A Confession to make ...

A challenge which is certainly a "Work in progress...":

This week I went to John Lewis - oh no!  With good intentions of replacing my kettle which has been falling apart over the last few months and our printer which has let us down several times with important documents, and now refuses to print.  Both items we have had for some time and I was comfortable with replacing them, but I somehow ended up in the ladies' fashion department!  I have spoken for some time to my husband about buying a work-type jacket for the warmer weather, which I can wear with work clothes. I do find it difficult keeping warm but at the same time looking smart - chunky cardigans don't really complement my dresses or smart trousers!  But as we are in a year of living on a shoe-string, I'm not sure it comes under the definition of necessity!

I thought today would also be a good time to discuss the terms of  my challenge; I've been meaning to return to this but haven't got round to it so far.  I often get people asking me to 'define necessity' and they seem to think that my challenge must really mean living on the bare necessities (and as a result, judging from their reactions, taking enjoyment out of life to a large extent).  I never intended for this to be an extreme challenge where I denounce all wordly goods; it was more that I had got to a point where I looked around me and saw people buying things simply because they are trendy or say something about their status in society. I realised that I was getting sucked into this commercial frenzy of buying things for the sake of having them - for greed rather than enjoyment or need.  So I still feel I can enjoy my life, go to my exercise classes, go out for the odd meal and drink and see the odd concert - but nothing in excess.  Making sure what I do spend is within my means and thinking about the purpose of the item before buying it: that's the idea.  I am pleased with my progress so far as I have bought very few things that break the rules - as I mentioned in a previous post.

One thing that I never felt before this year was guilt when I did buy something unnecessary - which I guess is a good thing.  And I have acquired a self-discipline that I didn't have before of not visiting shops much. And when I do, I ask myself whether "I need it".  The jackets - yes 2, I have to confess - are certainly breaking the rules and have left me feeling a bit disappointed in myself!  One jacket may have just scraped through as something I could do with for my daily life, but I am not going to dwell on it too much.  Instead I intend to carry on thinking carefully about my purchases and enjoy exploring the world of hand-made goods and home-grown food and try better the next time I enter my favourite shop!

Fashionable fish

I thought I would return to the subject of food momentarily, and discuss my progress on £50.00 a week food shopping.  Unfortunately, although we succeeded easily the first week, spending in weeks 2 and 3 increased to £75.00 which is where the total seems to remain for our weekly food shop.  I think we could have just about done the £50.00 for weeks 2 & 3, but we'd really be cutting some things out and we also had friends over for meals a couple of days in the last week which always increases the food bill (my husband tells me I have a generous heart when it comes to cooking for people!).

I have come to the conclusion that food was never going to be a primary focus for the year; for me personally, this was about restraint on luxuries: the nice top I saw in the high street, the book that looked interesting or the pretty stationery or brightly-coloured utensils from our lovely garden centre and home shop.

Nevertheless, our food bill has certainly shrunk in the last few weeks simply by taking more notice of what we're buying, so that is a good thing.  But I really am enjoying the kitchen more this year - especially spending time making and baking.  I finally tasted my home-made marmalade today and it was delicious! Not the perfect consistency, but really yummy all the same.

You may wonder why 'fish' are in the title of this post when I haven't mentioned the creatures yet!  Well, fish is something we like in this house and we try to buy sustainable fish which is not under threat or farmed.  Chris has started going to a market that sets up every Monday in town near his work. The fishmonger now seems to know his likes and dislikes and understands that the fish will need to be filleted for the wife - without even having to be asked to do it!  I love fish, but I am not as skilled as a cat at eating it and spend hours sifting the fish from the bones - so a good piece of filleted fish is much appreciated!  We tried Gurnard last week - delicious and only £3.00 for a fish provided enough for two people.  Plaice is also very reasonable - £5.00 for a good portion.  Monkfish and sea bass used to be in the 'reasonable' bracket but have become trendy in the fish-market world and so the prices have soared!  It really is worth experimenting with the types of fish.  Our fishmonger is very helpful in describing what type of fish is it - in terms of taste and how to cook it simply, so that takes away some of the apprehension of trying new types.

A friendly-looking Red Gurnard

So although food is not the main focus for my money-saving experiment, it has had quite an impact on what we buy and we have made lots of little savings in various ways.  I think the main triumph for me is that I spend much more time enjoying cooking and experimenting with food.  Also consciously looking for cheap but at the same time, good quality produce, often means that you manage to do a little bit for the environment - such as buying fish that is not endangered and buying fruit and vegetables that do not have excessive packaging around them.  After some time of feeling in a rut about 'what to cook for dinner tonight...?' my enthusiasm for food has returned and all because I simply spend a little more time thinking about what to buy and cook!

Garden in spring

We have returned to normal spring weather with a mix of wind, rain and sun.  So I thought it would be nice to post a few pictures of last month which inspired me to get out into the garden while it was lovely and hot!

Our Magnolia in full bloom - now the petals have dropped and the leaves are coming...

The last week of March has been like mid-summer with temperatures reaching 26c, which has been bliss.  The glorious weather has made the tidying-up much easier and we have all been beavering away.  Although it's very strange to have such temperatures this early in the year, it does mean that the garden preparatory jobs such as tidying and sowing seeds is done much earlier and so we can enjoy the garden for a little longer!

This is Snowy searching for worms!

When the weather is like this, the only tempting place for me is the garden centre in terms of retail.  I have stayed away from beautifully grown plants ready-to-buy and instead headed straight for the seeds and compost.  So far, the sweet peas and dahlias are beginning to emerge in the green house, tubs have been filled with summer flowering bulbs including freesias and irises, and I am slowly building up my collection of vegetables - which are mainly keeping warm in the greenhouse for now.

Two weeks later and back to colder temperatures and a wetter climate again!  Still, it's very good for the garden and despite the temperatures plummeting again, the colours of blossom and tulips are very warming.

Book Binding

The discovery of book binding - my solution to buying pretty note books in stationary shops!

My attempt at stab-binding

Wow!  I was given a weekend course on bookbinding as my Christmas present this year.  So last weekend, I trotted off at 9.15 for two days of creative bliss!  I loved it, it was a very satisfying craft to learn as you could make so much in a very short space of time. It is fairly straightforward to get the hang of and it was a weekend meeting new lovely people and having the chance to immerse myself into something creative and forget life around me for a little time - very relaxing!  So I no longer have an excuse to lurk in beautiful stationery shops stocking up on lovely note books - I can make them and they make fantastic presents: photo albums, picture-books, sketch-books and note-books etc...
I recommend it:  The one I went to was at a local printing workshop called The Red Hot Press: www.redhotpress.org.uk,  but I am sure they are dotted about all over the place.

My collection of hard-bound binding