Resourcefulness: The budgeter's friend

PennysIntoPounds

That's great news that things are progressing, with the added bonus of only needing to go to the local hospital. As you say, if surgery is needed hopefully it'll be keyhole- it is absolutely astonishing how efficiently medical procedures can be done these days (once you've waited several evolutionary phases of humankind for an initial appointment, of course).

My mum described making use of something she already had instead of buying, and I told her that there's a delightful woman on the internet whose diary I read who calls that 'shopping from home'. Mum was very pleased with the phrase so thank you for introducing that into our lives!

foxgloves

@marionmgcars - I love getting a pair of nice socks knitted from leftover yarns in my stash. It really does feel like a free pair, doesn't it? Or a free gift if you are giving them away. I recently finished a pair of use-it-up stash yarn socks for Mr F & couldn't believe how nicely they turned out. I had sufficient of one self-patterning yarn for about one & a bit socks only, so I knitted the ribs, heels & toes in that, then used it for every alternate 2 rows for the rest. For the other 2 alternate rows I fed in other yarns & the finished effect was very autumnal looking. He was well pleased with them anyway. My sister bought me a socker's rule, which if you haven't seen them, is a wooden sole-shaped measure like a ruler, but better, as it slips down to the turned heel & allows for really easy, accurate foot measurement. Couldn't believe I'd never seen these before.
F

foxgloves

@PennysIntoPounds - Oh I can't believe you described me as 'delightful', lol. I can assure you I can be the most assertive, sweary, terrible drama queen if the mood so takes me!
Re the 'Shopping from home' expression. It didn't originate with me. I came across the term years ago in somebody's diary post - I wish I could remember who, so as to give her the credit - & it just utterly resonated with me. I think for those of us who have been silly impulsive spenders in the past, there is often a lot of 'stuff' at home from which to shop! Although tbf, I don't have as much stuff as I used to when we moved here. I am much better at using things up now, before buying new & just generally buy a lot fewer things. 
F

foxgloves

Greetings Wednesday Pence-Wanglers,
Another day which is whizzing by at a really quite ridiculous pace. Soot has surpassed himself for helpfulness today. I awoke to the sounds of muffled yowling on the landing, & by the time I roused myself sufficiently to take a look, the deed was done. Yes, he DID catch that big mouse (the one he brought in yesterday & was hiding out under the kitchen dresser) but instead of killing it or taking it outside, his big idea was to bring it upstairs, try to meow his hunting prowess outside our bedroom door, when of course he dropped it & it is now in my little HQ room. It was sitting on top of the expensive (unused!!) igloo cat bed when I popped in at lunchtime, before launching itself over my household files & down the back of some shelving. I almost captured it in a box, but it changed its mind at the last minute & went behind my very heavy WW1 era desk. Electronic trap moved upstairs & helpful few cracker crumbs laid to try & lure it to the deadly peanut butter. I'd rather catch it without killing it, but there is a lot of heavy furniture in there & just too many hiding places. There was mouse wee & poo on the window sill. Since losing interest at about 5 am, Soot has spent the day asleep in the front window, grrrrrrrrr!
Anyway, I digress with this rodent saga..... Today's small positive wins, that's what we want:
*Courgettes starting to build up so dug out courgette curry recipe (an old faithful for gluts, which Mr F likes for work lunches along with a garlic flatbread) & made a batch of that, now frozen. Used our homegrown garlic, courgettes, coriander & last year's tomatoes.......see below for tomato success!
*Opened a jar of my first ever attempt at home bottled tomatoes from last summer. Food poisoning risk has always put me off bottling before, but encouraged by @Suffolk_lass & her recommended video of Nonna Gina, I gave it a go & it has worked! So thank-you @Suffolk_lass (& Nonna Gina). The jar lid gave a satisfying 'pop' when I opened it, so I knew the seal was fine, there was no spoilage & they tasted fine, so into the courgette curry they went! Hope the bottled apple sauce & poached cinnamon pears have worked too.
*Made tomorrow's packed lunch & breakfast.
*Very easy cheapo nosebag tonight - courgette pasta with home made chard pesto from the freezer & grated cheese. 
*New yarn arrived in the post, so I have squirrelled away 3 balls of it & will shortly be casting on the ribbing for the first of the 3 Christmas/Winter birthday pairs of socks I plan to knit over the summer. I add to the presents bag all year round.
*Checked the candle drawer, & yes, I have succeeded in my mission to use up EVERY scented candle, smelly tea-light, joss stick, wax melt, recycled scented wax saved from the bottom of expensive candles I've received as gifts, home fragrance oil, etc. I now have just 2 plain pillar candles for replacing the one next to the fireplace when I need them & zombie apocalypse levels of plain unfragranced tea-lights.  I am now allowed to buy a new scented candle!! These were a big problem for me in the spendy era. I loved them then & I still love them now, but my buying of them is now in control. I can honestly say that the ONLY scented candle currently in this house is the Christmas one in a glass which I received as a gift & is up n the loft ready for December.
Well, that is enough screen time for me today. I will sign off, do a few tidying jobs & check upstairs to see if that blimming mouse has succumbed to the peanut butter yet.
Love F x

Sun_Addict

It's Thursday today, you had me panicking it was only Wednesday 🤣

I hope you catch the mouse soon.

foxgloves

@Sun_Addict - I think I had momentary brain lapse, lol. What's next.....trying to change channel with my phone? Putting my pants in the fridge? (Tho that might not be such a terrible idea in a heatwave!)
Yes, mouse now caught & buried. Felt sad as when I opened the box (thank goodness those things are instant), it was a wood mouse & very lovely with it's white tummy & little ears.
Soot has been Mr Naughty Step all week. 
F

Jellytotts

I think cats just love to bring these gifts in alive to give us something to do, free entertainment for them and a good workout for us humans.  A few weeks back I heard the familiar noise of a "gift" being deposited in the hallway, I had a quick glance on the way to grab a box to catch it in and exclaimed to Mr J that it was a whopper, probably a rat.  Grabbed a box, headed back to the hall and there it was trying to bury under the front door mat, not a rat but a baby bunny!  Experience tells me that rabbits normally bounce off the walls in an effort to get past and I've had them over head before bouncing away (whilst screaming, they love a good scream) but this one just stepped into the box as if he knew what he was doing.  I took him across the road and deposited him in the long grass.  The cat sat in the hall for a further hour looking be used and confused.  

foxgloves

@Jellytotts - Oh my goodness, none of our cats past or present has yet brought me a bunny!
Given that Soot was entirely a house cat until his previous owner surrendered him to the local Rescue, we have been amazed at what a good mouser he is. We didn't have our usual autumn incursion of house mice at all last year, which I put down to cat patrols. He has only been going outside for just over a year. Ash is also a crack mouser, but we would expect it from him as he was a young cat living rough gor quite some time, so was used to finding his own food. I am not happy about their occasional tendancy to bring live mice indoors, but I do generally manage to head them off at the pass.
F

Suffolk_lass

It makes me very happy that your bottled tomatoes worked for you. I'm more surprised that you remembered it was me. I used my big liquidiser to make lots into passata and of course, it removed the need to deal with the pesky skins, they just blended in. I still have over 20 500ml screw-top jars but every time I make ragu, in they go, two at a time.

Was it you that made pesto from other green vegetables? I make it with whatever I have now, beet leaves, carrot tops, lettuce (basil), chard and kale. A game changer here! I am so rubbish at remembering who shared these things. Except @joedenise, who shared a braised little gem lettuce recipe that we enjoy

foxgloves

@Suffolk_lass - Yes, I make pesto from chard when it isn't basil season, usually in Spring when I'm using up the last of the over-wintered chard before the new young plants are put in. I also use a variety of nuts - cashews, almonds, etc. I love pine nuts but think they have become very expensive in recent years.
F