Dusty's Frugal Fortnights Return!

dustydigger

sheilavw said:

hi I am a lurker too! I've been on this site since 2009. I come on to this section to read a couple of other threads and spotted this one a few weeks ago. You have been busy moving stuff around!

 

Hi Sheila,and welcome. Here since 2009?Thats impressive. I think beanielou and some others has been around a long time too.You really get attached to a site,dont you?.

I used to belong to a site called shelfari,a fantastic reading and cataloguing our books site,from 2010 and loved it. Then amazOn bought it ,and Goodreads,and then decided it didnt need two similar sites,and closed shelfari down Jan 2016. We were devastated. We adored the layout,functionality and even just the appearance of that site,I have never seen another site as well designedreads. Someone set up a new site called Leafmarks,which was very clunky not very good really,but of course the members from our old site knew each other and we hoped for good things. However after only 6 months the founder couldnt afford to keep it up,and it closed down. Once again hundreds,if not thousands of people had to move. Still didnt like Goodreads,which amazOn turned into just a source of possible bookbuyers. So again we moved,this time to Librarything. And we have been there ever since! Lots of things dont sit too well,and the site is very oldfashioned,hasnt really changed since it opened in 2005.The  site mostly focuses on cataloguing and listing our reads,we old shelfari hands dont get a really strong vibe,people dont comment much. So old shelfari fans have set up some private groups and try to continue on as much as possible in the old way. I run a continuation of a group I ran from 2010 on shelfari,then 6 months on Leafmarks,and since then 6 years on LibraryThing

People get used to and like a certain style,and find change often upsetting.I have been on here since 2017,and have seen some big changes. I thing at lot of Old Stylers have drifted away,which is sad.

Sometimes I feel that this sort of site,which was a big phenomenon in the 2000s is somewhat fading away. People like the Facebooks,the Twitters,the Instagrams,all a much lighter much fluffier type of media style. More people use their phones now instead of a PC,and that type of site is easier to use.But many oldtimers are as active,busy and important to followers as they have ever been

As you may have noticed(!) I like to be chatty and rambling,and trying to do such posts texting would drive me bonkers!So I would like to give my appeciation to all those who plod on,in beanielou's phrase and continue to visit this fantastic site,which can be a lifechanger for many.. We all need a sense of community,especially during these troubling times when social isolation is physically around.And these terrible times of hyperinflation and financial disaster needs such sites badly.

Oh boy another rant!. Off to the kitchen,to do the potatoes. I am making a corned beef pie,and perhaps carrots and cabbage.Will get back into posting later. Achieved quite a lot this morning,with Mr Dusty's help. He is now shattered and is resting. He  usually looks as  fit as a man 20 years younger,and then all of a sudden he runs out of energy and needs a nap!

slm6002

Another lurker here who occasionally says hello but always reading along.  I just had a look and apparently i joined 24th august 2006, so almost my anniversary.  This site has got me through years of debts, my debt management plan, raising 3 children, divorce from nasty XH and becoming a single mum.  It has helped even if my ramblings are read by almost no one.  It's good therapy writing everything down

dustydigger

Have done nothing this afternoon,Mr Dusty has been around watching the Commonwealth Games,and has only just gone to his ''den''

This morning he helped me to pack and take away 10 bags of clothes and books which we will donate to charity. He carried heavy bags two at a time up stairs to dump them on the bedroom floor for nowFirst time in a couple of years the couch has been put back against the wall,we have an extra foot of space in the room

Since he went upstairs I have carefully wrapped up over 30 glasses to go to charity.For now I'll just put the bag - carefully - in the bottom of the empty display cabinet.I just feel too tired to do anything else today,the back is a little sore,and the feet are tender too,I've been on them a lot lately.Tomorrow is the turn of the kitchen,I dont know where to put all the stiuff.I call Mr Dusty a packrat,but when I see all the stuff we have in tthe kitchen I can believe it.Pans and woks,and junk drawer stuff,place mats and all sorts of crockery and drinking glasses. Crockpot and  cutlery and a million other things. Bottles of pop and spare weetabix and crackerbread. Paint tins and carpet shampoo. All packed under and behind the table. That will have to be moved into the middle of the room so the walls can be washed and pepped and decorated. I really wish my impatient son had given us more time

dustydigger

Wow! cant believe its the end of Fru.gal Fortnight #6 today.12 weeks on MSE. Been an often fraught and difficult time,but I am amazed how quickly this two weeks went by.Quite a few no spend days,and thanks to generous gifts of family and friends we had plenty of fruit and veg,plus some fish.I dont need to spend much on those items in this weeks asd@ delivery,but still there were about 8 items whose prices just insanely increased,adding a fiver to the bill,so still I barely scraped in under £60

But did quite well on the savings side. Nice chunk of cash to go to the savings binder. Altogether this fortnight about £90.

Another Frugal Fortnight budget to post tomorrow. Where did the time go? I suppose since I was a little more healthy after my B12 needle a month ago took effect,there has been less major pain,my hands have been in good condition,and I have done quite well,so time went more quickly.

beanielou

Massive congratulations to Laura Muir & Eilish Mcgolgan who have been fantastic.

dustydigger

 Yeah,like mother,like daughter in the McColgan family!

   I always enjoy the commonwealth games,they have a kind of cozy,friendly vibe. They all do their best,but somehow there isnt that streak of ruthlessness and super professionalism that marrs the big competition games. Where else  would lawn bowling be in there with athletics,and hockey with cricket? Such fun. And separating the UK into individual countries allowed more athletes to shine and have a moment of fame.Competition to get in the combined GB team can be very fierce.

I seem to remember a bigger array of sports in the past,years ago,like archery,and shooting.No equestrianism,I suppose it is too elite,not the sort of thing that young people in poor commonwealth countries would get much chance to indulge in!

sheilavw

thanks for the welcome dustydigger. A bit of background. I am widowed (sadly lost my Husband at 59 years old July 2019 to MND) , I have 2 grown up Daughters and a Grandson. I turned 60 in February. I work full time in a busy high school. I also help care for my Brother who has Downs Syndrome. I like to come on here for help and advice, look for deals and just have a read! Apart from when I am away I browse on here once or twice a day!

dustydigger

Phew,quick post before I start work.Aching all over from several consecutive days overdoing it

Will post my new FF budget later. Still pondering when to increase my amount to bank each fortnight from £200 to £250. It will leave £73 for the HBB,which is perfectly good for buying what is needed with cash per fortnight,but is £50 a fortnight less for my savings binder. That makes the Mrs Scrooge in me very disgruntled. If the extra to the bank was there to buy something nice,OK,but just to (partially) pay the increase in my energy bill?Grrrrr.

Work today Take the toy box ,puzzles,games etc etc upstairs.My son's weights which were behind the couch,with a million other things will have to go outside as Mr Dusty refuses to carry them upstairs,and I would have to to take them one at a time. I go upstairs one step at a time. One step up,bring other foot up beside it,while holding the rail. That leaves one hand to carry one weight at a time. Outside they go! That finishes emptying the livingroom,then theres the nightmare of the kitchen Aarrgghh!!

Anyway,my breakfast is digested,I've had a little est,and now its time to buckle down. Later,alligators.

dustydigger

Oh dear,never got back to you yesterday,just was too busy,and my body has just got slower and slower,more and more fatigued.A few minutes is all you can do before needing a break,and seeing all the stuff still to be done is very upsetting. I did all the sittingroom,was very pleased,but now there are boxes and bags stacked everyway,brought out of the kitchen,because I didnt know where to put them. There is literally not an inch of space in the cupboards.

 I am just going to move the light bags upstairs,and all the other stuff,including boxes of crockery.,bottles of pop etc on the yard. Already stacked some there,plus all the stuff for a scrap merchant if I can find one.

For now must move stuff off the kitchen surfaces,so I can cover them with all the stuff from my asd@ delivery in an hours' time .Oh dear,I have been stocking up on non perishables etc for when my energy costs go up insanely in September.I think most of my delivery will need to be put in bagson the yard,just no room in the cupboards. I do wish DS1 wasnt so impatient,had given me a couple of weeks to think and prepare.,but he says he is travelling for several weeks for work,training and accrediting gas fitters,or inspection various facilities  for safetyall over Scotland,Wiltshire,and all points east and west. I wanted to leave it till next year but he's worried about the mould,so it has to be now.

Well must make a start,despite aching all over,to make space for the groceries.Think my son is coming after lunch,so basically I have 4 hours to unpack groceries,empty kitchen,cook dinner,and mop floor. Easy-peasy!

Oops,forgot I have to take down all my ornaments and pictures on the walsl. The bedrooms will look even more like the Steptoes house!Mr D has been carrying stuff upstairs for days.He's just taken even more of GD6s toys up,and I will need him to take a very heavy box of crockery to reside on the yard for a few days.

By the way,DS1 is prepping cleaning and stripping the mould stricken wall today.He is just going to paint the whole thing white. But I dont have gloss paint yet has to be got today.All my plans or should I say dithering about colour schemes etc have gone by the board,we are going to be as white as a morgue.

Damn,its no fun being an invalid. I did all the decorating over the decades in this house,papering,painting. Once I could no longer climb ladders because of my knees,my home has gone to bits. its heartbreaking.

Anyway I'm off to move stuff  to make way for more stuff from asd@!

slm6002

I hope you get everything done in time and if not perhaps DS can help with the last few bits?