Live Simply.

Live Below The Line

I knew I came up with some good ideas sometimes, but I suppose it's all about the publicity.  It seems a little pointless doing my challenge now especially as they are doing this challenge the week before mine,lol, however it will stil be a good challenge for the purse strings, but anyone wishing to bow out now to take part in this instead I would fully understand.

I become more and more like my mother who in the mid 1970's suggested to my dad that she should set up a business selling potted baby food,

and then in the mid 1980's suggested she should set up a business selling soups which didn't have a shed load of chemicals.

I wonder if someone has a tap on our brains and then steals our ideas, but such is life.

Anyway I've been back at the sewing machine and enjoying the sun with the children and I think I shall be doing more of this for a while so if things go a little quiet here then listen carefully and you might just hear the whirr of the sewing machine and the laughter of children and you will know that Mumma Troll is enjoying some of the more simple things in life trying to resist the time flys quality that the internet seems to come hand in hand with.

Enjoy life my friends, normal service shall resume...... later :)

Keeping Them Out of Mischeif

Well the baby trolls are back home after a few nights 'sleepover' as they call it at grandma's house.  I got lots done and the house even looked tidy for a brief moment. Thursday morning we went to the library, so they are armed with some fantastic looking books including this one.

This has some simple activities in it which will be good to do as a family, even though it is aimed at the under 7's.

Thursday afternoon Daddy troll and the Roast Pig were busy making flapjacks, here they are chopping some dates which have been lurking at the back of the cupboard for too long.

The rascal and I then set about blowing out some eggs so we could dye them using THIS TUTORIAL.  We choose turmeric, cinnamon and beetroot to colour our eggs, yellow, brown and pink.  Unfortunately as nothing ever quite goes to plan in Troll Manor it didn't work and I haven't the foggiest as to why, so today I'm keeping them out of trouble by covering the eggs in some lovely Spring time coloured tissue paper.

Yesterday we went off to our favourite haunt Hever Castle and took a picnic lunch with us.

We had a great time rowing on the boating lake

had a look round the castle again and walked round the gardens which are looking beautiful as ever, I had some beautiful photos to show you but blogger is having a wee hissy fit now so I give up!

Things That Make You Go Hmmm.

Hello Blogland and hello to my lovely readers.  It is sunny and feels like spring is in full bloom, this is both good and bad in my parts of the world.  While the sunshine fuels the garden into growth and leaves your skin with a warm healthy glow it also has the unfortunate effect on some, actually quite a few people in my area.  So this post is sort of a wish list for me of things that I hope to see not too much of in the coming summer months, I fully undersatnd if you wish to leave this post here, as to be honnest it gets quite disturbing, lol.

My first anti-wish is this, the muffin top.  Why oh why do women, insist on wearing clothes that are simply too short and WAY to tight.  I don't care what size you are but please just buy clothes that fit you and don't make you look like a whale in a sausage skin.

 Second on the hit list is this the not so trendy shoe and sock combo which seems to delight some. Why people, why?

Ok next is a shocker, but yes there are lots of women round me that do this. String vests on women. NO,NO,NO,NO,NO, Words.... just gone here.

OK, I admit this is just personal preferance but I really don't think that making yourself look like a fly is a good thing. If you are lucky enough to have a face that would launch a thusand ships then why stick some cheap plastic things over it.  Sungalsses that work = good.  Sunglasses that make you look like a burk = bad.

Next is just plain wrong and stupid and careless and vain. Sunburn.  Stay safe and protected and if you feel the need to be bronze then fake it!

 Finally, road rage.  I have no scientific evidence for this whatsoever, but it does seem that a little sunshine brings out the worst in some people.  This behaviour then magnifies itself a million fold when they get into thier cars.  Maybe its the ovenlike effect on entering the car that cooks a little of the sense and reasoning part of their brain.. I don't know?

What are your sunshine bugbears? I'd love to know....

Yippe, skippy doo dah

Hooray, it looks like I'm finally going to get to go to this:

Beltane At Butser

 

I have waited very impatiently for 3 years to have the time off work and the money to go and the see the wicker man burning at Butser Ancient Farm as part of Beltane celebrations and finally, oh yes finally we will be going as a family to this event. Hooray. I'm so excited I can't wait.  

If you are looking for something fun to do this Easter / Bank holiday  / School Holiday / Weekend / Whenever then I recently found this beautiful blog Twigs And Toadstools and I would recommend you have a look too.

Things are very rosy right now at Troll Manor, the seeds are all germinating, the tadpoles are swimming in the pond while the cats look eagerly on, the kids haven't broken any windows, appliances or bones, our finances seem to be coming together at last and I am keeping myself busy doing things I love. Even stinky dog is behaving himself most of the time.

  Sometimes life is great and I love to grab those moments by the horns and not let go.

As Terry Tibbs would say.....'Much Love'

Shaping Up

My little garden is shaping up very nicely indeed. I am really happy with the progress we have made out there in the past year or so.

 The daffodils were lovely, although mostly past their best now, being rapidly replaced with tulips.  The three 2 x 1 meter raised beds look empty for the time being although the far one on the left has sugar snap peas and mange tout in it, just waiting to spring up.  The empty bed on the right is going to have courgettes and beans in it this year and the nearest on will be salad type things, beetroot, lettuce, tomatoes and whatever else I can squeeze in it.

The dwarf fruit trees which I bought 18 months ago have finally gone into the ground, last summer they were in pots and it was just too hot to keep them from drying out.  I have dug up some bushes which were here from when we moved in and relpaced them with my fruit trees.  This picture shows a dwarf plum tree and the lovely lime green leaves of a blackcurrant which in time will both fill the space very well.

 

The seating area is looking nice too, and daddy Troll and I planted the green  wall on Saturday.  Trailing geraniums and colour matching petunias are in the little IKEA cutlery racks which were screwed to the wall a few years ago. I hope I haven't made a mistake putting them out a bit too early, but we are usually safe this time of the year in London anyway.

The dwarf pear tree is looking really good and full to bursting with blossom, we had two pears off of it last year so we shall see what we get this year.

Finally, the herb wheel and pond area nearest the house is beginning to really take off.  The dwarf cherry tree has been planted in the middle of the herb wheel, and the Lavender, garlic chives, creeping rosemary, bronze fennel and mint are all springing into action.  The big bay trees by the fence need to be pruned before they block out too much light but apart from that all is well in Troll manor farmyard.  BLISS.

  I am happy and content with my space for the moment, even the frogs have produced spawn which is rapidly turning into tadpoles.  We have put the cover on the pond as you can see in the picture above to protect them from the cats in the area.  I hope lots of them survive to eat all those pesky slugs and snails which are rapidly showing their slimy faces.

Challenge 35 - The Rule Book.

Firstly I'd like to say a big THANK YOU to those who are joining me on this experiment it is nice to have you along, and if you would still like to join with us then there is no time at which it is too late to jump in.

I shall explain the rules first and then give you my explanations for them.

1. The most basic rule first is £1 per person per day for the cost of your grocery shopping ONLY, ie food stuffs.

2. Duration 7 days and 7 nights to commence on Monday 8th May.

3. Anything homegrown IS allowed, although this DOES NOT include frozen things from last seasons veggie plots. So herbs, any early veg, sprouts etc can be used.

4. Larder/ pantry goods CAN be included but should not make up a whole meal and should be declared in any recipes. 

 If I've left anything out just give me a shout and i'll amend the rules.

OK as for the whys. I want this experiment to be two things.  Firstly I want to run it as a money saving scheme both for my family and for those who join me. At the moment we as a household of 5 (plus stinky dog and 2 lazy chickens) spend between £100 and £120 a week on shopping.  This may be considered lots by some of you and very little by others.  I know that I am capable of spending less and this week might illustrate if we are indeed capable of spending lots less or if we will suffer because of it.

Secondly I want to see if it is REALLY possible to live on such a low amount of money, this is why I want to limit any frozen or larder goods.  I could quite easily live for a week, possibly more from my freezer, cupboards as I know some of you could too, but my thoughts are, what would happen when those things ran out?  Would it be so easy to come up with meals if you didn't have jam to go with the bread you made, or if you didn't have that tin of tomatoes as a base for a sauce?

  Sometimes I feel I take for granted what I have in my cupboards.  I deliberately stock pile tinned goods, toiletries and other things because I was brought up to do so.  My father was self employed so we never knew when the next money was coming in, but we always had a cupboard full of things for the rainy day when he ran out of work for a while. The capability to do this is a luxury and I think I just need to be a little more humble.  However, this all said how you do this is of course up to you, but I think that anything you use over and above what you actually spend as you challenge limit should be declared.

I hope this clears all the ambiguity up, please let me know if there is anything else you would like to add.

Finally I would like to thank those of you who have joined me on the dark side over at my other very new and exciting weight loss blog, having your support really means a great deal to me and I shall have something very cool to share with you later on today.