Selfsufficientish.com

you might find some ideas and inspiration on here http://casabento.com/shop/en/ and take a look at bento for lunches. theres lots of ways to brighten up dull lunches. there is also this http://www.flickr.com/groups/justbento/ when my son takes a packed lunch his friends are the ones requesting thing...

i always add the feathery fronds of ferns to my cut garden flowers. they grow so easily in shady parts and really are striking with some flowers but not for everyone :( you can get day even just a few week beginners florist courses really cheap too which will help with eye for colour etc yes the foc...

. If we go to my Sisters she asks for us to bring sweet/starter or something. Thats how i do BBQs and such here. i let everyone know im getting the veggies and some cuts of meat, will get the fuel/wood for it and everyone is to add something to the table. my siblings always refused - my "party...

Mrs Moustoir wrote:Berry - you are harsh!

*takes a bow* in this case it was needed! actions over words!

i did have family from up north visit often for a 'free holiday' - their words. I got so fed up after one evening of waiting up until 2am - i papered my living room to keep myself awake while they went out drinking ... i shut the boiler off (not really just turned the power off to it temporarily) an...

Sounds like you know what you are doing Berry, and take the time to make a decent job. I've been clearing my parents house and if my father is looking down on me I pretty much meant him by my comment. I loved him but he didn't half manage to infuriate me with repairs made with sticky tape or nails....

transport costs in rural areas are ridiculously high! Im lucky in that i can forage for fruit of a weekend when its in season and roll that in as an activity for the boy. Supermarket fruit prices, as much as they tell you other wise, are very high and our local greengrocer decided to cater as though...

my weekly shop (excluding milk and bread as i buy these as and when) was £30 a week for two. some weeks i can just about scrape by with £30 but to give the boy fresh fruit and veg daily i sometimes need nearly double that now. thankfully ive persuaded him a fresh carrot is just like eating an apple...

now finally throwing myself into design/photography/illustration fulltime... i think i have the perfect job... i just dont have the income i need :/

know how to repair a book I'd make that " how to make a decent job of repairing a book" because if there is one thing that irritates me then it's books "repaired" with ugly great strips of sellotape that eventually dries out and leaves horrible yellow patchs. Pete i agree sellot...

no merlin it really is that expensive. Ive given up meat mostly - eating it when i can get it in co-op reduced and freeze it. that means we have a meat based meal maybe 2-4 times per month. my weekly shop (excluding milk and bread as i buy these as and when) was £30 a week for two. some weeks i can ...

left over fruit.. a lady I was picking sloes with suggested mashing fruit up (removing stones carefully) and making chocolate liquers with it using chocolate molds. she also suggested mixing the mashed fruit into a truffle mix but ive not tried that one.

know how to repair a book sew on a button, replace a zip and take up a hem darn a sock. treat everyday ailments eg honey for a sore throat how to quarter a chicken, fillet a fish and cook a steak properly!! write a letter by hand dance with a partner! replacing a fuse in a plug. change a tyre prune ...

I'll try the blinds first. I have thick curtains up already but had planned to put up Venetian blinds - both windows have the sun pouring through in in the morning on one side and the evening on the other. so blinds are on the to-do list. Just wondering if i could get away with the venetian style ju...

thanks for the advice. my room is 13 x 11 with a whacking great lovely 50s fireplace in the middle. its a very uneven floor. im going with lino as its easier to keep clean! the boy wont be allowed in my workspace and the kitchen and hallway its a given really. i was thinking of boards on the floor b...