greent's mfw journey

hanging_on_in_there...

Wow, you were up early this morning!
It's dull as dishwater here, more noticeable after such a lovely day yesterday... So I guess I will turn my attention to cooking the windfalls and getting some stuff listed on fb etc.

You'll be shattered tonight! (bonus! -good nights sleep!)
Have a lovely afternoon out! Sounds good!

CathT

That's some bargain f&v!

Your afternoon out sounds lovely, enjoy.

greent

http://www.crucible2.co.uk/ exhibition was fab. DH and I went by ourselves. We both love the cathedral anyway, and a gentle mooch around it is always good A service was on for part of the time we were there so we got to hear some fab organ playing too - bonus! Picked up free dictionaries in WHSMiths (O2 priority moments) which I'll stick in the NNS and also bought a couple of stocking fillers in WHS too


Has been a beautiful day today - and was yesterday bar a 15 min downpour. 3 loads dried on the line. 2 loads left to iron - will do that with catch up tv during the day Lots of potatoes harvested - and loads more still left to do. Most of the onions pulled up and yet more runners and pears picked! Tidied up one of the front beds and planted some bulbs. Am itching to pull up all the courgette plants as they are really untidy - but there are still some small ones on there which may come to something. Am planning on making the runner bean chutney this week - other beans yet to be ready can either go in the freezer/ be fed to gpigs / given to m-I-l.


Full roast today - first one in several months, I think - YS chicken taken from freezer, HG spuds, YS kale, carrots and parsnips from the other day, HG beans, YS corn-on-th-cob, HM stuffing made with (amongst other stuff!) HG onions and YS sausagement and yorkies. Pud was either HG pears in red wine or HG pear and apple crumble 'Twas gurt lush!!


Failed to list anything on fleabay this weekend - thought about it and decided I cba. Did sell a 'Chinese' dinner service on fbook, though - will OP that when it's collected


Small OP of £35 made today - emptied mortgage piggy bank and went to Stresco with a pocketful of change and stood at the shop and scan pay point gradually feeding it all in!! There was £32.70 - so I rounded it up and OPd £35. Total Tesco bill ( which included an item of clothing, some new handlebar grips and an Observer) was about £43. Took ages but was quicker than counting/ bagging/ banking it - and cheaper than using the C0instar machine (I think that takes 7%?!)


Nice weekend - stuff has been achieved, weather has been good and we're all relaxed.


xx

greent

Just a quick post for my info (because I keep losing track!)


Sept Spends to date:
Food shopping: £86.29
Household (eg: binliners, cleaning stuff) £3.23
Takeaways £5.18 (2 x Happy Meal for smallies at weekend - promised a week earlier and they didn't forget!!)


Aiming for a food spend (hopefully inc any sneaky takeaways) of £300 or less for month to try and reduce freezers (so that I can then re-fill them with excess garden produce lol!!)

usa1

How`s it going spending £300 or less a month on food?

greent

Food spending's going ok - £140.36 on grocery shopping which includes most of the food spending for the week ahead (I will need more bread and possibly milk later in the week - ooh and frozen peas! ) There are some spaces appearing in the freezers, which are generally being filled with garden produce (runner beans, courgettes, pears and apples - and a few tomatoes) Operation freezer use-up is being more successful than operation jar use-up - sadly the top shelf in my fridge is still rammed!


Had a lovely day yesterday at a 2 year old's birthday party - beautiful weather - which was lucky, as it was a teddy bear's picnic in the garden! I made and took a lime and ginger cheesecake (nom nom nom) and 3 sorts of cupcakes - lemon with lemon buttercream and butterfly toppers, lemon and blueberry with lemon icing and choc chip with fondant icing - either chocolate with white spots or white icing with chocolate spots The birthday cake was huge raspberry gateau from Patisserie Valerie - heavenly (and sinful!!) Lovely afternoon but we were shattered when we came home!


Today's been reasonably productive - I've done 3 loads of washing and got them dry on the line. An hour's ironing done. Kitchen cleaned and tidied (was a mess after yesterday's mass baking in the morning in between swimming lessons) (and re-cleaned and tidied after dinner tonight), dinner made, lots of pears prepped for freezer, fridge cleaned and tidied and mental note made of things to use up Homework and reading done with the smallies. Lots of pears and runner beans harvested and a decent amount of weeding done. DH mowed front and back lawns. Oh - and I've got some things ready for the lunch box prep in the morning.


NDN are on holiday for 2 weeks from tomorrow, which means I can tidy our front garden where it borders their drive - our front strawberry patch is trying to take over their drive and a couple of trees need a good pruning. I really like our neighbours but don't like gardening out the front in front of them!


Small OP of £10 made from facebook sale. Need to shove more things on there (and fleabay ) to try and get rid of some things.


Spendy week on cars this week - DH needs 4 new tyres (about £650) and I'm getting my chips looked at - I'm expecting that to be £500+.:eek::eek:


Also a busy week in the evenings with children - as well as the usual activities Mon/ Tues/ Weds/ Thurs evenings, DS1 has a GSCE info evening tomorrow (I'm attending with him), DD has her VIth form ice breaker at a club in Cheltenham Tues night (ends at midnight!) and she also has Speech Da on Thurs evening - which at least one of us wants to attend as she has some sort of prize following her GCSEs :T We need to be in 2 different places at the same time at least twice in the week.... Easy food like chilli, pasta, fajitas and cottage pie is in order, I feel


Small amount of Xmas shopping made from Book People this week. More urgently than that I need to sort DH's birthday - it's in less than a month and I haven't got a clue what to get him!!!:( He's really awkward!

Goldiegirl

Hello there!

I also feel the same about gardening in front of my neighbours. The man next door's hobby is classic cars, so he's always out there tinkering with his current plaything.

I have to wait until he goes out until I can do any work in the front garden!:rotfl:

CathT

I would say you have had a really busy day! We have hardly anything left in the garden now, few lettuce leaves really. I have got leeks and cabbages growing but not sure they will do well in a raised bed.

greent

Ooops - we might just have accidentally bought DH a new car............ (which cost more the than outstanding balance on our mortgage.....)

tootallulah

Dear GreenT

Accidental buying
Just the best kind
And if I could write a haiku
This could be one about
Accidental buying

From the other side of celebratory champagne..................