It's been an interesting and challenging week this week. On Sunday we were all involved in a car accident on the way home from church. We are all ok but Jessica hit her head when the other car hit us. She had a headache for two days. I came down with a stress headache ( also for two days ) as we had to chase the car to get his number plate. That's all being resolved now.
On Wednesday I did an interview for tv. I love doing tv stories but the interview part always makes me a little nervous. I don't want to say something silly so now I try to write my answers down before filming. This interview meant my house had to be " tv ready " which is fine by me but I never know where they want to film. So this means I can't hide things in bedrooms or the laundry. I think Megan's room and my ensuite are the only rooms Australia hasn't seen..
So life is back to normal now and as I looked at my frugal list it was a little on the slim side. Infact, it had nothing on it. Then I started to panic as I had nothing to share with my readers. So I took the time to sit down and think over what I had done during the week. Thankfully my list started to grow and I was spared embarrassment. Here's this week's list -
* Baked four loaves of wholemeal bread.
* Saved 12 bread bags from a charity bbq. They will be used to scoop out the cat doo - doos in the kttty litter.
* The girls ate freezer meals on Saturday night . Darren and I were out at seperate functions.
* Made peanut butter biscuits and cranberry hootycreek biscuits for the cookie jar. I used cookie dough from the freezer.
* Mended one dress and one pair of troussers. Both needed the hems repaired.
* Made two tote bags for Christmas presents. I used material from the remnants bin at Spotlight and they cost me $2 each including lining. I'll post a photo after Christmas.
* Planted lettuce seedlings.
* Darren made pita chips as we had run out - OH NO !!!
* Diluted the kitchen foaming hand wash. This was one I bought recently on sale. I bought it more for the pump than the liquid as I make my own. I wanted a couple of spare pump bottles as I don't know how long they last and how long this trend will be around.
* Sold some eggs and jam to a cleaning client. She also gave me some glass jars.
* Received a lovely present in the mail from a friend. She blessed me with lots of makeup to give to my girls as presents ( Thankyou A ). Your gift came at a time when I was feeling little low.
* Picked silverbeet to go with two meals.
* Gratefully accepted clothes and handbags from a friend for my girls to use.
* I made two beaded angels to give to a friend for a birthday present. They were well received and everyone at the restaurant table loved them.
* Megan made a pavlova on Sunday for dessert. After the rotten day we'd had, it was lovely to have such a treat. There were egg yolks left over from the pav so I made egg custard which everyone had for dessert for the next two nights. Darren enjoyed licking the spoon and serving dish - a great honour in our home.
* Saved water from the showers to water the vegetable seedlings we are growing. I also saved water from the kitchen sink to water other garden plants.
* Turned an almost empty shower gel bottle upside down into a refill bottle of made up foaming hand wash. Nothing was wasted.
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| Megan's Pavlova |
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| Ready to eat |
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| Egg Custard |
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| Yes, we ate it with teaspoons. It lasts longer. |
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| Pita Chips |
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| A constant snack in our house. |
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| A beaded angel |
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| The beaded angel collection - hehehe. |
I'm so glad to hear that everyone is ok after your accident, but it's always a huge hassle and inconvenience enough to give anyone a headache. I'm surprised that you still had time to fit all those things in this week.
ReplyDeleteI'm reasonably new to your blog but have spent a few nights when their is nothing on tv reading through your old posts. Makes a good read and it's very inspiring, I have accomplished a few more things myself this week and have lots of plans for next week already.
Tried your washing powder for the first time this morning and was very pleased with the result. I'm about to make the cleaner and give it a try on the bathroom.
You mentioned that they filmed at your house this week, when will that go to air? I don't want to miss it.
I love your blog, keep up the good work you are a great inspiration.
Kathleen
Dearest Wendy and your family, I hope you are all okay I was saddened and shocked to hear of your car accident, it made my stomach turn to think of this happening you and your family Wendy and I hope the nerves all settle down soon. You will be in my prayers. Much love Simone xx
ReplyDeleteThankyou we are all fine now. The police are dealing with the young man who hit us. He also hit another car on another freeway after us.
ReplyDeleteSorry I forgot to mention, ACA have started running weekend promos for the story. It looks like it will be on Monday night. I'm not sure how much you'll see of me as there were others involved in the story.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing Wendy. So glad everything has worked out with the car. I have loved reading your blog and especially enjoy the recipes. We make our own pasta and just love making things together in the kitchen, will be trying your lemon butter today! Any advice for steaking tomatoes will be appreciatd too! Ah that is one of my weekend jobs!
ReplyDeleteMichelle, I use timber garden stakes from Bunnings. I also cut up old socks to use as ties. They are gentle on the branches.
DeleteHi Wendy, so pleased you are all ok after that awful imcident, you are amazing the way you still have managed to achieve so much despite your terrible incident! That pav looks amazing, looks like your daughters are learning fantastic cooking skills from their mum-great to see. A pav is a great idea for a fairly frugle dessert! (Esp if you habe chickens-well done). Rosie
ReplyDeleteHi Wendy, so sorry to hear about the car crash, hope you are all OK now. That pav looked delish, it is not often they rise up that high, I think she has a real talent! All the best to you.
ReplyDeleteTania in Hawthorn
Hi Wendy
ReplyDeleteMy daughter recently got her drivers licence and rang me this week crying hysterically as she had hit something.........she thought we'd be mad at her :( both hubby and I are grateful that no one was hurt so no we didn't get mad, she is a very good driver too. We've all had our mishaps in cars and this is just making her more aware....although costly, lesson learned. Hope your family is OK too.
Hi Wendy. I am very happy that your family were not seriously hurt during the car accident. And well done for accomplishing so much during the week despite such stressful circumstances. This week I made breadcrumbs from leftover frozen bread and cleaned the bread bags to save for future bacon portioning. Thank-you as I got the bread bag recycling idea from you. I also made a banana cake with over ripe bananas and made its icing with passion fruit pulp that I had frozen into single serve, ice-cube portions. I also made a homemade pizza and choc chip biscuits. I also had converted credit card points into a Coles voucher, dried clothes on the clothes horse and as I write this, have had my hair cut and coloured by my dear husband. Looking forward to seeing you on TV on Monday night. Regards, Liz.
ReplyDeleteSorry to hear about your car accident Wendy, I am so glad everyone is okay...Our God was taking good care of you all xx
ReplyDeleteMy frugal tasks were;
*Added more shade to the veggie garden, it has hit the 40's here for a couple of days and if I don't cover things they get burned and the water dries out too fast. I watered the beds and they lasted nearly a week before I had to water again, so I was very happy with that. Hubby is installing much needed drippers to the beds and using our saved rainwater to water them with.
*I made some lavender cleaning cloths, lavender spray, and continued to save pre dish water to water plants.
*Added some more mulch to the fruit trees and picked our first mulberries.
*I started using my soap saver with velvet soap to wash my dishes. I am very concerned about the amount of chemicals around my home, and have been doing some research about it (and was horrified).
*I have been using my homemade laundry liquid instead of the harsh stuff.
*Washed my hair with bicarb and rinsed in vinegar a couple of times this week.
*I made my own toothpaste from coconut oil and bicarb, and I am pleased with the result.
*Went to farmers markets and purchased our veggies for the week/fortnight.
*Picked up three lovely tops from the op shop for $6 and some wool.
*Went to garage sale and found a heavy duty nut cracker and a jar lid opener for a couple of dollars.
*Traveled to Adelaide for two days and took some of our own food from home.
*My mum gave me some zucchinis, apples and lemons when we visited this week, she also gave me her spare eggs to sell, as well as some fertile eggs for our broody hen.
*I broke pieces from plants at my mum’s neighbour’s house to grow here at home, and collected pine cones for Christmas decorations.
*No TV for two weeks, must remember to watch ACA on Monday though :)
Wishing you a blessed and safe week,
x
That's a great list Tania.
DeleteHi Wendy, glad to hear you are all o.k now and can't believe how much you still managed to get done if this was a slow week for you.
ReplyDeleteI made this week : Dip, Wendy's Lasagna(beautiful) , enough for 3 meals, yogurt and Muffins for afternoon tea for my in laws. I used vegies form the garden, doubled meals so I could freeze, and scraped Vegimite jar out with spatula(amazing how much more you get out using this).
Used the shower and washing water for garden and extra loads of washing and tried to use the tank water as much as possible(thanks to the rain, filled up my tank again).
Did some sewing, older son gave younger son some hand me downs that no longer fit him and I cut some more roses for inside the house(smells beautiful).
I fixed my little inside clothes line with strong tape as it was falling apart, now I should get another couple of years from it , I hope. Bought some christmas presents and saved $13.00 on the full price. Also opened a kids bonus saver account as this account pays more interest than where I had the kids account before.
I planted my seedli gs on sunday, checked all week, everything o.k, went to check on Thursday morning, GONE!!!! Eaten by the birds!!! All my tomato seedlings which I grew from seed. So I went to Bunnings and bought some and some netting.
Anyone notice that Mince prices are slowly creeping up? Last time I bought a bulk amount for $3.99 per kg, now cheapest I can find at Tasmans $4.69.
Wendy, does the custard have something underneath it?(looks like rice creme/pudding)
Looking forward to seeing you on ACA tomorrow night,
Blessing , Maureen
Maureen, I gave up on Tasman's mince as at times it was too fatty. It's sounds like they are now matching Aldi's price.
DeleteThe custard is just custard - no rice. I also make creamed rice which is a childhood favourite. I promised Jessica I would make some soon as she loves it.
Hi Wendy glad to hear you were all ok after your accident, would have been scary.
ReplyDeleteI’ve had a very productive week considering the past few weeks I haven’t really achieved much. Although every little bit does contribute.
I baked a chocolate cake (the one pan recipe from Kidspot), chocolate chip biscuits (very delish!) and, at the request of my dear 14yo son, I baked another chocolate cake. I also made some cupcakes for my gorgeous 12yo daughter and her friends who slept over on Friday night. I have been told I have become a great cook! Now that’s appreciation and a great compliment. Thanks to you, Cath and others.
Scraped out some peanut butter jars to show my family how much was left behind before rinsing them out. I will use these in my sewing room for cotton or bits and pieces.
I have been on a sewing mission and am making my gorgeous 12yo daughter her Year 6 farewell dress and repaired some items of clothing. We couldn’t find a dress in the colour she wanted so I hunted for some time to find a pattern and thank goodness I have plenty of time. Its almost done!
We continue to enjoy our fresh produce from our garden – tomatoes, lettuce and herbs. Strawberries, cucumber and watermelons are coming along.
I have been on Cath’s (The Cheapskates Club) website a bit this week finding easy recipes. I have also been telling friends about the recipes I enjoy making because they are a healthier version than cakes and biscuits.
My grocery bill is, and continues to look a lot better now, that I have got better control over what we buy. It’s amazing how much difference it makes when you menu plan and are wiser with purchasing. My family also enjoys checking the menu to see what is for dinner.
Not a bad frugal list after all. I look forward to ACA on Monday. Have a great week!
It's great to look back on the week to see what you've done.
DeleteOur strawberries, peaches and cherries are coming along too. It's almost time to net.
Hi Wendy
ReplyDeleteCould you please post the creamed rice recipe. I'm yet to find one that's good and similar to one from my childhood, my 2 brothers, sister and myself were bought up by my wonderful father as a single parent and this was always a favourite.
Thanks
Deb
Wendy it turned out you did plenty of frugal things! Megan's pavlova looks absolutely beautiful. I am glad some things cheered you up after a terrible experience :) What a blessing you were all ok but no wonder you had a stress headache!
ReplyDeleteI am looking forward to the TV segment. Each time you have been on TV I have felt inspired and encouraged and there must be so many people who need help and ideas to save money and live better. Have a wonderful week.xx