Friday 4 October 2013

What can I say .....

 
What can I say ..... to simply say thank you seems inadequate, but THANK YOU.
 
You all pulled me up and set me straight just when the doubts were creeping in. 
 
You're all absolutely right, maybe I just needed someone else to tell me, and boy did you tell me.  I snuck onto the computer for ten minutes last night while Lovely Hubby was in the shower to see if there were one or two replies and there were 41 comments all telling me in no uncertain terms what I needed to be told.  I lay in the bath that LH ran me after his shower, thinking over what I had just read, glowing in the warmth of your involvement and care for me and it straightened me out.  We have worked so hard for so long to get to this position, owning our own home, filling it with the things we want, the things that we have wanted and needed for so long.  If I don't lighten up and enjoy this moment I'll miss it forever, because this is our one and only burst of spending, our one chance to set ourselves up and get it right.  What we do now has to last forever and I have no right to tarnish it with negative and downright daft thoughts.
 
New page, fresh leaf, I will continue to show you what we do and what we buy and I WILL ENJOY DOING IT :-)
 
THANK YOU.
 
And thank you to Karan for my lovely cosy socks, a gift from a friend who started off as a Blog reader and who has turned into a confidante and true friend who comes for coffee, chats away and lets me into her life as much as I let her into mine.  They will be travelling with me in the morning and until the wood burner and the Aga are installed at least I know I will have cosy feet inside my boots.  Blogging brings such treasure and brings me into contact with so many truly lovely people.

 
It helped my head slightly yesterday afternoon too, I had taken off the summer weight duvet and replaced it on the bed with our old heavier weight one.  We have new duvets in both weights for the new house, so these will not be needed again.  Usually I air the one I have just removed, wash it if necessary and then store it away, but what to do with this one if it is not to be needed for a bed again?

 
And then I realised ... the dogs need another bed. 
 
 In our house the dogs (and cats) have lots of beds.  They have their main ones, the ones they sleep in at night, outside ones, living room ones, yes they still prefer the sofa like all pets do, but in our new house with our new sofa we have decided they will not be allowed up.  So we were going to buy them a super duper comfy long style bed that they could snuggle up on while we sit on the 'posh, animal banned from' sofa.

 
As I folded the summer weight duvet I realised  I could make it 'doggie sofa shaped', I lay it on the floor to check the 'comfiness' of it, the dogs immediately got the idea and came to test it out.

 
The verdict was obvious.    "Yes Mum ..... this is perfect, please can we have it ?"


I decided to stitch right through in a number of places to hold it together and then I will blanket stitch around the three open edges, when LH saw me doing the these stitches he said "so it's going to be a Chesterfield then" haha ....not quite ..... but it will be comfy and by the time I've finished it will look posh!!  I have a large fleece blanket that I can cut to size and make two covers for it so they can be popped in the washing machine when needed.  So the dogs have a new bed that smells of their favourite humans (not in a bad way I hasten to add) and this will bring them some comfort at bedtime during these weeks of upheaval, and I didn't have to spend a penny.
 
 
This has all made me realise ... well this and a lot of you telling me so, that it's these little things, the saving of money in what seems like incidental ways that has made it possible for us to save so quickly and get to where we are today.  Yes I could have rushed out and bought a super duper all performing top of the range doggy bed (the one in the photo is £42.99) but I thought things through and saved myself the cash ...... I'm back on track :-)
 
 
And as I told myself to 'lighten up' ......

 
I did ... literally, went to the hairdressers got it all virtually chopped off and then used half a box of lightener on it, other half saved for eight weeks down the line when it'll need doing again.
 
 
New head of hair, new balanced mind set, last box of dye from my start of the year stash.
 (See the page at the top of the Blog 'I Love Saving Money - 2013' for more details of my New Year stash).
 
I'm back on track and back on form - thank you.
 
Sue xx

30 comments:

  1. "in our new house with our new sofa we have decided they will not be allowed up"
    LOL! Speaking as a fellow JRT owner - good luck with THAT ;-)

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    1. I will be firm .... I will, I will. I will ..... :-)

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  2. Lovely post! Yes, we are all a bit nosey but,( I speak for myself at least), we come away from your blog with money-saving tips, ideas and a smile on our faces!
    The duvet thing is something I have done in the past and probably will do in the future (animal-less at the moment, a bit miserable without a furry friend at my side), plus many other pet-related saver ideas.
    One thing I now do is make mayonaise in the 'all-in-one' method, no more faffing about dribbling the oil in for me!
    I love practical,simple, money saving or free ideas!

    Those socks look comfy by the way, are they almost seamless too?

    Have a great weekend, not long now is it before you move in totally?

    Hugs to all,
    Sandie xxx

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  3. It is all too easy to feel guilty about spending. Although for some people frugality is the only way they can survive for now, for others, it is a way of getting out of and staying out of debt or saving towards other things. We are all in different stages in our lives and with different reasons for doing things in a certain way at certain times. People need to live and think in context rather than worrying about the possibility of others saying 'tut tut'! You go girl, enjoy yourself!!

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  4. Love the dog bed. Just what I'd do myself. My cat sleeps anywhere though, in the day the conservatory window sill, on a chair in there in the evening and on my sheepskin rug on the sofa when we've gone to bed until he's too cold ........ then he ......... comes and sleeps with us!

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  5. Phew! Glad you're OK now. Enjoy the weekend at your lovely new home. Claire xo

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  6. Think the general trend of the comments says it all, it's good to read happy stories, especially when the happiness has been earned.
    Long may it last, looking forward to reading about your adventures in your new home.

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  7. yay - can't wait to catch up on all the lovely goings-on in your new home. I thought some more about this "showing off business" and it would be if you were showing us your latest designer handbag/shoes/jewellery/clothes or totally unnecessary and wildly extravagant purchases, but finding your forever house and sharing it with your readers is not showing off - it's just generosity. Anyway considering how thrifty you have been today with the new dog bed it must all balance out, surely?
    I know you love green in all your rooms and it's funny but I never did. I always went for blues, purples, and/or browns, but I have realised that in my house (bought 3 years ago as a forever house) I seem to have switched to greens and deep oranges. I am having a bit of a spending spree at the moment as I took early retirement following redundancy a few weeks ago so I am making sure I have really heavy lined curtains to help the bills this winter (and going forward), and stocking up on thermal vests etc. I tend to buy men's as they seem longer in the body and often cheaper.

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  8. I'm so pleased you're feeling better about it all. We all need to spend money sometimes, but when you're used to being very careful and vigilant with it, it can be really hard to enjoy spending it when you do have to or actually have it to spend. We absolutely trust that anything you no longer need will be given another use or you will find another more suitable home, if it merits one. Good luck in your new home, you deserve it. I look forward to hearing all about it.

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  9. No chance of keeping them off....if Rosie can give the same looks as my Jack Russell (Jake) , then they will be joining you within a month...and we can see in the above photo how cute they both look :D

    So pleased you're here Sue. Have a fantastic weekend both of you.

    Rw

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  10. More advice from another Jack Russell owner: Get a throw for the new sofa!!

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  11. I was too late to comment yesterday but I love seeing your before and after photos and reading all your plans. We live in rented accomodation because of our work and you have given me so many ideas for the future when we retire.

    Love the dog bed too - we have big dogs so we have to be firm or there is no room for us on the sofa!

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  12. Hooray! I cant wait to see more.

    And I have serious Dog envy at the moment. They are so cute

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  13. Well done for repurposing the duvets into a doggy bed. I place old duvets underneath the bottom sheet on our bed to add an extra layer of warmth - and comfort - in the winter

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  14. New head, inside and out - fabulous ;o)

    Oh, and do get a cover for the new sofa. You'll not regret it !

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  15. You need a nice big quilt to use as a sofa throw, they are warm to snuggle in and wash and dry easily. carry on getting what you have worked and saved so hard for, as you say it is once and only.

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  16. So glad you are feeling happier about everything. You really do deserve to enjoy this time right now. Love the dog bed idea, looking forward to seeing the covers. Hope you have a really great weekend.

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  17. Phew !!! so glad Sue, I was in a panic that my most favourite blogger was going to go awol ;) now looking forward to seeing your Aga and woodburner, and your wisdom.

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  18. Glad you're feeling better about things, I really enjoy reading your blog and look forward to pictures as you get everything just like you want it. We are loving our forever home-we worked hard to get where we are and you have too. Enjoy!

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  19. I missed joining in with the previous posts's conversation, but I wanted to add that I really find all the bits and pieces of what you're doing to be FASCINATING. My husband and I decided recently that we really want to move into the country and start up a small farm. I grew up on a farm, but there's a lot that I didn't understand during that time that will be relevant to understand now as an adult. And my husband has no previous experience at all. So I went out searching for blogs about a month ago that are about living in the country in the style that we'd like to be doing in the next couple years or so -- and your's was one that I've bookmarked to read regularly. We're pinching pennies and trying live on less while paying off current debts and save up money for our "homestead." And there are SO MANY THINGS that you talk about that I go off and research and think about some more. (Like the Aga, which I'd never heard of before.) I'm soaking up all the things you're writing about, so please keep on doing it!!

    Thanks so much!

    Kylene
    South Carolina, USA

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  20. Another great post Sue.
    I love your idea of the dog bed, you certainly think outside the box.
    Pam in TX

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  21. Just catching up Sue ... I sometimes feel Blogging is a little like " Show and Tell " at primary school ! I've had doubts at times too. Your Blog followers wouldn't have grown if they didn't like you & your blog so much. ( They can always stop reading ! )
    You are not a show off in the slightest and we love reading about your new life.

    Dog beds ? Dillon has three old duvets & heaps of old towels - always in the wash as he's always in the sea ! Wet dog smell never was very nice. xx

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  22. isn't blogging great?
    Such unconditional support just when you need it (thankYOU Sue for being the biggest sender of that!)
    Lotsa love
    xx

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  23. Sue, you give me hope that even though I am in my forties and single, I too one day might get such an awesome house as yours. I love reading about your thrifty ways and your beautiful new home. Enjoy every moment - you have both worked so hard for it.

    Julie Q

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  24. Hi Sue,
    The dog bed is fab, they will indeed love it. I am glad you are feeling better about things - there was really never any doubt what we would say though! Oh, I so wish I had a friend that could knit me socks like that - they are truly beautiful; I do have some variagated wool waiting for me to knit a pair of socks, but I am just about to knit some teddies for Zimbabwe, so they will have to wait a little longer. Hopefully the really cold weather will wait for a little while yet.

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  25. I've been reading your blog for a few months now and you've actually inspired me to start blogging again myself so v. much looking forward to reading all about your new home and the purchases you make for it.

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  26. Love the hair, I just had mine cut for winter as its easier to look after. I have gone blonder as I have got greyer and its true what they say. 'Blondes have more fun'. Hey, I'm blonde, its Saturday night, and soon I'm going to ......................erm clean out the cat litter tray. :-)

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  27. This post really made me smile, I'm glad we could all be of service Sue! The lovely dog bed has got you right on track, I look forward to seeing more thrifty posts in the future :)
    Best wishes.

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  28. Sue get a couple of huge fleece blankets to cover the sofa ;) Easy to wash and dry and will keep the sofa looking good for when you remove the covers.

    There is no way you will keep the animals off it, so protect it now :)

    Love the new hair :)

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