Resourcefulness: The budgeter's friend

PennysIntoPounds

Sorry, just catching up! (And now wondering if I can get a wormery at the top floor of a block of flats 😁)

That's even better news about Ash if you know any future medications can be easily sorted from your Meow Fund

Cold snaps are so brutal so quickly aren't they.
I would also have thought the climate wasn't good for outdoor cacti but my Dad knew so much about plants that I trust what he was doing and am sure that on visiting him throughout the seasons this plant was outside. Sadly I can't ask him now, but I will keep up my endeavours to keep it going! This poor cactus is probably thinking 'why have I got landed with this amateur 🙄'

I'll gloss over all the coriander comments. I'm one of those genetically disposed people that it tastes like soap to. So interesting how that seems to be just a chance gene thing

Also- sorry to go on, on your thread!- but I recently read a crime/thriller book that I think really merits a recommendation; The Last House on Needless Street by Catriona Ward. I personally thought it was superb

CRANKY40

The other thing about the cat medication is that there is also a rather more expensive injection that can be done that lasts anything from two to four weeks. It's £67 here (includes a consultation fee) but it means that we can leave our cat being looked after by our next door neighbour without worrying about the neighbour being bitten or the furry monster going unmedicated. The lady next door loves our cat and I'd like it to stay that way. 

lucielle

Just to add my two pence worth on murder/crime authors JD Kirk DCI Jack Logan are very good and David J Gatward DCI Harry Grimm. I’ll go back to lurking. 

L

foxgloves

Hello Sunbeams,
Thanks for the crime author recommendations. I have made notes. @PennysIntoPounds - I had seen a review of that novel but had forgotten about it, so thanks for the reminder. I will add that to my library wishlist for starters. Just about to head down the garden to read a bit more of the Kathy Reichs in the last of the late afternoon sun.
Pleasant day today. We got away with a mere £1 in the car park as only needed to visit town for the eco-refill shop. We re-filled 2 washing-up liquid bottles, filled some pots with peanuts, linseeds, pumpkin & sunflower seeds & also purchased 2 good-sized glass bottles with pump-tops which we filled with a couple of varieties of nice hand soap. We switched to bar soap a few years ago when we were looking at easy wins to get unnecessary plastic out of our shopping, but much as we like it (& I love it, especially the gentle artisan-type bars found lurking at craft markets, etc), we have been finding that bar soap in the kitchen & very grubby hands just coming in from the garden are not a good match. I have dyed our kitchen soap green about 3 times this week from tomato-picking activities. So we decided to invest in a couple of £4 pump-topped bottles which can be refilled with something nicely fragrant & sustainable. The seeds I bought are for a Mary Berry bread recipe. I always think of seeds as quite an expensive ingredient, but the pumpkin ones were under £2 & the others both under £1 & I think they will last for a few of these seedy loaves (if we like them).
Then onto a local-ish gorge for breakfast up on their sunny verandah & a walk. Lovely. We really enjoyed the fresh air & quality together-time & it was budget-neutral as cafe indulgences generally come from our Personal Spends. While there, I renewed our annual parking pass which is incredibly cheap & encourages us to visit & walk there regularly.
Been pottering around since we got home......chopped up an empty spread tub to make a few more free plant labels, nabbed a few empty yoghurt pots for when I make my next batch of pesto, picked a small bunch of grapes for my afternoon snack, liaised with Mr F about freezer tetris, tomato & bean gluts & the weather forecast.....tragically, even the latter was to do with money saving, as I was working out whether free-line drying was more likely tomorrow or Monday! Just about to check bank account to see if our PA earnings have landed from P*p*l then it's sunny reading bench time for me. 
Mr F has just popped through to ask me if he could request an expensive muso CD set for Christmas or birthday. I have jumped at the chance to get him something he really wants & told him to send me a link. This also reminded me of something I'd forgotten about.....when we were on a city centre trip last month, we saw my favourite P Smith perfume (the rosy one!) on sale in a department store (the big bottle) for £18 off its usual price. He bought me a bottle to put away for Christmas. I always used to receive a bottle of something gorgeous for birthdays & Christmas, but since perfume has rocketed in price, I have told him not to buy it as the increases have just been more than I am prepared to pay. Seeing one of my absolute faves just sitting there on a sale unit at such a good price was a lovely surprise & I could tell that Mr F was secretly really pleased to have sorted out a present so early! I will feel the same if I can get this CD box-set bought & squirrelled away, so will get onto that early next week.
Reading bench now beckoning.
Love F x

Cheery_Daff

Sounds like a good day all round 😊 I've just got a load out on the line myself, although the sun went behind a large cloud as soon as I did it 🙄 It's still shining on the other side of the valley so I have some hope it will return!

foxgloves

@cranky40 - Thanks, I think a steroid injection which is longer lasting than the tablets would be a good option if Ash were to be getting wheezy when due to stay at the cattery. Injections are more expensive, but good as the cattery owners are, it would be less hassle for them & peace of mind for us, to know that medication was taken care of for a week or so. I'll try & remember this.
@lucielle - Thanks....& no need to lurk. All contributions welcome!
@ladyholly - £5 for one paracetamol???! Oh my goodness, that was an absolute p*ss-take! I have got the vet receipt on my bulldog clip up in Foxgloves HQ but if I remember rightly, the 2nd bottle of steroid tablets (to cover 12 days of phasing-down medication) were itemised at £2-something. I did feel relieved because as you'll know, once one has an animal with an ongoing condition, costs can stack up pretty steadily. As x-rays do seem to have confirmed the condition as asthma (he is apparently right in the correct cat age demographic for asthma onset), then it should hopefully just be consultations now & again & further courses of steroids when he has a flare-up. Hope so anyway. Ash was living feral for a long time....we don't know how he ended up homeless but the timeline would point to him being abandoned as a very young cat during lockdown & fending for himself until trapped by the local Rescue, neutered & taken in to try & socialise before attempting to re-home. He is extremely nervous of people he doesn't know. He's cuddly with us, but a knock at the door & just hearing the voice of a stranger make him race for the cat flap whatever the weather. He is terribly wary of people so going to the vet is a real ordeal for him. Last weekend when our friend visited, Ash managed to walk up to her & have a tiny stroke before running away. It doesn't sound like much but it was a huge achievement for him. 
F

Blackcats

Well done to Ash - it really takes a lot of courage for some cats to talk to new people.  My old boy who died earlier this year had been badly treated and lived on the streets for a while and I was always so proud of him when he didn't scuttle off when someone new to him appeared.  He trusted me and tolerated MrBC - particularly when the food bowl was being filled up.  With me he was incredibly affectionate and that was so rewarding considering how scared he was when we rescued him.

PennysIntoPounds

Aw well done Ash for being so brave.

Great that you can get something (and well in advance) for Mr F, I keep a year-round list of things my mum and Mr PIP have mentioned they might like. Checked Mr PIP's today and there's nothing actual to get him, he's one of these (lovely but efficient) men who if they need something, get it. Though I don't think he'll be too gutted if I have to resort to fancy cheese and an 'I'm paying for everything' trip to the pub gifts!

Good news that the seeds were decent value too, I also had in mind they're really pricey so will keep a closer eye out 

kayannie

Could you tell me the name of the latest Kathy Reichs book - I've read most of her books but if there's a new one out, I'd like to reserve it at the library.
On the subject of steroid tablets, when the vet suggested them long term for my dog,  I was worried about the cost until the vet reassured me that they were very inexpensive.
KA

ladyholly

Good for Ash accepting a stroke from a stranger. He may well gradually improve with people as he feels more and more secure but some never get over it. I always advise people to have insurance as you never know when something may occur. We spent well over £1000 on one of our dogs just to get a diagnosis and that was about 10 years ago. I realise it can be pricey but it does give peace of mind unless you happen to be very wealthy.