Currently struggling with my black dog.
Fmx

some pictures for you

Here are the 'before' photos from today's first allotment session.

We've inherited three compost bins from the last renter.

The plot is about 25m long and 4m wide.

There's some weed control in place, and a couple of tyres that we can re-use.

The border is wooden planks and there are lots of leeks left behind from the last person.

I emptied both these bins of their contents and Man Wonderful moved the bins to the far end of the plot.

These beauties will go very nicely in some leek and potato soup for our lunches this week.

Man Wonderful showing his sexy tushie and digging in some fine compost!

What have you been up to today?

Fmx

here it is.....

We've got an allotment!!



If you remember, we recently moved house and left behind our raised beds and super growing areas, and actually quite a bit of planting for the next owners.

Our new garden (I know, I know, no photos yet...) was set up by the previous residents as a smashing low maintenance perfect to sit in and chill out spot....and I'll be honest and say that we've given it a lot of looking at and a lot of sitting in.

We'd been on the local authority waiting list for an allotment for a couple of years with no luck, and two weeks ago saw an advert for some near to where we now live.  
Today we got the key to plot 3, which will soon have our runner beans, borlotti beans, marrows, courgettes, leeks, potatoes, tomatoes and lettuces that were moved from the old garden!

I promise 'work-in-progress' photos.

How happy am I?

Fmx

use it or lose it!

I love free things.
And OK I love things that I've paid for really that appear to be free but aren't.

In the UK we pay tax that goes towards: 

Running government, Defence, Health, Helping others, Culture, Education, Social systems, Order and safety, Our streets and The Environment.

There is a fantastic breakdown by taxpayer, of where each penny goes, here: link

But it is the very special share of my meagre 10p a month of which I'm particularly pleased today.  For that is the amount of my tax that goes towards Culture, Media and Sport, and it is a teeny share of this amount that goes to pay towards libraries!

We use our local library avidly.  We are all memebers, even the baby (the registration of babies now has a tick box to add you to the library if you wish, so she received her first library card before she could even hold it)!

Today I borrowed this:

It was on my kind-of wishlist (I say kind-of because I never disclose what is on my list, I just kind-of hope for stuff sometimes...) a while ago and when I saw it on the shelf today I knew it had to be mine for the next three weeks!!

I'm looking forward to sitting down tonight with my cuppa and poring over the pages with notebook and pen, and getting soem good ideas for our next. big. project. . . . . .

Am I keeping your interest about the next.big.thing?

Ooh goody!

Keep an eye on this blog over the next couple of days, and all will be revealed!!!


FMx

It's time....Frugal Queen look away now!

WARNING: this post contains the 'C' word.
Yes, Christmas.

I am not going to upset anyone now I have warned you.

Folks, it's June 11th. 
And as you read this, I want you to think back to last Christmas at your house.

What would you like to do differently this year?

Because NOW is the time to plan for it.

Maybe you'd like to cancel all the crap? 

Then you have time to email or write to your relatives/friends and tell them that you are not taking part this year, and if they still want to spend cash in your name, to donate it to ............charitable cause.

Or maybe you'd like to host Christmas Day because every year your cousin Sonia does, and you never get the chance?  
Again, you have time to contact all and sundry and invite them to yours.

Or maybe you just want to do things the same, but without the overeating, over spending and a lot of the stress? 

Guess what?  Start planning now and you can have as stress-free a Christmas as we do - and we do celebrate it!


So your first task is to decide the type of Christmas YOU want to have.
Decide on a budget and plan accordingly.

One of my friends is buying one gift a month this year to spread the cost of the buying she wants to do: this is a brilliant way of managing her choice of Christmas on a budget.

Because we moved house, I am a little behind with my own Christmas planning and prep, but my list is in place, have no fear!

We have a little chat and decide what we'd like to do each year.  
This year it will include our Xmas DVD marathon - where we watch an Xmassy DVD each evening in December.
We will play Christmas music throughout December.
We will drink mulled wine.

Our gift giving is always planned, and I have started on the make-ahead gifts.

It is important to us to celebrate Christmas, and because Man Wonderful and I have both had past years at the direction of others, we also like to spend our time in planning and gathering things together.

I don't know about you, but once Boxing Day is over, the festive period can seem a bit flat?
Here again is where early planning can help: you won't have mountains of leftovers or bored children if you spend time planning from now!

So finally, here are a few tips to get you thinking:
1. If you save £15 a week from now, when it's Christmas week you will have £420.
2. Decide what you want to do this year and let anyone affected know now.
3. Set your budget and stick to it.
4. Don't ask people what they would like as gifts this year (if this is your usual thing to do) - instead give them what you want to. This will also help you to stay in your budget.

Do you plan for Christmas early?
What tips can you share with us here?

FmX

in the eye of the beholder?

A recent news article asked for examples of pareidolia - link - a relatively common phenomenon where people 'see' something that isn't there: like a face in an arrangement of objects, for example.

Now I just love these, and it has given me lots of pleasure - especially on long, boring journeys - to pick out faces or shapes in clouds, for example.

Here are some examples from this report:

I especially enjoyed the face in a potato crisp!

While I don't have any pariedolic images for you today, I took these on my little phone today just because they made me smile :)

The bubbles in my cuppa this morning made a heart shape!

And my mints tesselating in their tin.

What's been making you smile today?

Fmx

weekending a la frugalmummy

My weekend started with a super catch-up with friends on Friday and a well-earned cuppa and a chat. 

Unfortunately then the migraine fairy paid me a little visit, so meds and an early night dealt with her!


Up early Saturday, and a rare trip into the city centre with GD and baby.
I don't like going into a busy city unless I have something I really desperately need to do, but yesterday was not unpleasant. There were a few music groups playing, a display from the local art college, and lots of chilled out people. 

And today Man Wonderful and I set off to Frugal Queen's house for a super Sunday lunch..click here to read all about it: yum

Now I'm sat chilled on my lovely sofa with my luscious family, making sure my planning is sorted for this week at work.

What have you been up to?

Fmx