Live on £4,000 for a year - 2009, Part 3

Frugaldom

Hello Have just carried out another successful trade - eggs & lemon curd for a couple of fleece blankets that will be ideal for using as cosy curtains over the big, cold kitchen window this winter. I love bartering, saves so much money all round! :T I just need to sort out a few more jars ready for the next batch of lemon curd and that'll be me in LETS credit enough to trade for winter meat supplies. :j

I've just picked about a dozen almost-red tomatoes from the baskets outside, so all was not lost. Won't be attempting tomatoes next year other than maybe 2 plants in the greenhouse, as it just isn't worth it for us here. I'm hoping that the artichokes will thrive, as they have survived this long and have even survived the marauding sheep over the past few days, but these will be traded for other produce. Buckets of potatoes, onions, carrots, peas, cauliflower, beetroot and peas will be my chosen plants for 2010 as I have decided that the fruit growing is much more beneficial to our lifestyle, with any excess being traded off for other stuff.

Today's tasks:

1) A full inventory of the freezer whilst giving it a very quick defrost. That way, I can make a last ditch attempt at meal planning to try and see this year's grocery challenge through. I want it all organised before starting part 4 thread.

2) Look out all the material I have to see what curtains/cushion covers/draft excluders can be made. I'm still waiting for my 5m roll of velcr0 to arrive, which will let me get the window coverings done.

3) Clear out more of the plant debris from the greenhouse and do some general tidying.

The slow cooker is on with my bargain beef joint (£1.19 reduced from £5 something) and I'll use up the last of the purple potatoes with some stubby carrots from the garden. I think my thinning and repotting techmiques leave a lot to be desired as all my carrots seem to be doing is morphing into weird shaped orange blobs with a multitude of roots but they are orange and they do taste like carrots, so waste not, want not. :rotfl:Must get photo to show you how weird these things look!

Thanks for the update Lynda, date now noted in next year's diary.

lingojingo

Thanks for all the good wishes - not burning up quite so much this morning, but feel like I've been punched all over. Wish i could stop coughing.

nykmedia wrote: »

Lingo, hope you're feeling a little better today - bed, hot blackcurrant juice & aspirin is my cure-all remedy but the occasional bit of chocolate helps too

Nyk, this is how i know I'm really not well, the mere thought of chocolate makes me feel sick

Congratulations Bails :happyhear and how romantic!

grandma247

Shaz it was biology but I think she was upset as it was all about plants. Yes I know they will be getting to other stuff later but I think she was upset because she only wanted a part time course which the original course is. I don't think she understood that they wanted her to do full time. It is a newly designated uni. It used to be a large college. She wants to do sports science (I think that is what it is called). So she can either work in a gym or as a personal trainer. Also she will be able to teach it. She already has a qualification in it but wants more so she has a better chance of a good job.
They gave her days and times the first week then changed everything this week.
She still has a lot on her plate as she is getting a divorce and she has had a stormy relationship with someone this last few months. trouble is he has the gift of the gab and she falls for it every time he says sorry. As far as I am concerned if they are having this much trouble so early in the relationship then it will never work but There is no point in going on about it to her,I said my piece a while ago. It just hurts to watch her go downhill and the effect on her kids too. They don't like him, for me that alone would be enough to show him the door.

taka

:j:jWooooo Hoooo! :j:j
:T Congratulations Bails! :T
:kisses3: :smileyhea :blushing: :happylove

How romantic! :A

BigMummaF

Must be something in the air, as two of us are currently attending a course referred by our GP, & another has a bit of a tum to lose too. We've just had our second week & she was telling us about portion sizes; did you know that ONE tablespoon of mash constitutes a portion :embarasse while it's three for veg? Really doesn't seem very much to me but the family are in this together for the long haul....trouble is I really am not looking forward to weighing every little bit of cooking I do It's got to be easier if you're doing individual meal-sizes but when you do a cottage pie for a family of four, how are you supposed to make sure you get your share without pinching someone elses
We had to keep food diaries for four days to include at least one weekender & although it was a bit of a bind, I did find myself thinking I wouldn't eat a particular thingie as I'd have to write it down so I'm going to do that alongside the one for spending. I used to follow Murphy the Cat's weight-loss thread so may go back to the fold for some moral support, as the initial 'teaching' bit of this course we're on is for five weeks & then a review once a month for a year.

Some newbies on the Grocery Challenge were asking about what folk include in their totals & when it came to listing mine, I think I've underestimated my goal so I've some thinking to do on that a-gain :doh:before going 'live' 01.10. At this rate I shall not be ready till 2110:rotfl:

Kittikins

NYK - re: cold place and bread rising, I've put my bread in the fridge overnight to rise and it did, so sure your house won't be that cold! Can't remember where I read it but it's a great trick

Wow Shaz, what a great idea with the fresh bread, I must try it. Yum, yum!

taka

BigMummaF wrote: »

Must be something in the air, as two of us are currently attending a course referred by our GP, & another has a bit of a tum to lose too. We've just had our second week & she was telling us about portion sizes; did you know that ONE tablespoon of mash constitutes a portion :embarasse while it's three for veg? Really doesn't seem very much to me but the family are in this together for the long haul....trouble is I really am not looking forward to weighing every little bit of cooking I do It's got to be easier if you're doing individual meal-sizes but when you do a cottage pie for a family of four, how are you supposed to make sure you get your share without pinching someone elses
We had to keep food diaries for four days to include at least one weekender & although it was a bit of a bind, I did find myself thinking I wouldn't eat a particular thingie as I'd have to write it down so I'm going to do that alongside the one for spending. I used to follow Murphy the Cat's weight-loss thread so may go back to the fold for some moral support, as the initial 'teaching' bit of this course we're on is for five weeks & then a review once a month for a year.

Could you buy some small sized cooking dishes and make up small 1 person sized portions? I got some single person / 2 person sized ones from poundland for things like shepherds pie/veg lasagne/ pasta bake etc as I live alone. Ramekins etc are also good for portioning and cooking things in sometimes if you need even smaller portions of some stuff.

Some things I have now worked out eg 1 small plastic tub = 1 portion etc or small mug of pasta = 1 portion so i no longer weigh them...

Brighton_belle

Big mamma - one thing we do is use smaller plates, so you plate still looks piled high with food but is actually a smaller portion. I bought a set of 5 (Habitat) slightly smaller than modern average dinnner plates from a charity shop which have that circular dip in the middle and try and keep food portion within that. The plates we had before had no dip and the same amount of food looked lost in the middle IYSWIM?
I'm lucky in that I enjoy weighing food so am able to incorporate that easily.

After slaving away, 2 rooms are now very clean, empty and painted. Carpet fitter has just finished and I can't believe how much smarter and psychological warmer the rooms appear already. They also appear huge without all our stuff in them. Although an outlay of funds, it does mean the house should be a cheaper to keep warm enough (with lodgers you can't always not have the heating on and sit under duvets), as the floorboard had no insulation as no foundations to the house, and has also made us smarten up the shabby areas so it will be easier to get another lodger and well as give me more pleasure from my own home.

Top tip for the fitter: if you get a stain on your carpet - use a bit of the left ocer off cut, dampen it and use that to rub the mark on the carpet. That way there is no loss of colour from your carpet.

SmlSave

CONGRATULATIONS BAILS!

Blairweech

Oh, bails, congratulations!! I am so happy for you

Have to go as OH's car has broken so I am going to his house tonight