The last few weeks have full and eventful. We celebrated Father's Day followed by our wedding anniversary the next day. During that time, Melbourne was hit by a ferocious storm in the wee hours of that Monday. It was quite frightening and sounded like a cyclone was swirling around our home. We heard a big crash outside but couldn't find anything other than a bin knocked over.
The winds continued all week and we heard another crash on the Thursday but still couldn't see any damage. I went to a card making weekend on the Friday and came home Sunday afternoon just as the rains came down again. That's when I discovered we had a major roof leak.
Darren climbed up on the roof to find at least 7 broken tiles. We heard from our next door neighbour that the house at the back of us lost a trampoline sometime during the storms and we think it hit our roof. Darren said there were 2 trampoline springs up on our roof.
Darren used the spare tiles we had to do some repair work with the help of our next door neighbour. Unfortunately the roof still needs more work. We also have water damage inside our home which still needs attention.
We celebrated our granddaughter Naomi's first birthday on Tuesday and her party was last Sunday.
I also had a photo shoot with a major magazine this week. That was just a little bit exciting. We had lots of fun dodging rain and gusts of wind. It's never a dull moment with Melbourne weather.
So after all of that, here is my frugal list from the last few weeks -
* Darren and I took our grandsons Luka and Bryson to the Jurassic World Dinosaur display. It was a lovely day out into the city with a first time tram ride for the boys. To keep costs down we took water bottles, fruit and snacks for all four of us as well as sandwiches for the boys.
* Even with all the rain and strong winds we've had over the last few weeks, I've managed to get most of the washing dry on clothes horses and the clothesline. Only a few items were dried in the dryer.
* Recently I bought a craft stamp cleaning mat. It needs a cleaning spray to go with it but I was able to make that myself. This retails for $23 but I made it for under $2.
* I planted tomato and sugar snap pea seedlings.
* I made up a big bottle of foaming hand wash using cheap shower gel and cooled water from the kettle. I refilled the pumps around our home with this.
* Darren and I went out for dinner for our wedding anniversary on the 2nd September. We used a voucher to help lower the cost of our meals.
* We filled up both our cars when petrol was $1.68 per litre.
* On the colder days I turned our heater down just a little bit to 19 degrees Celsius. Usually we have it on 20 degrees during the day.
* I gratefully received lemons, oranges and mandarins from a couple of friends.
* I wrote out a menu plan for the next four weeks. This is quite an easy task to do when I keep old menu plans that worked well. I just switch around a couple of meals to suit any occasion coming up.
* I refilled the herb and spice jars from bulk packets I bought at Hindustan Imports. This is a far cheaper option than constantly buying those little jars at the supermarket.
* We are enjoying the homemade muesli bars so much that I make them on a regular basis. I made another batch last weekend.
* I dug out the dehydrator and dried the gifted oranges and a few mandarins. They turned out really well and are so delicious.
* Three loaves of wholemeal bread with extra goodness was baked this week.
* I picked the last of the mandarins from our trees.
* I bought 3 Summer tops from Savers and used a 20% off discount voucher to get them even cheaper.
* There are some great bargains to be had as the department stores clear out old stock. I picked up gumboots for the grandchildren for $4 and Minecraft backpacks for $1.98. I also picked up a couple of items for the gift cupboard and insect repellent products on clearance.
* I made honey joys for Naomi's party using items I already had on hand.
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| First time dehydrating oranges |
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| The finished product |
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| Luka at Jurassic World |
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| Both boys looking at the dinosaur |
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| Bryson with his dino pet |
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| Darren on Father's Day |
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| Naomi turning 1 |
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| Honey joys for the party |
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| $1.98 clearance bargain |
Wild weather in Tassie too. We had 10 trees down but apart from a squashed front fence, no other damage. No power for 65 hours but some 11 days.
ReplyDeleteWe always take snacks and lunch when going out, crazy prices from hospitality venues.
Loving menu planning, freezer and panty slowly going down.
Good morning Wendy. So glad that no one was injured in our stormy weather! I too was up wandering the house that night wondering if we were going to blow away. We had water incursion from a leaky balcony a couple of years ago, and it is amazing where the water can leak to and messy to fix, Luka looks like his grandfather. Would the dinosaurs exhibition be suitable for 11 and 14 year olds as well? I have been lucky enough to be doing some extra babysitting of our 9 month old granddaughter, how blessed are we all. Hope to plant a cherry tomato in my tub this week and have been writing Christmas lists! Have a lovely week
ReplyDeleteYou have been very busy, Wendy. That storm sounds quite destructive. Up here, there have been controlled burns ahead of Summer season. We have had more than $1000 in medical and dental expenses this week (we have health insurance so this was the out of pocket) so I am glad for being frugal with things.
ReplyDelete* picked lettuce, silverbeet, mulberries, spring onion and planted cucumbers.
* watered gardens with tank water
* dried and crushed eggshells and sprinkled around plants in garden
* added veg scraps to compost and worm farm
* made double batches of bolognese sauce and chicken enchiladas. Baked two apple and mulberry crumbles. Froze for future meals.
* staying home on school holidays - borrowed books from library amd invited friends here for lunch
* made a skirt from a dress I found at an op shop. Just made a simple elastic waistband.
* finished two knitted dishcloths to go in present box.
Have a good week. I hope your roof doesn't cost too much to fix.
Meg