My Off-grid and need to be frugal diary

Rhyddid2026

That does sound really frustrating. Things are often delivered to the wrong house in my valley but people manage to sort it out through the local Facebook page usually.

AnimalTribe

Rhyddid2026 If the parcel had been delivered to our nearest neighbour (one mile away) but still the same post code I could have understood it. But the delivery photo on Evri's tracking doesn't resemble any of the houses within a 5 mile area. So goodness knows where it has ended up. Unfortunately, the fruit trees were on special offer and I won't be able to replace them for the same bargain price.

On a positive note (yippee) DH’s Amazon parcel that was lost (containing 4 items) has been delivered today. DH contacted Amazon to arrange re-payment as the cost had already been refunded, but Amazon told him to just keep the parcel no charge. One of the ordered 5L bottles of rust remover has also been delivered (although the box was in a sorry state). Again, DH contacted the seller who just said to keep it. Unfortunately, my query about my fruit trees is still unresolved.

Tonight, I made stir fry with noodles and finished off the last onion, green pepper and sweetcorn. Dessert was home-grown, frozen raspberries with the last of the coconut and yoghurt. So, it’s been a finishing off kind of day.

Tomorrow DH and I are going to a garden centre to see what vegetable plants are worth buying. The centre also has a greengrocer’s concession that is usually great value so I will be stocking up on fruit and veg to eat, and probably some to dehydrate. I’ll also be calling in to Lidl as they are selling Easter veg for 4p (so are many of the other supermarkets).

AnimalTribe

DH and I went to the garden centre yesterday. It was a beautiful day, warm and sunny. Some of the seeds that I’ve sown haven’t done very well – peas, beans and cucumbers so I bought replacements. They also had 3 plants for £6 deal, so I decided to buy 3 tomato plants and 3 sweet pepper plants as these are the things we eat a lot of, and having a few extra plants does no harm. DH bought 2 pots of reduced priced hyacinths (£2 each) and they are currently cheering up the kitchen. I had intended to plant the peas and beans today, but the weather is abysmal and snow is forecast for tomorrow, so they are currently in an unheated greenhouse.

There is a greengrocer next to the garden centre so I managed to get some reasonably priced fruit. A large melon for £1.99, 2 kiwis for £1, 2 punnets of grapes for £4, and two large bags of plums for £2. I also got some apples but I can’t remember how much they were.

After a very nice lunch at the garden centre, we went to Lidl and I managed to get 2 bags of potatoes, 2 bags of carrots, 2 bags of swedes, 2 bags of parsnips and 2 bags of shallots for 4p each – what a bargain. I also bought salad, milk, bread, cheese and yoghurt. So, all in all I had a very productive day yesterday.

Today DH managed to connect up our solar/turbine/generator central control box to the internet so that if there are problems they can be diagnosed remotely by our service engineer. This has been on the to do list for a long time so I’m very pleased. I’ve just done general tidying.

AnimalTribe

I hope the storm didn’t cause any problems for anyone. Surprisingly, given the ferocity of the wind, my house didn’t suffer any damage.

Because of the high winds yesterday and today lots of electricity has been generated and the batteries are full.

Today the bathroom has been scrubbed from top to bottom and the house has been vacuumed throughout. I’ve re-potted the cucumbers I bought on Thursday, and used the first of the cheap vegetables to make jacket potatoes.

A pack of two of the fruit trees that I ordered has been delivered, but I still haven’t had a reply from the seller of the fruit tree pack of five that went missing. It being a bank holiday though, I don’t expect a reply until Tuesday, at the earliest.

The latest ‘Dresden Files’ novel was also delivered today and it’s great. It’s one of my favourite series.

AnimalTribe

It was sunny but cold today but I managed to get out in the garden for a bit. I thought the storm hadn’t done any damage, but I spotted a couple of minor issues today. A while ago DH planted some edible hedging for me (wild pear, hawthorn, sloe, hazel, sea buckthorn and crab apple). The wind had ripped away some of the plastic cover tubes and had bent a few of the baby trees over. Fortunately, I was able to easily repair everything. I also re-potted a few more vegetable seedlings.

I finished the 'Dresden Files' book and have started reading another of my favourite authors - Kim Harrison.

DH brushed both dogs, but one of the dogs will have to have a second brushing as she isn’t keen on grooming and wiggles a lot. I will put the fur out on the fences for the birds to make their nests with.

AnimalTribe

It’s been another lovely day here today. DH dug over one of the raised beds for me and I’ve done some weeding and some more re-potting.

I still haven’t had a reply about my mis-delivered fruit trees but the Bank Holiday will have delayed any replies. If I don’t get a response by the end of the week I’ll contact the seller again.

AnimalTribe

It’s been sunny and warm today so DH and I went for a wander around a local village. We did go into a couple of charity shops but we were both very restrained with our spending. DH bought two books and I bought one, and we got a couple of DVDs that we will both watch. We went to a local café for lunch which was very nice. The place was pretty crowded with families visiting the area for the school holidays so we were very lucky to get parked and to get a table at the café.

DH cleared a windowsill in the conservatory so that I can put my tomato plants there. The plants are still fairly small, but they do have flowers, so I’m hopeful of a decent harvest.

AnimalTribe

Yesterday it rained all day so I wasn’t able to get into the garden. Today though, has been glorious, lots of sunshine. The batteries are full from the solar panels and the house has been vacuumed throughout using ‘free’ energy.

I’ve finally got a refund for my mis-delivered fruit trees and I will be asking any sellers online who their delivery company is before I order anything again (Evri have trouble delivering to my house).

I’ve been out in the garden planting pea, bean and herb seedlings. DH has fitted a new lid on the septic tank, but it will still need to be fenced off as it is an open area.

I didn’t think that the last storms had damaged anything, but the wooden shed DH built to house the Calor gas bottles was damaged. As his free time is limited, I persuaded him that buying a metal shed especially made for the bottles was worth it and will last years. It will leave him time to do more important things.

Tonight, I’ve been fixing a couple of bits of jewellery and I’ll be sitting down and watching a DVD.

AnimalTribe

It’s not been the greatest of days. I woke up with an awful headache. Paracetamol helped somewhat, but I was still left with a low-level headache for most of the day which meant that I haven’t really done very much. I sorted through a cupboard, but I think I created more of a mess than I actually tidied.

At least the batteries have been topped up with the high winds and sunshine. This time of year is when the solar panels really start making a difference to the house energy supply.

AnimalTribe

It’s been another good day here. Cold but sunny. The batteries are full again and it’s been a while since the generator has had to be switched on.

I’ve done some weeding and planted some more bean seedlings. I’ve more vegetables to plant out, but I need DH to do some heavy digging for me first as my wrist still isn’t fully healed. DH has measured all the fences because I’ve finally persuaded him that paying for someone else to do the work is a good idea. He likes doing DIY, and isn’t keen on letting someone else do it, but he simply doesn’t have the time.