The Friendly Frugaleers: Saving and chatting as the heatwave rolls on.

[BestFootForwardAndThenSome]

Now that I've put that in the title, we will almost certainly get snow. LOL!

Welcome to nearly-August.

We're at Center Parcs so about 30 mins from Bath. Absolutely tipping it down here. It always rains when we come here I think today will be spendy.

Glad you made it seacow

about the notice and deposit. But the relief to be finally out of there must be amazing Cag

Sorry to here you are still poorly sunny

I had campy and it gave me IBS afterwards so I had to use a tablet probiotic for a while.

That house looks fab em just right.. I think you should snap it up if you can esp as it has planning permission. Hope after Tuesday all goes well.

We tend to use sainsburys /waitrose/ co-op own brands for cleaning depending on where we are shopping at the time and whats on offer. I do currently have a couple of the method hand soap dispensers. as for bath and beauty product I dont ever wear make up ( well perhaps a bit of lippy and mascara if going to a wedding type thing sometimes) but we do use a lot of skin and hair products between us .
At the moment because I had two beauty advent calendars at christmas we have tons of small bottles of various stuff.. one was Cowshed which is great because I love their range. (Tkmaxx are also good for Cowshed).. i have also Jo Malone-d a bit recently ( bought some more at the airport going away on hol I have to say that I blame you em for this , it was your recommendation for their woodsage and seasalt which go t me ont othis.

other expense ( although its not too bad as it lasts ages and i only buy it when their are Quidco offers ) is Aveda daily damage hair repair , which i use every day as a leave in

Well its really raining and stormy here to day and likely to last all day it seems.. I must look out my jeans..

A question for the expert knitters: I notice that s lot if people have knitted that deschains pattern (originally made for an Aran weight yarn) in Drops Belle, which is dk. How does using a dk yarn affect the gauge - do you just use smaller needles (so say 4mm as usual) and knit to a much bigger size, or do you use bigger needles and knit to a slightly bigger size? I can’t quite figure it out from the info people have put in the notes. I just like the colours of the Drops Belle better.

Thanks Fluffy. I think something like that is going on with ds a he's still having abdominal pain after four weeks. I'm pouring in the Yakults. Hope to goodness that the test they did finds out wot's up with me. Never touching a bird's nest again.

Love Center Parcs holiday sounds nice. I'm tempted to go on one as I know the swimming pools are great there. Ds really needs to learn to swim pretty urgently now and access to swimming pools here is difficult as they're all roped off for swimming lessons all the time. I'm wondering if I should bite the bullet and just go to a center parc for a week and just spend the whole time in the water. #splosh

Hmm, i guess I’d need to swatch and work out how many stitches I’d need to get the same width. I can add pattern repeats for length. I might try it in the Aran weight first but be naughty and stock up on the dk too (also in the sale) and then I can knit a lovely red one if I like it!

But laksa isn’t it lovely?! Woodsage and sea salt. Mmm. I’m currently using tommy girl. I saw it on sale ages ago and bought a couple of bottles. Took me right back to my teenage years.

I may request some jo Malone grapefruit for my birthday.

We have rain. Lovely cool rain. Catface seems happy.

We’ve been using antibacterial and bleach sprays for the kitchen and bathrooms. But I want to start using method. New house. For the new house.

em that house looks great, so much potential.

sunny sorry to hear you’re still poorly.

Momentous day here, I now have a teenager! I did show him the Harry Enfield clip on YouTube of Kevin turning into one, lol. He’s now gone out with his brother and DH to go on a barge trip. Long story but DH has been helping a friend renovate a barge and today it needs moving to its permanent mooring, so we thought the boys might enjoy it, working the locks etc.

They’ll be back in a few hours then we are going out for a meal with my parents, sil and her kids. My brother couldn’t come down due to work. Got to nip to the venue a bit earlier to drop off a cake and some absolutely gigantic balloons, just to make it a bit special (embarrass him!)

Sunny our leisure centre (council) do 2 week intensive swimming lessons in the summer. Woulds that be worth exploring?

Pleased you made it after your epic drive.
The house sounds ideal em.

I'm a slattern. Dh loves anti bacterial spray - I hate it.
I'm a soap and hot water in the kitchen girl. I don't have different chopping board - I wooden block but do veg first.
Zoflora my kitchen floor once a week, mil cleans my bathrooms and down stairs toilet once a week - she uses bleach, disinfectant and toilet cleaner as she puts them on my shopping list now and again. (I pay her). Don't religious wash hands before for but always after toilet.
Fairly healthy here. DS and dd have had 1 sickness but each in their lives. And now we are Jinxed.

Maybe I should leave now ahem

Going to get the train to Newcastle today. Going to a free museum, suit and holiday shopping.

It's pouring down

Rubbish about the extra month cag.

wreck no wonder you are proud of your ds. Yes it can be an expensive hobby but if he has talent then the bike and clothing manufacturers might step in. My DS is well known for his bikepacking and 24hr mountain biking. Alpkit, Rapha, Use Exposure, Findra and Fire Pot supply him with everything bar his shoes and lid for his adventures. He also does talks which brings in money and keeps his profile polished. Older riders are another source of goodies.... Hand me downs are a great source of cheap things and then they can be put on eBay.

Sunny to get the tension right I loop the yarn around my pinky, over the next 2 fingers and use my index finger to direct the yarn over the needles. It is the method used for continental style but works for both
styles. It tensions the yarn really evenly so long as I don't grip it. As an aside have a whirl at continental style knitting...it is much faster once you get the hang of it.

Sea that is such a long dreary drive to Inverness. The destination is worth it though. On your way back there is a really good cafe in Penrith called Cranston's. Just off the motorway with plenty of parking. So much better than Tebay services and there is a service station just there too, although I normally use the Morrisons just along the road past the station.

It is pouring down here. The garden is pleased. And I am still in bed.

For some reason that house didn't come up first time I looked & I did wonder about the house that was closest in price but next time it did & it made much more sense.

Epic drive seacow

Sunny if pools are already set up for lessons couldn't ds attend lessons there?

Ds is up downstairs, alone, he was clamouring all over me in bed and I couldn't hack it dd is still sleeping and I want to sleep but probably won't when he's awake

Sunny I really hope you find out what the issue is.
Currently there is a Salmonella outbreak linked to cucumber in ready prepared salads -129 reported cases in the UK.
Even so as your issues have been going on for a while I would really push for investigation if you havent already.

Sea I had a look at the ones made with Belle and they look much more fitted and less drapey.
Im not so keen-I want the open drapey fabric but you can achieve that with Belle.
I would swatch and see what fabric you get on different size needles.When you get a fabric that you like ,then count the stitch es per inch and then this will guide you as to which size to cast on.
Bit fiddly but worth to ensure you get the result you like.
Im going to get more yarn and do the cardigan on the bomull lin plus get more for the top -I might get Belle as I want navy.
Love that there are so many knitters here.
Its fantastic for relaxation and doing something for yourself

life snap! I just came on to say I have booked train tickets £52 for 6 returns. It is our sunday outing, and we were heading down to Windermere, but since its going to tip it down all day, thought again. Will take sarnies for the train (which will be exciting in itself, ds has only been on a train once, and he was 2 then). And put the chicken in the slow cooker for tea. Must rouse my troops.

You're spot on seacow just extra length and a quick pattern swatch for the size for width. I don't like too loose and lacy (using dk on 5mm pins for example), so scale up instead. I rarely follow a pattern properly either.

Am taking my pinks to knit pigs on the train. I have already made more than enough to pay for the train tickets this weekend.

Dp had compilobactor (sp) he was terribly poorly for a long time. We are pretty much bomb proof, bar him.

Life Sounds as if I should get someone else to do my cleaning. Clearly the answer.

They also do intensive swimming courses here, but ds has had so many swimming lessons this year that I think he'd explode if I signed him up for more. I think we might be better just pottering in a swimming pool for a bit to let him practise. Thanks for the thought though.

Thanks for the knitting tips Unescorted. I'll have a look at continental knitting. I like fast.

It's really quite cool and rainy here, and I'm honestly quite relieved. It's been so hot, and I'm starting to feel as though we should have a salt-lick hanging from the door like cows have. Glad to be back to a bit of normality, just for a little while.

The pattern is loose and lacey Lonely 😂
I will be doing mine on 6.5/7mm

lonely is the Windermere train running again? I thought it was then it wasn't and then taken over by the heritage lot.. then by Northern Fail and then stopped again. I generally love traveling by train but the new timetable is driving me mad. I cannot guarantee that I will be where I need to be at the time I said I would.

£8 Tesco shop.

I'm so tired today 😩 I'm getting too old for all this going out and having a life lark 😉 I bought myself a latte and pastry (medicinal really) £3.50.

Currently on my lunch break, just office stuff left today unless any more calls come in.

sunny I think centre parks would be perfect for you, dds swimming always came on loads after a holiday that involved a pool!! Otherwise I echo what the others said about an intensive course, my dd did a few, the lessons are usually only half an hr so don't eat into your day much. Swimming is so important, life skill really, it was the one club I insisted on for dd. Has your dh got some time off over the hols? Maybe he could take ds if you're still ill/recuperating.

Generally I don’t think I’d want it too loose but this is a loose style anyway so it might work okay in bigger needles. Anyway, I’m not doing that after all... I’m using the Aran weight stuff for the loose top, as per the pattern, and then I bought some of the Belle to make a stripey jumper. I liked so many of the colours I couldn’t choose! I found gorgeous pattern and even allowing for 16 skeins (in case I want to make it bigger /longer) it’s still going to be s bargainous jumper! Pattern is this:

www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/rhapsody-5

The yardage is an almost exact match so the pattern should work well. I bought a teal, grey and yellow to do the stripes and also red, dark violet and grey . I have been very bad and I hold Quite entirely responsible 😂😂. Also a bit extra to make a purple cardigan for DD. My projects are really piling up now so I’m off to cast on! We went for a wander round the village but everything is shut and rain is forecast so we’re havibv a quiet afternoon at home, unpacking, tidying and knitting

Wreck you’ll spend the next 15 years scrimping to support DS’s expensive new hobby and then when he’s 19 he’ll hit the big time and buy you a lovely big house with his prize money

Mammy are you still on hols?

Have good days out everyone!

Hi girlie going out on a school night is a killer I did that a few weeks ago, was wrecked the next day, your night out sounded fun

We came home from holidays yesterday, lazy day today

Thanks Girlie. We'll have a ponder about holidays with swimming pools I think. Preferably outdoor ones as indoor ones are very loud, so my men tell me.

Tbh, we live about 200 yards from an outdoor swimming pool and if we could just get a grip of ourselves and walk down the hill we could probably swim in that. I hear it is approximately the same temperature as the arctic, but they do sell ice cream.

Lovely brunch out with friend and husband and kids. It rained. We ate outside under cover. Her youngest dd is a month younger than ds and about half the size! So squishy and lovely. We switched babies. Baby girl loves a selfie!

Her older boys ran around the grounds of the Manor House we were at got muddy and wet. Dh and her dh joined them. So I’ve got an insight into life with boys!!

We sorted enterance as have membership and got them all in for free. They paid for brunch. All local ingredients. Super tasty and very relaxed.

Ds has come home, had a nap and is now giving dh a dental exam (or in real terms he’s having a feel about in dh’s mouth....)

I’ve culled my underwear drawer. Said goodbye to half my pants (had too many anyway and half I don’t even wear), have folded laundry, put a wash on, tidied up the bathrooms and have stuffed loads of “I’ll take that to work” stuff in my bag to take to work. Also done a meal plan and a shopping list. And cleaned out catfaces litter box. Emptied and washed the box. Oh and have sorted the box where the paperwork goes to die.

Paperwork has been sorted into the following piles:

• mine
• dh
• house (bills to pay/Check if paid, fire cert stuff, lawyer stuff....)
• house stuff for new owners (minutes of meetings, accounts, instructions for appliances etc)
• crap. The crap has been filed in the bin.

Meal plan
Monday - prawn courgette and lemon risotto;
Tuesday- veg chillie
Wednesday - Jamie Oliver peanut butter chicken
Thursday - veggie curry
Friday - antipasti with homemade foccaccia and wine.
Saturday - slow cooker Chinese sticky honey sesame chicken.
Sunday - at dparents.

Oi! Sea its not my fault
I love the Bommul Lin and I want either white or navy possibly both so have ordered the 4 balls I need for the cardi and will hang on until they get more in stock.
I agree even drapey stuff needs to be just right and correctly proportioned .Unless you are of course a 6 ft size 8 model,which of course I am 😂.
Thats a lovely top ,happy knitting!