Olympics day 1

My first attempt at putting pictures into my blog and I would like to put captions underneath but at least I know how to import them now!

Anyway the top one shows my small raised bed and shows my attempts of year one, not very successful but I am learning that as well and I have had a few peas, but next year I will be growing dwarf beans and peas again as they seem to grow ok and not carrots or beetroot as they havent grown very well at all and I think I will be pulling them up soon as they are bolting and theres nothing growing underneath -LOL

The bottom photo shows my attempts at container growing, leeks and toms not sure what is happening with the toms they seem to be flowering but as yet I cant seem to see any toms and the leeks went in very late but I will wait and see with them, so thats it  my first attempt.  I wont be self sufficient this year!!!!!

Anyway my frugalling goes on.  I have tried the halogen that was my daughters wedding present with mixed results, I can boil eggs, cook toast but the cake was a complete disaster.  Anyway I have tried toad in the hole today and although burnt on top it was fine, but I tried cooking roast pots at the same time and they weernt quite cooked enough, so I will get it correct next time by putting the pots above the toad.  I have cooked another toad as well (as I had enough mixture) and that has turned out a lot better, anyway I will keep trying and I havent written off making cakes in it just yet.

I watched the opening ceremony last night and didnt we do well - I really enjoyed it although I must admit I didnt understand all of it, thought Mr Bean was hilarious!!!! 

As I have been on my day off I have had the TV on whilst knitting and watching the games but Im getting a bbit fed up now and have turned it off for a bit.  Back at work tomorrow so I wont be in bed late tonight as I have to get up at 4.45

So I wil lgo now and carry on knitting for a bit, the jumper is for me to wear this winter and after I have finished it I will have to finish my daughters blanket and sort out a few bits and pieces for Xmas.

Jane

The simple life

Im sat outside at the moment, not in the sun but by my back door in the shade, enjoying the peace and quiet and trying to make a shopping list!!

I have to meet my baby girl in her lunchbreak in about an hour to do a swap with her, Im borrowing her halogen cooker that was a wedding present and as yet not been used, and she is borrowing my suitcases and holdalls as they are moving to a new house next week. Im quite excited about the Halogen cooker as so many people have told me that I should get one and that they are the best thing since sliced bread, but I have never used one in my life and I reckon thats why youngest hasnt used it either, anyway I will test run it and see if it lives upto expectations and then either show youngest how to use it and give it back or Im not sure ha,ha!!  Anyway I will have fun having a go as I have always done some cooking and baking and let you know how it goes!


Its funny how a bit of sunshine is cheering me up, I have days off today and tomorrow so Im definitely going to have a go with my camera, this blogging is all new to me and Im not sure what Im doing, I would love to be able to get 'Blogs I love' on the side bar and put other things in it as well, but I dont know how, so I will keep trying, it would help if I understood the lingo - what is a URL ??? I dont know if I have one or not!!

Anyway probably get back later as I have to get going
Jxx

Sunshine at last

Today I have been to work but I feel good - why - the sun is out and all is well in my world.

I came home and made some pasties using up the left over curry from yesterday, Im rathered pleased as it has made five pasties and I had the rest with some couscous for my tea ( I had it when I came home!!)
These will now go into the freezer for later meals.

I have had a walk around my garden and oh dear it does look sorry for itself, still next year perhaps.  The thing about gardening is finding what you want to grow and what will grow well in your garden, I know I could buy soil testing kits but Im a more hit and miss type of person, so I just plant seeds and hope for the best, but this year I havent done very well at all, it would be my luck to find out my soil is suited to broad beans which I loathe.

And this week is the week to try and post a few photos, Im quite computer illiterate although for years I worked on one, but I only knew the bit I was using, so Im taking it one step at a time and having a go.  Last week I pressed a few keys and ended up having to restore the settings back to the previous month because I couldnt get it working and I still dont know what I did wrong!!!

Anyway off to sit outside with a cup of coffee and my present book, Crescent Dawn by Clive Cussler - I do like a bit of action sometimes.

Janexx

Another day another trial

My journey for frugalling probably started like many others and that is that I have overspent on everyday things thinking that I need them, when in fact I just wanted them and didnt really think how I would pay for them.  Well when I was working full time in a well paid job (well paid for me that is) I could manage and it wasnt until I walked out of my very stressful job because it was making me ill just thinking I had to go in every day, and staying hours beyond my contractual hours for no extra pay just to keep on top of everything that all my spending came home to roost.

I now work part time in a shop that suits me down to the ground but and its a very big but it only just covers everyday living and thats after a visit to the MSE website and taking on board all the info, so anyway I have been thinking of more ways to acquire money, I have nothing to sell on *bay, I have always given loads to CS so today I sold my gold!!! my old wedding band and some broken bracelets and necklaces and the money has gone straight into the bank to help pay of my overdraft, I also took a couple of bags of clothes to one of those places that buy old clothes, now I do have a bit of a problem with it as I usually give it all to a certain charity, but I feel at the moment that the OD comes first, so it all went and although I didnt get very much at all (well it is only 60p a kilo) but that also went into the bank, I must admit I feel bad as some of the clothes were good quality (from my daughter) and some older teens would have loved them - still its done now but Im not sure that in my mind that I will be doing that again.  I will have to look for some other ways.

I have cut my clothes buying to nil and food to only £10 a week so I cant do anymore there, but something has to be done otherwise my goal of paying my OD and CC off by the time I retire (March 2014) will not be achievable. 

It will not get me down though, I have my health and my three daughters and thats really important to me, and Im confident something will turn up.
Jxx

Rain rain go away

I have been at work today and when I got to the car park at 5.40am it wasnt raining but by the time I had got out of the car it was pouring down, and it hasnt stopped since. Im lucky where I live cos its on a hill and we are not affected like some areas of the country, but it doesnt mean Im not fed up with it, why oh why cant the sun come out long enough to dry everything out and perhaps get the odd BBQ on the go? oh well later in the year when we have this Indian summer that we were promised about 3 years ago!!

My poor garden has suffered - well the veggies have, the weeds are growing at a fast rate of knotts, its a shame I cant eat those LOL

The only intentional grown thing that has done well in the last few weeks are the strawberries, and I have had a few desserts from them.  Its all a shame really as I was looking to harvest some fresh veggies but it may have to be another year, I wont give up though as I like pottering around in the fresh air.

On the frugalling front, Im still being careful with gas and electric - trying all sorts of different ways to fill my time up from just putting the TV on. I walk my daughters dog (a couple of times a week), I knit, crochet and try to sew (not very successful at that yet), I read alot and visit the library most weeks.  Im reading Crescent Dawn by Clive Cussler, I like his books and a couple of books by Miss Read that I have read before but enjoy the gentle village life stories, I think I wish I lived there!!!!  Im going to make the effort and when in the library next choose a completely random fiction and nonfiction book to read - it may get me out of reading books that I know I will like and challange me a little - especially the non fiction.

Anyway, my bread is nearly finished in the breadmaker (oh blumming eak - I meant to take a meter reading before I started so I could see how much leccie it was using) and the tomato soup must be cooked by now, so thats tea sorted. (soup curtesy of Mr Oliver)

Cherrio for now
Jxx

Mirrors dont lie!

When I got in from work I went upstairs to get changed and I just happened to see my naked pink legs in the wardrobe mirror, now you may think that I had seen them before but I must admit Im not that keen on seeing the whole of me as Im a bit bumpy!! anyway Im sure someone has pinched my legs and replaced them with fat tree trunks cos I dont remember them being that big anyway I plucked up courage to have a serious look at the rest of me and guess what the rest matches my legs so its definitely me!!!!  Time to get down to it and lose some of this extra padding, Im supposed to be losing some weight as I have high blood pressure and the nurse comments on it every time I go for my MOT, so this is it.  I was a member of SW once upon a time but the new frugal me will have to go it alone, I hope I have the will power - no be positive Jane you will do it and do it slowly.

Thinking about losing weight frugally I will have to extra careful because it would  be easy to just buy diet food, but I have to build it into my budget, anyway I still have quite a bit of food left in the freezer and its all the boring white fish and plain quorn, so at least that will work for me and the salad leaves are plentiful in the garden at the moment and there will be plenty of toms as well when the sun finally comes out and gets them going!!!

Plan A - fill in a food diary to keep track of what I eat and walk at least three times a week.

Got to go now and put my breakfast up for work tomorrow so I dont have toast and marmalade.

Jxx

Low User - thats me!!

After my depressive blog the other day Ive cheered up back to my normal self.

I have a day off today, so as I had some vouchers from Mr Ts I thought I would go and have a look at stuff.  Anyway I am really pleased with myself and although I have spent £27 I gained lots of points and all the stuff I bought is only what I will use, so some of it I will take off next weeks food money and the rest I will take off next months as the bulk of what was bought is really for my next four weekly food budget.  I also paid on my credit card and got an extra 650 points so I will be paying that off when the bill comes through!!!

And the Low User bit in the title is what the young gentleman from EON called me!! I have managed to revise my DD to them to £50 a month instead of the £56 which is what they wanted to charge me, so my skinting on the elec has paid off and I must keep it up now.  On a Sunday when I get home from work I read both the gas and elec meters and record it on my calander so I can work out how much Im using each week.  The other week I went without the TV for the week and it made quite a difference and then another week I went without the computer the difference wasnt that great, I must admit I was pleased about that as I use the computer more than watching the TV these days.  It makes a difference when the off spring came back even though they try to be careful, but I do try to compensate the following week and really make sure things are switched off, lights arent left on etc.

I have also phoned the water people as I havent paid a bill since last August when I went on a meter, as I was so much in credit, the next bill is due this month sometime so it will be interesting how much I have used as I save water for flushing the toilet and only normally wash up once a day, take quick showers (saving the water of course) and only doing one load of washing a week. Its quite exciting really - how sad am I????

There are things I cant economise on though, the one that springs to mind is decent coffee, I cant abide the cheap stuff so that was one of the things I stocked up on today, another thing is the toothpaste I use, cheaper ones just dont do it for me!!!

Anyway must go as its front room cleaning day and I havent started it yet.

Jxx

It is a little time since I was last on here, I hadnt realised.  Anyway its been raining all day but thankfully for most of it I have been to work.

Frugal wise Im still collecting all the water from washing etc to flush the loo and also as EON have put my monthly payment up by £14 a month and Council tax is getting rid of the 25% single person and making it 15% instead, some serious savings (ha ha) have got to be made,  soooooo  this week I have read the meters (I do this every week actually,just to keep a record of how much leccie and gas Im using) and I am determined to lessen usuage, not that I use an awful lot as I dont have any appliances on standby anymore and switch off all lights etc if Im not using them, so this week Im going to go without the telly to see how much of a difference it makes and cut down on computer time to every other day, in all honesty Im not sure what I can cut down on, I dont shop for clothes etc (cant remember last time I bought anything new bar a pack of knickers back in April) Im living on £10 a week at the moment to save money and really to empty the freezer and pantry, but that cant last for all that much longer.  So not sure how I can get extra money, I have nothing to sell, no gold or items of clothing and taking on extra woek would be very very hard as Im getting on to near retirement and find the work I do sooooo tiring.  Oh well Im sure something will turn up onwards and upwards.

Tea tonight was fish in sauce, mashed potatoes and mixed veggies, no pudding as I havent made anything. I have three days off now so tomorrow I will have a look in the cupboards to see if I have a basis for a cottage pie, or meatless loaf and that should last me for a few days, its a good job I dont  mind the same food for a few days running.

On a lighter note I have been walking the daughters dog and really enjoying it, Im getting to know some old railway walks and its lovely to hear the birds and see all the lovely green about.  Well will go now I will be back in a couple of days and hopefully I will have come up with a couple of ideas by then.

Jxx