Went to the library this week. They have a brilliant idea for recycling magazines-they have dedicated a large magazine rack where you can leave your unwanted magazines and take any other ones that you fancy. I take all the old Time magazines that my Dad sends me- so I know they get read at least 3 times. They also have a small table selling crafts of some of the members and staff.
Managed to get some good books this week. I always try and take out at least one author i have never tried before- I figure it's free so if I don't like take it back- I have discovered some wonderful authors this way- I buy books by authors that I like and collect

I've just finished piecing together some of my patchwork knitted throw- half of it anyway. It's made of individually knitted triangles, sewn together in pattern. It's great to knit in summer as the triangles are small( about 30 stitches across) so it's not difficult in the heat- I find large pieces too heavy to work with in the heat- so I'm knitting in summer for it to be ready by winter- trust me it will take that long. This thing is going to be massive, big enough to be a bedspread on a double bed, and the triangles are small- so many more pleasant hours knitting- I knit while I watch TV, makes it feel more productive.It's quite a frugal pattern as it uses mostly small scraps of wool, so I'm able to use up all my project leftovers.

Baked some choc oatmeal cookies( called crunchies in SA) today-. I was shopping yesterday- cat food was on sale- and decided not to buy more biscuits but to buy new cookie sheet instead- the old ones are rather scratched- fine for baking fish but not biscuits.
I figured the cost of a new cookie sheet at R30( $5) would pay for itself rather quickly as nice biscuits sell for about R6 a pack - 5 packets of biscuits or cookie sheet that should at least a year- about 52 packets of biscuits.
I allways keep some biscuits on hand for unexpected guests, must always be prepared. I find the idea of guests useful as a guide for cleaning the house- I do a walk through every day to make sure public areas are OK- if it's behind a door it can wait.

Made cheesy rolls for a light supper tonight- it's hot.
It's so quick and easy- take one hamburger roll, don't butter and fill with sliced cheese- just one slice should do- nuke for about 30 secs till cheese is soft and gooey but not runny- delicous and easy. I suppose you could serve with salads etc for more filling meal

I have started feeding the kitties dry food in the morning- vet’s recommendation as it helps keep their teeth clean. I also find in summer it means the food can be left out all day for them, and doesn’t go off. No waste. They get cans in the evening. But the food they like is expensive- Whiskas, Meow are their favorites. So what I do is mix a cheaper, quality brand with the more expensive brand at about half and half and keep it in a large Tupperware like container. This keeps it fresh, and the flavors mingle so they don’t seem to notice the cheaper kibble- happy kitties, happy budget.

I’ve started getting Christmas presents together- found a great deal online- all 3 videos of the Lord of the Rings for R100 ($20) – so I ordered several, and because the order was over a certain amount there was no shipping cost- one set is for us, one for my godson and the other will probably go to my nephew for his birthday in January. I’ve also bought some books for my nieces- I like to keep the idea of something to read, something to wear and something to play with as the guideline for their presents- last year I did Barbie theme for my one niece, and fairy theme for my goddaughter- they loved it as all the presents tied in together. My parents prefer “experience “ presents- nothing to dust- so I will probably give them theater or concert tickets.

Spending a quite Saturday at home- my financial adviser came around so DH could sign some documents for our RA's( retirement annuities). Changing and updating our portfolios- one of the old accounts wasn't performing as well as we would have liked so we've shifted our monthly premium to another investment company.
Did some gardening- lots of lavender to dry. Will probably use for some Christmas presents.
Welcome back to crana( Rosemary is my Mom's name and she's originally from England)- hope you enjoy university- I know I really did.Spending a quite Saturday at home- my financial advisor

Bought a new turntable today- our young neighbour was getting rid of some of his DJ equipment- so we got a turntable at R200($18)- which was cheaper than getting the stylus on our old one fixed.Try asking for a stylus from anyone under 30 and watch the reaction..:-)) So now we can play the old vinyl again- got Roxy Music playing now(ageing myself). This means we can now play everything from LPs, cassettes, CDs and also MP3s- which play on the DVD player

Shower gels are a weakness of mine- love them, but not the price
So this morning I decided to try my hand at making my own- I brought a large bottle of very ordinary shower gel, 1 liter cost R10( $1.50) compare to the more expensive and my favourite brands at R16 ( $2.50) for 250ml. I decanted it into smaller prettier bottles and added some lavender and rosemary sprigs from the garden- herbal shower gel. I also use this as hand soap in the bathroom- again decant, as is, into saved pump bottle.
I also took some aqueos cream- water based no fragrance or colourant- and thinned to a poring consistency with boiling water and added a few drops of essentail oil- very good for dry skin and smells wonderful- able to make 2 small bottles for about 25c each

We are in the middle of a cold rainy spell- wasn't my last post about how hot it was- oh well
It's the first summer rains and it's been cold and wet- so for supper last night I took out some homemade veggie soup from the freezer, which was made in the middle of winter, and some frozen baked choc pudding- lovely warming and yummy meal with very little effort
Brought some strawberries on sale today- looking forward to strawberries and cream for dessert tonight- even if it's freezing :-))

It’s been really hot the last few days- 30C at least
I find one of the nicest suppers in the heat is to make open sandwiches- I cut up some health bread, boil eggs, open a can
of tuna, and slice some Tomatoes and other veggies etc, lay it out buffet style and everyone makes their own. Easy to do, nutritious and light.
Must remember to take the frozen juice out of the freezer- only problem with frozen stuff – got to remember to take it out in time- otherwise hunk of ice in bottle
Was a bit cooler today so was able to do some gardening - moved a conifer tree from the front flower garden, where it just didn’t fit to the back yard, where at least it helps to obscure some wall- it was still fairly small so it could be moved

Remembering that the majority of readers are approaching winter- I did exactly the same thing in winter- except I used woolen shawls and wraps to wrap the cushions. Again no cost. The rest of the covers I hand-knitted while watching TV, and fastened using some old coat buttons from the button jar. Some cost, but fairly minimal.

Spring has sprung and I wanted to update the look and feel of the lounge- out with the knitted throws and pillows and in with lighter colors and textures. I wanted to recover a few throw pillows, so I went looking for what we had in the house already- I have several lovely silk type scarves that I have received as presents but which I don’t wear very often- so I used my favorite very pretty ones-matching color to lounge color scheme and made “no sew” cushion covers- I don’t cut them as I don’t want to ruin the original fabric and I might want it as a scarf again one day. I wrap the scarf around the cushion and finish with a knot/ bow in the middle. All throw pillows updated- took me about 30 minutes total and cost NOTHING and they look great and very unique

Went shopping for fruit and veggies yesterday _ I go to a warehouse type store that only sells fresh produce, juices and milk. If you take your own bottles the juice and milk are very cheap. Juice is about R4 a liter and milk R3. And as bonus they pack everything into a box, so the kitties get a toy as well.
Brought lots of juice as DH doesn’t like veggies, but he does drink a lot of juice. We don’t drink alcohol so I figure spending money on juice, not soda, is a healthy choice
Froze some of the juice so it should last longer and keep me out of the shops