Plans for February

The veg plot may be looking rather bedraggled, but lurking beneath the leaves are some sprouts!

On our walk into town yesterday, we passed two magnolias in full bloom, the  ornamental cherry tree in our neighbour's garden is flowering as are the roadside daffodils.  All this in January.  It'll be interesting to see what happens later in the year.

I have finally downloaded the photos from my camera and have been ooh-ing and aah-ing at baby photos, Christmas trees and half-finished sewing projects; I'd forgotten what pictures were on there.  I really need to sort through all the photos but it just seems such a huge task, I keep putting it off.  If I could get into the routine of spending 15 or 20 minutes a day sorting through the files and folders it would be more manageable, just one more thing on the 'to do' list  ;)

January may have started with a case of post-Christmas blues, but I have finished the month with a positive frenzy of dress-making, which I have really enjoyed.  I've certainly saved myself quite a lot of money, making my own clothes, and I'm so glad I have the skills to mend and alter clothing and furnishings around the home.  

We have family commitments for a few days, but I am already looking at ways to make next month 'Thrifty February' - I suppose Frugal February sounds better, alliteratively, but I think I prefer the term thrifty.  I want to take a closer look at how we save money/make our money work hard for us around the house and garden.  Living within our means has become second nature to us now, although it's not really a new concept for us, but I'm going to set myself the challenge (for three weeks) of finding 21 different aspects of thrifty living that apply to us here  (I'm already concerned I'll run out of ideas after a week!)   Pen and paper to the ready.

There's food in the freezer for February

While I was out volunteering this morning, the Chief Cook had another look at the contents of the freezer.  Being a man who likes a challenge, especially when it is food related, he has managed to draw up a menu plan that will now take us through to the end of February, and I think that will still leave a few odds and ends to start March's meals.  We will still have to buy dairy products (milk, butter, cheese), eggs, fresh fruit and probably onions to supplement our stores but hopefully not too much more.  It will be interesting to see how far the supplies go.         And we haven't had to resort to beans on toast yet ;))

Making the leftovers last

This week is proving to be a really productive one.  All the kitchen cupboards cleaned and sorted out - hardly anything out of date and nothing we had forgotten about, and no gadgets or gizmos not in regular use.  Just about the only thing I have turned out is a plastic tub full of half-used boxes of 'proper' coffee, bought on a bit of a whim when we thought it would be nice to indulge in something other than instant coffee.  We even bought a special brewing pot to make the coffee in.  That was quite a long time ago.  We are now drinking our way through this little stash, having a cuppa each day for our elevenses together with the last of the Christmas biscuits.   When we have finished this box of goodies, the coffee pot will be heading for the car-boot box.

We have started the (rather long) list of household maintenance jobs, or at least  N has, digging out and replacing the tatty grout in the window sills.  The difference is amazing.  We've also bought a tin of emulsion (luckily on half-price offer) to give the dining-room a second coat of paint - I made a very poor job of it first time around, there are missed patches everywhere!

We're making good progress working through the freezer and stores.  This week N dug deep in the freezer and produced a very tasty mixed vegetable soup - peppers, tomatoes, basil and courgettes from the veg plot and homemade  chicken stock - lunch for two days.  In fact, we think we may be able to continue eating down the stocks through February as well, with only minimal shopping required.  It's quite a fun challenge, although it may become a little more challenging as the freezer empties.  Some interesting meals ahead, I think.

Moving forward

Just when I thought we were in for a 'proper' winter, the cold snap we had a few days ago seems to be over and today we were back to unseasonably mild weather again.  Great for drying washing though :-)  Speaking of which, I'm trying to cut down on the amount of ironing that I need to do.  It's not that I really dislike ironing - sometimes (only sometimes), I actually find it quite therapeutic - but time is in short supply at the moment so anything I can do, or not do, as the case may be, to recoup a few precise minutes here and there is worth looking into.  I've always taken care in hanging the washing, shaking clothes first before pegging them out to remove as many creases as possible, and I've found if I take just a little more time when I take them off the line, putting tops on hangers to finish airing, for example, and smoothing out jeans and joggers, the need for ironing is greatly reduced.  

I did another kitchen cupboard over the weekend so that just leaves the base units to clean out.  That'll be another job out of the way.  A half hour here and there and it's surprising what can be achieved.  I'm always on the look-out for anything that's no longer needed or used, trying to declutter as I go.  I have a bit of a plan beginning to form at the back of my mind which would give some additional purpose to this on-going decluttering.  I'll see how it goes.

I can't believe it's nearing the end of January already.  How did that happen?!  N and I both seem to have been in a bit of a rut since Christmas, not really being able to push forward with anything, but a cup of tea and a good chat - at 3.45 in the morning! - and we are starting to see the way forward.  As with most problems, we usually manage to talk our way to the next step.  And this morning, we had a walk around the outside of the house, noting the work that we want to get done, and costing it out.  In addition, we have hopefully resolved another issue that has been taxing our brains for some time, or if we haven't completely solved it, we are at least feeling more positive about it.  I do feel an easing of the load, which is positive in itself.

I really must do something about the lack of photos on the blog at the moment. There are a few photos on the camera waiting to be downloaded, and I don't really know why I haven't done that yet.  Tomorrow - always tomorrow ;-)

It's got cold

After such a mild start to the winter, the past few days have come as a bit of a shock.  The inevitable 'cold snap' arrived here - frost on the lawn all day, puddles turned to ice, hot water bottles at bedtime!  No snow though, we don't get it very often this far south.  We've been digging out extra jumpers, dining on  homemade soup and stews and thankful that we can put the heating on for an extra hour or so when it gets too cold.  

I started sorting through the kitchen cupboards this week and was happy to see that there was very little indeed that had been pushed to the back of the cupboard and forgotten about.  We seem to have a good system working for us; we menu plan, buy what we need, and rotate the stores so everything is used and  nothing gets wasted.  Nothing out of date (although there's the remnants of a packet of cous cous which smells a bit stale, I think that might go just to be on the safe side).  One or two jars in the spice cupboard needed labelling but apart from that, everything was where it needed to be.  I'll carry on with the pots and pans cupboards tomorrow.

I cut my hair this morning, and I feel (and look) so much better!  I now know that a short style suits me far better, possibly something to do with the amount of grey hair around my face ;-).  I actually had my hair cut in a salon a couple of weeks before Christmas.  It was the first time in almost four years that I've had a professional haircut and whilst the stylist certainly tidied up the bit at the back of my neck I can never quite see properly, I was left thinking that I haven't done such a bad job myself and I shall probably carry on trimming my own hair, at least until I have an income again.

What else?  We've been shopping and haven't spent any money - always a bonus.  We've bought ourselves a toaster using some Christmas present money, and replaced the old broken garden fork with a lovely shiny new one purchased with a gift voucher.  There's still a few pounds left on the voucher so we can stock up on new vegetable seeds for this growing season.  We're doing really well eating down the freezer and store cupboards and have managed to keep the house-keeping pretty low so far this month, whilst still eating really well.  

It's a bit too cold for outside maintenance at the moment but I'm making a mental list (which will end up on a proper paper list soon!) of all those jobs we will need to deal with when it's a little warmer.  Most will just require time and a bit of effort on our part, although there's a couple of jobs that will require a bit of money being spent.  However, there is a plan involved and this will be money very well spent.  In the meantime, there is always something to be mended, repaired or given a new lease of life - this week I've put a new zip in a bag, and N has repaired a window catch that was sticking.  And we've managed to get out for a walk at least some days.  

We spotted a chaffinch on the fence this morning, and the goldfinches are in the fruit trees again.  There's a little wren about most mornings, too.  The woodpecker visits from time to time, feasting on the grubs in the lawn.  Plenty of birds but oddly, apart from a very clumsy pigeon, we haven't seen any on our bird-feeder.  The seeds in it have now started sprouting!

Winter finally arrived, and thought on clothes

Brrr, it's got decidedly chilly the last couple of days.  I think winter may have finally arrived.  Our daily walks into town and back have been bracing, to say the least.  

We were thrilled the other morning to see a blue-tit investigating the nesting-box on our shed.  To be honest, I had even forgotten the box was there, repositioned last year when N was sorting out the guttering on the shed, so when he called me to check out the little visitor, it was quite a surprise.  It would be lovely if the blue-tit and his mate take up residence; I shall have a prime viewing position from my workroom.  

We're doing well with our menu-plan, working our way through the various goodies in the freezer.  This month is proving light on the house-keeping pennies ;).  Lots of warming and tasty soups, delicious with freshly baked bread.   I've found it's quite difficult to get bread dough to rise in the cold weather but then had the light-bulb moment of putting it in the boiler cupboard when the heating comes on (not sure why it took me so long to think of this solution - the cold weather clearly affecting more than just the bread!) and that seems to be working very well indeed.

At the beginning of last year I had a major clear-out of my wardrobe.   A thorough declutter of clothes that no longer fitted, or were less than flattering, colour and/or style-wise.  A lot of clothes were donated to charity shops, some packed up and moved into the loft and one or two were refashioned into far more useful and wear items.  I rekindled my love of dress-making, and during the year I bought some fabric to make specific items to create a more cohesive wardrobe.  I have just finished the latest project, a pair of tailored trousers in a wonderfully drapey wool, and I am chuffed to bits with how they have turned out.  For a start, the trousers it me beautifully - that is, of course, the perk of making your own clothes - but these are the best fitting pair of trousers I think I have ever worn.  The pinstripes (should have gone for plain fabric!) match perfectly at the back seam, thanks to careful pinning, tacking and use of a walking foot.  They may have taken me a while to make and finish but I am so happy with the end result.  I will be wearing them out tonight for an early birthday meal for N.  

But back to the original clothing clear-out.  I was a little worried I had been overly ruthless in my decluttering but looking back over the year I realise I haven't struggled for clothes to wear at all.  I can only wear the clothes I have, and by weeding out the clothes that didn't fit or flatter me, I was left with items I wore more often because they suited me better and I felt comfortable in them.  I found I had clothes to get me through a variety of situations (weddings, get-togethers etc) and never once felt I didn't have something appropriate to wear.  
I have a much better idea of styles that look good on me, regardless of what is, apparently, 'in fashion', and have more confidence in putting an outfit together from my greatly-reduced wardrobe.  This year I shall continue the cull; I can see several more items of clothing that will be finding their way into the donation bag.  It's creating a few gaps that will need filling, but I have fabric ear-marked for those items already and I am looking forward to spending more time sewing clothes that I know I shall enjoy wearing.  It may have taken me a whole year to work my way through this process but I have learned a lot from it.  Far better to have a small wardrobe of clothes that fit, look good and that I like wearing, than masses of clothes that don't go together and send me into a panic whenever I look at them.  I always used to make all my own clothes; for some reason I stopped but I am so pleased I have found my dressmaking groove again.

Cooking and decluttering - and trying not to get cluttered in the first place

It's a bit more wintery today, the temperature has dropped noticeably and it's howling a hoolie.  We've battened down the proverbial hatches.  

We made the effort to get out agin for a walk this morning, wrapping up against the chills, and it was really exhilarating.  A bright clear sky, plenty of muddy puddles, lots of dogs keen to make friends with us, and a wealth of bird song, though the birds looked a bit cold themselves - feathers all puffed up.

I put some time aside yesterday to do some cooking.  A large pot of veg stew and a lentil loaf, to be precise.  I don't do much cooking these days - N is the chef of the house, producing delicious meals for us while I do the baking (of bread and cakes) and it was quite nice to potter around in the kitchen for an hour or so.  The loaf sliced into 6 portions, and the stew made 4 including a helping for last night's dinner.  The rest is now in the freezer.  

Tonight we had home-made pizza.  Usually I make a bread-dough base but this time I tried a non-yeast mix and it worked much better, producing a light, crisp base.  Topping - home-made passata and lots of veggies from the freezer.  A definite win!  We'll have that again.

I'm continuing with my efforts to declutter (a little) every day.  A drawer here, a cupboard there, a shelf of the bookcase or just a pile of paperwork, though I'm making real progress in that respect; very little in the way of random papers lying around the house now, it's all either been sorted and filed, or shredded.  I'm realising how easy it is for random stuff to sneak into the house - freebies (pens, diaries, handouts from banks etc) for example, difficult to say 'no' to but really, do I need any more?  While I was cooking in the kitchen yesterday, it occurred to me that we don't have cupboards full of gadgets and equipment that never or rarely gets used.  Everything in our kitchen is used on a regular basis.  We have one dinner service (from a charity shop).  Pots, pans, pressure cooker, slo-cooker, utensils, bowls (nothing matches, it's simply what we have collected over the years) - everything is used weekly, if not daily.  There is nothing lurking in the back of a cupboard, never seeing the light of day.  We don't have that many cupboards so space is a premium - it can't be wasted storing something that never gets used.  I do wonder how many fancy 'must-have' gadgets were given as Christmas presents, only to spend their lives gathering dust, forgotten at the back of a cupboard.  I suspect many will likely find their way to charity shops in the future.

As I'm sat here typing, there is the most wonderful perfume of hyacinth in the room - the bulbs I started off before Christmas have been in bloom for a couple of days and tonight is the first time the scent has filled the air.  It's lovely.