Financial faux pas and other disasterous decisions

moo2moo

Bleugh. Its morning. Already.

DD2 was shattered last night. Not getting dinner till 7:30 really didn't help. She threw a wobbly at bed time and woke in tears at midnight with a wet bed. After that I was wide awake. Vaguely recall dozing off around 4 am not long before OHs alarm went off. I have biger bags under my eyes than the average panda.

Last nights E-bay auction was priceless. 21 watchers and no bids. Zero. Zip. Nada. I've since had five e-mails from people asking me if I'm going to re-list it as they didn't get chance to bid. It was on for 10 sodding days for f's sake. How much more time do people need?

I am not a morning person!

OH complained of feeling cold last night. More due to exhaustion than anything else. He did another 12 hour day which with travelling took him out of the house for 14 hours. That in itself isn't too bad but the 4am starts are a killer. Todays shift is even worse. A 4am start followed by a requirement to go back in this evening for 6pm to stay until sometime between midnight and 2am. I've suggested he books into the hotel round the corner from his office rather than driving home but hes a stubborn toe rag and wants to see the DDs before he flys out. Lit the log burner for the first time this winter. DD2 decided she was big enough to do it and laid and lit the fire herself. DD1 cooked dinner leaving me free to potter. House is beginning to look marginally tidier.

DD2 has turned into a very annoying little sister. DD1 was trying her hardest to read her school book. Everytime she struggled or got a word wrong DD2 piped up with the correct one leaving DD1 even more frustrated than normal. Will have to find a subtle way of telling DD2 to disappear whilst DD1 reads before she refuses to try when DD2s around.

Operation empty the carp out of the freezers is moving on at a rapid pace. Its scary how little is actually in there. Cardboard boxes take up tons of space but most are only part full. This could be quicker than anticipated. Cockerel currently defrosting ready to stick in the slowcooker.

Plans for today extend as far as liberating edible apples from schools apple tree and collecting not so edible apples for the chickens. Washing machine is on already. OH wants to take a shirt with him that he wore a couple of days ago. Need to persuade him to repack without the manky oil stained jeans he wore to work on the landie.

moo2moo

Frugal forraging has filled my car with 3 bin bags of fallen apples. Will see what I can salvage before the chucks get their beaks into them. Blew £1.30 on milk in the village shop and have used £60 of Tesco Clubcard vouchers to order outrageously overpriced ferry vouchers for OHs sisters wedding and this years RAC recovery policy - forward planning as it doesn't need renewing until December. Still thats two things less to spend real money on.

Domesticity beckons.

moo2moo

Ebayers get worse. Will I accept £10 less than my starting price and deliver it to an address 15 miles away. Erm. No. I really don't need the hassle thank you very much. Fortunately someone else has offered me the start price and will be here to collect it in an hour thus saving me both hassle and a fiver in E-bay final value fees. Jobs a good 'un.

Both slowcookers are on. Hopefully it will stay dry long enough for yesterdays washing to dry on the line. I've cheated and bunged the rest in the tumble drier. Naughty moo.

lucielle

Chuck me some apples.
L

moo2moo

Here. have several bin bags of the things Lucielle. I've come across a second apple tree at school. School cook has a bag full much to the disgust of the kitchen assistants. The closest thing to food prep they usually do is adding boiling water to jelly mix or water to instant whip or cake-mix a-la-bag. Get the idea? This years new improved menu expects them to make flans and things from as close to scratch as it gets. There was much muttering yesterday when the laziest one discovered this.

3 ice cream tubs of cooked apple are now in the freezer in readiness for crumbles or pies. I'm probably hallucinating - I haven't made a pie since Home Ec. class at school. Still got another bin bag to go. Operation clear out the freezer has taken a giant pace backwards.

OH has departed until late next Tuesday at some point during the night. He was in a far better mood yesterday evening and has admitted that its all down to knowing he won't have to go to his normal place of work until the middle of next week. Heres hoping that more overseas trips come his way because the likelihood of a new job in the travel industry is very remote at the moment.

moo2moo

Plans whilst OH is elsewhere:

• List on flea-bay all the stuff I've been avoiding listing in the hopes I can shift some more of it. The Ipod really has to go. Unless I can think of someone to give it to for X-mas..... which off the top of my head I can't.
• Unfortunately this means a trip to civilisation for camera batteries unless I can snaffle some out of something else. Will investigate further.
• Do something productive just for me because I can.
• Cooking. Lots and lots of cooking. Will attempt to batch cook a few meals for the freezer to kick start the home cooked foods master plan.
• Find a menu for chicken curry involving Asda 4p curry sauce and hope that Asda have the sauce in question in stock.
• Wave a magic wand in the hopes that the cupboard of detritus contains a large store of plastic boxes with lids that actually fit to allow me to freeze the stuff otherwise I'm screwed.
• Consider finishing the advent calendar I started making for the DDs when DD2 was two in time for it to be used this year. Project claims it can be done in a weekend. Perhaps one with 48 hour long days where you don't eat or sleep or do anything else either.

I guess that little lot should keep me out of mischief for a bit.

moo2moo

If I had any self respect I'd probably be rather embarrased at the mo. but confessions of a domestic disaster continue a pace.

Having dusted off the bread machine which lurks in the depths of the kitchen cupboard I've slapped into it two part packs of bread mix with expiry dates from the early part of 2005. Topped them up with a third pack and lobbed in a part pack of vaguely more recent fast acting yeast for good measure. Worse still it won't be ready until 10 minutes before I run out the door to work. Hopefully the countdown is vaguely accurate. If not I'll be late for work. Dinner tonight will either be based upon some very tasty homemade mixed grain, parmesan and sundried tomato bread or it'll be beans on toast whilst the bread becomes tomorrows chicken feed. Still its 2 less things in the cupboard.

Final load of apples are in the slow cooker resulting in a total of 6 boxes of frozen stewed apple and enough for desert for the DDs tonight.

moo2moo

Fighting the urge to go to the supermarket. Its not that I want to go but there are a few bits we'll run out of over the weekend and its sooo much easier going without the DDs. None of it is in any way essential. I really really don't need to go. Its not like I actually need the ingredients to make x-mas cakes now. I've got months to do that. Twas just a random thought that popped into my head. Thought pattern went ooh I know I'll bake x-mas cakes for x-mas pressies and I'll do it this weekend cos the DDs like doing stuff like that. Followed by hmmm but I don't have any dried fruit, or enough flour, cherries etc. etc. I'll just nip to Mr Ts and whilst I'm there......

Lula-Hula

NO Moo, dont go Moo, step away from the T Moo, cant you make apple sauce for xmas pressies instead

alibob30

Ooh yes, apple sauce for xmas pressies is a good idea.

How did the bread turn out? Parmesan and sundried tomato sounds lovely.