Our April Treat/ Date Night, Black Country Adventure.....

 Our treat last night was a visit to the Black Country Living Museum for their special event:  Red by Night

The special event began at 6.30pm sharp and it was a showcase of everything Black Country.   There were chain making, and nail making demos as well as exhibits of everything from the last century revolving around Black Country industry and shop trade. 

Was this called a hurdy gurdy?

Steam engine.....

There was a brass band playing in the Workers Union and I LOVE a brass band! ......

There is a whole new row of shops which has opened since we last visited and it was a real blast from the past for me.  I used to use most of the shops in my youth when I worked at the Inland Revenue in Dudley.  There was Stantons music shop where you could listen to the music in a booth before you bought it, Preedys tobacco shop (I never smoked), a hairdressers ( just look at the prices!)......

A sweet shop which sold penguin biscuits three times the size they are now.  Does anyone remember Frys 5 centre bars?......

Camp coffee from the Co-op anyone?.......

A typical living room from the 1950's.  Remember the flying ducks?.....

Of course we had to brave the long queue for some fish and chips 😁  They are cooked in beef dripping so I only had a portion of fish and pinched a couple of chips from Graham's portion 😇  Afterwards we visited the reconstructed Elephant & Castle pub for a drink to wash them down........

The others drank pints of local ale whilst I plumped for another blast from the past, CherryB.  Also on offer was Babycham and Pony which, I seem to remember, was a kind of sherry (yuk).  The CherryB was sweet and not as alcoholic as I remember, but I enjoyed it nonetheless..... 

Afterwards (it was pitch black by this time)  we went back outside to enjoy the street musicians and the fire performers.  The smells, the sounds, the sights, and the colours were fantastic.  We all thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.  Hats off to the organisers, staff and volunteers who made it all so authentic.

Total Spend

Entry tickets 2 x £12 =  £24

Fish & chips                  £16.30

Drinks for 2                   £10.60

Total :  £50.90

Thanks so much for popping in and a big thank you for all the comments on my last post which I'll respond to shortly. Stay safe and well wherever you happen to be,

Angie 💗

Growing Things, Shopping Jiggle, A TREAT! and MORE Increases in Bills.....

Another batch of  a dozen cards were dropped off at the Hospice shop on Thursday.  Our daughter came to visit and we took her to the allotment where we picked lots of delicious pale pink forced rhubarb for crumbles.   I popped a bagful over to our new neighbours in the bungalow opposite too.

Things are really growing now that we have some lovely warm weather and it's kept Gray busy.  He still feels guilty about losing his job and I catch him browsing job sites 😏 He's really not as fit as he was and needs to slow down but the loss of income has hit him hard.  We can manage but don't have a lot left for luxuries.  Thank heavens for our emergency fund.  I really don't want to touch it because it's our safety net and we wouldn't be able to replace it if we did.   I've factored one treat per month into the household budget because I really would like a bit of fun in the coming months.  In fact...tonight is the treat for April!  I'll tell you more in my next post but it involves going out with our Daughter and Son-in Law this evening😀

---------------

We usually have a Sainsbury's delivery once a week which I keep to within a £50 budget, leaving £5 for odds and ends that I forgot, or extra eggs, milk etc  I want to incorporate more salmon into our diet (it's once a month at the moment) so I've decided to change the way I shop.  We will now have a delivery every two weeks thus saving £2 delivery charge.  The weather is much improved so we feel able to shop around a bit.  The £4 per month saved will almost pay for 2 more salmon fillets (around £4.50 a pack) and I will be ordering tinned salmon too.  Next Wednesday's order will be for double the usual heavy & bulky items, as we do struggle to carry those, plus food for as many days as I can manage.  I need to keep the order under £80 which will leave me £30 to shop elsewhere for bargains.  I can see that Lidl will be selling 15p packs of veg for  Easter.  I wonder if Sainsbury's will follow suit ? Both stores are very close together so I can soon find out next week.......

Our water bill came in yesterday and it has increased substantially, as expected, but we also had a letter from the Housing Association saying that the buildings insurance has gone up and the amount on our rent review letter is wrong 👀 What next????

-------------

Thanks so much for popping in.  Do stay safe and well wherever you happen to be,

Angie 💗

Charity Shop Bargain, Books and Sunshine....

 Yesterday, I went to drop off another batch of handmade cards at the Hospice shop.  I was so happy to find that there were only 3 left in the basket as they had all sold quickly ☺️ I double checked the price and, yes, they had sold for £1 each so £22 for the charity within a week.  I added another 7 to the basket and hope to make more cards for them this week.

Whilst we were there Gray spotted a body warmer for himself.  It looked brand new and fitted perfectly.  At £4.99 it was a bargain not to be missed.  It's only from Matalan but I  popped it on a gentle wash and dried it in the sunshine.  It will be perfect for the allotment. ¹

I finished reading the latest Milly Johnson in bed last night and I wasn't disappointed.  The book is about women: their friendships and mutual support in times of crisis. As usual Milly rounded the book off well with a satisfying happy ending.  I was sorry to finish it and will be reading it again at some point......

In the nick of time I received an email from the library to let me know that the book I reserved was in at last.  On the warmest day this year I  collected this.....😂🤣😂

I know lots of you have enjoyed this book so I'm looking forward to it.

Right-o I'm off to do a bit more crafting 😊

Thanks for popping in and stay safe and well wherever you happen to be.

Angie 💗

A Hospital Visit, Sell & Save Update......

 I hope all mums in the UK had a great Mothers Day yesterday.  Mine was spent taking Graham for a hospital appointment, yes, on a Sunday 🤔at 1pm.   The bonus was that the hospital car park was pretty empty so I parked easily for once.  We made our way to the department shown on the letter only to be told that the appointment was cancelled 4 days before 😒and we had no idea.  No idea why either.  The total time we were there was less than 15 minutes so, at least, we didn't have to pay for parking.  Graham had psyched himself up for the appointment (he gets really stressed) so to say we were not pleased is a massive understatement. In the end McDonalds was our 'go to' lunch venue 👀

A phone call to the hospital this morning confirms that it was the hospital which cancelled the appointment and another one will be issued at a later date.  Gray has only been waiting a year to see the consultant......

---------------

On Saturday I made another eBay sale for my Sell & Save challenge in the sum of £10.93 after fees and postage.  The new total is now £17.04

Today is bright and sunny so I've stripped the bed and pegged it all out, and another load is in the machine, even as we speak.  Gray has gone to the allotment, so I can do the ironing and then finish off another batch of cards for the Hospice shop in peace!

Thanks for popping in and thank you for all the lovely comments on my last post.  I appreciate every single one.

Stay safe and well wherever you happen to be,

Angie 💗

A Confidence Boost, A Lovely Weekend and a Sell & Save Challenge .....

 I mentioned in a previous post that I have been donating my handmade cards to a charity shop for them to sell and that they didn't seem to value them as they were placed on a shelf just above floor level where they could not be easily seen.  I took a new batch into a different Hospice shop in the village and my reception was totally different.  I placed a basket of them on the counter and immediately a customer said " Oooh,,, are those handmade? May I take a look? I LOVE handmade cards!"  She immediately bought 5 of the 25 I had taken in 😀 Both the manager and I were very happy!  It has given me a confidence boost, the charity an immediate £5 and inspired me to make another batch to take in next week.  The photos below are not very good, I just snapped away at a few to remind myself what I had made.......

---------------

Our weekend was really lovely.  It was our Daughter's 50th birthday on 24th so she, her hubby, Gray and I had booked a meal in a nice pub on Sunday to celebrate the occasion.  There were no kids ( Granddaughter working, Grandson off on a jaunt with his girlfriend) so it was relaxing and chatty.  On Monday DD, Son-in-Law & Granddaughter came to us and we had a nice sunny walk to the pub for a cheese cob and a drink.  It was another beautiful day and I slept like a baby that night because of all the fresh air 💤💤💤 

Oh... and our Daughter loved her special gifts 👍

--------------

Speaking of birthday gifts:  my next Sell & Save mission is for our Grandson's 18th birthday at the end of July.  I made the first sale yesterday of  £6.11  Not a fortune, but a start 😉

Thanks so much for popping in.  Stay safe and well wherever you happen to be,

Angie 💗

Eye Watering Rises in Costs.....

 

We are almost at the end of March and into proper Spring at last.  As well as spring cleaning the bungalow I like to spring clean the finances too.  Our year is calculated from 1st April to 31st March  to roughly coincide with the UK tax year. And what a year of massive increases in everything this will be...... 

 Council tax is up by almost £100 this year

Rent up by £177 per annum

Broadband up by £36 per annum

TV licence up £5

Water bills are increasing by 22% (no actual figures yet but on previous consumption it could be around £128 p.a extra)

------------

Food prices are still on the rise so I'm planning even more carefully and avoiding waste at all costs, batch cooking and freezing portions.  Thank goodness our energy prices are fixed until next year (June 2026 I think) and my mobile phone is pay-as-you-go @ £10 per month with unlimited calls and texts, so no nasty surprises I hope.  I have insurance on my washing machine at the moment @ £6.99 per month but when it runs out in June I'm thinking of cancelling the payment and putting the money into an emergency repair fund instead.  

The food budget will remain at £2860 per annum ie £55 per week for the two of us. 

This brings the total household expenditure up to £13,881 per annum which takes up a hefty chunk of both our pensions.  Running our cars adds another £1,000 plus fuel costs to the total so, once again, I'm thinking of giving up my car at the end of this year.  I'll decide after the Summer whether or not it's cost effective depending on how much I actually use it this year.

Have you re-calculated your outgoings?  Any shocks?

Thanks so much for popping in.  Stay safe and well wherever you happen to be,

Angie💗

How To Make a Scarier Scarecrow.....

 How do you make a scarecrow scarier? Simple.....

......just add a face!

When our Daughter came to visit on Thursday, the sun was shining so we took the opportunity to go into the garden  and try to make a scarecrow for the allotment.  It was a bit tricky.  Straw ended up everywhere, to the delight of the birds! but the result wasn't too bad for a first attempt.  Graham said we ought to enlarge a photo of my face, laminate it, and put it on the scarecrow to make it scarier 😂  What a cheek!

Seeds are being sown, plantlets nurtured, potatoes have been planted, broad beans are in the ground under cloches, and the rhubarb will soon have some edible stems.  It's SPRING ! 

What are you planning to grow this year?  Pots or garden produce? Flowers?

--------------

Thank you to everyone who has commented on my last post.  I'm sorry I don't always find time to reply but I'll respond when I have a moment.

Thanks so much for popping in.  Stay safe and well wherever you happen to be,

Angie 💗