Hello Dear Reader,

That got your attention! It’s been a steady 27 in the shade and 33 out in the sun and I’ve been gardening almost naked………….well, bikini and wellies! Sunbathe and get the work done all in one! Don’t worry about the neighbours…..no one can see into our garden. I’ve finished another border and have the weed proof membrane down.

It’s cooler now and we’re indoors painting. Dearly Beloved has two coats of white onto the ceiling and now he’s onto the walls. I need to get another coat of gloss onto the skirting boards. I’ve washed more curtains and blankets from the airing cupboard. Dearly Beloved’s bike is back from the bike shop after a service and some new gears and new tyre - even our bikes get the make do and mend treatment and keep going. It’s all nifty and thrifty here!

This Sunday - it’s Open Farm Sunday and HERE is the link to all the farms open in Devon and South East Cornwall. It’s a great fun day out and great for families with children. We won’t be going but want to promote this as without our wonderful British farmers, we wouldn’t have the amazing food that we all love so much.

I used a random number generator and it selected Thrift Wizard as the winner. If she could contact me by this time tomorrow, then I will send her the Ark with animals!

I’m off to do some more painting and I’ll see you all tomorrow!

Love Froogs xxxxxxxxxxxx

Hello Dear Reader,

If any of you have ever read ‘Bitchcakes’ blog, then my in the gym bathroom pose will be familiar. I don’t actually have a deformed arse but my pose makes me look as if I do. I’m now 1.5 stone lighter or 21 English pounds lighter. I’ve got a long way to go but I’m getting there. I’ll take my proper camera next time so I can document the difference as time goes by. Apologies for the grainy pictures but my ever so frugal and aging i-phone was all I had with me.

I’ve spent the day dashing in and out of the house with laundry as I dried it outside and have washed quilts and curtains. We also investigated wood chips and found 6 cubic metres for £80 and that includes delivery. We bought weed blocking membrane for 50p a running metre and as usual we found it cheaper than anywhere in Trago. We also popped into the wholesale butchers and found yet more sirloin steak for £1 each (it’s Tesco finest before it’s re-labelled!).

I’ve then got onto the living room. This is the before but don’t be too expectant, it will be painted exactly the same colour again…..Skimming stone. I have one and a half pots in the garage and bought one more. I have all the undercoat, gloss, brushes, white spirit that I could need and the pot of paint is the only cost to the redecoration of the room. Whilst I’ve been working inside, Dearly Beloved has carried on in the garden and is steadily working his way through the borders.

Here’s the other side of the room with the view from our patio doors. All the furniture went to people who wanted it as I gave it away on Freecycle……………that now gives me exactly one week to decorate the entire room. I’m going to use the lounge curtains in my bedroom and the bedroom curtains in the spare room/sewing room and office. Sometimes just moving curtains around can refresh rooms. I shall investigate making new curtains when the suite of furniture is here but it they will probably be neutral and simple.

In between, I’ve been cooking, marking exams and taking five minutes here and there to sit in the sunshine. No more nails? I’ll have no more nails when I’m done with the decorating! I’m off on my hands and knees again to complete sanding the skirting boards and will get one coat of undercoat onto the woodwork and radiator before the day is out!

Over to you Dear Reader, who uses Freecycle? Anyone else in the process of house renovation on the cheap? Is anyone trying to lose weight and get fit on a budget?

See you tomorrow,

Love Froogs xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Hello Dear Reader,

Gardening is over rated! I’m of the opinion that it’s outdoor house work that gets in the way of hobbies and relaxation! Dearly Beloved has been at some tree roots with a pick axe and the language was not pretty! I’m not keen on cold, wind or rain so that leaves me with a very small window of opportunity for any gardening at all. On top of that, I suffer from random joint pain whenever I get cold and digging has left me with repetitive pissed off with gardening syndrome! Any way, it has to be done.

If you’ve ever watched the TV programmes where they can’t sell their houses, it’s usually because they are untidy and general maintenance has been allowed to slip. We still want to sell our house and move to somewhere much smaller and we need to keep our home and garden in good order until a convenient time to sell and move on. So far, we’ve weeded one bed and we are in the process of digging up shrubs and moving them around. I don’t have much money for this so it’s work on a tiny budget!

We have some flowering grassy stuff which we have dug up and divided into four and we will spread them around the back of the borders as they grown to around five feet high. (That’s not weed membrane but we have to cover up bare earth or Dolly digs it up and brings all the dirt into the house). We’ll plant and mulch this area this week so come back and see what I do. I’ll also pull the rest of the weeds out too…………I know you saw them.

I split the two purply plants (you can tell I know what I’m on about here………..not!) and divided them. I also divided an agapathus into three (it still had the label stuck in the ground) and moved them around too. I also divided the peony plant and divided that. I may not know about plants but I do know how to make what I have go round. Spot the dogs?

The borders haven’t been touched since last year and they are a mass of weeds. We enjoyed the bluebells which self seeded and there are some bulbs in the ground for next spring. Where we have cleared some space, we’ll be moving shrubs around to give them some space to grow. I have Hydrangeas in pots that I’ve grown from cuttings and are big enough to put in the ground. Our only expense will be weed inhibiting membrane and mulch of some sort. We’re investigating where we can buy it wholesale in dumpy bags and we’ll go and collect it if it’s cheaper.

Here’s a section that we haven’t tackled yet. It’s slow going as it’s so wet and we are dragging ourselves through this as we’d both rather be doing something we like instead. We carry on as it will be lovely when it’s finished.

We’ve dug up and weeded the edges of all the lawns and they are much tidier. Spot the dog? The azalea had outgrown the space it was in so it’s being moved. We’ve also been on hands and knees and pulled the weeds out of the paths.

We have hedges to cut, the shed and deck to stain and fruit trees and fruit bushes to plant. Let’s hope the ibuleve holds out on my aching hips and the rain holds off long enough for us to get this done. I hereby declare and promise that I will never let the garden get into this state ever again!

Next property? Two bed terraced cottage or two bed bungalow with small garden. We will get there!

Until tomorrow,

Love Froogs xxxxxxxxxxxxx