The cost of being at home

My first knitted dishcloths!  One crochet, one diagonal and two waffle-weave, all in 100% cotton.

We had a bit of a shock yesterday.  Neal checked the gas meter - and had to sit down!  Our usage has increased dramatically.  We had a chat about it over coffee because it's something that we needed to understand.  When we thought about it, obviously we're going to use more gas.  Firstly, we're at home full-time now we've both left work, and during the cold months of winter we have had the heating on, although the thermostat is quite low and the heating is not on constantly.  However, it is certainly on more than when we were out at work.  Secondly, we're cooking more.  Almost all our meals are now cooked from scratch, and while that has all sorts of benefits, it also means the oven/hob is used more.  And I'm baking bread and biscuits, which is an extra usage that we didn't have before.  (A note here - we have a slim-line oven, and it isn't fan-assisted, so we are a bit limited as to what we can cook at the same time.)  

The electricity will also be affected in that things like lighting are used more, and maybe appliances (more cups of tea, for instance ;) ).  The water bill might, fingers crossed, be the same or even less, as we don't always shower every day.  Our petrol consumption is definitely considerably less than when we were at work; the car can go several days without being used, and our food bills are down as well.

So, after a really sensible discussion, we are slowly beginning to implement a few ideas.  The first is to keep the interior doors in the flat open, rather than closed, to allow the air to circulate.  We think this may help keep a more even temperature throughout, especially in this really cold weather that we've had (more snow here yesterday and today).  To help with this idea, we had a quick move around of the settee and lighting, and I can now sew/knit/read in the lounge and still be able to talk to N without the door being in the way.  I had reservations but it actually seems to be working very well.  Next, we've turned the big chest freezer back on.  We had emptied it at the end of last year in preparation for a move, but as we need to start batch baking and cooking, it makes sense - also as the chest freezer is far more economic and efficient than the under-counter upright in the kitchen.  We'll empty that one, turn it off and use it to store goods.  The other thing we are going to try to do is to cut down on the amount of cooking that's done, in other words instead of making soup every day, make double quantity and freeze half.  It's not rocket science, and I'm sure most people do it.  We needed to be given a bit of a nudge to realise that it was the simple answer.

 I've been working on a little embroidered picture for my mother's birthday.  I sketched the design and then used a water-soluble pen to trace that onto some calico I had (I did look into linen but it was a bit pricey, and I thought the calico would probably do the trick just as well, and it did).

I didn't have to buy any extra threads, I just used what I had to hand.  When the embroidery was done, I removed the pen marks with water and pinned the calico out on a towel to dry.  Then I trimmed it to size, added some thin cotton to line it, wadding and backing, and a narrow binding around the edge.  I'm pleased with how it turned out, and I really enjoyed stitching it.  Embroidery is not something I do much of, but I shall certainly be doing a lot more.

The finished stitchery

Today I took up the hems on the trousers of N's new suit that he bought in Manchester.  It was a planned purchase, in fact he has been looking for the 'right' suit since he left work.  I like that N has enough confidence in my sewing skills to let me loose on a suit.  I took time to make sure the job was done to the best of my ability, and I'm pleased with the result.  I also learned a little about tailored trousers.

I had a lovely phone call from M's future MIL at the weekend, and as one Mum to another, we chatted about the happiness M and J's engagement has given every one.  N and I are looking forward to seeing J's family at the party at Easter, and seeing the holiday photos.

And finally, another bit of good news.  One of our 'brood' (and her flatmate) have just been given permanant work contracts.  This is such good news.  We hope that this will give them both some financial stability throughout the year.  Big smiles all round :-)