An experiment in not spending money.

<div style="text-align: justify; font-family: verdana;">I was reading <a href="http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/chicago/personal-health/savings-tip-have-a-buynothing-week-080372">Apartment Therapy</a> the other day and something jumped out at me: Buy Nothing Week. The idea is to have one week where you ONLY spend money on necessary things like food, medication and transport. I have no idea why this is such a novel idea to me, you'd think it'd be common sense. If you want to save money, don't spend money. But I suppose it's easy to lapse into spendthrifty habits... anyway starting from tomorrow I'm having a no spending week. Exceptions are: if it rains, I'm allowed to take the train to work (normally I cycle); if for whatever reason I can't bring lunch to work (unlikely) I can buy a sandwich from Sainsburys that costs £2 or less, and if my bike breaks, it has to be fixed (same goes if I need a new inner tube or something). But that's it. And I definitely MUST NOT buy any books of any type, or any art supplies or stationery whatsoever. I'll post an update this time next week.<br /><br />As for <a href="http://www.purplepinkandorange.com/blog/">Purple Pink and Orange's </a>not eating out challenge that I'm taking part in - well, we kind of fell by the wayside yesterday when, while out shopping, we realised we were starving and went to Burger King. But we did get a cheap cheeseburger meal each (£2.99 each) so it really wasn't too bad. Apart from that I am still being positively angelic, and I'm sure I've saved lots of money, so I'm thinking I'm going to keep it going for April, with the exception of one meal out for Easter.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrWwZ5m3s-9R_K1DxlkiWV0EHuklVo1mbgVfvAAefIVZiidoXFUBO2CRRKpWnYxfWJFt1kwfF_g_4awIl54U4SJg5nM7Hv4y5gJ-uLXHe1lX3R3Kw4hPVu7hh4yMuunjcZmhW319TurJk/s1600-h/professor_layton_boxart.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5318710973534028802" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrWwZ5m3s-9R_K1DxlkiWV0EHuklVo1mbgVfvAAefIVZiidoXFUBO2CRRKpWnYxfWJFt1kwfF_g_4awIl54U4SJg5nM7Hv4y5gJ-uLXHe1lX3R3Kw4hPVu7hh4yMuunjcZmhW319TurJk/s400/professor_layton_boxart.jpg" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 360px;" /></a><br />Oh and also while out shopping yesterday my husband bought us a copy of Professor Layton for the DS. I didn't know a lot about it except that it was as rare as rocking horse poo around Christmas and everyone has been raving about it. Well, they were right to rave, it's fantastic! Some of the puzzles are really quite devious (in fact some are bordering on the unfair) and it's such a great feeling when you figure out the solution to a particularly ponderous one. Great fun. Go and buy it.<br /></div>

An experiment in not spending money.

I was reading Apartment Therapy the other day and something jumped out at me: Buy Nothing Week. The idea is to have one week where you ONL...

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Neil the chicken

<div style="text-align: justify; font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGiOvwi4SoQbt0_efrMn0lQTPyX9zF9esDCRhwMaE0fx02x3BvBtdsnebYWzHMPNykO7e_vK_obAzmi_1Ah19YhNB5wZY9aM7pL5wsH8GaHv6Ilu6-IdrXI2V3ljax6vY6b4trhJ2Vl2A/s1600-h/neil.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5314063096086839586" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGiOvwi4SoQbt0_efrMn0lQTPyX9zF9esDCRhwMaE0fx02x3BvBtdsnebYWzHMPNykO7e_vK_obAzmi_1Ah19YhNB5wZY9aM7pL5wsH8GaHv6Ilu6-IdrXI2V3ljax6vY6b4trhJ2Vl2A/s400/neil.jpg" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" /></a><br />Here's Neil. I made him last night while watching 90210, the new series, which is terrible but for some reason I keep watching it every week.<br /><br />Update on the "not eating out" thing (i.e. the challenge on <a href="http://www.purplepinkandorange.com/blog/">purplepinkandorange</a>): I haven't bought lunch at work for a whole week, I've brought it with me every day. We haven't been out for dinner, or even lunch at the weekends. And still no cakes or biscuits. Or chocolate. See my halo? See how sparkly it is? Of course I then ordered the new <a href="http://www.rockstargames.com/chinatownwars/">Grand Theft Auto DS game</a> so any money I'd saved is now gone. Oh, and a flashgun for my <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olympus_Trip_35">Olympus Trip 35</a>. Oh, and some <a href="http://www.winsornewton.com/products/gouache/designers-gouache/">gouache</a>. But apart from that I've been good.<br /></div>

Neil the chicken

Here's Neil. I made him last night while watching 90210, the new series, which is terrible but for some reason I keep watching it every...

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Rollei 35 & Mario baddy - separated at birth?

<div style="text-align: justify; font-family: verdana;">I was talking to my husband this morning about the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olympus_Trip_35">Olympus Trip 35</a> and how cool it is, and he told me about the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rollei_35">Rollei 35</a> which is also cool (and which sells for many pounds on ebay these days). I looked at the photo on Wikipedia and immediately thought of one of the bad guys from Super Mario Bros 2: <a href="http://www.mariowiki.com/Image:SnifitNew.jpg">Snifit</a>. I ask you - do these two photos not look alike to you? He thinks not, but he is wrong.<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify; font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvw1cu8MhNbpVgarkUdHbz7jHHB1zdXj7NLDI1zYBv0hg7i6C3ZqiE6Zb6wkjorpcZb30pKkFMtcX9tdTpOkvUC0FrI8wpmxLC6kFMUAnYNoymWMFmWu38oDfsukdV8-y7UeQqBHRLTHQ/s1600-h/Rollei_35_S.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5309445580531780626" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvw1cu8MhNbpVgarkUdHbz7jHHB1zdXj7NLDI1zYBv0hg7i6C3ZqiE6Zb6wkjorpcZb30pKkFMtcX9tdTpOkvUC0FrI8wpmxLC6kFMUAnYNoymWMFmWu38oDfsukdV8-y7UeQqBHRLTHQ/s320/Rollei_35_S.jpg" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyKixTCFYpmbVwCnHXsdkaYufHnFzCx9IRTFyMJQN_2HdupnHwckVx3IdqEadQai96UU0iXBLjLIF5EVbuFk4y9IoI7HyN_CNZ0gped00Pt3gP1RqD1pPwBXnG-hK9sV6M-nCJNpVXv4g/s1600-h/snifit.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5309445582682595522" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyKixTCFYpmbVwCnHXsdkaYufHnFzCx9IRTFyMJQN_2HdupnHwckVx3IdqEadQai96UU0iXBLjLIF5EVbuFk4y9IoI7HyN_CNZ0gped00Pt3gP1RqD1pPwBXnG-hK9sV6M-nCJNpVXv4g/s320/snifit.jpg" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 320px;" /></a>Incidentally, I've decided I must have one of those little Rolleis, but that won't come as a surprise.<br /></div>

Rollei 35 & Mario baddy - separated at birth?

I was talking to my husband this morning about the Olympus Trip 35 and how cool it is, and he told me about the Rollei 35 which is also co...

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Scared of socks!

<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;font-family:arial;" >I've been dying to learn to knit socks for ages and ages, but something about them frightens me. I can do Fair Isle and lace and have no problems using dpns, but the very mention of short row shaping makes me run and hide behind the sofa. And I even signed up for a sock knitting class at </span><a href="http://www.loop.gb.com/" style="font-family: verdana;">Loop</a><span style="font-family: verdana;font-family:arial;" >, but it was cancelled due to insufficient numbers. I was gutted.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;font-family:arial;" >Well I'm determined to get over myself. My husband has one pair of slipper socks and they are looking the worse for wear, and I have several balls of sock yarn that I bought two years ago in a brave moment but that have sat in my stash ever since. I found </span><a href="http://www.cometosilver.com/socks/SockClass_Start.htm" style="font-family: verdana;">Silver's Sock Class</a><span style="font-family: verdana;font-family:arial;" > which has lots of very detailed instructions and is bursting with photos for the mentally challenged, like me, dug out some 2.5mm dpns, and cast on. I have no idea what the yarn is, the ball band is long gone, but it might be something like Prism?? Here's what I've done so far.</span><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZieh9TLcCpChru9Lha_X3YeYR31McgBqtC8o6yzaOn4hMCanVr3RouAD7xckgTg2aO6l_qr1ZMG-igs7kBOxZBjLvvlCP4Pk68ZzvOr_At-fOGlg5HK6D88FJyiALgr1KRHRdys-eBcI/s1600-h/DSCN1449.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" style="font-family: verdana;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5275298827419672386" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZieh9TLcCpChru9Lha_X3YeYR31McgBqtC8o6yzaOn4hMCanVr3RouAD7xckgTg2aO6l_qr1ZMG-igs7kBOxZBjLvvlCP4Pk68ZzvOr_At-fOGlg5HK6D88FJyiALgr1KRHRdys-eBcI/s320/DSCN1449.JPG" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" /></a><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;font-family:arial;" >The photo is a bit poor... I'm using my compact because my SLR is in the bedroom but as soon as I open the living room door a wall of cold hits me, so I'm hibernating in here. Here's a photo of the ball:</span><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXNLcN4oCdHatent1i1M_Nssqznz_P-BCQIaEWRxIOElefS_S1yog4TO5FKrvgE7OX5Mzc_hyphenhyphenR_lP3wUwDgRNO6-KxXZCTjJTRK8H40l3Q__afbsMY9zLFDZ8m0uov7PSjGC_Nl874PxA/s1600-h/DSCN1450.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" style="font-family: verdana;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5275299664578070018" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXNLcN4oCdHatent1i1M_Nssqznz_P-BCQIaEWRxIOElefS_S1yog4TO5FKrvgE7OX5Mzc_hyphenhyphenR_lP3wUwDgRNO6-KxXZCTjJTRK8H40l3Q__afbsMY9zLFDZ8m0uov7PSjGC_Nl874PxA/s320/DSCN1450.jpg" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" /></a><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;font-family:arial;" >I forgot how tedious k2 p2 rib is. And it's slow going. But at least I can watch TV at the same time.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;font-family:arial;" >In other news, I think I'm addicted to Klutz books. Is that possible? I started off with the </span><a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Shrink-Art-Jewellery-Klutz/dp/1591744377/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1228251932&sr=8-1" style="font-family: verdana;">shrink plastic jewellery</a><span style="font-family: verdana;font-family:arial;" > one which was fantastic. Then I found the </span><a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Hemp-Bracelet-Klutz-Akers-Johnson/dp/1570541876/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1228251957&sr=1-1" style="font-family: verdana;">hemp bracelets</a><span style="font-family: verdana;font-family:arial;" > one in a charity shop for 50p, still with all the hemp (but missing the beads), and ordered the </span><a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Bead-Loom-Bracelets-Other-Beads/dp/1591745047/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1228251985&sr=1-1" style="font-family: verdana;">bead loom</a><span style="font-family: verdana;font-family:arial;" > one from Amazon which was fantastic. (Well, the weaving bit is great, the sewing in the ends when you're done is less fabulous.) The supplies that come with the books are really great quality and you can find them pretty cheaply from Amazon sellers or Playtrade on play.com. So since I'm on a drawing and painting kick I had to have the </span><a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Drawing-Artistically-Undiscovered-Klutz-Quentin/dp/1570543208/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1228252079&sr=1-1" style="font-family: verdana;">drawing</a><span style="font-family: verdana;font-family:arial;" > and </span><a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Watercolour-Klutz-Thacher-Hurd/dp/1878257447/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1228252053&sr=1-1" style="font-family: verdana;">painting</a><span style="font-family: verdana;font-family:arial;" > Klutz offerings, which are clearly aimed at kids but since I have the drawing ability of a two year old that suits me fine. Plus "Drawing for the Artistically Undiscovered" has Quentin Blake as a co-author, so even if I never draw anything I can look at the pictures. I'm a huge fan of his. I was obsessed with Roald Dahl books as a kid and still think they're the best kids books ever. Here are my two new books: (Sorry the photo is so terrible.)</span><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIyjDcZ1XmD487MVoGo74iSQZEX4MCcSXL8Ee3V7l3POuY0ClnuGApMGC8VsT6LD-wF3hYHJI1_ZUQkh8T4X8hHA3b-arRjSqqrTpNXmDuK-8gqpjjpQ8ePaI_anUU_Hgv2JLxE0ida0k/s1600-h/new-books.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" style="font-family: verdana;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5275303096578467650" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIyjDcZ1XmD487MVoGo74iSQZEX4MCcSXL8Ee3V7l3POuY0ClnuGApMGC8VsT6LD-wF3hYHJI1_ZUQkh8T4X8hHA3b-arRjSqqrTpNXmDuK-8gqpjjpQ8ePaI_anUU_Hgv2JLxE0ida0k/s320/new-books.jpg" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;font-family:arial;" >But the most exciting thing to pop through my letterbox today was something I've been waiting for since 1995!</span><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigm3-nqosrED5aiMI2dna0FhKB05mPgbjW0xgL2klIYybcilYOPM5I9kufDcoRHiuIxd3-StTjvO_S2uyDMCAe047Us7zFs2gPyENWRSyHnJE3M05CERzSJwp7okhjlw3i-LWSiOYiGzc/s1600-h/chronotrigger.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" style="font-family: verdana;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5275303814299328834" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigm3-nqosrED5aiMI2dna0FhKB05mPgbjW0xgL2klIYybcilYOPM5I9kufDcoRHiuIxd3-StTjvO_S2uyDMCAe047Us7zFs2gPyENWRSyHnJE3M05CERzSJwp7okhjlw3i-LWSiOYiGzc/s320/chronotrigger.jpg" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" /></a><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;font-family:arial;" >Chrono Trigger! It was one of the brilliant SNES RPGs that never made it to Europe, and it's just been re-released on the DS. But since the DS is region free I don't have to wait till the UK release next year - I just ordered it from </span><a href="http://www.videogamesplus.ca/" style="font-family: verdana;">Video Games Plus</a><span style="font-family: verdana;font-family:arial;" > in Canada. But I'm determined to finish the Final Fantasy IV remake before I even take this out of its wrapper :-)</span></div>

Scared of socks!

I've been dying to learn to knit socks for ages and ages, but something about them frightens me. I can do Fair Isle and lace and have n...

Read more »