My New Blog

 

Just a heads up to all my regular readers on here.

 I have decided to carry on blogging in a slightly different way for a while.  Who knows it may stick and I might start my wacky ramblings more regularly.  A few of the more crime solving minded regular readers have already found me, following clues to the new venue.

No murders have been committed ... yet!!

If you click on the top photo in the sidebar of this blog you will land in the new place with barely a bump.

If you can't see the sidebar you could just click HERE.

This blog will now be left dormant and the comments switched off again.  Thank you for reading over the years.

Sue xx

Happy New Year ... Plans, Non Plans and 50p's

Usually with me now is the time that I buckle down to a New Year New Challenge, and I guess in a way it could be called that this year. 

 But there is a big difference this year, I am not challenging myself to see how little I can spend and how long I can make things last, instead I am simply monitoring how long the money that I managed to save through table-top sales and Facebook Marketplace sales, and the bits and bobs of money that I have popped into my little box and my pottery drawer will last me over the coming weeks and hopefully months.

 

There are so many people on social media doing No Spend or Low Spend years that it has become a bit same old, same old.  It seems that us long time bloggers have influenced the influencers to take up the baton and run with it ... making money for themselves in the process.  Good luck to them!

Well I am happy to be out of the limelight, living slowly and simply in my little home and using my savings from the past year to fund this brand new year for as long as they can.

I don't want to buy any clothes, shoes or books in the year ahead as I really do feel that I have enough ... but if I need to I can and I will.  I have food, toiletries and cleaning products that could easily last me a few months and although I wouldn't run my larder down to silly levels it would be nice to run it down to a level that means I don't have to catch flying jars of salad dressing as they fall out of the cupboard ... I actually missed that one and it landed with a crash and my Caesar dressing was no more.

I added up the money from my two little pots and emptied all the cash out of my handbag, and this is what it came to.  I was surprised, pleasantly surprised, I had sort of expected it to be in the three hundreds or thereabouts.

Now usually I would be seeing how much this gives me per day, per week and per month ... and yes you know me so well I did have to work it out:

£1.62 per day

£11.38 per week

and 

£49.35 per month.

Not a shabby amount at all and one that I don't doubt for a moment that I could manage on if I was just to use it for food.  I've done it in the past, I once managed for almost a full year on one pound a day, before I ran out of steam, but not money!!  Even with the rising prices that we are currently contending with here in the UK and in many countries of the world, I feel that I could just about do this, and if truth were told I am almost tempted to give it a go. 

 But I don't need to prove that I can to anyone, not even myself!

I also have a couple of coupons that I will be using to bolster out my cash, and I've just checked and I have Nectar points available too.  I'm not adding them to my cash total as hopefully I will get a couple more over the course of the year, they will just be used up as and when they arrive and should help my money last a bit longer.

I found a couple of unusual 50p's in my little stash of coins.  

I did check online as I've heard that some can be quite valuable

But mine are of no great value ...

... and I would rather pass them on in my spending and let someone else have the thrill of seeing an more unusual coin in their change.

So as it's no great challenge this year I have just put some of my cash into my handbag along with the coupons and I will spend as and when I need to, in any amount that I need to.  All I will do, is perhaps  count my money at the end of each month, monitor how it's going and write it in my diary ... just out of interest of course.  😉

Good luck to anyone that is Challenging themselves over the coming year and I wish you well with whatever you are doing.  Leave a comment if you are blogging about a Challenge and I've no doubt whatsoever that me and my readers will come over and cheer you on.

New Years Resolutions - None

New Year Goals - to read more books, lose some weight ... and have fun.

Sue xx

Unlocking a Fresh New Year

 

So it's time to unlock this fresh new year, decide what we're going to make of it and either gear ourselves up or let it simply wash over us.  I'm sure you can guess that I am of the latter rather than the former statement.  

So I have no big plans other than to try and get myself fitter and keep myself healthy.  I have to lose some weight for my own satisfaction rather than any medical advice, dropping three inches has meant that my BMI has shot up by three points, my scales told me this ... I didn't even realise that this was how it worked!  So my only target for this year is to get myself back to my former BMI which although was not perfect did seem to a better number for me, if I can get it lower then that is even better.

I didn't get around to counting out my various pots of money yesterday, by the time I had put away the Christmas decorations and had a good clear up and done my final load of washing for 2021 I was shattered.  I was going to have an early night, but after dropping off on the sofa for half an hour at tea time, as did Alan we both decided to veg out in front of the television and let the New Year just wash over us.  We watched the New Years show on BBC1 and the fireworks and light displays over London and then both retired for the night.

My only task for today is to count my money, work out what my budget will be for and set myself some minor ground rules.  I'll be keeping this particular Challenge on this blog as it will only be mentioned a couple of times a week so it seems sensible to leave the Challenge Blog dormant rather than trying to keep two blogs going all through year.

Once the money is counted and a bit of a plan drawn up, I will start on the serious business of eating my way slowly but surely through the cupboards by putting a film on the television and tucking into some popcorn.

Happy New Year to you all and thank you from the bottom of my heart for your support and input over the last year.  Onwards and upwards ... and I hope your New Year gets off to the start you want it to.

With love

Sue xx

Double-Bedding, Saving Money, Spending Money ... but Saving Money Too

 

I got a bit fed up with all the dog beds lying around the place and the dogs rarely using them, so last week I put the flat grey dog bed inside the brown furry dog bed ... now this double bedding situation is making the dogs retire to their bed at every opportunity.

Obviously double-bedding is the way forward in canine comfort 🐕🐶

In an effort to save money and give myself as much comfort as the dogs have in their bed I decided to give my walking boots a good overhaul the other day.  I went to Timpson and bought new laces, new insoles and a spray can of weatherproofing stuff. 

 After a good wash ... that's why they are allowed on the worktop ... and a good dry on the bench in the sunshine padded out with newspaper I set to spraying, inserting and lacing.

Ironically with all the dry weather we have been having recently they were as dusty as hell after the first doggy walk, but they were also really, really comfortable.

After not finding anything in the shops that I wanted to spend my remaining £40 birthday money on I decided to add to it and treat myself to a nice new Remoska for my new home.   

Now the last time I bought a Remoska was HERE, wow did I really first purchase it back in 2012!!  It has always been in regular use although not by me anymore as Alan has used it for lots of meat, and I just can't bring myself to share it anymore with it's meaty splatters on the lid.  So we decided that he would get 'custody' of the old Remoska and I will have my nice new one.  

In the six years since we bought the old one it has gone up by £40 but they are still worth every penny, they save so much on electricity bills that they have usually paid for themselves within the first year.  BUT for this purchase I had three different vouchers!!

I put in the order, inserted all the voucher codes one after the other to claim my free Remoska cookbook, my 20% off that Lakeland had sent me directly in their little monthly brochure and the £10 off a £60 spend that had been on the leaflet in my magazine, and they all worked.  The next day I had a polite email from Lakeland telling me that I shouldn't have been able to use both the £10 off and the 20% at the same time but as the website had allowed it through they would honour it.

So I have actually got my nice new Remoska for exactly the same price that I paid for the original one over six years ago and a free cookbook too, which last time cost me an additional £9.99.

Does a little happy dance  💃💃💃

Yesterday as I needed to measure my Welsh Bread and Cheese cupboard for the kitchen designer I took my large box to the storage lockup that we have until we move again and added it to all the other boxes that are waiting for us there.  I can't wait until she can be unpacked and put into good use.

Sue xx

Curtains for Colin?

Meet Colin ... Colin the Cactus.

He was in the annexe when we first went to view it, he was in exactly the same place almost three months later when I had the keys and the place was mine.  He was moved off the kitchen worktop when they guys came to take out the old kitchen last Saturday, and that's when I realised he wasn't a fake cactus he was real!!

Poor Colin, he can't have had any water for months, no wonder he looked like the sort of cheap plastic fake cactus that you can buy from the pound shop.  

He had simply given up the will to live 😭  

I gave him a little drink when the guys emptied the U-bend and we found some water in it ... the water for the property was switched off while they took out the washing machine and sink and we couldn't turn it back on as we had nothing to cap off the pipes. Then I gave him a little of my bottle of sparkling water.

The drink obviously went straight to his head because this morning when we went to the new house to check on progress he had toppled out of his plant pot and was lying on the windowsill.  A drunken stupor or death ... I couldn't tell.  

So we tipped all the compost out of his pot put a little back in the bottom and wet it well to weigh it down, and then I re-potted him and gave him a drink of nice fresh water.

Now I just have to wait and see if he survives ... or if it's curtains for Colin  🌵

Sue xx

Photos on a Doggy Walk

While the guys were dismantling the two kitchens on Saturday morning we went for a doggy walk along the canal.  I wanted to get a new header photograph ready to use on this blog for when I move into my new place. The weather was cold but gloriously bright, just perfect to get a nice clear shot of the bridge and far too nice to sit on the floor watching men work.

The little barge called My Newt tempts me every time we walk past.  Her handrails and trims are all sporting a fresh coat of glossy red paint so I think someone loves her as much as I do.

 It was a beautiful day to slowly wander along the towpath and the dogs met lots of little doggy friends on our slow amble and had a good sniff around as we stopped and chatted to some of the barge owners that live on the water.

We walked first one way and then the other as I was trying to get a good shot of this bridge.  As you can see from the centre writing it was put up in 1927 and it carries a large water pipe rather than pedestrians, which is a bit sad as it would have been a handy cut through to town if we could get over on it.

You'll have to wait and see which photo I chose to use in the end, but I'll give you a clue ... it wasn't any of these.  😁

Sue xx

Tales from Wales - The Grand Finale

There, that's it ... the final view of Isfryn, our home in wales for the last seven and a half years.

We left for the final time at three o'clock yesterday afternoon, me driving my Fiat 500 with a full boot and passenger side and two very excited little doggies in their bed on the back seat and Alan driving our truck filled to the ginnels with it's final load, which included a cat that escaped from his carrier just ten minutes into the journey and who spent the next two hours perched on top of the things in the back seat, watching a very unfamiliar world rush by through the windscreen.  He took it all in his stride though and left Alan mostly in peace to drive, apart from a few plaintive yowls, and he arrived at his new temporary home looking quite bewildered.

Before we left I took some final photos with my phone, so I'll take this chance to share them with you.

Looking back at the house from Chicken World.

A henhouse that's been empty for a few weeks now.  Our last elderly hen died in late January, so we gifted our one remaining hen, a good layer, to the new neighbours across the road who have a lot of older hens but not many still laying. 

Behind Chicken World, beyond the fence is where we have our regular bonfires and we had a pretty spectacular one burning a lot of stuff we didn't want to take or leave behind on Monday afternoon.

The Chicken Shed.

Still with everything you need if you keep chickens, the new people have or will be getting some of their own.

Walking across the front of our garage, looking towards the view I will miss.

The hedging and trees that we put in before the polytunnel was erected, that have grown so much in the years we've been here.

The Tunnels and the Veggie Patch

Leaving lots behind, including some of last years Spinach and Kale.

Bits and bobs for the new growers to make use of.

A final shot of what was my domain until two years ago.

Lets go back to the house now for a final goodbye.

Two shots of the conservatory.

Anything you see on these photos was left behind for the new owners.

Including brewing up supplies, a New Home card ... and a cheeky bottle of wine.

Ooops ... one thing we did forget to bring with us was the dog's and Gingers water bowl!!

Luckily they have far too many bowls for us to really miss this old one.

Shhh ... lets sneak past a resting Alan, although the dogs have spotted us.

Alan developed a DVT three days after his Covid-19 vaccination and has really struggled with all the physical stuff this week.  So it's been a question of do a bit, rest a bit, do a bit, rest a bit ... on doctors orders.  Best to try and live your life as best you can, take the tablets and the painkillers but do keep moving was the instruction.

Upstairs and the bedrooms are empty and echo-ey.

With the office furniture left in situ as the new owners will also be running a business from home.

And that's it, time to go back down, wake a snoozing Alan, bag up a cat and hit the road.

Town Life here we come.

Sue xx

The Cherry on the Cake

 

She grew happy 😊

I've not been here long but already I have grown happy.  Living by the river suits me, but I'll only be here for another six months or so.  It is the perfect stepping stone to the future and one that I will enjoy right until the last moment of being here.

The thing is I grew so happy that fate stepped in to put the cherry on the cake.

A house came on the market that will suit us both down to the ground.  It's very early days at the moment as we only viewed it, fell in love with it and had our offer accepted on it yesterday.  But what it has, encompasses a perfect future living pattern for us both and we are in total agreement.

Fate

If Alan hadn't needed some more newspaper to start the log burner back at home, and I hadn't gone to Sainsbury's to buy him some milk and spotted the free Property newspapers on stand near the door.  If I hadn't put the papers on the floor in the spare room with the back cover faced upwards and hadn't noticed what was on that cover, checked the details online, forwarded them to Alan who immediately made an appointment to view, just days before someone else was coming back for a second viewing.

Who knows.

We are both very happy at the moment and the sun is shining.  Many cherries on many cakes.

Sue xx

Mess, Mayhem and Ongoing Reorganisation

 

Mess and Mayhem ... it sums it all up nicely.

I'm in that familiar fug of being surrounded by all my possessions and needing to sort out my living.  In my years on this earth I have now moved house sixteen times, the last eight of them in the sixteen years I have known Alan so I know things will get better, indeed with each passing day something gets better. 

 A kitchen roll holder screwed onto the side of the kitchen cupboard means two items off the worktop and paper towels suddenly being where I can find them without having to search ... yes it's the little things that count.  Although the clock I had put up in the bedroom launched itself back off the wall just as I was getting ready to sleep last night 😄😆

But I've known from arriving where the coffee area was ...

... and Suky's doggy eating and drinking station was quickly established.

With no oven ... it's SO filthy I wouldn't dream of using it and I'm currently awaiting a call from a professional oven  cleaning service ... and no will to cook on the hob, my tea for my first evening was a plate of cheese and crackers with a nod to salad thrown in for health's sake.  Accompanied by my last can of cider as a house-warming party of miniscule proportions.

I knew I had to be up early yesterday to go back to the Van to retrieve the contents of two forgotten about drawers.  I thought I had checked everywhere so carefully and it wasn't until bedtime and me needing a tee-shirt to sleep in, that the penny dropped ... it and more of my clothes were still in the Van!!   

I was there for 8.30am, half an hour before the office staff arrive for work.  I quickly let myself  in and filled a bag with my forgotten clothes and then left as quietly as I had arrived, checking on my way out that I had left no muddy footprints on my beautifully cleaned floors.  We still luckily each have a key to the Van and will keep them until it is sold, so that is how I was able to get back in.  It is still ours and our responsibility until someone else signs on the dotted line.

Being three miles closer to the motorway I decided I would make an early call to Dunelm to see what I could sort out for storage for my clothes at the flat.  I haven't owned a wardrobe in years, the Van obviously had all built in furniture and back home in Wales the wardrobes are also built in.  So I had had the forethought to ask Alan to bring the clothes rail that we used to use at car boot sales with him last weekend.  But that was going to be no use for the knicks and socks etc that I had just rescued from the Van.

It didn't take me long to find these, absolutely perfect as they can go on any hanging rail.  I also bought myself a few other bits and pieces that were very necessary, and treated Suky to a new dog bed from Pets at Home.

It works a treat, although I might actually pick up a couple more of the drawers next time I'm nearby as they will be so much better for keeping the dust off things.

Another couple of new purchases over the weekend were from much closer to home.  I called in the Hospice charity furniture shop again and spotted this bureau that I had seen the week before.  It had been reduced to half price and was now £75 ... it just had to be mine.

The mirror above it was from another little shop on the High Street and for just £20 it also was destined to come home with me.  That perfect mustard colour on a genuine old bevelled edge mirror, just gorgeous.

The inside of the old bureau delights me.

All those letter racks, a pen holder and indent for an ink pot.

Little nooks and crannies that will hold all my office and stationery wares.

Those delightful little drawers.

Is there anybody else that loves little nooks and crannies of usefulness as much as me or am I sadly on my own in this ... I have a hopeful feeling that I am not alone!!  😉

Yesterday I gave it a thorough clean, and found an old bank statement tucked away down the back of the drawers that let me in on the fact that the bureau's previous owner was also called Susan!!  Todays main job is to line the larger bottom drawers with some of a roll of wallpaper I picked up in a different charity shop as they are slightly more marked inside than the lovely little top ones.  And then I will be filling the whole bureau with as much as it can hold, including all my tools and bit and bobs that are currently on the kitchen worktop and in one of the drawers, which will then free up a kitchen drawer for a bit more re-organisation.  Then hopefully I will start to be able to find at least some of my things without a full scale hunt around the flat.

Oh, I would love to have your opinion.

Do you like the header?  It is a photograph of the start of the riverbank twenty paces from my front door ... or did you prefer the simpler worded heading that just said A Small and Simpler Life.  I just can't make up my mind at all so some input would be very welcome.

Sue xx