Spring shenanigans, frugal mischief, Maypole antics, garden faffing, bargain binges, picnic pandemonium, Spaniel loving and Bank Holiday mayhem 😁

[DirtyGertiefromno30]

Welcome everyone, new and old to our lovely supportive frugal thread .

@chimichangaz what an amazing time!!!! You're making me want a holiday in London. All the places you went to sound wonderful. So happy for you!

Forgot to post that I spent £120 on pre school fees. We now pay as she goes for longer days and the free hours are below what she does. Only for a term.

£16 on a poster for OH for father's Day. He mentioned he wanted it and whilst I remembered I bought it. Hoping he doesn't now buy it!! It is the one missing from his collection. He doesn't really do art but does have a couple of arty spaceship posters framed on the wall.

Today DD and I are off to a farm shop that has a play ground but hoping not to spend too much. And maybe off to a park with a man made beach which will be £3. Well take a picnic. Yoga tonight will be £10.

Just having a quick read and tea before starting work.

This might not be the most frugal suggestion drspouse but if the coffee stops serve a purpose, then perhaps just work the costs into your budget properly? When you do save a trip, then give yourself a pat on the back. Can you buy discounted vouchers for it?

Love the hedgehog set up need

What a fabulous immersion in London, chimi! I will think of it today as I do the ALDI run!

NSD yesterday but I am bracing myself for the follow up from the fire risk assessment of the flat which was yesterday. The fella was only in there for 10 minutes, so the process is pretty perfunctory, we’ll see what the recommendations are.

New haircut a bit of an error on my part, but it does mean I will likely save on haircuts while I grow it out! Just as well since I have come across a shoe brand, called Bared, new to me, which promises stylish flats adapted for problem feet. They look great. Not cheap though. In the meantime, I have ordered a pair of Adidas trainers, half a size up from the ones I currently have, which hurt my funny toe. £70 if I decide to keep them.

Lovely sunny day here, enjoy your day everyone.

£38 in ALDI - bought minced beef and pork, and olive oil, which pushed it up a bit. £8 in Sainsbury’s. DS away for a couple of days so we can eat a wider range of vegetable-based dishes, and keep the meat for the end the week. Roast cauliflower and harissa rice tonight.

About to escape noisy dog and go for a head-clearing walk.

Enjoy your walk @BigSkies2022 gorgeous weather today for it. I shall take a look at the shoes as I noticed my flags gave me painful toes yesterday as they are too narrow. Thank you. Oh no, your hair. Too short or a completely wrong doo?

£48 in the farm shop. The fish is so expensive at the counter but I bet it's more delicious and better than what I buy fresh in Lidl. I may start to go once a month, stock up at the farm shop and freeze it. Although I was too shy to ask how to cook it. It's so beautiful I don't want to ruin it but my first time ordering from a counter and I felt a bit timid.

£3 for the beach and playground for me and DD.

I shall ditch yoga tonight so that's £10 saved as I've only just got in from being out at 9.30 and I just want to sit. I know I should go, it's good for my health and mind but oh my goodness I'm tired.

Evening everyone 🤗
Beautiful day here dried 2 loads of washing on the line yay!
Mum fine there thankfully 😁
NSD today ☺️
That fish sounds lovely @Frugal25
expensive but you have to pay the premium . Lovely day with your Dd 😊
My DH is a huge Space and moon fan . He's got a few posters of the landing on the moon and the astronauts but he's not put them up they are still in their tubes . He has been enthralled about Artemis 😁
@chimichangaz that all sounds absolutely amazing, so glad you had such a good time ☺️
Great job on the no spending on any more clothes @bedfrog 👏👏
Oh God @lifelongfrugaleerl am the same , l threw out 2 packs of sausages that cost £5 🙄
I am blinking useless. I hope you are ok lovely don't worry about answering us just take care if yourself 💐
Hope the fire risk went well @BigSkies2022 not heard of these shoes but like @Frugal25 l am going g to have a look too l really need done really comfortable shoes .

Do you have a library nearby? Manchester city library has loads of reading seats so you can just chill. Also a good collection of books 😉

Sorry I have been missing in action.... I have been making good use of my national trust card. I have upped my picnic game... Not quite gingham table cloth, silverware and china but homemade buns. I can hold my head up.

Today I have been making paper mache bees and carrots for the May Queen float. The weather has been kind so no need to use the dehumidifier to dry them. I have been added to the local pub's Mat Queen makers tab so a NSD despite much wine...

Between picnic pride and newspaper recycling this is turning into a no spend week.

Well done @MyAgileHedgehog that all sounds fabulous you are so good getting right I think the spirit of things and picnic snobbery work, love it 🤣

Hi all, I’ve been MIA for a couple of weeks. Some horrible work deadlines have required me to work through most of the night a couple of times and I don’t bounce back as quickly as I used to. I’ve been quite tired and grumpy, so I’ve spared you all that 😂

tbh, work is a bit grim. I dream of retirement and it’s about 15 years away!

Anyway, I have just caught up on the last few pages. Love the hedgehog set-up! And the cushions! And good news on the primary school
places, it really is nail-biting. Sometimes fancy coffees are justified, if it is to sit and be - I would factor it in.

I live in London but am still jealous of people who get to enjoy it especially without kids in tow. There are so many parts I’ve yet to explore or haven’t been to for years. I also aspire to NT retired life and posh picnics. Honestly, this is completely my bag as I love food, baking, cute containers… the lot. A folding stool is in my future. However. I hate wasps. Also my children only like 1970s picnics (rubbish sandwich, crisps, a penguin) and DH doesn’t even eat cheese, which rules out so many delicious picnic options. They are peasants, I need a family that will appreciate me and my pretentious foodie ways 😂

I need to go back and find all the foot advice, blardy plantar fasciitis is the blight of my life.

right, news…. Well, DS’s behaviour hasn’t improved at school, quite the opposite. He has no impulse control at all right now, we’ve got him referred back to a paediatrician for a review but who know how long that will take? He may have adhd on top of asd and so possibly medication will be an option, we shall see. I never thought I would consider medicatation but he - and we - are barely functioning at the moment. School are being fairly supportive, as a special school they are quite tolerant but still they want to move him to a different class (which will really dysregulate him!). We have a short stay of execution on that while they try a couple more things. Also, his school transport is being changed next week - new driver and vehicle - so that will upset him too. And THEN his SEN dentist called, they want him to see a specialist as some of his secondary teeth are not descending as normal. The chances of anyone ever being able to actually treat any problem are practically zero but let’s see.

Money-wise very mixed right now. I have been sticking to my YNAB budgets - just - and still love the feeling of being properly in control. However, I don’t have a massive ‘legal’ expenses budget and we have been quoted thousands to do all the work we need on wills, trusts and LPAs to make our estate SEN-proof for DS. So we’ll have to find that somehow. As most of our money is in equity and I am worth far more dead than alive, this is going to be very painful. Sigh.

still, I must confess that I bought myself a new rucksack for holidays and days out, about £75 I think. But within my personal spends budget, just. This feels like a very long month! I also have 3 people to sponsor for the London marathon.

dd has just sidled up with Top Trumps… I am required.

@ArmDimples have a "meeting" and I will meet you with a picnic and a NT card...

If I lived in London I would go to the Wallis Collection on a weekly basis. I am so jealous of the galleries and museums you have down that way.

… which I almost never get to see 😂 (I am going out this weekend, with friends and without kids, but just for food and karaoke, no culture, lol)

I’ll take you up on that picnic Hedgehog. As long as you promise to embrace my many ways with a quail’s egg…

Quails eggs are on my must try list....

I’ll meet you arm for foodie love. Just need 12 weeks notice for the cheap trains downwards
sorry things are so tight. Do the house insurance or if you are in the union not do wills etc or is it too specific for them

well done agile on upping the picnic game. I’m assuming mat queen is some kind of craft club

yeah on the hogs need. Sorry don’t think I said

i have a monitor scan on Thurs then back on 5 May for either drug therapy or radiography
from not in the wait list for neurology (epilepsy) so will grump about that when I’m there

Evening all.

Have caught up with the thread sorry if I’ve missed you. Hope everyone is doing ok.

Sorry about the family drama @Lockin26.

Good news on the school allocation @Frugal25 and nice to see the kitty candidates.

Pleased for you too @DeepFriedCreamEgg.

Ohhh a hedgehog @needastrongone I’ve not seen one for years.

Had a lovely break and will now leave the frivolous spending behind. I didn’t spend as much as I had anticipated and have euros left for my next trip. I went wild in the aisles and bought some votivelights in Bernardaud, some tea towels and books. The exhibitions were worth the visit and the book fair was awesome. It was warm and sunny so being back and having to wear a jacket is a bit of a shock. If anyone is Eurostaring they aren’t taking fingerprints or photographs yet.

My leg isn’t doing so good. I thought the rest while I was away would help but it hasn’t. Will have to get onto the physio this week. A bit of a disappointment. I would like to get back into a non-rehab gym schedule but this has thrown me a bit and made me reluctant to do anything as I don’t want to injure myself.

Spent a bit on a map and a travel book.

@lifelongfrugaleer May Queen. Much crafting but it is the village parade. Originally to parade the eligible girls for the un married sons. Now just a collective reason for the village to go out and have a bit of a laugh. Ours is the longest running one.... We kept it going over COVID by getting the mountain rescue and food bank out to walk the route. We have small minds...

Life the will and trusts advice we need is very specific to protecting DS, unfortunately, so specialist advice needed from a properly qualified solicitor. I have learned that will writing is basically unregulated and there are a lot of charlatans about. We spoke to one person who markets himself as an ‘expert’ in estate planning for vulnerable people and I knew more about trusts than he did, which is decidedly NOT enough. Now going with someone off Mencap’s list of appropriately qualified (and therefore expensive) people. But getting it wrong would cost a lot more!

I hope your scan goes well 🤞🏻

On a frivolous note, we had chicken risotto tonight made with leftover roast chicken and stock from the bones. Nigel slater. A serious contender for my death row last meal.

@ArmDimples we also need to look into wills and trusts.
Yesterday I didn't get coffee, well done me! Packed lunch, random snacks for tea as I was going to my upholstery class straight from work.
Spend £6.50 on parking at work and £20 on the class which includes materials.

Nice one @drspouse It is a hard thing to resist a coffee between work and night school. You have reminded me I have a 1970's z chair that is at a leather workshop being priced for reupholstering. I had it done at an upholstery place and they did such a bad job at the hand stitching and leather choice I would have been better off not having it done. I need to chase them up about the price.... I have 8 in total so I hope it is not too much.

My no spend week is coming to an end. I have to buy some fabric scraps to make the May Queen float banner... Unless I can get someone to donate them. Annoyingly I need bits large enough to be useful for a quilter in colours that no right minded person would buy in dress making quantities to create a donation pile.Although carroty orange is not going to be easy to find from anywhere.

Oh I'm London @ArmDimplesand like @MyAgileHedgehog I am up for a quails egg and posh picnic if the invites are going out in the post. I adore London and got so jealous of @chimichangazenjoying it that I am now planning days out for the summer.
I confess my picnics are 1970s with a few raspberries and a cheese roll but they are loving put into beautiful containers that I collect and I'm absolutely up for upping my game!
Sorry you're having a tough time at work and home. Glad people are trying to help despite it probably causing a few issues for you.
@lifelongfrugaleer hope Thursday goes well sweetie. Thinking of you. Xx
So glad you had an amazing time @RumBananaSundaeand thanks for the advice on Eurostar as we may do this soon. Sorry about your leg though, maybe being home and back to rehab will help?

Absolutely love the idea of unmarried women being paraded about @MyAgileHedgehogthis made me smile (could have done with this in my 30s when I didn't think id ever meet OH!) Love that you have kept the tradition up and turned it into a fun day :)

I was due to have a liquid lunch today with a friend but she has just returned from A&E and is on antibiotics so I'm going to pop to superdrug and buy my hair dye instead. So today will be £12 for me instead of a much more expensive glass of wine.
OH was due to be out tonight but is now coming home so a rethink for dinner is required. DD were having pasta but he isn't a fan so I may do a rice salad for everyone. Quick and healthy and uses bits up too.

Missed a few days!

Today has been a busy one so only £2.75 for a diet coke and bag of crisps

Lovely hearing about the posh picnics 🧺 I have a nice picnic basket but about 5 hours from London.

Family drama still continuing. I have a big work thing tomorrow so had to stop opening / mute messages until at least tomorrow evening, possibly Friday evening as I can't get work done. Siblings are all retired bar me.

Sorry to hear your leg is still not good @RumBananaSundae

Will try to keep up now 🙏

A sorry read it as mat. Yes i know may queens

i thought so arm sadly you are right its full
of chancers in the will world

£35 on lunch today. Was unexpectedly in the office as was a colleague I rarely see so we went out. Still not spent any of that Tesco gift card yet.

Sorry work is grim @ArmDimples. I know what that’s like. Another one here for the picnic party, quails eggs and galleries.

Hope your scan is ok tomorrow @lifelongfrugaleer.

Sorry the drama is continuing @Lockin26.

Didn’t get a chance to contact the physio today so really need to get that done tomorrow.

Evening everyone 😊
Been busy today , washing drying, cleaning , popped to see Mum .
NSD for me today not even a coffee l wa very good 😊
@RumBananaSundae oh l am sorry your leg is still not right and giving you pain bless you sweetheart 💐
@ArmDimples aw bless you and your Ds you must be so worried about him .
I am sure things will improve soon he just needs the right support to help him. If that means medication then so be it . Sorry to hear about your work too, it's horrible when you aren't happy in work 💐
@lifelongfrugaleer l hope everything goes really well for your scan tomorrow and May 5th. Yes have a good moan about the neurology referral when you are there you have waited long enough and if you don't say then you don't get .
Rooting for you lovely 🙏👏🤞🤗

How was your mum @DirtyGertiefromno30? Your day sounds restful.
Updated to add £9 on a photo frame and £10 inya cab as no buses to get home.