Ninja Saving Turtles Challenge August 2025

KajiKita

Gratitudes for today:

- Got to spend time in the garden and found it easier to clear a very weedy section than I thought it might be 😊
- By doing ^^ I made space for the final Japanese anemone that my very serious gardening friend gave me last autumn ❤️
- My cat is actually in the house with us this evening 😊

KK

f0xh0les

Gratitudes:
food in fridge and freezer
Laundry dried on the line between showers 
All bills paid, and work expenses paid early!
Happy August! We made it! 

grandmanerd

Yes, found the purse (this minute). I pulled the seat cushions off on Wednesday to get at the debris underneath. I have redone the couch excavation with DS3. He also insisted on checking my handbag (I've done it 3 times already). He has just been to the cash machine for me, so I can pay the bill at the GPO tomorrow and I started picking clean stuff up and putting it in a bag and then scraping the rubbish into the small rubbish bag. I have also found a hole in the couch (if the purse had been in there I'd have had to cut out the bottom. Anyway my purse was on the floor, under the last cushion, which has been on the floor for a week as I tried out various combinations when supporting my leg. All cushions are now back stacked on the couch, I have a level surface to sleep on and a spare cushion stuffed down at the end to stop them moving about. 

He won't take the couch upstairs, that would be work (it would be difficult making the turn to get it on the stairs). He refused to take the chinchillas upstairs and their cage could be broken into parts. 

Other than that, it's been a fairly successful day. I have bags for each of the recycling bins ready to go out and a small rubbish bin (2 black bags went on Wednesday)

Grateful for water bottles in the fridge, clean dresses hung up, 3 bags for the cs and 3 items to go to the food trolley in the library (substitutions I only noticed later).

Thrifty_Taylor

Please can I be #18 @grandmanerd? A tip I have read about all berries (though haven't tried!) is to store them in a glass jar in your fridge, they keep for a lot longer. Glad you found your purse 😀

NSD#1
Did a 10 minute yoga routine for neck, shoulders & upper back. Thought yoga would be ok to do after my cataract surgery last week.
The highlight of my day - after a late breakfast, I was clearing out long grass & weeds from an area at the foot of our driveway, DH was moving wood that's just been delivered & DS2 was creosoting the raised beds (DS3 at work). I felt so content, we were all doing things to improve our garden 😍 I then bagged up old tarps, broken bits of plywood, etc ready to take to the dump. Tidied a the floorspace of DS3's greenhouse & stores the sacks in there. 

Dinner was wholewheat pasta with stir-fried veg & pesto. Really enjoying using veg up this way at the moment. Read another chapter of my book whilst eating. Did some weeding afterwards & brought the line dried washing in. Put the next cd on (only 1 left to go now), put the clothes on the airer, then sewed the gonk's arms in place. Took photos of it & the previous one I'd made, in the garden. I've now knitted 15, with enough beards for 2 more.

After tea, I made 6 cards (forced myself to do it, but enjoyed it once underway). Then started another gonk.

Grateful for the policeman in Aberdeen phoning & saying we can get everything apart from DS1's phone back, when we go down next week, the feeling of contentment I had this morning, & looking over the newly cleared space & seeing what was underneath it all, which can now be used for their intended jobs 😀

weenancyinAmerica

Up early today to feed the cats (3). Takes awhile as I have to stop about every twenty feet to rest on a chair.  Did family history for a couple of hours. The minister came by with more food (usually just comes on Wednesdays). Took a lot of it next door. The daughters tell me their mother uses everything we bring over. There are at least 10 people living there. Did some cleanup work. Printed the church newsletter for a friend who brought us lunch. Put in the order for a grocery pickup tomorrow and made the shopping list for the Aldis shop which we will do in person, followed by picking up the order on the way home. Read the threads on OldStyle forum. Then I came here.

Thankful  today that I can get around even if it takes longer these days, for the checks coming in so I can pay my bills, for the printer working without giving me any problems, and sunshine today but still around 21C (going up next week). 

DawnW

Still on NSD #1.

I went food shopping yesterday, which I try not to do on Saturdays, but couldn't avoid due to having been away. I didn't overbuy - I am working on this. Got a good Lidl veg box which made the traffic and crowds worthwhile.

When we got home, we did lots of food prep and using up. OH did the chopping up for me, which was a great help. We made ratatouille in the SC (now frozen) and a big pan of chilli with loads of veg, a puff pastry layer thing with spinach and cheese (as I had feta to use up), froze French beans from the garden, and cut up a melon from the veg box. The fridge looks much tidier now, and there is lots to eat.

Went to a market first thing this morning to look for stock for my sales unit. Found a few bits, which I now need to clean up and put away.  Also bought a tunic to wear over leggings, brand new with tags for £4.

Ironing now done and put away, and I pruned back one of the apple trees to fill up the garden bin which is due to be collected this week. Found 3 ripe figs while I was rummaging around in the tree jungle 

Grateful for a full (but not overfull) fridge, and ripe figs.

apple_muncher

Mmmmmmm, figs fresh off the trees So delicious!

grandmanerd - so pleased to hear that you found your purse. Where have you put it now????

ThriftyT - I love your use of the word 'content'. I think feeling content is invaluable.

weeNancy - good to hear that you have some money coming in.

My sister recently moved house and although she did clear out a lot of stuff beforehand, she admits that she just has far too much still and that I can pester her to keep reducing it. And it's made me think about all the gubbins I have acquired (and still have) for 'one day', for projects, for 'oooh, I like the look of that', for 'gosh, that's a bargain; better get it now!' I live surrounded by clutter. But by sitting at the dining room table and looking out over the garden, I get to pretend all is fine. Sigh.

Anyhow, I am very grateful for the job that cardboard did keeping the late afternoon sun out of the kitchen a few week ago before we got and put up a blind there, for all the yummy fresh raspberries that return every year without any TLC from me, for my new headphones, for all 3 of us going up to stay with big sis in a week's time, for some of the neighbourhood kids spending a whole day clearing next door's front garden - shoulder high in weeds and nettles, for seeing more butterflies this year.

KajiKita

Had a cracking weekend 😊

Mr KK ploughed on with stone slab laying for the paths (it has transformed our front garden 🤩❤️) and has started laying out the patio at the back, outside our living room 😊
I’ve done quite a bit of gardening; rescued the cut flower patch from bindweed (I think it might just be slowing down a bit, even with the rain we’ve had 🤔), done some light pruning and quite a bit of dead heading and watering. I was impressed that pain didn’t wake me last night, so all my stretching and strengthening has done some good 😊

Today we were both tired, so after a slow start, we have both been pottering. But, I am proud to say I have finally made a start in clearing the office and working out how to make it an easier to share the space with Mr KK. Pleased with this as I have been ‘blocked’ on this for ages. 

Gratitudes:
- feeling fitter and stronger 
- Mr KK laying slabs and it looking fab 🤩
- Finding things buried in the office that I value ❤️

KK

beanielou

Love the gubbins word. My DD used it a lot & it always makes me think of him. ( my dad). 

Thrifty_Taylor

NSD#2
Did the food shop yesterday with mum, then visited work bestie. She was in a better mood & there was no tension this time. Had a good chat about a few things, which I think helped. Came home & dropped our neighbour's birthday gonk off. She wasn't home, so gave it to her husband, then had a nap. Watched a film with DH after tea & knitted.

Walked to the cemetery & took DS1 more flowers from our garden. Keeping everything crossed that the boat sails to Aberdeen tomorrow night, as have an amber weather warning 🤞 Finished my book whilst eating dinner. Cut the grass at the top of the drive & along some paths, then weeded 3 raised beds. After tea I de-stalked some currants for the freezer & did more knitting.

Grateful for the forecast rain not appearing so I could cut the grass, finishing a book I wasn't enjoying 100% but can now choose one I'll enjoy from my massive TBR stack & time to do the things I enjoy