Nine Years

 Can you believe it....I have nattering away for nine whole years on this old blog of mine. Back then my son was just finishing year 10 and here we are now with him having moved into digs and working fulltime in his chosen career field. He was 24 recently👀😲 In the days prior to his leaving [he'll be coming back to catch up with friends etc regularly] he disgorged the contents of his bedroom...who knew so much stuff could be stuffed into such a small space. I've reached the conclusion that the walls must bow outwards in there to have fitted it all all. The recycling bin was rather full last week and various things have come my way because he knows how much I loathe how perfectly serviceable things are just tossed thoughtlessly into a hole in the ground. Like me he's not very sentimental about many possessions and he's got rid of lots of uni notes....I have done the thrifty thing and gone through the pile retrieving any blank sided sheets to add to our scrap paper box. I said a couple of weeks ago I was going to bringing in changes and eliminating waste/being as thrifty as possible is right up there. The pile of pencils have been accumulated over the years as he studied Geography. Mr GBT bought me my own smart set as a present a couple of years ago, but I've found a friend's daughter who is stationery mad and is very keen to have these slightly scruffy ones and put them to good use.

Over the past month I've been monitoring my spending patterns to see where I can nip and tuck the budget. The first thing I discovered is just how often I meet friends for coffee and cake. Now I "knew" that I had a cafe habit, but I hadn't realised quite how much I'd been spending. I shan't be stopping completely, but shall be more mindful. On the last couple of times I've taken food with me so I haven't needed to buy stuff when I've been out which oddly is something I always do if we're travelling or walking, but not if I'm just pottering about locally. It made a big difference when I went to London at the weekend! With a client on holiday yesterday I had time to go into town and see if I could purchase the eco products for less. The excellent news is that Wilko do their own brand green toilet cleaner and I can get the Dri pak products I use in Savers all for significantly less. We did go a little wild in M&S with a £25 spree for treats for our upcoming trip away, but I'd saved a voucher a very generous client had given me for Christmas😁

I'd also said that I'd be trying some new small things to get me on my way. For the first time I made a lemon cheesecake type pud [usually I do the base and then bail out so Mr GBT finishes it off] in lieu of a cake for TYM's birthday [he doesn't eat much cake]. I've frozen the leftover cream/condensed milk lemon topping as a type of icecream for another time. I've been diligently using up any leftovers and the sweet potatoes my Mum passed over got turned into a mash with carrots thrown in and some leftover sour cream...in a bid to only use the one pan I've finally got round to using the steamer to cook the remaining veg on top....why has it taken me so long I ask myself!! We've been enjoying homegrown lettuce for lunches and Mr GBT is just about to embark on a new batch of elderflower wine [making not drinking that is!]. The mending pile is slowly reducing and Mr GBT's tatty work jeans now have one of the back pockets removed and repurposed as a patch over the rip in the knee.  A pair of mine are next, but inspired by a mend Nancy Birtwhistle did recently I'm going to go down the route of visible mending and consign them to homewear only. In a bid to get more ideas and inspiration I've signed up to a few thrifty youtube channels and decided to order Nancy's green book from the library. I've been most impressed with her thrifty approach to the green issues and all her ideas for making do and mending. The flowers below are from my parents front garden where they have left a patch to grow wild. It was buzzing with insects and looked so pretty I couldn't resist taking a photo of it.

Many thanks for stopping by and reading all my wafflings. As ever I appreciate every comment and how the things people share with me add to my personal knowledge and lead me down all sorts of new and fascinating avenues to explore.

Arilx