’s been quite easy to limit it.

I’m now facing the challenge of opening a 250g bag of Lebkuchen and not eating the lot, let alone the Hotel Choc box that I received. I imagine that most people saved up their 12 ounces over four weeks and had it in quite a short time, so perhaps that’s what I need to do. It’s helping with the weight loss anyway. 

CapricornLass

Welcome to Mrs O!  

Maybe 14 year old will start growing outwards?  My eldest son always grew up first, and then he fattened out.  Just to be perverse, youngest son was the other way round.