Bye bye blondie

Hello, on this blustery Sunday night. I trust you had a good weekend, I've done the housework, boring but it's got to be done. My hair is getting a bit floppy in my face, really annoys me when I have to keep brushing my fringe to one side. Time for a trim. I do it outside the back door, didn't want to spend too much time on it so it was a quick chop all over. I wasn't going to take any off the neck, but thought, go on then, just a bit. 

Oh chuffin heck, the brush broke in half. I've got another one somewhere, if I can find it.

Next, on went the colour, a light brown shade, �1.50 from Home Bargains. Fancied a change.

Thirty minutes later, after using a conditioner and a waft over with a hairdryer, here is me bonce, now with a brown mop. I'm not keen. Darker shades don't suit me with having a pale complection, I didn't think it was going to turn out this dark. Not to worry, after several washes in a few weeks time it will lighten up.

Erm, excuse me Miss Heidi. The bath is not for cats to clean themselves in, it's for humans. Now stop licking your fanny and try to be a bit more ladylike. 

I've started my Christmas celebrations, I'm sipping a small tot of Port. Very nice. Tomorrow is family day, I have timed my visit to fit in with everyone else. I hope the motorway is not too clogged up.
Toodle pip

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Holiday on the cheap

Hello. How do you have a cheap eight day holiday in the UK for just over �200? First of all you need a bus pass, because you don't want to be paying anything for transport. Then you need to go to the parts of the country where there are hostels. Unfortunately they are not evenly spread about, there are pockets of them in tourist areas like The Lakes, Derbyshire, and the South West, For a full list go to the YHA web site. The prices quoted are for non members, deduct �3 per night if you are a member. For information about hostels in Scotland go to the SYHA site.  It is cheaper to join the Scottish YHA than the English one. The benefits are the same, your membership covers you for a discount at the YHA and the SYHA. There is an Independent Hostel site as well, or you could try Couch Surfing, or Air B&B.

Here is a breakdown of my costs.
Monday B & B at Pateley Bridge. �55
Tuesday Malham Youth Hostel �17
Wednesday Windermere Youth Hostel �18.50
Thursday & Friday Ambleside Youth Hostel �39
Saturday B & B Kendal �30
Sunday York Youth Hostel �17.
I had a breakfast at the hostels, good value at �5, but you could make your own in the self catering kitchens. Bedding is included. I had a bed in a female dorm, the cheapest option, though some private rooms are available which cost more.
Total for accommodation �176.50

I allowed myself �3.50 a day for other food. I didn't have an evening meal, because I knew I was getting a big breakfast in the morning. I bought bananas, pasta salad, button mushrooms, crisps, bread, cheese, sprouting beans, and I had a packet of pasta in cheese sauce which I cooked at a hostel.

I don't usually pay to go in places, I am more interested in the outside of buildings. I did go in the Pencil Museum, had seen it on the tele and it looked quirky. It was interesting.

I had one ice cream, �1.70, and I spent �9.60 on gingerbread, not all for myself I hasten to add, a gift for a friend. So they were my two treats.

Total cost was �214.80, so that's how to have a cheap holiday.

Working out bus timetables was the biggest challenge. With no definite route in mind, I made it up as I went along. Arriving at a bus station and reading all the boards to see where the buses were going. Some had electronic screens which gave information about all buses, and updated it every couple of minutes. That made it a bit easier. I suppose you could check timetables before you go, and book accommodation to fit in with the buses. That seems like a lot of hard work to me. Also you get local knowledge from the staff who work at the bus stations. Another way to do it is to book several nights at the same hostel and use that as a base to go out each day using local buses.

I carried a rucksack, but you could do it with a wheelie suitcase if you weren't going to do much walking. I suggest if you are thinking of doing a bus pass holiday, to book some cheap accommodation  for two or three nights, within a days travel of your home. Check the bus times before and make sure you can get to your destination in one day. Anyone fancy giving it a go?

I'm going to be a bit busy tomorrow, so if you don't mind, I will take a day off from blogging. I need to catch up. Thank you. Toodle pip.

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Shocking !!!

Good morning. I'm bopping away to Sounds of the Sixties on Radio 2 as I write this. Some great old hits to sing along with. Every Saturday, 8 till 10. 

Right, what's the topic for toady. A leaflet dropped through the letter box this week, that reads like a horror story, thought I would share it with you. I hate anything that aims to swindle people out of their precious cash. This is a leaflet from a shop called PerfectHome, it could be from Bright House, they are all the same. They may have a shop front in the High Street, but that is a ruse to get people through the door and get them to sign their life away to a finance company. In this case, Temple Finance Limited is trading as PerfectHome. 

Years ago when I was a child my mum saved up to buy some of our furniture, but most of it was second hand, handed down from family or passed on from friends. For our entertainment we had a small radio, then television sets started to appear in shops. Of course we pestered mum to get one, she went into a shop called Radio Rentals and rented our first TV. A few years later after we had moved house, she went to Boyds, a family electrical shop, and took out an agreement to rent a TV. I have the agreement in front of me, dated 20th June 1974. Mum paid �1.85 a week for a 19 inch mono TV. In those days it was rare for people to buy a television set, because it would have been expensive to repair. Renting seemed the better option because there would be a new one provided when the set was too old to repair. We didn't think about how much it would cost us over a long period of time. Money came into the house weekly and mum was pretty good at budgeting, she wouldn't have got it if we couldn't afford the weekly payments. 

How things have changed. Now everyone wants to own the biggest TV in the street, no matter what the cost is. The PerfectHome shop window in our High Street looks very appealing, imagine all that lovely furniture in your home. You too can have a showhouse like this, but, there's a catch, there always is. Have a look at these figures, they make shocking reading.  

This TV will cost �1,731.99 to buy from this shop. Of course they don't want you to buy it outright, that's not where they make their money, they are a finance company, they want to lend you money at shocking interest rates. They want you to sign up to an agreement to pay �14.59 a week, for 156 weeks, they don't say 3 years, and you will end up paying �2,276.04. So, you might as well throw �1,048.05 of your precious cash, down the toilet. Shocking!

Want a supadupa sound system? Throw away �1,048.05, the difference between the cash price and the weekly payments over three years, and you can have it.

Of course you've just got to have an American style fridge freezer, with a water and ice dispenser, hasn't everyone got one. Errr, nope. On credit it's �2853.24. Shocking!

A nice sofa to sit on? Jeeez, credit price over 3 years, �4,475.64. What a shocker!

We all need to lay our heads down every night, but at what cost? �20.99 per week for three years, or 40p per sleep. That's a very expensive sleep. I would be having nightmares if I slept in this bed.

Only two of you, a small sofa would be ideal, but not at this price. Take out credit on this item and it will cost you �1,613.04 to sit on your @rse.

Ha ha, look at this, a special offer. Buy today and your first weekly payment is JUST �1. WOW, gotta have that, I think not. What about all the other 155 payments, where you are struggling to make ends meet, struggling to buy decent food, can't afford to put the heating on, can't afford to put petrol in the clapped out old car to get you to work.

For God's sake people wise up, get your priorities sorted out. Stop feeding these sharks. You don't need all this fancy stuff, you don't need to get into debt just to keep up with whoever has got more than you. Life is not about showing off, hey look at me, I've got one of those, or I've got a bigger one than you. It's ok to buy second hand, to get the best for your money. It's ok to buy from car boot sales, from charity shops, to skip dive, to take hand me downs, to barter and swap, to go on Freecycle.

Phew, sorry about that, had a Nellie moment just then. She would be proud of me. Joking apart, I know a lot of people who read my blog already know about this stuff, but please pass on your wisdom to younger members of your family and warn them of the danger of taking out such extortionate rental contracts, because it will come back and bite them on the bum, with such force they won't be able to sit down for months. or even years.

Looking good outside, have a nice weekend. Toodle pip.  

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Wonky bag.

Hello. It was enrolment day today at the college where you can go along and discuss which courses you are interested in. I have marked a couple in the brochure and wanted to speak to someone to get more information. 

There is a sewing club for six weeks, and I asked what kind of sewing is it, is there a teacher, and what do you make. The very helpful lady said it's a lot of fun, last term everyone made a skirt. Well that didn't float my boat, I very rarely wear a skirt. I told her I get most of my clothes from charity shops and car boot sales, so it seems hardly worth the bother and expense to make my own. She asked me what kind of sewing I am interested in, I said mainly recycling textiles. She took my details and said she would speak to the tutor, and maybe come up with some ideas that I would be interested in. 

There is another course I want to join so I filled a form out for that. Up-cycled textiles sounds more like me, that one starts in November for six weeks. For �40 the price is quite good, and will get me out meeting people when the weather turns a bit colder. It will save on my heating bill, ha ha. 

While I was in town I paid my credit card bill into the bank. It's very low this month, hardly spent anything. A look in the Age Uk charity shop as well. I have wanted a lightweight smart jacket to wear when it isn't cold enough for a thick winter jacket, and not warm enough to go without a jacket. This one will fit the bill. I like the big pockets, it's nice and long and covers my bum, (hate short jackets), and it's like new.   

And it's only �1. I felt a bit guilty for handing over just �1, so I put some change in the charity box. When I have a sort out at home I always bring my unwanted items in here, it's the best charity shop in town.

I was a bit limited for time, so I did a quick dash round Aldi to pick up a few essentials. I haven't needed to go to Tesco this week, so a top up shop will do. Broccoli, carrots, cucumber, 39p each. Bananas 68p, I always count the bananas because they can range from 6 huge fruits to 9 small fruits. I couldn't find 9 today so had to make do with 8. The funny thing is you can buy a bag of fun size bananas which don't have any more in, but they are 99p.

Remember the curtains I got for �1, I got them for my friend but they don't fit his window. I am turning them into shopping bags. This is one I have just knocked up. It is a bit different because I have put a lining in it, just to see if it works. Yes it makes a good strong bag, and probably waterproof, but it is a bit wonky, one side is a fraction bigger than the other side. However, if anyone would like my wonky bag please leave a comment, and I will pick a name out of a hat, or a bucket, or any other receptacle I have handy. I will post it out to anywhere in the world. Closing date Sunday 24th 6pm BST.

It is very strong, will carry a load of spuds, or library books, and is an ilona original, albeit a bit wonky. .

Enjoy the Bank Holiday weekend. Toodle pip

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Pimp your notice board

I sat in bed this morning with my cup of coffee, don't think I lounge in bed the whole morning, I don't. If I wake early and don't want to go back to sleep I make a coffee and bring it back to bed, anyway, that's bye the bye. My extra half hour in bed is thinking time. I wanted a quick and easy project which I could whip up in no time and write about it here. 

I was thinking about picture frames, there are hundreds of different ways to make them and I quite fancy having a go at some of them, but I haven't any pictures that need framing, except the latest big one.  I have some wood sanded but I am thinking I want to get on with something else, so I went to The Range yesterday (big department store), to see if I could buy an off the shelf frame to save a bit of time. Well no. I can't. My picture is a none standard size and the frame will have to be made. Next time I make a picture I will choose the frame first. Anyway, don't want to drag this story out too long, I don't have the right woodworking tools for the job, but I have found a friend who has and he said I could take the picture and wood to his house and he would help me with it. That's good, it will save me a bit of time. 

In the meantime, back to this morning's idea. Not a picture frame, but I have a piece of cork covered pin board, which I removed from it's frame to use for something else. I bet most people have got one of these, but I got to thinking they are pretty ugly. So, what to do to make it more attractive. Most people I think would chuck it away. 

Cover it, what a brainwave eh, ha ha. I looked for a piece of fabric. It needs to be loosely woven to take multiple pins sticking into it and not leaving lots of holes. Something with a simple pattern, preferably not multicoloured. This blue one will do just fine.

I ironed it flat and put it face down with the board on top. Using a ruler I marked it on three sides adding half an inch all round for the seam. My piece of fabric is long so I was able to cut the two sides in one piece. Then I sewed it together on two sides, right sides in, leaving one end open to turn it the right way.

The board slides in the pocket. It needs to be a tight-ish fit, if the pocket is too big redo one of the seams taking it in a bit.

Then take a short piece of fabric a few inches long, fold the edges to the middle and fold again and stitch.

At the open end tuck one side tightly around the board.

Then turn it over and fold the other selvage edge over and pin it in place.

Tuck the ends of the loop inside and pin.

Neatly hand stitch together.

And there you have a new notice board that looks a whole lot better than a boring brown one. 

If you use plain fabric you could use buttons or ribbon to embellish it. Or you could add a latticework of ribbon to slot your notes into. If you are making curtains you could make a notice board to match. I think it  looks pretty neat. Have a go, you can hand sew it if you don't have a machine.

Thank you for your comments on yesterdays post, they are very interesting.
Toodle pip

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Charity shop bargains

Good morning. A quickie post today, a lovely sunny day and I want to go to town. I mentioned that we browsed the charity shops in Driffield on Tuesday, this is what I bought. I haven't been wearing slippers ever since the last ones dropped to bits and were no longer repairable, but I came across this pair and snapped them up for the winter. They are size 7 mens slippers, too big for my size 5 feet, but with a pair of thick socks they fit snugly. I love the way they come almost up to my ankles, more like bootees than slippers.  

They look brand new, or hardly worn, the soles are clean and show no signs of wear.

The velcro fastening make them easy to slip in and out of, and fully enclose my foot for maximum warmth. A snip at �3.

It was the colour of this tablecloth that caught my eye, a pretty pale lilac with a sheen to it. It's a massive circular cloth, perfect condition, for only �2. Good for a sewing project I think.

And the third item is a lightweight scarf. I like the soft pastel colours, and it can be worn as an accessory rather than something to keep my neck warm. Had to have it at �1.

The Dove Hospice shop in Driffield has some lovely things in it, a big shop, well laid out, no squashing between railings crammed full of clothes. I'm chuffed with my bargains.

Thanks for the interesting comments yesterday, and welcome to the new readers. I'm off out now. Toodle pip.

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Stirring it.

I think my wooden spoons are well past their sell by date. Not sure at what stage you are supposed to replace them, but I have seen far worse than this. My spoons begin to look scruffy after using them only  a couple of times, they usually go yellow quite quickly due to the turmeric I put in my food. Anyway, I've had these for a while so they are due for chucking. 

I started looking last week for replacements, tried several shops in town, but couldn't find any. Have they stopped making them? I would have thought the �1 shops would have them in stock, not even the 99p shop had any. I resumed my search today at the Retail Park. Dunelm Mill had a wooden spoon for �1.20, I thought that was a bit steep, I would have expected a pack of three for that price. I browsed the kitchen department and found a selection of Silicone utensils. I have never tried one of these before, it doesn't seem quite right to put a silicone spoon into the food I am going to eat. Will it melt, will I ingest traces of plastic, yuk. 

The normal price of this spoon is �1.99, but I found a purple one in the reduced section, for 99p. I thought I would give it a try. 

It does say that it is for food contact, so I assume it is safe. Oh dear, I'm still not sure, will it poison me? Does anyone else use a silicone spoon? Can you taste it in the food? 

I went across to The Range, department store. I don't usually buy much from there as I find things are expensive. I went to look for offers on cat food. Just out of curiosity I looked for wooden spoons. Well blow me down, they had just what I was looking for, simple wooden spoons for 35p each, 39p if you wanted a longer handle. Doesn't it make you want to spit. You buy something that might just do the job because you can't find exactly the right thing, then you blooming well find the right thing. 

So what do I do, give the silicone spoon a try, or take it back for a refund? I wasn't planning on going in that direction in the near future, so it might be a couple of weeks before I take it back. Someone tell me a silicone spoon is ok to use to stir my curries and stews.

Another thing that niggles me is the silicone spoon is made in China, and the wooden ones are made in Poland. What's going on, are we not capable of making a simple wooden spoon in this country? I'll have a look in my garage and see if I can find a piece of wood the right size and make one myself :o))

No rain here today, it's been lovely.
Toodle pip.

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Charity shop curtains for �1

I picked up a bargain yesterday when I was in town. Browsing in the Age UK charity shop where everything is �1, well it would be daft not to look wouldn't it, I found a lovely pair of curtains. I didn't bother checking the size, I will find a window somewhere that they will fit. It was the bright colours which made me take them off the rail. Possibility of cutting them up for patchwork if the fabric wasn't in good condition.

When I got them home and inspected them, they were like new, too good to cut up. I decided to take down these curtains in my bedroom as they have been up a long time, and I am getting bored with them.  

Looks a nice pattern on the photo, but they are a bit pale and wishy-washy. I fancy adding more colour into the room, to match the quilt and the rag rug.

Aren't they lovely? I am so pleased with them, vibrant colours to wake up to. They weren't lined, but I remembered I had a pair of linings which I removed from some other curtains before I ditched them. Guess what, they were the exact size, a perfect fit. So no cutting and trimming needed, just sew them straight in.

This close up picture makes them look a bit pink, they are more like a very dark pink almost red colour.

Not bad for �1, eh! Chuffin brilliant I say. I love a charity shop bargain. The other curtains I will wash and put away, I've got a few pairs now to swap about when I get bored.
Hope you are enjoying your weekend. I am busy sewing.
Toodle pip

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