Dusty's Frugal Fortnights Return!

dustydigger

Hi MrsCD,good to see you,when not lurking! I'll keep it in mind......

You are not really a lurker,because you regularly give me a ''thank you''

Thank you to all the people who kindly give me a thumbs up,so that I am reassured that I am not yelling in the wilderness

We have now reached 500 plus  posts,though of course the majority of those posts is only me yapping,but I do appreciate it when someone does answer.

Fizz2015

Hello @dustydigger. I'm delurking to say hello 👋, I have been following your thread for a while. Your posts make me smile and chuckle, even with your pains, life stresses and Mr Dustydigger you have an inner strength to carry on amd persevere.  

I am a fellow book lover but tend to read easy fictional novels for escapism. 

Hope you can barter them down on the house insurance quote.

Fizz x

dustydigger

Hi Fizz,nice that I have SOME use in life,giving folks a chuckle

I read a lot of science fiction,urban fantasy,junior classics,some crime (but not much,I dislike the modern crime genre). The only genres I avoid really are erotica and war and very violent books.. Not too keen on political thrillers either,or historical novels

. I have 4600 books listed as read on my LibraryThing  bookshelf,from many genres altogether,but now I am an old wrinklie I am reading much more fluff,light stuff. Most literary fiction is just too depressing or focused on characters or topics I dont really want to read about. Since my eyes became a bit dodgy - already been waiting at least 4 months to hear of a consult at the eye hospital. Could be more than a year - my reading has gone down a lot,but I managed to read 13 books in August. used to read 15-18,

Every month I do various challenges,such as the new Boardgame challenge. Also my classic childrens book challenge,and various reads for my SF site. I have posted a short TBR for September,as last month I left an awful lot of my TBR list unread due to real life issues.I have carried forward several from last month,and have others which I will add if I get through my basic list quickly.

Its an odd list,3 old classic Sf from the 40s to 60s,a couple of urban fantasy,a children's classic,a C S Lewis non fiction book,The Problem of Pain, an Aubrey Beardsley book of essays with his beautiful decadent drawings - and even a comic book!

One of my challenges for the year is read a book by an author from every letter of the alphabet,plus a book with titles ditto. I have completed A-Z of authors,and have only the letter U and X left for the titles - hence the Beardsley Under the Hill and an X Man graphic novel Another week and I should be finished the whole challenge. We have some readers in the group who read 20-30 books a month,and they  finished the challenge yonks ago. I am trailing in the dust.:0) 12 years ago I was reading 25 books a month,but I had no computer or online places to chat in like today,I spent all my time reading. Still manage at least 3 hours a day,but in small segments to rest my eyes,and often much shorter reads. My reading speed then was about 40 pages an hour,now its around 25,it takes much longer to read a book.

dustydigger

Wow! No less than TEN people gave a thumbs up to my earlier post. Awesome!

dustydigger

One of my charities each month is Wateraid,I donate £5 a month,but tonight they got in touch really begging for help for the poor people of Pakistan,where a third of the land is underwater,crops ruined,homes destroyed,belongings washed away.I donated £5 but couldnt afford more as I have all those family birthdays and insurance on my plate already.Next month has no birthdays or extra bills,so I'll see what I can do then.

Right,I am off to bed now. All I did today was a load of washing,cooking lamb,and mostly dozing off all the time.

Had intended to attempt some of the Ninja Turtles plans,but  no soap. Here's hoping for a more productive day tomorrow.

dustydigger

got off to a good start washing bedding,but couldnt believe the heat when I was hanging it out. My computer shows local temps as 15 C,it felt more like 22C to me. The sun was burning my head off!

Very interesting,but extremely annoying and frustrating info on my Scottish Power page. I am always poring over my figures and have a vague sort of idea on their level. My old fixed tariff ended on 31st,I am now paying on the £1970 plus SVT for September.It was annoying yesterday when all data was wmissing,it has returned today completely changed. I have all the data from 2020 onwards ,daily and monthly.when I got the smart meter put in.Lo and behold,they have kept the correct usage figures,but have replaced  the costs with the SVT - all the way back!

August  MY figures showed I paid £56 something,and in July  around £59 something. Very pleased,these are my lowest figures ever in the 2020-2022 data.Today SP website show my cost in Aug was £96.81 and £101.42 in July.

I know January,worst month of the year cost me £128. I was quite pleased with that ,as it was only one of two months where the cost was higher than my £106 fixed rate price. Now the figures show I £232 worth of energy.It may make comparisons over years possible,but it will be a pain having to locate online bills to see actual amounts paid. Changing all the costs all the way back does a brilliant job of hiding the horrendous actual rises in prices. Not at all amused.

dustydigger

Huh,all that has totally diverted me from household stuff I had it in mind to do. OK,a few chores:

+Hoover the sittingroom,its a sight because my back has been too dodgy to risk bending over. For some reason my cylinder hoover was made for a midget,the handle is quite short. I am not super tall,only 5ft 6in,but I have to really bend over when using it!

+Mop  the kitchen floor.its gross. 2 weeks of not being well has made it a disaster zone.

+ Move the microwave and clean up all those crumbs etc which have accumulated.

+AND clean the microwave itself.

+ and clean the tabletop oven too. I know,it should be done after every use,but often by time it has cooled enough after making dinner,I just want to snooze! I would definitely be cast in the role of Sleepy in Snow White.

+ do the roasties and veg. Fortunately I still have some lamb left for Mr Dusty's dinner,havent a clue what he'll have for supper!

All that will take up the whole morning as I am slow and need frequent breaks. 5 mins on,5 mins off (or 10minsoff if back hurts, .and if I happen to start reading,20 mins off!)

--------------------

Mr Dusty has been here for a while,had to rush and do veg quickly. Got carpet hoovered,and swept floor,but am now in kitchen using microwave and oven for cooking,so no mopping,or cleaning ovens.Morning has got away from me as ever.!

dustydigger

What I will/ MUST do is clean this computer screen. Its manky!

Looked at my phone,SP is showing energy usage there,but no prices in sight!

dreaming

dustydigger said:

 Since my eyes became a bit dodgy - already been waiting at least 4 months to hear of a consult at the eye hospital. Could be more than a year - my reading has gone down a lot,but I managed to read 13 books in August. used to read 15-18,

I have had problems with one eye and it has affected my reading too, plus driving (which I have had to completely stop for now) and even walking can be a bit dodgy as I have so little depth perception. I was told in May that I would be put on the list for for an operation and the doctor airily said it would be 2-3 months. I rang yesterday to see if they could give me any indication and was told it is likely to be in October. Apparently the hospital lost a lot of their facilities due to various problems so everything was pushed back, or I would be having it this month. On the one hand I am pleased that it is not too much longer, but on the other I am very nervous about it. I'm not normally a squeamish person at all but there is something about eyes that really makes me shudder - and of course I won't even be able to turn away and not look! I'm trying to be grown-up about it (I'm 67) and concentrate on the benefits it will bring if successful but sort of wish it could be done under general anaesthetic. Or if they said "come and have it now" I would probably be ok but too much time to think (overthink) is not a good thing. I hope you get news of your treatment soon.

gran3

Dusty, I admire your fortitude in the face of Mr D. Lol.  You manage so well with your health issues and all the other stuff going on.  I'm sure I would have a meltdown by now but then it still has to be faced. Look after yourself and not just others. xx