Friday 19 August 2011

Free & Frugal

Good morning :)

Hope the sun is shining where you are - its a gorgeous day here. Just despatched the boys to a sisters for a day of light gardening :) Lovely and peaceful here now! Just the sound of MrVV tapping away on his keyboard and Ken Bruce chatting away in the background.

When we visited my Grandma earlier this week, we left with a huge pile of lovely free food - blackberries from her drive (collecting these each week towards jam making), plums from her orchard and eggs from a friend of hers;


I think next week when we go, the pears & apples should be ready for picking too - thinking crumbles and apple/blackberry jam time - hurrah :)

Within our (quite large) family, we've operated our own version of freecycle for years - if we've something we no longer need whether its furniture, clothes or toys - things are offered to other family members first. Some items are on their 3rd or 4th owners now - there's one bookcase that's appeared in so many houses over the years - it was 2nd hand when my parents bought it 35 years ago!  Well for months now we've needed a replacement wardrobe for little son - his was a cheapie we bought for big sons bedroom when he was a baby - its moved house twice and really had seen better days. The trouble with wanting a replacement was, we don't like having to go furniture shopping - most of our house is furnished with samples/seconds from MrVV's business but sadly he no longer sells wardrobes :(. Well good old MIL came to the rescue - she decided that she no longer needs a spare bedroom so a sturdy pine wardrobe was spare to a good home - ours! With the addition of a shelf upcycled from the old one - it now should last little son into adulthood :)


Heavily influenced by my Grandparents, I've always been one to be frugal - I don't like waste especially food. I think hearing all the stories of wartime rationing and how everything got used has stuck in my mind. So when there's only 2 of you for lunch and the fridge turns up 1/2 a head of broccoli, an onion and few potatoes then its time to make the first soup of the season and very scrummy it was too;

Right the washing machine has finished - time to hang things outside in the sunshine and then head off into town to do a post run.

Have a great weekend folks - hope you get some sunshine and you're able to get out and about.

See you next week

xxx Vicki xxx





9 comments:

Crafts @ Home said...

Beautiful, full of goodness, free food is the best... and passed down goodies have lovely memories :)
Sue Xxx

Elderberry-Rob said...

Isn't free food the best! Maybe it's because you think about what you are eating when it's been picked out in the sunshine. I made some jam for the first time and it seems to precious to eat! I know what you mean about frugal living - my family lived on second hand - I never had new clothes until I was 13 and got a saturday job! Old furniture is often better made so it makes sense to pass furniture around - wish somebody in my family had a wardrobe going spare and a bookcase!

Madison said...

Such a lovely family tradition. Free stuff is always the best.

Madison xxx

Lisa said...

What a great post! I couldn't agree more about swapping things, we always offer stuff around before it gets put on freecycle or sold. Lovely new wardrobe your has son has there.
Lisa x

mother of purl said...

I bet it all tasted divine x

Vix said...

Free is the best! The soup looks delicious and the wooden wardrobe against that blue wall is a pleasure to look at. x

Blueberry Heart said...

oh. you said the magic word...'crumble'...! Cant WAIT to make the first this year now, blackberries just ripening and ready for the picking! And I agree so much with the food wasting thing; I never waste anything, if anything 'bitzes' are the best! (bitze - not exotic, just a 'bit of this, and a bit of that' !!

BH x

Anonymous said...

Free food is definitely the way to go. Lovely wardrobe xx

Becci bunny said...

how fantastic, i try to use up all my bits and bobs of food as well, i mostly turn veg in to soups as im not brilliant at cooking. i bet yours tasted yummy, broccli is my favorite veg x