Resourcefulness: The budgeter's friend

joedenise

At least we know where to come for the face mask instructions if we need them again!!!  Definitely hope it won't be necessary.

scandimore

The squirrel inside is cheering at all this bottling going on! Sounds like your tomatoes have done really well. Not jealous at all, honest

foxgloves

It's always nice to sign into one's diary & find your comments & contributions, for which thanks. Yes, I hope that facemask pattern isn't going to be making an appearance for a very long time! 


@scandimore - Interesting about the letter home re your littlie's nasal flu vaccine. I can well believe that when flu does next strike, it will be a big one, as there will be so very many people who haven't come into contact with it for a long time. I don't qualify for a free jab, but I always pay for a private one. Like many people, I often said I'd got flu (& genuinely thought I had) when it was really only a horrid cold, but when I did finally get it.....Oh my goodness, I felt dreadful. Despite working in a very community-based profession with plenty of outreach, I did not get flu until I was 50. It was the most poorly I have ever felt. I could barely get off the sofa for a week, then the 2nd week, I could do a few things but felt like a jelly. Then, unbelievably, I got it the following 2 years, aged 51 & 52! I had, had the jab for one of those years, but it was the one when the powers that be prepared for a certain strain & the version which arrived was a different one, which I read somewhere rendered the jab around 13% effective. Ever since then, I have paid for a jab every year without fail. Mr F has a 'thing' about never getting lergies. I think the only reason he is actually taking up the free flu jab code from work is because he saw how ill I was & doesn't want to bring flu into the house for either of us. 

@PennysIntoPounds - I wouldn't be at all surprised if the horrid lergy you had was actually full-on flu. Hope you can get a jab booked for this year. 
F

foxgloves

Afternoon m'dears,
Another day which has simply disappeared up its own whatnot! I am not going to get around to this afternoon's intended job which was to sort out my seasonal clothes/storage bag & declutter my wardrobe. In a way, it is better to do it tomorrow which is also house cleaning day, as I think I will raise quite a dust getting right into the base of that wardrobe where all the charity shop-bound boots live, so having assessed the task properly, I think it's best to do it when I also have time to vacuum properly as I go along. Anyway, some useful budget-helping bits & bobs nevertheless:
*Did a survey & replied to a rather odd message about an earlier one which apparently hadn't been 'submitted properly'. Checked the link & found it had been completed & submitted as normal so emailed the researcher to suggest they please check again as I am waiting to be paid.
*Small amount of financial admin.
*Baked a wholemeal loaf. I am now following a tweak from (I think?) @Suffolk_lass & including a big heaped tbsp of unfed starter from my sourdough jar when I make a normal yeasted wholemeal loaf. I am finding it rises better, is a better texture & Mr F also reckons it keeps for longer. That's got to be a winner, as a fair bit of unfed starter gets chucked (unless I need it for crackers or similar) so it's a good use for it.
*Today's garden pickings: Aubergines & a bunch of basil.
*Wrote Week 2's grocery list & pinged it to Mr F who pinged back to say he has been sent vouchers for money off a number of items we need.
*Started a list for our planned city centre trip on Saturday. Must remember to put a couple of vouchers in my purse.
*Checked my CC account for that £4 credit I've been waiting for. It had arrived. Signing into CC account & seeing 'Balance = Nil" still feels like a 'thing' for me, even after several years of being debt-free.
*Continued decluttering the shelves in Foxgloves HQ. Much as I love buying new stationery, files, etc, I was not able to justify doing so as having chucked out a couple of broken box files, I was able to reorganise their contents between spare & other folders I already own. I just need to buy some address labels for neatly re-labelling everything. Heaps more clean-on-one-side A4 paper collated for scrap & spare plastic wallets added to their new box file home. Found another set of unused dividers so went through my financial folder & replaced all the tatty ones. Another job done without a spend. Filled a large wastepaper bin & a big bin liner. Pile for charity shop growing. Hope I can get a few bags filled by Monday when Mr F is off & says he will help me lug them across town.
*Use-it-up meal tonight......meal plan said "Pasta with whatever needs using from garden topped with cheese"!
*Knitted the heel flap & turned the heel on current pair or socks for the presents stash over my lunch hour.
*Wrapped a small package for posting using stuff from my recycled wrappings stash.
And that's my lot for today. Hope everyone manages to get to the end of the weekend without the onset of a back-to-school lergy.
F x

Suffolk_lass

Yes, guilty as charged. Exactly the same benefits. And you can taste the sourdough but it's much quicker as a hybrid. I sometimes add an egg for a bit of variety too. It makes the bread softer, as you'd expect, really.

I was pleased to see you considering bottling too! I have been stewing excess fruit and popping it in screw top jars as though it were jam. A fresh taste of summer treat in winter, but once open, eat it, as it won't keep like jam

foxgloves

Lol, @Suffolk_lass, I did think I'd remembered correctly & that it was an idea which came from you. Hope you are ok? Expect you have had another busy season with the bees. Thpught of you last week. A big wasp-like creature flew into our conservatory & I was sure that when I checked online it would turn out to be a naughty Asian hornet, but it wasn't  & despite very large size, didn't appear to be a native one either! By the time I thought of taking a photo of it, it had unhelpfully flown back outside. If it turns up again, I shall be ready. I bet you would have been able to identify it for me. Couldn't find a match in our little insects book either. It was a whopper!
F x

Suffolk_lass

Ooh, it sounds like a European hornet. The yellow legged Asian one is about the size of a queen wasp (the Virgin Queens will be leaving the nests soon and they are a bit bigger). So far significantly fewer and we (locally) think the cold, wet Spring is responsible for both low wasp and hornet numbers this year as many of them tuck themselves away in leaf litter or holes that mice have made.

Once we are relaxing ( next week we are away for a few days), I'll talk a bit more about our summer of madness. Last night I sold a huge amount of related kit at a face to face auction. All good fun

foxgloves

Hello Sunbeams,
Phew, just coming to the end of the tasks I planned for today & as it is still sunny & warm outside, I am intending to decamp to the sunny reading bench with my book after I've chatted to you. Useful activity today:
*Cleaned the house between us using minimal products & washable cloths. Mr F is off today so he opted for thrashing the Sh**k around upstairs & down and cleaning the bathroom, while I cleaned the kitchen, tidied, emptied the bins, wiped all the windowsills & changed household linens. Looking nice for the weekend now.
*Sorted out my big seasonal clothes storage bag. Sorted through the autumn/winter stuff & began packing away summer gear. This has allowed me to see what I need to buy for the colder months rather than what I just fancy buying, so has been helpful. Two big sacks for the charity shop now waiting to be taken into town. Finally came to the conclusion that what I think of as my sexy boots have to go. They are now uncomfortable to wear or the heels are too high or they are backless & no longer sufficiently stable for my wonky achilles tendon. So 4 pairs of boots & some sandals will hopefully be finding a new home with someone soon.
*Having vacuumed out my wardrobe, decided to reorganise a couple of storage baskets, which meant a useful sort through my toiletries stash - still plenty of things to use up, but also made a note of stuff where I am currently using my last bottle/jar so that if I see any bargains, I do actually buy the right things! 
*Blitzed my chest of drawers too - chucked out several bottles of nail polishes. Pointless having an eclectic range of colours if they are too old & sticky to apply properly. I do thin them a little with nail polish remover (I'm sure this was an old 'Jackie' magazine tip from the 1970s!) but even that has its limits. It's lovely to be able to see what I've got so much more easily. It does save silly mistakes with buying things then later discovering there were 2 already at home. I've certainly done that before.
*Vouchers & list in purse ready for tomorrow's city centre trip, plus have noted a discount code I received in an email as I will be able to use it on a couple of the items on my list.
*Garden pickings: Blackberries & windfall pears. I think anything else can wait. 
*Did 3 surveys.
*Entered 4 competitions.
*Tidied my fiction bookshelves & started a pile of potentials for trying on Z*f**t. 
Well, I haven't done anything else. I have soooooo got the Autumn decluttering bug & am also raring to go with more garden cutting back & clearing. Still lots of produce to process/preserve, so shall be busy with that too for a good while yet. 
Hope you all have a lovely weekend.
F x

DawnW

Envious of your lovely sunny weather. We have had biblical rain and thunderstorms here both yesterday and today

PennysIntoPounds

Oh well done you on accepting which shoes won't be worn again. I know, in my heart and mind, that what with my chronic pain condition and also just being middle-aged now, that I could get rid of over half my shoes. My beautiful, sexy, high-heeled, glamorous shoes. I'm not ready yet 😂