August round up

 No crafting spend as I've done very little crafting, it's gardening and reading time, just a few bits for the garden, mainly spring bulbs and flowers. I have not added the cost of water feature, it was hubby's purchase, I probably would have not bothered.

10 Books read this month.

Nothing in the house, just normal bills, I did spend whilst away with daughter and children, we have also been giving them more treats whilst they are on school holidays and helping out with uniform cost. It all mounts up, but I feel it's part of being grandparents, hoping these memories stay with them.

My stats here have gone crazy like so many others, I have no idea, it does not bother me, I can't see anything malicious it this, just another satiation where our modern digital world encroaches into our lives. 

No food waste, we have a few bags of produce homegrown in the freezer, my second composter is almost full and working well, the only food waste which goes in our bin is onion peelings and the seeds from peppers. I always pop the rind of lemon and oranges along our shelf by the seating area outside, they do help to keep flies at bay.

I have again added a couple more pounds, I am more active than before, but the struggle is becoming harder as I age, I flip between got to knuckle down and at my age should I bother.

July round up

Nothing again on craft, hubby purchased all the cushions requirements, the garden is mostly sorted, I did get my seeds all half price and then the cost of my second composter, a necessary purchase, I also got a pond oxygenator to help keep the water clean.

I got 4 T shirts from Weird fish online, all in the sale, plus an extra 15% off, all pure cotton.

7 Books read this month.

We have had a good household month, got a second parasol for the seating area, if we sit out in the mornings our existing one only covers half the seating area, it will also help give extra shade when the little ones are here.  

No food waste, our portion size is perfect, we are not popping to the shops so often, you know the scenario pop in for bread and come home with a bag full of food. I am freezing any extras from my home harvest, often only small amounts but over a few days it amounts to a portion for us both. 

I've put on weight this month, sat watching tennis for 14 days and munching on lemon sherbets, I now need to get going and work those pounds off, for sure it will be harder to get rid of them.

Doing your bit

Last year our overshoot day for our earth was 1st August, this year it's 24th July, so we have moved 8 days in the wrong direction, each year our planet gives us so many renewable resources, but as a whole humans use much more than that each year, the need is to bring the deficit back to just one earth. 

Not all countries are equal, UK's overshoot day was 17th May, our usage means we require 2.6 of earths resources each year to live as 'we' do. Commercialism is the biggest issue, so many in our world want the latest 'must have' things are made not to last long, or be repaired. 

This is how I live my life, not perfect but the best I can do. 

I know one person can't change the world, but we can change out tiny corner.

So many old skills are fading away, it's sad, it's our heritage, our world these days is buy it whilst it's on trend, then replace with next trend, how long can we live like this, reusing through charity shops does mean things have a second life, but manufacturing uses our valuable resources. This got me thinking about the skills we have which our children are not so interested. I sew, knit and a bit of crochet, my eldest daughter used to do all 3, youngest daughter has never tried any of them, all repairs, alterations are brought to me. I recently stitched all Will's badges on his new army jacket. 

Gardening is in my blood, it's a chore for daughters, which is a shame, I can lose hours pottering outside, it's my place to relax. I do love to show the grandchildren what I am growing and get them to try some. Cooking to a recipe, no one has time anymore, daughter occasionally will make a cake as a treat, OK I'm not much of a cook, I'm a can cook but prefer not too.

So many of the blogs I visit live similar lives to me, we do our best, some would say we are old fashioned, and if I am, I'm proud of it, I too for years craved all the fine things, working long hours for a house and lifestyle I was too tired to live, too much stuff cluttering my home and life. Now we live simply, Amazon still delivers a few parcels here, we do try and purchase locally if we can, we walk past our car to our village or catch a bus to town, with family spread around the country we are not yet ready to give up our car. 

June round up

 Very little on craft, I have not included the cost of the tunic material to make the cushions, hubby paid for it. I have credits shown on my garden list it's for the raised bed and metal table and chairs I sold, I managed to get new hurdles for my raised veg beds and a couple low metal fence edging panels. 

I got more new clothes, 2 pair of shorts and 4 T shirts, all on sale.

My half year figures are better than expected, selling two items helped bring my spend back to where I wanted it. I have loads of nice clothes, I don't need sandals, so again I'm happy with the half year figure. 

3 Books read this month. 

We managed to turn a 'no spend month' into another expensive one, we did sell both our wooden and metal furniture sets for a decent price and we got 10% discount off the new set, it was always planed to get new, just not yet. Plus a few things inside.

We are eating small harvest, a few bits have gone into the freezer in order not to waste anything, we have been enjoying the strawberries this year, they are huge and so many of them.

My weight has settled at the lower end, still too high, I am more active and tired most evenings. 

May round up

 Nothing on crafting, most of my time is outside, gardening spend was much better, over half was for landscaping and compost, I don't have much room for new plants, but already in 5 months I have spent almost £500, I was hoping to keep my spend under £1000 this year, which I think is a lost cause. I did purchase a new pair of shoes, a modern design of deck shoes, plus a couple cotton T shirts and 2 pairs of shorts, a similar amount was sent to recycling bins, hubby was commenting I was looking scruffy. 

4 Books read this month

It's been an expensive month, our bedroom is huge so the carpet was expensive, plus the cost of the rendering of our outside wall, this was all planned in our budget. We also got a new floor fan which links to Alexa, for our bedroom and new curtains. Hubby also got a modern electronic wall calendar, he does love his tech.

We are starting to eat small harvest, I only pick what we need, our freezers are full, so we have saved as we are using the meat and fish we already have, I am reluctant to run them down, there is so much uncertainty in our world.

Hubby and I have started walking again, we both need the exercise, it should help me tone up. My weight is much the same as last month. I am moving much more, gardening does keep you fit, I'm outside everyday.

April round up

 One small spend on craft, I got a reel of tape for my garden bunting, I already had the fabric. Another high month on garden spend, with loads of plants regrowing, I have few spaces to fill. I also got myself another fleece in the sales.

Books, 6 read this month

The car was expensive this month, it has been cheap to run over the years, so we are not complaining. It's been expensive month inside, we changed a bathroom cabinet and window blind, both have been up since we moved here in 2009, we also got some wall panels for behind our bed. Most of the paint we already had, deciding to keep the colours the same. Expensive time having fun with the grandchildren, but making memories is so much fun. I have passed on loads of things we did not want to return to our bedroom. 

No household food waste, my compost bin is working hard, the only two items I don't compost is onion skins and bits of peppers.  

I'm happier with my weight, lost a couple of pounds, not huge but the scales are going in the right direction, I am moving more and feeling good.

March round up

 Just a tiny craft spend, but it is the gardening season, I had not planned for the £30.99 spent on netting which hubby got me, I did add it to this list. March is always expensive, so many lovely plants, it's shocking how quickly these smallish amounts together become huge.

Nothing on clothes, I'm hoping for a nice low spend year. Hubby got me a jumper for Mothers day.

I have read 12 books this month.

Household spend was good, we already had all the outside paint left over from last time, expensive time at vets, Lilly is now sorted.

All's good in the kitchen no waste, watching what we eat, it's all normal for us. 

Weight, not shifting any pounds, I swing between I need to lose the pounds and at my age should I worry, I have lost a couple of pounds this week, I am going to try harder through April, in hope I can get back into more pairs of my trousers. 

February round-up

 I purchased some new linen for my cross stitch, I do have loads, sadly none are white, I spend most of my time reading, garden spend not too bad, nothing on clothes or footwear. 

I have read 10 books this month

We needed nothing for the house, car had it's MOT, it passed no issues, just the cost of two new tyres. We looked at our finances this month, with so many prices rising, we wanted to ensure we were on a good path, firstly because hubby changed broadband, our mobile phones and joined a price held gas and electric contact, our bills have not gone up as high as we feared, we are saving money on the mentioned contracts, it really does pay to change suppliers often. We did have an extra expensive, daughters windscreen on her car has a huge crack, which is not covered by her insurance policy, to replace would take a huge chunk her savings, so we paid half. 

No waste food at all, my focus on food is now what is in the little processed food we purchase, looking at labels and trying to avoid all the different oils and sugars/sweeteners added to prolong shelf life or to make ingredients cheaper. Swapping to better choices, I have never drunk fizzy drinks, I dislike any type of cola and eat very few snack bits, so a huge chunk of the market we already ignore.

The couple of pounds put on in December are lingering, I am trying to be good and a few pounds. I am becoming more active again, and trying to cut back on chocolate, which is always my downfall.

January round-up

 No spending on craft, nothing needed, I have been reading, I did get one pack of seeds for my garden, £10 spent on clothes and got a new pair of slippers. 

I have read 11 books this month, average 2 per week, I'm missing my garden. 

I finished off a great set of bargains this month, back in November I saw my favourite perfume at a good price at Superdrug, plus a offer of 4 points for every pound spent, I got the perfume and £20 in points on my card (hubby gave me the perfume as my Christmas gift), then my second favourite perfume was half price £30, so I got a bottle, used my points and paid only £10. Both bottles will last me all year. 

We have used £12.50 of Tesco vouchers, most of hubby's £50 Co-op gift card, and his blue light card 10% off the cost of our slippers, the customer in front of us used his card, so we did the same.

We got two radiator fans for the house, we are now much warmer even turned the temperature down one degree, we have changed our broadband and now have a saving each month with better download speeds. I have also changed my mobile phone provider, again making a saving. Our new phones were expensive, not the latest models, but over the next 24 months we will be making savings, plus we had a good price for our old phones, we are both loving the improved cameras. 

We have been nibbling through our Christmas foods, no waste, we did finish our Christmas cake, we both love rich fruit cake. We are eating out of our freezers, both were full, now we can see some space.

My weight recorded at the start of the month was higher than I wanted, but not as high as it has been in previous years, I was 7 pounds heavier in 2020 and 2018. I have since 2014 made a note of my weight on Jan 1st each year, 2016 and 2021 were my lightest starts to the year. My aim is to get rid of the extra pounds before the spring arrives, in truth I will be happy not to put on any more weight.  

December round up

 December is always a low spend month on my crafting and garden, I have loads of seeds from my monthly subscription to Kitchen garden, so for now nothing is needed. I spent just under £400 on clothes and shoes this year, which is pleasing, in December I did get a new pair of ankle boots from Clarks outlet online store, just the style I wanted, heavily reduced, two pairs of trousers and a new jumper for Christmas day.

This is my yearly total, I did hope at the beginning of the year to keep my spend under £1000, which I failed, but we both get so much joy from our outdoor space, and enjoy my small harvest. 

Here my totals by craft/garden spend, this is where I see how my crafting is changing, it's a true list of what I spend, but not what I use, as I have loads of fabric, yarn and embroidery items. Another expensive year in the garden, after the refit I did purchase more structural items, which should be a one off purchase.

We ignored Black Friday (which last for weeks), no impulse purchases, no spending spree on our recent trip to London, no Boxing day sales, hubby has been sorting and removing some of his stuff from the house. 

We had a few new white goods items for the kitchen and decorated loads of the house, we do have a few bits we want to change in the coming year. 

My weight is a couple of pounds higher, something I can deal with in January, I have been over half a stone heaver at this point in the year twice, so I'm happy where I am.

I do consider we have had another good year, most of our spending is under control, and we are able to save.

November round-up

 I am still using items from my craft stash, the extra balls of yarn for my brothers blanket are not on here, that was taken from our Christmas gift total, not much in the garden, which is often the case at this time of year. I have purchased a few Christmas bits, and being lazy I've not recorded my spend, nothing expensive,  just small bits, even the poinsettia blooms were only £6 each.

Household spending was OK, we had to replace our kettle, the lid was sticking and we did purchase a bigger speaker for Alexa, we both love music and our current model would not stay paired with our sound-bar, which meant switching on the TV every time we wanted music. I think we have all we need for Christmas, other than fresh bits. I paid daughter £50 for Lilly towards her vet bills.

No waste again, we even made pumpkin soup with the real pumpkin I had in my display, not many harvest from the garden, just leeks and parsnips, both are smaller. 

I've been without my fitbit, so I am trying to move as much as I can, my weight is much the same, I did have my pre diabetic and cholesterol blood test this month, both results came back the same as last year, which was very pleasing.

October round-up

 Nothing on craft, I did get a couple of balls of yarn but hubby paid for them as I used them on the raffle prize blanket, so not recorded here, the new shed was expensive but very useful and just a few bulbs, if I had not got the shed it would have been a very cheap month. 

Household spend was higher, we got the new towels for our bathroom, and purchased a few christmas and birthday gifts, our soup maker broke and hubby found an slightly upgraded model, plus the cost of paint and new stairs lights. All our holiday cost had already been paid, our spending money was low as we had loads of euro's already. 

We picked our last crop of runner beans, we froze two bags, for two meals, we are back to eating soups at lunchtime, so any bits needing to be used are added to soups, so nothing has been wasted again. 

My fitbit was working again, I reinstalled it on my phone, no change, so I let the watch fully run out of power, something it has never done, I charged it and it started updating data to the apt, sadly this week it has started playing up, so I have given up on it. On the plus side I get to wear a wrist watch I have owned for years and love, but £12 for a battery! Nothing to say about my weight, the weight I am is where my body naturally wants to be.

September round-up

 Another good month, I purchased 3 balls of yarn for my blanket, I also got 2 balls of 2ply yarn for socks, I love my thinner ones, my garden was a low spend, just some shorter poles and a few plants and spring bulbs, my spending is back to it's normal levels.

I have purchased two new pairs of jeans, mine were looking old and I wanted to come away from skinny legs.

A good household month, nothing broke or needed replacing, I have started adding extra bits in my shopping basket, I have all the ingredients for my christmas cakes, and we have a good supply of cleaning items, toilet rolls, I like to shop this way, so in the final 3 months of the year, I have a bit more spare cash for the expensive christmas season, my god, I've said the 'C' word twice. 

We had a disaster last Sunday the kitchen freezer door had not been closed properly,  the bottom two baskets were OK, in the top one the contents had defrosted, mainly ice cream and lollies, we used two packs of bacon and one pack of sausages, but threw away a few bits. Luckily in this basket we mainly had part packs, but we will have to be careful with the freezer door. No other waste, we follow a careful regime of portion size, and cooking only what we need.

My weight, nothing to say, it's the same ongoing battle, your kind comments on last months post were very welcome. My fitbit is not connecting to my phone again, I get this issue with every model I have, I have decided not to purchase another, they are expensive and if they are not lasting much longer than a year, it's a waste. I have found out my watch to wear again.

August round up

 No spend on craft, and just seeds and bulbs, the new pond container and bits to finish the area, so a better month, very happy to be under £100.

We purchased a new washing machine, ours was making strange noises, its years old, plus my trusty Dyson stopped charging, it was four years old, so again no complaining, hubby found a Shark cordless at a very good price to replace it.  We are not doing much DIY, we do have one project our bedroom and the stairs, it's planned, just need to get going, we decided to leave our wooden floor to a later date. 

Again no food waste, I have managed to freeze some homegrown tomatoes, not as many as previous years, we do have a few more harvest to come. 

As for my steps and weight, I'm back to square one, I'm averaging about 5,500 steps per day, gardening, housework and the grandchildren keep me active, BUT the weight is back up, everything I do is only ever temporary, I was chatting to my sister-in-law, she said I should not worry and be who I am, I don't know if I can do that.

Overshoot day

I show this every year, it's one of the most important dates we should study, for years we have been taking more resources than our Earth can replenish, this charts shows how each year we use more. There are many organisations who produce information, and loads who actively work to changing the date. This year humans will use the resources of one and three quarter earths.

Another great chart, it shows each country and when their own overshoot day is, as you can see UK's date is June 3rd, so here we use double the renewable resources, we all need to see these dates, they are scary, this is our world. You can see previous years dates here. 

Here we try and live by this thought, we can't change this huge planet, but we can and do change our little bit, we look at one use plastic, it's a very convenient and sturdy packaging, but look carefully and you can avoid it, sadly we do not have a packaging/zero waste shop close by.

I try all through the year to be conscious of what we use, I have for years stopped over purchasing clothes and household goods, we use what we have, and if we need to replace to get the best quality we can afford in hope things last longer. Living with less is so rewarding, less days spent shopping for stuff we did not want, looking at the shops sales and pile it high sections and walking by. My sister says I have gotten 'tight', we do go out together, but I don't shop like I did years ago, she asked what did I purchase on our recent trip, my reply, 'nothing, it's all just dust collectors', she did mutter the words 'you've changed'

We are also aware of working conditions in other countries, who use unsuitable labour (children), with terrible pay and life styles to give richer countries cheap products, the cost to the earth of shipping items across vast seas. We live in a commercial world, governments need the taxes on what we spend to prop up their budgets, but look at the profits made by so many companies, it's obscene. Here in UK we have terrible polluted rivers, for decades nothing has been done, the shareholders got richer, now in crisis, companies want people to pay more, this is not how our world should be. 

I'm far from perfect, but being aware and trying to do the best I can, which is what the bottom photo is begging us to do, loads won't care and carry on as they have always done, this is not our Earth, it belongs to the children of the future, and we need to ensure we improve and leave something they can live on. I just hope masses of people realise in time to change and improve the date. 

July round up

 Much lower spend, I got more fine netting for the garden and a longer arm for the hose, which saves my back from stretching. I have been purchasing half price seeds, all have good use by dates, I hope to get nice harvest next summer.

No waste again, I am making loads of compost for the garden, which is very useful, I love how the peelings and all the stuff I cut back from the garden can be turned into such a useful product.

One expense in the house, hubby got a 2 drawer air fryer, which he loves, the baskets are a bit smaller, which for the two of us is better, we gave daughter our old one, which she is loving. 

My steps are much lower, but spending 2 weeks sat watching brilliant tennis, that was always going to be the case, most days it was raining, so being inside was not a problem. Weight is stable, not going up, which I will take as a win.

June round up

 Another month of spending in the garden, mainly the last few plants, I did get a huge bag of bark and some slug pellets for the flower beds. No crafting spend.

The bottom line is my half year figures, which shows the extent of my garden spend, I'm not going to hang my head in shame, it is what it is, as I have always said, these list are not about saving money, just for me to look back and see how I spend my money. Each box has a red triangle in the corner, which note I have inserted comments, which when I look, tells me in detail what I have spent. 

I did get a not needed pair of sandals, these days if I see a style I like I will get them, I do have enough sandals to last me many summers. 

We had an extra expense for the new kitchen floor, it should have been replaced months ago, but I could not see a design I liked, in the end, we chose the best to match, it does look good down.

As always no waste, we did have visitors, but we planned and shopped well, we did the same before our weekend away, ensuring anything left in the fridge would be OK when we got back. 

I have managed to keep the weight off, I have not lost any more, my steps are over 7,000 each day, even on wet days, so I count that as a win. Whilst my weight is similar as last month, I have noticed my waiste is slimmer, I'm wearing trousers which I've not worn for a few years, which is a joy.

May Round-up

I think my cheaper year has flown out the window, we knew the garden would need bits, but it's gone to another level, this year has started as the most expensive start in the last 15 years. My list was never about saving money, just a reminder for myself, what I was spending my money on. Little craft spend.

I did purchase a new cardigan to wear when we are at The Trooping of the Colours, everything else I am wearing I've had a while. 

I am having issues with Blogger, a few of the bloggers I follow are not showing up on my reading list, I have no idea why it's happening, I have not made any changes to my pages. It's a pain, I hope it rights itself soon. 

We did have some food waste at the beginning of the month, being ill, neither of us was bothered to check, it does not happen too often, some bits I did pop into the freezer, now we are back controlling, what we purchase and what we eat. 

Bonus month on my weight, I have lost weight, and kept it off, I feel good about it, hopefully I can now keep losing a pound here and there. My step are up, trying to hit the 7,000 mark most days.

April roundup

 Another expensive month, hubby found the ready made willow woven panels for the veg beds at a great price, they were not needed, a complete luxury, plus more house plants and plants for flower bed. I have promised hubby I will cut back on my spending for the garden, the past few months have been expensive, with soil, bulbs, seeds and structural bits, our garden does look good. Nothing on crafting, it's outside garden time mostly here. I have not added the new garden table on my spending as hubby purchased it, I would have kept our old table longer.

I have spent on clothes, I got 2 T shirts from M&S, some pants, and a fleece, which I had been looking for and was on sale, I don't often see a fleece without a hood which I do not like. 

We also had the cost of the final vet bill for Grace.

My composter is full again, using our kitchen waste which is raw veg peeling, without onion or peppers, adding teabags, ground coffee, and more garden waste, we again only purchase what food we need, and ensure we use it, we don't often find out of date items, we have a good system in fridge and pantry.

My weight is back up, fat certainly clings as I get older, my steps are better and without all the chocolate from Easter life is settling down, sadly few walks as again the weather is unkind.

March round-up

 Another month where most of my spend is in the garden, I got a great bargain with some needle felting rovings, I am happy to be using my craft stash, it does please me to see it shrinking slowly. Again most of the garden purchases were for structure, I should not need any more compost or manure this year. I have over spent this month, but 2 metal Obelisks were needed for my raspberry bed. My wildlife pond added to this high total. Later in the year I do get a couple very low spend months which will balance my spending out.

It's been a very expensive month on the home front, with both a new cooker and fridge freezer, we had both in our previous house and we have been here over 14 years. Plus vet fee's for our dear Purdy, we cancelled pet insurance when both cats stopped leaving the garden, the monthly premiums were getting higher each year as they aged. Our trip away was not expensive, the hotel was paid for earlier this year, and we hardly spent anything.

Waste is as normal for our household, all the peelings go into our composter, along with coffee and tea, I cut the bags open, we only bin pepper and onion skins, neither is composted. 

My weight has gone the wrong way, this again has not been a good month, I decided to allow March to happen, Mothering Sunday and Easter, and start again in April, having said that my steps are much higher, best total for months, so something is heading in the right direction.