Resourcefulness: The budgeter's friend

Suffolk_lass

Garden is beautiful! - much tidier than mine which need a good weed!

Re rodents; I have a broken recessed light over the washing machine by the back door where a pest controller yanked it out, pulling the housing down (he was a special kind of chimp in man's clothing - he also yanked up a screwed down floorboard (breaking it) and then smashed it back in with a big hammer, damaging the ceiling of the dining room below, despite me rushing upstairs to stop him; there is no void between boards and ceiling and I had already told him this - "!!!!!! are you doing? you are bringing my ceiling down in the dining room!" caused sufficient pause to stop him doing further damage to our 17th century cottage!) - so anyway, I digress, that light is no longer properly sealed. It acts as an early warning system for rodents in the kitchen roof space as I can detect rodent urine within moments of them arriving. The other product of dead ones is the fly infestation that follows. Ugh!

foxgloves

Afternoon Sunbeams, Thanks for all your comments about gardens & deceased rodents. Yes, I am so glad it revealed itself before the heatwave, as it smelled quite rank enough already!

A no-spend day here as I have been neither out nor online & Mr F seems to have had end-to-end meetings at work. Quite a productive day on the whole. Budget-friendly stuff as follows:

*Baked the sourdough I made yesterday so that's bread for the weekend. Froze an unopened bag of bagel thins as can't see us needing them over the next couple of days.

*Emptied out the 3 big ceramic planters on our front courtyard & replanted them. Full tight-wad mode here, as each one got a geranium I overwintered from last year & a selection of summer bedding grown from free seed. I added back some newer bits of the overwintered ivy too. Of the old stuff, I salvaged 2 fancy primulas & a cyclamen, now potted up & rejuvenating for Autumn.

*Sorted out the cold frame. All the bedding required for front courtyard borders now on wheelbarrow ready to be planted out this weekend. The only plants in the cold frame now are perennials I've grown from seed, which will be grown on for Autumn planting.

*Today's pickings - rocket.

*Treated myself to a home pedicure using some fancypants purple foot scrub I received for my birthday. It's so purple, I should think it's visible from space, but feet feel good & have painted my toenails glittery pink. I bought this nail polish from a bargain shop now closed down. Verdict so far is that it's a good colour but I am not sure it's going to last long. Maybe one of those occasions when a cheapo thing doesn't actually turn out to be a bargain because it's not up to the job, like when I bought that £2.99 bra!

*Triage of the fridge revealed a floppy half lettuce. It's been standing in a glass of water for a couple of hours & is now looking sufficiently edible to be chopped into tonight's salad. V low effort tonight. Jacket potatoes with the rest of the turkey, sweetcorn & sweet potato chilli I made yesterday (from the 'I ❤️my slow cooker' book).

And here's Ash! First time I've seen him since breakfast. He reverts back to feral in summer, but does of course return for food & fuss. Mr F says he treats the place like a hotel.

F x

Oh, & all the free veg plants I put outside were taken by neighbours. In fact, I met a neighbour I had never spoken to before, so that was nice. Really pleased that they didn't go to waste.

PennysIntoPounds

Aw that's so nice, love sharing in the manor 😊

Sun_Addict

On the plus side nail polish on toes lasts a lot longer than on fingers.

KajiKita

Cats aren’t supposed to treat their homes as hotels in summer …? 🤔 #confused … Every cat that has ever owned me has done this … 😉
Our little monkey does stay a bit closer to home now that the bully has left from next door. We see her in our (sorry, her!) garden more these days and she checks in with us a couple of times a day when we are at home 😊

Love that the big planters had overwintered and home grown plants - that must be so satisfying 😊

KK

foxgloves

Hi Sunbeams, Just a quick post while Mr F is firing up the BBQ. Oh my life, it's been hot today! Way too hot for all of us here except Ash. A no-spend day. I'm not counting the Sunday paper as we have a subscription to that. Other useful little bits on the budget-friendly front:

Planted all remaining outdoor tomatoes in their bottomless pots, cut & tied bunches of rosemary & oregano - now hanging from kitchen beam for drying, Mr F weeded the final veg bed ready for planting out courgettes & squash next weekend & we planted out the sunflowers - free seed so thought we'd sow for some free bird food.

Sowed a dozen more french beans to make up the numbers.

Have also picked broccoli stuff which isn't really broccoli (can't remember its name) to make a salad & I've made a bowl of herby lemon & garlic couscous.

And leisure....reading, crossword, sharing my apple with a blackbird, watching the swifts go in & out of one of our nest boxes, listening to music & wondering if having a gin tonight while looking for hedgehogs & moths might just be a pleasant way to end the day.

Enjoy your BH weekends, Frugal Friends,

F xx

foxgloves

Ahah! It's rapini. The not-really-broccoli stuff.

Dakota_Rose

That does indeed sound like a more than pleasant way to end the day! I’d love a glass of wine in the garden but alas, there’s none in and I haven’t needed one enough to venture to the shops for one.

Enjoy the hedgehog and moth spotting this evening 😊

PennysIntoPounds

Garden drinkie with the hedgehogs and moths sounds an idyllic end to a gorgeous sounding day ❤️🥂

Makingabobor2

Hope you got your time in garden with G&T. A perfect evening for it.