A Beautiful Day!

Today has been sooooo gorgeous! The sun's been shining all day and it's been hot, hot, HOT! Spent most of the day in the garden and the sunshine inspired me to make some pretty dragonfly suncatchers. They're easy - all you need is a few sheets of coloured cellophane paper, some beads and some craft wire. I left them on the washing line all afternoon but now they're hanging in my bedroom window.







On Tuesday I spent a couple of hours with Diane and Karen, we went around the charity shops. I was looking for some bits of cheap jewellery to use on my altered book. I found a couple of pieces but I like them so much I'll probably keep them to wear, lol! I also found what I thought was a cushion cover, but on closer inspection I think it's a pyjama case. Doesn't matter though, I'm using it as a cushion cover anyway, it looks lovely with the other two that I have on the bed, and it only cost 75p - bargain! Oh, I got a pretty little hook thingy too, with a picture of a clock, it was only £1 and it looks kind of shabby chic.. I have an idea of what I'm going to do with it and I'll post a pic once it's done.

Here's the jewellery and the hook







I was pleased with my bargains but I still need some bits for my altered book cover so I'll jusy have to keep looking - I don't mind because looking around charity shops is one of my favourite things :o)

I had to go over to Tenby yesterday so I baked a batch of oatmeal cookies for Diane and made an old fashioned brown paper bag out of some parcel paper and tied it with some raffia. Simple, but it looked really good, kinda rustic :o)

Tonight I made a lemon drizzle cake for tea and over half of it's gone already, lol - nothing lasts long in this house!

Crafting Saturday

Today I decided to have the whole day to myself, doing nothing but crafting. It's ages since I last had a day to simply sit back and enjoy myself and not bother about housework, cooking or rushing off to work. Soooooo... I started out by making a miniature book - an old, battered, worn out book containing pictures of old-fashioned medicines and treatments.





Next I made another old book, this time containing pics of Victorian transport....





....and after that, I made a little journal. I don't have any pics of the inside of it yet, it's not quite finished, but here it is..



When I'd finished with the miniatures I started on something I've been wanting to do for ages - an altered book. There are some beautiful altered book pictures online and I just love them! Anyway, I gathered together some bits and pieces and I'm quite pleased with how it looks so far, although I want to add a lot more to it yet! I covered the original cover with plain paper dyed with tea and scrunched up to give it the wrinkled effect, and then laid some gold tissue paper over parts of it. I made two flowers with the tea-stained paper and later on I added some gold flecks of paint. Yes, it's coming along nicely, I think I'd like to add some metal pieces to it so I'm going to keep a look-out for something suitable. Here it is so far...

A very sad post.

This is going to be a very short post, I had a list of things I was going to blog about but everything came to a grinding halt the other night when a fox killed our eight beautiful free-range chickens. We searched everywhere in the hope that some of them had managed to escape and hide. We called to them as we searched and we looked in every possible place at least three times, but all we found were feathers. It was a terrible loss. I'm just glad that, while we had them, they had the best kind of life, roaming free, foraging and dust-bathing and just doing all the things that chickens like to do.

Ouch!

Went back to the dentist on Wednesday and finally had some dental work done. Had to have three extractions - yikes! I knew it was coming so I was prepared for it but I was still very apprehensive about the needles. It wasn't too bad and I was feeling quite pleased with myself, but when I went to stand up I had a hard time getting my legs to support me! It's quite normal, apparently. The dentist accompanied me back to the waiting room and told me to sit there for as long as I needed - he offered to phone Nigel, who was waiting down the road in the car, but I didn't have my phone with me and I can't remember for the life of me what his mobile number is, lol! Eventually I stood up to go and a very nice lady who was waiting for her appointment offered to walk down the road to the car with me. I thanked her but said I'd be fine, but as I walked to the door I started to feel really shaky again and she jumped up from her chair and insisted on walking with me, and to be honest, I was really grateful for her company. I felt a bit better once I was out in the fresh air and it was only a five-minute walk to the car where Nigel was waiting. It was really nice of her to take the time to help me. I didn't get her name and chances are I'll never meet her again since the dentist is forty miles from where I live.

I was going to go into work the following day but by then my face had swollen up on one side and it was really painful so I called Dawn, the supervisor, and explained that I wouldn't be in. Friday came around and still my face was playing up so I had to stay home again. It's Monday now (bank holiday) and I'm still taking pain killers, but I'm getting back to normal so I'll be going to work tomorrow.

Well, it's been a beautiful day today, hottest day so far. I went up to where Nigel works this morning and checked on our chickens, which we keep there. They were thoroughly enjoying themselves out in the sun. Nigel gave my car a wash with the pressure washer while I was up there so it's looking all pristine again - that won't last long, lol!

Took a few pictures and then did little bit of shopping on the way home. I bought a jar of local honey and I have to say it's the best honey I've ever tasted - gorgeous!



I spent the rest of the day sunbathing in the garden - I'm getting a tan! Hooray!! :o) Here are a few pics I took today..



All of these were taken up at the hotel where Nigel works, except the last one which I took on the way home, looking towards Newport Beach.

Weekend Bits

Well, that's it, the weekend's over, Monday's looming once again. I don't actually mind Mondays though,new week,new start and all that. It seems almost obligatory to hate Mondays these days and people look at you like you're a bit odd if you start the week with a smile, which seems a bit sad really.

Right, what have I done this weekend? Well, the runner beans are planted, I've got two different varieties in the garden and I'm looking forward to seeing them pop up :o) We went down to the allotment yesterday morning to check on everything and it's all looking good, all the stuff we've got planted is coming up nicely, all green and healthy-looking. We've got two allotments, on one of them we've got raised beds. We've got strawberries in one of them and herbs in another. Last year we had courgettes in one of them and they did really well. We've also got raspberries, goji berries and blueberries. Oh, and rhubarb - which is looking very good. My little frog pond which I put in last year needs a good clear out, it's not looking too good at the moment so I'll have to get down there one day this week if the weather's ok and sort it out.

I went to Haverfordwest yesterday afternoon to do a bit of shopping. Went to the pound shop and bought some indoor plant food, a couple of spray bottles and a few other bits and pieces, also bought a fiver's worth of savings stamps at Morrisons and put another fiver on my Wilkinson's saver card.

Today we did the food shopping for the week. I've stocked up on all the flours and bought a bag of oatmeal for baking, so I'll have a bread making day sometime this week. I did a load of oatmeal biscuits the other day but they don't last long, lol - they're too nice! I'll have to make some more.

I gave the bedroom a good sort out tonight. I'm trying to cut the clutter and I'm getting rid of anything I don't use, so I've chucked the useless bits in the bin and put some clothes to one side for the charity shop. The bedroom looks a lot tidier now and it even looks a bit bigger now that I've got rid of the junk!

I bought a bottle of washing up liquid today from Aldi's, it cost 69p and it will last me for about two months, maybe a bit longer. I dilute it and get around five and a half bottles out of it and I only use a little bit at a time so it lasts for ages - to think I used to use a whole, undiluted bottle each week! Actually I just did a quick calculation and I used to spend £35.88 per year on washing up liquid, and now I will spend approx. £4.14 - a saving of £31.74 - wow!! Just goes to show that these little savings really do add up! :o)

Learning Something New

'If you don't use it, you lose it'. That's what they say, right? So this week I decided to use my brain and try something new. My son uses photoshop and he's been on at me for ages to have a go, so I thought I'd give it a try! I found it quite confusing - all those icons! I thought I'd never get my head around it all but I persevered and slowly began to pick it up. I'm still very slow but at least I've made a start. Here's my first creation... It's very basic but you have to walk before you can run!! :o)



The weather's been crap again today so I just pottered around the house before going to work this afternoon. BORING! I hope it brightens up soon - the trees outside are still looking very bare, they should be greening up by now.

My mission for the next couple of weeks is to sort out all my junk and get rid of it - I've really got far too much stuff and it's starting to get on my nerves. I've got a whole shed full of hobby stuff that I don't use any more, but whenever I start to sort through it, I think it's too good to throw away! Then I think that maybe I'll start using it again. I've got to get out of this mindset - it's like those hoarders that are on tele, I can understand how they feel when they say they can't bring themselves to chuck stuff out. Thankfully I'm not that bad - my hoard hasn't found its way into the house yet, but my shed would look a whole lot better without that lot in there. I've got a dolls house in there which needs a clean up and a coat of paint, I think I'll do that and see if I can sell it, and if I can't I'll give it away, probably put it on freecycle, it's a shame for it just to be sitting in the shed doing nothing.

SUNSHINE!!!!

I'm blogging a bit earlier than usual tonight because I'm planning to have a long soak in the bath later tonight and give myself a pedicure in readiness for the long days of Summer (I live in hope).

Me and Nigel spent the morning on the allotment doing some planting and weeding, it was sooooo lovely to get down there in the sunshine! Nigel's been doing bits and pieces whenever the weather's been good enough but it's been so cold up until now that it's slowed everything up. There were a few people there today, making the most of the nice weather. I hope it stays like this now! I was going to take some pictures down there but silly me left the memory card in the computer!

When we got home I made a pan of vegetable soup and a chive and tomato loaf - it was meant to be a cheese and chive loaf but I discovered we had no cheese so I had to improvise. I'm glad I did because it turned out lovely - I'll be making it again!! I made a plain loaf too, as we were running low on bread and I didn't fancy going to the shops.

I decided to start clearing out the cold frame in the garden, it's been really neglected since last year because we put all out effort into getting the allotment going and our poor garden suffered because of it. Anyway, I thought I'd get it sorted out because it's a bit of extra growing space and it's a pity to waste it, I'll use it as a little raised bed. It was in a right state and full of wildlife - the kind with eight legs!! Here we have the 'before' picture. What a mess!



I've cleared it out and it's starting to look better - I'll be able to get some things planted in there soon :o)



Oh, I took the fruit water with tme to the allotment today, and it was lush! :o)

Quick update on today's makes.

Just a quick post tonight before I go up to bed. It's been a gorgeous sunny day, probably the best of the year so far, although the wind is still a bit chilly. Mustn't grumble though, it's been lovely to see the sun in a clear blue sky. I managed to get a good shot of the moon at about 6.30 this evening - I altered the brightness and contrast a bit though and then made it black and white, to show more detail.



Earlier I made a little pot of deodorant using 3 tablespoons of arrowroot powder, 1 tablespoon of baking soda, 2 tablespoons coconut oil and 10 drops of lemon oil. It's lovely! :o)





I also made some fruit-infused water to drink tomorrow morning. Lime, kiwi and orange - can't wait to try it! So simple - I've been meaning to do it for weeks but I never got round to it, which is a bit daft because I've always got fruit in the house. Ah well, better late than never, lol!



I made a bread pudding, too, out of a stale loaf which I was going to throw away. There was still a bit left over so I put in the food processor and made a batch of breadcrumbs! :oD

Damn Dentist!

Today has been a complete disaster - I had an appointment at the dentist which is 40 miles away. I set off an hour and a half before I was due to be there because the traffic can be bloody slow on that particular route and I wanted to give myself plenty of time. Anyway, the traffic was slow as usual but I managed to get there just in time, only to be told that my appointment had been cancelled due to unforeseen circumstances! Well, after driving 40 miles in shit traffic, not to mention taking the afternoon off work and losing a day's pay, I was pretty pissed off. I mean, come on - can't they use a phone? Why didn't they just call me and tell me the appointment was off? I was mad as hell and I made sure they knew it. Oh, they were full of apologies, but what use was that? The treatment I needed was already three weeks overdue because of a previous cock-up on their part, and now I've got to wait yet another two weeks to get it done. I am NOT a happy bunny!

A bit of baking and a trip to the charity shop

Blimey -I haven't posted anything for a while, so I'd better jot something down while I'm in the mood! I've been doing quite a bit of baking lately, mostly soda bread and biscuits, lol (cheap and easy). Soda bread is a recent discovery, I didn't realise how easy it is to make, silly me, but after my success with a cheese and onion one, there's no stopping me! Oh, and biscuits, too - I made the MOST delicious oatmeal, chocolate and raisin biccies in the entire WORLD!!!! I made about twenty of them and they were gone in two days! (no, I didn't pig out on the lot - there's three of us here so it was a joint pig-out!) Here they are, or rather, here they WERE :o)






Today I bought a lovely Summery shopping basket from a charity shop, it was only £3.00 and I LOVE the colour, it's so cheerful! Charity shops are great, I love to have a rummage around them to see what I can find!! :o)

J-cloths and toilet rolls!

For the past week I've been trying to think up new ways to save money and I came up with a few ideas, such as taking my pack of j-cloths and cutting each one in half, lol! Two packs for the price of one! Seriously, they don't need to be as big as they are, half of one does the job just as well as a whole one. They can also be washed in the machine two or three times and re-used. Also I realised that I use a lot more washing-up liquid than I need, so I now put only a quick squirt of it into the water (I don't have a dishwasher - wouldn't want one).

After reading someone else's blog I decided to keep all the little nets from citrus fruit - I collected about seven or eight, rolled them all together and made a brilliant little pan scrubber, so that was one item I didn't need to buy this week.

I have rediscovered the humble pancake! During the week we had lemon pancakes and tonight we had caramelised apple pancakes and fresh whipped cream - yummy!

The weather has been terrible here today, it's rained non-stop so we haven't been able to do anything on the allotment, it's like a bog there at the minute, I hope we get some dry weather soon as we need to get cracking on it. Tomorrow I'm going to plant a few things up in the polytunnel in the garden - I've been collecting the cardboard tubes from toilet rolls and I've cut them down to make a load of little planting pots for seedlings.

Just the right size AND biodegradable! :o)

Saturday was my birthday, and I had a gift that was wrapped with paper which was so pretty that I couldn't just throw it away, so I decided to make something with it.

I gave it a bit of thought and then came up with the idea of making some envelopes and notelets. Here is the result. I think they're really pretty.

Tonight I made a lemon torte that I saw on 'superscrimpers' on TV. It's sitting in the fridge at the minute, we'll be having it tomorrow - if I can resist temptation during the night, lol! Here is the recipe...

Quick & Easy Lemon Torte

Serves 8
Cooking time: None (Chill in fridge for at least 3 hours)

100g (4oz) Digestive biscuits
50g (2oz) butter
Half large can condensed milk
2 lemons
250ml carton whipping cream

1. Crush the biscuits. Melt butter and stir in the biscuits. Press into the base of a loose-based 8" flan tin. Chill in fridge while you make the topping.

2. Grate rind from lemons and then squeeze out the juice.

3. Whip the cream until it forms soft peaks. Reserve 3-4 tablespoons for decoration. Fold the condensed milk into the remaining cream and then stir in the lemon juice and rind. Pour onto biscuit base and chill in fridge until firm (about 3 hours).

4. Decorate with the reserved cream and grated chocolate or sliced kiwi fruit if wished.

Cheap and easy tea-light holders.

Feeling creative today, I looked around the house for inspiration and two glass jars in my kitchen cupboard caught my eye. I knew I could do something with them, but what, exactly? Then I remembered seeing a picture online of some pretty tea-light holders that someone had made. I quickly found some printable music sheets and a bit of ribbon and ten minutes later, hey presto - My little light holders were done! I think they're really cute! (and best of all, they cost nothing!)

I've got my car back.

I just hope the car will be okay now, it drove back from the garage with no problem, s fingers crossed that I don't have any more trouble with it!

Nothing much to blog about today, weather's crap, rainy and very windy, not the type of weather for doing stuff outdoors so I've been in all day, apart from going to work this afternoon. My son gave me some water colour pencils for Christmas, so I might try them out later :o)

Moanday Blues!

My car is back in the garage, our mechanic, Huw, who is usually very good, can't find anything wrong with it, but there is obviously something amiss because the damn engine keeps cutting out, he's changed the plugs, and the filters - whatever the hell they are, and tomorrow he's going the check the 'lines'?? (I know nothing about the workings of a car, I just know how to drive it.) Anyway, here's hoping that he finds something wrong with it tomorrow.

Back at work today, the snow has all gone now, just loads of water on the roads. It's probably a good thing that I'm driving Nigel's car at the minute, it's a four-wheel drive and a good bit safer in these conditions than mine.

Our chickens have started laying again, (they stopped for a while during the snow) and we had six eggs today. We've had our hens for a year now and they've provided us with all the eggs we need. Sometimes we have more than we can eat so I sell them at work and the money comes in useful for extra feed and bedding for them.

Nigel's making tea and I can hear him getting the dishes out, so it sounds like it's just about ready - good, I'm absolutely starving! :o)

Muddy Sunday!

We had a good day today, the sun was shining so we made the most of it by making a start on the allotment. Nigel planted the raspberry canes and I thinned out the strawberry bed. We're going to have two strawberry beds this year so the next job is to get the other bed sorted out and planted up. We had loads of gorgeous strawberries last year despite the army of slugs that invaded the plot. The allotment itself is looking a right mess, the rain has been continuous for god knows how long, so it's like a bog down there - I hope we get some better weather soon so that it has a chance to dry a bit. There's a lot of work that needs to be done down there but at least we did most of the heavy digging last year and we've had tarps over it to stop the weeds from coming back, so it should be easier this year.


I had to pop to the supermarket this afternoon for a few bits and bobs so I went just before closing time in the hope that there might be a few bargains to be had, but it was a bit disappointing, they didn't have much out. I did manage to get three small brown loaves for 20p each and a cucumber for 50p though :o)

Face On!

Today I had to go to the shops as I needed a few bits and pieces. I bought a new lip liner and eye pencil. I don't wear loads of make up but I do wear it every day - I don't go anywhere without my face! I use coconut oil for moisturising , which is really good and very cheap, a bit of foundation, eye pencil and mascara, blusher and lippy - job done!

I have plenty of lippy left and enough blusher to last for a while so I won't need to buy those for a bit, although I'm getting low on foundation. When it seems empty there's actually quite a bit left inside the bottle/tube so I take it apart to make sure I don't waste any. Same with lipstick - there's always quite a bit left in the holder when the stick's worn down, so I use a lip brush to put it on.

I am going to have to get my hair cut soon, it's been ages since I last had it done, but it's going to have to wait until next month because I have my car to tax this month, which is a pain, but it has to be done.

I'm off to de-bobble a jumper now - my de-bobbler is years old, I got it off ebay for a few quid and it's still working well. It's saved many a jumper from the scrap heap so it was definitely a good buy!

My New Blog.

Basically, this is a blog about not spending money, or more accurately, spending as little as possible. I've made the decision to only buy what I need and to get it as cheaply as I can. Why? Firstly because I don't have a huge amount of money to spend and secondly because I'm fed up with the crazy shopping-mad society that we live in. people are always buying stuff, and when they're not buying, they're saving for stuff, and when they're not doing that they're talking about stuff that they want but they can't afford to buy it because they're still paying for the last lot of stuff that they got. What kind of life is that?? I love second-hand shops, I love car boot sales and I love making things, so this blog is mainly about getting things on the cheap or even better, getting them for free!