Further financial faux pas and even more disasterous decisions

moo2moo

Finally cleaned the bathroom. It needs doing again though because I seemed to be smearing dog hair around. Hopefully it won't look as bad when its dry but at the mo. it ain't great. Still at least its cleaner than it was.

Going to have a long leisurely lunch and enjoy the peace before hanging the next load of washing out and attempting the downstairs bathroom. Also need to vacuum the dining room since OH decided to give himslef a haircut in there and then added to the mess with several swamps worth of dried mud which were attached to the bit of Landie thats now occupying the dining table.

moo2moo

Picked the first of the spuds for dinner. They tasted truly outstanding. Makes me wish I'd planted enough for the year but then I wouldn't have any garden left.

Rhubarb has been well battered by the recent rains so have picked loads. Its now soaking in sugar ready for jam making in the morning. Popped in at my friends for a cuppa and was rather surprised to discover I'd sold three jars at last weeks market. Ok so its not a lot but its a step in the right direction. Spent an hour relabelling the remnants with printed labels in the hopes that this will increase sales now that people are no longer struggling to read my handwriting. Am now up to a dozen varients. Hoping to increase that by one a week to 20 or so depending whats in season. Spotted some cherry trees in fruit whilst out walking the hounds so will be returning there armed with a bucket. If I can source the fruit for free then I'm making a far greater profit per jar.

Strawberries are ripening rather too slowly for my liking. The slugs seem to have had all the best ones.

Eager_Elephant

Hi Moo

You're up late!!!

Just wondering who you used for your Food Hygiene Certificate?

Did you have to have your kitchen inspected or can you still sell at Country Markets without this being done?

EE

chevalier

I was going to say the same thing, that there is an email option to only be sent a daily or twice daily digest of freecycle wants and offers. So that cuts down on how much email you receive. Ref the bikes, no hope of them going on freecycle then? They always used to get snapped up off our local freecycle when i was in the UK.
chev

scubaangel

Eager_Elephant wrote: »

Hi Moo

You're up late!!!

Just wondering who you used for your Food Hygiene Certificate?

Did you have to have your kitchen inspected or can you still sell at Country Markets without this being done?

EE

When I had to do my FHC (admitedly eons ago now) it was through Kendal College.

moo2moo

I used Virtual College (via Quidco) who were mentioned in the most recent edition of the Country Market magazine. Haven't needed to have my kitchen inspected for the markets which is just as well really as a friend has gone self employed and is making wedding cakes from home. Her home insepction was awful. She has an immaculate stainless steel and granite kitchen which makes most showhomes look dirty and yet shes been told its not at an acceptable standard and has been required to purchase colour coded chopping boards and knives and hairnets and hats and sterilising agents as well as disposable wipes and temperature probes. Crivens knows what they'd make of this place.

OH was up ungodly early again, as was everyone else, so utilised the time to make the rhubarb jam. Have also written to Santander to chase up the £100 incentive for switching accounts. The sooner thats paid and I can close the account the better.

Got rid of some of the bikes by lining them up on the pavement outside school alongside the wheelie bins just before kicking out time. Half had departed when I left at the end of the day. Would freecycle them but the boss isn't overly keen on strangers wandering round whilst the kids are about and I haven't got the time to do it when they're not there. May well bring a couple home to freecycle but they're not in the greatest of nick.

OH made it to cookery club just as the starters were being cleared away much to DD1s amazement. She was most chuffed. That was until she got the letter saying her teacher isn't on strike and she does have to go to school next Thursday unlike her sibling who asked if we could spend the day at the zoo instead because that would be very educational. Of course it would.

Today is the last day of sanity until Monday. Need to get all manner of things done simply because I can guarantee being roped into project landie for the remains of the week. Quite what I need to do is a bit of a mystery. May well print off this weeks flylady tasks and attempt to do as much as possible starting with the dejamming of the kitchen.

moo2moo

Discovered Joe Browns have a sale on. Am now trying v. hard not to order a fab pair of boots at £19... and a few other things to go with them and the fab hoodie that I really really fancied a while back but couldn't bear to part with £35 for.... its all far too tempting.

firesidemaid

.....goes off to joe browns website.......;)

'cherry berry' jam was born last night!

moo2moo

Cherry Berry Jam sounds mouthwateringly good. Need it to stop raining long enough to go cherry picking. For now I'm rapidly filling up my virtual shopping basket on the Joe Browns site. Having to pay to return stuff that doesn't fit is curtailing my enthusiasm though. Still rather tempted with the boots and the nepalese hoody (although reading the reviews it wouldn't last five minutes) and a dress which I know I won't ever wear, just like I never wear any of the other dresses occupying wardrobe space. Its all so very tempting though and half price virtual clothes shopping is so much more fun than housework. Won't be buying any of it though because although the piccies look great the reviews are awful and consistent in that the quality does not justify the price charged, even in the sale besides which the whole point of ordering would be to buy boots which look a little too much like those worn by a pantomine !!!!!! Whittington.

Enough prattling on. The washing up beckons.

moo2moo

Can finally log back in after two days of t'internet saying NO. It rained and so we lost all broadband and phonelines, again. Sometimes this living out in the middle of nowhere malarky sucks. BT helpfully transferred all our incoming calls to OHs mobile free of charge but since no ones phoned that hasn't made much diference really. Still its nice to know that should the random telesales people like to talk to us they can get through.

Have been running outside between downpours to continue the trashing of the original landrover. That has fewer and fewer parts left although the pile of stuff thats salavagable isn't growning as fast as I'd like. Finally removed the seatbox and fuel tank yesterday, both of which need repairing or in the case of the fuel tank replacing rather than risking it gaining a leak elsewhere.

Keeping OH outside seems to be making the house noticably cleaner despite the ever growing bits of landie which are slowly appearing in the house

The DDs are spending today at home with OH whilst I venture into work for a rather short teacher training day. SHould be over and done with by 1pm which gives the rest of them a few hours to get dolled up for an evening at the races. Quite fancied going but the £30 entrance fee and £35 meal rather put me off.

Haven't spent anything at all since last Sunday which is rather amazing. Owe £4 for DD2s martial arts class but will pay that last week since the lady who collects the fees had left long before I got there. Am half tempted to set up a direct debit but would end up paying for the weeks when the DDs are ill or elsewhere which would wipe out the £1 a month savings that this offers.

Finally picked the first of the strawberries yesterday, get the impression we're going to have a glut rather soon. Hoping to have enough for jam making by the end of the weekend although I don't have another market for another week. Need to get my brain around baking for the next one although am not too sure where I'll find the time.