Dusty's Frugal Fortnights Return!

dustydigger

Morning all. End of the official mourning for the Queen,but the royals are having another week of private mourning,which is a wise decision. What a strain being viewed continually by the whole world.Doubt if poor Charles will get any peace. I suppose he was given a new red box for the state papers each day,with CR on it instead of ER,but it must be a poignant thing. Today I am sure he is meeting with many royal relatives etc.

Depressed myself last night using google images to learn more about the crypt of St George's Chapel. EEK. It could certainly be used as a setting in a horror film..In not so much a room but an alcove there is a tiny table(altar?) with a really worn out dusty looking carpet in front. King George VI and the Queen Mother are under an obsidian stone on the floor,difficult to walk through without standing on it. I know they are bringing Price Philip out from wherever they shelved him,(yes,literally shelved,look at the pics) Are they intending to put them under the floor as well in a similar alcove?

dustydigger

Right,trying to get back to normal. Asd@ delivery due this morning,lowest spend for months,since I am deferring stocking up for now,all the cupboards are full.Must tidy up the kitchen before the driver arrives.After unpacking I need to mop the fkitchen floor  and hoover. Expecting GD1 and the twins today,and  and they crawl around and play everywhere,and want to put anything lying around in their mouths.

Was too stiff this A.M. to wash my hair,so as soon as delivery is over will do so,then its dinner. Still lots of lamb left,will make it for dinner then freeze the rest,because DS1 gave us money for a chinese,that will be the next 3 meals for both of us sorted. That saves me a lot of money!

Later I will post this new fortnight's budget. Mr Dusty has gone off to town to collect our usual fortnight's ''pay'' as we call it. Now putting £250 into my bank account for bills and online purchases.

OK,off to the kitchen to tidy and mop then wait for delivery. Later,gators

dustydigger

Morning all. Looking at what I wanted to do yesterday I see I did almost none of my tasks! After sorting asd@ delivery,which didnt come till 11.10 am,usually about 10 am, I had to get on with dinner,then Mr D was around all afternoon asking me for help with his phone. You explain something today,he forgets it tomorrow. :/Then it was helping with his football,. etc etc etc. Never did get the hoovering done,so just as well GD1 didnt come after all. She had to go into work,normally she works from home.Shoulder was hurting so didnt wash my hair,Mr D being therre demanding attention kept me from concentrating on my budget,so that was a bust too.Time just seems to gallop by now. Cant focus much,but I know I'm coming to the end of my B12 3 months period,next needle due 3rd Oct,so hope it will be more effective than the present jab was,I havent felt really focused mentally the whole time..

Some good health things though,the warm weather has meant much less pain in my handsand shoulders. Fingers are the straightest for a long time,so can type,when Mr D isnt clamouring for attention.

Did doze off yesterday afternoon around 6pm for well over an hour,and woke up absolutely freezing,my nose was literally dripping,my teeth were chattering. I dont do well with the cold. I had had the heating on several times in the day at Mr Ds behest,but now the house was quite cold. Our sittingroom is north facing,we never get any sun in there,and we always called it The Morgue it is so dark and cold without heating.So begrudgingly I will have to start using the heating more. But this long hot summer was a godsend. I used 1000KW less this summer than last. That would have been great if they hadnt increased the cost two and a half times,even with govt help. Oh well,every little helps

So finally washed my hair this morning.Off now to FINALLY mop kitchen floor and wash benches. The days of clear benches seem lost in the past now,things are being stored on table and countertops 'cos there's no room in the cupboards at all.

I'll be back to do my budget soon I hope. Mr D has gone off to his ''den'',but want to bet when I have finished in the kitchen and am about to settle down with my budget he will pop up wanting a cup of tea,help using his tablet,needing me to google some subject or other,or just generally be a nuisance

dustydigger

OK,washed up,put away dishes, cleaned benches,washed ceramic hob,which was yucky,certainly deserved a good clean,and generally did a nice tidy up. Back of course is now protesting,so a 10 min sit down is the order of the day,so I'll do my budget. This is the easier fortnight,few bills,though I am waiting for my coming year's home insurance package appearing.My main company,Be Wiser,finds me a cheap deal each year,this year it will be with Swinton's,but I dont yet have the figures. I have been very happy with Be Wiser these last 5 years,they seem to steer me to reasonable deals.I pay it by one off direct debit,coming from my bank buffer,so it doesnt appear in my normal budget.

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Dusty's Frugal Fortnight #10  Budget for  19th September to 2nd October

Part is online,part cash

online income: £79  pension ,£250 added to bank from our Pension Credit.making £329 in total in bank

Then £73 cash to HBB (Home Budget Box) instead of £123.Ouch,not so much general saving likely from now on .

Total income  for fortnight.-£402.

All bills paid online as follows(rounded up)

Charity DDs - £11

Kindle Unlimited - £8

Life insurance - £20

Asd@ food deliveries (estimate)  - £120

total online bills - £159 To bank buffer - £170

probably a big chunk of that buffer will go to home insurance.. But as long as  there is enough to cover bills etc I am quite happy. I have a hefty chunk to come out to Bonmarche for things I have ordered.  for the christening. Such a comfort to have funds ready for use.

on the cash HBB side Mr D is buying toiletries,fruit etc from his own pocket,and I had £30 left from last fortnight's HBB,it has gone into the ''in transit'' envelope in my savings binder,money not yet allocated. I will use £40 from there for birthday cash. I have an envelope with £500 which is supposed to be for birthdays and Xmas,and in my Mrs Scrooge persona I am loathe to use any of irt. Nothing has been added to that envelope for 3 months because of the energy /cost of living crisis. I had planned on £800 for Xmas,but the world has intervened. If I can save another £100 I will have a rather more slimdowned  time.

From Xmas I am expecting to raise my energy payment up to £200 a month,but till then things will plod along OK really..

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so there we are,another plodding dull budget. And that is fine,we want no shocks and excitement at all,thank you.

back to work...........

dustydigger

Some stuff trom Asd@ George came yesterday. Of course they didnt fit Two tops purportedly the same size were very very  different. One was a green top to wear under my black jacket. It didnt even meet across the chest,it was a struggle to even get it on the back was so narrow. I would have expected it to be at least 2 sizes smaller than it claimed! The other was a corduroy cream shirt,and it was huge,hanging over my shoulders and at least 4 inches overlap,could have tyrned it into a double breasted item. I would have said it should have been at least one size larger than the label stated. At least I can return them to my local asd@ shop. Returning any of the Bonmarche stuff - if it ever arrives,already 5 days -  will be more of a pain,as they closed down our local branch. The next nearest is 12 miles away.

I just cant pull myself together enough to physically go shopping in town. Little choice in large sizes anyway,and the shops are 10 minutes walk - or limp - from the bus station.Its only 8 or 9 days till the christening. .

OK,I must stop making such ginormous posts. Instead of starting a new paragraph,I must remember to make a new post!

dustydigger

I see the govt are trumpeting wonderful NHS plans. Pathetic actually. Years of underfunding has led to this current mess. A major section of the hospital service is in crisis. True, covid has filled the hospital beds so other patients cant get ops etc. A chronic problem is the huge number of mainly old people who have to stay in hospital beds weeks or even months simply because they dont have anyone at home to care for them after a hospital stay. A caring practical system would have increased convalescent homes as an important useful arm of the NHS. I remember back in 2016 my sister breaking her hip and spending 6 weeks in such a home. She really liked it,but a few months later it closed down. Why? Because costs were getting so high ,the council was being starved of moneyby the govt, and couldnt afford to keep it going. In a poor area there aren't many rich people who can afford £800 a week fees to support all those aged poor people who need help.Old peoples' homes have reduced in number round here,the owners cant make a profit. More aging baby boomers,less facilities,more chaos.

Anyhoo,better shut up now,my BP is skyrocketing!

tooldle

I read a short report earlier that included some survey results. Majority of UK public agree with liberal views on race and sexual identity | Social trends | The Guardian Within the article is a section on attitudes to taxation and spending on health, education and social benefits. It would seem of those surveyed more than 50% agreed taxes should be increased to improve/deliver these services. We've just had a tax rise and people weren't happy about it, so much so the current government is looking to reverse it. A difficult balance to strike in a society where state support is the norm and some (by no means all) are legally able to take steps to protect their own assets, at the expense of the net contributing tax payer. As the saying goes, there is no I in team.

dustydigger

Just got a post on LybraryThing about October's Board Game challenge. Cant believe we've been doing such challengesnow for over 6 years in our group. Some members have abssolutely HUGE personal libraies,with hundreds of unread books,so it was a way to supposedly reduce our TBRs a little.....NOPE... . Its such fun around trying to find appropriate books for the challenge,

Beguiling Board Game Countdown: An October Outing With The Game of Life!

The next entry in our Board Game Countdown is the second Honorable Mention: The Game of Life.



The Game of Life, also known simply as Life, is a board game originally created in 1860 by Milton Bradley as The Checkered Game of Life, the first ever board game for his own company, the Milton Bradley Company. The Game of Life was US's first popular parlour game. The game simulates a person's travels through their life, from early adulthood to retirement, with college if necessary, jobs, marriage, and possible children along the way.

The modern version was originally published 100 years later, in 1960. It was "heartily endorsed" by TV personality Art Linkletter, with his picture and endorsement on the box, and his picture on the $100,000 bill. The game is now part of the permanent collection of the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History and an inductee into the National Toy Hall of Fame.

The original game was the first game created by Bradley, a successful lithographer. The game sold 45,000 copies by the end of its first year. Like many 19th-century games, it had a strong moral message. The game board resembled a modified checkerboard. The object was to land on "good" spaces and collect 100 points. A player could gain 50 points by reaching "Happy Old Age" in the upper-right corner, opposite "Infancy" where one began. Instead of dice – which were associated with gambling – players used a six-sided top called a teetotum.

In 1960 the modern Game of Life was introduced. It consists of a track which passes along, over, and through small mountains, buildings, and other features. A player travels along the track in a small plastic automobile, according to the spins of a small wheel on the board. Each car has six holes into which pegs are added as the player "gets married" and "acquires children". There is also a bank which includes money in various denominations; automobile, life, fire, and/or homeowners' insurance policies, $20,000 promissory notes and stock certificates.

Fun facts:
• There are multiple specialized editions of the modern game, including a Wizard of Oz edition, Star Wars: A Jedi’s Path edition, a Simpsons edition, a Sponge Bob edition, a Super Mario edition and a Hello Kitty edition available only in Japan.


• There are video game versions for all the major gaming systems, including Nintendo, GameBoy, Wii, PlayStation and cell phones.


• An unauthorized take on the game, “Life as a Black Man”, was released in 1999. One player plays the role of the government. The other players navigate the game as an 18-year-old African-American male or female. During each turn, the player will roll a four-sided die and move their pawn. Throughout the game, players will land on spaces requiring an Action Card. These cards cover a variety of topics, which include, crime, church, and racism. The game is won when a player successfully reaches the "Freedom" square on the board.


• An unrelated computer game with the same name is “John Conway’s Game of Life. It is a cellular automaton and was invented by Cambridge mathematician John Conway. This game became widely known when it was mentioned in an article published by Scientific American in 1970. It consists of a grid of cells which, based on a few mathematical rules, can live, die or multiply.


• There is also a drinking game that goes by the title “The Game of Life”. The players must deform their drinks to survive. If one player says to another "game of life", the player spoken to must either immediately finish their drink or display the damage on the container that they are drinking from (such as a dented beer can or a solo cup with a broken rim). If the player spoken to can sport a deformed vessel, the player that called them out must finish their drink.


The Challenge:,
1. Read a book in which someone is starts a new job OR read a book in which a character goes to college or other post-secondary school OR read a book in which a character gets married.

2. Read a book with a black man as a significant character OR read a book with a beverage on the cover (alcoholic or non-alcoholic) OR read a book whose author’s first and last initials can be found in “MILTON BRADLEY”.

3. Read a book with a kitty or a star on the cover OR read a book with a character named Mario, Bob (or some other version of Robert) or Simpson OR Read a book with a word or phrase related to computers or electronic gaming in the title.

dustydigger

Right,I've spent half an hour sorting my choices. I picked 3 books but found at least half a dozen books I thought intriguing,or were books I read years ago and would love to reread,.I loved Victoria Holt's romantic suspense novels back in the day

Dusty plays Game of Life
The Challenge:,
1. Read a book in which a character gets married. Georgette Heyer - The Convenient Marriage

2. Read a book whose author’s first and last initials can be found in “MILTON BRADLEY”. Murray Leinster - First Contact

3. Read a book with a character named Bob. Dennis E Taylor - Heaven's River

dustydigger

Oh I also got a headsup about my children's classic list. This October I will be reading John Masefield's Box of Delights. Loved it as a child,and enjoyed the TV adaptation back in the late 80s,I think. Blast from the past,indeed

So my TBR for October is already growing. Apart from these 4 books,it is also Spooky October on BookTube etc. I am putting together some books for that challenge,but not too gory or graphic,I have become a wimp in my old age!