Instead of a holiday

How much would a weeks holiday for two people cost?
A week in a tent or a caravan ................pitch fees, food ,fuel, visits............ £150+?
A week in a holiday cottage ............cottage rent, food, fuel, visits............£350+?
A week in a hotel.......................no idea but I guess .£500+?
A week abroad................no idea at all

We're not having a holiday this year. There are too many hospital appointments and soon Colin will be in for the stem cell transplant and then he certainly won't be well enough for months after that.
Over the last few weeks, instead of a holiday I've spent a little money on hobbies and interests.

First........................ a subscription
Sometimes I stand in W.H Smiths or a supermarket and look at the magazines, sometimes I pick one up and flick through but I  very very rarely buy one.........they are so expensive and all blinkin' adverts and I didn't have any subscriptions to anything since Craft Creations stopped.( I remembered to cancel the 3 months for £5 offer on Kitchen Garden Magazine)

A while back I came across  The Scribbler. It's about my favourite subject - BOOKS and published 3 times a year by Greyladies Publishing who publish
                               
                                     "Well-Mannered Books by Ladies Long Gone"

I sent for a copy last year and enjoyed it, lent it to a friend who also read and enjoyed and eventually, a couple of weeks ago, decided to subscribe. This is the first of my years subscription. A good read.

Second.............. some plants
Having decided to create a bed for flowers for cutting I ordered some Tulip bulbs and Alstromeria and Monarda plants
I already have Sweet Pea,Cornflower and Sweet William seeds and there might be room for something else - probably something to use as a filler in flower arrangements (or, as they are called here- shoving some flowers in a jug!)

Third..............something for the mantle-shelf.
The first time we've had a mantle-shelf or mantle piece for years and  I don't want the same things on it all the time. My plan is to change things with the seasons or a bit more often depending what I find. I've got very few ornaments as I had nowhere to put anything at the smallholding apart from the dresser and my rule will be  ........................mostly second-hand and cheap as possible.

Normally I would have walked away from this bowl of lovely wood-turned fruit at a car boot sale as they were £5, but then I remembered the Autumn mantle and the 'instead of a holiday' and they came home. I've bought something colourful online as well and that will be on the blog later this month.

Fourth - I kept looking on ebay for some Derwent watercolour pencils and eventually got a tin of secondhand hardly used 48 colours for my Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady Colouring Book for just over £10 plus postage. The only problem is

because the colouring book isn't watercolour paper it keeps curling up. So I've purchased a pad of watercolour paper from The Works and I'm going to try tracing the pictures from the colouring book onto the watercolour paper and then use the pencils on that.


I've counted the Lindt Lindor chocolates that came from Approved Foods as an 'instead of a holiday' treat too - haven't eaten them yet - might need them to cheer myself up when Colin is in Addenbrookes!

Thank you for comments on my slightly frugal post and Hello to a new follower


Back Soon
Sue

The Frugal (or just slightly less spendy) notes for August

August was a bit less spendy compared to previous months. Just (?) fencing, curtains, septic tank pump out, a small mower and garage door repairs and some plants. Although there is a bill for the new oil tank to pay...........Blimey this moving house thing is expensive!

Frugally things..................................

2 Free samples of toothpaste from the hygienist  (ignore the fact that it cost a fortune) and I'm sure in the past  a scale and polish was included in a NHS check up.

Runner beans, potatoes ,beetroot, chard, last few courgettes, salad leaf, plums,cooking apples, damsons from the garden plus tomatoes,cucumber,aubergines and peppers from the greenhouse.

Made Damson jam, Marrow and Ginger jam and Hot Tomato Relish with home grown produce.

Several packets of flower seeds for 10p each

Baked bread, bread rolls and cakes and made all meals from scratch.

Card making from stash

Lots of free reading from Library books and books from my shelves

Couple of things for Christmas presents from car boot sale

Persephone book for £1

Car boot finds - nappies for Florence 50p, Denby mug + 2 others 50p each. Toys for grandchildren.

Used Dehydrator for chili peppers for us and Christmas Hampers.

Water bill now lower after having water meter fitted.


 The electric and water bills were both less than we thought they would be and when they moved the oil over they said the tank was still nearly full so using the boiler for hot water when it isn't sunny enough for the solar thermal to work isn't using much oil.

Thank you for comments yesterday about grandchildren and folklore. Here's a strange co-incidence -  on yesterdays Countdown  Susie Dent was explaining the origin of the saying "By Hook or by Crook"..... I got in there first!

Enjoy your weekend

Back Monday
Sue

September Days

"September Blow Soft 'til the Fruits' in the Loft"

Many varieties of apples will be ready this month and pears too so it mustn't be too windy as windfalls are no good for keeping.

The September Page of The Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady colouring book.

Both Walnuts and Hazelnuts are ready this month. The ancient Romans and North American Indians used Walnuts to make a hair dye. Hazel bushes were very important in the country not only for their nuts but the coppiced wood was used for poles and sticks, for basketry,fencing and wattle and daub walls. Water diviners used forked twigs of hazel.

In medieval times tenants were given the right to gather firewood "by hook or by crook". That means they could gather wood by using only a shepherds crook and a billhook. This limited them to only cutting wood which could be reached from ground level but never-the-less it was important for them to find as much wood as possible at this time of year as wood would be their only source of heat and cooking.

29th of the month is St Michael's Day or Michaelmas........ the day with most weather sayings attached.
If St Michael brings many acorns (windy weather) Christmas will cover the fields with snow. 
is one saying - but unlikely nowadays I think.

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 We had an exhausting day yesterday - just looking after a 10 month old granddaughter for the day as Youngest Daughter's childminder was late back from holiday. How some grandparents look after grandchildren full time I have no idea. We are doing it again one day next week which gives me a few days to recover!

Thank you for all the comments - I knew if I said Hawthorn berries had no use except for the birds someone would come up with some ideas! But I think I'll pass.



Back Tomorrow
Sue