Further financial faux pas and even more disasterous decisions

moo2moo

true27 wrote: »

Quick question - is it easy to make xmas cakes?

Easy yes, sadly its also hideously expensive as I realised when I got to the till.

1 bottle of sherry (8 cakes ) £3ish
4 eggs per cake - 50pish
2 bags mixed dried fruit per cake £1.30
50g cherries (1/4 tub) 30p
1 pack butter £1
1 orange 20p ish
1 lemon 20p ish
1/4 tin black treacle 10p
1/4 pack almonds 50p ish
1/4 bag flour 10p ish
1/4 bag sugar 40p
plus the various spices and greaseproof paper.I used Delias rich fruit cake because the actual X-mas cake recipe required even more expensive ingredients and I doubt any of the recipients will be able to tell the difference

Total per cake £7.60 or so but its not worth making just one cake because you have so many part packs of stuff in the cupboard hence 8 has seen off the end of the sherry and just about everything else. I was rather fortunate and picked up the almonds at 10p per back and the sugar was half price a while back and of course I have a huge surplus of eggs. Oh and don't forget to factor in four and a half hours meter whizzing whilst they cook incredibly slowly. It is lots of fun and the gloopy raw mixture tastes lovely, bit too lovely really.

moo2moo

true27 wrote: »

Sadly, I work in a fish and chip shop so can empathise with them on the smelly fish issue! DS however very much enjoys anything slimey and smelly, such a lovely child. A fortnight without him however is probably going to be very strange. No doubt I'll report on quite how strange on here, seeing as I'm pretty similar to you and would go mad if I couldn't decant the contents of my head somewhere!

Ah but at least you work, I expect the free chips thing gets a bit dull after a while though. As one who spends her days scraping vomit off floors and splattered turds off walls I can empathise with the smell issues. Fortunately not every day is turd eviction day

moo2moo

chevalier wrote: »

hi there
your thread has made me :rotfl:at times :eek: at times and also:j:beer::T at times. Talk about a whole gamut of emotions!!!

I hope that by now the money matter ref the horrible dog has been sorted? Or did it get swept under the neighbourly carpet?

Well done on the decluttering. I know why you want to do it NOW it is so that you don't have to have OH wheedling about how wonderful x y and z piece of tat is, and how he can't possibley get rid of it (even though he hasn't looked at it for 5 years....:D) so you go girl, and get it done. You know how good you will feel afterwards

chev

Ho yes, dogs owner coughed up considerably more than he would have liked however according to the piece of paper which he didn't sign or date that came with the cheque I'm not allowed to divulgue the contents. Made me feel like an extra in a James Bond film minus the spangly bikini. Went then on to rehome someone unloved chooks at a fiver a bird leaving me a v. nice surplus some of which was invested in refencing the whole area paying particular attention to anywhere the escaping runt can get in. Will fire up the incubator next year and repopulate properly once the grass in chicken land has had a chance to grow back.

Decluttering is very cathartic. I've kept a ridicuous amount of stuff just because I could. Do I need a shoe box full of letters from OH sent when he was overseas where he whinges about work and life in the desert and spending every weekend clad in skin tight neoprene? No. Equally does he need the replies from me whinging about life at uni, my male housemates inability to wear clothing or the impending eviction as it turned out my £50 a month all inclusive sub-let was less than legitimate (ah the naivite of youth)... nooo... but there they are... and my wedding dress and the kids first shoes and my first shoes and the kids first teeth - OK even I'm not sure why I've kept those although they'll come in handy for DNA testing should I ever need it.

I surpassed my planned 500 item chuck out yesterday, haven't exactly been keeping tally as such because that would be more anally retentive than I care to admit. Even though I seem to have been doing housey things almost non-stop (apart from the shopping and the Facebook games and the MSEing and the dog walking of course) I seem to have fitted in an awful lot of other things too. Makes me aware just how much time I waste doing nothing normally.

The morning is gloriously sunny so I am going to go to school to paint my gates just to get them out of the way. The head would have a huge fit if parents arrived at school on the first day back to them covered in lurid orange primer because the weather gods and rentees had conspired against me. Although have to remember to go early so as to be finished and home in time to round up Frankenstein the cat for todays visit to the vets. Am there so often I'm on first name terms with all the staff. Bet they're rubbing their hands in glee and envisioning a huge staff x-mas party on the back of my insurance claim. Am so glad I'm not forking out for this myself. Equally am v. glad I don't have a real job because I doubt an employers empathy stretches to daily veterinary visits.

moo2moo

Next on the agenda is a brief prayer to the god of broken things that he'd like the donation of a currently functional video player. When it finally gives up I can get shut of the entire range of censored X-files with arabic subtitles which will clear another set of shelves. They haven't been watched in over a decade but its not like I could chuck one a week for six months as someone would be guaranteed to notice. Incidentally it does add to the suspense when every skirt wearing female has a wobbly black circle beneath her knees (that'll be the infidel revealing ankles then) and from her shoulders to wrist (again naughty people showing off elbows- how offensive can you get?). Tis much like watching a childs stick drawing come to life only with a voiceover and the wiggly worm that is the subtitles running in the worng direction. Rather mesmerising really. A complete waste of space too. Aaagh.

Must stick to that which I have some hope of achieving. Not entirely sure what that will be but I'll come up with something. Getting shut of some of the postie peoples tat would be a start as its straing me in the face. Will figure out what they want back this week and post that this morning when I send the Magpie stuff.

KAMH

Hey Moo,
Have you ever looked at the raw food diet for your dogs? My dog trainer has 3 Boxers and buys a sack of raw chicken carcasses, once a month, for £12. That feeds all three of his dogs for a whole month! You also need to give them some liquidised vegetables a couple of times a week and a large can of pilchards once a week. The end result is beautiful teeth, a shiny coat, firm white poo, no wind (except for when they have cabbage included with the veg), sweet smelling breath and a massive decrease in your dog food budget. Butchers, apparently, have to pay to have the carcasses disposed of so are more than happy to sell them to people for dog food. I live in a slightly smarter area than my dog trainer so pay 99p per kilo for the chicken but it still costs me less than a fiver a week to feed the mutt.
So pleased to hear that you're having some wonderful time to yourself and achieving so much - reading your blog has made me more organised myself so thanks for that!

love K

moo2moo

Thanks for the suggestion KAMH. Hairball no.1 wouldn't cope with it. Shes rapidly approaching 16 so any change is usually detrimental. Its under consideration for the puppy once we're a single dog household. The otherside is that with a garden full of live chickens I'm not entirely sure that encouraging the dogs to eat something chicken shaped, that smells like a chicken, would be the smartest move.

Meanwhile the gates are now painted and look simply splendid. I envisage my boss returning from his holidays and having a mild dicky fit before insisting I repaint them. Instead of the deep plum burgundy that he wanted these are more an understated fire engine red despite the can saying burgundy on it. They do look much better though. Sadly it makes all the other railings and gates and handrails and drainpipes look rather shabby. Wonder how long it will take him to suggest I paint the lot. At a guess school has about 500m of metal fencing and another dozen humungous gates so that could be quite some project.

Cat passed its check up with flying colours. Don't need to go back for another week as its healing v. well.

Booked myself in for my annual shearing tomorrow. Tempted to go with a jaw length bob on the basis that I'd actually have to do something with it rather than slap it in a ponytail but am fairly confident I would regret this the first time I have to retrieve something from the far reaches of a U bend and inadvertently dip the ends in the bowl. Will ponder some more. Have 24 hours to change my mind. Currently sporting a disaster zone of incredibly fine soft curls just beyond my shoulders. Its hit that point where wandering around with a dead animal attached to my head wouldn't look much worse, in fact there are days when I doubt you could tell the difference.

Next on the agenda is a proper bra fitting in a posh bra shop. Abandoned this last time when the shop had nothing at all that fitted me. I have the misfortune of the post breast feeding origami-esqu deflated baloon boobs one of which ended up with considerably more baggy skin than the other. It ain't pretty and it means that the majority of bras fit perfectly on one side whilst the other side either flaps around in mid air or escapes over the top and into my armpits. Obviously stretchy bras solve this problem but I fear they've been washed to the point that the elastic has disintegrated which hopefully explains why they look so ghastly on with the result that everything I wear looks ridiculous too. Imagine a top with a shaped bust. Then imagine this being suspiciously empty and a point about 3" lower down being occupied by my boobs. It ain't pretty.

Forgot to pick up puppy food on the way back from the vets so will do that this afternoon. Its an incentive to go to the tip with a carload as I have to drive past it to get to the farm shop.

Helen105

moo2moo wrote: »

Currently sporting a disaster zone of incredibly fine soft curls just beyond my shoulders. Its hit that point where wandering around with a dead animal attached to my head wouldn't look much worse, in fact there are days when I doubt you could tell the difference.

That is my look entirely!

moo2moo

Have almost finished decluttering hobnobs. Will need to vacuum *again* once I finish chowing because they're disintegrating with every bite. Taste delicious though.

Postie has been bring a postcard from the DDs. Not one word about their holiday. Its pretty much all intended for the cat. Also recieved a crisp tenner for selling another couple of magazines. V, tempted to bung the rest on e-bay but simply can't be bothered. Will see if theres an alternative cross stitching site I can stick them on as I could just cut and past from one forum to another. Still no sign of my Tesco vouchers. V. infuriating as I'm intending blowing them on new glasses on Friday to go with the fabulous new me. Will need to be v. careful though as OH, being the owner of a pair of hairy kiwis, is likely to leap to the conclusion that I'm doing this because theres somebody else. Aaah if only. There simply aren't that many hours in the day.

Think I shocked him a bit last week. Found him crumpled in an odd position on the floor with his arm at a strange angle and a look of pain on his face. I was all set to dial 999 but as it turns out he hadn't had a heart attack, he was merely attempting to coax the kitten out from under the sofa. He was v. offended that I thought he was in that much of a state that a heart attack was even a possibility. Still he was threatening to quit smoking *again* and even went so far as to run completly out of baccy for just over three hours before popping out to the shops for a small packet and 250 filters *sigh*. He has no willpower whatsoever. Of course hes going to crave them but giving in immediately is just plain ridiculous. Clearly I don't help matters by being exasperated with him because of it.

Now wondering what the well dressed 34 and 7/8ths year old about town wears on a daily basis because I wouldn't be caught dead in most of whats on offer. Help! Possibly doesn't help that I don't like clothes shopping and my closest allie likes to slap me in ra-ra skirts because its funny.

true27

Thanks for the Xmas cake advice! Learning how to bake is on my list of things to do.

I also need to arrange a shearing. Currently look slightly goth-like due to elbow length jet black hair (with the occasional grey strip argh) and am rather tempted to lop the lot off and go platinum blonde. Well, it would be different, right?

Glad cat is doing well and gates sound lovely! We could use someone like you at our school!

DH decided to take me clothes shopping yesterday. I think I'd take the ra-ra skirt over any of the stuff he suggested! I really don't "get" leggings/treggings/jeggings whatever they're called these days. Reminds me far too much of Saturday morning dance class when I was 5 and decided to be a tap dancer.

Did you brave the bra shop?

moo2moo

Car full of tat abandoned at tip, dog food collected and then detoured into the village to post a couple of parcels and treated myself to a bottle of vino. Must remember not to open it until I've been to school to lock up. Must not forget to lock school under any circumstances. Don't feel like I've got much done today, thats probably because I've met myself coming backwards more than once over the last couple of days. Its been one of those days where I seem to have been in and out of the car on little hops. At least its made a very pleasant change from decluttering.

Am now vaguely tempted in the most vaguest of all vague sense to inventory my storecupboard so that I can cross off things as I use them and I won't ever again end up with the scenario where we own a dozen or so tins of chopped tomatoes but no baked beans because everytime I went shopping I chucked a couple of tins in the trolley out of habit rather than anything else. Then again I'd have to admit to some real oddities like owning 3 tubs of bicarb of soda. If I got carried away and made hobnobs every week I'd probably have a decades supply. I'm begining to fear I'm less of a hoarder and more of a compulsive shopper. It would be far more fun if I had a vast array of fabulous shoes rather than a cupboard crammed full of tinned tomatoes though. Perhaps I'll shelve that idea for a rainy day because its far too much like hard work.

Feeling happier as I walk in the door though. I'm not greeted by a pile of things that need doing, its all beginning to feel achievable which is just as well as the DDs are home tomorrow (must remember to put fresh sheets on their beds) and I have a pretty full day. Theres still an awful long way to go though. Everywhere I look theres something that shouldn't be wherever the something is. As an example take the view from my desk. To my left is a three foot high stack of laminate flooring to be laid beneath my feet (underlay crammed behind sofa), on top of that is a money box, a boxed USB hub, a stack of drinks coasters won in a tombolla (the DDs love tombollas - what they don't love is parting with the tat afterwards), a stack of blank cd roms, a stack of blank DVDs and the brainy part of the computer with the router, a book about christmas, 2 letters to return to the postie people, yet another drinks coaster and OHs trophy for putting up with his boss for 5 years. Immediately in front of me are 2 pc speakers, a belt, several sphaghetti like cables, some of which may even be connected to something, the top of DD1s bike bag, a bolt from OHs landrover, the house phone, a pot of pens, a jar of paperclips, a set of headphones, four more coasters, half a mug of lukewarm coffee, a leaflet on postal prices, a dozen or so assorted memory cards and sticks, a handy gadget that converts a DS to run on AA batteries (for those too lazy to plug it in at the mains), a book of stamps, the remote control for a stereo that didn't work a decade ago when OH moved continents with it thats been in the loft for at least 5 years, a pad of post it notes, the shop and scan gadget, a mouse, a mouse mat, a printer come copier come fax machine with a magazine and instructions for telnetting (nope not a clue either) and a ruddy great spider. All of which is crammed into an area about a meter wide and half a meter deep. And thats without delving under the desk.. and after I spent half an hour yesterday tidying it.

Me thinks I need to chuck a few coasters.... coasters duly chucked.