Controlling my blood pressure

Hello. The weather has turned cold today. I took a dog for a walk this morning, I haven't walked Jade for a long time because she has a regular walker, Ken, but he has gone on holiday, so I said I would help out. I told the owner that I don't want to commit to a daily walk, but would help at odd times, and let her know. I said I would do it on Thursday and Saturday, and let her know after that. I don't want to be tied to a routine. Jade is lovely, a rescue dog that walks nicely on the lead and is happy to meet other dogs and people. 

Lunch today was a salad, under the grated cheese is a microwaved spud. I had some houmous with it, which was reduced to 25p. 

Not a very good picture of dinner tonight. I fancied some pasta, haven't had any for ages. I am using up yellow stickers, so in the topping is onions, butternut squash, mangetout peas, broccoli, and mushrooms. And the secret ingredient, Danish Blue cheese. I've made enough for lunch tomorrow, and there is enough pasta for dinner as well. Looks a bit yucky, but it tastes fantastic.

I've been doing a bit of sewing today, have changed the white bits on the picture and coloured them blue. It's looking good. I checked in with Stan on the library this afternoon, returned one book and took two out. He won't be coming for the next two weeks, that's ok, I have plenty of reading matter.

I wasn't going to mention this, but I feel terribly sad for the people of  Germany. What is this world coming to. I try not to write about politics because it won't make one bit of difference to what is going on. It only raises blood pressure, and I don't want lots of people piling in with their views and turning my comments into a punch up. I would rather it stay neutral.. However there is one thought in my head which I will share. 'That bloody woman'. That's it, nothing more to add. Anyone wanting to air their political opinions, do it elsewhere. Thank you.

Thanks for popping in, we'll catch up soon.
Toodle pip.

PS. Bugsy has been scoffing tuna fish.

1000 miles - finished.

Hello, This is me on my last three mile walk which takes me to the magical number of 1000 miles. Yes, I've done it, and boy does it feel good. 

I was a year younger when I started, and felt pretty much ok then, and now I feel even better. It's right what they say, exercise is good for the body and the brain. 67 is just a number, I don't feel any different to when I was forty something. I want to continue feeling good so I will be carrying this on and starting again on Jan 1st 2017. I can feel the benefits, and I want to stay mobile. It would be such a shame to stop now, I will keep going. 

This was my lunch yesterday, potatoes, watercress, and mushrooms. All yellow stickers. 

I cooked a pan of veggie stew yesterday, ate one portion for my dinner and froze three and a small portion. It was bloomin lovely, my secret ingredient is Danish Blue Cheese.

Tonight I have cooked another pan, eaten one, and there is some to freeze.

 Bugsy update. A week ago I thought he was ready to keel over and die. He was scrawny and didn't have any interest in anything. He refused all the food I offered him. He had three injections from two vet visits, they didn't seem to make any difference. A day before I was due to take him back for blood tests he suddenly became interested in food. I had removed most of it as it became dry having been out for 24 hours, and replaced it with fresh out of the pouch. He was in it like a shot scoffing like he was starving, he almost was starving. Since then he has been eating small amounts regularly. When I come down in the morning he is sitting up asking for food. It seems his appetite has returned. Sometime he is picky and refuses what I am offering, but if I poke it around the bowl with a knife, tell him how lovely it is, and hold it under his nose he usually decides he will eat it. I'm completely baffled. So it seems we have a reprieve, how long for I don't know.

Thanks for popping in. Enjoy your Sunday. We'll catch up soon.
Toodle pip

No need to go mad just because it's Christmas

Hello and Good Morning. I've just had a good laugh. There is an article about me and how to save money at Christmas, in iNews, a budget daily newspaper. The journalist Katie Grant rang me yesterday for a chat. I usually get requests at this time of year asking for my money saving Christmas tips, but when I reply, I don't do Christmas, they usually give up and look elsewhere for their story. Katie stuck with it.

Click on this link and see the story yourself.  Britains stingiest woman offers her advice.

Anyway, let's press on. I did my Christmas shopping last night at Tesco. The yellow stickers cost me £6.21, and it's all good food. The total shop was £40.78, and with a voucher for £8 off this brought it down to £32.78.

There were only two of us waiting for the final reductions so we got the pick of the crop. Tons of veg as usual, broccoli and spinach my favourite. I will be cooking some of this up later today and putting portions of stew in the freezer. I might not have to go shopping again until after Christmas. In fact I could stretch what I have in my freezer and cupboards until the New Year.

I had it in mind to write something here about Christmas spending, or not spending, but Katie beat me to it, so I will add a few more thoughts on what she has already written.

Utility bills go up in winter, heating and cooking cost more, to budget for that savings have to be made elsewhere. Budgeting is an all the year round activity, there will be peaks and troughs throughout the seasons. Think about what you NEED, what you WANT, and what you will NEVER spend your money on. Compile your own lists on what is important to you, and what you can do without.

I can do without Christmas, not important, but I like a nice car, need to pay for my pets, and I like to go away on holidays and day trips. What I don't need is to shop at Sainsbury's Waitrose, and Marks and Sparks. I don't need a television set, don't need a licence. Don't need to eat out, don't need takeaways. I could list whole rafts of things I don't need, and my do need list will be very short.

If you have a partner, you should sit down together and do this exercise, you need to be singing from the same song sheet. No point in one person frugally saving pennies everywhere, when the other is squandering  it all away. That will only cause conflict.

If Christmas is important to you all well and good, go ahead, but do not go into DEBT for it. It is an annual event and there will be another one on the same date next year. It won't hurt to cut back on the spending for one year, or if you are like me, you might decide you can do away with it altogether.

I find it very liberating that I have chosen not to join in. My brain is not cluttered with the worry of getting the right presents, buying the right food, sending cards, and generally running around like a headless chicken trying to keep up. I can sit back and relax and watch everyone else getting their knickers in a twist. You will not see a furrowed brow on my face, you will see a wide grin from cheek to cheek.

No more lectures, do what you like, but don't come crying to me when the credit card bill lands on the door mat. I will just say, I told you so.

I had a lovely email from Amy of Hard up and Happy. She had difficulty commenting on my blog, so I will copy and paste it here.

 Hi Ilona,

I just want to say a huge thank you for your support and kind words on your blog - which is ace by the way. 

It means a lot when people are nice, as it's my philosophy to be as kind to others as I can, unfortunately this isn't always returned.

I won't concentrate on the negative Nellies though, as the positive comments are amazing. If I can help a few families be happy with what they have then that makes it worthwhile. I would have loved to have responded to each comment on your blog and my website, I'm afraid for some reason I can't? The comments plug in on mine is playing up. Anyway enough rambling I wanted to seek you out and say a great big thank you. You have made me very happy. From one thrfiter to another Merry Christmas!

Kind regards 

Amy 

Thank you Amy, lovely to hear from you. 

I'm beginning ramble now, it's lunch time, and I have things to do. An idea for another textile picture is creeping into my head, want to have a play with some fabric. Thanks for popping in, we'll catch up soon. 

Toodle pip. 

Making a bespoke notebook cover

Hello. Bugsy cat is looking like one happy and contented cat tonight. He's just eaten one and a half sardines. The vet said to give him smelly food to tempt him so I called in at the shop after I had finished making Santa's Grotto at the Village Hall. We decided to keep the Grotto simple this year, so I covered the two walls in the corner of the entrance hall with white paper and hung tinsel and coloured balls on it. 

I've started a little project to use up some small pieces of cotton fabric. I'm making a cover for a notebook. The red fabric is a piece of bed sheet. Lay the book on the top to mark out the size of the fabric. 

Now I'm covering it with patchwork.  I started it off at Crafty Club on Monday,  hand sewing up to now, but I've started to sew the strips on with the machine. When it is covered I shall add lots of hand stitching over the top of it.

I made extra steamed vegetables last night, and incorporated them into my lunch today. Started off with mushrooms in a pan, almost two weeks out of date, add a chopped onion, a handful of spinach, and some baked beans. Then add the steamed veg.  It was bloomin lovely, filled me up a treat. 

That's another month gone by. If the Walking Group members send in their mileage, I will update the page. I only did two miles today, pacing myself for the final month. I will be doing extra in December, so no need to stick rigidly to my routine.

Thanks for popping in, we'll catch up soon.
Toodle pip

What can you do with a tin of peas

Hello. There are some days when I don't mind what I eat, as long as it's cheap and fills me up. Saying that, you won't find any meat or fish in my fridge, unless it's cheap white fish for the cats, I no longer buy ready meals either. I will sometimes splash out a bit more dosh for something extra delicious, but not very often because I can make tasty food from scratch myself. So, I buy my food on price. My meals don't always look appetizing, my aim is to eat it, not to step back and admire my handiwork. 

A while ago I picked up a dented tin of mushy peas from Tesco, maybe I ought it eat it. 

My lunch yesterday was a spud in the microwave and half of the peas. Scoff scoff, it filled my tum, and at only 15p, it was a bargain. Bags of spuds are in season and cheap at the moment.

Dinner last night was steamed sprouts, broccoli, potatoes, and an onion, topped with the other half of the peas. Another tum filler at possibly 40p, a wild guess.

This is ten shopping bags waiting to be assembled. I had a fabric sample book from the Scrapstore and took it apart. The pieces weren't big enough to make a complete bag and handles, so I have used other fabric for the handles. I don't think it will matter, the two sides will be different anyway because there is only one sample of each. Best get on with it then. Need them for the Christmas Fair.  

Thanks for all your comments on the previous post, it's good to hear that we are all on the same wavelength. Thanks for popping in, we'll catch up soon.
Toodle pip

Watch out, there's a thief about

Hello. There has been a bit of talk in the village about some recent burglaries. Robbers are breaking in houses in broad daylight, people have had jewelry stolen. A dark green Vectra has been spotted, it appears they are climbing over fences and getting into people's back gardens and forcing windows open. It's usually a very nice village to live in but this news is a bit disconcerting.

I think we need to be a bit more vigilant and look around when we are out and about. Be nosy and notice things out of the ordinary. I am always looking out of my windows when I am moving about the house because I am a nosy beggar. We sometimes get police patrol cars visiting, but not very often. Most of the time nothing happens for ages, then we get two or three in quick succession.

There are some very expensive houses here, so I am really hoping that they don't want to break into an ex council house owned by a pensioner that has no valuables whatsoever. There are some houses still owned by a social housing association, so I expect the occupants further up the street to be in a similar position as myself. I don't think anyone has won the lottery and has all the dosh stashed under their bed.

I am taking extra precautions, just in case, like keeping the back door locked even when I am in the house. Not leaving my keys in full view, hide them, and take them to bed with me. Also taking my purse and mobile phone to bed. I'm keeping all windows closed from now on, and putting a light on if I go out at night. And always be nosy and look out of the windows. Best to be careful.

Two very similar meals. Yesterday was a veggie burger, onion, left over steamed veg, and scrambled eggs.

Today was two Quorn sausages, sweetcorn and broad beans, in a garlic sauce over a microwaved spud.

I'm putting off going shopping, I've got enough for a few more days.

A new craft programme started last night on More4, it's called I Made This. William is one of the presenters. It was quite good, I watched it this morning on catchup. I don't know if it is a one off, or there are more to come. Worth a watch.

Thanks for all your comments yesterday. The kids are all ok. Heidi is back on one tablet a day now, she was getting a bit lethargic on half a tablet, so the vet said best to get her back on full dose. It seems to be working, she has a bit more energy now. I have to ring the vet tomorrow with an update. Rocky is soldiering on, he is eating well. Old boy Bugsy cat is amazing, he loves lying outside, and yells at me when he wants food. And Mayze is still scatty, dashing around everywhere.

Thanks for popping in, page views are on the up, more people reading, and welcome to the new followers. we'll catch up soon.
Toodle pip.

Monday's musings from Tightwad Towers

Hello. I'm waiting for it to cool down a bit before I go and do my walk. It's been so chuffin hot here, I've been indoors for most of the day. This morning at the Village Hall for the Crafty Club, we are three years old today, and Heather very kindly baked a cake with a raspberry and cream filling. We are planning ahead and thinking about what decorations we are going to make for our Christmas tree, and we have chosen a date for next years Art Exhibition. When I came home I carried on with sewing, because it was too hot to go outside. 

I have some flowers, some of them are a bit floppy but it all looks nice. Pictures taken from inside the summer house, looking out. The grass is growing nicely up to the bricks now, good to see all the bare earth finally covered in green. 

Some of the yellow sticker veg has been turned into stew, portioned up, and in the freezer. It's butternut squash, sweet potato, courgettes, and spinach. Six meals, plus three smaller pots, all for a cost of £2. A slice of bread to mop up the gravy. That will save a bit of cooking when I can't be bothered.

A few more snapshots of the felt exhibition at the Arts Centre. These are amazingly complex pieces of art. They look almost like porcelain.

Nearly 8pm, I think it might be safe to go out now. Thanks for popping in, and thank you for your comments. We'll catch up soon.
Toodle pip.

The time is right to go shopping

Hello. Not a lot left in my fridge so time to make a meal from a few bits and bobs. Three mushrooms, two onions, one Quorn fillet and frozen veg, on a bed of  cheap noodles. Curry and garlic flavour. That will do nicely.   

I was putting off going shopping, sometimes it is so boring. You buy food, you eat it, you go shopping again. Yesterday I had beans on toast twice. Once for breakfast and again for dinner. The second time I chucked a few chick peas into it to bulk it up, and added some grated cheese.

Oh dear things are getting desperate.

Never mind, I can stretch it to another day with this frozen soup, wonder what flavour it is, I will soon find out. Now I'm going to have to get off me bum and go. 

Last night it wasn't very busy, I had a £4 off voucher so I took my time to select the things I really needed. Found a good buy in the freezer, these packets of 8 veggie sausages were £1 each. Best to buy them while they are cheap. I sometimes grill these, but quite often I will zap one in the microwave to make it soft, then cut it into chunks to add to a stir fry.

Struck lucky in the fruit and veg department, 75% off. I've already cooked some of this up in a big pan and made stew for the freezer. Lots of strawberries to scoff, they normally sell for £2. They were knocking them out for 50p a punnet. Had to have some.

Portion control? Bugger that, I will eat as much of this green stuff as I can pile on my plate. Just chomped my way through this like a rabbit, a whole bag of salad leaves, ha ha.

It has been three weeks since my last yellow sticker dash. In between my Tesco visits I pick up a few things from Aldi when I am in town. I spent £30 last night, cat food and a bottle of wine included, I have enough to last me a couple of weeks maybe longer.

Well I hope you are having a nice weekend. Thanks very much for all the comments on yesterdays post, it's good to get your perspective on health care where you are. Have a nice Sunday. We'll catch up soon.
Toodle pip.

Happy food, and happy skip diving

Hello. It's a bit blustery today, but as yet, no rain. I have just eaten this happy meal, so I am very happy now. The face is a cheese and onion bake, two in a packet for £1 from Tesco. I didn't bake it, I grilled it. Fridge almost empty again so I'll nip to town this afternoon for a top up shop. 

I thought I would get my three miles done early today in case the weather turns nasty. Half way round something stopped me dead in my tracks, a skip was being loaded outside a house, the occupants are moving on. Had to have a nosy. Two chrome bar stools snaffled, and a wooden picture frame. The stools will be cleaned up, seats re covered, and I will find a good home for them. I will remove the picture, it is a bit grubby, sand the frame and paint it for my own use. Quite a good find I thought, I like skip diving. I was reluctant to dig any deeper into the rubbish because there was a strong stink of dog poo, yuk, it was 'orrible. 

I need to finish off my walk now, as I made a diversion back to the house to get my car and pick up the chairs. I need to go and do a bit of shopping in town, then have a bath, and tonight I need to be at  Radio Humberside studios in Hull for 9pm. No, I'm not on the radio, they are going to link me up with a TV station in Australia for an interview on their morning programme, Sunrise. They originally asked if I could do it at 11.30pm so it would match up live with them, they are 12 hours ahead. I said no, too late, so they are recording it an hour or so before it is due to go out.

Right better crack on, things to do. Thanks for popping in, have a good weekend..
Toodle pip

Shopping needed, almost out of food.

Hello. Well, we wake up to major eruptions in the political world, I didn't expect that result, a surprise indeed. Listening to Burnsy on local radio there is a mixture of doom and gloom from the remain camp, and enthusiastic optimism from the leave camp who are looking forward to a new start. I shall be interested to see how all this pans out. 

If you have been reading my blog you will know that my personality dictates that I move on through the different chapters of my life. I am able to embrace change, will move on from a situation if it is not working for me, and constantly look for new ways to make my life better. I will organize my life around what income I have, I make do and mend, and I live with an attitude of gratitude. 

Burnsy is playing Carry on Regardless, and that is what we all will do. Nothing terrible is going to happen, the world won't come to a halt, we are not going to self combust or be blasted into smithereens.  

This was my meal yesterday, running low on food, scrambled eggs on a wrap from the freezer, with cheese. No eggs or cheese left. 

Shopping at Tesco last night at 7.30pm, I haven't been for a while, and managed to pick up some reductions. No 90% off any more, but 75% off is still good. Fridge now full with food.

Spinach needs eating quickly or freezing. Maybe a smoothie or two.

Large pack of prepared fruit, this will be smoothied and frozen in the next hour.

Other shopping was cat and dog food, frozen vegetables (broad beans, green beans, casserole veg), bananas, tomatoes, baby potatoes, yogurt, veggie burgers, tinned peaches and baked beans, soft cheese, broccoli, lemon curd, quiche, eggs, and a treat of a bottle of chardonnay. All stocked up for a couple of weeks.

I have received a super gift through the post, so thank you very much. I know who it is from, very kind indeed. A book on bag making, 36 projects to make bags of style. There are some good ideas in there, I have plenty of fabric to make some.

Must get on, thanks for popping in, we'll catch up soon.
Toodle pip.

Our Village Art Exhibition

Hello. It's been nice all day, now it's raining. I have been on call this week to water the outdoor plant pots for my friend who is on holiday. I haven't needed to go at all as it has rained either in the daytime or during  the night. I am collecting rain water from the Summer House roof, to be used later when it is not raining. 

Breakfast this morning, bran flakes, chopped nuts, seeds, and sultanas, porridge oats, and strawberries. They are quite cheap at the moment, makes a nice change from bananas.  

 I've stocked up on this hazelnut milk, only £1 for three cartons from the Cash and Carry. It's bloomin delicious, it's great on cereals. Tastes like soft centred chocolates.

Twas the Art Exhibition in the Village Hall today, this is my display of artworks. We weren't able to hang pictures on the walls except if there was already a hook there, so we put chairs on top of tables and covered them with throws, sheets, and table cloths.

Nobody asked to buy my pictures, but that's ok because I'm not ready to sell yet. I want to build up a bigger collection, then I might sell something. I shall be putting some in the Open Exhibition at the Arts Centre a bit later on in the year.

I had quite a lot of interest and enjoyed explaining that you don't need to buy materials to make art, you can use any old rubbish. 

The Chat and Craft display. Some lovely stitching on here from our crafty ladies.

A large part of the hall was taken up with paintings from individual artists and groups. 

I wouldn't say we were rushed off our feet. There was a steady trickle of people, but we could have done with some more. I went into the club next door to remind people that we were open for visitors, but I could see that it was going to be a hard job to drag them away from their alcoholic beverages.

I did a quick meal tonight, aren't all my dinners quick to make, ha ha. A large spud in the microwave, yellow sticker, 60p for 4. Three mushrooms, chopped spring onions, spinach, grated cheddar cheese, soft cheese, garlic powder, veg granules, wholegrain mustard. Add a splash of water to make a sauce. Bloomin lovely, my kind of dinner.

It's still pouring with rain, so I will not be walking tonight. I fear I will not make the 500 by the end of the month, unless I double up and do one in the morning and one again later in the day. We'll see.

I can relax now, all the sheddie stuff has been done and I have no more commitments for a couple of weeks or so. The kids are all fine, my thanks to the three pet sitters I had last week when I wasn't here. It's good to have a back up plan. Rocky is becoming less mobile as his age is catching up with him. He is comfortable and much loved, by me and the cats.

Thanks for popping in, we'll catch up soon. Toodle pip.

It's fine without a dressing

Hello. The art sign looks good on the lamp post, very eye catching next to the shop near to the Village Hall. Let's hope it brings people out to have a look on Sunday. 

I've just eaten this salad, it's completely naked, no dressing whatsoever. I've run out of the cheap mayo from the Cash and Carry, and haven't got anything else to put on it. I don't like oily dressings, in my opinion it ruins the fresh taste of the individual items,. I don't buy them nor do I make them. I might occasionally buy toasted sesame seed oil but I prefer that on steamed veg. It doesn't seem right to put oil on salad and make it greasy. So, naked it is. 

I've had this bottle of whipped body oil for a few years, it lasts so long because I can't be bothered to squeeze a small amount out. I only moisturize my face, and if I squeeze the bottle on to my fingers I always manage to get too much out and I end up having to wipe off the excess. I had a little empty plastic pot so I filled it from the bottle. This makes the job a lot easier, all I have to do is dip my finger in it and get out just the right amount.

I have been given a very large window blind and a smaller one, aren't they the most ugliest things ever. My friend thought I might be able to make something with them. I don't have windows to fit them, nor would I want to hang them in here anyway. Give me curtains every time. I will take them apart and have a play with them.

Thanks for popping in. We'll catch up soon. Toodle pip.