Stash To Cash Results

Just a quick post to report my total and therefore record it for future reference.  I had a small eBay craft sale of £11.85, £2.80 net at the last (pathetic) craft fair making a total of:

£191.67

Add to that my sealed pot total of                       £30.20

Grand total £221.87

I'm now calling it a day as far as the challenge is concerned.  The sum will be enough for Christmas gifts and I'm going gift shopping with DD next week.  For her family I'm buying a practical gift each (PJ's have been requested...yay! ) for which I need DD's input, plus a couple of surprises each to make up a gift bag.  This year has been so much easier to plan for than ever before so I might start another challenge in the new year.

I just have the food to sort out but will use my Nectar points for most of that.
How are your plans going? How many will you be catering for? There will be just 6 of us this year.

Thanks everso for popping in and stay safe wherever you are in the world x

Remembrance Sunday

Thinking of all our service personnel past, present and future.

  God bless you all.

Saturday Already! & Allotment News

Saturday already!  After a night of torrential bursts of rain, the day dawned damp but sunny.  My sore throat has gone and, although I still have the remnants of a cold, I feel much better.  The craft fair opened for setting up at 9am but, as I was already awake at 5am courtesy of G, it was no hardship.  The footfall was not brilliant again despite radio ads and leaflet drops so I might give it up after the December one which I've already paid my £5 for.  Takings today were the grand sum of £7.80 so it's just not worth the effort :(

We spent a couple of mornings at the allotment and it's looking much better already....

After strimming, we can see just how big it is and the piles of 'rubbish' at the end can ultimately be used to fill some raised beds. As you can see , there are 3 wood edged areas where turf has been dumped, along with other stuff which should break down....

Next week we will cover three quarters of the area with plastic sheeting weighed down with some pallets that a chap very kindly took to the allotment for us.  Once we start cultivating the plot in the Spring we will re-use the pallets to make something like edging or a structure / shelter at the far end.  We are not allowed to have a shed (sob!) and no chickens are allowed either :(

There are some toilets on site; the composting variety!

The instructions are on the wall for the mens' room and although I haven't yet investigated the womens' version, I'm sure all will become clear ….lol....

Has anyone else tried a composting loo?  Who the devil empties it? Or is it a soakaway?  AArrgghh!

Have a great weekend everyone.
Stay safe wherever you happen to be x

Allotment News

Firstly a big welcome to Eileen, lovely to see you :)

We have a bit of good news. G has been offered the chance of a half plot on our local allotment.  Now, we have been waiting for over 8 years and had virtually given up on getting anything so the offer was unexpected to say the least.  We took a look at it on Friday....

It measures approx. 13 ft by 90 ft and is overgrown to say the least.  To my eye it looks daunting but G is a qualified horticulturalist and has been used to clearing such a space for customers in the past.  With his ongoing neck problem he will have to take things slowly but I'm hoping it will give him something to occupy his mind.  He will get fresh air, a bit of exercise and, hopefully, someone new to talk to. We will tackle the work together mostly.  For now, we have ordered a giant length of black heavy duty black plastic so that we can strim down all the weeds, lay the sheeting down to kill off the weeds during the Winter and then slowly (starting at the front) peel it back to begin planting.  G will make some raised beds so that it will be a 'no dig' plot and therefore easier on our joints.

We are lucky that the dip tank for water is on a corner of the plot so it will be fairly easy to water the plants...….

It's an organic site so we need to be careful what we use on the soil but at the very back of the plot the previous owner piled lots of turf upside down in a heap.  It should break down into useable compost to fill the raised beds eventually.

In a spurt of enthusiasm, G has loaded the car with his petrol strimmer and gone off on his own to survey the plot and make a start.  I offered to accompany him but he declined. It will only be 2 hours until it begins to get dark so he can't overdo things and it gives me a couple of hours to relax and catch up on some crafting.  I have another craft fair on Saturday and have some prepping to do.....
AND I have a nagging feeling that I have a sore throat coming (courtesy of the GC I think) DRAT!

Thank you everyone who commented on my last post.  I do so appreciate each and every comment, even if I don't get around to replying.

Stay safe everyone, wherever you happen to be in the world x

Winning Big....Yay!

I went to Sainsburys this morning and put my monthly £10 worth of petrol into the car.  I handed over my 200 points voucher and could have kissed the cashier when he said " Oh, you've got the big one!" 


I had won 5000 points worth £25. It will be a massive help with the Christmas shopping.  I celebrated by treating myself to a skinny cappuccino in M & S....

Then I went into Sainsbugs to get a few bits of shopping for the weekend where I also picked up some staples for the food bank (toiletries as well as pasta & sauce etc) My 5000 points were added to my Nectar account immediately.  As I had spent £13 the till churned out another voucher worth 500 points (£2.50)….

 

 

 

 Oooh I like this game :)
 
My Nectar points total has risen to an amazing £66 so far, so I won't have to worry about food for Christmas.  This will be particularly helpful because DD is finding it a struggle at the moment so I will be able to help her out too.  This also means that I can happily use my sealed pot money (pot opening day 1st November) to buy gifts. I'll let you know the total of that soon.

I have had a small craft sale of £10.37 nett to add to my Stash to Cash challenge...

Who else has had a good result at Sainsbugs?

Stay safe everyone and thanks everso for popping in x

Stash to Cash Total £177.02

What Do Points Make?

G is driving me mad at the moment.  Not only am I getting little sleep but I have to keep doing things during the day to keep him occupied and tire him out!  Personally, I prefer a little chill out time each day to keep me sane.  An hour quietly reading perhaps, or a couple of hours crafting.  I'm happy to go out at some stage each day either walking, shopping or tidying the garden but then I need some QUIET time.  I have just sent G out for a walk round the park so that I can relax and, at least, write a blog post in peace.  He has had acupuncture again this morning and I'm sure it's livened him up :/

Do you relish time on your own too? Company is lovely but not all the time! How do you feel about it?  How do you relax?

A heads up for anyone with a Sainsbury's nearby.... it's SCAN & WIN time again...yay!...  If you spend £10 or more, just scan your Nectar card and you will win at least 200 points (worth £1)  This is my win....

Tomorrow I will go and buy some fuel so should get another crack at winning big.  I won 5,000 points last year (worth £25) which was an enormous help with Christmas stuff. Do let me know what you win..... Good luck! :)

Stay safe everyone, wherever in the world you happen to be x

Sleepless in Seattle and Plucking up Courage

Yes, I know I've been decidedly AWOL but life has been throwing a lot of lemons our way lately. G is still suffering with his twitchy head and we have both been losing enormous amounts of sleep.  He has had Physio at the hospital, visited an Osteopath and had manipulation as well as acupuncture in his neck over the last 3 weeks, all to no avail at the moment.  He is now on the hospital waiting list for Botox injections but the appointment could be 2 months away.  It's currently costing us £90 a week in fees :/  He is very stressed by it all but I really don't want him to go down the slippery slope of taking Diazepam.  He is already on pills for other things including high blood pressure.  The reading has hit the roof and he was prescribed Calcium Channel blockers early this week.   Last night we both got around 2 hours of restless sleep and I have felt like a zombie all day.  G was brave and went in to work.  He'll be back around 8.30pm tonight.

This morning I set to and sorted the spare room out.  The wardrobe has been cleared of unused 'stuff ' most of which went to the CS but I gave an artist neighbour a nearly new easel, gave a hardly used backpack to a cheerful young care worker, who visits a neighbour and took several black bags of rubbish up to the skip.  This now means that, if necessary, I can sleep in the spare room on the floor in a sleeping bag so that G doesn't worry so much about waking me up when he has to get up for painkillers or to put the kettle on or put his heat wrap in the microwave.  When your bedroom is right next to the kitchen in a park home every click and rumble is LOUD !

When I was in town I plucked up the courage to speak to a young man who appears to be homeless and who sits on the pavement in all weathers.  He made eye contact and said hello so I asked if he minded if I offered to get him a drink.  It was blooming cold.  He asked if he could possibly have a hot chocolate so I bought him one as well as a slice of hot, fresh pizza.  Now that I know he doesn't mind being approached it won't be the last time I buy him something.

My craft sales have been a bit neglected over the last 3 weeks due to me being exhausted most of the time so I can only add £11.50 to the total.  I am, however, determined to keep going....

Stay safe everyone and thanks so much for popping in x

 Stash to Cash total £166.65