Tomorrow the FH and girls are taking some of our excess rabbits and young cockerels to an auction in Suffolk. They are sad to see the rabbits go but we just have too many to keep all of them!
Altogether 10 rabbits and 3 cockerels will be moving out.
Today the FH and I have been busy revamping a chicken run for the new girls and the Buffs which are ready to move out of their nursery accommodation and into a proper house and run. We put them all in there together this afternoon at tea time, and they had a little bit of a pecking order discussion amongst themselves over afternoon scratchings! The Buffs are huge compared to the hybrid girls, but the girls have more sense - they put themselves to bed, but I had to pick the Buffs up one at a time and put them in the henhouse...
Must catch some photos of them tomorrow if the weather is half decent!
Spending report - have spent £2.70 on a magazine for my "put my feet up" time tomorrow whilst everyone is out, and gave the YFG £1 for some sweets as the EFG had a friend here who offered them both some sweets and then didn't give the YFG any, rubbing salt into the wound by giving one to a cat, which turned its nose up at it, sensible creature that it is.
Tuesday, 4 August 2009
Monday, 3 August 2009
Whoops!
I am useless at these financial challenges - just when I say I am not going to spend money, I start a spending spree. To be fair, it isn't all the grocery budget that got blown today. I did go to Tesco but that can come later.
First of all, I have bought some more eggs, this time Cuckoo Maran eggs - half a dozen of them for £7.00. That means that the incubator will be full again when they are all collected in and ready to go, hopefully on Thursday or Friday once I co-ordinate getting them all here. I have to get some from Littleport and some from near Wisbech.
I have also agreed to buy half a dozen 13 week old Light Sussex hens for £40 which I have to collect from near Wisbech too.
And there's more - I have tonight fetched 6 hybrid layers from a free-range retirement home just the other side of the Lincolnshire border at Throckenholt - they are about 8-10 months old, and look in good form - they cost me £36.
I think I must have flipped my lid completely.
Then there was the £44 trip to Tesco for things for people's birthday parties and a packet of donuts that YFG just HAD to have - they were pink and that had a lot to do with it, methinks!
First of all, I have bought some more eggs, this time Cuckoo Maran eggs - half a dozen of them for £7.00. That means that the incubator will be full again when they are all collected in and ready to go, hopefully on Thursday or Friday once I co-ordinate getting them all here. I have to get some from Littleport and some from near Wisbech.
I have also agreed to buy half a dozen 13 week old Light Sussex hens for £40 which I have to collect from near Wisbech too.
And there's more - I have tonight fetched 6 hybrid layers from a free-range retirement home just the other side of the Lincolnshire border at Throckenholt - they are about 8-10 months old, and look in good form - they cost me £36.
I think I must have flipped my lid completely.
Then there was the £44 trip to Tesco for things for people's birthday parties and a packet of donuts that YFG just HAD to have - they were pink and that had a lot to do with it, methinks!
Sunday, 2 August 2009
I've cracked it!
I can use any amount of courgettes in cakes now - as long as they are peeled and grated! Another batch of American Vanilla cupcakes was made this afternoon, along with a chocolate, nut and courgette traybake. I also made an orange and poppyseed loaf (no courgettes there!) which has been well received. The chocolate traybake is very easily iced as they eat the squares by just adding a smear of chocolate spread over the top. The American cupcakes do take a little more effort, but I'll get to them tomorrow.
Apart from the baking, I watched a Catherine Cookson film on "Yesterday" channel, did three loads of washing which has been hung out and dried and is now folded, cooked fish pie for the troops and am now watching an auction on ebay where I have been bidding for some eggs to hatch in the incubator. I missed a batch this afternoon by just 50p, so I am hoping to get these! They are golden laced Orpingtons, and the birds look absolutely gorgeous! I also have my eye on some cuckoo maran eggs, but I can't bid on too many as the incubator will only hold about 14 eggs. I was going to buy another one so that I have all my early mornings and late nights at the same time over a three week period, but the chap selling them has gone on holiday until next Saturday so I'll just have to wait!
Pleased to report a No Spend Day today!
Apart from the baking, I watched a Catherine Cookson film on "Yesterday" channel, did three loads of washing which has been hung out and dried and is now folded, cooked fish pie for the troops and am now watching an auction on ebay where I have been bidding for some eggs to hatch in the incubator. I missed a batch this afternoon by just 50p, so I am hoping to get these! They are golden laced Orpingtons, and the birds look absolutely gorgeous! I also have my eye on some cuckoo maran eggs, but I can't bid on too many as the incubator will only hold about 14 eggs. I was going to buy another one so that I have all my early mornings and late nights at the same time over a three week period, but the chap selling them has gone on holiday until next Saturday so I'll just have to wait!
Pleased to report a No Spend Day today!
Saturday, 1 August 2009
Quail update
Rather disappointingly, all three have completely disappeared.
Although I shut the door on the one in the greenhouse, the window was open in the roof, and it may have jumped up onto the bench and then made its bid for freedom through the roof vent. I haven't seen any cats enjoying a supplementary meal today, so I am hoping that there is a small chance that they may survive somewhere in the verdant overgrowth that is my garden at the moment - they could be sheltering under the courgette leaves, in the runner beans, under the woodpile, under the chicken houses; there are lots of places they could be but they are not there when we look!!
Although I shut the door on the one in the greenhouse, the window was open in the roof, and it may have jumped up onto the bench and then made its bid for freedom through the roof vent. I haven't seen any cats enjoying a supplementary meal today, so I am hoping that there is a small chance that they may survive somewhere in the verdant overgrowth that is my garden at the moment - they could be sheltering under the courgette leaves, in the runner beans, under the woodpile, under the chicken houses; there are lots of places they could be but they are not there when we look!!
August budgeting
For this month only, I am going to record every penny spent on this blog. With several huge bills paid already or due to be paid now, we are really counting the pennies this month! We have just paid the TV license, the motorhome insurance and six months' tax, the RAC membership, new lights on the Volvo to get it through the MOT (and then it didn't and there's a bigger bill for shock absorbers but we haven't had that bill yet!) and the chicken feed bill. There's not a lot left........but on the good side, the cupboards are full, the freezer is bulging and the toiletries drawer upstairs is well stocked. I have just had a top up delivery from Asda (shown above) and so the first spend of the month is recorded at £68.69. The photo doesn't include some bread, chicken thighs, ice cream, meatballs and fish which I had stashed in the freezer before I took the photo. I had a voucher for free delivery, by the way.
It's not a huge saving, but I decided not to go out to buy a newspaper today - we have usually got one on Saturdays so that we have the TV listings for the week. We can use the channel guide on Freeview to see what is on when we have time to sit down. That's at least 40p saved...
Good news
It's the 1st August, so it is officially "birthday month" here - both the girls have their birthdays this month. EFG turns 13, so she's going to be a teenager, and the YFG will be 10 which means she's into double figures. Can't believe that - already! They had it worked out the other day that the YFG would be at secondary school before I turned 40, whereas our neighbour was nearly 40 before she had her son so they think that me being 40 after the YFG gets to secondary is a major achievement. Just the differences in circumstances.
Another piece of good news - my friend's husband who was made redundant has secured a new job and starts work on Monday. A slight drop in salary but hey, a job! They are very relieved, and I am so pleased for them both.
Another piece of good news - my friend's husband who was made redundant has secured a new job and starts work on Monday. A slight drop in salary but hey, a job! They are very relieved, and I am so pleased for them both.
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