Lazy Hazy Day of Summer.

We have had glorious sunshine again today, 3 loads of laundry done, dried and folded, ironing later., Ben has enjoyed some ambles around and playing in the garden. I have made some blackberry and apple fridge jam, after reading my blog list yesterday and seeing some yummy jam made by someone else, I got nearly 3 jars full but had to dig into one jar to pile onto a little bit of bread at lunchtime, delish.

 I will be making more after I have shopped as I will not have enough sugar before. It is very cheap in Lidl so will not break the bank.

On that note my spend is nice and low so far, 4 no spend days on the trot, I will need milk soon but do not want to go out just for 2 things, equally I do not want to use the shop in the village as it is 50% dearer than Lidl. I will manage until I need to buy some veg and salad.

Still on the frugal low/no spend September this will be dinner tonight.

The diced veg in the dish was dressed with oil, salt, pepper and a good slug of Balsamic vinegar then roasted in the bottom of the oven with my chicken and roast potatoes yesterday. 

I went to sleep on the sofa Sunday afternoon and woke too late to cook so had wholemeal toast with cheesey baked beans and egg, lovely.

I will make the Bulgar Wheat up as per packet directions and add my roasted veg halfway through the cook time, the mix came from AF and I am looking forward to it. I may shred some lettuce, cucumber and celery to have with it, I will see how I feel later.

I have done a bit more sewing and 2 more dogs are completed.

One each for Kaitlyn and Faith, I am going to Cardigan on Saturday and will take them, along with the blue one for Junior, then.

To prevent arguments I have made them similar but used different colour combinations and used different prints for the gussets.

I found this on my bookshelf earlier, shamefully it was the first time that I had opened it since it was given to me ages ago.

The fabric pack is still there, I remember looking at it and knowing that I would not be using it as directed, and there it stayed, neglected and unloved. Shame on me.

I flicked through it and found the Stanley toy pattern, as I have a stack of 2 1/2" squares cut I may well make one up. Once we get to October I will make a dog in "that seasonal fabric" as part of Francesca,s gift, I will make the Scotty Dog up but use 3 or 3 1/2" squares to get a more substantial cushion.

I quite fancy making one in 5" charms as well, just because.

I have been given these, I am sure that I can sink them into the garden and plant them to add height somewhere.

The steps are really beginning to look good, I have also been given some more slabs of slate, I will be skipping up and down them soon. I will plant some ground cover on the left, I may try cranberries if I can find some at a reasonable price. The lovely neighbour who gave me these also had some wood from a pine bed going spare, it will make me a potting bench with storage shelves under for the greenhouse.

I have found a supplier for my fruit trees and bushes and they sell the Flowering Quince that I want for the front garden. Things is looking up.

Reasons to be grateful.

1.  Lots and lots of sunshine.

2.  Tasty preserves for next to nothing.

3.  A gift from my neighbour that will enhance my garden.  

4.  The hedgerows are dripping with free food, just waiting to be gathered.

5.  Ben has been off his meds for a while now and his skin is fine.

I have to welcome some new(ish) followers, I have been so busy rushing to get my posts written that I have neglected them badly.

Angie, Serenata from the balancing Kiwi who also blogs about the life of her dolls, Myshabbychicfrugallife who fills me with jealousy at her wonderful finds, hippymamax6, marlene Jones from Poppy Patchwork whose stitchery turns me green with envy and Michelle from remembering the old ways who lives in Hampshire. I had a SIL who lived in Havant and used to visit twice yearly, lovely place, so clean with hardly any litter and wonderful plants everywhere. Welcome one and all, I will enjoy reading your blogs and any comments that you care to leave.

It is almost time to get my frugal dinner on the go. I will knock another 4 off my challenge, the cushion and the 3 dogs, I need to get a wiggle on but I do have 6 place mats to make tomorrow so they will help.

I hope that you are all enjoying the weather, Indian Summer, bring it on.

                       TTFN                                               Pam

Oh, Where did the weekend go?

I think that the last 2 days have shrunk somehow, and i can scarcely believe that it is 7 o'clock already.

On Saturday I went off to Isabeau Inspirations to indulge in a day of sewing and chat, with no phone to interrupt me. I arrived at 10 ish and started with a brew before emptying my sewing kit on to the work table. There should have been 2 others but (lucky for me) they were no shows. The idea was a tutorial on making a basic tunic top, I made mine longer and will wear it with thick tights and a polo neck sweater underneath. I have just realised that I did not take a photo, rats.

It did not take long even with chatting almost non stop with Iris, it was her class.
Iris made this and I am going to make a few myself.

A few bells and some gold beads will dress it up nicely.

That,s more like it, another handful of scraps used up. I had about 24 5" charm squares in there from somewhere and thought that I would attempt a dog, I have seen variations of this in lots of places, and never got round to trying it.

My stuffing is uneven but as it is destined for Junior I will not worry over it.

I am going to skip Sunday for a moment and show what I have been doing today.

A load of 2 1/2" squares, it took me quite a while to cut these as I like to be as accurate as possible. The charms that I used on Saturday were not very accurate and I had to do quite a lot of easing as I sewed it all together.

There are 2 dogs here ready to sew, I have since sewn 2 halves together and made a start on the next half, I have yet to cut the strips for the gusset.

The garden make over is going strong, I half expect Alan, Tommy and Charlie to come in for a cuppa on Sunday.

The ground is being prepared for a small greenhouse, it has to be levelled and some steps put down to deal with the slope.

The basic shape is there and the steps are being manhandled into submission. The soil is soft and free draining, good job really. When I think how much all that slate would have cost in Tydd I shudder, it was all in the garden waiting to be used.

This narrow bed will run the length of the fence and will be full of garlic.

Blogger  has been taking ages and it is now 8:00 so I am off for a soak in the bath.

TTFN                                                      Pam

A Day out and more gardening and sewing.

Yesterday was another very busy day, more work done at the top of the garden.

I have two of these storage lockers, the second one will be going  at the left side of the next photo.

This has now been done and the fencing wire is in place, photo tomorrow

These are on the windowsills to add a little colour, once they have grown a bit.

I decided that a trip out somewhere new was called for and decided to go here. A very pretty village with a few interesting shops.

This one was lovely, I managed to keep my bag shut and my purse inside it. Lots of little rooms to pop in and out of, I dare not go to the second floor, I only have so much will power.

That was about 2/3 rds of it, so many pretty things and the prices were not astronomical either.

I did go in this shop and drop some money in the till, I bought a toy for Ben for 50 p.

I also went in here and spent just under £4.00

These are my purchases, and I am very pleased with them.

I could not resist this Garlic, named after one of my favourite films.

And this is just not what you expect to find in the middle of Wales.

There was a chap complete with Gallic striped top and beret but he declined the photo shoot.

I have a stack more photos but will save them for another day.

I stopped to pick up a few things on the way home,

A chicken,  a pack of Ciabatta rolls, Coleslaw, bananas, Garlic Sausage and Ham and tomatoes, total spend  £6.42. That made lunch for 2 on Friday and Saturday, there will be roast chicken on Sunday and the rest of the meat will last most of next week.

I also picked up some stick deodorants for £1.25p each, a new product promotion, I got enough for several months, cheap is good.

I went to Cross Hands today and spent a few hours sewing and chatting and it was very pleasant. I made a simple tunic dress and  did some patchwork, that can wait for another day as well. I must buckle down to some more scrap sewing soon, very soon.

I am off now, time is ticking away and I need tea.

                           TTFN                                 Pam

It ain't half hot here.

Oops, I missed a day again, yesterday went by so quickly that it was bedtime before I thought about writing a post.

I have finished the scrappy sewing part of the purses that I want to make.

I am going to quilt this before cutting out the purses, it will be easier than quilting small bits and pieces and I can make sure not to waste very much.

This small polka dot will be the top band of all the purses and these are the small zips that I unearthed, all I need to do now is make time to make them.

I weeded the central bed in the front garden and thought that I would share these,

There are several more getting ready to flower, once they have died back I will be digging the bed out ready to replant. I have not decided exactly what will go in there yet. Under the window there are some elderly roses, I will prune these back and give them a potassium rich feed next spring in the hope that they will perk up. Between the roses I aim to plant Flowering Quince, the blossom is very pretty and quite long lasting and the fruits are sweet scented and make wonderful glowing pink jelly.

I have been toying with the idea of training a lollypop apple tree in the front but think that the wind might be a bit much for it.

My lonely Courgette plant has given me a few fruits since it,s poor start, there were 2 plants but one just withered away.

The peppers are thriving in the sewing room window, I will soon be drying some chillies.

I have done a great deal of work in the back garden.

This was the view through the gate up into the top part after i had cut 6 feet tall nettles and other weeds down, the poor little cherry tree was barely in the soil and has been dug out and rehomed.

There is a tree the other side of the little shed that needs lopping back and behind that roll of fencing is a straggly hawthorn blocking out even more light.

Through the old frame and more nettles is a rubbish dump, old TV,s, satellite dishes, fire grates, flower pots and old compost bags and all manner of broken stuff all thrown in and left.

The tree has been trimmed back, there is just a branch stump to come off, and all the branches have been woven to make a barrier at the back. When I finally hacked my way there I found that the boundary fence had collapsed, I thought that this was a good use for all the waste branches.

The hawthorn is out and those branches have joined the others making a barrier that I hope is impenetrable. The light now floods the new space, the frame on the right is over a small pond, once I can get it cleared I will decide if it is staying.

The reel of fencing has been untangled and stretched out on the rear lawn, there is enough to fence the right side in completely. You will have noticed that I have had some help, it took both of us 2 afternoons to get this far and we will probably take tomorrow to finish off. I plan on having another storage unit up there and a greenhouse. I have been researching on line and as soon as the ground is cleared will be ordering my greenhouse, I can hardly wait. I have just realised that the photos do not show the unit that is already there, I will take some more tomorrow.

My new mini oven has been used and I am very pleased with it, a quiche for dinner tonight and tomorrow, a loaf of wholemeal bread and a Blackberry sponge were all made today.

All I have bought this week is a lettuce at 49p, and a head of celery RTC 25p. I will need milk at some point early next week but have enough fresh fruit and veg for another week.

Reasons to be grateful.

1.  Sunshine made the work go faster.

2.  A helping pair of hands made the work easier.

3.  I now have the benefit of almost twice as much garden.

4.  My new neighbour is very pleasant, there may be a barbecue in my near future.

5.  I have found some new blogs to read, like minded people.

I have stopped following a few blogs, some have not had new posts for several months so I could not see the point of keeping them on my list. There are many more that I would like to follow but do not have the time to read all the posts.

I know that I have some new followers, I apologise for the distinct lack of a welcome, my poor excuse is that I have been busy, I will rectify matters on my next post.

Now it is time for tea or maybe a hot chocolate.

        TTFN                                                                     Pam

Frugal dinners

I have made a good start to a minimal spend period, dinner yesterday was a bowl of veg soup made from the remains of last weeks veg shop, a box of passatta from Lidl and a bunch of fresh herbs from the garden. As I have several heads of garlic I added 4 roughly chopped cloves. I estimate that the total cost was £1.50 and got enough for 5 very hungry portions.

Tonight I made a packet of chilli mix from AF for 25p and I added a scoop of the veg soup to it, I want to eat plenty of veg. I also heated a sachet of a spicy Dal Makhani from AF, 20p, as there were 2 of us. I had a slice of home cooked ham left from Saturday so chopped that up and added. Dinner for 2 for less than a pound.

Pudding was an apple from Maggie, so free.

My dinner did not look pretty but the scent and taste was wonderful.

It was very filling, luckily I was hungry after working in the garden all afternoon.

This is short and sweet, written while my guest walks Ben for me.

Until tomorrow when I will have more photos.

          TTFN                                                      Pam

Making my Mind up Monday

In the interest of economy I am paring my spending back to the bare minimum for September, along with many other bloggers I aim to use what I have and make it last.
I am also intending to repeat last years Stoptober, there are many reasons for this, some are:-

1. I have spent a great deal of money this year.

2. I have given some respectable sums of money to some of the younger members of my "family".

3. My cupboards are brimming full after a few weeks of hoovering up bargains.

4. I an running have run out of space in the kitchen and consequently have filled a tall shelf unit in the sewing/dining room with groceries.

5. My 2 shelf units in the under stairs cupboard and utility annex are also full.

You get my drift I hope, just as with my 100 items from stash I need to cook from stash. If I do not I am in danger of having a path through the house with teetering piles of boxes all around me.

I do intend to buy an embroidery machine but that has been budgeted for.
My oven is cavernous and gobbles up electricity like a contestant in an eating competition. To deal with this I am buying a mini oven and grill, I have some Argos vouchers and found one with a sizeable reduction in price. After a load of research this was the best option for me, I did find one on Amazon but if it goes wrong I am faced with the palaver of returning it, whereas with Argos it is  a 7 minute drive to get a replacement, and it is the cheapest option by over £35. simples.

Now here lies the rub, to make room for this I need to jettison something else, maybe 2 somethings.

On my utility shelving I have the following,

My trusty processor, this is at least 20 years old and is starting to slow down. I only use it on the odd occasion so it is high on my list to go.

My bread maker, only around 18-24 months old, I do not remember exactly, and used regularly as opposed to often. There are 3 recipes that I make over and over again as they have never failed me. I could make these by hand, and would not do so frequently and therefore would save money and waistline,so once again a possibility to go.

The slow cooker, this will stay, I use this regularly and it saves time and money.

 My charity shop[ steamer, once again this will stay, I use it every week.

My griddle, I have used this a few times, mainly for toasted sandwiches, but with the new mini oven will not need it. Out it goes.

The yogurt maker and the spice grinder, these do not take up much space but.... I can not remember the last time that I made yogurt. The spice grinder is ideal for small bits of parmesan rind and a hand full of breadcrumbs, as it is so small it can stay but the yogurt maker is out.

Easy peasy, out goes the griddle and yogurt maker and the processor can go into a box for 3 months, if it does not need to be used in that time it will go as well.

I am ruthless elswhere in the house, one in , one out is the rule. I shop for the basic toiletries and cleaning stuff monthly and every now and then get a "free" month. I am using the library more now and am only buying books second hand, my new to me Elly Griffiths books were 1p each from Amazon. Yes I had to pay postage but they still came in at £2.81 each and I will keep them.

I am not about to make a meal plan yet, I know that it works for lots of people and I have done it myself. At this stage I am going to work my way through the oldest food first and then settle down to work out a plan after a week, give or take a day or two.

The rain has stopped and there is sunshine and a light breeze so I am off to gather blackberries shortly. These will be washed, drained and frozen for when I need to add fruit to the menu. I have a supply of apples for the next few weeks and some of those will be bottled, frozen and I am going to try drying rings in the residual heat when the big oven is used.

My word, I think that is enough for one post, my reasons to be grateful are very simple most of the time and today is no exception.

1.  I have the ability to work through the next 2 months with minimum spending.

2.  I do this because I want to, not because I have to.

3.  I have a head start with the stash of foodstuff in the house.

4.  The sun is shining and Ben is snoring.

5.  I have friends around me, and my blog list to go to for encouragement.

There are so many more, all pertinent to me and possibly/probably senseless to others.

That,s it for now, toodles, I hope that you all had a good weekend.

                     TTFN                                                 Pam