Coffee and chocolate

miggy

How did your shortbread turn out, Erme? Sorry about the job - but I guess it leaves room for the perfect job when it comes along. And yes, do get the rest you need if you can.

Today is rainy (!) here - it's been nearly a month without rain so it's good to have it but I don't like the grey.

DH is working half a day today so he and DD have been trying to sort out her stuff (wardrobe rail overloaded and collapsed - 3x!) and while they're taking stuff to the recycling/charity shop/tip I've given them some clothes that had been waiting to go. I know the received wisdom here is to ebay them but TBH it's a lot of work and a small return and I'd rather someone else had the benefit of them and I had the space!

I also found some old work files in the loft - some of that stuff is seriously out of date! I think I could probably get the sack - at least a discipline - if I used some of the lingo that's in the training notes from the late 80s! Yet at the time it was cutting edge and some of the thinking behind it is still valid.

So I am pleased to announce the arrival of a small amount of space formerly filled by two shirts, a gillet, a skirt and sundry bits of paper. :T

And... (drum roll please)... I have found my ballet certificate from 1971 , my Grade 2 piano exam results form 1982 (I got 102, the pass mark was 100 - move over Beethoven :rotfl:) (actually that's probably the only practical music exam I've ever passed) and a certificate to say I took a course in teaching literacy to adults.

Now which of them shall I use first?

The MSE bit - I now have an ISA with a whole £1 in it.

Off to explore the loft again. If I don't return by tea time please someone send out a search party.

miggy

I'm back! Much of the intervening time, you understand, was taken up with getting the dust off me, but other than that I have got rid of two carrier bags of rubbish - not a lot when you consider the amount of junk that can fit in a loft, but progress nonetheless. Sadly I failed to find my notes that would back up DD's course (probably more useful for me to refresh my memory than for her to study, admittedly) but I did find three vintage text books which she's latched on to. The only one likely to be of any use, and even this is probably superceded, is a sort of dictionary. However, she says she likes old books!

DD now has a small wardrobe to replace the clothes rail and I've made her clothes situation worse by donating a jumper and scarf. I think she may have her eye on a tablecloth I found up there, too! A whole bundle of stuff has gone in the washing basket but while the rain's still pouring - has been all day - I won't be doing more washing than I need to.

DH is now making dinner - mostly from the larder, as was yesterday's. We are determined to use stuff up!

I found some wine glasses all packed up from some long-ago move - they are still there as we haven't room for the glasses we have in use, let alone more. I thought I'd found my Scott Joplin music but alas! it was assorted difficult sheet music that I can't play. A very solid-looking old-fashioned ladle has come downstairs for use as has one of those rolling pins that makes pretty imprints on biscuits - I wonder if I've ever used it? I sense a baking session coming up.

And the rain is turning to sleety snow... I saw all the pics on the BBC of Aberdeen where the BBQs and paddling pools left out from last week are now crisp and white! You would have thought it was October.

MissShoes

That sounds like a treasure hunt!!!

miggy

Definitely a treasure hunt - albeit a mucky one!

miggy

We are doing quite well for eating out of the larder /fridge /freezer, though I haven't sorted tonight's food yet. Well, DS2 gets 'piglets' (sausages stuffed into holes in baked potatoes) because it's Thursday and that's that he has on Thursdays. There's also a rice pudding in the slow cooker. DS1 is away for a few days so there's one less to plan for.

Ani, I haven't forgotten I've said I'll look into whether you can do 'Poor Knight's Supper Dish' in the microwave. I will get, there, really I will! In fact I think I'll take the ingredients to make my middle-of-the-night meal at work tonight so I can post results tomorrow when I finally wake up (usually about 3pm).

We heard yesterday that one of DH's colleagues has died suddenly. It's had a bad impact on everyone there. When DH gets home I'll get an idea of how it's going today...

Better news closer to home, as a friend who's a Personal Trainer has offered to help me get fitter. It won't cost me either. I said I felt guilty as it's his job and he deserves to be paid for it (which I can't afford right now) but apparently he's fine for me to give a testimonial about his training in exchange, to help build up his business. That I'm more than happy to do and it will help me to be accountable. I need to give some thought to how it fits around working nights though, as I have to avoid being too tired before I start a session of nights (no sleeping allowed) and in between shifts I just feel zomby-ish. Starting tonight with small bursts of exercise regularly through the night as I did this before and felt good on it. Tomorrow I report back to him!

... I've just had a look in the chest freezer and levels have fallen to the point where I don't need to draw up plans of how everything fitted in before I can risk taking anything out! The top layer is the remains of a carton of icecream, a bag each of sprouts, peas and green beans and beneath those, bags of soft fruit. As I'm still off puddings (till Sunday), I'll plan a pudding to use blackcurrants and tonight I'll make a veg soup. Need to buy onions.

Well, I need to go to the shops and drop some Easter cards round to Mum - in order to get them posted I'm going to do the envelopes first and we'll sign them together - they may well not arrive in time but at least they will get sent before Easter. If I leave it to her to post then they won't go because she can't keep track. Just hoping she's fine with my idea of shared cards as she was expecting me to get some just for her to send.

Also need to get Mum's present and card for DD's birthday organised today. So why am I putting it off?

miggy

Last night's exercise didn't go too well - I gave up after about 1 am as I was just too tired.

Some great food bargains today as Mr T was reducing salads down to under 20p so I treated us and also got myself a smoked salmon sandwich for my meal tonight! I am so looking forward to it! I wish they used low fat cream cheese as I would have done but never mind.

Original value of shopping £9, cost £1.50, saving £7.50 which is going on my signature.

The battery on the bathroom scales is running low so I haven't been able to weigh myself much but I don't think my weight's doing anything anyway.

I also bought two lots of reduced food earlier in the week which I didn't manage to record, and overpaid £40 that I'd saved towards the mortgage so I may try to sort those figures for tomorrow or even next week. I'm off to work again soon so for now I'll just do today's food savings. New total £948.20.

miggy

Yet another amazing lot of savings on Saturday night as they marked down loads and I got salads and meat for pence. We ate like kings yesterday on account of that.

Today we've kind of gone the opposite way - there are two birthdays in the immediate family in April, one of them being a significant one, so the celebrations seem to have started. Pizza for five today followed by a mosey round the retail park. The others bought things like a bag of sweets, whereas I was left unsupervised and bought some clothes hangers (£3), mugs (£6) and a kitchen knife (£6). Was any of this necessary? No. Nice? Yes.

In my defence, one of the 3 mugs was a replacement, the kitchen knife means I finally have something the right length to chop onions and the hangers are the velvety ones which I'm hoping might help keep long scarves in order. Oh, and a creme egg. But you didn't notice that so I won't mention it.

That's not to mention money on presents... well, I'm not going there. We made a decision to spend what we did and so far it's been money well spent.

The other money thing that happened was that I've been offered an extra shift which will pay about £70 and help set things right. I didn't want it but no one else did either and the money will be useful!

Wondering how my next payslip will look as the new tax levels kick in, and wondering even more whether I will ever understand ISA? I had a read of Martin's latest article and things I thought I understood are questions again. Mind you I never could hack numbers.

MuffinTops

Hello Miggy,

It's nice to catch up on all that's been going on with you. I did think about you yesterday with your Lent ending so I hope you really enjoyed the creme egg.

Good luck when you see the new tax levels. I really hope it doesn't affect your take home pay too much.

Take care x

miggy

Funnily enough, I have saved the creme egg for a rainy today (not this rainy day, a random grey rainy day). It's the having it that matters right now! Oh dear, how sad am I?! I have even saved most of a handful of chocs that someone doled out at work. Much as I enjoy them, I know how easy it would be to destroy the benefits of the last few weeks.

The lesson for next year, though, is to be very clear whether it's a religious fast or not - this wasn't but then the thought of chocolate kind of got in the way of the anticipation of Easter! Giving up stuff was easier than I thought and undoubtedly Lent is a good excuse because people didn't urge me to break it, but now I've had the practice I could potentially give up choc or puddings or somesuch at another time, there's always some excuse. 'I've given it up for a month before I go on holiday', for instance. That would free up Lent to have a religious significance, which I'm not good at but having managed something for secular reasons this year maybe that will encourage me in future.

I have been clearing out a cupboard in the kitchen this evening - always interesting. This one appeared to have a mixture of honey and sugar in the bottom. That's all clean now, and I've chucked out sundry things that were glued into it. A couple of ancient packets of sweets have gone in the bin and other stuff has been de-stickified and put back tidily.

Among the contents were two packs of marzipan in foil - one's out of date. I wonder if it's still safe? The foil appears sound and the package is still squashy. Marzipan being the price it is, I'm loathe to throw it out but I will if it's potentially dangerous.

Muffy, I'm hoping the effect of the new tax levels on the pay packet will be a good one... I think we don't get taxed until we've earned more now. In fact I need to look it up - what if it pushes me out of tax altogether?

miggy

Are you ready for a weird stuff list?

This was in the cupboard I've cleaned, and the ones I've highlighted are the ones I'm puzzling about using:

marmalade, marmite, peanut butter, 2 x chocolate spread, jam, noodles, loose tea, white marzipan, yellow marzipan, sticky toffee pudding tea, white cooking choc, milk choc cooking choc, 2 x malt vinegar, salt, butter buds, chicken bisto, hawthorn jelly, golden syrup, tuna, tomato puree, dried apple pieces, 3 x Caesar salad, 2 jars aubergine antipasto, mango chutney, gravy browning, brown sauce, 2 x Worcestershire sauce, 2 x soy sauce, 2 x red onion chutney, balsamic vinegar.

If you think you detect the influence of Approved Food, you're probably right.