Put away your purse & become debt-averse

Dottles2 - Yes, I'm always cheered by signs of life in the garden. I've been out there today just to sweep the courtyard & to shift a few items out of the way of the workmen we're expecting this week, so I had another look round while I was out there. Thankfully, Mr F had already smashed the ice on the pond so I didn't have to risk a soggy foot doing that!
Finally we have a few bright spikes of garlic shooting, the other rhubarb (not the one I'm forcing with the crock) is coming through & there's a fair bit of spring bulb activity. My crocus bulb is full, so I hope all those little plants flower. They've been pretty much ignored, so I'm not sure I deserve a lovely crocussy display this year. The first snowdrops are in bud & oddly, a fragrant jonquil type narcissus, which I think is called 'Bride' or similar. That usually flowers in March, so the mild winter must have brought it on. Usually my clumps of 'Tete a tete' are the first narcissi to flower, followed by 'February gold' but they aren't flowering yet. The mini irises I planted last year in my new winter bed created in memory of my Mum & Dad also seem to be pushing through strongly. Shan't get much in the way of garden jobs done this week as there will be scaffolding to go up, workmen to supervise, etc, but it is very uplifting to see my planty friends popping out for another year.

And re supermarket shop...... yes, it is very noticeable how big a trolley load we get there for our budget compared with other emporia. And lots of their products are our brand of choice.... For example bread flour, quinoa, jumbo oats, peanut butter, cold pressed rapeseed oil, Skyr, loo rolls, washin-up liquid, etc.
F x

Evening readers,
Well I got off to a good start this morning - up at 6, made bread, gathered up dry laundry - put heated airer away, updated budgets, changed bed linen, wrote a birthday card, excavated the freezer to find what I'd put on our meal plans for tonight, etc, etc...... but after workmen arrived, I felt a bit limited to being within earshot in case they needed to ask me anything. So I decided to prep the first batch of my marmalade oranges while listening to an audio book. It was quite relaxing & all that citrussy loveliness is currently soaking, ready for cooking & jamming tomorrow. Seville oranges (the special marmalade ones) were a good price on our local market this weekend. I paid £3.10 for 2kg, which will make several jars.
Much colder here last night. I put an extra blanket over our bed. One was crocheted by my Mum in the 1970s & still looks good, & the other was knitted by me a few years ago as a thrift project to use up all my odds & ends of dk yarn. I wonder why it is that handmade blankets seem warmer. They look lovely & homely, & can be very attractive, but I can't think why they'd actually be warmer. I reckon it's psychological because they look so snuggly!
Anyway, time for a bit of TV on the sofa. No chance of sprawling in front of the fire as cat is hogging the entire rug.
Stay warm all,
F x

You're welcome, Roslingirl.
Good luck with it. Growing green things is good for the soul, I always think.
F x

Oh my giddy aunt.......(yes, her again).....what a day! OK, so workmen arrived on time all raring to go & then spent the first two hours not being able to crack on with the job. And it was absolutely nobody's fault. The work being done this week involved moving two rows of roof tiles to get at the fascias, etc. It has been very icy here overnight.....in fact I've just been down to the greenhouse to cut some lettuce & the grass is still crunchy to walk on - it hasn't melted all day.......& the assumption was that the tiles wouldn't move because they were frozen solid. Two watering cans of hot water applied. Nothing. A kettle was boiled to make it that bit hotter. Still nothing. An investigation involving power tools revealed that the tiles have been stuck absolutely fast to the rafters from the inside & absolutely will not move unless they are smashed off & a new roof fitted. Hmmmm, I said, seeing a number of worrying ££££ signs whizzing before my eyes, is there a less drastic solution? And there was. As soon as the plasticky gunk under the tiles was mentioned, I also realised what it was. The previous occupant of our house had a draft-proofing sort of treatment done, which involves covering the entire inside of the roof with this foam insulation which looks like old custard but sets rock hard. We see it if we are shoving stuff up in the loft, but otherwise never give it a thought. Anyway, I was told today that I've no need to worry about roof tiles blowing off in high winds as they are literally going nowehere. I suppose that was one good thing. Anyway, they haven't stopped since then & only have another morning's work for it to be finished.
I never seem to be able to get much done while there's work being done on the house. I did get my first batch of marmalade made (9 full sized jars) & have prepped the rest of my seville oranges for the 2nd batch tomorrow. Apart from that, I've only really done my emails, tried to figure out all the correspondence & THREE bills I've had from our energy provider over the last week & made tomorrow's packed lunch.
Never a warm house, but with both doors open today for power cables & all the back & forthing of workmen & kit, plus windows also cracked to cope with the steam brewing off the marmalade cauldron, it feels absolutely freezing tonight. Luckily, my next task is a nice hot bath, so although I am not one to sit around in my jamas (partly cos I don't actually have any jamas & partly because it sort of depresses me), I'm going to put my big snuggly robe on after that & about 46 pairs of socks & warm up by the fire. No point lighting it with all the heat flying straight out of those open doors, but I will now.
OK, I'm off to line up all my bath time potions & might as well sort my trampy hair out while I'm at it.
Stay warm everyone.......I understand it's even warmer in Scotland than here today & even my sis down in London said she had to scrape the car this morning.
Fx