Plodding determinedly up a 300k mountain!

michelle09 · 21 October 2017 at 1:31PM

Thanks KC, and yes, I started this a few years ago when I came over to find she'd had a clear out and dumped two bags of holiday photos in the bin! I get that she wants to declutter but I wish she'd mentioned it first.

It's Saturday, and my first weekend off this month.

So naturally, I am cleaning. Last week we had the friend who made our wedding cake stay while they were headed to a conference in London. As a thank you/ anniversary gift they brought a tier of our wedding cake with them. So we have had lots of nice dessert this week, and a reminder that it's always good to help out your friends, if not your waistline!

We have managed to move our kitchen install date three weeks forward. It's great for us because it's becoming harder and harder to live the old one now that we know that it's going to be fixed soon. And it's good for the company because the place they buy their kitchens from are putting their prices up on November 1st. They agreed to absorb the cost because they'd made the original quote, but this works better for everyone.

Current Balance: £248,900.00
Kitchen Savings: £6,500/£13,000

obay · 23 October 2017 at 8:46AM

I bet when you finished your kitchen you'd love to OP that extra £2000 you have for it to the mortgage!

beanielou · 23 October 2017 at 9:13AM

So when is new kitchen day?

michelle09 · 29 October 2017 at 4:02PM

Thanks obay! Possibly, we're currently scrimping more than I'd like to but I'd be happy to put at least £1k of it as an OP while we build up the emergency fund again.

15th January. Less than three months now and I can't wait. They were around last week doing the final measurements before ordering the parts. Hopefully the excitement will do us through the three weeks of it being done.

Busy week, we're into the part of the university term where students suddenly realise they are struggling with assignments so I'm picking up a lot of evening work which is good in the run up to Christmas.

Our halloween celebrations pretty much consists of pumpkins, but I do really enjoy it. We cheat and get stencils online (http://orangeandblackpumpkins.com). This year we did Groot from Guardians of the Galaxy, and Toothless from How I Trained your Dragon and I'm fairly impressed at how they turned out. Pumpkin carving naturally leaves a lot of pumpkin so today is a kitchen day!

So far I've made:
- A tupperware container full of roasted pumpkin seeds
- 36 pumpkin cupcakes
- 2 loaf-tin pumpkin pies
- A pumpkin sandwich cake
- A "pastry-less" pumpkin pie (the joys of gluten free recipes) which is a creme brulee type consistency.

And I still have pumpkin puree left. Hmm... might freeze it with some of the cakes. Feel that we've got enough for now.

Payday on Tuesday, really looking forward to that.

Current Balance: £248,900.00
Kitchen Savings: £6,500/£13,000

Karmacat · 29 October 2017 at 4:36PM

Amazing! Awww, you really get into the spirit! I grew up with the really old fashioned English Halloween (a turnip hollowed out just enough to put a candle in, and bobbing for apples in a washing up bowl, or a new innovation of tying them to strings, hung across a doorframe

) so I can't make myself go for the American version. And there are no little family kids within 60 miles, so I forgive myself the not-taking-part

It feels Scrooge-ish, but its not really :rotfl:

All that pumpkin-ing sounds really, really delicious.

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michelle09 · 29 October 2017 at 5:10PM

Thanks! I've never really been bothered by halloween, I just like carving the pumpkins. Saw an advert on FB for carving other vegetables so maybe I can make it a year round activity.

You're probably forgiven! I have two neices but they're way too young for halloween so just don't answer the door on the 31st, miserable as that may be. I will be scrooge-ish with you.

The pumpkin things are very good. Apparently my grandmother has never had pumpkin pie, so I'm going to freeze some filling to make her one in a few weeks time. Even at nearly 90 you can discover new things it seems.

OH took a large handful of the pumpkin seeds and a cupcake to work so I think they've gone down a treat!

Hmm...the internet is telling me that pumpkin brownies are a thing. And we do have chocolate in the house. Maybe meandering back to the kitchen.

Karmacat · 29 October 2017 at 5:25PM

Ooh! If you really enjoy doing it, you could make images to be sold as cards on deviantart or something!

Thanks

:D:D I'm definitely forgiven by me

:D:D and the little ones that are "only" 60 miles away are 3 years old and newborn - and oh my, they're half French, I've just realised I know absolutely nothing about how the French do Halloween. More learning to do

Slurping at the thought of pumpkin brownies

beanielou · 29 October 2017 at 7:53PM

I dont answer the door either these days.

smallholdingsister · 29 October 2017 at 8:15PM

Pumpkin soup with nutmeg?

CathT · 29 October 2017 at 10:17PM

I know what you mean about not managing with the kitchen now it's so close to being done. I enjoy a soak in the bath but now we're so close to replacing the bathroom I'm only using the shower room as can't dace bathing in there now I know how fantastic it's going to look!

Wouldn't have thought of roasting the pumpkin seeds so thanks for that tip. DH taking the children pumpkin picking tomorrrow so I may come home to carved pumpkins.

What tutoring do you do?

Plodding determinedly up a 300k mountain!

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