Thursday 18 October 2012

Everyday Dust .. Decisions ... and Daily Thrift!

Hello there ...

Here we are again ... day at home today ... doing much needed housework .. or so I tell myself .. can't say I am enthused with the idea. 
I've changed the bed and wafted about a bit with a duster..
 


 Everything is a bit stress-y here at the moment ... as you can see ... no big van on the drive.

  
Its still not fixed ... been like this for what seems like weeks ... it needs a new gearbox ... a simple thing you may think... but Oh no.. the 'Spares Men' all do that sucking their teeth thing.. and shaking their heads.
I won't bore you with all the details but Hubby P is beginning to get a bit cheesed off with the whole thing ... he is .. at this moment touring North Wales .... telephone directory under his arm broken gearbox in the boot of Richards car.... to try and find the elusive gearbox needed.

Oh ...hang on the telephone is ringing..


 Oh Hurrah!
 ... He has just telephoned me from Wrexham to say he has found one .... hopefully he will be back on the road and able to work this weekend ... one poor girl has booked him to do her house removal ... she was panicking a bit.


 And my house looks like a warehouse again ... this little lot is waiting to be sold on.


Anyway on to everyday stuff .. do you like my new little mirrors .... and I couldn't resist the blue brooch and earrings ... a girl has got to treat herself now and again. 
Do like a bit of vintage bling!

Now ... Decisions Decisions....
....this has been a hard one ... 
...when does a lady stop colouring her hair ... and embrace natures own colouring?
  

Well I have decided the time has come ..
to be honest I was so tired of the whole thing ... I hated using the chemicals.... the time/weeks between colouring became less and less as the roots showed more and more.... and the state of the shower curtain etc after I've finished colouring....a nightmare.
 
Enough! I said to myself.

So winter is on the way ... and I generally wear a hat most of the time ... so it won't be so noticeable ..then come spring I will have a new colour.
It really doesn't bother me ... after all its a natural thing ..and Hubby P is quite happy that we 'grow old and grey together' ...Ahhh

How do you feel about it?
 ... I'm hoping I wont regret it .. or rather 'have a wobble' and rush out to buy a colour .. then have to start all over again!     



Thrifty Snippet bit now ...
I've been buying firelighters from Tesco for a couple of weeks ... just to get a stock in for the bad weather ... nothing worse than damp sticks that won't light
Anyway ... they are very expensive at £1.50 a pack ... and have to be used very sparingly 



Well a thrifty friend found these at the coal merchants ... you could buy a whole boxfull... that's 24 individual boxes for £9.50.
So by my simple reckoning on a bit of paper that's just short of 40p a box ... got to be a bargain.


 I had to have a bit of a re-jig of the 'under the stairs cupboard' .... not that we have any stairs .. but that's what we call it
Its a hang over from when we were young ...and houses in the North .. or rather terraced type houses all had cupboards under the stairs and its where people kept all the 'useful' stuff.
Perhaps you can spot the spare toilet seat (for when the present one needs replacing), a spare iron ... they don't last for ever so I have a new one waiting in the wings, there is my barrel for making wine and my big Kenwood mixer, light bulbs, fuse wire, spare plugs etc etc.
Do you have a 'under the stairs cupboard' ... what is it you fell you just must hoard away?
 .... speaking of which ...I have a whole trunk full of candles.... is it me? should I be worried?

And on to food ... Hubby P will get home ...eventually..


I've just dragged all this out of the fridge/ freezer and put it in a very low slow oven ... I can pop a few dumplings in it when I know he's somewhere near home.

That's my day .... what have you been up to ... will you still speak to me when I am old and grey! he he ...

Take care x

18 comments:

  1. I like your manquin covered in broaches, that's very funky!

    I'm still dyeing, I only have grey on the crown, so I only do half my head, I use half the box of dye too. I often have a few coloured streaks put in, red and gold yesterday. One day I expect I'll get fed up with it and go grey gracefully :-)

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  2. I am now completely au naturel - it took me about a year to grow all the colour out and so I can say the first few inches are the hardest as the contrast with the dyed hair is at it's worst....but stick with it. It's so wonderful not to get that sinking feeling when the grey pops up.
    You may need to adopt bright lipstick to brighten up but I find it liberating not having to dye anymore.

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  3. You're very brave embracing grey so young Vicky, I'm going to dye forever! I have short curly hair and to add grey to the mix would make me look 90 at least! Was lovely to discover you used to live nearby and that we had lots in common

    Claire xxx

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  4. I used to dye my hair with natural henna... thus giving me the fire engine red I always wanted. Since I`m no longer in the local lime light (given up the Bellydance a few years ago now) and don`t need to have my hair dyed for show I no longer do it. I`m lucky enough not to have too much grey hairs yet, so I`ll get used to growing old slowly, lol. Becoming a grandmother in March 2013 makes me feel old, though.

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  5. I was the same as you Vicky I got sick of dyeing my hair, and the roots seemed to come through quicker and quicker. So I'm naturally grey now, with some whiteish looking wings by my ears which I love !! It's so nice not have to mess about anymore :)

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  6. Oh my goodness yep I have a drawer full of candles (for when there's a power cut, or can't afford electricity or such like.) Yep, I've got an understairs cupboard that never ever looks tidy. And yep I've asked myself the question as to when to stop colouring. I got a bargain boxful of out of date hair dyes at a car boot about 2 years ago and I've been wading my way through them ever since! It's a good job they were all the same colour. I may not buy more when these run out - I'll have to see. I leave it as long as possible in between 'dos'. I wonder what else we have in common?
    Love from Mum
    xx

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  7. hope you managed to get the van fixed, car repairs are a nightmare, we had another head gasket go a few months back, yes, it was expensive!
    I started going grey years ago, so every spring, I buy a DIY highlight kit, garnier nutrisse Kit No4 , here's a link to a pic http://www.sykesssillysite.co.uk/before_and_after.htm , hopefully the hightlights hide the grey bits!

    the casserole sounds nice!

    Josie x

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  8. Bloody car troubles! Hope this gear box goes in easily. I loved North Wales. Got to go back before I'm too old!!!
    The hair dye thing is where I'm at at the moment along with hair falling out due to stress and thyroid. I'd love to just go grey. Love your posts. Keep safe...

    By the way... I make fire starters from sawdust put in egg cartons, old candles melted and a little poured over that. Then tear off and I wrap in newspaper with a twist tail for a lighter. They are amazing and burn for over 6 minutes.

    We don't need an inside fire but use them if we are cooking outside with the camp oven. I made a heap for a friend too.

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  9. Still dyeing- I don't feel OLD enough for grey hair! When will I be old enough???Don't know...!!

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  10. My hair started greying as a teenager and was almost completely grey by the time I was 40! I colored it for many years, but finally gave it up as it was just too hard to keep. At 56 it is completely silver and almost white around my face. I get many compliments on it so I guess it's not too bad! :)

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  11. I still dye my hair, you're right the weeks between become less! My under stairs cupboard is full of stuff... nothing useful!! :) x

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  12. I tried to give up dying my hair about a 2 years ago, but did panic when I realised how grey I actually was, as I too hated to do every month. So I dyed it a light blonde colour and then just let the grey grow through. Funny thing is, I moved to Bulgaria 3 months ago and I must be the only grey-haired woman in the whole country, maybe that's why everyone stares at me, lol!

    Jak x

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  13. At 44, I have a few white hairs going through my long dark hair, but I am not too worried, dad, at 74 has only just started going grey and my mum has a few more but not much, so fingers crossed that I won't get too many. I stopped dyeing my hair a few years ago as having an autoimmume disease, I find I cannot use anything much with chemicals nowadays. So if my by chance I do get lots of grey, it will stay that way and my long hair aswell will stay aswell!

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  14. I am getting more and more grey but it doesn't bother me, whereas not having my hair cut well does. I invest in a good cut every 10 weeks or so, and embrace the grey.

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  15. I haven't colored my hair for about 6 years. The sun has bleached it blonde and when the grey comes in at the roots, it doesn't take long for the sun to bleach that also. Going south to Yuma Arizona for 6 months in that sun does that.

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  16. Hello there, I am dropping by to say hi and had a lovely read of your daily goings on..Am still dyeing my locks am afraid! hehe..The vintage plate (with pastry on) from your earlier post, brought some nice memories rolling back, as I have the full tea set from my dear Grandma, must look it out again!I found you through my friend Claire, at Thriftwood as we were both interested that you once lived around our parts...
    Have a weekfull of loveliness.
    Love Maria x

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  17. I've not coloured my hair for years, it's shoulder length, had a lot cut off. I used to downlight it at the hairdressers and she said I was wasting my money and why didn't I leave it as it looked silver blonde - so I just did. I occasionally feel a bit pale but try to ensure I always have eyebrows darkened and somewhere a spot of cerise!

    It's so nice not colouring it, and I don't feel old either at 68.

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  18. I let my hair go gray when I became a grandma. No time for hair dye, spending all my time playing with grandchildren. Love your blog. Elaine in Luray VA USA

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