2025 Frugal Living Challenge

MayDogsandCoffee

Nelliegrace said:

So annoying @kimwp. 
One year a neighbour volunteered to water the plants in pots when we were away for a few days and when we got home he had stripped the garden of every bit of fruit, including four large blackcurrant bushes and every cherry he could reach from the neighbour’s tree. 

That is so rude, how could he justify himself - basically theft.

Gem-gem

Nelliegrace said:

So annoying @kimwp. 
One year a neighbour volunteered to water the plants in pots when we were away for a few days and when we got home he had stripped the garden of every bit of fruit, including four large blackcurrant bushes and every cherry he could reach from the neighbour’s tree. 

OMG! What a nightmare of a neighbour. Are they still your neighbour? I would have been livid. 

Gem-gem

kimwp said:

When I went to put the kitchens scraps on the compost heap this morning, all the cherries inside the net I spent 2-3 hours putting up had been eaten. No idea how the culprit got in and out. The sleeved branches seem to be ok so far.

Something has been stripping the blackcurrants too, they've always been fine before, so I hadn't netted them. So my crop has been severely depleted! 

Quite a few stems on my oldest blackcurrant were almost dead, no leaves or berries (or some dried berries), wondering if I should have been watering it, but I think I haven't had to before unless it's been really hot. I'm so absent minded and forgetful at the moment though I can't rely on my memory. 

The kitchen rep seems to be leaking too, all feeling a bit overwhelming at the moment.

I feel for you. Re: fruit. My Dad is having the same problem and is having to net everything. 

Gem-gem

My dear husband and I went and saw Starlight Express tonight. He bought the tickets through a deal with the senior railcard £36 each. When we got there we were told to go to the ticket office and our tickets were upgraded 😀
(The show was very good, the roller skaters were fast!)
After, whilst waiting at the station to go home, my husband showed me the face value of the original ticket, it said £29!!! Thank goodness we had an upgrade. We have learnt - don't assume that because a company says it is a good deal, that it is. From now on my dear husband will double check the theatre website before booking. We will never take it at face value again.   

Prudent

@Nelliegrace, that was so rude with the fruit. We all naturally encourage people to help themselves to some ripe produce when they water our garden, but we also expect them to behave as we would, taking a small amount of fruit that would otherwise go to waste if left unpicked. Not all people do behave in that way though. I learned that lesson when I gave decorating work to a colleague's husband. They were struggling because he was unemployed at the time, and I wanted to help out. He damaged a brand new computer beyond feasible repair, ate all the cakes, biscuits, bread and sandwich ingredients (and I was well stocked!), and was always sitting in a chair watching TV when I got home from work. The job took forever, and I am sure the end bill was higher than a professional decorator who would have taken a few days. 

@Gem-gem, that is a good tip about the tickets thank you. OH and I love the theatre, especially musicals. Sadly we seem to find less time to go now. I think a day out is such a good boost. I had a day out yesterday with one of the groups I attend. We went to a local Japanese garden and had a tour, lunch and did some Japanese art and craft activities. There were no immediate costs, although we had raised the money by contributing to bake sales. I like that way of doing things because it doesn't exclude people on a tighter budget. 

Today I am back to jobs. I want to wash some windows, and as it is so warm, I will clean out the wee ponds I have at home and the allotment. They are very small but enough to allow the insects and some small mammals somewhere to drink. The one at home is now thriving, but the allotment one needs a good clean out and some fresh planting. I will clean it out today and then order some plants. I very much enjoyed the lake at the Japanese garden, which was full of tiny frogs, and there were masses of brilliant blue dragonflies skimming the water.

Gem-gem

@Prudent, how lovely your visit to the Japanese gardens sounds. Also what a delight to take part in some Japanese arts and crafts. What did you do? I was lucky enough to go to Japan the Easter before C19 hit the world. We made paper and we learnt a little origami. We also went to a place where a gentlemen did some amazing wood carvings and made boxes with secret compartments. The whole trip was a once in a lifetime experience from start to finish. 

Gem-gem

Good evening everyone, 
Another 4kg of gooseberries picked today and shared with my neighbour. Also, blackcurrants picked and stewed with apple. 

Cooked DH a cooked breakfast this morning so he didn't need to eat whilst out in London. The mushrooms, tomatoes and sausages were all YS. Tonight we had YS fishcakes and YS salad. Followed by h/m Sherry trifle. 

This week DH had a birthday. He received this card. It did make us laugh. We are well know for our pursuit of bargains. 😀

fionaandphil

We had a blackcurrant day too, picked a load and made jam. About 10kg of blackcurrants still to pick, may leave some for the birds.

Love the card !

Gem-gem

fionaandphil said:

We had a blackcurrant day too, picked a load and made jam. About 10kg of blackcurrants still to pick, may leave some for the birds.

Love the card !

Wow! 10kg still to pick, you must have an impressive amount of bushes. We have nine black currant bushes. I lost one this year. One of the bushes produces giant blackcurrants. The others it depends on how much water they get to how much the fruit swells.  Like you Fionaand Phil, I always leave some berries and currants for the wildlife. 

fionaandphil

We've only got three bushes but they are on a sunny wall next to the house and produce so much fruit, we can never keep up.  Even though they are all together they also mature at a slightly different rate which is good as it means I can pick them on different weeks. Usually by week 3 I've given up though and the birds get that one.  The blackcurrants are huge on the middle bush too, more like blueberry/small grape size so much easier to pick.