Ecoart Sculptures and Last of the Galloways

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Frugaldom is a very interesting and exciting land development project combining agriculture with horticulture and the Arts. I can highly recommend the fabulously affordable and extremely comfortable accommodation as a rural getaway for anyone interested in the great outdoors, art, photography, writing and/or wildlife. Try one of Frugaldom's Frugal Breaks and sample the place for yourself.

Art in the making - the Frugaldom horse is really taking shape. As part of our Ecoarts project, this represents the 'Last of the Galloways' our native ponies that once grazed the hills and moors of Galloway and the surrounding areas before being spread throughout the British isles and bred out of existence.

Ecoarts at Frugaldom

Reverse angle showing the sculpture still in the early stages. This sculpture is a life size portrayal of a native Galloway pony and will stand proud at Frugaldom one day soon.

Fruit, glorious fruit!

First of the plums and apples from the garden are simmering with some raspberries for the first of this year's mixed fruit jelly. What preserves are you planning this autumn?

This assortment of fruit was simmered in a little water until soft then the resulting juices strained through a sieve and made up to half a litre. I added 500g of sugar and boiled it for approximately 10 minutes until it reached setting point, then decanted it into a large, sterilised jar. Nothing else is added as the apples provide all the natural pectin needed. Some people add a slither of butter to help clarify the resulting jelly but this is not necessary.

Please get in contact if you have any questions regarding Frugaldom, our frugal living and money challenges or our ecoarts project.

This is an experimental blog post to test out the compatibility of Facebook with the option to blog from there via Windows Live while also offering us the chance to spread the frugal news further afield by way of sharing on social media. Hopefully, readers will be able to see the photos and link back to our Facebook page, bringing a little bit more interactivity during the early stages of developing the Frugaldom Project.

Published by NYK Media on the Frugaldom blog as part of the Scottishmultimedia web project

Foraging for Frugal Food

  
Foraging for Frugal Food

Colourful, nutritious, tasty and free!

Foraged fruit and berries are brilliant. I had vowed that I wouldn't do any foraging this year, as I still have a shelf filled with assorted jams and jellies to use, plus tubs of garden-grown fruit in the freezer, but today's walk proved to be too tempting. Read more

 

NYK, Frugaldom

I Got Love-Bombed!

Festive Love Bombs and All That Stuff...

 

There's no other way of saying it, I got love-bombed last week! I'm still in shock, over-awed by what happened when someone detonated the love bomb. I was completely taken by surprise, totally unprepared and at the mercy of the postman and all he could carry to my mailbox!

 

During November, I set up the 2013 Frugaleur Challenge, launching it to coincide with Global Entrepreneurship Week. It allows us to establish the ground rules and get a head's start before 1st January 2013.

 

This year's challenge, as I explained in a previous post, has been grossly increased to a whopping great £50 start-up budget and a 13 month period to plan, start-up, develop and grow a micro-business from home.

 

We of the frugal living brigade need to earn our income somewhere and there just never seems to be enough of it to go around, hence the continual series of mini-challenges going on throughout the year. Priorities are things like paying off any debts, overpaying motgages, saving loose change in sealed pots, shopping via cashback sites and pursuing all manner of activities in order to succeed at decluttering, making do, reducing, reusing and recycling.  For some, it is still a case of trying to keep up with the rent and monthly bills! Becoming, and staying debt free is the ultimate goal. Anything more than that is an absolute bonus.

 

So, for 2013, McGonks are my thing! I now have a website, Facebook page, blog, an adoption centre for rehoming my furry little friends and, this weekend, the launch of Kindle subscriptions to their stories, available via Amazon both here in UK and in USA.

 

Back to the love bomb - I have been talking McGonks non-stop for nearly a month now, while I scour Frugaldom and send out search parties to family and friends, looking for all sorts of bits and pieces suitable for my latest project. There had to be some spending, it was unavoidable - especially when I make treasure trove finds on places like eBid!

 

Well! While I have been busy beavering away at putting together a unique secret santa gift and creating my McGonk empire, I have been inundated with gifts of all shapes and sizes, replenishing my diminished crafting stocks and ensuring that the McGonk project gets off the ground.  Fellow frugal and crafting bloggers, I salute you! In the true spirit of the love-bomb, I shall, of course, 'pay it forward' at every opportunity and in any way possible.

 

Now I would like to mention a Christmas Crafting Competition, again being hosted by our friends over at Moneysupermarket.com. This should appeal to even the youngest crafters, as it's a Christmas card making contest. I think the McGonks might be able to pull a few bits and pieces together in order for Thrift Cottage to submit an entry, don't you? Details can be found here.

 

It's been another busy day here, what with all the McGonk challenge preparations, but I'm glad to say that they now have their own 'Clan McGonk' blog. (Feel free to follow, subscribe, read and share.) This is where all their news and great adventures will be recorded in 2013, as I don't want to swamp the frugal living blog with cute, furry, frugal gonks.

 

Finally, today is the last day of the stirring of the pink champagne-style fizz! It smells delicious and is just starting to bubble and ferment. It's ready for filtering and bottling, so that is tomorrow's job. I'll drain off the liquid through the jelly bag and then pour it through a paper coffee filter, just to ensure all the 'bits' are out of it. The colour is very rich, much more like a sparkling red wine than a pink champagne. At 15p per bottle, it's frugal fruity fizz no matter what colour it becomes. I may even transfer the strained fruit to the big pan and boil what's left of it into a jar of festive, gourmet jelly! After that, there probably won't be much fruit left for the compost or the worms.

 

Frugaldom

www.frugaldom.com

 

Frugal Fun, Freebies, Frugaleurs and Friends

Frugal Fun, Freebies, Frugaleurs and Friends

This past week has been interesting, as it has brought several visitors, freebies and frugal fun to the fore.

As some of you may know, social media is one of my passtimes, participating in various chats, discussions, challenges and promotions. It's frugal fun, mainly because its free! It's also where we're gathering togetger all the frugaleurs that we can, in an effort to show others that starting a small business needn't mean running it indefinitely as such. A Frugal entrepreneur loves their work and, although money isn't the first thing on their minds, it's an added benefit if it all comes together and reaps rich rewards.

Anyhow, my first lovely freebie of the week has been a copy of A Book About Innocent: Our Story and Some Things We've Learned. Along with this, I received £12 worth of Innocent Drinks vouchers, so I shall, at long last, be able to try the drinks for myself (assuming the local stores accept the vouchers).  Having been awarded the free copy, I asked that the founders of this very successful, multi-million pound empire each sign the book. It took a bit of time to get all three signatures but these guys obliged! How much more of a recommendation do you need for a company when its founders will take the time to show such a courtesy to little old me? I'll let you know what I think of the book (and the drinks) soon.

Meanwhile, I have received a sachet of freshly ground coffee from CafeDirect and am eager to try this out, just as soon as I can get at the box where the new coffee maker (a half price bargain from Aldi) is stored.

I've had a lovely week of catching up with friends, neighbours, fellow frugalers and local entrepreneurs, sampling their fine produce and enjoying the chit chat. Trading potential for 2013 is looking good, with more and more of these small businesses springing up in the area. Sarah at Creeside Charcuterie is eagerly awaiting the launch of her new website to further promote all her lovely homemade artisan foods. I sampled the 'Rustic Pork Terrine' and was suitably impressed. It was a rare luxury teat for us here in Thrift Cottage, I can tell you! Feel free to follow @CreesideLife if you have a Twitter account, then you'll know what's available, where and when Sarah's website goes live.

Not content with snacking on luxury pork terrine, I am now snacking on chilli jam... with everything! A fellow frugaleur who lives nearby has a passion for growing chilli peppers and is starting her own homebased enterprise making chilli jam - something I had never previously tried. I've now discovered that the chilli jam tastes great on hot toasted Aberdeen Butteries! And with oatcakes, cheese, pizza, chips, stir fry, fajitas... you get the picture. I think I have just found a frugal substitute for chutney, sweet chilli sauce, salsa and relish!

Now that the colder weather has arrived (having seen photos of the snow falling in Aberdeenshire) it is time to take a serious look at the cost of winter and what plans we are putting in place to combat the cold and beat the budget. Keeping warm has to be a priority and, with the price of gas and eletricity climbing again, the whole 'heating or eating' debate rears its ugly head for those of us trying to live on a tight budget while saving for rainy days and future security. What is your top priority? I think mine is currently to keep the log store full and the home fires burning, while hoping to have some sort of a kitchen in time to batch cook and bake the festive goodies. The one good thing about all these years of frugal living is that it has finally afforded to put a secure roof over our heads, we just need to keep warm, dry and fed now. (Beats having a bad landlord anyday!)

 

NYK Media (Frugaldom) has been running costcutting and moneysaving challenges since 1998, which means 2013 is the 15th anniversary! That has to mean something special... so let's start preparing for a great year of frugal living, frugal enterprise and the beginnings of bigger and better challenges.

 

Don't bin it, burn it or bury it if you can reduce, reuse or recycle it. Self-sustainability at home and in the workplace isn't just a pipedream, so lets make 2013 our best year ever. Join Frugaldom to share your highs and lows, hints, tips, news, views and reviews of frugal living, frugal working and life on a shoestring budget. See you in the Frugaldom forums.

 

Before ending, I'd like to pass on my congratulations to a fellow frugaler and blogger who has been part of our challenges for several years - here's to freedom from the mortgage, that gorgeous cottage is yours forever! CONGRATULATIONS AND WELL DONE TO MR & MRS SFT!