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

Make Do and Mend On A Dreary Day ..

  

Hello there .....

bit of a damp dreary day here ... and its so dark .. 

I'm missing the sunshine already!

Do you like the pine box in the pic above ....

 its one of Hubby P's restoration projects... 

out for sale this week. 

We sell a lot of chests/boxes like this .. they are popular .. good looking storage solutions!

Well .. what to do on a dreary day ..

 there is always 'work' .. and 'more work' ..

 but that gets a bit tiresome ... 

I need to pick up a needle and thread ... you know what I mean...?

So ... first to feed the chickens ... the Girls look forward to their breakfast. 

They always have layers pellets to browse ..

but they are a bit a boring .. or so they tell me ....

 a girl need a little something tasty to temp her into laying nice wholesome eggs.

Today's offering .. an old loaf of bread ..

 a gift from the neighbours .. 

not that exciting really but a change for them and the wild birds can have a bit too.

And as always a nice jug of fresh water.

Richard collected some oyster shells from the beach ... I give them a good wash then bash them up and mix them into the chicken feed.

 It helps give them grit and allsorts of nice minerals ..

 you can of course buy this at the feed place ..

but how free and organic is this.

They are looking well and happy at the moment.

 

Just as I used the last of the bucket of apples .. and I was thinking 'well if I want an apple crumble I shall have to buy some apples' .. heaven forbid!

A friend turned up with a bag of windfalls ... how nice is that.

I gladly refilled my bucket. 

They look like a kind of Russet apple ...

 I feel a crumble coming on.

As for the Needle and Thread urge ...

Hubby P brought home a box of these hangers .. 

thinking they would be useful .. us selling a lot of vintage clothes and what not. 

And they are .. but some were a bit .. well ... kinda grubby ..

 not a good look when selling nice clothes. 

So I put them aside to recover at some time.

This week I bought a bag of vintage scarves ...

 nice pretty wool ones ..

 unfortunately a couple had been nibbled by moths ...

 rather than throw them away ... such lovely fabric...

I used them to cover the padded hangers.

... and finished them off with a pretty little button or two

They may not be perfect .. a bit homemade-y looking ...

 but they are useful .. clean and ...

made from materials that would otherwise be thrown in the bin.

And they have got to be better than plastic hangers .... 

plastic hangers to sell vintage clothes .. 

it just doesn't look right.

Anyway .. enough ...

 off now to scrabble in the back of the van .. 

to take a look at what Hubby P has brought home today .. Edwardian chairs and a Gothic bedstead amongst other things ...

Bye for now x

A Little Toadstool Lampshade ... Cute ... !

Hello there ... well ..

thank you  for all your nice comments .. 

it seems most of us are thrifty barterers ...

 to me its just a way of life ... just continuing on the life lessons of my family.

I so like Annie's quote .. her mother use to say ..'one hand washing the other'. 

I will remember that .. and think of you Annie when I use it ... 

Talking of Bartering does anyone still have a LETS scheme?

 I was wondering with this new age of Fb and all manner of selling sites if some kind of local LETS type bartering page could be set up ... 

or maybe there would be too many complications..

Perhaps the 'real world' isn't ready for homely bodies like us foisting the notion of Barter on to them!

Its been a nice day today ... Hubby P donned his outdoor clothes and had a good saw up of firewood and a general tidy up ....

 the chickens enjoyed the fallen leaves thrown in their run ..

I got stuck into painting the conservatory ... yes we are STILL on with repairing/revamping the conservatory.

Hubby p has re clad the inside with wood .. 

so we are on with painting .. show you some pics another day.

Just wanted to share this find with you .. my lovely 'new to me' lampshade.

I just thought it was so pretty ... bit like a fairy toadstool.

I found it at the Car Boot ...of course .. do I shop anywhere else?

The lady selling it had made it ... quite a simple idea .. but so effective ...

I was glad to give it a home.

The 'petals' of fabric were overlaid in rows around an old lampshade .. stitched in place... I suppose any shape could be used.... and maybe they could be glued in place.

The lady said she had put a red bulb under the shade ...

 that would certainly add to its pinkness.. 

but I have just a normal one here.

Not yet having 'found' any exotic coloured bulbs at the Car Boot!

Off to cook gammon egg and chips for tea .. I think Hubby P deserves it ... the garden is looking so tidy.

Bye for now x

I Do Love A Good Thrifty Trade ...

Hello there ...
Do hope you have escaped the worst of the wind and gales ....
 if you are in this part of the world. 
Its been a tad breezy here ..

It was rather damp and dreary today .. so an ideal day to tackle the Thrifty Trading work....

Earlier in the week a neighbour gave me these lovely duck eggs (there were half a dozen .. I remembered to take a pic halfway through!).

Ideal .. useful ..lots of possibilities for trade ..

Now another lot of lovely .. likely lads .. save me the waste wood from their workplace ....

Just look at this lovely lot .... just what a girl needs to keep her warm through the winter ...

So the very thing to keep the likely lads happy at work .... 
what every man enjoys with his cuppa ...

(please remember I am old enough to be their Mother!)

Scrummy Yummy cake ... made from .. you guessed it ....
 the gifted duck eggs.
So eggs turn into stacks of firewood....
and of course the 'duck egg neighbour' gets some cake too ...
a win win situation.

As you can see ...
Health and Safety is a major concern here ....
 and all is rigorously tested ....
in the form of Hubby P and his taste buds!

Whilst I was working in the kitchen I did a good old stock take and listed on the board all I needed next shopping day ...

I always feel I have got to be well stocked up for the winter ...
I think its years of growing up in the wilds of Lancashire ..
and as often as not getting snowed in and living off our stores.

I will add to this list as the week goes on .. it makes shopping so much easier ..
 I have the memory of a sieve.
I seem to have lists for everything ... is a woman thing?

As for work ... its been hard work in the windy weather ... 
but we are doing our best ... 
seeking out the treasures...

I managed to source more vintage hand knit woollens ... 
so pretty ..

I am busy laundering them ready for sale ....
the place looks like a chinese laundry again ... 

But hopefully they will turn us a penny.

Anyway its late and I've rambled on enough ... 
just had to share the Trading thing with you. 

So do you trade goods ?   what is good to trade ?
any tips are welcome.....

 Bye for now x

   

Hello there ... yes ... I'm here again .. 

not quite dropped off the face of the earth!

 Its been a frantic summer work wise .. but hopefully it has quietened off a bit ...

yes we have reached that mellow time of the year .. we are all beginning to prepare for the darker months here .. lots of firewood .. extra tins of beans .. and all that kind of thing.

As you can see the cat takes it all very seriously .. 

and is practising the 'hunkering down' like mad.

We found this little guy when we were chopping wood ... well he's not so little really... any ideas what he might be/become? 

We tucked him back amongst the wood pile.

The Girls are doing really well ... Hubby P has built them a nice little scratching run attached to their deep litter shed .. 

so they have been enjoying playing out all summer.

Now the leaves are falling I have been collecting them from the paths and tipping them in the chicken run .. the girls just love having a good old scratch amongst the leaves... there must be all sorts of insects and goodies amongst the litter .. keeps them amused for hours.

And of course ..

 all those delectable goodies they find scratching about  in their run ... go to make delectable ... yummy eggs for us.

Simple yet sooo delicious ..!

The garden ... as has everyone's I should think .. 

 has done wonderfully well ... 

all that sunshine!

Can you see in this pic ... my Cardoom has sprouted again for a second time. 

Hubby P has made a kind of cage ... from some old metal gates ....

 for the plant to grow up and through next year.

The plant grows so big and top heavy that the flower heads always collapse under their own weight .. so hopefully this cage will help support it next summer.

I wanted the cage made from nice old gates so that in winter the structure will not look too ugly .. hopefully it will add a bit of height and interest to the bleak garden.

I've planted my Galvanised' garden .. 

the galvanised tin baths and buckets outside the door ... 

with herbs ..

hopefully they will give a bit of interest over the winter months.

And as for work ...

Well ... Hubby P found these the other day .... a box full of wartime/rationing sugar bags ...

goodness knows what we will do with them .

We have given some away to schoolchildren ... lots of schools are doing work about wartime etc ...

just interesting!

 

And how about these for warm winter vintage handknits ... 

rather jolly what!

We have been finding lots of vintage clothes ...

 and they seem to be selling well ...

 which is good ...

its just all the washing and ironing .. guess who gets that job!

So that's been us for the last few weeks ....

hope you are all okay ... 

I've missed you ... 

do drop me a line and say hello!

xxx