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Find the SecondStar and soar, and then straight on till the morning…

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  • Humdinger1
    Humdinger1 Posts: 2,293 Forumite
    Eighth Anniversary 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    I have tears in my eyes @SecondStar.  You are utterly amazing; you make such a contribution to the world.  Your mum is certainly with you.  Love Humdinger xx 
  • SecondStar
    SecondStar Posts: 637 Forumite
    500 Posts Third Anniversary Name Dropper
    I have tears in my eyes @SecondStar.  You are utterly amazing; you make such a contribution to the world.  Your mum is certainly with you.  Love Humdinger xx 
    That is so incredibly sweet and kind Humdinger, thank you!

    It was our first event this weekend - we brought both tents, and tried out the new rope tensioned bed for the first time. Both were a success! The bed is do much more comfortable than sleeping on the floor, and it was lovely to have my own set up alongside the big tent. I’ve got big plans for a full viking age textiles display further down the line.

    The Sunday was nice and sunny, but unfortunately it rained heavily overnight with more rain scheduled on the Monday, and so the 2nd day was cancelled. That had happened on the 2nd day of our last event last August, and I’m really bored of it - I’m looking forward to getting a proper full weekend. I made a butternut squash and red lentil curry which went down well, and my friend went out of her way to bring 4 desserts, including a gluten free angel food cake for me, which was delicious and very kind of her!

    The weather has been so inconsistent, between glaring sunshine and then heavy showers. April, I suppose! All of my grass seed has sprung up whilst I was away for 24 hours, and it’s starting to look promising.

    I really need to get the permanent chicken run sorted soon, the patch that they’re on at the moment has been trashed, which is fine, but is starting to become ‘chicken-y’, which is less fine. It’s finding the bloody time, though.

    I’m working this Saturday at my 2nd job, it’s the handfasting in the 3rd, my partner’s birthday on the 10th, our biggest event of the year on the 17th, THEN a weekend off, and the possibly the 2nd largest event on the 31st if my partner is able to get the weekend off. May is going to be very hectic.
    ‘When you only have two pennies left in the world, spend one on bread and the other on flowers. The bread will sustain life, the flowers will give you a reason to live.’

    Frugal living in 2024.
    Frugal living in 2025.

    261 No Spend Days in 2024!

    3-month Emergency Fund: £3,500 / £3,500 - DONE!
    1k Pet Emergency Fund - £1,000 / £1,000 - DONE!

    Nationwide 1 year 6.5% Savings - £400 / £2,400
  • SecondStar
    SecondStar Posts: 637 Forumite
    500 Posts Third Anniversary Name Dropper
    Gosh, where has the last week gone??

    Tuesday was my MOT - passed with no advisories , which was a surprise. I’d expected to get at least a couple of points. I’ll take it to the mechanic for a service anyway, unless I find time to take it to my partner’s brother who would be able to do it for the cost of parts.

    I found a bloody cat sat watching my chooks. I’d only just closed them back into their run after they’d been free ranging in the garden for a while by themselves. I hate to think what could’ve happened if the cat had turned up sooner. A cat might not take a pop as a full-size hen, but my bantams are tiny - about wood pigeon-size - and I don’t doubt that a determined cat would make an easy catch of them. I love cats very much, but I love my own animals more!

    I flew outside shouting and throwing things and chased it off through a hole in my hedge, but the damned thing was back again the next morning! It’s times like that when I really super miss having my old dog around. I spent my work breaks that day stuffing the underneath of my fence with wire, so that there aren’t any gaps for cats to fit through. The rest of my garden is all 6ft fencing, but I also plan to put up cat-proof netting to stop anything coming in over the fence. It’ll have the bonus of making the garden cat-proof for my own girl, so that she might go outside without getting out of the garden.

    I have my partner’s birthday presents sorted - 2 books, a vintage Guinness sign, and an impact driver drill. When I nipped into the haberdashery near the office for some linen thread, I spotted a beautiful length of dark peacock-teal twill wool. He had planned to wear his ‘best’ tunic for the handfasting this weekend - a heavy grey wool - but this teal would suit him so much better, and would be much fancier. So I made him a gift of the wool as an early birthday present, and have tasked myself with putting together a fancy tunic before Saturday.

    Normally I’m committed to completely hand stitching our own reenactment garments, as a point of pride, and also because I’m a bit of a show-off! This time however I’m working to such a tight schedule that I had to go semi-stitched. I already had a tunic pattern which I knew fit him, and so I ran up the inner non-visible construction seams on my sewing machine yesterday to get the garment together, and today I have felled all the inner seams by hand to give it the characteristic hand-made finish on the outside. I still need to turn and hand-hem the cuffs and bottom edge, and do a contrast facing on the neckline, but it should be done in plenty of time, and he’s going to look amazing!

    As I was laying out the pattern, I realised that if I’m very conservative with the next lot of cutting, I might be able to get a full length dress for myself out of the rest of the wool - that dark teal would look amazing on me too haha. I’m not sure if having us both dressed in the same fabric is a bit too matchy-matchy though? Alternatively, I could make myself an apron dress out of the teal, and wear it over a blue or yellow dress, so that way it’s only part-matchy? This is assuming I have time, of course.

    The outfit I had planned to wear is already finished - a pale blue wool dress, with an apron dress of grey wool trimmed with orange and dark blue linen - so it’s not as though I have nothing to wear myself. I also spoke to a local florist in the village, and she’s putting together a flower crown for me to wear on the day. I gave her my colours, budget, and the vibe of the handfasting, and said she could use or do whatever she pleases, so I’m excited to see what it’s like.

    I’ll be ordering the new chicken run when I get paid on Wednesday, and I hope it’ll be here to assemble on my houseiversary next Monday. Never mind the last week, where have the last 2 years gone??
    ‘When you only have two pennies left in the world, spend one on bread and the other on flowers. The bread will sustain life, the flowers will give you a reason to live.’

    Frugal living in 2024.
    Frugal living in 2025.

    261 No Spend Days in 2024!

    3-month Emergency Fund: £3,500 / £3,500 - DONE!
    1k Pet Emergency Fund - £1,000 / £1,000 - DONE!

    Nationwide 1 year 6.5% Savings - £400 / £2,400
  • SecondStar
    SecondStar Posts: 637 Forumite
    500 Posts Third Anniversary Name Dropper
    edited 5 May at 6:34PM
    So I ended up making a matching apron dress, as there wasn’t enough fabric for a full dress. It was the right choice though, the outfits looked as though they belong together without being too matching, and we looked great! The handfasting celebration was beautiful, it was such a wonderful day.

    I caught another cat after the hens, twice. It clearly comes in over the fence, since the hedge is blocked up with wire. I’ll be sorting the cat-proof netting soon, though the weather is getting Hot, and with clear skies it’s difficult to find the motivation to do much outdoors right now.

    My friends getting married in Delhi next year gave out their wedding website this weekend, with all the info and FAQs on. There will be 3 events - the haldi on Friday afternoon, the mehendi & sangeet on Friday evening, and then the mandap wedding ceremony all day on Saturday. So 3 outfit changes! I ran the numbers on the budget again today for peace of mind - £1,500 each should be fine, though I’m aiming for £1,750 to be comfortable. I think we’re going to do at least 7 days away, possibly up to 10 depending on if we want to travel very far outside of Delhi or not.

    I’ve been browsing Vinted for suitable secondhand outfits for the events - I want to wear Indian attire, and don’t want to pay full price! There should be shopping opportunities once we get there, as well.

    It’s my partner’s birthday this coming Saturday - he absolutely loved his new tunic, I was a bit worried I peaked too soon with that early birthday present! I’ve also got him 2 books, a vintage Guinness sign, and an impact drill driver he wanted. We have a tradition of baking each other a cake with our name on it for our birthdays, so I’ll be doing that on Friday. Last year I put together a big picnic and we went and read books in the park, and he says he’d like to do that again this year.

    It’s the biggest reenactment event of the year on the 18th & 19th, and he’s stressed and working hard towards it. It’ll be good for him to take a day off and relax.
    ‘When you only have two pennies left in the world, spend one on bread and the other on flowers. The bread will sustain life, the flowers will give you a reason to live.’

    Frugal living in 2024.
    Frugal living in 2025.

    261 No Spend Days in 2024!

    3-month Emergency Fund: £3,500 / £3,500 - DONE!
    1k Pet Emergency Fund - £1,000 / £1,000 - DONE!

    Nationwide 1 year 6.5% Savings - £400 / £2,400
  • SecondStar
    SecondStar Posts: 637 Forumite
    500 Posts Third Anniversary Name Dropper
    Grabbing a few mins between work to update here, since I’ll not get chance after this evening.

    I had ordered a large 3 x 4m chicken coop from a recommended retailer on Amazon, only it was never dispatched. It’s taken 3 weeks of contact for them to agree to refund me, and so I’m waiting 5 - 7 days for that to come back - £210! That could’ve been sitting gaining interest, but instead it was held ransom by Amazon.

    I don’t know if I’ll bother trying to reorder somewhere else, I may just take that money and save up to build a coop instead.



    My pet sitter came by yesterday to get the key and to check in with everyone’s requirements for the weekend, and she brought her 7/8 year old son with her. He was asked multiple times by her to sit quietly on the sofa, but instead he rampaged through my house - picking up ornaments, opening drawers, turning lamps on and off, just completely uncontrollable. It was horrid, and even though he was being disrespectful to my home, I still somehow didn’t think it was my place to reprimand a stranger’s child in front of them.

    Long story short, it seems as though the pet sitter had also brought the child to my home the last time I was away, without asking or telling me; and after having seen his behaviour, I’ll not be booking her again. It’s too short notice now, but it was entirely inappropriate.

    The final straw was when he picked up the ashes container of one of my previous pets from the memorial shelf where I keep their caskets, and then tried to OPEN THE LID. I used my sharp voice, and they left pretty quickly after.

    I am paying a professional for a service, I am not hosting a childcare centre, a pet shop, or a model farm. My home is her place of work, it is not a friend’s house, a family member’s house, a play area, or a zoo. My animals are not used to children, and are not for entertainment - just because they couldn’t seriously injure a child, does not mean that they are child friendly.

    Anyway, I was aghast, she was nonchalant, and I couldn’t believe that she seemed to think it was normal and acceptable, and wasn’t completely mortified. Checks in with my friends and 3rd parties confirm that I’m not a child-hating spinster, and that it was entirely inappropriate and unprofessional, which makes me feel a bit better.



    I head to my partner’s this evening, and then we’re away from Friday afternoon to Sunday evening. I’ve just about got everything ready to be packed, and only slightly stressed about the whole thing. My partner has put so much pressure on himself for this weekend to be profitable, I’ll just be glad to get through it without sunburn or heatstroke, and with getting some amount of sleep each night. Will update you on the other side!
    ‘When you only have two pennies left in the world, spend one on bread and the other on flowers. The bread will sustain life, the flowers will give you a reason to live.’

    Frugal living in 2024.
    Frugal living in 2025.

    261 No Spend Days in 2024!

    3-month Emergency Fund: £3,500 / £3,500 - DONE!
    1k Pet Emergency Fund - £1,000 / £1,000 - DONE!

    Nationwide 1 year 6.5% Savings - £400 / £2,400
  • SecondStar
    SecondStar Posts: 637 Forumite
    500 Posts Third Anniversary Name Dropper
    Home safe and settled after a very busy weekend - pets have survived the questionable sitter, who won’t be invited back again.

    This was my first time attending this event, and it was really good fun. It was very overwhelming being part of such a large gathering, with such a large amount of public in attendance, but we made it through. We’re not going to leave preparations till the last minute next year though, it’ll be a couple of weeks ‘off’, and then plans and preparations for next year’s event.

    Between the two of us, we made around €1,900, and my partner almost completely sold out of his metalwork stock. Very successful for us both - my own sales totalled £376! We have plans to use the money to book our flights in India, and then continue to save for the rest of the trip.

    I got my car insurance bought for next year, it expires in June - £348, where last year it was almost £500! Very pleased with that, and the leftover that I had saved can go towards next year.

    I currently have £380 in my ‘misc. savings’, after getting my Amazon refund, which I think will go towards a proper timber built chicken run, rather than risk another order.
    ‘When you only have two pennies left in the world, spend one on bread and the other on flowers. The bread will sustain life, the flowers will give you a reason to live.’

    Frugal living in 2024.
    Frugal living in 2025.

    261 No Spend Days in 2024!

    3-month Emergency Fund: £3,500 / £3,500 - DONE!
    1k Pet Emergency Fund - £1,000 / £1,000 - DONE!

    Nationwide 1 year 6.5% Savings - £400 / £2,400
  • New_in_the_fens
    New_in_the_fens Posts: 145 Forumite
    100 Posts Second Anniversary Name Dropper
    If it all works out, the wedding planning sounds awesome! Can I have an invite 😉

    I think you should really look into what it means to be a landlord, so many are exiting, particularly landlords with very small portfolios as regulations are getting more and more strict. There is a forum section that might help you get an idea. 

    Could you consider buying the barn in the future if you love living there? Again, think about what it would entail to build your own home. It all sounds super lovely, but it does need to be practical and possible and sustainable. 

    And now I’ll encourage to think about more lovely things again - wedding plans sound so wonderful 🥰
  • SecondStar
    SecondStar Posts: 637 Forumite
    500 Posts Third Anniversary Name Dropper
    If it all works out, the wedding planning sounds awesome! Can I have an invite 😉

    I think you should really look into what it means to be a landlord, so many are exiting, particularly landlords with very small portfolios as regulations are getting more and more strict. There is a forum section that might help you get an idea. 

    Could you consider buying the barn in the future if you love living there? Again, think about what it would entail to build your own home. It all sounds super lovely, but it does need to be practical and possible and sustainable. 

    And now I’ll encourage to think about more lovely things again - wedding plans sound so wonderful 🥰
    Landlording is definitely not something I’ll fall into accidentally without a lot of research! Much like building a house, I don’t know a damn thing about it - it’s mostly an emotional response of not wanting to let go of my ‘safety net’, which I will need to work through if I decide to sell my house instead.

    Possibly not buying the barn - it is a detached structure, but is at the centre of the farm, along with the main house. His parent’s very long term plan would be to leave the farm equally between 4 parties, and it would most likely be sold as a whole, as none of the parties would be able to afford to buy out the others. However, if part of the road-fronting fields was purchased by us for building, that might work.

    All very far down the line mind, and of course many many things might instigate an early sale of all or part of the farm between now and then.

    We’re mostly just imagining things right now, and testing out what feels good and what doesn’t!
    ‘When you only have two pennies left in the world, spend one on bread and the other on flowers. The bread will sustain life, the flowers will give you a reason to live.’

    Frugal living in 2024.
    Frugal living in 2025.

    261 No Spend Days in 2024!

    3-month Emergency Fund: £3,500 / £3,500 - DONE!
    1k Pet Emergency Fund - £1,000 / £1,000 - DONE!

    Nationwide 1 year 6.5% Savings - £400 / £2,400
  • New_in_the_fens
    New_in_the_fens Posts: 145 Forumite
    100 Posts Second Anniversary Name Dropper
    Enjoy the fun of working it through!
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