My Off-grid and need to be frugal diary

AnimalTribe

Scorpio_biker thanks. It’s a bit of a weird life, but it’s mine. I don’t think either DH or I could manage it on our own. He is the DIY guy and I’m the casual labourer, or, I’m the gardener and cook and he is the hired help. It seems to work out though.

I’ve managed to pick a handful of strawberries over the last few days. Unfortunately, the strawberries have been really poor this year so I think I’ll get another handful and that’s it.

The fruit bushes though are bountiful – gooseberries, red & black currants, and raspberries. When DH and I moved here there were existing raspberries but they have self-seeded and now there are dozens and dozens. I’ve picked some blackcurrants and lots of raspberries and they are now in the freezer. They ripen in waves so at least I don’t have to pick them all at once. There are still rhubarb stalks but they are large and woody and therefore no good for eating. I could make wine but DH has asked for more cordial so I shall be making that tomorrow.

Since it’s so hot the dogs have been getting frozen coconut milk ice cubes. One of the dogs knows what to do with them and just chews them, but the other dog just licks them until the ice cube is gone. It’s funny to watch her chase it around her bowl. Given the heat I’ve ordered some silicon ice lolly moulds from eBay so they should come in the next few days.

I’ve been feeling very virtuous over the weekend. There’s a new litre batch of yoghurt in the fridge and I also made a cheesecake. DH opened a jar of home-made marmalade and I picked a few of the remaining tomatoes and a cucumber. Although again, the inside edibles have done very poorly this year. It’s a lovely feeling to be even a little self-sufficient.

A couple knocked on the door to ask directions. We get them now and again and they either think we are really lucky or really mad for living here.

AnimalTribe

Yesterday DH and I went to the village Co-op to get bread, milk and tomatoes. I couldn’t resist the reduced-price mushrooms and DH found reduced-price doughnuts. Overall we didn’t deviate too much from our list.

We visited a charity shop but DH only spent £1 on 3 books, so that wasn’t bad either.

Instead of our usual café went to a different one. Even though the place wasn’t busy we had to wait a long time to be served, we were at the stage of leaving when someone came to take our order. I think we’ll give that place a miss next time. The village has 5 cafes as it’s very popular with tourists.

I made the rhubarb cordial yesterday and it’s good. Today, I’ve picked gooseberries and they are now in the freezer. I’ve also managed some more decluttering and some crafting. So all in all it’s been a good and productive couple of days.

Dakota_Rose

Just dropping in to say that I really enjoy reading your diary 😊. I aspire to an off-grid lifestyle but not sure I’d be cut out for it in reality.

AnimalTribe

Dakota_Rose thank you. It is a weird but wonderful life, but I couldn't manage if DH wasn't so handy.

I think I must have Wobble blood in me somewhere. When I go walking on the moorland road I sometimes find ‘useful’ stuff. Lately, I’ve found an extra-large washer, a rubber washer, a piece of aluminium and an Allen key. I give it all to DH for his DIY bits box. He used the rubber washer straight away in a project. I still pick up rubbish, which will begin to increase now that the summer holidays are here. To be fair most visitors are respectful. Most drivers are good too. However, there is the occasional driver who goes too fast.

Yesterday was a beautiful day and I picked the last of the gooseberries. I leave some berries on the currant and raspberry bushes for the birds and mice, but when it comes to gooseberries, I pick every last one.

I’ve got some felt flowers to sew that will finish off a project and I’m still decluttering so it won’t be a completely idle day.

AnimalTribe

I haven't been able to get into MSE for the last couple of days, but whatever the problem was seems to be sorted now.

DH has arranged a tree surgeon to come in August (when the birds have finished nesting) to reduce the height and width of our trees. He's also awaiting a quote from a fencing company to replace our entire boundary fence to keep the sheep out and the dogs in. I'm so excited as it will be a weight off both our minds.

One of our dogs has sprained her leg, it was healing nicely, but then she re-sprained it by trying to play with our other dog. We’ve tried putting her in a separate room but she just barks until we let her loose. So, I’m sitting in the kitchen with her making sure she doesn’t try that again. I had lots of outside things planned but it will force me to continue with all my part-started projects so I guess that isn’t a bad thing.

DH is chopping wood at the moment. When he needs a break, he’ll sit in the kitchen and I’ll go and pick some currants and raspberries for the freezer. All in all, it should be a relatively productive day.

In the decluttering I’ve put 34 books aside so far, that I no longer want. DH can see if any interest him then I’ll try selling online to WorldOfBooks or WeBuyBooks.

AnimalTribe

It’s been very sunny and very windy here so the battery bank is full and all the portable power packs are full too.

The problem I was having connecting to the internet and MSE was a problem with my laptop which DH solved.

DH has been chopping more wood so we have enough for months now. We will probably use the wood stove more this winter rather than the heating oil since the cost of oil is likely to stay high.

The injured dog is now fully fit thank goodness.

I’ve finished another part-finished project and now I need to make some lily pads to go with some frogs that I have made. The idea is to make them into a nursery garland.

There are so many raspberries and I’ve picked more today and frozen them. The freezer is nearly full so the next load I pick will either be dehydrated or used to make jam.

AnimalTribe

Yesterday DH chopped more wood and fixed a leaking water barrel. The barrel’s fix was timely as today has been constant, heavy rain.

Yesterday I picked more berries and did more decluttering. Today I’ve been sorting through my craft materials and putting like items together. I’m hoping it will make it much easier to find stuff and provide encouragement to continue to finish projects.

I’m definitely in an organising mood as I’ve been sorting out e-mail folders, blocking junk mail and unsubscribing from stuff.

DH has drilled some jewellery pieces so that I can turn them into useable items. However, tonight, I’m just going to sit down and start re-reading one of my favourite series. The Kitty Norville series by Carrie Vaughn. The main character is a radio host, who is also a werewolf. I do like reading new stuff, but every now and again I just like to re-visit an old favourite.

AnimalTribe

Today I’ve been doing more decluttering. I have a pile of books that I will try to sell online.

I’ve cashed in my Microsoft Rewards points for a £25 Tesco voucher as DH and I have to go into the city in a couple of days and there is a large Tesco store there. I’ve transferred £25 from the current account to the savings account so the extra cash doesn’t get ‘lost’. I had a couple of online sites with points in that I was having trouble accessing because I’d forgotten the passwords but I’ve reset them and I will sort out what’s worth cashing in tomorrow. I’m trying to be very frugal and organised over the next couple of months as I am having a couple of expensive jobs done around the house.

It's been very noisy here today as the shepherd has been gathering the sheep from the moor close to our house. He was probably dipping the sheep, but he needed a few helpers who were blasting loud music. It only happens at dipping and shearing time so it doesn’t really affect us.

AnimalTribe

DH and I went into the city today. One of the things we had planned to do when we were there was to do a grocery shop in Tesco as I had a £25 voucher that I gave to DH for safe keeping. So, we got to Tesco and DH had forgotten his Tesco Club card and the voucher. We still did the shopping as we needed pasties, pizzas, cans of pop and biscuits for the tree surgeons coming next week. Apparently, we could take the receipt to the Customer Service desk to claim back any card discounts, but only if we return within 14 days (which we won’t be). Never mind at least the voucher is valid for 12 months. We also managed to get reduced price bread, cheese scones, cereal and doughnuts.

We arrived home to beautiful sunshine. I had a lovely walk along the moor road, even though it was quite windy (good for the turbine). The only rubbish was a cigarette packet which is now in the bin.

I’ve been picking more ripe black currants. I’m amazed that some are still waiting to ripen. I also picked a pot of raspberries which will go well with some yoghurt tomorrow.

AnimalTribe

Here's a couple of quick photos of some of the recent projects I've been finishing. I usually make things in batches of 6 or 12. In this case I have 6 teddy garlands and 6 babushka garlands.