My Off-grid and need to be frugal diary

AnimalTribe

rachmac3 I like crime/thriller books too and nature books. Although, I prefer my nature books to be about plants and how they can be useful. The history of how things were done on the domestic front I've always found fascinating. I've just finished my two fiction books so I'll have to find something else from my shelves. I'm enjoying the self-sufficiency book, even though it's a little dated.

DH put a trellis up for me so that I could move a clematis. It wasn't doing very well so I'm hoping a new position will revive it. I've not done much extra today. Another batch of rhubarb has been dehydrated, but I had to use a power pack as there has been no sun and no wind here today. I did manage to transfer a poor interest account to a better one though and sorting out finances is always a good job done.

It will be a while before I can tell if the home-made fungicide works - fingers crossed.

I hope your week is good too.

AnimalTribe

It's been very sunny here today so I managed to get a wash load done this morning, and another load of rhubarb dehydrated with power from the solar panels.

DH and I went to the village for a look around the charity shops and to do some shopping. I found some good bargains in the charity shop: a small slow cooker for £6, 3 books for £1 -  a book on how things were done in Victorian times, a book about 1950s living, and a herb book. In the village shop I got a dozen reduced priced eggs which I will freeze. I freeze them by beating 2 eggs together (I usually use eggs in twos), then place a freezer bag in a mug, tip the eggs in the bag and seal. Apparently, you can freeze the whites and the yolks separately, but I’ve never done that. I also got some reduced priced strawberries that will go well with yoghurt. We went to the local cafe for lunch, which was good.

If the weather stays good tomorrow I will dehydrate some wild garlic. I have a small patch growing in the garden. I’ve frozen the garlic before and it’s come out well, but I’ve never dehydrated it before, so it’s a bit of an experiment. I love wild garlic it's good in soup, but glorious in a cheese sandwich.

AnimalTribe

There wasn't enough sun or wind today to dehydrate the wild garlic, but there was just enough to top up the power packs. Hopefully, it will be sunny enough tomorrow to do the dehydrating.

It was warm enough though to plant some more seeds and to do a bit of weeding. Tonight, I've started to do a stock take of my home-made preserves. It's just as well I did as I've already found some parsnip and apple chutney that I made Christmas 2024 that I'd forgotten about.

I've also managed to fit in a bit of cross-stitch that I'll hopefully finish tomorrow. 

AnimalTribe

Lots of sun today so I managed to dehydrate the wild garlic, clear a garden border and repot some plants. DH cut the grass, did some weeding and planted some more hedging for me. All in all, a good gardening day.

The home-made anti-fungal seems to have worked so I'm hoping the affected plants make a full recovery. I've finished the cross-stitch and I've started another small one. I'm pleased with today's efforts. Now I'm just going to watch a film.

rachmac3

Sounds like a very productive day! 

AnimalTribe

rachmac3 it was very satisfying getting so much done.

Yesterday was very hot, so it was another day in the garden. Lots of large pots moved about and lots of weeding done. Another pheasant's nest found at the foot of a fence, or it could be a partridge nest - I'm not sure. DH washed 2 large rugs and hung them over the fence to start them drying. So much sunshine meant that all the power packs were fully charged.

Today has been miserable weather though, so it's been indoors activity only. I caught up on housework - not my favourite thing, and did some more cross-stitch. With cross-stitch I'll do loads for a couple of weeks and then not do any more for months. Eventually I will turn the cross-stitch into cards, which should be interesting as I usually end up with more glue on me than where it's supposed to go. At least with the rain I didn't have to hose the garden, so that was a bit of time saved.

I had some potatoes to use up, so tonight it was just wedges and baked beans for dinner. 

teapot2

Its rained here quite a bit overnight twice now and I've quite enjoyed not having to go round all the pots with the watering can.

AnimalTribe

teapot2 I know what you mean, having to water the garden everyday has been a real chore. 

I haven't needed to water the garden today though as it's been raining a lot, interspersed with brilliant sunshine. I managed to get a washing load done first thing and some planters moved around. However, it quickly became far too windy to do anything more outside. The battery bank and power banks are all charged though.

I’ve spent the day doing my usual Sunday phone catch ups, a bit of tidying, doing more cross-stitch and baking. So, it’s been a rewarding day.

AnimalTribe

Today has been incredibly windy so lots of power generated but nothing done in the garden. It's been a bit of a lost day, nothing really achieved over and above the normal day to day stuff.

I did however, get a distillation kit delivered as I want to experiment making some essential oils. It takes a lot of plant material to make a very small amount of oil, but the idea appeals to me. I also ordered a couple of DVDs from Ebay as Quidco had 5% cashback.

foxgloves

@AnimalTribe - I'll be really interested to hear how your distillation experiments go. I remember reading about how the process works on a larger scale at Norfolk Lavender & was struck by how much plant material is required. 
F