My Off-grid and need to be frugal diary

AnimalTribe

£0 spend

Lunch - sandwiches for me, fish and bread for DH, and salad.

Dinner - sandwiches for me, cheese & ham quiche for DH, and salad, followed by chocolate cake with stewed apple.

It’s been very hot here today, so I managed to get lots of weeding done, pulled up the caterpillar infested nasturtium, and sowed some more seeds (winter lettuce, radish, spring onion and cabbage).

I’ve made a Victoria sandwich and a chocolate cake. The recent heavy winds knocked all of the cooking apples off the tree, so I collected them up and made stewed apple. The apples were, of course, small but I didn’t want to waste them.

Tonight, I’ve done more crafting, sewing faces on babushka and bears. Now I’m going to sit and watch a film.

AnimalTribe

DH went to town to buy some stuff for work. It's not a household expense so I don't count it in our spending.

Lots of sunshine, so a laundry load done, the house vacuumed, the portable power packs topped up, and water pumped from the well to the tank.

Lunch: rice with vegetables

Dinner: sandwiches with salad, followed by chocolate cake with stewed apple.

While he was there, he did the recycling, dropped some books off at the charity shop, and did the grocery shopping. I gave him a list: bread, milk, yoghurt, margarine - these are all permitted spends this month. I thought for sure that he'd come back with stuff from the charity shop and grocery bargains, as he can't resist a bargain, but he surprised me. His only extra was a bag of chocolate chip cookies, so not bad. He hasn’t given me the receipts yet but I’ll post the cost tomorrow.

When we go out, we try to make the most of the petrol usage by doing several things at once.

It's been extremely hot today. I've been out gardening, but could only do 20 minutes outside before I had to come in to cool off. The caterpillars are becoming a real nuisance they've eaten the kale, and started on the rocket. I will definitely have to net the veg next year. The sewing marathon continues.

weenancyinAmerica

Can you also plant nasturtiums nearby next year? Caterpillars seem to love them and may stay away from your other plants then.

AnimalTribe

weenancyinAmerica. I will definitely give this a try next year. I think foxgloves mentioned sacrificing nasturtiums for her veg. I will try to keep some nasturtiums safe though as I eat them in salads to add a slightly peppery taste and they grow well here.

Another hot day, although not so bad as yesterday. I did some more weeding and more crafting.

On the plus side the laundry has been done and dried outside, and the portable power packs are fully charged and the main batteries should last all night. On the negative side the midges are the worst they’ve ever been. Anti-midge spray and citronella candles aren’t deterring them for long. DH and I are both suffering.

Yesterday’s spend was £12.23 on milk, margarine, yoghurt and margarine – I’m allowing these spends during the month. DH also bought chocolate chip cookies £1 and he snuck in some batteries £2.09.

So far spends that are outside my challenge are £20 tip to delivery drivers, £1 cookies, £2.09 batteries.

Today’s spend £0

Lunch sandwiches for me, fish and bread for DH, with salad. Followed by grapes. That’s the last of the grapes

Dinner veggie quiche with salad. Followed by chocolate cake and stewed apple. That’s the last of the chocolate cake and apple.

DH made 3 eBay sales today. The items didn’t sell for a large amount, but it’s money in the bank, and 3 things out of the house.

AnimalTribe

£0

Lunch sandwiches and salad, followed by Victoria sponge and home-made raspberry jam

Dinner veg & lentil soup, followed by mango and yoghurt. The soup was to use up some veg that needed to be used up. I’m doing fairly well not wasting anything.

It’s overcast and still here, so the generator has switched on.

The oil tank is now empty and DH and I just have to move the old tank and get the new tank up on the concrete base. How we’re going to raise a very heavy tank 8 inches we’ve no idea yet, but I’m sure we’ll figure it out. Until the new tank is filled, connected and working we have no running hot water, but we’ll manage with boiling a kettle. It’s what they did in the old days.

I have managed to do a bit more in the garden. Last year I had a great crop of marrows and not so great courgettes, this year I only have one marrow on the plant, but loads of courgettes – it’s a funny old world. Indoors the lettuce, cucumbers and green peppers are doing very well, and although the tomatoes are a disappointing crop, I now have some more turning red on the bush. I pickled some cucumbers and that should keep two weeks in the fridge.

I can’t remember if I said that I’d redeemed my Microsoft Reward points for a £20 Tesco voucher. I won’t be using it for a while though as the nearest Tesco is 60 miles away, and there is nothing I need yet.

I’m still working on making crafts for my stock, but I still can’t find the black beads I need to finish off a couple of projects. I’ll probably find them in the last place I look as that always seems to be the way.

joedenise

There's a reason things are always in the last place you look!  The reason:  you give up looking anywhere else!!!

honeybee1234

joedenise said:

There's a reason things are always in the last place you look!  The reason:  you give up looking anywhere else!!!

This saying has always meant something slightly different to me, that 'last place I look(ed)' means you've looked in all the places the lost thing could be so after looking in the last place, there won't be anywhere else left to look - it's funny how it means different things to different people! 

kayannie

weenancyinAmerica said:

Can you also plant nasturtiums nearby next year? Caterpillars seem to love them and may stay away from your other plants then.

My nasturtiums planted next to the kale have had no caterpillars whereas the kale has been stripped of all it's leaves, but at least I can include the nasturtiums in our salad with no danger of eating a caterpillar!
KA

AnimalTribe

Joedenise “The reason:  you give up looking anywhere else!!!” very true. 

Honeybee1234 I remember a few years ago when I was in Scotland, I went into a bakers and asked for a sausage roll. They said they didn’t have any, I pointed to the sausages in pastry, but they thought I’d meant sausage in a bun/bap. I can’t remember what they called what Greggs call a sausage roll. I find that there are quite a few differences in meaning around the country, especially in what people call bread products.

Kayannie I grow kale because it grows well here, and it’s OK in a salad when it’s young, but I’d much rather have the nasturtiums.

£0

Lunch sandwiches and salad, followed by mango in yoghurt

Dinner veggie burger for me, chicken burger for DH, followed by mango and yoghurt.

I’ve done some more crafting and I’m doing fairly well. I still plan to re-open my online shop at the end of August.

DH and I have now moved the old tank and we will put the new tank in place tomorrow. It’s too tiring to do both tanks in one day. I’ve done some gardening and DH has mown some of the grass. We both now need to rest for the remainder of the night

The Victoria sponge is finished as we needed a treat after moving the tank. I’ve made some rocky road to keep us going. One of these days I will get around to making my own vegetarian marshmallows as I’ve only been able to buy them online

I decided to brave a shower, it was as expected cold – but I survived – just.

AnimalTribe

£0

Lunch sandwiches and salad, followed by mango and yoghurt. I’ve used the last of the celery. I have some celery planted but it’s still very small and not harvestable yet. All the mangoes have been used too.

Dinner noodles with veg, although DH added chicken to his, followed by ice-cream.

DH and I moved the new tank into place today. It wasn’t as difficult a task as we thought, so that’s good.

It is so hot today that all the plants needed to be watered. Constant sunshine means that the battery bank and all the portable power packs are full. Another load of laundry done, and more craft sewing done.

Tonight, I’m just going to settle down with an M C Beaton, Hamish Macbeth book. I’ve read them all before, but they are an entertaining and easy read.