Money saving Monday

I've had requests for more money saving tips. I've put together a few ideas in this video. Some people will already know about them. There are literally thousands of ways to save a few pennies here and there, a lot of them are common sense. 

I got a five mile walk in while this was uploading. It seems very quiet in my street, and in the village. It's half term, I wonder if they have all gone on holiday. 

I'm going to finish the night off by watching one of my favourite yoootooobers. Martin bought a tumbledown shack in the mountains in Italy. Every week he completes a new task to make the place inhabitable, and to become self sufficient. The scenery is stunning. 

Thanks for popping in. see ya soon. Toodle pip.   ilona

Sunday Summary

 I have several jobs on the go at the same time. I flit from one to the other. The days are longer so there is opportunity to get a lot done. First off today, after a coffee of course, breakfast. Avocado and mushrooms on toast. Deeelishus. 

Then I stripped the bed and put a load in the washer. This is the quilt I made in 2013. It has never been used, due to cats sharing my bed. I don't want all my hard work being ruined by cats scratching about on it. Oscar stays outside overnight in the warmer weather. He has a shelter out there. Mayze stays in but likes the chairs to sleep on. I think it's safe to get this out for a few months at least. 620 squares if I remember rightly, all sewn together by hand. 

I seem to be getting through lots of cat food. As well as three meals a day, the cats have a running buffet of dry nibbles, and water, so those bowls need to be replenished. When it's starting to get dark I put extra out for the hedgehogs. Last night I watched three of them munching away. This morning the plates were empty. 

There are a lot of birds in my garden at the moment. They tend to come around when the coast is clear and finish off what is left. 

I am sure I can fit a bit more into my beak. 

Now I'm off to feed the kids. 

Hey, look what I have found, a grape. It's mine, I saw it first. 

Got it. 

Bags I have this plate of meaty cat food. And this grape. 

Whoohooo, look at me. I've got two grapes. 

My friend gave me a tub of this yoghurty stuff last week, and some strawberries. It went down a treat on my breakfast cereal. I loved it so much that I went to M & S and bought some more. Try it, you will love it. I believe they do different flavours. The apple one is yummy. 

This is an ongoing work in progress. It's like a jigsaw puzzle where any piece can fit anywhere, depending on how you imagine it as a finished picture. I can see that this part of it will take longer than making the pieces. 

First try, no not right. Too orderly, needs to be more random. More pieces needed. 

For the rest of the day I will be sorting out my stock for the Summer Fair on Saturday. Bagging and pricing things up. There won't be room on the table for the bigger pictures, but I hope people will buy the smaller ones, and the other crafty things I have made over the last two years. 

A Billy dog walk is planned for 4pm today. The washing is in and dry now. 

We are close to the end of the month. How are the walking group doing? Time to check in on Wednesday. I have just scraped in with the five month target of 416 miles. Still three days to go to top it up and get ahead of the game. 

Time for a second mug of coffee. Thanks for popping in. Toodle pip.  ilona

Walking near Wortley.

This is a really nice area to walk in. Good views, villages, water, and woods. I parked at Wortley. I was last here in January 2020. It was a two day trip when I stayed at a hotel. Only one day this time. You can see the post here. 

Yesterday I started by following a route I got from Country Walking magazine. I thought it was going to be easy. I got so far into it and then lost the plot, ha ha. Nothing made sense, so I carried on without it. Woods are my downfall, I always manage to loose the path. Got some nice pictures though. 

Walking over a little wooden bridge. 

The sun was shining. There is some shelter from the winds here, but I had to wear a jacket and woolly hat when crossing wide open spaces.  

Interesting views. Don't know what that is down there. looks like a builders yard, or construction site. 

The fishing ponds at Tin Mill Lane. I stopped to have a chat with someone. There were lots of fishing platforms in use. 

When I left the ponds, I thought I was going in the right direction. After walking through woods for 20 minutes or so, I realised I didn't know where I was. I followed the water, went under a busy road, found the Trans Pennine Trail and decided not to go under a tunnel. I tried to figure it out, but the best thing to do was backtrack and go back to Tin Mill Lane. 

I recognised parts of it from a previous walk, which was a relief, so I knew which way to go to return to the car. The wind was whipping across here. 

I got back to the car with some time to spare. I never like going home too early. I took a walk down to Wortley Hall.

Beautiful colours in the gardens at the moment. 

Six o clock and I set off for home. By that time the traffic had thinned out a bit. I don't think I will use one of these maps again. I didn't find the directions easy to follow. I am better making my own up. 

A little video I made, before I got lost. 

It's a gardening day today. Hedge trimming mainly. 

Thanks for popping in. Have a nice weekend. Toodle pip.   ilona

Getting lost in the woods.

Good evening. I've been a walk today, Started from Wortley, between Barnsley and Sheffield. I have walked in this area before. This time I was following a route I found in Country Walking magazine. I failed miserably and got lost. I am not very good at following instructions as you know. Never mind, it was a good walk despite the fact that my sense of direction was a bit pants. I ended up back tracking to find my way back. I knew I would get confused in the woods. 

Some nice pictures coming up tomorrow. It's getting late now and I am tired. 

Toodle pip.   ilona

 

Funny money

So, Rishi has been dishing out the dosh. What do you do in times of crisis, chuck a few more quid about. There's no doubt that some people are having a hard time, and juggling the books is predicted to become a lot harder. The vast majority of folks will have some difficult decisions to make. 

Isn't it strange that living beyond your means can encourage you to spend more, not less. Where is Rishi getting all this money from? Is it easier to to balance the books when you have billions if not trillions at your disposal? How does he do it?

Pages of figures on a spread sheet mean nothing to me, so how does he unravel it all? I suppose he has had plenty of practice as he is so rich himself. 

I am very sceptical that this whole charade will explode into anarchy eventually. People are struggling to make ends meet. They need more income to cover their expenses. There are very few jobs about for those with no qualifications. The Government are expected to cover their shortcomings.

I can't see that living on handouts for a long time can lead to an enriched life. There is no incentive to explore alternative sources of income when the money magically drops into the bank account every month. If my pension stopped tomorrow I could play around with several ideas to bring in a bit of cash to keep me going. 

Furlough was a bonus to many people. It was like a training ground for the future. Get paid to do nothing. It went on for weeks, people got used to it. 

I'm not saying that benefits should be stopped, there are people who need that helping hand. But I find it suspicious that the Government are happy to dish out dosh that they haven't got. Which ultimately squashes peoples desire to better themselves. 

Stamping out someone's entrepreneurial spirit by getting them to rely on the state, can only mean one thing. A whole generation of people expecting everything handed to them on a plate. 

Imagine a scenario where total reliance on the Governments handouts means that you have to ask permission to spend your money on what you want to spend it on. Go cap in hand for an increase in your allowance. That isn't a life at all, and the Government know it.  

The sun is shining and I am of out. Thanks for popping in. We'll catch up soon. Toodle pip.   ilona 

A visit to Bransby Horses

I had a cooked breakfast before I left home yesterday, thinking that would be enough to keep me going until I got back. Visiting the Burial Ground was a last minute decision, so after spending time chatting, I was ready to eat again when we got to Bransby Horses. First stop was the cafeteria.

I didn't want a full meal so chose from the children's menu, veggie sausage, chips, and beans. Angela had the same. I was surprised to see the size of it and was not expecting two sausages. I tried my best, and had to leave a bit of it on the side of my plate. I did think about a doggy bag, but it wasn't worth the bother. 

The Visitors Reception area is a modern building. It has a shop and clean toilets. The ladies serving in the cafeteria were friendly and smiley. They had a good selection of food to either eat in or take away.  

We picked up a map and went for a walk around the grounds. It was a tad windy but luckily didn't rain. The paths are suitable for wheelchairs and buggies. It was feeding time for the horses and donkeys.  

How beautiful is this one. It looks super clean. 

Off to see the donkeys. The tractor came along with teatime hay. 

Gather round, eyes down, tuck in. 

We had a chat with this young man. Very well spoken and answered our questions, it's obvious he loves his job. He knew most of the donkeys by name. 

Aaah sweet. Kissy kissy through the fence. 

The last picture of the day. Bottoms up. 

Visitors can go Wednesday to Sunday, 10am to 4pm. Free parking and free entry. Dogs on leads welcome. Picnics welcome. This is the web site if you wish to visit. There is a list of events in the bi annual magazine. Sign up for a free copy. 

My dinner is ready, Thanks for popping in. We'll catch up soon. Toodle pip.   ilona