Crafty Club Christmas Tree.

Hello. I remembered to take my camera with me this morning to Crafty Club, and called in at the church on the way to get a few snaps of our tree. Eeeee, it does look grand. I think it is better than the conventional tinsel adorned artificial tree they have on display at the front of the church. You can't beat hand made. 

There is a children's party on Thursday and they have a competition to name ten of the decorations on our tree. 

We were a bit short on numbers this morning, people have other things to do on the run up to Christmas. We are not meeting again until the second week in January because the next two Mondays are Bank Holidays.

Several people have asked about doing the 1000 mile walking challenge next year. I have already mentioned that I will not be making a separate page to log the monthly miles, however, in view of people's interest in the challenge I am willing to give everyone a day a month to log their own miles in a monthly comment. Therefore it is up to you to keep track of where you are, but everyone can see it.

So, starting on January 1st you can register your name as a participant. and on the 1st of every month you check in with your mileage. Note, there are people with the same name, please add something to your name to make it different from the others. Please try and stick to this plan because then it is a group effort and everyone can support each other. You can comment on your walking at any time of the month, but it would be better if you logged your mileage on the 1st, then everyone is in the same blog post.

Basically, I am not going to hold your hand, you need to do it for you. I will be there to urge you to keep going, and to encourage you. I want to see those number increase month by month. It's up to you how you do it, long walks, short walks, and how you check your own progress. Whether you use an electronic gadget, or use a site like bikehike. you check your own miles.

People start New Year Resolutions with good intentions, but run out of steam part way through the year. If there is a good reason why you physically can't do it, don't worry. Maybe you could scale it down and find an exercise plan a bit easier. If there is nothing physically preventing you from walking then get off your bum and make the effort. 2.73 miles a day can be done in just under an hour. Remember, you are doing it for you, for your health, not for me or anyone else. Best of luck.

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

In a creative mood

Hello. Can't stop, I'm playing with bits of fabric and it's a bit fiddly. A picture, a bit smaller this time, got an idea, needs lots of stitching, want to get on with it. 

Bugsy has just scoffed some tuna fish. Need to watch him for a few minutes, in case it comes back up. He is hunched up and burping a bit. Nothing happening. So far so good.

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

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. 

A really nice book cover

Hello. Bit late tonight, I thought I would get the Tesco dash over and done with before the busy weekend starts. I also had an £8 off voucher on a £40 shop which needed using before it runs out. Did well on the yellow stickers, had a laugh with the boy who was marking down, and a chat with the lady on the checkout. Shouldn't need to buy any more food now till after Christmas. 

I finished the notebook cover today. This is how I began. A piece of cotton fabric bigger than the book when it's opened out.  

I started by adding the square piece of fabric, then kept adding more until it was covered.

This is it fully covered. I then did cross stitch along all the seams, with some other stitching as well. 

I cut another piece of red cotton the same size and pinned the two together, right sides in. Then I marked a line around the book, and machined them together on three sides, leaving one end open. I cut off the excess, then turned it the right way, and stitched up the open end by hand.

The front of the finished cover. 

 And the back.

Inside front.

Inside back.

This is the whole thing opened out. 

I did blanket stitch on the top and bottom to make the pockets to slip the book into.

The twisted elastic is sewn into the back cover and flips over to the front to hold the book closed.

I am very pleased with how it's turned out. The cover can be removed when the book is full, and put onto a new book.

Right, half an hour chill time and cuddles with Bugsy, then I'm off to bed. Thank you all for visiting Amy's blog, I bet that gave her a surprise. Thanks for popping in, we'll catch up soon.
Toodle pip

Give Amy a boost.

Hello, I've just been reading a story in the Daily Wail, you know the one I mean, the Daily Fail. A thrifty mum is feeding her family on a small budget, and getting a lot of sarcastic, and nasty comments from the sad keyboard warriors who have nothing else to do all day. The same thing happened to me. Show the world that you are doing just fine and jealousy rears it's ugly head.

Thrifty mother of three. Read here. 

Amy has a blog, Hard up and Happy, and it's quite good, nice ideas for thrifty food. She is a happy mum with happy kids. Let's support another thrifty blogger and give Amy a boost, and post a comment on there. It will make her smile and show her that we are on her side. Stuff the nasty people.
Thanks a lot.

Thanks for popping in, and your nice comments on Bugsy. He has eaten a little and is now sleeping.
We'll catch up soon.
Toodle pip

Roller Coaster.

Hello. It's a good job I haven't had any children, my emotions are all over the place with a poorly cat, imagine what I would be like looking after a human. Bugsy is my baby, I've had him for almost 20 years, there will come a time when he won't be here any more and I have to get used to that.

He hasn't eaten very much for about a week, in fact Janet has had more luck in getting him to eat, than I have. I have offered him all kinds of tasty pussy cat food, fishy and meaty, with gravy and jelly, as well as an assortment of tinned fish, and sliced meat. He has turned his nose up at everything.  Janet texted me while I was away saying he had eaten.

Last night he looked as if he was fading away, and I wondered if he would still be breathing in the morning. I had almost rung the vet a couple of times yesterday but then thought, give it another hour or two, see what happens. So at 11.30pm I went to bed and he was fast asleep on his heated bed.

This morning I crept down in the dark and used a torch to check on him. A sigh of relief, he was still breathing. I let him sleep on and had my coffee in the kitchen. No food had been touched overnight, but in his litter box was a poo. Amazing, he is still able to do a poo, even if he hasn't eaten very much.

The vet suggested we could do blood tests, it might give us some more information of what might be wrong. I had decided because of his age that I didn't want to put him under any stress, so I said no.

This afternoon I moved all the bowls of food away, and brought some fresh Felix in, mashed up in a bowl. He looked interested and went straight to it, and started eating. Amazing, he almost finished it. He seemed to perk up a bit after that, so I rang the vet and said I would go for the blood tests and made an appointment for Thursday morning.

So from thinking he was at deaths door and wouldn't last much longer, I now think he might have a chance. He did eat a little bit more later on, and I am hoping he will have a little bit over night. I am now hopeful that he will still be breathing in the morning.

My goodness anyone who has been on the verge of losing a pet will understand what I am talking about. The questions that go through your head. Is it time? How will I know when it's time? Should I call the vet now or wait a bit? Are they suffering and in pain? Will it be tomorrow or a few more days? You cry, then you stop crying. You talk to them then you cry some more. You watch them, are they still breathing? You think about them lying still and lifeless when they have gone.

I had all this with Rocky and Lilly and Freddie, it doesn't get any easier. Pets are family members, your heart is broken when you lose them.

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