Hello Dear Reader,
All of the leisure centres in Cornwall are now run by a company called Tempus Leisure. Currently, they are offering a trial of ten consecutive days for £9.99. You can immediately sign up for another ten days if you want to extend the trial. After that, their cheapest membership for the gym, swim and all classes are £38.50. I won’t be signing up for this! I am on Easter holiday from this Friday onwards and would usually drive to Plymouth and back for my daily gym session. I worked it out that it would be cheaper to pay to the use the local facility for the two week duration than it would be to pay for the fuel for a forty mile round trip. I also didn’t want to waste an hour a day in the car.
The offer runs for entire of April so, you would think I would have been able to sign up today in readiness for tomorrow’s offer to get the full benefit. I phoned and told that I could do the ‘fast track gym induction’ there and then if it wasn’t busy. I managed to get there for just after 4pm and the gym was at 10% capacity with gym instructors eating bananas when I got there. No, I couldn’t sign up today, no I couldn’t do the induction today and have booked in for Wednesday. Here’s a brief flavour of the conversation with ‘Mr Gym’.
“Hi, I would like to book an induction, and then book for the following spin class”
Chap looked me up and down……….drew breath, then said whilst smirking.
“You won’t be able to do the spin class after the induction”
“Oh, is that centre policy?”
“No, the spin class is really intense and you will have just have done the hour’s induction”
“And you point is……………?”
“Well, I’m just saying you won’t be able to do it”
In the interest of my job and that I would not be able to continue with it if I had ‘form’ for ripping his knackers off, I left and made my induction appointments downstairs. Not before asking for the manager and complaining about his ageism. I asked, did he assume a woman of my age does no exercise? Does he assume that he could wear me out with his ‘induction’? Take a look at 87 year old Johanna in her video below…..I would like her to go to the gym and show him how it’s done!
There are draw backs to a ‘local facility’. To start, it’s seen better days and the changing facilities are circa 70’s comprehensive school with communal changing and showers! Also, it could do with a clean………..a good deep clean. If it was optional, gym instructors who judged folk on their levels of fitness after the induction session and not before.
I’m doing you a real favour Dear Reader, if it’s totally rubbish, I will have saved you £9.99 and you won’t have to waste your hard earned money. If it’s great and they do manage to raise my pulse rate then I will also let you know and you can get your trainers on and have a go. Even better, how about coming with me. I’m going to wring that membership for all it’s worth. There are classes every day and I will be going to them………..all of them during my two week break. Kettlebells, body combat, aerobiking, circuit training but I draw the line at Zumba (two left feet). There are loads of classes for parents and children to do together and I shall have a snoop and let you know.
Tonight, I’m off to try one of their spin classes.(individual payment of £5.20 for this)
Over to you Dear Reader, is fitness affordable? My gym in Plymouth costs £10.99 a month,it’s open 24 a day and it’s huge, spotless and really welcoming. The local facility has classes, a pool steam room ect and would be good value if you used it daily and of course, if you have £38.50 a month. I also looked at the price of swimming lessons for children were £45 for ten half hour sessions that had to be paid for in advance. Is sport and fitness becoming elitist? I’m sure you can share stories of how expensive it is in your area. I know plenty of local people would have no chance of using the centre as it offers no concessions. What do you think?
Until tomorrow,
Love Froogs xxxx
Monthly Archives: March 2014
How to make a quilt - step by step tutorials
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A huge thanks to Dearly Beloved. He helped me film today and he’s so patient with me. Here are the video clips to show xyou all of the stages of how to make a quilt.
A huge thanks to Dearly Beloved. He helped me film today and he’s so patient with me. Here are the video clips to show xyou all of the stages of how to make a quilt.
//player.vimeo.com/video/90417540
How to make a quilt #1 from frugal queen on Vimeo.
//player.vimeo.com/video/90418473
How to make a quilt #2 from frugal queen on Vimeo.
//player.vimeo.com/video/90419550
How to make a quilt #3 from frugal queen on Vimeo.
//player.vimeo.com/video/90420167
How to make a quilt #4 from frugal queen on Vimeo.
//player.vimeo.com/video/90420720
How to make a quilt #5 from frugal queen on Vimeo.
//player.vimeo.com/video/90421731
How to make a quilt #6 from frugal queen on Vimeo. //player.vimeo.com/video/90422262
How to make a quilt #7 from frugal queen on Vimeo.
I hope this helps you all. If you’ve found these videos helpful and they can save you money then click on the ‘finalist’ link on the top right of the screen and vote for Frugal Queen in Best Thrifty Blog and Best Food Blog. Thousands of you read every month and it would be great to hear from more of you and even better if you could vote for me. Thanks so much for your support. xxx
Until tomorrow,
Love Froogs xxxxxxxxxx
Start Quilting to save waste
//player.vimeo.com/video/90242913
Quilting Part 1 - cutting fabric - basic from frugal queen on Vimeo.
Hello Dear Reader,
Managed to get home in day light today so I could make another short film. You don’t need much to get quilting, just a cutting mat, ruler and rotary cutter. I hope the short clip shows you the basics. I’m making the Blue Ridge Beauty and I’m also going to make a sample quilt just to show you the start to finish process of making a quilt. The thing I love most about quilting is that I not only use bought fabric, but gifted and thrifted fabric. I recently bought pyjamas, shirts and a dressing gown from a local charity shop and after washing and pressing the fabric, I have deconstructed all of it so I can cut it as required at a later date. I have a quilt that is getting past its best and I will use that for quilting too. Any cotton fabric can be used. To my mind a quilt is just about the greenest item any household can have. Not only do they keep us warm, they can hang over curtain rails for winter insulation and extend the life of a sofa and be anything from a play mat for an infant to a shroud for a much loved family member.
According the BBC news today, goods worth £400 million are thrown away each year. Click Here for the report. I find this kind of waste as a total shame. There is no need. To start, ask do I really need to replace this or can it just do for a few years longer. Next, I will always think of how I can adapt an item. I might paint a piece of furniture or change it in some way. I buy the best quality I can afford in the first place and my vacuum cleaner, washing machine and dishwasher have all been repaired more than once. I always prefer to do this than replace. I try to buy everything I can second hand. The only new item of furniture that we have is our bed. Everything else comes from ebay, the freeads or the local auction house. If I want anything decorative then that comes from car boot sales or charity shops. I do everything I can to keep anything out of the council skip. I don’t have much luck with clothes from charity shops but we do take all of our old clothes to charity shops and I certainly buy second hand clothes to use the fabric for quilting. I find it hard to understand why people throw perfectly good items away………..other than for the fact that they can.
Over to you Dear Reader. First of all, let me know if you are enjoying the sewing tutorials. Next, what do you do to save anything and everything from landfill?
As ever, I will be back tomorrow and I will see you then.
Much love,
Froogs xxxx
How to thread a sewing machine in five minutes!
Hello Dear Reader,
I arrived home with enough day light to show you how to thread a sewing machine. I’ve been watching the Great British Sewing Bee and think it’s important that families know how to make and mend clothing and household textiles such as curtains, quilts or chair covers. We’ve become a throw away society, in part, because no one knows how to make things themselves. We want everything instantly and have the means to replace. Even people learning to cook don’t seem to realise that you might have to do something incorrectly at least ten times before you get it right. Sewing is the same. No one should expect to get it right immediately.
I’ve purposefully kept the first quilt I ever made. It’s full of mistakes but I still love it. It is the sum of my endevours when I taught myself to quilt with tutorials from You Tube. I still head in that direction when I want to learn to do something. I’m a visual and kinestheatic learner. You have to show me and I have to copy you, I then have to do what you’ve taught me to do over and over on my own. I don’t want you to hover. In fact, I want the opposite. I want you to leave me alone to make the mistakes myself and rectify them in my own time. I will create a drop down menu of sewing lessons so you can come back again and again. If you didn’t get it, then watch it again. Try it yourself and be kind to yourself when you make mistakes.
Here is the first tutorial - How to thread a sewing machine.
//player.vimeo.com/video/90141702
How to thread a sewing machine from frugal queen on Vimeo.
Over to you Dear Reader. What is your preferred learning style? How do you like to learn? Also, here’s your opportunity to ask me for special requests. What would you like to learn to sew? Keep it quilty as I’m not a dress maker but I will be doing more to teach myself dress making over the coming year. If you’re lucky, then I will make you a video tutorial to help you.
Keep voting lovely readers…..no having to pay Craftsy here, just free tutorials. Best thrifty blog and best food blog xxxx Thanks lovvies xxx Click on the Finalist link on the right of the blog page xxx
I’m now off for supper! Leftovers and homemade oven chips!
As ever, I look forward to hearing from you.
Until tomorrow,
Love Froogs xxxxx
That’s the wonder of wellies
Hello Dear Reader,
I was sent some fab British made wellies. I can’t wear wellies or any kind of boots due having calves of a front row rugby player!
These wellies are wide calf but were much too wide for me so I passed them onto a colleague who loves them . It’s unusual that any wellies are too wide for my cankles but these were. Plus, they’re pink!
Loving the pink and loving the British made !!!
I received no payment for this but I’m more than happy to support British made products.
I received no payment for this but I’m more than happy to support British made products.
Love Froogs xxx
How to thread a sewing machine
Hello Dear Reader,
What a busy day! Work as usual. Worked myself to a frazzle in the gym. Cooked supper and made a tiny film of how to thread a sewing machine.
So many of you have commented or emailed wishing you could come to any of my sewing bees. If only I could clone myself and be all over the world I could come and sew with all of you. I made a short video of how to thread a sewing machine and uploaded it.
I’ve watched the video back and have deleted it. I have very very poor eyesight and needed a bright light so I could see. However that meant, it was too bright for you to see and my smart phone just couldn’t cope with filming it. I will try again tomorrow and try to get home earlier to film in natural light.
My apologies. However, I will be posting sewing tutorials.
1. How to thread a sewing machine.
2. How to cut fabric for quilting.
3. How to sew basic blocks and press seams.
4. How add the wadding and backing and baste the layers
5. How to stitch in the ditch and some free motion quilting.
6. How to bind a quilt.
Thanks so much for voting. This month 41,000 unique visitors dropped by and Frugal Queen receives over 12,000 page views a day. If you all vote, then I can continue to support local charities by using my media profile to gain grants and funding for community projects. Please click on the Finalist link top right to go the voting page and vote for Frugal Queen as best thrifty blog and best food blog.
Thanks so much and I will be back tomorrow in the daylight.
Until tomorrow,
Love Froogs xxx
A million thanks to every single one of you!!!!
Hello Dear Reader,
Thanks so much to everyone who nominated Frugal Queen for a blog award!!!
You’ve only gone and done it again!
Frugal Queen is in the final top five of :
Blog of the Year,
Best Thrifty Blog
And
Best Food Blog!!!
You are all utterly amazing.
The blog awards have made such a difference. Because of the awards, I get to share the money saving message on Radio Cornwall. Because of the blog awards, I get to hold sewing workshops and teach more and more people how to sew. Because of the blog awards, I get to go out into the community and teach people to cook. It was being the holder of ‘Best Food Blog’ that helped Cornwall One Parent support get the funding so cookery workshops could be held and the participants would have the food to cook when they went home.(I receive no money for teaching the workshops) Winning those awards makes a difference to the very people I set out to support by writing it in the first place.
To keep that profile, I need your help yet again.
Click on the link below and vote for Frugal Queen as Best Thrifty Blog and Best Food Blog.
Times are very hard for so many families, let’s keep spreading the frugal message that’s it’s perfectly OK to do the best with what you have and you have no need to get into debt. On the contrary, let’s keep promoting the low cost lifestyle.
Thanks again,
Keep voting and keep helping me to help others.
All my love and gratitude,
Froogs xxxx
p.s come back for sewing vlogs - tomorrow - how to thread a sewing machine xxxx
Planning and Cooking Frugally
Hello Dear Reader,
After a day cooking for over twenty people, it was good to just cook for us. My son is working in South East Cornwall for six weeks and will be with us so I can happily feed him all I like. He’s a carpenter, his work is manual and heavy so the huge chocolate cake is for him! It’s full of wheat flour so I won’t be eating it. The chocolate chip muffins, beef and vegetable pies and Lasagne are gluten free so I will be joining in with eating them. The pies are going into the freezer so I have two ready meals when I need them.
My gluten free pasty is improving, it’s lighter now. I can’t buy gluten free Lasagne sheets anywhere so I’ve made them myself. 3 eggs and 225g of GF bread flour and two tablespoons of oil, whizzed together in the food processor and rolled into sheets. I made the two pies out of a lonely bag of braising steak, a tin of spuds and half a bag of frozen stew mix. I even added some of the meat sauce from the Lasagne. I used the minced beef from Aldi to make two lasagnes. Today was all about using up what we had.
No ‘feed a family for £40’. I’ve included our meal plans and shopping list. I already have quite a few of the ingredients. I always make sure I include the food I already have in the house in my meal plans. That way, nothing gets wasted.
Sunday : I already had the flour for the cheese sauce and pasta, we ate the last of the fruit today.
Monday: I already had the GF muffin mix, Arborio rice, onions, oil and vinegar.
Tuesday: I already have the fish in the freezer, potatoes in a sack by the kitchen door and rice.
Wednesday: I have sliced peppers in the freezer, onions, rice and stock cubes in the pantry.
Thursday: I have broccoli in the freezer, flour for pastry
Friday: I have the fish in the freezer (half the bag on Tuesday and the rest tonight), I save the crusts from my GF bread and whizz them into breadcrumbs in the food processor - they are in a marg tub in the freezer. I have spuds in the sack by the kitchen door.
Saturday : Turkey mince - in the freezer. GF stuffing mix in the pantry.
Today, whilst the oven was on, I cooked the chicken thighs and they have cooled and I have picked the meat off the bone, diced it and it’s in a marked tub in the freezer - I will use that in the paella. I made two Lasagnes one was eaten today and one will be frozen for when I want the night off cooking.
Some of you wanted the recipe for Scone Based Pizza, here it is:
Cheese and Bacon Scone Based Pizza –
Ingredients
For the scone base
· 250g plain flour
· 1 tsp salt
· 2 tsp baking powder
· 50g butter, chopped and 50g of grated cheese - I also added a few chopped sun dried tomatoes.
· 2 eggs
· 3 tbsp milk
For the topping
· 100g mature cheddar, grated
· 1 jar of value pasta sauce.
· Add what you like - I added sliced pepper, sliced ham, sliced onion but you can add anything - try tinned sardines.
Method
1. Heat oven to 220C/fan 200C/gas 7. Mix the flour, salt and baking powder in a bowl, then rub in the butter until it disappears. Mix the eggs and milk together, then stir into the dry ingredients to make a soft dough. Shape into a round on a lightly floured surface, lift onto a non-stick baking tray, then press out to a circle about 24cm across to make the pizza base.
2. Heat the oil in a frying pan, then stir-fry the pepper and bacon until the pepper is soft. Take off the heat, then stir in the spring onion.
3. Spread the sauce over the pizza base, then evenly tip over the onion and bacon mixture. Scatter over the tomatoes, followed by the cheese. Bake for 15 mins until golden. Serve with a salad or coleslaw.
Tonight, I’m working on a quilt that’s very nearly finished.
IAll in all, a wonderful weekend. Nothing spent and plenty of money saved.
Over to you Dear Reader, how is the end of the financial month for you? Have you saved? Have you spent? Did you plan to spend and were you financially prepared for it? What can you promise to do to save more next month?
Until tomorrow,
Love Froogs xxx
Frugally feeding twenty people for lunch
Hello Dear Reader,
Today was the second of ten frugal food workshops held at St. Austell Baptist Church. Thanks to everyone there for the use of the Cornerstone Centre, the kitchen and hall. Thanks to Tony and Liz Northcott for organising everything and allowing me to come and share thrifty, affordable and tasty cooking with the Cornwall One Parent Support Group.
Today, the theme was ‘Mum, I’m hungry’. I wanted the parents to have a repertoire of affordable recipes to rustle up something for lunch, for pudding and for a lunch box or break time snack.
I cooked: Scone based pizza, cheese and bacon quiche, chocolate chip cookies, rice pudding, apple crumble and custard and flapjacks. Every single last morsel was eaten and thoroughly enjoyed. I love to cook for people and to share food.
Each family had two shopping bags and had the ingredients and recipe cards so they could cook some of what they had learned to cook today.
Cornerstones has an amazing kitchen and it was great to have such space.
Here’s me, setting up my ingredients in readiness to cook.
More of me getting ready and Liz helping me.
Ready to go with my recipe cards.
Everyone is here and I get cooking. People join in and help if they want or just watch. Either is fine.
Froogs and audience.
Making flapjacks.
Making Apple Crumble.
Making quiche.
More making of the quiche.
Chopping the chocolate for the chocolate chip cookies. Along with a bag of ingredients, parents had some flapjacks and cookies to take away.
All sliced up for the pizza toppings……….Dominoes………..watch and weep, no one needs your over priced pizza!
Loading the toppings high!
Plenty of fresh ingredients at a very low cost.
Pizza ready for the oven.
Quiche with the spare cheese melting on top.
Chocolate chip cookies to take away.
Sticky and buttery flapjacks.
Homemade scone based pizza.
A high five for a special little lady who wasn’t going to eat anything and tried a bit of everything!
Full tummies, a shattered cook and the wonderful company of two people who dedicate themselves to their local community and some enthusiastic parents who have gone away with some ideas for their own families.
I had the most amazing day. I will be back in St. Austell in May for the next workshops.
My next sewing Bee is on Saturday 29th March (this bee is full), one on Monday 7th April (places available) and one on the 12th April (places available) The sewing workshops are quilting based but I’m guided by participants. If you want the basics, a new block, or to make something complete such as a quilted patchwork cushion them sewers can let me know in advance and the day will be guided around your specifications. If you would like to take part in a sewing bee, then send me an email with the title of ‘Sewing Bee’ and which date you would prefer. There will be no sewing bees in June as I will be exam marking.
Thanks to everyone who made me so welcome today and I had a great day cooking for twenty people.
Until tomorrow,
Love Froogs xxx
Fannies, tits and bollocks!
Hello Dear Reader,
Tomorrow, is the second out of ten cookery workshops. By request, the participants want to master puddings and home baking. We will make quiche, cheese scones and cheese scone based pizza. We will also make the ‘mum I’m hungry’ specials of flapjacks and chocolate chip cookies. For puddings, we will make apple crumble, jam sponge pudding, syrup sponge pudding and of course, the puddings will all be served with custard. The participants also get a bag of ingredients each and the recipe cards to make a sample of what we cooked today.
On a more serious note, thanks to the folk who have already donated £72!!! To Cancer Research UK. You can donate from anywhere in the world and the website will take any currency. I don’t care if the Swiss, the Chinese or the Brits find a cure for cancer, just so long as somebody does. Cancer Research UK funds vital research that already cures and prolongs life. It is an amazing charity and I will be running 5K in June. You will get all the video and photographs and I will be running it for a brilliant young man who has been battling cancer for over a year.
In the Easter break, I will be dropping my knickers at the local clinic and after swift poke around my cervix and some brainy bod taking a look at a slide. My screening will be done! So, book yourself in, never miss a check up and of course keep yourself healthy in between check ups.
The following is the health advice from the NHS website who want to keep us all cancer free:
- Don’t smoke - duh! waste of money and stinks………oh, and it will kill you one way or another!
- Eat a healthy diet! - Balance, less meat, more leafy veg and plenty of water.
- Maintain a healthy weight and stay active - frugal, veg filled diet with smaller portions!
- Protect from the sun - I have very few wrinkles as I never sunbathe, I wear a hat in the sun and keep covered.
- Get immunised - Hep B and HPV.
- Practise safe sex - in our case we avoid slippery surfaces!
- Finally, get regular checks!
On that note, book yourself in to get your fannies, tits and bollocks checked!
Thanks again for the donations, keep sending them to Cancer Research UK, the donate button is top right.
Until tomorrow,
Love Froogs xxxxxxxxxxx
