Doubling down on no/low spending!

 

Unfortunately despite doing really well, Luna didn't get signed off by the vet school as her liver enzymes are still a bit high.  She's to take a liver support supplement for the next month and they'll do more blood tests.  So a bit more expense!  And I finally heard back from my pet insurance who said they can't pay out as the 'condition' was diagnosed within the first 14 days of the policy starting.  So puppies are insured from when they're born until they leave the breeder.  Then there's this 2 week/14 days window where they're not, even though you pay for the policy to start from the day you get them.  And you can only start a policy from the time of legal ownership, no earlier to cover that 2 week gap.  I'm not surprised they've not paid out (bunch of crooks!!!) but I am annoyed.  It's a heck of a lot of money to come out my savings so I'm doubling down on the no/low spending.

Frankly I'm not spending money on anything but the barest of bare essentials.  I'm eating out of the freezer and storecupboard for the next few months and looking at every single thing I eat and drink!!  I need to get creative!

I'd drunk all my Rocks blackcurrant squash.  It's my absolute favourite but at £3.50ish a bottle it's very much a luxury.  And I discovered when I looked closely at the label it only has 740ml.  Not even the standard 750ml of most other squashes!  Shrinkflation again!!

So I've decided to make my own cordials. The worst that's in them is sugar!  (BTW I looked at the ingredients on a Ribena label!!! 😦)  I had loads of dried elderberries in the store cupboard so made around 1 litre of  Elderberry, ginger and lime cordial.  (I had some frozen lime juice and chopped ginger in the freezer.)  It's blooming delicious!! 😋 And very dark as you can see in the photo, that's a clear glass bottle!   I have some ideas for other fruit cordials/squash so I can use up more of the fruit in the freezer and create drinks without additives and artificial sweeteners.  Since giving up my diet Coke habit I've been looking for drinks that are less processed.  Obviously I could just drink more water 🙄 but I do struggle with that.

I finally had enough ripe Roma tomatoes in the freezer (I've been adding them as they ripen on the window sill) so I cooked them.  Just tomatoes, nothing else added.  I've got a very disappointing 3 freezer tubs worth (each around 350g) which isn't even the equivalent of 3 tins of chopped tomatoes.  They taste good but nothing special.  I can buy a tin of basics tomatoes for 35p.  Hardly seems worth the effort and asking a favour of my plot neighbours to water the polytunnel when I wasn't able to get to the plot.

I harvested my chillies.  I let some ripen fully and left some green.  Neither have any heat.  Zero chilli flavour.  My green fingers have deserted me this year I think!

But my DIL is developing hers!  I've even got her saving seeds for next year!!  Sunflower and poppy seeds drying off on the window sill 🌻

And she's becoming an expert on finding yellow stickers!  Note how it says Too Good to Waste instead of reduced!!  She just happened to be in Waitrose at the right time and got around £65 worth of meat and fish for £22!!!!  She gifted me the above lamb mince 😊 Down from £6.55 to an amazing £2.59.  It's already cooked with grated carrots, courgettes (home grown) and onion (home grown!) and in the freezer. She also got a large fillet of wild Alaskan sockeye salmon down from £15 to £5.  We cut it into 4 decent portions and she gifted one to me!  It's also in the freezer 😋

I did get one of my important jobs ticked off my list ✅ I got my chimney swept!  It cost me £100.  I had the woodburner installed 6 years ago and the chimney hasn't been swept since 😳  So it's now all ready to be used when the weather turns colder (garage has a decent store of wood and heat logs bought in the sale) and I can also tell prospective buyers next year that it's been done and leave them the certificate!

Inside the polytunnel

 

This was my polytunnel this morning.  I'm really not happy with what's (not) growing this year despite my careful watering and feeding since I planted my tomatoes and peppers.  Definitely having a re think for next year.  

What do you or would you grow instead of tomatoes?  🍅

Plot Update

I remembered to take a video yesterday when I was at the allotment.  I meant to do it last week after I'd finished the polytunnel but I was just too tired! 

Our allotment site is looking fab.  Lots of people have been able to spend more time there and there's a great camaraderie on our Facebook page with lots of seed and plant sharing.  And all within the social distancing rules.  It's been a lovely respite to my week.

Hope everyone is well and keeping busy.  Stay safe, stay home 💗

The days are merging

The days are merging together in these strange times often until I have no idea of the day, never mind the date.  I'm still doing remote teaching but the uptake has been poor. I do hope they're all ok.  Everyone seems to be enjoying lovely weather and I'm seeing photos of people doing fab things in their gardens.

Going to my allotment counts as my daily exercise (and Emma's!!) and keeping busy there and in my garden is helping me stay sane.  Dad's funeral is this week.  I think once we get past it things can settle into a new normal for us.

Today I finally got my polytunnel erected on my plot.  It took me all day.  A second pair of hands would have been useful but thanks to social distancing I had to manage by myself.

Dismantling the raised bed box took much longer than I thought!!  The concrete slabs were really heavy.  And moving the rhubarb was a nightmare.

But finally the area was clear.  You can see Emma was impressed.  Not!

The frame was pretty straightforward.  Everything was numbered and the diagram was really clear.  I splashed out on one with a proper door instead of a zippy one.  And I bought hot spot tape for the frame.  It helps prolong the life of the cover.  We shall see!

The door went on first.  It took a few goes before I realised one of the poles was backwards!  To be fair the diagram didn't show the difference.  That's my story and I'm sticking to it!!!

Ta da!!!  I'm flipping knackered tonight though.

I also made Lemon and Gin marmalade this week.  It's really good!

Especially on pancakes!  Pancake recipe HERE 

My friend brought me a jigsaw.  It's been a long time since I've done a jigsaw.  It'll be a long time before I do one again!

In a flash of inspiration I moved my bookcases out of the study into the living room.  The study will become the living room area in my Air BnB next year so I was wondering what to do with all my books.  I'm loving them being closer at hand in the evenings.

And finally to finish off this rambling post, Emma got a new pink bed.  She loves it.

Hope you are all doing ok.  Stay safe and stay home everyone! 💗

Goodbye polytunnel

In between the rain, sleet, snow and brilliant sunshine this morning,  I took down the remains of the polytunnel.  The metal frame was completely bent and broken and the cover was ripped to shreds in places.  I removed all the pots and my cold frame.  My strawberry plants (wild and cultivated) have all survived but nothing else flourished.  I guess my climate just isn't right for growing throughout the Winter or my level of expertise isn't up to it!  Probably both!!😄

I moved the Omlet fencing to stop the girls getting onto the stones area.  I'll let them eat up the remains of my spinach, cabbages and spring onions that the slugs didn't get.  I also found a wee toad so hope he/she finds a new safe place to live away from curious chickens!

It really is a mucky area at the moment so I need to give some serious thought to how I'm going to use this space.  It's 3 metres by 3 metres.  It gets the sun in the morning and late afternoon in Winter and sun most of the day in Summer.  I'm thinking maybe some raised beds for herbs and edible flowers.  I'll need do some research on prices first.

Storm Ciara

Hmm, I don't think my polytunnel will survive Storm Ciara.  The metal supports are broken and the cover is torn.  The weather is truly appalling.  Stay safe and warm wherever you are today xxx

Growing more this year

Goal no 6 for 2020 is to 'Grow more fruit and vegetables.' I went to the allotment this morning to see how the winter veggies I planted have fared.  Spoiler alert!  Not that well!!

If I still have this plot within the veggie patch for the rest of this year, I'll need to enrich the soil.  Stuff has survived but it clearly isn't thriving.

I also did a wee video of my garden to show the difference.  The polytunnel hasn't been successful in growing the winter veg but the raised beds at the front are a bit more successful.  Shame I can't actually remember what I've planted!!

Leeks and kale I planted from seed last spring/summer plus some self seeded parsley.

This bed definitely had the kale plants and possibly cauliflower (?) plants, it's hard to tell.  This year I really must label everything more clearly.

Looking back at my emails I've remembered that I spent just over £51 on 80 plants because I wanted to try to extend my growing season outwith my usual summer months.  I'm really not sure it's worth it based on the results so far and definitely not frugal!!

September round up

I finally managed to pop down today to plant my Spring cabbages.  Life (ie work) has been rather busy and full on at the moment so finding time to go down to the allotment was lovely. It truly is an oasis of sanity.  I'm really not happy at work for lots of reasons so I'm looking for joy in the other things in my life.

Cauliflowers and Kale in the raised beds at the front of the house

Purple sprouting broccoli

Inside the polytunnel: 2 types of spinach, cauliflowers and purple sprouting broccoli plus my strawberry runners planted up in pots!  I feel such pleasure when the things I plant actually grow!

In other news:  my eldest son's girlfriend has moved in with him and I spent yesterday moving loads of boxes (mainly books) into his wee flat.  They're good together and I'm really happy for him. 💕

My middle son turned 30 (eeeek!) and got his PR (Permanent Residency) to stay in Australia.

And my youngest has started the final year (4th) of his degree (radiology) and looks set to get a First if he maintains his grades.

When I'm doubting myself, I look at my kids and think I did ok 💓

Preserving for Winter

The weather here is definitely on the turn and thoughts are turning to getting ready for Winter.  I was rather pleased that I successfully grew some outdoor tomatoes this year.  Sadly, not that many ripened before the vines succumbed to wind and disease.  So I have loads of green ones.  According to Pinterest they can be sliced and frozen for fried green tomatoes (dip them in cornmeal while still frozen then fried as normal) so I'm giving them a go.  I also made some pickled green tomatoes.  These will be stored in the fridge for a month before eating with cheese.  I'm looking forward to trying them!  And I still have plenty of tomatoes left for some chutney.

I also did some poached pears in white wine and stewed apples in vanilla and cinnamon.  My Lovely Mum grew them but the pears would not ripen.  She also gave me some plums that she'd already halved, stoned and froze for me.  So I have a few fruits preserved for Winter in jars and in the freezer.
 

I decided to reinstate the polytunnel in my back garden by buying a new cover.  Unfortunately the frame was an unusual size so I had to buy one that was 50cm too long!

I've pulled it down at the back and weighted down the excess with some heavy pots.  It survived last night's high winds so I'm confident(ish) it will last the Winter.  I'm hoping to add some hanging baskets to overwinter my strawberry plants without them getting eaten by the slugs!!

I had to pull out all the rasps and currant bushes to put the cover back on.  They really didn't do well at all this year.  Some have been relocated but most are done.  As I've been rather poorly this week (again!!) I hadn't got round to chopping them up for the compost bin.  The chickens have loved pecking at them so I don't feel too bad.  That's on this week's to do list.

I have some more Winter plug plants arriving this week for the allotment.  My plan is to put some in the polytunnel too so I can compare yields.   I've been watching some Youtube videos on using a  polytunnel throughout Winter so I hope to keep producing edibles for the next few months.

I think I'm getting my mojo back at long last 😊

Making a start

Today was a nice Spring day so my lovely mum and I made a start in the back garden.  We took away the polytunnel frame and emptied all the Grobags into the space.  We didn't dig in all the compost, I wanted to leave it for Penny to scratch in.  And so far she's had a great time although she was a bit camera shy!  I have a plan for this wee patch of garden. 😉

The polytunnel frame is rather rusted so it wasn't easy to take apart.  I'll wait until the Easter holidays and get OH to help me break it up.  We moved it onto the patio and left the Grobags out to dry off.  I'm planning on getting a big skip over the holiday so it'll go in there along with the old carpets and internal doors that are lying in my garage! 

Mum planted up the 2 free Chandler blueberry bushes I got last year. We thought one of  mine had died as the leaves went brown and dropped off almost overnight.  Thompson and Morgan replaced it but actually sent 2 by mistake!  Then the 'dead' blueberry bush revived (!) so now I have 5! 

This photo popped up in my On This Day feed.  Six years ago OH surprised me with a birthday weekend in Skye.  It was a tad windy! But I love this photo as it's just before OH grew his beard and I still have dark hair!! 💓

November so far

I finally gave in and took down the polytunnel cover.  It had degraded so much that the tiny pieces of plastic looked like snow all over the ground.  I'm undecided whether I should leave the structure up and try to re cover it in Spring or just take the whole thing out and go back to having a veg patch.  I'll decide in the new year. My garden is pretty much shut down for Winter now with just leeks and sprouts the only things still growing.

Life has been a bit humdrum lately.  Work, gym, painting, sleep and repeat/repeat/repeat.  I've been fighting off yet another nasty virus and an outbreak of cold sores.  I'm hoping that's the reason I've been feeling so low this past month or so.  Really fed up with a few things going on atm.   At least Emma keeps me smiling.

I've finally got to the stage where I'm getting my new living room carpet fitted in a week's time. I've reconfigured the layout and taken out a lot of furniture for a more minimalist look.  I think it works and I know Emma likes her new posh bed!

On the work front I've introduced patchwork to my Fab Friday group (all teachers have groups of kids to teach 'life skills')  I've got 20 kids from age 8 to 12 and so far we're doing ok.  Threading needles seems to be their biggest challenge!! But they've learned a wee bit about the history and frugality aspects and are so proud their creations.  All the fabric has been donated by my lovely mum and her quilting class so they're learning about using up scraps of leftover fabric.  I'd forgotten how satisfying it is turn wee bits of cotton into pretty 'flowers' so I've even started a project of my own 😊

It's September!

Time flies when you're enjoying yourself, apparently.  It's now September and we're 3 weeks into the school term. Unbelievably it's only 4 weeks until half term!!  So far my new class is ok, only one specific behaviour issue.  I only have 24 kids which really makes a difference in terms of class management.  My non contact afternoon is a Tuesday which happens to be the time when the whole school does community groups so I don't have a group to lead this year.  I like to think of it as my reward for teaching last year's class!! Several colleagues have commented on how I look more relaxed this term.  And my headteacher told me I'm very organised at my planning meeting! 😎

The weather hasn't been great here, very autumnal.  I switched my heating back on last weekend.  Luckily yesterday was decent enough to get my back garden tidied up.  I emptied more potato pots.  The pic above is the result of 10 Maris Piper tubers.  Not great.  And they fell to bits when cooked .

I rounded up and emptied all the pots then gave them a good wash.  They're already for winter storage now.

I cleared the polytunnel of the remaining tomato plants.  I had 18 and not one of them produced a single tomato.  The last ones I removed yesterday did have some flowers but it's way too late in the season for them to produce any tomatoes now so I pulled them out.  Very satisfying.  I filled up the grobags with the spent compost from the pots and will add some feed to them.  I'm going to try planting a few winter crops and some herbs to see if they'll survive.

We've also been doing some work on the outside of the house.  The exposed bricks and the mortar between them are a bit crumbly.  A lot of the houses round me have just painted them so we decided to go down that route rather than getting a builder to re point/replace.  I spent £40 on 2 tins of Sandtex paint that will seal and protect them.  OH has used a full tin already on the side (he'll do the wee bit on the front when the weather is dry enough again!!)

The colour is Plymouth Grey but it doesn't look grey on my wall.  But it'll do, it looks much better already with just the first coat.  And it'll save me the cost of getting a builder.

September is always the time when I reflect on the changes in my life in recent years.  7 years ago my marriage fell apart.  4 years ago I moved into this house.  Life doesn't always work out the way you thought or planned.  Getting back up is hard, really hard.  But when I look at what I have now I wouldn't change anything that happened.

Productive garden

My wee garden is producing small amounts of fruit and vegetables.  My apples are nearly ready.  My 4 pots of Charlotte potatoes yielded a few meals.  I've picked handfuls of blueberries, blackcurrants and raspberries.  My pea pods are big and fat but the peas inside are small. Nothing in any quantity big enough to freeze or preserve. Ah well.

I have 18 tomato plants in the polytunnel with no flowers therefore no chance of tomatoes.  I'm going to pull them all out and maybe replant with something else edible.  Any suggestions??

You can see in this photo that the plastic is degrading between the green lines.   I'm seriously considering taking it down.  Maybe putting some raised beds in it's place.  Dunno.

We've celebrated a few family birthdays recently.  My 'wee' sister was 50, OH's daughter was 21, my niece will be 18 next week and OH's son will be 16. This photo was celebrating the 21st birthday.  I had a lovely meal from a gluten free menu but I did suffer with some digestive issues for a few days after.  Sometimes it's just not worth the pain of eating out 😔

Home grown meal

My first complete zero miles meal this year.  Home grown potatoes, peas, lettuces, carrots and white turnips with this week's single egg from lone chicken Penny.  I have to confess I'm feeling very disillusioned with my garden this year.  The constant wet weather interspersed with mini heatwaves has caused lots of things to run to seed instead of producing vegetables.  And yet my tomatoes in the polytunnel haven't even flowered yet!

I need to have a long hard think about how I'm going forward with my plans.