NST September 2023: Turtle Tightwaddery with a sprinkle of Alchemy

ldee2111

f0xh0les said:

NSD 14 today.  Every penny is being squeezed for the roof fund (still no start date, still no scaffold). Less than £1000 short now.  

DH is in  saboteur mode.  I can recognise it now.  Teaching term is about to start, the school meetings have begun   (sorry! we have no funds, get on with it, we can't even give you a pen!) so he is already stressed out and demotivated before meeting this year's students.

So, in conflict avoidance mode, I have been tidying. I have about 2m square left of boxes to sort through and dispose of.

I was at DS’s school’s AGM this week and it’s the same situation. Schools across the country are strapped for cash but the expectation is that they keep doing what they do. When I volunteer at the school, I can’t believe some of the things that classroom assistants and reception staff have to manage never mind the teachers! The school is fortunate to be in a fairly affluent area and do a lot of fundraising to pay for additional things that they can’t afford but the pressure on staff doesn’t seem to ease.

Thrifty_Taylor

Sending hugs to all poorly people.

Went to town early yesterday, bought 3 pretty cushions for £1 each at a table top sale, had a look in a couple of CSs, found an exam practice book for one of the subjects DS3 is doing & also a good book for growing crops in small places.

DS2's birthday today. Couldn't get into the kitchen to make his cake (he doesn't eat cake anyway, but the rest of us do!) until after 7pm, as DH had started on the washing machine repair. I did the ironing & then went outside. Filled some narrower clay pipes with pinecones & some with moss for the bug hotel, then cut branches up for piling near the pond & some for next year's fire, then the twiggy bits snipped into the compost bin. All finished now 😃

Made the cake, then did some of my rug. Went to bed with my book.

Remembered the fatal car crash in our garden from 17 years ago, it just missed wiping the 4 of us out too, by 2 minutes.

Grateful for now having a strong, thick wall with rebar in it to prevent any further boy racers coming into our garden, a few bargains, DS2 having a good day (he said there was a tiny kitten in the garden @9.20 but I never saw it later on!)

ldee2111

Sunday AM

September has ended-up being quite a spendy month ahead of our holiday in October. 

Tightwaddery has been almost impossible 😕 with pre-holiday purchases (sun cream, padlocks, snacks and mini-squash drinks that are cheaper here than the US, and some pre-loved clothes).

DS is also growing out his clothes and shoes like he is on a mission! I’ve told (yes, told!) OH (aka Mr spendy pants) that DS is not getting brand-new shoes/football boots (£30-£50 a pop!) every time he grows out of them. And to be fair on OH, he’s 🫡! 

I’ve been finding some excellent pre-loved things for DS on V!ntd. So although I’ve been spending frequently, it’s been with the intention of saving. I also wanted to get into the holiday spirit and bought myself a couple of second-hand Diznay T-shirts, one with a big mouse and another with a certain fairy. In total they cost £10. I’ve still been selling lots on the site too and putting all profits towards replacement things for DS.

We are trying to eat-down everything that’s in the fridge freezer this week. OH left the freezer door open so it’s built up a lot of ice and is jamming the drawers. Thankfully food didn’t defrost. It’ll also allow me to do a defrost and clean of the fridge freezer before we go on holiday.

I’ve got the September Weekend Monday off but some of it’ll be spent prepping for my appraisal with my manager on Tuesday. 

I’m getting really excited about the holiday now and finding it hard to focus on much else. Savings are saved for the trip and I will be trying to underspend on the budget but not to the expense of enjoyment. I’ve learned to be subtle with my saving so that OH doesn’t realise I’m doing it and doesn’t feel any pain 🤣 “Why don’t we go to this place for dinner. It gets good reviews! (and I’ve got a 25% discount voucher) WINK, WINK. 

Have a good day turtles xx

apple_muncher

Abundant, I'm with you on the total pleasure (and necessity!) of the first coffee of the day 🤣

Happy birthday 🥳 to ds2, ThriftyT, and some cake for the rest of you 🎂.

ldee, it may not feel it, but you have been practising tightwaddery. You've bought needed items at a cheaper price by thinking ahead. It's not about not spending at all, it's about being wise with our pennies.

lcc86

Woke up crazy early this morning, about 5.30, put the TV on and lay on the sofa for a while before eventually giving up and having coffee.

My share pony has gone a bit lame so no riding today, I went up to see him and gave him some carrots to make him feel better  I went to the gym instead.

Came home and stripped the bedsheets, got them changed but have had to hang them out inside due to weather. Changing bedsheets has to be my least favourite job haha.

Fell asleep on the sofa for a bit this afternoon, haven't done much else. My holiday balance has been taken so is pending on the credit card, need to get that paid off ASAP.

grandmanerd

A good day. DS1 turned up at my house way too early and then had to go outside as the state of the house was stressing him out (it stresses me too). He  told me not to rush getting ready and he would organise  our taxi for about 10 am. We were the first of our group to get there. There was an ambulance outside the church, someone had collapsed. People kept coming out to explain and apologise for the delay. The rest of our group arrived (ambulance had departed by then), DS2  on the last minute.

We had our little service and then were invited in for tea and cakes (they had a Macmillan tea party the day before and had two special birthdays to celebrate so they had lots of cake). I chatted with DS2  and daughter out law. The baby was ill so had stayed home with her other grandma who is visiting. My brother, niece and bf, and mum's 2 cousin Anne's were on the table next to us. 

DS1 refused my offer of taxi money, DS2 and his partner were anxious to get back to the baby so no meal (lots of cake but I only had a very thin piece of carrot cake, I was  given a box to bring home but handed it to DS3 as soon as I got through the door). Considered lunch options, settled for cooked meat with pasta salad. 4 small bags of rubbish taken to the bins. Washing brought in and more put out. Had a little nap this afternoon and did lots of gentle tidying.

Grateful for meeting family and mum's friends again, the weather being good (I was  dressed for outside but it was milder than it has been and the air wasn't cold enough to tear my lungs out), being invited to afternoon tea in December and a brass band concert in November.

Thrifty_Taylor

Forgot to say that I put all my summer clothes away yesterday & brought the winter ones in ready.

NSD today, could be #6.

Changed our bedding too, so will have clean bedding to nod off in tonight 😍

Spent the day cutting out & sewing another sofa cushion cover. Just the hand sewing left to close it up, then one more to make & I'm finished 😃 watched the last 2 episodes of a series about a con man, the ending was brilliant! It's on iPlayer if anyone's interested, includes pack of lies in the title. Took DS3 to work, he got a lift home afterwards.

Read a few chapters of my book throughout the day. The chapters are quite long, but must've read @80 pages.

Had a nice bath, put on a facemask but took it off quite quickly as my skin felt sore. 

Grateful for clean bedding, good books, nearly finishing the sofa cushions

grandmanerd

A slow day with lots of reading. A little bit of bathroom cleaning, slow declutter in my room (lots and lots of tiny bits to get back under control), cross-stitched some more tree trunk this evening (still waiting for the brown thread to complete the bear). No money spent. Head and chest clearing slowly but walking was very challenging. Recycling taken down and a bin bag nearly full, some undemanding crafting - sticking traced shapes onto recycled card for cutting out.

Grateful for a peaceful day, lots of reading and crafting, easy food (+ easy peelers and an ice lolly).

Thrifty_Taylor

Not been a bad day. Did yoga first thing. Work went well, a couple of children were off, so made things easier. I will be taking part in the strikes for the next 3 days, so it will be an early start tomorrow.

Had a nap when I got home from.work, DH has a bad cough just now, so his coughing wakes me up a few times per night. Did a couple of sewing jobs after tea.

Grateful for a sunny, mild day, a struggling pupil sharing some information with me, 2 people in 2 days messaging me out of the blue to tell me how much they enjoy spending time with me & that I make their lives brighter by being in them 😃

beanielou

How lovely to get such nice messages @Thrifty_Taylor. 🤩