Well the weekend is nearly here and I have had 2 NSD..... result!
Went to my first session of volunteering at a local charity shop enjoyed it so much went back the day after to do a few more hours. I even managed not to come out with any clothes although there were some beautiful summer dresses. I have started to wear dresses as they were stuck in the wardrobe waiting for that special occasion which after several years I have realised that it isn't going to happen.
Am minimising the garage contents as the roof is due to be replaced and I have took it as a sign to do a major sort out of rubbish that will come in useful on day, half empty paint tins, old paint brushes that have seen better days, those bits of wood which I can see no use for at all.
I did manage to mend the back gate by applying that famous glue that says it does away with the need for n.....
I have made do by not buying any clothes this week which is an achievement believe me.
There are grey clouds so hopefully I won't need to water the garden tonight and it might just bring the temperature down so everyone can get a good night's sleep.
Hope everyone has a good weekend doing what they enjoy. For me that will be watching the Lions match and pottering about in the garden weather permitting.

Hi all, sounds like everyone has been MMMing busily away! Well done JackieO on all the poppies!!

Welcome to new posters, you'll find this is a very friendly place to hang out

LynnP - well done on finishing the trousers! I like your plan of aiming for 5 NSDs per week, i hope you don't mind if i pinch it and also have a go! I'm normally not too bad but got carried away before our holiday a couple of weeks ago, with some new clothes for OH and a few treats for us both so need to rein it in a bit now.

We had a lovely week in Dorset and did manage to do some MMMing - we rented a flat with some friends and cooked at home/took picnics for most meals (even had a picnic in the rain one day!) and did lots of free activities, took food/drinks to the beach, walked a lot etc. But we did eat out a couple of times and paid for a boat trip, a steam train ride and to hire a rowing boat (all felt very much worth it!).

On a more MMM note i've just realised i've passed the 6-month mark in my challenge to buy no new clothes for myself this year, without even noticing! To be honest i've forgotten a few times and wandered into charity shops (the only place i really buy clothes these days), then wandered out again without finding anything i could persuade myself to buy, before remembering the challenge! So it seems to be becoming second nature not to buy. The only thing I am feeling the need for is a pair of brown shoes/boots (my current pair is just starting to disintegrate and my other cool-weather shoes are black) but i'm sure i can get by and maybe reward myself with some at Christmas if i make it the whole year without giving in/totally forgetting and buying something!

Recently making do has been mainly about recycling various plastic containers into plant pots for the various veg i'm attempting to grow (with varying degrees of success - harvested my first courgette this week but French beans and pumpkins didn't even sprout!) and drying washing outside in this glorious weather. Minimising has been using up freezer stock and mending is a growing pile which i have been guiltily avoiding! Did manage to take some sewing for OH on holiday though and fix some shirts and shorts he wanted to wear while we were away. Must get on with the rest of it starting next week!!

Hope everyone is having a nice weekend, happy MMMing all

Minimising - sorted through some discards that DD2 had been keeping for sentiment and now decided to part with as they are still here with us and she moved out 15 years ago when she went to Uni! in amongst them was the pretty little bridesmaids dress she wore at the age of 6! it will be offered to a colleague of DD1s who has a 5 year old girl, even for dressing up it's a 'Princess Dress' so much better use of it that a boot fair.

Making Do - no cooking needed today because it's way to hot to be in the kitchen so lunch will be cold crustless quiche I made on Friday with some salad and supper will be chickpea curry I made last night from store cupboard tine with rice and chopped tomato, onion and fresh coriander leaves on it. Blackberries from the garden with 0%fat Greek yoghurt for pudding too.

Mending - yet another pocket on He Who Knows trousers that has sprung a seam!

Good Morning chums another warm day here in the Garden of England ,I have a pair of my youngest DGS school trouser to mend , the seam has parted at the crotch.

I think I have sewed up these seams on all of my 5 DGS school trousers over the years perhaps it is a design fault in lads trousers or maybe they just seem to fall apart in the washing It doesn't matter whether they are expensive or cheap ones its always the crotch seem that need sewing up.
So thats my mending job this morning,
Making do is using up some of the quiche I made over the weekend from left over bits I had in the fridge with some salad for tonight's meal

Minimising is some books that I have read which are going to the CS on the way to Dds at lunchtime .I am slowly working my way through a pile that were given to me.
I have also started to minimise paperwork from my study. I swear it multiplies whilst my back is turned, in there

Hope you all have a good week


Cheers chums

JackieO xx

P.S. any chance of the recipe for the chickpea curry Mrs L/Walker as I have several tins of chickpeas and lots of fresh coriander in a pot in my garden at the moment want to try and use the coriander up before it 'bolts' Looks like something I could make and freeze in portions and would make a nice change from a meat based one

Certainly Jackie

Chick Pea Curry to serve 4

2 tins of chick peas, drained and rinsed
1 400g tin of chopped tomatoes + I x tin of water and vegetable stock powder/cubes
1 onion chopped
1 red pepper deseeded and diced
1 clove garlic crushed
1" fresh ginger finely diced
1/2 teaspoon of cumin seeds
1/2 teaspoon of black mustard seeds
2 tablespoons tomato puree
1/2 teaspoon chilli powder
1 teaspoon tandoori masala
1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
1 fresh red chilli chopped small
1 teaspoon garam masala
1 fl oz lemon juice
oil for frying off the veg
1 teaspoon salt

chopped fresh tomato, red onion rings and fresh coriander leaf to sprinkle on top to serve.

Heat the oil in a heavy based pan and soften the onion, red pepper, garlic, ginger and fresh chilli until the onion is transparent, add in all the spices and fry very gently for a minute or two, add in everything else and bring to the simmer then let it cook for about 45 minutes until it's slightly thickened. Adjust the seasoning to your liking with salt and fresh ground black pepper. Do use the toppings, they really add oomph and this recipe is even better if you make it and keep it for a day before eating it. I serve it with just plain boiled rice, it doesn't need anything else. Hope you enjoy it!

Brilliant ,thank you so much for that ,its one that i will try later this week as I will need to get a pepper, used the last of mine up in my quiche.

I shall definitely pop the recipe into my Online Miser's Cookbook as it looks really good.

JackieO xx

Yesterday I managed to replace a battery in one of those sealed mobile phones.
It was really not that hard once I had got the cover open.
It's one that OH handed on to me and very handy because it runs a better android version than my other , so we can use it for camping apps and as a spare navigation thing in the car.
We were looking for a storage rack for inside the car having taken out the old ceiling rack as OH kept hitting his head on it. Then last week I looked at it again and realized I could turn the brackets upside down and we could use it after all. It makes it about 3 inches higher so avoids his poor noggin.
Nothing to report on the minimizing, myself ,but DS has been tidying his bedroom and mysterious black bags keep being deposited in the bin.
I am resisting the rather strong urge to get them out and go through them when he is at work,for reuse purposes or to separate into more sensible bins ,due to the possibility of his discovering the subterfuge and deciding not to continue the scourge.
toodlepip
Culpepper

That is lovely

Hiya y'All,

RainbowHippie - you are very welcome to join me on my NSD challenge! you have to decide first tho what constitutes an NSD to you. Does it literally mean spending NOTHING that day? Or not on household essentials? Or does it not include 'Happy Stash Cash' (thanks to Jackie O for that idea!!)
For me it does not include 'Happy Stash Cash' - provided I do not exceed my weekly allocated amount of said 'Happy Stash Cash' .

counted that way - over the past 6 days I have had 3 NSDs but today I spent £2 on car parking to take DIL; DS1 and DGD to a different park for the day. but we took snacks and water from stores thus entailing no extra expenditure.

MM&M this week (smug mode engaged!)
Mend: (yes, dont faint folks MEND!): my hippie type floaty skirt got ripped but with careful oversewing and re attaching frail fabric to a seam a sucessful mend was made! That leaves 3 things in mending pile now!
Make do: See trip to park above - DIL wanted to go to a soft play place but weather turned lovely and this (in Newquay - a half hour or so from me) other park is in a valley so sheltered from the wind which the beach would not have been today. Had wonderful time watching DGD and DS1 playing pooh sticks and running round the flower beds chasing each other (did I join in like a big kid? - you bet i did - I make a good 'troll under the bridge' I do!) Took snacks and drinks so that saved monies! Also keeping to our meal plan and only bought milk and tofu (son wanted to cook tea and he was vegan at one time so knows how to make the stuff taste great) off plan this week. The treat of cherries came from 'Happy Stash Cash'
Mimimise: Another 2 bags of shredding done and 3 tee shirts into rags - and, hopefully, me - looks like I may have lost another pound in weight - crossing fingers! (difficult to eat with crossed fingers ????)

Well must away to bed now - trying to get to bed at decent times! Great to catch up with you all.
Frugaling onward!

Everything I've grown this year has bolted unbelievably quickly. Not sure why but it's never been like this in previous years! All my herbs and rocket started bolting almost straight off. Lettuce is the only thing that's growing decently.

Hello all,

Just finished reading this thread from the beginning! It's taken me about 10 days but I have already actioned a few ideas in that time: first off was using up half a jar of mincemeat that's been in the fridge since Christmas by using it in the suggested Mincemeat Flapjack (January posts!), next up we needed a new beach towel but I get a constant supply of damaged white towels from my family's holiday cottage/b&b business, they are perfectly serviceable but might have a small hole or rust spot so was loathed to buy a coloured towel for the. beach - one sachet of dye later (selling off at 1.98 in the r@nge) and I have a lovely 'tulip red' beach towel, next up was a freezer inventory and making meal plans from that, also mended a hole in a jumper and sewed buttons back on a duvet cover - so on fire, thanks to all for the inspiring posts. Got piles of baby clothes for EBay so that's my next aim.

Kate (also in Cornwall)

I think its the heavy rain followed by scorching sun that has caused stuff to 'bolt' I had a lovely coriander plant my neighbour gave me and it now looks more like an elderflower bush its covered in tiny flowers Not to sure what I can do with it now ??

Making do with last night dinner tonight that I dug out of the freezer. I stayed to dinner last night at DD's as she was a bit down, after seeing the foot consultant.

Her plantar fasciitis is too bad to give her steroid injections and she is going to have some operations on her feet or she will end up not being able to walk at all !!!
He told her off for leaving it so long before getting treatment .But that's her all over, she will put off going anywhere near a Drs if she can.

Trying to minimise some clothes this morning as my wardrobe seems full of stuff I haven't worn for ages, I ran out of CS bags so will need to get some more.

I saw a lady at U3A who gave me some more small black buttons so have started to knit some more poppies for the Medway exhibition.

Tomorrow after I have had my hair trimmed I shall do my second shop of this month I try to make it about 8-10 days between shops if I can and I am using up far more from my stuff indoors than I used to

I too keep my Happy Cash Stash seperate from my food purse money, and only use the food purse to buy actual food for the cupboards. I have a blue badge so I often don't need to pay for parking which is helpful.

I have a seperate budget each month for regular payments Gardener ,Quiz night ,History Club etc and my Hairdressers trim cash is around every 6-7 weeks. Out of my Happy Cash Stash comes treats for my DGS or myself, a cuppa at the WI, or church coffee mornings etc.birthday cards or the odd stamp.

Surprising what you can save when you actually see the food money cash vanishing too quickly

I think it makes you focus on what you spend


JackieO xx

P.S.Kemiera, you have just reminded me I have a couple of jars of mincemeat in the cupboard anyone got the flapjack recipe to hand ???

JackieO - there's a link to it in the first post.

Have been reading along but haven't managed to post for ages. Off work tomorrow so shall aim for a proper post then

Thank you so much misstara bookmarked it looks good and will help use it up.

JackieO

I used this recipe a while back to use up a jar of mincemeat found during the kitchen cupboard sort-out and can vouch for its yummy-ness!

Hmm - just tried the link and it just takes me to page 3 of the thread and I've got a jar of mincemeat lurking in the cupboard

Sorry, guess I need a refresher in how to post links. It's the 3rd post down on page 3.

Mistara - what's the number of the post? I've read through the whole of page 3 and couldn't see it

#43, it was originally posted by VJsmum. Hope you find it, I made it at the start of the year and it was yummy

No wonder I couldn't find it - my page 3 starts at message 81!! Found now and filed for future reference - thank you Mistara xx
(My predictive test decided you were Mustafa - good job I noticed it!)