My Off-grid and need to be frugal diary

AnimalTribe

Liselle & In_need_of_direction that is very kind of you both. They still need to be cleaned as I only clean out the rhinestone hole before I put in replacements. Once the item is thoroughly dry, I clean it ultrasonically. Doing it this way is a kind of test to make sure the stones are firmly in place, as loose stones fall out during cleaning.

A bit of a rant follows as it’s been a nightmare of a day.

Over the last 3 days one of the dogs has been waking us up early, but this morning she woke DH and I up at 2am. We are both shattered. We think she might be hearing the game keeper or poachers – neither of whom I approve of.

DH discovered that a fallen tree branch had taken down part of a fence, so the garden was full of about 20 sheep. Another branch had taken down part of a dry-stone wall we paid to have rebuilt. DH has managed to put some of the stones back but they were heavy.

We have a Calor gas oven and last night the gas bottle ran out. This isn’t terrible as we always have another bottle on stand by and they just needed changing over. However, it was 11:30pm when I went to put the kettle on the hob that I realised this. Too dark and too much rain to change it over then. Neither of us could face changing the bottles after all the running about this morning, so we used a hot plate – 10 minutes to boil a kettle when you really, really need a cup of coffee is just a pain.

And to top it all, the security screen that hides the gas bottles is broken and will have to be replaced. A couple of years ago I was in the house when a man jumped over the fence to take a look at the bottles (a thief). I let the dogs out in the yard (which is separated from the bottles by a gate – I would never risk the dogs ). He jumped back over the fence sharpish.

There have been some positives – we got to test the hotplate and out of 10 parcels that Evri have mislaid 8 have been refunded. I expect refunds on the other 2 to follow.

AnimalTribe

Today has been a good day. The day has been cold but lovely. I've written all my Christmas cards and I'm meeting up with some family tomorrow so I can hand deliver the cards for them. I love Christmas, but I find writing cards a chore, so I'm glad that's done. 

A couple of sheep found another gap in the fence, but they were easily chased back into the field.

In the story about the thief and my dogs I left out the most important part my dogs were barking like mad, but they are real softies and would just lick intruders. Still the thief didn’t know that.

Best of all today I’ve been able to have coffee on tap. So, I’ve spent the day reading my book, watching a DVD and drinking coffee.

Rhyddid2026

One of my dogs is a really anxious lurcher, but she looks like a small white German Shepherd. She has a very loud bark but is terrified of most things. Today when the local odd job man came to the house I told her to stay in her crate. It probably sounded like I was telling the big scary dog to stay in her crate to protect the odd job man, but actually she would have just gone and hid upstairs and I'm trying to help her be a bit braver. I was letting her know she was safe in her crate and asking her to trust me and stay there. Still, it doesn't hurt to let strangers in your home to think otherwise. It was the greyhound who came over and lay on the floor between me and him to guard me 

AnimalTribe

Rhyddid2026 a greyhound and a lurcher how wonderful, and what a clever greyhound keeping you safe. Such an obedient lurcher as well staying in her crate. They must keep you very fit. Dogs are such loving, loyal pets, as long as they are taught properly.

DH and I adopted a labrador years ago. She became a beautiful dog but it took a lot of work. At first, we could only pet the back of her neck and if we held anything remotely like a stick (a broom or some such) she would be scared. With patience she became the sweetest dog and came to love belly rubs, getting her paws, teeth and ears checked was no problem. She also, got over her fear of stick-like things. Sadly, she’s passed away now.

DH and I had a great visit with family and a nice meal. It’s always good to catch up. Lots of Christmas cards were swapped and I handed over cash for the kids in the family’s presents. So that’s it – my Christmas cards and presents are all done and delivered. On the way home I picked up some chocolates for Christmas and some mince pies to eat now.

Rhyddid2026

I'm lucky, as long as they have a 15 to 20 minute sprint once a week (secure field) they're fine with a half hour walk a day. The greyhound is 10 and the lurcher gets more worn out from sniffing new places, patrolling the back garden, or doing a few minutes brain training. Also luckily they both love being in the car and going for a drive. We do have longer walks sometimes or go to a friends farm for them to play with their dogs. Having lazy dogs was an absolute blessing when I was ill with covid/ long covid.
They can be a lot of work and take a lot of patience and understanding, but it's so rewarding when you see how far they come.

AnimalTribe

Rhyddid2026 it sounds like your dogs have a wonderful life. Mine have been for 2 short walks today as it’s been very bad weather here. There was no chance of taking them out tonight as the wind is so strong it would blow us all away. At least the wind is blowing in the right direction to power the turbine and giving us lots of energy. I just have to hope there’s no serious damage done to the house or outbuildings. I’ll see tomorrow.

As there is loads of electricity being generated, I’ve done a couple of loads of laundry but they’ll have to be dried inside. Tonight, I’ve done a bit of jewellery making, read some of my book and I’m about to watch another episode of ‘The Blacklist’, so a relaxed day.

beckstar1975

I love that bad (ie windy though I do love windy weather to a point, all that energy) is actually a blessing for you. Hope there's been no damage though - DH and DS are due to fly to Dublin tomorrow for the football and Bram has been knocking flights out left right and centre

AnimalTribe

beckstar1975 the storm is causing all kinds of chaos but I hope you make it to Dublin and I hope your team win. Fortunately, there's been no damage here, but it's really windy again so who knows what tomorrow will bring. 

Evri have started to deliver the parcels that they claimed were lost, so DH and I have been contacting the sellers who have already given us refunds to ask us how to pay them again. Some have been easy, but some like eBay sellers are a bit more difficult. I'm sure we'll sort them all in the end. One of the 'lost' parcels that has now been delivered is a box of 3.5kg of broken costume jewellery, which I've been sorting through today. I had ordered another lot of jewellery from another seller to make up the shortfall. Of course, I now have double the amount. I will use it all, but it is more than I expected to work on – if that makes sense.

beckstar1975

Wow, that's a lot! Someone I follow on instagram has been making christmas tree decorations from broken jewellery - it looks really pretty and has been selling well. Might be worth considering if you have more than enough!

AnimalTribe

beckstar1975 thanks for the idea. There are a lot of single earrings in the job lot so Christmas decorations for next year is a good idea.

The new shelf for the fridge came today and it fits perfectly. DH kept the old plastic edge from the broken shelf as the new shelf didn't have one fitted and the edge fits the new shelf perfectly too. It's still very windy here, but other than a broken (but repairable) bird feeder we have no damage.

The clock mechanism to repair a wall clock has also arrived so that will be the next small fix.