Marmalade . . . and a few other things

I had a really productive day yesterday - I made two batches of marmalade.  Our 'new' greengrocer let me have his last remaining Seville oranges (almost 3kg) for just £1, as one or two were looking a little marked, and with some lemons and sugar, I spent nearly £4, and for this I have made 7lb of marmalade so far.  

There's enough for another batch today, but I'll check the fruit over first as some of the skins are a bit brown.  It may well end up as lemon marmalade instead.  I used to make marmalade when I was first married, many years ago, but probably not for at least 15 years now - I think time was always the excuse - and I had forgotten how enjoyable the process it, and how satisfying is the end result.  We had to have a good hunt round for enough jam jars, so that's obviously something we will need to be on the look-out for in future. 

Having thought I'd finished cleaning the kitchen, I happened to glance at the back of the radiator and really wished I hadn't!  Gosh, how does it get so dusty?  Or perhaps I should really ask myself, why haven't I cleaned the radiator before?!  

It's a bit frightening just how much dust a radiator collects!

We've got a flexi-brush especially for the job and when we first bought it I used it thoughout the flat, but I suspect that was the only time.  NTS - not much point in buying a nifty gadget if it's not going to be used.  Having dealt with the radiator, I then cleaned in other places that don't always see a cleaning cloth - the skirting boards (tucked away behind the recycling bins), the tops of the cupboards (which have come into use for extra storage so really ought to be part of the cleaning routine), the door . . . by the time I'd finished, I was happy I'd done a good job.  

On 'computer-free Sunday' I managed to do all the things on my list.  I finished my book (I'm slowly working my way through the works of Agatha Christie, or at least the ones I can borrow from my local library), and I finished the knitted hat for OH.  Then I unpicked it, yet again, as it had made up just a tad to big.  Never mind, I'd rather get it right.  It's the problem when you don't use a pattern.  By Tuesday morning, the hat had been re-knitted, and fits a treat - finally!

I've done some alterations to OH's new trousers (just taking the hem up a bit), so that's another little job completed.  I'm glad I have the skills to alter, mend and repair clothes and furnishings.  It's certainly saved me a small fortune over the years.  OH and I were commenting the other day that as a society, we don't seem to be equipping children with the basic homemaking skills any more.  Schools no longer teach the boys' and girls' crafts that we were taught in our day.  Cookery, needlework, domestic science (how 'old-fashioned' does that sound nowadays?), woodwork and metalwork - I don't think these have any place in the modern curriculum timetable.  But it means that, unless they are taught at home by their parents, so many youngsters today don't know how to make a simple meal, mend a hem or sew on a button, or use a saw and hammer safely.  When did those skills become unneccesary?  Or not useful?  I would definitely put them back on the curriculum, together with money-management and budgeting.  OH and I discuss this at length, frequently.    

Changing the subject completely, I've had a couple of health check-ups this week - just routine ones, but it made me think how much I take the NHS for granted.  Having spent some time reading blogs from around the world, it's brought home to me how very fortunate we are in this country to be able to access free medical treatment.  I suspect many American citizens would be quite happy if that were the case for them.  I'm not sure I'd really given it too much thought before (and that's to my shame), but I am going to make the effort to be appreciative of such things from now on.  And to say 'thankyou' for those who provide the service.  

Kitchen spring-clean finished

Yes, I know today is 'computer-free Sunday'; I tried to post yesterday but I kept losing internet connection (sadly in need of new laptop, but that will have to wait) so nothing got saved, so I'm going to try again and then switch off for the rest of the day.

I'm feeling quite pleased with myself.  The kitchen has had a thorough clean and de-clutter and looks so much better for the time and effort we have both put in.  Surprisingly we haven't actually got rid of much at all, just cleaned everything and put it back in a more accessible and practical location.  
The cupboard under the sink proved the most difficult to deal with, simply because of the number of bottles of chemicals that live there, all in the name of 'cleaning'.  I started to read some of the components but stopped as it was a bit scary!  So I'm now on a campaign to use these up whilst considering alternatives.  DH and I took the joint decision not to buy any more cleaning products or cloths until we have depleted our existing stocks.  By that time, I hope, I will have accumulated some cotton terry cloths (I already have some old towels that could be cut up for the purpose, and I would like to knit my own dishcloths, too), and checked out greener cleaners.  It won't happen overnight but at least I know what I've got to use up, and I have a plan to replace them gradually.

All neat and tidy under the sink - one of the freebie mushroom boxes keeps all those bottles together. The other plastic box is full of cloths

I had to take a break in my cleaning in the morning, as I developed a terrible headache.  I suspect using the spray cleaners in the confines of cupboards may have had something to do with it, and that's another pretty good reason to phase them out.  A couple of hours on the sofa cuddled up in some lap quilts, and a little pink tablet to kick the pain into touch, and I was OK to carry on.  But it was a salutary lesson.

I have remembered that Sunday is my computer-free day, and I am organised (although I hadn't taken into account a dodgy internet connection!)  I hope to finish DH's knitted hat, I have an Agatha Christie novel to read, and a cleaning project to tackle (I found 3 old serving spoons in the kitchen clean-up that are EPNS, and really DO need a good polish) so I have plenty to keep me busy.  And as it's a lovely sunny morning, we'll probably wrap up warm and go for a walk.

Clear kitchen worktops

My intention today was to clean out a couple of cupboards in the kitchen.  Nothing too dramatic.  One of those cupboards had DH's stock of spices, so I thought it would make sense if I asked him to check the pots out.  A couple of hours later, and we had cleaned out all the cupboards, cleared all the clutter off the worktop and re-arranged the layout of what was left on the worktop (microwave, kettle etc), and moved the contents of one or two cupboards as well.  What was really great was that we did this together, and actually got a lot of satisfaction from our efforts.  Of course, it'll take a little while to remember where we've moved things to, but we gave the reorganisation some thought, and we think it'll work better.  Already we can't believe what a difference it has made - the kitchen seems so much lighter.

Un-cluttered worktops (with a bit of polish and elbow grease, the 3 EPNS servging spoons came up beautifully!)

It's funny how our lives seem to be changing this year.  Before we left work, almost 18 months ago, we rushed around, on the 'work-eat-sleep' merry-go-round.  Last year, to celebrate DH's retirement, we were fortunate to do quite a bit of travelling, in this country and abroad, and we really enjoyed the wonderful experiences we had.  The second half of the year was not quite as we had planned (a completely unforseen family crisis), and it left us with a sense of uncertainty and disorientation.  This year is really the first time since we finished work that we have been living at home properly on a full-time basis.  We are beginning to see how we might change things to suit our new and quite different lifestyle.  And we are also starting to see some things that aren't quite working for us.  The size of our kitchen is one of those things, so decluttering today was a very worthwhile activity.

Our kitchen is small.  It has to serve many functions - cooking, storage, laundry, food preparation, freezing, recycling to name just some.  I am beginning to yearn for a bigger kitchen so we can both work in it at the same time; it's not really possible at present.  A small utility room would ease the pressure.  In the meantime, we will make our kitchen as tidy and efficient as we can.  

Any spare plastic bags we collect are automatically stuffed into a bag that hangs on the back of the kitchen door.  DH and I try very hard to reuse plastic bags (we always take our own stash on Tesco trips), and have our own bags ready for purchases in town.  So I was horrified to find we had accumulated no less than 81 plastic bags!  I have sorted out the sturdiest to add to the supermarket bags in the car, another pile will be used to line the recycling buckets in the kitchen, and I shall have to be inventive for uses for the rest.  I have meant to make some attractive cloth ones to take shopping and now I am inspired (and shamed!) into doing this as a matter of urgency.  I think I shall make some for future presents as well.  For the moment, however, I commit to No More Plastic Bags - we have too many!

Bird-watching

These are my rather elderly binoculars, but they still assist in identification.

A few days' ago, DH treated himself to a new pair of binoculars.  He is a very keen wildlife and bird photographer, and will spend hours happily observing the local wildlife where ever we are.  A couple of days later, he made an A-Z notebook for recording the birds we see in the gardens we overlook from our lounge window (we live in a first floor flat).  This is something we had said we would do many times, but got no further, so I was pretty impressed that DH had gone ahead and done something about it.  We are trying very hard to be more pro-active, to do things rather than just talk about them.  Well, in the few days we have been bird-spotting, and with the help of binoculars and identification books, we have notched up 17 different birds - today we added rook (seriously powerful beaks), song thrush, and dunnock, which is often confused with the sparrow.  We really enjoy looking out, watching the various birds feeding and flying around, and it is bringing us just that little bit closer to the natural world.  And it doesn't cost anything.  A very simple pleasure.

Budgets

I am fortunate that DH is very financially astute, and he generally organises the budget.  Over a cup of coffee this morning, I asked him to go through our revised budget for this year with me, not because I had any doubts about it, I just felt it made sense for me to have a good understanding of the figures, too.

We live in a small flat.  The overheads (council tax, utilities, insurance etc) that are paid out monthly or annually are relatively small, and we work hard to keep the water, gas and electric low.  That accounts for one part of our monthly budget.  The other part is for shopping, petrol and other household expenses.  DH and I both operate separate bank accounts, and make quarterly contributions towards a joint account, from which payments and direct debits are paid monthly for our overheads.  Every month we also withdraw an amount of cash  which we allow ourselves for shopping etc.  DH is in receipt of a work pension, and makes a higher contribution to the joint account than I do, as I have no income at present.  

On the right is the purse I use for my personal spending, and the little notebook in which I keep a record of exactly how much I spend.  The joint housekeeping money is rationed out of the cash tin into the other purse each month.  We aim to have a little left in the tin at the end of each month.

We shop carefully, and since we have started cooking from scratch, we have noticed that our food bills are lower.  We are thoughtful about using the car, and will shop locally (and therefore walk) if possible.  I am conscious that any 'extras' not covered by our monthly cash budget are often paid for by DH (he does this more than willingly), and during our discussion this morning, we agreed to look at what we spend each month, where the money actually goes, to try to reduce the extra he puts in.  I think it will just be a case of keeping shop receipts, and being honest about where and how we spend our money.  We are not reckless at all, and can afford to buy things if we need to, but we have both worked long and hard to be in the financial situation we are in, and neither of us believes that means we should be irresponsible with our hard-earned cash.

Interestingly, I have just been reading archives from the Down to Earth blog that Rhonda writes (I know it is polite to do a link here, and when I have found out how to do that, I will!), and she has written at length on budgeting.  As I have mentioned, DH is very savvy with our money, and we both understand the importance of honest budgeting, having both previously been in severe financial straits at various times in our lives.  I related very much to Rhonda's post about allocating money to little plastic bags - when I was a lone parent, I did exactly that.  It was the only way I could make my very small income stretch to cover everything, and remain solvent.  I managed, but it was hard work.  However, DH and I both agree that having been really hard-up in our separate past lives, means we are much more aware of the importance of financial budgeting together.  I am very thankful we think the same on this subject; I think it's just one more reason we're such good friends!

Clearing up the Inbox - Unsubscribe now!

Continuing my efforts to keep things simple in my life, I have had a clearing-out session on my email inbox.  I really couldn't believe I had 6 pages of saved messages, and even more in my sent box.  Why did I feel the need to keep emails I'd sent in 2009?  So, I set aside an hour to sort through them, moving a few to folders and deleting the rest.  Now I have a clear inbox, and important emails in the appropriate, easy-to access folders. 

While I was in the mood, I decided to 'unsubscribe' from several mailing lists that I seemed to have been on.  They probably seemed like a good idea at the time, but all that happens is that the inbox gets clogged up with 'great offers' for things I don't need.  A few clicks, and the mailings are a thing of the past.  It didn't take me long, but it has streamlined and simplified just one more area of my life.  My mobile phone is next in line for the same treatment.  

Sewing from scratch

I love sewing.  My mother taught me to sew, along with knitting and crochet, even before I started school at five, and I have loved it ever since.  At primary school I can remember making myself a skirt, complete with fitted waistband and zip.  I made almost all my own clothes, my wedding dress, and my childrens' clothes when they were young.  Along the way I took up patchwork and quilting.  I used to make stuffed toy animals to earn 'pin-money'.  But at some point, I slowed down and eventually stopped.  I'm not too sure why.  I think it may have had something to do with the final job I did, which stifled any creative urge within me.  I worked shifts (as did DH, but never, so it seemed, the same shifts), starting early and/or finishing late, working every other weekend and ending up drained and tired.  The money was great, but we were both too tired to do much more than work, eat and sleep.  Crafts and hobbies took a backseat.

Now I have finished work, and after a year out in which we were fortunate to travel, we both now have the time, and more importantly the inclination, to take up our hobbies again.  DH is rekindling his passion for woodcraft and modelling, and I have the sewing machine out again.  

I have finally finished the waistcoat that had tested my patience with the alterations it needed.  However, DH is thrilled with it; it fits a treat and looks really great on.  It is such a pleasure to sew clothes for someone who is so appreciative of the time and skill needed, and I have told DH that it makes sewing all the more enjoyable for me.  We both said how sad it was that home-made clothes seem to be almost sneered at, or at least regarded as second-best.  We admit that we had, ourselves, fallen into the habit of buying cheap, mass-produced clothing (made in far-distant countries like China, India, Indonesia) without asking ourselves, or being willing to answer the question, why the clothing was so cheap.  At other times, however, we have tried to buy well-made, quality clothing which we hope will last, and is fit for the purpose we  want it for.  Into this mix, I hope now to make more of our clothes again myself.  I'm thankful that I can alter clothing - DH now has a new lease of life from a pair of trousers that were just a tad too snug round the waist, and I am happy to narrow the leg width on trousers that were in fashion a few years ago.  There is nothing wrong with them, they will last for a good number of years to come.  I no longer feel the need to keep up with fashion; I'd much rather wear something that fits well and is comfortable.  We have both decided to have another purge on our wardrobes - there is no point in keeping clothes that no longer fit.  Alterations can be made, the charity shops can benefit from any unwanted clothing, and we will have thinned-out, tidier wardrobes, full of clothes that we wear instead of simply hoarding.

And now I shall get off my soap-box!