Feeding All Of Us .. Thriftily....

Hello there ...

There is definitely a nip in the air now ...

 I think we can say winter is well and truly here ..

Time to wrap up ... keep warm .. and eat well ..

Eating well doesn't necessarily mean spending a fortune on expensive foods ... 

we just have to give it a bit of forethought and ..

'rock the Thriftiness ... '

Hubby P spent this morning selling at the car boot ... 

I knew he would come home cold and hungry so whats more comforting than a heap of warm scones with lashings of butter...!

Scones are cheap and so easy to make  .... 

Whilst I was in the kitchen I prepared the veg for tea .. 

I gave the carrots and potatoes a quick wash before I peeled them  .... 

it may seem a bit daft ...

 but you see I wanted to boil them up for the chickens dinner ..

 and ... 

save the veg water for my soups.

Nothing wasted if I can help it ..

 So here is a nice jug full of veg-y water/stock ..

 and whilst it was still hot I added a big handful of broth mix .... you know dried pearl barley lentils peas etc.

The broth mix will get a head start softening/cooking and all will be ready .. sat in the fridge to use for soup.

Chickens were happy with their warm veg-y mash ....

 And I picked up two lovely fresh eggs ...

 Oh .... 

and we had cheese scones ...

 another of Hubby P's favourite.

The trick is to add a teaspoon of mustard to the mix .. 

that way you only have to add a smattering of cheese ..

 I used just the hard end of a block of cheese .. grated up and mixed in it was fine.

And for something different and random ...

 who remembers these ?

 I found them in an old button tin the other day ...

They date from 1937 ... all that time ago ... I wonder how long it has sat in that button box.

Anyone know what the flower depicted on the front is .. 

what it represents ?

 Of course we are talking George VI on the throne ... a handsome profile dont'ya think..!

What I will do with these thrupenny bits I don't know .. 

they are just ...nice to handle .. nice to hold.

As I stepped out the door today ...

The air was fresh .. crisp .. and the sky blue.

The sun low in the sky but shining brightly ... a nice day!

Bye of now x

Well .. Happy Christmas! ..What More Could A Girl Ask For ...!

 Hello there .....

I hope you are getting some sunshine to brighten your days.

We've had a couple of splendid days ... a bit cool ..

 it is November ... 

but bright and sunshiny ...

The garden is still looking happy ....

 lots of interesting greens about ...

 it always amazes me how many shades of green there are .. 

all lovely and 'restful' in their own way.

 Already there are signs of a promising spring ...

 The plants are busily building up their reserves to see them through the winter and preparing to dazzle us once again with their wonderful foliage and flowers

 Just look at this big fat leaf bud on Will's Horse chestnut tree .... I thgink they are so lovely.

Monday was a day of great excitement .... I went to choose my Christmas present ... and just look....

a heap of wood ..!

As Hubby P said ...'he knows how to treat a girl !'

We jollied off in our van to the local scaffolding company's yard ... usually all locked up ... 
but there was a little man in a hard hat there to meet us.

The yard usually has a number of old .. 
deemed unsafe for use ... scaffold boards for sale ... 
good old wood .. 
that 'comes up lovely' after the Hubby P treatment.

This is a quick pic of the table he made me ... 
from scaffold boards ... you can see the nice grain in it ...
 please excuse the crumbs and dust ...
they'd never have me in Country Living Magazine!

Anyway my Christmas present is to be a Dresser to kinda match the table ...
 he's made a start today ... 
I'm being very good and 'Not Helping' ... with 'Helpful Advice'
 ... but I have made lots of cups of tea.

More pic's as we progress... that's if you would like to see  'building in progress' ?

Short and sweet today folks .... bye for now x

Brussels Sprouts For Breakfast ..!

Hello there ....

Well its Brussels Sprouts for breakfast this morning .... and very welcome they were too..

I had bought a whole stalk of them ...

 (you know .. Brussels still on their stalk .. unpicked) .

 I think they keep a bit better.

 Mind you I had kinda forgotten about them .. so they were going a bit yellow.

 Not to worry .. I just took the outer ... yellowing leaves .. off ..

fine and dandy underneath ...

don't you just love these sturdy .. solid .. itsy bitsy cabbages ...

Although it must be said Hubby P has only a certain tolerance for them .. 

he does get a bit miffed and cranky if he finds them on his plate too often.... 

mind you shredded up in stews and what not .. who's to know ...

and soooo good for you ..!

And Magic ....!  Brussels Sprouts into Eggs ... can't be bad .!

The Girls love a bit of green stuff .... and tuck in ..!

Awfully damp and dreary this morning ... 

but the pretty droplets of rain look pretty on the nasturtiums .. still no frost to kill off the greenery.

 

The leaves have gone that lovely colour ... 

and a good number still cling to their branches.

 

How about this cheery chap ...

I found him .. or her .. this weekend ... along with a gaggle of others..

How could I just walk past ..?

They have been so well loved ... now a little battered and bruised .. just needing a gentle place to live out their days ....

 maybe I can find them a corner ...

I just had to bring them home.

They had been well loved by Alison ... 

he lady who was selling them ....

 she was sad .. but they had to go .. 

she needed to sort her Mothers house out ...

.. and a body just can't keep everything can they.....

These too were Alison's ...

lovingly knit by Mother for her doll .. so very pretty.

 I shall give them a gentle freshening wash and probably sell them on ..

even I .. can't keep everything..!

And just look .....

how sweet ... vest and knickers too ..

 to keep your dolly nice and warm ... and decent.

Do you like my little Christmas-y Gnome ...

All the way from the 1970's I should think.

We have a number of them for sale .. 

unearthed from an old box of Christmas decorations.

I brought 'Alfie' home .. he's a little  too battered and grubby to sell ... 

but I don't mind a little grubby round the edges .. 

I should think all of us living from the sixties/seventies tend to be a bit battered looking ... 

and Hubby P certainly has his grubby moments.

Anyway enough of me... 

my this seems to be a long post .... hope you enjoy my waffling on...

Bye for now x

A Day Of Thinking Through The Thrift ....

Hello there.....

its been a sort of 'just everyday' .. sort of day here.

The garden is looking damp and dismal .. the greenery slowly fading away.

 This 'Gardeners Gaiters' ... an ornamental grass .. 

is looking very pretty with its leaves faded .. 
bleached almost ...

 Hubby P spent the most part of the day working in his shed ... 
he is busy cleaning up and restoring vintage tools to their former glory.

We sell a lot of these old tools ... 
they are always good as a present for a Gentleman ... 

And its amazing how it draws the Gents in .. .
just to have a good look and reminisce about their working lives .. the tools they used ....

how they 'don't make um' now as they use to' ... 'its all rubbish ... cheap materials they use' ..etc

I've been painting the bathroom ... 

such a boring job ...!

  don't bathrooms soon get grubby looking .. 

must be all that steam ..!

Anyway boring or not it had to be done ... and it gave me time to think.

I've been sorting through my cupboards ... 

having a bit of a stock take ... 

ready for the cold weather ... and possible snow ..

 power cuts etc ... 

like you do...

I've always kept a good stock of this kind of thing ...

just as my Mum did and my Gran before her ...

 and don't they look pretty in their jars ....!

But thinking about it ... 

if we do have a time of difficulties with weather or power restrictions ... 

these dried goods would be the last thing I would be able to cook .. they need such long and slow .

These days we have the same thing already cooked in tins ...

 and these Value ones are a reasonable price and will sit nicely in the cupboard until needed ..

not as pretty as the dried peas in the kilner jars ...

but a darned sight more useful ...

 bit like me really  .... 

not quite pretty ... but I make one hell of a dinner ..!

So I will cook up the last of these pulses .. 

they will not go to waste ... 

and I will get a few tins in ...

the space in the dried goods cupboard is always useful for extra sugar (buy it when its cheap ready for jam making time).

Talking of dried goods .. 

I found some semolina at the back of the cupboard ...

 its a while since I had any so I made a little in my new double boiler ...

 isn't she sweet..!

Who remembers School Dinners ... ?

Semolina with a big dollop of jam in the middle ...

 and you just had to stir it all up making it all pink before you ate it .!

 And for tea .... Hubby P's all time favourite ...

A steaming plate of Shepherds Pie ....

Hope you are keeping toasty warm ...

Bye for now x

Its Time For A Sack of Spuds ....! Thrifty Snippets....

Hello there ....

bit of a wet and dreary day here on Anglesey.

Even the chickens are looking a bit fed up ...a bit too wet to play outside.

Well .. its that time of year again folks .... cold weather .. 

extra heating .. 

Christmas ..

and the pressure to buy glitzy glittery stuff we don't really need .. 

Oh ... I do sound miserable don't I ...

Its just my way of reaffirming to myself  'the priorities' ... 

a roof over our heads ..

 warmth .. 

and some good dinners to get us through the bleak spell.

With that in mind I bought my first sack of spuds this winter..

 they were £6.. . is that cheap ..?

 I thought it quite reasonable.

 As my Gran would say ...

'with a sack of spuds and a tray of eggs you can eat like a king' .... good wholesome food ... 

and good value for your money.

And I won't even begin listing the dishes you can make from these simple ingredients ..

throw in a few bits from your store cupboard and it will keep you going for weeks.

 Of course I am very fortunate and have 'my Girls' giving me two or three fresh eggs everyday at the moment ...

 I truly value these lovely fresh eggs .. 

and make the most of them.

Hubby P has been doing his Thrifty bit ... this morning before the rain...

 He chopped/sawed up a load of the free wood and stacked some up in the inglenook ...

 nice and handy .. 

so we don't have to keep going out in the rain for more wood .. especially in the dark .. 

I tend to trip over the slightest thing these days.

It maybe doesn't look as pretty as 'proper logs' ...

 but boy..

its just as warm ..

 and free.

So ... nice and toasty warm .. 

and yes you can see Hubby P's work shirts drying above the wood burner ..

I have metal rails inside the inglenook on which I can hang wooden coat hangers to dry washing.. 

it works well...

 and its free ... 

no tumble dryer here .. and no central heating .. 

and so no radiator's.

Now Remembrance Day is over ..

 its time to start again with the poppies for next year.

I sold so many of the poppies this year .. 
and still people wanted more ...
 I made £72 for the British Legion Poppy Appeal ...

I am in a fortunate position doing what we do ... 

I pick up wool quite cheaply ....

and any that is the right weight and colour I keep and use for the poppies. 

And buttons .... anyone who has visited our stall will know ..

 I have rather a lot of buttons .... 

 so any interesting .. pretty .. black ones I keep for the poppies.

I shall just keep plodding away and then next year I will have a good stock of them ..

and hopefully more funds for the Legion.

So thats me today ...

 rabbit stew in the oven for tea ... 

Hubby P ensconsed in his shed .. doing 'sort-y out' things

and awful rain ...

 whats a Girl to do but sit by the fire and make poppies!

Bye for now x

Shouldn't Everyone Have a Wheelbarrowfull Of Old Cabbages By the Gate..?

Do you like my cabbages ?

 (well .. it calls them Kale on the label) ...

I do hope someone likes them ....

 there was a distinctly lukewarm response from Hubby P..

I asked him to carry the delightful .. 

itsy bitsy little wheelbarrow  ..

 and its pretty cargo to the gate ... 

well... where the new gate will be ... 

once he gets time to build the gate posts and fix the gate.. 

His response was ...

 'well .. of course... doesn't everybody have a wheelbarrowful of old cabbages by the gate .. to welcome guests' .... 

rather uncalled for I should think ... people might  like cabbages!

It will give a dash of colour through the winter ...

 I bought the cyclamen too .. in the header pic ...

 cheap and cheerful from a chap standing the carboot sale.

So .. what else ...

We've done a bit more to the conservatory .... 

well that's a posh word for it ....

 its really a big wooden porch .. but we spend a lot of time in there .. so we make it as homely as we can.

These lovely old crates we brought back from a trip to Gloucestershire .. they sold well ..

 but I nabbed a few for the house ... 

Hubby P waxed and polished them and I just love the homely rustic look.

I'm still playing around with bits and bobs ... you know .. how you do .. cant decide what to put where.

Mostly I think they will hold some of my enamelware.

I've had this huge block of oak for some time ....

it sat outside the door .. just looking ..

 well .. sturdy and ...handsome ..? 

.. as only a big chunky block can.

Hubby P brought it home one day .. from a clearance .... the block had once been a part of Bangor pier ...

its full of interesting holes and knocks ...

and seaside-y smells ....

what a life!

Now we have the wood-y theme going on in the conservatory Hubby P thought it would look good cleaned up a bit ...

and it does ..

 or at least I think it does ..

its a bit like a chunky handsome coffee table-y thing.

Hubby P has sanded it a little and given it a wax and polish to bring out its colours ..

... and it looks just grand.

He did find a little time to do some real work ... 

here he is fixing some chairs for a client ... 

the lady wants to recover them .. the joints were a little loose and whatnot so he has sorted them out.

And for his next job .. do you like this lovely old bag ...

found abandoned in an old shed ... 

it needs a good clean .. wax and polish ... 

Should come up just lovely..

I'm supposed to be dealing with this .. rather than sat here talking to you!

Bought it at the weekend .. a nice old case of white linen .. 

it needs sorting and washing ..

 lots of nice treasures here.

I have done some work ... here's some vintage bits ready to go..

And how about this find .. 

a fabulous funky 60's cape .. with ultra shiny buttons!

Look great teamed with those wetlook white pvc kneehigh boots .. do you remember ...?

Anyway .. enough .. must go and do some work..

Bye for now x