Coffee and chocolate

ani_26

ps - i got myself a ginormous box of earl grey from tatco yesterday, even though i don't usually shop there. 200 bags for £5, reduced from £6.59. Can't go far wrong with that, and they should last a good long while. Its about time they started making large boxes of speciality teas. Twinings, too, my prefered brand.

I might cost cut with everything else i buy, but when it comes to tea, i make an exception, although i always but when on offer. Supermarkets own, just DOES'NT taste the same.

miggy

29/35p for sugar sounds good to me. I discovered it was 18p cheaper elsewhere today, but I don't need more yet.

I'm with you regarding tea (or in my case coffee) needing to be good and Weetabix requiring sugar. I needed my sugar for elderflower sorbet which sounds quite money saving until you realise that to make a pint you have to have 25p's worth of sugar and 50p's worth of lemons... and enough freezer space. In one day out of commission, I lost the ferezer space to an infux of oven chips so the syrup for the sorbet is still sitting in the fridge.

I see I got distracted yesterday. I think I was going to say that I used to bake brown bread or else we could only afford white, and I make marmalade using those big tins of pre-prepared oranges which is cheaper than all but the very cheapest (thinnest) marmalade and can be made to exactly the right sweetness, which is less than it says on the tin. I have got out of the way of doing both of these so I need to get back to it, particularly the marmalade as we get through a jar a week.

Other savings I used to make were a weekly cake on a Friday for weekend teas and h/m coleslaw which I prefer anyway as it doesn't rely on huge quantities of mayo as a bulking agent. Pizza, using a scone dough and h/m sauce was a big favourite with most of us: I ought to make batches of sauce and freeze them as the older 'kids' eat pasta sauce as though it were going out of fashion. Actually, that's not true. If it were going out of fashion they wouldn't be going anywhere near it.

I could do with some more ideas so I shall snoop around on OS a bit. Ah - yes - when I did that a while ago I got some fab soup recipes some of which I still use, so it's already been a bonus. I recently found out how to make fajita wraps too, having been shocked at how much they are and how many my offspring will eat.

miggy

Let not this day pass without due acknowledgement: it seems we may have had the last of the wretched cooked chicken from both freezers!

:j:j:j

I'm not making any guarantees but it seems so.

There is a lot of veggie stuff which I ought to use up and a surprising amount of ends of packages of mince, so chillie con carne and chilli non-carne, hm burgers, spagbog and so forth but at least they aren't chicken.

And the best bit - an absolutely bulging carrier bag with frozen soft fruits from the garden, intended for crumbles at Christmas but of course at the time we still had Christmas Pudding to eat up and didn't feel like fabulous blackberries and raspberries. I fear they won't be as perfect as they once were but they'll still be nice and we are planning a crumble tomorrow.

I wish I knew how to grow veg.

miggy

Since I posted the above I've used some of the mince and some blackberries - not together - though there are still anchovies, jelly, curry, lentils, etc, etc. Dh has been baking so we had 'real' cake again for the first time in ages.

My kitchen is proof that if something I useful, it will get used up and if it's something I think I would like to experiment with, it won't.

This week we need to restock on gravy granules, marmite and flour, besides the usual suspects. I will try to plan again so I can use the £3 off spend over £20 voucher that they gave me for doing exactly that last week.

I'm pretty tired due to working a couple of nights so I'll leave it at that for now.

miggy

Forgot the gravy granules.

The housekeeping budget is survivng but stretched. I worked out three weeks ago that if I put aside £10 a week that would help significantly towards those items that are only bought sometimes but are costly, such as washing powder, coffee and the milk bill (we have doorstep delivery). There was a bit over £20 put away as a result, but £15 of that got spent at the end of last week, not on the planned items but on feeding us over the weekend. I know if we really had no choice we could have lived off the infamous freezers, but we chose to spend the money on fresh food. The thing is, the money was there and so far we haven't come to a point where we haven't found the money for washing powder, etc. Will we? I don't know. Both of us are fnding this a helpful way of controlling our spending, though, and it may be that things will get harder before they get better so it's good that we are getting some practice in.

Today I went shopping. I used my £3 off voucher and I had a list but even so I spent more than I thought I would - by about £6! :eek: That's not good.

Tomorrow I'm going to visit Mum and really I ought to get a few jobs done for her - the financial side of things is finally starting to come clear - but it will be a battle if it's like today, a battle against myself as I've been in something of a slump. In the end I went out and rearranged my tomato plants, which was a nice sort of thing to do, and after that I felt okay to get some jobs done, including the shopping.

Must keep taking the vitamins. For me that makes a huge difference between being okay and having low-level depression, but I was ill recently with a 24-hour type bug and missed a few days of supplements, which I'm sure is what's behind today's mood.

Jobs for tomorrow:
Switch washing machine on
Piano lesson
put together a sheet of photos for mum and photocopy them - doesn't have to be perfect, just give them to her
Plan dinner
Send off one of mum's catalogue orders
Go to see mum
Make dinner
Clean out animals

There, that will save having to think, which is a big hurdle at times.

miggy

miggy wrote: »

Switch washing machine on DONE
Piano lesson DONE
put together a sheet of photos for mum and photocopy them - doesn't have to be perfect, just give them to her
Plan dinner
Send off one of mum's catalogue orders
Go to see mum
Make dinner
Clean out animals

It's quite a grey day here so I'm not sure how long the washing will be on the line but it's just finished spinning so I will at least try to dry it outside.

I'm in a reflective mood. I don't think that's entirely a good thing but I'll try to get something out of it. I have come to a couple of conclusions over the past couple of days - three actually, as follows and in no particular order.

1. I need to get my act together regarding cooking! Allow enough time and be organised so thingsget weighed properly, LOL. Last night I fed a guest with what turned out to be undercooked rice pudding! :eek: 10 minutes in the microwave solved that - but even after all these years and some satisfying successes I have come to the conclusion that now is not the time to rest on my laurels because what works so well when cooking for DH and myself somehow just doesn't add up as soon as I have guests!
2. There is quite a high probability that we will have a drop in income sometime before New Year, possiblyof around 20%. This means I can't jack in my job, much as I would love to. It also means I would be wise to look into creating a second stream of income - something I was giving thought to last year when mum's crises overtook everything. I've started looking into MG's thread again though I fundamentally stand against the idea of an impersonal universe giving us stuff. It makes very good sense, though, that if we want different results from what we have at present, then we have to do something differently. Why don't the things I enjoy pay me?! MG is inspirational but there are so many pages between where I left off and now - how do I find the key points? Or do I just look elsewhere? I'm not going to attempt the lot, it would take days.
3. I need to lose about a stone (sorry Ani, I know you loathe talk of dieting so just ignore this bit). Why aren't I losing it? I couldn't understand this as I don't feel I have self-esteem issues and I know my medication is keeping my metabolism together. However, I've suddenly seen that there is something akin to a self-esteem issue which I hadn't been able to see, and the weight is in fact a 'protective' layer that stops me having to deal with other things. Oh well. Food for thought.

Time to put out the washing and take some other item off this list of mine. I don't really go with the 'eating frogs' way of looking at a list so I shall entertain myself trying to find a way of approaching it that suits me. Back later.

miggy

miggy wrote: »

Switch washing machine on Two loads done
Piano lesson Done
put together a sheet of photos for mum and photocopy them - doesn't have to be perfect, just give them to her
Plan dinner want pizza... this isn't getting me anywhere, can't have pizza unless I make it myself and won't have energy for that after visiting Mum.
Decided on mackerel and bulgar wheat.
Send off one of mum's catalogue orders Realised I can't do this till some more paperwork comes through
Go to see mum
Make dinner
Clean out animals

I am procrastinating... but at least I found a fairly useful displacement activity and cleaned out a kitchen cupboard. I listed what's gone back in - rather like my cleaning products list but more so! :eek:

At least now that I know what's there, I can plan. There were some sachets porridge-type cereal which no one likes so I had one of those and a lonely cuppa soup for lunch. Cupboard is still full.

ani_26

You listed what has gone back in your cupboard? You're mad :rotfl::rotfl:What happens when you lose the list? ( like i would, 30 seconds after i've written it ). :rotfl:


Mmmmm elderflower sorbet. Never had it. Definitely coming to yours for that bbq on xmas day. What time?

Don't talk to me about chickens. I made the mistake of buying 3 cooked chickens the other night as they were going so cheap, cheep, cheep. Thank g i've eaten them now. Twas chicken every meal. If you see a headless chicken crossing the road, then you'll know its me No more chicken now, for a while. I'm all chickened out.

miggy

ani_26 wrote: »

You listed what has gone back in your cupboard? You're mad :rotfl::rotfl:What happens when you lose the list? ( like i would, 30 seconds after i've written it ). :rotfl:

Noooo! I need my list!

ani_26 wrote: »

Mmmmm elderflower sorbet. Never had it. Definitely coming to yours for that bbq on xmas day. What time?

2 heads of eldrflowers (not too big), 2 lemons, 225g/8oz sugar, 1 pint water.
Dissolve the sugar in the water over a low heat, add the zest of the lemon and boil for five minutes. Remove from the heat and add the elderflower heads and the juice of the lemons, cool, strain and freeze. Ideally stir the edges in as they start to freeze (unless you're me in which case you come back when you remember). Beat till soft.

I'm not usually a fan of elderflowers but I love this - though only in small quantities.

ani_26 wrote: »

Don't talk to me about chickens. I made the mistake of buying 3 cooked chickens the other night as they were going so cheap, cheep, cheep. Thank g i've eaten them now. Twas chicken every meal. If you see a headless chicken crossing the road, then you'll know its me No more chicken now, for a while. I'm all chickened out.

Aw. I know exactly what you mean. I won't do chicken for the Xmas BBQ. :rotfl:

ani_26

miggy wrote: »

It's quite a grey day here so I'm not sure how long the washing will be on the line but it's just finished spinning so I will at least try to dry it outside.

I'm in a reflective mood. I don't think that's entirely a good thing but I'll try to get something out of it. I have come to a couple of conclusions over the past couple of days - three actually, as follows and in no particular order.

1. I need to get my act together regarding cooking! Allow enough time and be organised so thingsget weighed properly, LOL. Last night I fed a guest with what turned out to be undercooked rice pudding! :eek: 10 minutes in the microwave solved that - but even after all these years and some satisfying successes I have come to the conclusion that now is not the time to rest on my laurels because what works so well when cooking for DH and myself somehow just doesn't add up as soon as I have guests!
2. There is quite a high probability that we will have a drop in income sometime before New Year, possiblyof around 20%. This means I can't jack in my job, much as I would love to. It also means I would be wise to look into creating a second stream of income - something I was giving thought to last year when mum's crises overtook everything. I've started looking into MG's thread again though I fundamentally stand against the idea of an impersonal universe giving us stuff. It makes very good sense, though, that if we want different results from what we have at present, then we have to do something differently. Why don't the things I enjoy pay me?! MG is inspirational but there are so many pages between where I left off and now - how do I find the key points? Or do I just look elsewhere? I'm not going to attempt the lot, it would take days.
3. I need to lose about a stone (sorry Ani, I know you loathe talk of dieting so just ignore this bit). Why aren't I losing it? I couldn't understand this as I don't feel I have self-esteem issues and I know my medication is keeping my metabolism together. However, I've suddenly seen that there is something akin to a self-esteem issue which I hadn't been able to see, and the weight is in fact a 'protective' layer that stops me having to deal with other things. Oh well. Food for thought.

Time to put out the washing and take some other item off this list of mine. I don't really go with the 'eating frogs' way of looking at a list so I shall entertain myself trying to find a way of approaching it that suits me. Back later.

1) Ah, maybe take me off the guest list for the xmas day bbq then?

2) Its a worrying time for everyone, methinks, at the moment. Did it say on the news the other day, theres been a 3% drop in consumer spending on food, in the last month. That does'nt surprise me at all. It would appear more and more people are looking at what they put in their shopping trolley. 20% is a fifth of your income, and doubtless everything will rise by getting on for 20%. I don't know what to say. I can only make grunting noises of sympathy. Its going to get worse. With the news about pensions, you'll have to work forever? Pensions are something i've really been contemplating, this week, and i need some sound advice. Very sound.

3) Don't do frogs, lists, or whatever theory, it is, sadly. The best i can do and advise, is just live day to day, and enjoy it as best you can, ( in your case ). You have your family? I think your whole focus shifts as you get older, and 10 years can make a huge difference in the way you see things. You would'nt think it possible, but it is. Even i've given up battering myself over what is going to happen tomorrow, largely because theres little i can do to change it, so i just ' be ' it. I'm getting to the stage now, where i think ' what the hell '. Maybe it helps to think like this, sometimes.