I'm back

So busy at the moment, will try to update quickly and share along the way.

The elderflower cordial hasn't come out as well as last year and I don't know what's wrong. It has a slightly bitter after taste and is darker and cloudy. I did use a slightly different recipe this year but the difference is so minimal I don't think that can be the problem. I regret making so much at once but I will try to remedy it and get back to you on that one.

The elderflower wine is going ok and should be ready to go into demi-johns either tomorrow or Friday.

 The mint syrup is bottled and labelled and in the pantry my DH restored for me as a Christmas present.

Part of the reason I'm so busy is DD is doing her GCSE's at the moment. She is past the worst part where she had 6 exams in a week but is now on study leave. However, she still has to attend compulsory revision sessions which means I have to take and collect her if it's not convenient to catch the school bus. Today, I usually go to quilting class but I've put it off till Friday as I would have just enough time to set up then have to leave to collect her. I guess I should look up getting her a bus pass for the regular bus, a certain lack of forward planning here.

I am also making a small quilted present for my BIL. I will post pictures when his birthday has passed. It's not very frugal (I don't think?) but it is personal and justifies my time quilting : ) He is also the man who has everything or could buy it if he wanted to so presents are a nightmare. I was lucky enough to get a late cancellation place on a quilting workshop last Friday (3rd). One of my fellow quilters was stuck in hospital and wouldn't have been able to make it. So clutching my remaining birthday money in hand, I volunteered to take her place and refund her the money otherwise she would have lost it. It meant I only had from Wednesday to Friday to prepare all the materials for the workshop so I had to work every spare minute. I did it, just, I was so proud of myself : ) I had never been to a quilting workshop before and was quite unnecessarily excited about it. The pace at the beginning was very challenging and I made the mistake of trying to keep up. I should have worked at my own pace and got it right, something I worked out as the day progressed. However, I did complete a block which I liked even though I will unpick it and remake it at some point and I really liked the technique and way of working.

The garden is demanding more and more time although DH has to do the heavy lifting etc, I do what I can. It's lovely to spend time pottering about in the garden and greenhouses (yes, greenhouses, long story I will share soon). I really miss the horses, just for the excuse to get outside everyday, so our garden has become my sanctuary from the madness. And it supplements our diet for very little money, even better!

Good weather has also meant more drying outside days, yay!!!

We had another successful car boot on Sunday. I have updated the 'Saved from Landfill' page and will share the details soon.

DH rides a motorcycle to work everyday. He enjoys this form of transport and it saves money in fuel, etc. However, even the frugal motorcycle requires parts from time to time.

He bought an MUZ Skorpion off his sister last year. It was a non-runner with a mysterious problem like most of his acquisitions. He got it back on the road and it was his current ride-to-work. But after a maintenance session, he decided it really needed a new back tyre. Unfortunately, this would cost over £100 so has been put on hold. He wheeled out one of his beloved classics, the Norton 19S from 1956, and is riding to work on that. Even though it is a classic, it will do it no harm to have a run out in the summer.

 His Indian Enfield Bullet, which is his normal ride-in-all-weathers-bike, has been laid up awaiting an engine transplant and other fairly major maintenance and repairs, has now come to the top of the list for his attention. It is cheaper to resurrect this bike than to buy a tyre for the Skorpion, as he has most of the parts gathered together. So he spent every free moment of last weekend and every night this week working on it, which has meant that I have been unable to call on him for help in the garden or around the house. As the chief breadwinner, his ride to work has to take priority.

Anyway, I really must crack on.

Back soon x

P.S. This post had lots of lovely, freshly squeezed photos but it wouldn't save. Will post later when I have time to work out what the problem was.

P.P.S. It didn't like the captions.

The beginning of the preserving season?

I'm absolutely pooped. I was just sorting out some suitable bottles for some mint syrup I've made over the last three days when MIL rang 'Do you want any elderflowers? Yes please! I didn't get to bottle the mint syrup but I think it will be okay. I've just finished making 4 litres of elderflower cordial and 3 gallons of elderflower wine and I've still got enough for another batch of cordial or wine but I'm too tired to carry on. It occurred to me while I was processing that preserving is considered seasonal, but I preserve all year round. As well as batch cooking and freezing left overs, I can make wine and beer any day of the year. Anyway, I really must check out now.

Back soon x

Katy Berisford's World Famous Laundry Gloop

I highly recommend you trying this recipe for very frugal laundry liquid. I had been using just grated, very cheap (13p for 3 bars) supermarket soap and a scoop of soda crystals but I found that if you didn't grate the soap finely, it would clog in the drawer. This washes your clothes really well and very cheaply, although white and oily clothes need a bit of extra boost from the Ecover laundry bleach. If you are very cheeky, you could email a large laundry company for a free plastic in drum dispenser or you may have one lurking at the back of the cupboard under the sink.

Katy Berisford's World Famous Laundry Gloop

This has really blown my mind...

....And another thing...I was earning approximately £1675 a month when I was still at work and DH was earning approximately £1200 at around the same time, plus child benefit £116, a combined monthly total of £2991 and we struggled to make ends meet. True, I was putting £260 a month in fuel and paying £111 a month in childcare. But we had consolidated our overdraft and credit card into a new mortgage and my old mare had passed on and I didn't replace her. Our monthly bills were less; mortgage, council tax, water rates, petrol, food, etc. Okay, we'd stopped making our own beer and wine and bought wine/beer at the off licence and ate convenience food after work. We were also trying to finish the house extension off and the kids had swimming and piano lessons but so much money must have been just wasted. Horrifying.

Wow!

I decided, while updating the 'Saved from Landfill' page, to do a running total of how much we had spent and how much we could have spent. Some of the prices are a best guess and I know some of the items could have been bought in the sales, etc. But the rough total shocked me, honestly. I know we have spent £44 pounds between 15/05 and 30/05 and that made me feel uneasy as that is almost a weeks groceries BUT we could have spent.....£1126.47 a saving of £1082.47!!!! In percentage terms, that's 96%!!! But what comes to mind is, why, why, why didn't we do this when times were good? Answers on a postcard please....

Good blogging

I know the secret of a good blog is to regularly update but honestly, I've been sooooooo busy and the kids have first call on the PC and laptop for homework and revision. With this in mind, I've been trying to resurrect an old laptop, only to realise that it doesn't have a socket for a patch cable and only one USB port so it makes it difficult to run the Internet wirelessly because I use that socket for the optical mouse. We shall overcome... I've spent hours trying to get Windows 98 to run properly but the screen comes up very small. My best guess, not being an expert, is that it is running this way to conserve memory and processing power. I've tried to download a small Linux OS but, again, because I'm working at the limit of my knowledge and expertise, I have been unable to load it and suspect I may have imported a virus. Argggh!

However, I have been living frugally and I will share the triumphs and tragedies over the coming posts. My biggest 'itching to share' moment is our trip to the Car Boot and the updated 'Saved from Landfill' page. I'm really enjoying this because even if the sums are small or the items low value, we've still saved stuff from landfill, saved us money, made our lives just a little more comfortable for very little money and it's become a social event as a family.

I'll get back later, promise x

Busy, busy, busy...

Yesterday, DH and I went on a road trip. DH is very fond of motorbikes, particularly old, unwanted and unusual models and relishes a challenge. When he was offered an abandoned/recovered Honda CG125 for a modest sum, he couldn't resist.

This isn't it, ours is very dark purple and tatty

He first checked that it was mostly complete and got it going. The engine runs perfectly, has very low mileage  and someone has obviously cared for the rest of the bike in the past. Because it was abandoned/recovered, it had no paperwork. So the decision was made to get the documentation and get it on the road, particularly as it can achieve 100 mpg. which would save approximately £24 a week in fuel for DH to get to work, more than paying for it's upkeep. We applied to DVLA but there was an anomaly in their records so they insisted on it being presented for inspection at our local inspection office 40 miles away. Having come this far we decided to take it. We had a lovely ride out in the sunshine, the inspection was very straightforward and a picnic on the way back. We now have to wait for the paperwork to come from DVLA but the inspector didn't seem to think there would be any problems. DH will have to be patient for just a short while longer but I think we are all looking forward to seeing this little beauty back on the road.
 
I had prepared a stew the night before and we set that bubbling away around lunchtime while we started planting the bottom greenhouse with tomatoes. We had to take a break so I could make a podiatrists appointment, so DH took me then returned the bike trailer to his friend, collecting me afterwards. My foot is healing steadily. I just have to carry on with the dressings and conservative management of my feet and legs and go back in two weeks. We continued planting for the rest of the day around dinner and homework and are feeling like we are making progress.

I have to go soon for an appointment with the Neurology Department. I haven't seen them in some while but I know that they are very short staffed and appointments are like gold dust so I shall not miss this one. I imagine it is to monitor the progress of my condition which I'm sad to say seems to be affecting my hands now.

Anyway, must make the best of every day so will catch up later, x