On Frost and Planning for Christmas

After a frosty start, yesterday was a gorgeous day.  The sun shone, the birds sang, I did shopping and so much washing that my basket is almost empty.... a satisfying day.  We had so little sleep on Friday night that I felt like a limp rag yesterday morning but lots of activity interspersed with 'feet up' moments meant that I got through the day far better than I expected to.  Luckily, last night was a good night for G regarding getting off to sleep so it benefitted us both and we woke up refreshed.
I have a craft fair next weekend so I'm busy prepping for that and I have also had some modest sales on eBay so I'll update my challenge total next weekend.

This year I have really struggled to make any savings for Christmas out of the weekly food budget.  At the moment I have just £15 which won't really buy much in the way of festive groceries and we're three quarters of the way through the year so I think I will have to use my sealed pot savings on food instead of gifts this year.  I will be opening the pot on 1st November so I'll let you know how much I have then.  Gifts will be paid for from my Stash to Cash challenge money.  I have written a list and will need to allocate a certain sum for each person.  Some (mainly little ones) will get cash in their Christmas cards instead of a gift.  And I'm on the lookout for brilliant bargains to snap up!

Anyone else written their lists yet?  I absolutely have to have lists!!

The family came to visit this afternoon, so we had a lovely catch up. The GC, at the ages of 11 and 14,  are so much easier now.  They chat, occupy themselves, help with cooking tea (pasta bake, lots of salad and warm crusty baguette) and darling GD dried up the crockery afterwards without being asked to.  They have gone home so I have my PJ's on and am ready to watch some TV.  Vanity Fair is on later, shame that Bodyguard has finished :(  Anyways...….

Stay safe wherever you happen to be and thanks so much for popping in x

Brrr...Get Ready For Autumn



photo from Google

 



Brrr...it's chilly this morning.  The central heating thermostat is set at 13 degrees and it clicked itself on at 7.30am this morning, a sure sign that it is indeed officially Autumn.  Half an hour of heat has warmed us up enough to get out of bed without shivering :)  And the sun is out now so, hopefully, it will warm up a bit before we go out to do the 'big' food shop.

The thicker duvet has been put back on the bed, the LPG tank was topped up last week (£57.34 so not a shock thanks to the hot summer) and the boiler serviced (£65)  Our bill for 6 months electricity dropped on the mat last week too so another £269.16 left our account, but that should be it for the rest of the month then it's just council tax by direct debit in early October.  My budget calculations seem to have worked out pretty well and there might even be a bit of a surplus at the end of the year but I don't want to jinx it by being too confident.
 
Has anyone seen the Halfords offer of a free MOT with any purchase?  I found out from the Martin Lewis website.  I bought a chamois demister pad for £1, thinking that there was no way I would qualify with such a small purchase but, several days later, I received an email containing a code to input in an online booking. Voila! Free MOT booked for end of November!  I hope it doesn't mean that they will try to find something wrong so that I have to pay them something but my car is 8 years old (never failed before) so its' a possibility.  I'll let you know how it goes....

The craft fair 2 weeks ago was very slow, hardly any footfall at all, and takings of just £7  but I have another coming up in 2 weeks time so intend to have a bit more Christmas stock just in case people are more in the mood by October ;)  I take comfort in the fact that other stallholders had disappointing sales too, it wasn't just me.

Anyway, I'm off to check cupboards, fridge and freezer and make a proper shopping list.  We will need comforting food soon I'm sure, and there's a budget to stick to!

Stay safe everyone, wherever you happen to be.  I need to catch up with reading my favourite blogs.  I've missed so much...

Thanks everso for popping in x

A Quick Update & Peppa Pig!

This is just a quick post to update my Stash to Cash total.  My sales on eBay have been small but steady, with a total of £44.23 to add to the pot. This brings it up to a satisfying £155.15 and I have the monthly craft fair next Saturday too.  Is it too early to put Christmas stock on my stall do you think?  I know many of you, like me, like to start preparations early (I already bought 2 small stocking fillers)  Ooh, decisions...decisions.... :)

On the home front, G is still suffering with his neck problem although he has seen a consultant physiotherapist for an assessment at the hospital and is awaiting an appointment for more physio treatment.  He is still on tablets but, at least, this means we are getting some sleep now albeit sometimes broken sleep. We would love to take the caravan off somewhere for a couple of nights before Winter sets in but simply can't at the moment until G's appointment comes through. I thought that last year was bad with G's 'toothy troubles' but this year has been even worse somehow.

It has been GS's and GD's bithdays within 5 weeks of each other so I was very glad of having my Stash to Cash money.  I put money in their cards instead of buying a gift they didn't want or need, which they were really happy about. They both bought new clothes and/ or trainers so I feel it wasn't money wasted :)  I will carry on with my challenge until the end of the year, only now it will go towards Christmas gifts. Oh, and I'll send something to my little GD in Australia.  She will be 3 at the beginning of November and I usually send birthday & Christmas things in one parcel.  She is in love with Peppa Pig and dinosaurs! Has anyone seen any Peppa Pig clothing at a reasonable price please? It needs to be as light as possible due to postage costs and with short sleeves because it's Spring in Oz.  A bit of a task, I know.....

Well, considering this was to be a short post, I've rambled on a bit!  I felt quite down when I woke up an hour ago but feel that I've been talking to friends and feel a lot more cheerful.  Thanks for listening....

Stay safe everyone, wherever you are in the world and thanks so much for popping in x

Stash to Cash total £155.15