50p a day til christmas, healthily?!-Weezl's next challenge (part 2)

Lesley_Gaye

poohbear59 wrote: »

Lesley Gaye I made your spicy chicken cakes last night with the help of DS1. In fact he did most of the cooking, I just organised him. They all loved them despite the fact we had hardly any chicken left as DH had made himself a huge batch of chicken sandwiches. He was working yesterday so it was better than buying food when he is out..
Then we had a power cut form 8pm until 6.30 this morning so we have saved on electricity too. I suggested we have one electricity free evening a week but they decided that I was taking things too far. The lads played board games lit by oil lamps and I sat and knitted.

I'm so glad you liked them. It's great when you get something for hardly anything isn't it.

We're having tomato and lentil soup tonight mainly made with the seeds and pulp from the oven roasted toms I did from the cheapy carrier bag full. I'll also do some bread rolls to go with and stir some of the oven roasted toms into them, together with a few bits of feta, finely chopped rosemary, olive oil and a rosemary twig and more olive oil on the top.

Your electricity free evening sounds kind of fun. My OH turns the tv on for the 6pm news and it stays on until he goes to bed, even if he isn't watching it. I have tried many times over the years to persuade him to do something different but with no joy so far. Maybe I could try again with the electricity monitoir, showing him just how much power it uses.

BTW I only use the monitor intermittently now as it uses batteries at an alarming rate, which seems strange for an energy usage monitor. I even bought rechargeables, but the last time I re-charged them, they lasted one day precisely!!

I think I'll go and recharge them now to wave the monitor at him this evening!

In_Search_Of_Me

re the wee...womens wee has too much oestrogen but man wee is great for compost!

boredofbeingathome

In_Search_Of_Me wrote: »

re the wee...womens wee has too much oestrogen but man wee is great for compost!

Good grief, are you taking the wee on Weezles thread?:p:rotfl::rotfl:

The things you learn about.:rotfl:

ceridwen

In_Search_Of_Me wrote: »

re the wee...womens wee has too much oestrogen but man wee is great for compost!

Well perhaps the more "technically-minded" could answer the first thought that comes to mind on that point - ie does that difference still apply after the menopause? Non medically-minded as I am - I thought the levels of oestrogen shot down after the menopause - so maybe it wouldnt make any noticeable difference which sex supplied the "necessary" after then IYSWIM?

Elfinwings

Confuzzled wrote: »

well the bumpff that came with the composter suggests 50% 'brown' and 50% green.

ah-ha, thta's interesting, I hadn't realised you were supposed to put quite so much brown stuff in. Is there anything other than newspaper, thin card and paper that counts as brown material? I feel rather ignorant, our composter didn't arrive with any instructions at all!

Confuzzled wrote: »

i'm also going to get my ex to donate some urine as an activator when he comes for his visit (at least he'll be useful for something! ) womans urine is meant to be a bit to acidic i hear.

:eek: My goodness! I hope your ex is an accomodating sort of a chap! hehe... I am lucky as we have hens, and I am reliably assured that chicken droppings can be put in the composter and work as a good accelerator. In fact, that makes me think, perhaps the used wood shavings from their coop could go in too, as a 'brown' material?

Confuzzled wrote: »

might even toss in a bit of soil though we don't have much spare around here... this house was previously owned by old people and the front is mostly paving slabs and the back mostly stones *sighs*

if this were my home i'd have an elaborate raised bed system in the back, a whirly gig for the clothes (takes up less space though i prefer the regular laundry lines) and put lawn in the front for my wee one to play in, but i just rent so i have to make do with what i can

Are you likely to be there for a fairly long time Confuzzled? I know you are already growing lots of things, and perhaps have already got plenty of pots and so on, but I've heard that you can create a very satisfactory raised beds in the drawers from an old chest of drawers. They would be self contained and could just be picked up and moved if necessary. Just a thought - shame about the lack of lawn though.

Confuzzled wrote: »

your date sounds like fun and i 'sneak' stuff in to the cinemas all the time... not only is their stuff overpriced but it's often way too salty or really watered down and frankly quite nasty!

have fun

We had a great time thanks, and I couldn't agree more about cinema snacks!

Elfin.

Confuzzled

Elfinwings wrote: »

ah-ha, thta's interesting, I hadn't realised you were supposed to put quite so much brown stuff in. Is there anything other than newspaper, thin card and paper that counts as brown material? I feel rather ignorant, our composter didn't arrive with any instructions at all!




:eek: My goodness! I hope your ex is an accomodating sort of a chap!

i found and excellent site here http://www.gardenorganic.org.uk/composting/compost_pf.php that has a great explanation of composting materials and ways of going about it. i think i'll go for the mixed style myself and yes you can use chicken manure

as for him being accomodating, i think part of it is he's a little in awe of me and maybe a tidge afraid :rotfl: i don't mean he's worried i'll do him physical harm, but he's afraid i'm more cunning than he is (well i am, the man has no common sense!) in the end though, after the 10 years we were married he knows that 95% of the time i was right (he's openly admitted this) so i think now he defers to me on a lot of things because we are still friends we just have no business being married and defintely NOT living together!

we work well together when we have a joint project and we both wanted very much to have a good 20+ acres and live as self sufficiently as possible so helping with the compost heap is the least he can do, if he can't have the dream for himself he can at least help with his daughter getting into that sort of things in hopes she might one day want and get the same thing

also helps that he admits i'm long suffering when it comes to him and he realises how lucky he is i'm so tolerant of him. lots of dads have to fight for access and their ex wives would never do them the odd favour or put them up in their own house when they come to visit. i don't let on but i also realise how lucky i am that he IS interested, is a good dad (if not a not so great husband) and helps out when he can. so in the end i guess we're both accomodating!

glad to hear you had a good night out...i think we could all do with a bit more of that in these hard times!

thanks for the suggestion of old chest of drawers... might havae to take up a freecycle offer for this as i'm not sure if we'll be here long or not. the huge composter was only 10 quid so i'll take that on the cuff if i move because i don't think i can exactly take it with me (don't think they'd appreciate the mess i left behind) i have mixed feelings about staying here and to be honest i really need to find a cheaper place but for now i'm doing what i can with what i have and not putting too much money into it. if i could have afforded it and had a way to get it home i'd have bought a lot of soil or grow bags. there is the remains of a greenhouse here, just the frame but it would be a great support for a raised bed but i can't afford to fill it up.

in the past we've used old wardrobes to make raised beds, an old trunk, old washbasin, old boots and tubs and tyres but not sure they'd appreciate that though the tyres were so tempting... one stack of tyres up to chest height can supply you with an unbelievable amount of potatoes if you just keep earthing up and placing another tyre on top as it grows. still i didn't have the earth to fill it anyway so that was a moot point...

i have made a plan for what i can do if we do stay here (or are stuck here, right now there are about 10 places for rent that i can find over 6 letting agents!) anyway my plan is to move the desks/computers and the tv and sofa into my bedroom. it's a small room that is southfacing and has the hot water tank in it. it's always warm AND it has a brand new radiator in it.

anyway the reason this will save a lot of money is because in the living room the radiator doens't work so well and it's a larger room and is north facing. it's cold a lot of the time even when it's really hot outside it's quite cool. i've been quite concerned about staying warm as during april it was still cold enough to need the heat here (and i have circulation issues so often feel cold when i shouldn't) so i was thinking i'd have to have that radiator on at 2 or 3 most of the time and the rest of the house (not the kitchen, why they have one in there ihave no idea) at a 1 most of the time.

howver, if i move the living room things into the bedroom, i can get away with keeping that radiator on a 1 most of the time. it's always warm in there and during the colder times we were here it was noticiable even without the radiator on for a week (had to get replaced as the old one was leaking) and because it's a new radiator that isn't full of gunk it will be much more efficient, indeed i used it a few times and the entire thing got warm not just the top.

so, if i put my desk nearest the radiator in that room i can get away with keeping it on a 1 on most days. i'll put on a hat, wear two pairs of socks, duvet on the lap etc to avoid turning it up. but the big savings is that i can leave the radiator in the (now living room) new 'bedroom' at a 1. if i warm up the bed with a hot rice sock before bed and put on an extra duvet, sleep in socks etc it will be fine.

i realise i won't always be able to keep it that low but if i can do that the majority of the time it's going to help a lot! also in the bedroom i will be using as a living room i can open the airing cupboard to let in a little more heat if i need too... we don't use that much hot water anyway and i time my useage of hot water (most of the time) around times it's being heated anyway. the tank is insulated but it still gives off a nice heat!

the only cost this will have is i will need to buy a longer rf cable and a longer phone extension cable (i use one now to run the phone/internet into the living room, the only working socket is in the hall!) these costs should be less than 20 quid but will save me that much each month if not more from what i can guess so far.

shaz_mum_of__2

http://www.recyclenow.com/home_composting/get_advice/making_compost_faqs/index.html

good site for composting and cheap compost bins subsidised by your local authority

Shaz

elantan

ceridwen wrote: »

Well perhaps the more "technically-minded" could answer the first thought that comes to mind on that point - ie does that difference still apply after the menopause? Non medically-minded as I am - I thought the levels of oestrogen shot down after the menopause - so maybe it wouldnt make any noticeable difference which sex supplied the "necessary" after then IYSWIM?

i was told it was more to do with the extra testosterone that the males have ...hey i could be wrong though

Confuzzled

since my last post was so long thought i'd start this in a new one

anyway, yesterday i decided to test my theory of when morrisons does it's clearance. we headed out around 5:30pm and went through our foraging park first to have a look... we'll be picking some wild cherries this weekend and the elderberries are forming so that's good! also some rose hips are ready for picking too.

i've found something that i need to get a sample of to hopefully get someone here to identify for me. there is something that has white flowers, small dark green leaves looks a bit like rose leaves but not rose flowers. but it has berries/hips that are dark purple/brownish and i soooo hope these are edible because there are TONS of them in easy picking range!

anyway we went to aldi's first to get some of their 49p offers then headed off to morrisons. we got to morrisons around 6:15 and i headed straight to the meat clearance. i was there about 30 seconds and had 3 packages in my trolley when the yellow sticker guy appeared.

i smiled and was friendly and joking and when he saw i had a few packages in my trolley already he said he could mark 2 of them down again for me! anyway another man and his family started hovering too and we were both snapping up bargains. there were 2 large ribs of beef that had been marked down a few times but were still 4.50. i commented how i wish those were being marked down again as i hardly ever get beef. the guy hemmed and hawed a bit and said 'well i just marked them down again recently'

the other man said 'well i understand that, however you DO have two customers that will definitely take them NOW if you mark them down again' the yellow sticker guy smiled and said 'what the hell' and we each got one for 1.99! shame we couldn't talk him down on that big shoulder of lamb!

we then checked out the reduced fruit, not much going there but i did find a bag of value apples reduced and couldn't see a thing wrong with them so i grabbed those. not much marked down well in the ready meals section but when we got to the breads (which was on my list anyway) she had the lovely yellow stickers. i waited patiently, again chatting pleasantly and joking and she told me it was all 9p! my other bargain hunting friend came up and waited for me to get my fill then moved in too

so, i thought i'd share my haul from the two stores, ooh i love it when i get a bargain like this!


ALDI'S

Cheapy Cola (one small occasional luxury) 2x39p = 78p
Vine Tomatoes (8 small in each packet) 2x49p = 98p
White Grapes 500g 2x49p = 98p
Grand Total 2.74

MORRISON'S

12 White Rolls 1x09p = 9p
9 White Rolls 1x09p = 9p
Thick Sliced Brown Loaf 800g 1x09p = 9p
Thick Sliced White Loaf 800g 1x09p = 9p
6 Garlic Pitta Breads 3x09p = 27p
Rib of Beef 1.895KG 1x1.99= 1.99
Shin of Beef .205KG 1x35p = 35p
Spring Lamb Breast .150kg (no bone) 1x 29p = 29p
Smoked Ham Hough 500g 1x29p = 29p
Lambs Liver 270g 1x09p= 9p
Beef Mince 250g 1x09p = 19p
Value Apples (7 in bag) 1x59p = 59p
Value Onions 1.5kg 1x50p = 50p
Value Eggs 15pk (times are tight ) 1x1.45= 1.45

GRAND TOTAL 7.37

COMBINED TOTAL 10.11


i'm sooo chuffed with that! i hate having to buy the value eggs vs free range but it's cheap protein and i really am watching the pennies. yes i could give up the coke but my daughter has so little, we can't afford to go to swimming pool or buy her new toys or go to the cinema etc etc so i do buy small luxuries vs totally depriving us... she puts up with my foraging too and eats it mostly without complaints so i'm not taking her little treats away. when money is better we'll buy the value free range eggs they just started selling these!

anyway, i divided the rib of beef into 6 sections, the liver into 2 and the mince into 2 as well. i figure the liver we're still getting used to eating so just a bit added into soup or a stir fry or something is more than enough. the mince i can pad out so that's why i divided that small package into 2. the ham hough will provide meat for more than one meat but i can really divy it up until it's cooked.

i had been trying to spend only 5 quid a week on extra groceries however there was no way i was going to miss the opportunity to get this stuff at those prices, that would be just silly!

when the ex comes he can buy some more groceries on expenses. overall he will spend less money buying groceries that will feed us all (quite a bit less) then he would if he claimed his expenses from eating out and he's not having to claim expenses for hotel as normal cuz he's staying here so we'll take advantage of that a bit and go in around clearance time again. last time i saved his department around 100quid by him staying here and eating here even with the small amont he claimed and we came out a bit ahead so i hope to do that each time he comes to visit... some might not like it but if they are actually SAVING money by him staying i don't see the harm

anyway, hope you all have lovely frugal days... today i get to clean, oh joy:o

Confuzzled

in true weezle style i thought i'd share todays scrummy brunch

deluxe sausage sarnie in a garlic pitta

1 garlic pitta from reduced packet (6 for 9p) = .015
1 tomato (8 for 49p) = .061
2 sausages (20 for 1 quid) = .10
1/4 onion (1.5kg/50p) approx = .005
homegrown rocket (free seeds) = .00
bbq sauce (1tbs from 504g bottle that was 25p from approved foods) approx = .004

grand total 18.5p for brunch! i guessed a bit on the two approx ones so say round it up to 19p (though i doubt it's that much) still tasty and cheap and covers two meals

normally i don't care for the value sausages but they're quite nice like this. next time i'll use the whole grain mustard i got from approved foods 2kg for 1 quid!

mmmmmmm