A wee holiday

Just back from the weekend in our seasonal pitch at Ecchlefechan - didnt do much - just chilled, had a lovely drive in the sunshine and relaxed.......

Large (for me) spend

Back is doing much better so thought I would accompany eldest dd to IKEA (turned into a family day out as dh and youngest dd wanted to come too!)Bought everyone a cheap breakfast - took it slowly round the shop and sat at every opportunity!

Eldest dd has got her money through from the disability office at Unit to get her a chair, desk, laptop etc - she has to get the stuff and send in the receipts - they gave her a large wad of cash which is burning a hole in her pocket!

She got a lovely corner desk with lots of shelves up above (has problems reaching down to drawers) so was very happy - saved £15 on delivery as dh put it in her car and unloaded it the other end......

I knew I wanted a new cushion for my free Poang chair (cream cover and a fisherman and cat do not mix!) so got a black one for £14.99

Then we hit the bed section. Since my back has been sore I have been sleeping on the spare bed as its a lot softer than my own mattress (we have a 6ft bed and 2 matteress - he prefers soft and I prefer harder) Now its getting better its too soft but my old matteress is still on the hard side. Its a smashing mattress - miracoil and really good nick but I usually put a couple of spare duvets under the sheet for a bit of softness and its been great until my back really kicked in.

So we looked at matteress toppers. Now this is a minefield! I remember when dh got a new matteress last year I went with him and couldnt find anything better than my mattress. I tried those memory foam ones and hated them.

So first we had to find one of the IKEA beds who had a firm matteress like mine, then drag all the different mattress toppers and try out each one (by the time I had got up and down I was knackered!) Out of all of them the memory foam was the best. I hummed and hawed as it was £99 but as all my family said, you cant put a price on comfort. What finally did it was that IKEA have a 90 day trial period on mattresses -if the one you get isnt comfy you can exhange for another one. So we bought it......

And last night was the best nights sleep I have had for a long time! Dh said I didnt toss and turn like I normally do.

So although its a big spend I suppose by my little frugal ways I had the £100 to spend and being comfy in your bed is really really important.

Pictures of my gang hut

As promised weeks ago here are some pictures of my caravan/office/gang hut - a work in progress as my back problems stopped play but getting there! I have a desk, (complete with garden chair!), a garden relaxer chair, table for necessary tea stuff and a wee table just for decoration......nothing bought new - all from either jumbleys, car boots or already had.

I love my wee gang hut - I can concentrate on my Open Uni stuff and feel completely relaxed in it (havent taken photos of the back area as its used for storage and it a complete mess!) I also have a convecter heater in there to keep it warm. Have a wool rug I got at a car boot for £2 but really need a carpet - have gone after a few on freecycle but not been lucky - hey ho - will get one eventually!!!! Ihave a duvet cover (£1) ready to cut up for curtains and my friends mother gave me the net curtains.

Gradually getting better, made biscuits!

Back to work this week - just 2 days but they felt really long....back still a bit dodgy but doing lot more excercises and walking about so that helps. Have stopped my night time meds and halved the day time ones so getting there.....

Did an on-line shop this weeks - really big one which was £81.

Made biscuits this morning - known as Twinks hobnobs (got the recipe from Twins at moneysavingexpert.co.uk) - they are lovely! actually got 56 biscuits from the mix but I might have made them too big so will make them smaller next time. Next time I might add ginger or even omit some marg and put peanut butter in.....

8oz SR flour
8oz sugar
8oz oats
8oz margarine
1 tblesp golden syrup
1 tblesp hot water
1/2 tsp bicarb

Melt all ingredients in pan and stir well - I had to add more flour as the mix was a bit too sticky to roll into small balls in your hand. Put balls on baking trays and flatten with fork - could for 10-12 mins on gas mark 4