Resourcefulness: The budgeter's friend

EssexHebridean

Excellent plan to keep busy to avoid dwelling on appointments - although come to think of it there is rarely a point when you are NOT busy as far as I can see! 

We've got a local-ish apple tree which is on public land but never seems to get any attention too - we have had some small but useable apples from it in past year though so I must tee-up MrEH to go round there on one of his walks this week to see how it's looking. 

foxgloves

@EssexHebridean - Defo worth going to check out the apple tree, especially if you can get a few blackberries to go with it for a free-ish crumble.
@PennysIntoPounds - It's always worth looking in parks to see if there are any fruit trees. A council-run park near us has apple & plum trees, the usual brambles & also cherry plums which decades ago seems to have been planted as a mini-orchard. Shame about that old apple tree not getting any attention. I wonder if it is crab apples, which would be smaller fruit & often sort of gnarlier. If so, they apparently make good jelly, although never having had access to any, I haven't tried it.
F

foxgloves

Afternoon m'dears.
I'm feeling distinctly 'Monday-ish' today for no reason other than I have a key medical appointment looming mid-week, followed by a scary dentist one next week. I will definitely need to hunt out the big girl's pants & stop feeling so wimpy!
Anyway, today's small budget-helping positives:
*Did 2 loads of laundry & managed to get everything almost dry pegged out on the line, but the rain arrived 2 hours earlier than forecast, so have had to fetch everything in & arrange it on the airer. Bah to that, although it will be all too soon that we are back to being dependent on the heated airer on laundry day, so I shouldn't complain.
*Divvied up the leftover roast chicken from yesterday. There is sufficient for cold chicken, home made cajun wedges & salad tonight, Mexican-style chicken pizza with salad tomorrow, for stew & also sandwiches. No point in making stock this time as I am low on containers & exceedingly low on freezer space.
*Did my regular Monday morning budget updates.
*1.5kg of the tomatoes picked yesterday were turned into another batch of tomato pasta sauce & frozen.
*Did a survey - hopefully there might be another couple later.
*Today's garden pickings: Basil & lettuce.
*Still to do: Turn out recycled jar cupboard plus the mini-stash in the 'dog kennel' bit under the dresser & the shed crate stash to find sufficient jars & lids for my next planned preserving. I intend to do this next.
*Also intend to finish the 3rd cat blanket tonight as didn't quite get the final rounds of it completed last night. That will be 3 nice new warm blankets for the beasticles for free, as all the yarn was shopped from home from my yarn stash which badly needed a clear out. Apart from that, I just need to make a salad & make the cajun wedges. 
Not a great night's sleep as I woke up about 1.15 & realised there was a hungry mosquito whining very close to me. It kept flying down into my face & as I sometimes react quite badly to bites & it was too hot to be under the covers, I decided to get up & go & look for something which would repel it. Garnished with tea-tree oil, I went back to bed & didn't hear another thing from it. No bites this morning, so I think I can assume they don't like that particular unguent.
Right, off to the shed on Jar Hunt Part 1.
F x

Sun_Addict

Totally understand you worrying about the appointments. I hate medical/dental appointments even just check ups. Could you pencil in a treat after each appointment so you have something enjoyable to focus on. 

EssexHebridean

Rather than mentally berating yourself for being "wimpy" - remind yourself that actually it is entirely reasonable and sensible to be worried about appointments like that, and in fact you'd be a very strange person if you were not feeling concerned about them! 

I was debating what to do about my chicken carcass this time - freezer space isn't my issue as thanks to our new mahoosive fridge freezer I've got a fair bit of that, it's more that I always question whether it's worth doing with just a single carcass. Then I remembered that I still have the turkey giblets in the freezer, so in fact I think what I'll do is to throw those in with the carcass and an onion and make a batch - then all I need to do is make a decision between slow cooker on low, or induction hob on simmer... 

I tried a final sowing of basil yesterday - so we'll see if I get any joy from that at all - if they show even a sig of emerging then they may well be the first thing to head into our new mini greenhouse... Any other herbs that you recommend it might be worth trying a late sowing of? 

Having found my bag of crochet yarn I think I'm going to make a start on some granny squares to make a start on a cosy throw ready for winter. I also want to make a couple of new dishcloths as I know I still have a fair stash of cotton yarn in there - although I'll need to find my journal with the pattern in first...! 

Moorviews

I don’t see you as “wimpy” in the least. Appointments can seem to dominate everything else and I find that it can be hard to see beyond them sometimes, especially where possible treatments are involved. Maybe it would help to put some things to look forward to into this week and next which would counter balance the concerns? This is something that I have been thinking of doing for myself as I am in a similar boat and notice that I avoid planning good things when I am worried about what is upcoming. That might just be me though as I can tend to focus on worries and the negative generally. I hope you start to feel better 💐

milann

Nothing wimpy about feeling concerned re appointment. Sending positive vibes they go well.

foxgloves

@EssexHebridean - I do prefer the depth of flavour from chicken stock made from two carcases. I often freeze one until I have a 2nd, but no chance of that atm as freezer space is at capacity.....yes, genuinely more chance of me spotting Shergar in Waitbl00m than finding a space in there!
Re herbs. I find basil grown in my greenhouse usually lasts throughout Sept, but I have never sown it this late. I think it's warm enough for it to germinate, but it may not grow much once daytime light levels plus colder temperatures are against it. I have recently done a final sowing of coriander in our unheated greenhouse, which has reached sturdy seedling stage, so these things are worth a go. Now that the tomatoes are out of the grow bag up on the greenhouse bench, I shall sow that with rocket, as I always do around this time of year. Other saladdy things I have grown this time of year are lamb's lettuce & mizuna.

Thanks everyone who wished me well for my appointments. I do know it is very normal to feel nervous & worried, not 'wimpy' at all, but I can be quite hard on myself & not show myself the same sympathy I'd administer to somebody else in the same situation. I will be ok on the day, especially as I just want them both over with now.
F x

foxgloves

Afternoon Campers,
Well, with apologies to A.A Milne, "The more it rains tiddley-pom, the more it rains......" Mr F pinged me during his coffee break (he works 26 miles further north) to say that the rain just "keeps stopping & starting". I said he was lucky then, as back here at home, we weren't enjoying any of the "stopping". It did eventually stop for about an hour, but has now got going again. Very squidgy underfoot indeed so a day for kitchen-witchery rather than gardening.
Anyway, today's small budget-helping positives:
*Did a survey & also received a bonus, putting my current PA earnings for the month up to £17.94. 
*Made dough for pizza & rolls - the latter are currently in the oven, the pizza will be topped later.
*6lbs of the pears we picked yesterday magicked into pear chutney. This has barely made a visible dent in the pear crate. Still need to label the jars. Might have to wait until I've sorted out the pantry to find them a space.
*Been chatting with Mr F about a longer seaside trip we had planned for next week. Apparently the weather isn't looking great, so we are thinking we would be sensible to postpone it. It's a lot of petrol & that's fine if we are able to make the most of it, but if it is too wet to enjoy walking on the beach & hunting for treasures, it is a bit of a waste. Nearer outing planned instead, which has a more undercover options. We never properly used to factor in the cost of petrol until the prices started rising.
Well, I am off upstairs to sort out the 3 loads of laundry I'm very glad I got dry before today, as it would have been my usual laundry day. I will save the ironing for tomorrow morning as will need to keep busy before I head off for my clinic appointment on the other side of the county.
The whitebeam berries in our garden are glorious this year. Even though the windows are running with rain, their autumn red is undimmed.
Must just see what Soot is doing as he hasn't turned up to announce that it's time for his snack - very unusual indeed!
F x

EssexHebridean

Ooh - Lambs lettuce is worth a try then - I got some seeds for that the other day as part of my little W1lk0 raid! I'll dig out a small trough and give it a go I think. Thank you! 

So far aside from a brief shower this morning we haven't seen much of the wet stuff down here. However, that said, as I start to think towards the time I need to leave the office approaching, it IS coming over very dingy and threatening, so I may yet get wet heading back to the car, we'll see. 

Good thinking to postpone the seaside trip until the weather is improved - it's not exactly cheap to travel anywhere these days is it, and we noticed that diesel certainly is on the rise again currently.