Crochet Crazy

Good Evening Lovely Readers 


I can report that Little Sister is now back home and all seems well.  Having spent much of the day waiting around, it was good to escape the hospital and get back to normal life.


What I did gain was some time to just sit and crochet. I completed this:

This is such a lovely book, full of super little projects. I used bamboo again which I am in love with. It has the coolness of cotton but is so, so soft.

I saw this book shown on Linda's blog http://lindacraftycorner.blogspot.co.uk/ along with this little capelet made up and  fell in love with it straight away. Do go and have a look at Linda's blog - her crochet is divine.

 The capelet looked so lovely that I thought I just had to have a go. I am rather pleased with how it is coming along.... I am using cotton so it will be somewhat thicker,  but I do love it....

Do you like it?

What are making right now?

I have also had a go at starting a patchwork quilt. Debbie over at Nanny's Place http://myblog-nannysplace.blogspot.co.uk/  makes it look so easy but it took me about 3 hours to cut up around 15 squares. Now I am sure it shouldn't take that long! All hints and tips welcome.....

Anyway, it's been a tiring few days and I am going to have a bath and an early night.

Hope you are all okay

Love Mrs Thrifty

xxx

Strutting like a peacock..

Good Morning Lovely Readers and a warm welcome to new follower, Gemma


Just a quick post before I rush out to complete Sister's orders tasks, but I wanted to show you who struts down our lane every now and again....

Sorry, the photos aren't great - I snapped him quickly with my phone on the way home yesterday. I have no idea where he lives but he just turns up every couple of weeks and I find it so bizarre to find a peacock strolling down a Suffolk country lane....

Enjoy your Sunday - back later

Love Mrs Thrifty

xxx

Eating from the freezer challenge/cash on the side

Good Morning  Lovely Readers and a warm welcome to Anne-Marie and Tangled Sweatpea,


Now last night was earmarked to enjoy the contents of my secret sister swap but you know what they say about best laid plans.....


Little Sister was rushed into hospital with chest pains on Wednesday and was still there yesterday. Is it something in the air I wonder? (regular readers of my blog will be aware that there have been a few heart scares recently including my own). Anyway, yesterday lunchtime I got a text from Sister requesting removal of her car from school car park and a wardrobe of clothes from her home to be brought in to hospital plus all of her gadgets -  Sister is an unashamed technophile - Ipad, Kindle ... you name it, she has it. It is 25 miles from our house to hers! I set off with Mr Thrifty at 2pm. Arrived at her school, collected car and headed for her home to collect items requested. Left there, shopped at A**a for remaining items and got to the hospital just before 6pm. A NHS employee then told me, at the entrance to the acute cardiac ward, that visiting wasn't until 6.30 and asked if I would like to wait in the relatives' room. At this point my head swivelled much like the scene in the Exorcist and I replied (in Exorcist voice) that 'No, I would not like to wait, I would like to see her now.' 

Well, it had been a long day! She took the bag into Sister who then took control and let me into the ward. I sat with her until 8.30 crocheting and listening to the saga. She has the ward in order and has managed to change her bed because another looked better and also an alarm because hers was damaged... you have to laugh! She had even managed to get Harold, in the next bed, to give her his jelly from tea time! She is now awaiting transfer to a larger hospital in Norwich for an angiogram and possible angioplasty. She is only 45! Unfortunately there is a glut of defunct heart genes coming down from my father's side of the family. Pumpkin and Pie are safe with Nana and I departed with a large bag of washing and further instructions for purchases to be made. Sister is busy writing 'How to organise the world from a hospital bed'.....


On a more pleasant note,  I have been trying to follow the wonderful Sft's challenges all month, but have only just got around to blogging about them. You can find the challenge here:  http://sftandthe101challenge.blogspot.co.uk/


Cash on the side - the idea was to make some extra cash this month, over and above normal income:


A lucky break occurred when Mr Thrifty received a tax rebate. So we comfirtably made our £50.
I also wrote to Mr More Reasons to Shop at..... having found a 'foreign body' in a Spanish tapas dish I had bought and received £25 in vouchers.

I am also intending to sell some stuff on eBay and to do a car boot sale, but am waiting for a) some time and b) some decent weather.


Eating from the Freezer:
We have been shopping simply all month - veggies and fruit, milk, bread etc and trying to empty the cupboards, fridge and freezer. 


For some bizarre reason I can't write below the menus, so I'll sign off here and leave you (if you so wish) to read what we are eating this month. Will I get to enjoy my Secret Sister package tonight I wonder... watch this space............

Have a lovely day

Love Mrs Thrifty

xxx

The menus have looked like this: ( a bit repetitive in places but at least it is fulfilling the challenge)

Weekly Meal Planner
Menus for  May 2012 (beginning Monday 30th April)
	Breakfast	Lunch	Dinner (tea)
Monday 30th April	Poached egg on toast	Vegetable soup + croutons	Chilli (quorn) + rice
Tuesday	Porridge + yogurt	Cous cous salad	Spaghetti bolognaise  (quorn)
Wednesday	Porridge + yogurt	Vegetable soup + oat cakes	Veggie sausages/sausages  + mash + peas
Thursday	Porridge + yogurt + blueberries	Oat cakes + hummus	Wholemeal pasta + pesto Chiabatta
Friday	Boiled eggs + toast	Vegetable soup + croutons	Mozzarella burgers in wholemeal rolls + spelt salad
Saturday	Porridge + yogurt + blueberries	Butternut squash soup + hot bread	Quorn provençale casserole + cous cous
Sunday	Bagels and honey	Spinach + feta tart with roasted vegetables	Cucumber sandwiches Lemon meringue pie
Monday 7th May	Poached egg on toast	Vegetable soup + croutons	Quorn shepherd’s pie carrots
Tuesday	Granola + fruit	Vegetable soup + croutons	Vegetable moussaka Green salad
Wednesday	Porridge + yogurt	Parsnip + parmesan soup + toast	Spinach tortellini + tomato sauce
Thursday	Porridge + yogurt + blueberries	Stir fry tofu, vegetables + noodles	Fish cakes, oven wedges, salsa + beans
Friday	Scrambled eggs + toast	Minestrone soup Oat cakes + hummus	Spinach + feta parcels, oven baked diced potatoes, peas.
Saturday	Porridge + yogurt + blueberries	Spanish omelette salad	Chicken/quorn escalopes Bubble + squeak Apple crumble + custard
Sunday	Granola	OUT	Lemon meringue pie
Monday 14th May	Poached egg on toast	Vegetable soup + croutons	Beans on toast
Tuesday	Porridge + yogurt	Hummus + rice cakes fruit	Quorn chilli + rice/pitta
Wednesday	Porridge + yogurt	Vegetable soup + oat cakes	Veggie sausages  + mash + peas
Thursday	Porridge + yogurt + blueberries	Oat cakes + hummus	Wholemeal pasta + pesto Green salad
Friday	Boiled eggs + toast	Vegetable soup + croutons	Mozzarella burgers + spelt salad
Saturday	Porridge + yogurt + blueberries	Butternut squash soup + hot bread	Quorn provençale casserole + cous cous
Sunday	Mushrooms on toast	OUT	Quorn/chicken korma + nan bread Apple crumble + soya cream
Monday 21st May	Poached egg on toast	Vegetable soup + croutons	Falafel, pitta + green salad (yogurt dressing)
Tuesday	Porridge + yogurt	Cous cous salad	Quorn bolognaise
Wednesday	Porridge + yogurt	Vegetable soup + oat cakes	Veggie sausages/sausages  + mash + peas
Thursday	Porridge + yogurt + blueberries	Oat cakes + hummus	Wholemeal pasta + pesto Chiabatta
Friday	Boiled eggs + toast	Vegetable soup + croutons	Mozzarella burgers + spelt/ burgers in wholemeal rolls
Saturday	Porridge + yogurt + blueberries	Veggie soup + hot bread	Quorn provencale casserole + cous cous
Sunday	Fruit smoothie	Quorn/chicken korma + nan bread Lemon meringue pie	Crumpets
Monday 28th  May	Poached egg on toast	Vegetable soup + croutons	Chilli + rice
Tuesday	Porridge + yogurt	Cous cous salad	Quorn  bolognaise
Wednesday	Porridge + yogurt	Vegetable soup + oat cakes	Veggie sausages/sausages  + mash + peas
Thursday	Porridge + yogurt + blueberries	Oat cakes + hummus	Wholemeal pasta + pesto Chiabatta

Happy Friday with Secret Sister

Good Morning Lovely Readers and a huge, warm welcome to new follower Hazel,


Today I feel very privileged and more than a little happy..


.... it feels like my birthday (except mine was dreadful, so this is far better)...

My "secret sister" arrived today and I am thrilled to bits. The "sister" didn't enclose a note, so I am not sure who it is (PLEASE, please tell me so that I can thank you), but she has thought so carefully about who I am and got it spot on. The contents are so 'me' and all beautifully chosen and considered.... shall I show you?

This is what was inside.........

Scot's tablet - my absolute favourite....

Wonderful, dreamy bath stuff (cruelty-free too).....

Chocolate (fair trade) ... my joint favourite thing....and drinking chocolate ... roll on Friday night - oh yes, it's going to be a jammies and dvd night with 'treats' 

Tiny little scented clay hearts - aren't they sweet. I am going to put these in a dish in the bathroom......

 Simple face wipes - perfect to go in my bag....

 An utterly fabulous sewing book with the most wonderful ideas and projects...

 like these decorated pillow cases...

 lace edged sheets...

 ... and this wonderful, covered footstool...

 And then this delightful home-made bag holder which fits in perfectly with my red and white house...and how did she know that I had been meaning to make one of these for ages.... 

Whoever she is, I can't thank her enough ... she has made my day/week/month......

Thank you

Thank you

Thank you.........

Did you join Carla's Secret Sister Swap?

We should do more of this, if it brings everyone else as much happiness as it brought me ....

Love Mrs Thrifty

xxx

Secret Sister

Good Morning Lovely Readers


Well.... the deed is done.

My secret sister swap is in the post....

I can't tell you what is inside...

...... at least until she receives it.

I can tell you that Carla paired me with someone in the UK ... and she is a follower of my blog, although not a regular contributor.......

More later

Love Mrs Thrifty

xxx

Saving Energy

Good Evening Lovely Readers

Back to a money-saving blog! 

We have very high energy bills in our modest 1960s detached house and I have been desperate to rectify this since we moved here five years ago. We pay, on average, £100 per month each for electricity and gas. On top of this we have two sets of water rates - one for supply of water and one for removal of waste water. Since #2 moved out last Summer and #3 went off to uni last September, the water rates have halved. We have a water meter so this is down to usage and I am thrilled. That still left the huge energy bills.

When we moved in, every room was lit by either one or two of these:
                                   

Some were chrome and others a dull silver; some square and some like this, but all had 4 bulbs. I found these bulbs very expensive to buy - at least £1.99 each - and in spite of what I read, I found that they lasted very little time. Looking at all of our other electrical appliances, I had a hunch that these were the main culprits. So I did a little research.

I found this little grid on the web comparing the wattage of light bulbs:

Comparitive Light Output of Light Bulbs

Ordinary Light Bulb	Low Energy Bulb
40 Watt	7 Watt
60 Watt	11 Watt
100 Watt	20 Watt
150 Watt	21 Watt

A standard bulb lasts around 1000 hours and an energy saving bulb lasts approximately 8000 hours.
Taking the 'low' lifespan figure, the costs of running a 100W bulb for 8,000 hours can be compared.

Costs of Running a Light Bulb for 8,000 Hours Compared:

Low Energy Light Bulb:
Cost of bulb £0.10 (I bought a huge batch at Tesco when they had an offer on).
Cost of electricity = (8,000 hours X 20 watts / 1,000 KWH) x 10p per KWH = £16.00
Total Cost = £16.10

Conventional (Incandescent) Light Bulb
Cost of bulb 8 X 25p = £2.00
Cost of electricity = (8,000 hours X 100 watts / 1,000 KWH) x 10p per KWH = £80.00
Total Cost = £82.00

Just changing one light bulb will save me £65.90 or around £16.00 a year.

In our lounge there were (until today) 2 halogen light fitments with a total of 8 x 50 watt bulbs. So these lights were costing us approximately (because I am not sure exactly how long the bulbs lasted) 8,000 hours X 400 watts/1000 KWH) x 10p per KWH = £320.00 WOW!!!!

£320 - £32.20 (= 2 energy saving bulbs) = £287.80 saving

Today we removed the two fitments in the lounge, one in the hall, one in the dining part of the kitchen, one on the landing and one in a bedroom. Two bedroom fitments were removed a few weeks ago.





for 32 of these


We have replaced 8 of these      

This means that we have changed 32 X 50 watt halogen bulbs (= 1,600 watts) to 8 X 11 watts (= 88 watts)

The 8 fitments that we have already changed should give a saving of £1151.20. This is a truly staggering sum! We have 4 halogen fitments left to change. I am really looking forward to seeing the change in out bills.

I spent £1.49 per ceiling fitment (6), £11.99 each for 3 jewel shades and £1.49 each for 3 cream lamp shades (all QD). I think they look quite pretty.

                                    

How many bulbs have you got that you could change?

PS. I would love any energy experts to comment as I haven't done this before and I am only assuming that I have done the sums correctly. I think we pay more than 10p per KWH too.

How are you saving on your energy bills? If you have tips, do share them.

love Mrs Thrifty

xxx