Hello friends and faithful readers. I'm hoping to be back writing again on a regular basis. Thankyou so much for all the lovely messages, comments and prayers during the last few months. They all really helped sustain me during the difficult days following my Dad's passing.
During the last couple of months my days have been super busy with things to organise for the service ( along with other family members ), helping Mum around the home and Dad's garden, errands with Mum, my cleaning work, running our home, planting / weeding in the garden and spending time with our daughters and grandchildren.
Darren and I did manage to get away to Ballarat for a weekend in May and it was much needed. We enjoyed sunny days of 16 degrees which is glorious for that time of the year. We visited family and went to places of importance to Mum and Dad ( they met in Ballarat ). On the way home we met up with Jessica and she took me to see Cinderella the musical. It was such a lovely evening.
The frugal list below is a summary of what we've done over the last 7 weeks or so. It was hard at times to keep track of all the ways we saved money. Some days there was no time to even write on my frugal list.
* Picked feijoas from below our trees. The fruit is ready to eat when it drops to the ground.
* Filled up the foaming hand wash pumps with diluted shower gel.
* Cut up a few socks that had holes in them and used them as garden ties.
* Dried the washing on the line until the weather got too cold and wet. Now it's on the clothes horse over a ducted heating vent .
* Planted another row of carrots.
* Planted lots of broccoli seeds. So far we have 9 heads forming and over 35 plants growing.
* Baked wholemeal bread with extra goodness every 2 weeks.
* Picked chrysanthemums from the garden to brighten up our home.
* Picked spinach from the garden to add to spag bol sauce.
* Made lots of dried bread crumbs from saved bread crusts ( ends ).
* I pruned one of our feijoa trees as it was getting too tall. I placed some of the smaller branches in a couple of vases to decorate our home when there were no flowers to pick.
* Made raspberry jam and plum jam from fruit we grew and froze during Summer.
* Started the process of making another bottle of vanilla extract.
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| Covering the broccoli plants |
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| Feijoa branches |
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| Making dried bread crumbs |
Very sorry to read of your Dad's passing, Wendy. Sending you many caring thoughts to you and your family. Xx
ReplyDeleteMeg
Your frugal.list always inspires me to find all the ways I can to save some $. I also like reading others' comments too. My list this week:
ReplyDelete* picked silverbeet, kale and garlic chives from our garden and baked a silverbeet impossible pie with these greens.
* picked lettuce and gave some to my dear neighbour
* put two warm blankets out in our lounge area to kerp warm while reading or watching tv
* saved shower warm up water and used in wash machine
* refilled handwash with diluted shower gel
* saved 10% on grocery shop. Found 3xpacks of marked down beef mince.
* baked a weetbix and oat slice and a date/apple pudding. homemade caramel.sauce for the pudding
* received flowers, a pretty tote bag and a lovely hamper for my birthday
* gifted several items to others in our Buy Nothung Group
* received a little bag of limes from a friend
Today, I want to bake another impossible pie and visot the library too. And there's work to do in the garden!
Meg
Hello Wendy, wonderful to have you back and I am very sorry to hear of your dads passing.
ReplyDeleteIn the past few weeks I’ve been busy mulching in the garden, enjoying my time at home, and selling unwanted clothes on eBay. I sold 6 items and still have a lot to go, so hoping to get motivated to list them this weekend, as it’s great to declutter and make money.
- sowed broccoli, sugar snap pea, beetroot seeds and prepared beds for asparagus and tomatoes.
-all the cuttings I took of a dark purple salvia, buddleja, rosemary & lavender struck so will re pot them soon
-borrowed several magazines for free on the library app
-almost finished our ground coffee that I bought on clearance at my local coles, $3 for 1kg! I bought 2 packs.
-have worked hard on eating down the freezer this month to make more for meat we have incoming
-the end of June will be halfway through my “no new clothes for a year” for my family challenge and it has been a breeze! I’ve also extended it to homewares when I realised I’d done the same there.
-gratefully received a big bag of really beautiful hand me down clothes for my little girl in the mail from a friend.
Thanks for the motivation Wendy and have a good week
So happy to see you back. I'm incredibly sorry to read about your father. Hugs to you and your family.
ReplyDeleteJust saw your site i love it all do you have a receipe book i can buy
ReplyDeleteSorry to hear of your dad passing, condolences to you and your family. Growing your food is more important today than ever. Broccoli, spinach, lettuce, beans and zucchini are in short supply over Australia so if you have them growing you are lucky to enjoy them and avoid their high cost. I know prices differ between supermarkets but last weekend red capsicums were $6.99 a kilo at Aldi and $12.99 at Woolworths so pays to shop around. Keep up the good work.
ReplyDeleteDear Wendy lovely to hear from you again, after such a busy time. Best wishes to your mum as she adjusts to such a change in her life also. All your wonderful advice will be so helpfull to people struggling to cope with increases in the cost of living.We are grateful that our teeny garden has been producing silverbeet,parsley and coriander to add green freshness to our meals as other salads and green vegetables are just too expensive. I also dry our washing on clothes horses inside and found some brand new tracksuit pants and pajamas at a local op shop to keep us warm ,very inexpensively. Have a good week.
ReplyDeleteI have been reading your blog for several years but have never commented before. I lost my father late last year, so I understand what you are facing. My condolences to you and your family during this difficult time. Please take care of yourself and give yourself permission to take a break from the blog as you deal with organizing the service and the attending grief that comes along with losing such a dear family member. Thinking of you and yours during this time.
ReplyDeleteDear Wendy,
ReplyDeleteMy sympathies at the loss of your beloved father. Treasure the memories and remember family times with love and warmth.
I knocked over a ceramic plant pot and wondered if I could glue it back together. I have a good collection of glues. Cleaned and dried the two edges. glued them and held them in place with industrial size and strength rubber bands and it worked really well. Saved at least $40.
Deborah
Dear Wendy and family my thoughts and condolences on the loss of your father and husband. Take time to heal and remember and grieve. Losing a parent or spouse in tough.
ReplyDeleteWe are puddling along as we do. I am constantly working on food waste. I have bought some lettuce seeds and must get them into the ground,
God bless you and keep you safe in in his love.
I'm sorry about your father's passing.
ReplyDeleteThis week's frugal doings:
Harvested broccoli heads and froze
Harvested basil and dehydrated
Ate "in" as much as possible or frugally if it had to be while we were out.
Saved water glass water for plants
Kept driving to a minimum to save gas.
Stayed away from the stores.
Took my lunches to work.
Every little bit helps during these times.
Please accept my deepest condolences on the death of your precious father Wendy. Life goes so very quickly. God bless you all.
ReplyDeleteGreat to see you back posting. I look forward to every single post.
So very sorry to hear of your Father's passing. Im sure you've been very busy helping out. Glad you're back on the blog too. I just wanted to say that the branches and leaves of the Feijola trees are beautiful. I don't really know much about this tree and fruit, so I'll be looking into it. I purchased my first Olive Tree last week, as a nursery I drove past was having a 50% off sale. I also got a Cara Cara Orange tree and l will be looking foward to having some fruit in the next couple of years.
ReplyDelete