Where is Time Going?
Incredible! Another week and it's the Budget then the end of the tax year is almost upon us, when we all need to round up our numbers and get crunching for the annual tax returns! I suspect 2013/14 will prove to be minimal for me, as the past year has been focussed on the renovation project whilst scratching enough income to make self-employment pay.
It is almost 3 years since we bought Thrift Cottage and the pink thrift by the front door is looking like it may start flowering soon. Our fixy-up is meant to be a 5-year project, so we should be approaching 60% of the way to completion. 2 more years to go and then I need to get back to building a self-sustainable business that will provide me with both income and a pension plan, so it's time to make some headway in that direction. Being a frugal Scot and living in Scotland, where we still have both paper £1 notes and paper £100 notes, I feel that the photo above adequately explains what a frugal entrepreneur (frugaleur) is all about - making as much as possible from as little as possible!
I'm Hatching Colourful Plans!
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| Duck egg shells drying before planting cuttings in them |
What did I make yesterday? Pizzas, spicy stir fry from leftovers and a start on my long-term plan for making everything pay for itself. I did get around to painting my duck egg shells - I now have 4 including the red one - but I still haven't made the macramé hangers for them all. Now I have another 2 duck eggs, as Phoebe is getting right into the swing of spring with her laying schedule.
Today, I defrosted some chicken, sliced it in strips, dipped it in egg, coated it in spiced breadcrumbs and made goujons - half got cooked for tonight's dinner and the other half went into the fridge for tomorrow. While washing up, I just happened to look out the window in time to see this little fellow!
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| The foraging Vole |
It's a little vole that seems to have taken up residence in the dry stone wall that runs along the side of the patio. Voles are about mouse size but have rounder noses and short tails.
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| Vole stealing blackberry leaves |
Mr or Mrs Vole was far too busy to notice me going for my camera. Tiny critter was nibbling off the blackberry leaves and taking them into the wall, obviously for nest building. Scruffy cat spends a great deal of her time just sitting staring at this wall, now we know why!
On the windowsill, my red cabbage experiment is looking healthy with several more new leaves growing, particularly around the base. Here's how it is looking at the moment.
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| Red cabbage experiment |
Has anyone else tried this experiment yet? I would love to know if it really does grow enough to start picking more meals from it.
That's about it for today - early night again, as I am enjoying watching the TV series about life on the International Space Station (I'm an ISS spotter) and then there's a very interesting money programme on afterwards about how to be a billionaire. I'll absorb inspiration and see how best to afford whatever they do on my frugal budget then I'll come back and tell you how I became a frugalaire!
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| UK Times for the flyovers by International Space Station |
For anyone else interested, here is a handy chart of dates and time for looking skywards to watch for the space station flying over us, if the night sky is clear enough. I always wave, not sure why! I'm not that into it that I go out in the middle of the night - I need a really good meteor shower or the chance of catching a glimpse of an aurora for that.
Until tomorrow! Let's hope the sunshine returns here soon - seems all the good weather chose to abandon us after one great day and yesterday morning! Still, it was enough to dry the washing on the line and that's what counts for now. :)
I have never tried to regrow cabbage indoors. In the garden every time I cut a cabbage I cut a cross in the stump and most of the time I get 4 small cabbage heads, I do the same with Florence Fennel and that usually works as well.
ReplyDeleteThanks, that is really helpful to know! Do the new cabbage heads grow big enough to harvest & eat?
DeleteWe used to do the same and get the equivalent of4 large Brussels sprouts.
DeleteThe size of large Brussels sprouts
DeleteEven 4 free sprouts would be a welcome freebie :)
DeleteHi great blog. I stumbled upon it whilst searching for my own blog which i have set up too try help people out of debt using my own personal experiences with debt. I dont seem to be getting any visitors so please check it out and leave me some feedback if you get chance ( the blogosphere seems so lonely lol).
ReplyDeletewww.ukdebtsupport.blogspot.com
regards
Andy
Hi Andy. Firstly, welcome to Frugaldom, secondly, congratulations on tackling your debts and blogging your experiences . :) pop over to www.frugalforums.co.uk whenever you feel the need for like-minded company in the blogosphere. My main piece of advice I can give you is write for YOU and forget about who is or isn't reading. We are tiny fish in an unbelievably vast ocean, but we know who, where and why we are hear. Just keep going and you will eventually find you've become part of your own little shoal. :)
DeleteI am very surprised at the progress of that cabbage. Are you changing the water daily?
ReplyDeleteHeading off to work today, also worked Tuesday so that will help pay a couple of bills.
No, I keep forgetting! Must do that today... it is in a tin, rather than a jar or plastic pot, so I'll replace it today.
DeleteCan't believe your cabbage NYK ! Will be so cool if it grows 4 new heads! I'm watching with interest :)
ReplyDeleteWe used to go to the highest point in the New Forest to watch the space station come over. We saw it 3 times out of about 7 I think it was, and we all waved too :D
Your little frugaler guests are cute!
Have a great weekend my sweet.
Rw xx