So I think it’s safe to say we kind of failed on our “not buying anything for 2008″ goal.  But I am glad that we at least went three months without buying anything and what we did buy was worthwhile.  After a long consideration I decided to buy a slow cooker.  I wanted one for a bit of convenience, I often make stews and dishes that use the oven or stove for long periods of time.  I’m always worried something will go wrong and usually stay in the house while it’s cooking.  The slow cooker saves me so much time, I can brown all the meat and veg in the morning and just leave it.  Like today we went out to town for a bit and then for a walk later in the day, and came home to a house full of smells of braising meat.  I’m also always concerned about energy consumption.  Any oven uses a lot of energy but ours seems as inefficient as they come and I already use it such a lot for baking.  If I save even a pound by using the slow cooker I’ll feel better for it.  David on the other hand bought a Giffon Grip for turning pottery.  Apparently it’ll save a lot of time when he’s finishing his bowls and mugs, etc.  He’s been making so many things at his classes he’s hoping he can maybe sell a few online once we’ve replaced all our own pottery.  He can’t get enough of his classes and is starting to seriously considering pottery as his future career path.  It’s only a shame we don’t have enough space here to have a wheel, but his classes are going to go straight through the year, and he’s thinking of doing an apprenticeship.  I only hope this will be the answer to his cutting down on web work and he can have a more fulfilling job.