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

r.mac_2

hello weezl :waves: hello everyone :waves:

I have tried to make bread in the past without much success. I thought I would try your recipe as it seems so easy (and EG inspired me as well!) I only have one loaf tin, do you think that if I quarter the mixture I'll have success and it'll tempt me into buying another one?

Also - did anyone catch the EG bread recipe or have a similar one they can point me in the direction of? I don't have a BM, but think that my kneeding technique is what has let me down in the past. the atraction of the EG recipe was that I have a kenwood chef with a dough hook attachment

Elfinwings

Mooloo wrote: »

Maybe its the time of year, as I have been feeling down and depressed about the finances.

So I am feeling like a complete failure at the moment.
I wanted to go to the village hall meetings, the lunch club, the art clubs etc, but I cannot see me being able to put them into the budget. But to live in the village and not be able to go out and meet people will be a tough one, after living in Towns and working with so many people when I was at work.

Hello Mooloo - Bah, it's a big load of old cobblers when you feel like that, isn't it. We live in a fairly small viallge too (about 300 people) and I would agree that it is very important to meet people and feel part of village life. Please excuse me if my suggestions are not appropriate, as I don't know that much about your situation, but I would offer this:
Firstly, are there any village events that you can go to for nothing? My village has a free rambling club once a month, and a church. Not everyone wants to go to a church, but having been initially apprehansive I have found ours to be friendly, not judgemental about your personal faith (myself, I'm still unsure) and a great way to meet a whole set of folk. Might be worth checking out the parish notice board / parish magazine to see if there are any other free events on in your village or other nearby ones? What about your local library - is there one nearby, and do they have events on from time to time? Our library sends a mobile library bus to our village once a week, which is free to use and you get to know the people who use it regularly.

And regarding the lunch club and art group etc - how regular are the meetings and what do they cost to attend? If it is a couple of pounds a time, perhaps people on here could come up with ways to make a couple of extra pounds here and there, which you could ringfence for these activities? For example it's possible to make a few pounds a month doing online surveys.

Where there's a will there's a way!
Elfin. x

Savvy_sewing

Morning everyone, thanks for all the hugs. Its worked!! I am feeling alot more positive this morning.
The bills are from when I was living in the big house with the children and the grandchildren, when they were little babies, the heating was on constantly, and so was the water. Then when Biggest of Mooloo moved in with us, in January, her BF had all his mates around in the garage everynight. (It was converted into a sitting room for them, with carpet, tv's etc. ) and they had 3!!!! fan heaters out there. So thats where the huge bills came from. Everyone was supposed to contribute to the bills, so that would have been 4 out of 8 people paying towards the bill. If you divide that all up, it would not have been quite so bad. However as everyone went their seperate ways, it left me the name on the bill with the debt!
None of the others are in a position to help me, and I was expecting the £1300 deposit back, but the landlord was a bar Steward, and he decided the whole house had to be repainted as where we touched up the paint didnt match... So no deposit back. As I had already given Biggest of Mooloo her deposit (£995 and paid my deposit here £1100).... The kitty is empty.

Yes I know. I was stupid, and too generous to the family. I suppose I never really thought that I would be out of work totally. I nievely thought that I would be better health wise by now, and working properly. Alas, I am just on the merrigoround of ups and downs.

On the bright side, I can see what the electric bill is here, and there is no gas.
They are coming to change the meter on the 30th September, but I dont really want a prepayment meter as if I am having bad days, and I cannot get out of the village, or if we get bad weather and the village is unaccessable, I would have nothing but candles !!! mmmm that worries me!.

I have put the lights on in the sittingroom, and decided that I will have to juggle between my depression with the dark, and the cost of my electric!. But I will have to work out what tarrif I am on, as I have absolutely no idea since Np took over from the other supplier.! I had to even ask them on the phone the otherday whether they actually were my supplier or not!!! But I have the start read they gave me so I will dig out the old bills and check that they are matching.
Then I am now due a bill on the 8th October, so I presume I can update the actual readings, and start to read it more regularly so I can work it all out.!!
See, I am thinking more positively today!!.
I looked at all the food that was in the freezers and although at first it didnt look like I had that much, I was surprised that I have enough meat to do 28 meals!.
(for 2 of us), and then when I looked into a menu plan, I did a rough plan for the month, I realised that at weekends I am not normally here, and a lot of the time DS is not here, and so at a stretch and a bit of imagination, I have the basics for 46days!!! (well takes us to end of October). Will need to buy the veg, and the rice/pasta will probably need topping up!, but now that I have looked at all this I am feeling more positive about things. Perhaps the 50p a day would be in reach, for a short amount of time, but only as I have the basics already!!

Lesley_Gaye

Very glad to hear you are feeling more upbeat today Mooloo.

As for the Bar Steward - when did your tenancy begin? If it was after the time when deposits had to be protected, you could contest the retention of your deposit if it wasn't fair. If it was after the date (can't remember when it was off the top of my head) and the landlord didn't protect your deposit, you have a very strong case against him

Edit - It was 6th April 2007 article here
these are the essential points
'Essentially the legal change will compel a landlord to hand over deposits to a third party or have an insurance scheme cover it. When the scheme comes into force all new tenancies created on or after the start date, as well as any tenancy renewals, will need to follow the correct procedure.
Failure to protect deposits in this way will result in the landlord being forced to return the deposit to the tenant and a court can order the landlord to pay up to three times the amount of deposit if he remains in default at the date of any court order. In addition, landlords who break the rules will be unable to regain possession of their properties by the serving of a Section 21 Notice, or to enforce the terms of the tenancy agreement.
Landlords will still be able to make deductions for damage but in the case of a dispute the third party or insurance company will act as the arbitrator and pay out money owed to tenants.'

Savvy_sewing

Its too late now. He reclaimed it, I didnt know anything about being able to have an insurance company look at it. Well I know for the future, for here, or my daughters deposits.

Seakay

Not too late - have a look again at paragraph 2 - to get it back if you are entitled to do so.

Lesley_Gaye

Seakay wrote: »

Not too late - have a look again at paragraph 2 - to get it back if you are entitled to do so.

Mooloo,yes, as Seakay says. The point I was trying to make was that if your tenancy (or renewal) started on or after 6Apr07 the landlord HAS to protect your deposit and if he didn't and you contest his retention he is in very deep doo doo indeed

In_Search_Of_Me

hello lovelies...I can confirm that weezl is alive and well and that there gorgeous bundle of fergusness has very sharp teeth and more to follow soon me thinks plus he giggles and then I just want to eat him all up cos hes soooo delicious!!! Weezl is a busy frugal mummy so you will have to forgive her for now due to lack of posting energy! Meanwhile the rest of us can be honourably frugal!! This week I have spent the grand total of 86p!! £4 something last week...making the best of the remaining two cats who will go next week...know they will be loved and cared for but absolutely dreading them going. I know needs must (and they really must) but I will really miss them. Am signed up to do vol work with local cat sanctuary to get cat cuddles!! Hugs all!

ceridwen

A little bird tells me one of our "happy band" on here has just got one of those American pressure canners.....;):D ...you know who you are:D.

Errr.....do tell....have you had any "Adventures in Canning Land" yet? All report-backs and fotees welcome purlease to those of us who are now sitting here feeling distinctly envious...:p

Elfinwings

In_Search_Of_Me wrote: »

making the best of the remaining two cats who will go next week...know they will be loved and cared for but absolutely dreading them going. I know needs must (and they really must) but I will really miss them. Am signed up to do vol work with local cat sanctuary to get cat cuddles!! Hugs all!

If there was a medal for bravery regarding pets, I would award it to you. Well done on having your amazing strength of character :T I don't think I would be able to give Gwendoline (my rescue cat) up.