Resourcefulness: The budgeter's friend

Suffolk_lass

How is your hip feeling after the other day? I can't resist a simple explanation as sports science was my degree and I rarely get a chance to talk about anything I learned, now I am over 60! The easy explanation is abductors move your leg out sideways away from your body, adductors pull it back in towards your body; flexors help you bend (from the waist), extensors help you straighten. Personally, while there are various strengthening things you can do, with plenty of videos online, I find the stretching exercises are the best for me. Several are on the bed too. 

These work for me and are a good start:

1. On your back, on top of the bed. Bend your knees, so you don't do anything to your back, soles of feet on the bed but sort of half way to your bum. Bend one knee by bringing the heel to your bum, then lift it (you can use your hands) and bring it up to hug it to your chest, gently, until you feel it but stop at that point. I sort of rock it in a bit to gently stretch it a bit more, then slide the heel back down and try the orher leg. 3 reps (so 3 each leg) to start and all controlled, not fast.
2. Same start position, try relaxing one knee outwards, towards the mattress. If it goes all the way, try relaxing the other leg outwards too, but don't go beyond just feeling it. If it doesn't go all the way, do it alternately, again 3 times each side. 
3. Standing, hip width apart, hands on hips (it really helps with a long scarf round your waist) move your hips in a controlled circle, first clockwise three times, then anti clockwise.

Unless your muscles are in tension (spasm) this will help them reset

If you are stiff, I also use the on-bed start, one leg stretched out, other leg bent, sole of the foot on the bed surface, slide your foot up to as close as you can get your bum (no hands) and back down. Do this 10-20 times to improve mobility, then do the other leg. It improves over the 20 for me.

foxgloves

Hello Friday Frugalistas & thanks for all your comments.
@KajiKita - Yes, frogging lace patterns is awful isn't it? Thankfully my pattern looks correct now. It is knitted on the diagonal (mitred increases) on circular needles & as it's a shawl, has very long rows. Thankfully, the pattern designer suggested placing stitch markers between each pattern repeat so that it is much easier to see if I've made an error without having to frog whole rows of it. I am enjoying knitting it, but I shall be glad when it's finished! 

@Suffolk_lass - That is very interesting about hip muscles & thanks so much for suggesting some useful exercises. I am much stiffer when I've been sitting down. Once I am moving about & busy or walking, I'm fine. It does feel muscular though & not joint-based. I am going to write those exercises in my notebook & try them out for a few weeks to see if things improve, so many thanks for sharing.

Well, it's been very much a low spend day today. We visited the cathedral Moon installation in a neighbouring town - tickets pre-booked ages ago. We paid the princely sum of £1 to park plus I bought a nice postcard for my sister - 50p! We were tempted by the lure of a nearby coffee shop on our way home, which worsened when Mr F informed me they have a loyalty card offer on cake. However, we held out, mainly due to me thinking that the scales have been going in the right direction the last couple of weeks & that cake would be a hindrance - so money saved too.
Have updated the grocery budget & we came in well under target for this week. Just one more week to go of this budget cycle & £83 left for groceries, which will be plenty & will most likely cover a couple more Christmas cake ingredients too. Meal plans done to the end of the month & based heavily on what we already have in stock. Being able to stock the freezer with all those batch cooks from our own homegrown produce has definitely helped.
Cleaned the house between us.....I chose the bathroom, bins & tidying and Mr F did all the vacuuming, including the stairs which are my least favourite to do. Laundry back-log now dealt with final lurking load going in this afternoon & now on heated airer. Am experimenting with the eco-load which is different to the one on the old machine.
Wrote a birthday card from my stash. Ditto stamp, as I still have plenty of the pretty ones I bought in bulk before the last 2nd class price increase.
We've planned a low-spend outing for tomorrow, not far, just over into a neighbouring county.
Have done a few surveys - 4 PA, 1 Ips*s & a Taste Nation. Nothing there that's going to put much pence in the purse, but it all adds up.
It's Mr F's cooking night, so I am going to enjoy reading my latest library book, which is Janice Hallett's latest novel - 'The Examiner'. I'm enjoying it. There's clearly been some skullduggery but I haven't yet pieced together exactly what & how. It's a nice long book though & the story really lends itself to the author's unusual multi-narrative structural form.
Soot has been funny with a temporary very MSE new cat toy. I rubbed cat-nip all over an empty cardboard kitchen roll tube, then stuffed his old toy mouse up the middle. First he got high, then he sat there deciding how best to get his mouse out. Clever boy, because he scooped up the tube in his front paws & shook it. That moved mousey down so his tail was poking out. Tail then grabbed & mouse thrown up in the air in delight! I must remember this next time I am in a pet shop looking at expensive new cat toys!
Enjoy your Friday nights all,
F x

Blackcats

I can visualise Soot and his cat nip antics.  Cats are so funny when they've been intoxicated by cat nip.

hope you are pleased with the new washing machine.  We had to replace our dishwasher earlier this month and it felt very painful to take the cost of it from the relevant savings pot.  That pot had just recovered from the purchase of a new phone a few months ago.  Not the apparent must have latest, top of the range phone but nonetheless a bit pricey.  Nothing else is allowed to break until that savings pot has recovered.

thanks for mentioning the new Janice Hallett book.  I've enjoyed all her other books.  I've got an aud * ble credit so I'm going to see if it's available yet.  

Have a lovely Friday evening.

badmemory

I've had a hip replacement & they recommend not sitting for more than 30mins & I have found that to be just about spot on.  So much so that I even have a kitchen timer set for an hour so that I do move if I have become engrossed.  

I have even found my wiifit very helpful.  It has one bit that you have to basically wiggle your hips to hit numbers that add up to 20, so good for the body & the mind.  What I have also found interesting is that I have had it 14 years now & it keeps your top ten scores.  I thought my hip had only been bad for about 3yrs before the op although the consultant seemed to think longer.  The first times I tried the hoola-hoop after the op I wiped out every score I had ever had.  Just goes to show you don't always realise how your body is basically going down the pan.

Another thing he said was did I realise one leg was shorter than the other he could tell from the hip xray & that had been part of the cause of the problem & he would correct that too.  So now when I just stand I stand plonked on both feet rather than on one with the other knee bent because he has indeed made the 2 legs equal length.

foxgloves

@Blackcats - Yes, that is also why our Appliances Replacement Pot was depleted. I normally keep it topped up to a level that would cover 2 whites goods appliances carking it fairly simultaneously. However, since setting that maximum figure, prices have increased dramatically on just about everything so realistically, it would now only cover 1.5 items. I also didn't take into account needing to sub the Tech Replacement Pot from the Appliances one to cover needing to replace Mr F's kaput phone & an additional smaller appliance needing to be replaced as well. 
I am enjoying the book & it's a good long one, so as you like Janice Hallett too, that's probably a good use of your credit. I am finding it quite funny in places - even though they are mature students, you can't help but recognise the character types. I am naturally trying to unpick the mystery from emerging clues, but am not getting very far with that, despite being almost halfway through the book!

@badmemory - I think it is a really good idea to get up & walk around a bit every so often. I feel much more flexible if I don't sit for too long. I can well imagine that is even more important following a hip replacement.
F

foxgloves

Hi Saturday Savers,
We both awoke to the sound of rain on the window, so as it hadn't stopped by our intended setting out time, we decided to postpone our planned outing. No, we're not made of sugar, but we thought it would make better use of the fuel to get there if we could actually enjoy a more leisurely dry stroll.....otherwise it turns into little more than travelling simply to visit the coffee shop, which we can do nearer to home. We have just been getting on with various activities - Mr F has been fiddling about with TV/home cinema system cabling to try & solve a random connectivity problem, & I have done a bit of kitchen witchery. Defo not a no-spend day as we have bought tickets for Ben Elton's new tour in the new year, but those will be included in the relevant section of the budget. Anyway, today's small budget-helping bits & bobs:
*Baked a loaf.
*Used our last kg of blackberries to make another batch of smoky blackberry ketchup. It's yum & I shall definitely want to give at least a couple of jars as gifts.
*Prepped a kg of tomatoes ready to make more tomato soup on Monday.
*A product arrived for me to test. No payment, but I can keep the product (worth £25)
*Entered a competition.
*Credited £9.56 back to October's budget as had not amended mobile phone provider monthly dd following paying off Mr F's handset. In my Money Book, I always write credits in capital letters as they are cheering to see!
*Garden pickings: The rest of the carrots & a bunch of cavolo nero.
*Used 2 more free samples  - hair mask & moisturiser this time. Did I tell you I was given a bag of free samples to try last weekend when I was in the shop which sounds like where you'd go for a new body? I took advantage of a 3 for 2 offer, got another offer on a refill & used my £5 loyalty voucher. I'd have thought that was a jolly good deal, but I was then given a free sleep balm (I have added this to the presents stash as have an ideal recipient for it) & a pretty little paper bag of samples. This included a tiny pot each of banana hair mask, moisturiser, 2 types of body moisturiser, a eucalyptus decongestant balm (now in medicine box ready for lergies!), & cleansing butter, as well as 4 sachets of facial serums. Am flagging this up in case any one visits a shop & spots little bags lurking behind the counter - could be something similar.
*Another easy-peasy meal tonight using one of my batch-cooks from the freezer - chicken bhuna this time & Mr F has decided to serve it on jacket potatoes as we have already had rice twice this week. 
*Checked for surveys but very little around. Hopefully next week will be better & I will try to put the effort in.
I've also started a new TV-watching knitting project from my stash. I was asked if I'd like to contribute an item or two of warm hand-knitted clothing to a Christmas collection for distribution to local charities for people of all ages who are in need. I've heard that most people have so far knitted hats & gloves, so I am going to knit & donate 3 little pairs of baby/toddler socks. It won't cost me anything except my time & will hopefully be useful to someone. They are nice sturdy proper little socks, not 'booties'.
Enjoy your evenings all. I intend to spend mine watching 2 episodes of 'Ludwig', knitting, fussing cats, reading & trying to get the last word on the Guardian word wheel puzzle. I have got the 9-letter word, but am one word short of scoring 'Excellent' & I take it personally if I don't achieve this.
Right, enough of my yakk.
F x

foxgloves

We are getting geared up for the Cephalopods' free electricity hour this afternoon. So far, I've been here by myself for these, but as Mr F is home for this one, I've assigned him to getting everything from my pedi-roller to the vacuum on charge at 1pm, brewing a big jug of coffee & anything else he can think of. I am just about to load the washing machine & set up the heated airer and also intend to start tackling the ironing backlog while listening to Planet Rock. You know my feelings about ironing, but how nice it will be to have virtually none to do in the week, esp as the forecast looks to be showing lots of garden clearing weather.
Cats already on dinner pester (cat dinnertime is 5.45pm......it's going to be a long day, as they are on wet playtime too).
Not a no-spend day. Treated ourselves to breakfast at village farm shop cafe, but used our Personal Spends so budget-neutral. Bought myself a small white cheery cyclamen to add to a container on our front courtyard plus a small inexpensive Christmas gift. Turning out the presents stash & making a comprehensive list is very much a task for the coming week.
Do batten down the hatches any of you in the storm-affected area.
Love F x

Sun_Addict

A house on my road has a tub full of mixed white and red cyclamen and it looks so pretty. 

Tescodealqueen

Sunday morning is my favourite Planet Rock morning listening to Danny Bowes while crafting, my weekly treat

KajiKita

This made me think of here and your furry friends …. 😉😊



KK