really old style living?

mardatha

Yaaay good idea ! I started getting tins of stuff in 5s. Five tins of ham five tins of chopped pork. Then later on another 5 of each and it soon adds up.

D&DD

I usually shop online at tesco but somehow have accumalated (over 2 years mind)nearly 100 quid in nectar points..I blame mse,lakelands and amazon :rotfl:
I plan to use these for my 'storecupboard shops' but only when things are on offer.Fortunatley OH doesn't know I have them

I don't usually shop for anything other than milk and his nibs strawberries/fresh fruit in January,Feb and sometimes even March depending on how the garden has been.

I use up a lot of my older dried goods in the winter so that when they are on offer in the spring I can restock with fresh supplies.

ginnyknit

D&DD wrote: »

I usually shop online at tesco but somehow have accumalated (over 2 years mind)nearly 100 quid in nectar points..I blame mse,lakelands and amazon :rotfl:
I plan to use these for my 'storecupboard shops' but only when things are on offer.Fortunatley OH doesn't know I have them

I don't usually shop for anything other than milk and his nibs strawberries/fresh fruit in January,Feb and sometimes even March depending on how the garden has been.

I use up a lot of my older dried goods in the winter so that when they are on offer in the spring I can restock with fresh supplies.

Ooh well done with a 100 quid stash of points - I was pleased when I got my Morrisons stamps upto a fiver :rotfl:

ThriftyFelicity

There's a really useful chart of vegetable yields in the book Solar Gardening: Growing vegetables year-round the American intensive way (ISBN 0-930031-69-5). It gives the average yield you can expect in a 4'x8' bed... e.g. 60 pounds of leeks, 50 pounds of beetroot (cylindrical type), 25 pounds of cabbage; but only 11 of sweetcorn, 10 of sprouts or eight of asparagus. Useful for figuring out how much to plant of each vegetable. I reproduced it 'cause I thought some here would find it useful:

Clickety-click

elona

Mardatha

Could you stress the "luxurious and organic" home grown veg and enthuse about Alan Titchmarsh, Prince Charles etc?

Give him the idea it is a "posh hobby!" and an indulgence (even though we know better).

DH tells anyone who asks that he has reduced his hours and is working from home since I was ill last year. He would not dream of telling anyone that he retired early in January as then he would "feel old". He is keen on the idea of me resuming storing extra supplies once we get moved and will have space in a garage for it.

I point out how much things like tinned tomatoes have gone up in price in a year and how we could beat the supermarkets by stocking up basics when things are on offer. He now is convinced it is his idea and has even asked me, once we get moved, to show him how to make a basic loaf in the breadmaker!!!!!;)

What with finally selling our house, moving into borrowed place, and negotiating for " forever house" - he finds he does not miss work at all, looks forward to getting his study set up and doing family history, eventually getting a log cabin in garden and perhaps growing fruit or veg himself. He won't do anything that makes him feel old (like join Saga etc) but takes pride in asking for pensioners discount and planning ahead.

mardatha

Elona, if I started to enthuse about prince Charles the RV would take me to a psychiatrist :rotfl: But believe me, I have tried everything. Take this morning - I whined about him not being involved in the garden. An indignant RV said " I am involved! I do support you ! I eat it !" :rotfl:
Thanks for that Felicity, very handy .:D

D&DD

Aw Mardatha I feel for you,my dad was a postie but 2 yrs off retirement age he slipped at work and had such an horrific leg injury he was medically retired.
He went from being superfit in to everything to a couch potato which just wasn't him! He can't read very well and doesn't really watch tv so my mum had a real problem trying to find things for him to do while he was laid up and then while he was trying to get vaguely mobile again..

My dad though fortunately has always loved his garden so at least he's now able to potter around out there and takes great pleasure from growing us tons of bedding plants bless him..

Sounds like OH needs some sort of interest I know you say he's not interested in the garden but is he good at building stuff?? Maybe he could help out by making a few planters,thats sort of thing?


Ginny :rotfl:I dread to think how much I've spent though to amass that little lot :eek: I have bought rather a few books this year as I've been away a lot with DS2 but its a welcome boost I never do well with savings stamps either I start off well for about 2 weeks then end up needing them for something:o

ginnyknit

Its nice and quiet here today and warm! Kids gone out.....ahhh peace.... should be going to a wedding today but really cannot bear the thought of wasting all that cash and neither of us are upto it. Think I need to recharge my batteries after a stressful week. Think Dd may have a house by next week, and it hasnt come a day too soon. I love having them here but I can sense the electric meter whizzing round and its blooming chaos. I just want to get my O/S life organised again - ie be able to get into the stock cupboard, use the kitchen without stuff falling on me and have room for visitors to actualy sit down.

Outside my front door at the moment is a pot with about 9 4foot high lilies in full flower that my friend gave me last week for fixing her Morris Minor. As you open the door the perfume drifts in and it makes you feel good, am going to try and propogate the bulblets when they form so I can share them next year.

Julie67

What a great thread. Everyone seems very friendly. I try to be old style but some of you put me to shame:o

The thing is I am seriously thinking of giving up my well paid job as I so love being a mum and a homemaker. To be honest with all the money we waist on convenience foods and loads of other stuff I think we could manage really well on DH wage. I realise it would be a big change. We already grow lots of veg (although some of it has gone to waste this year as I just haven't had time to pick it:ohangs head in shame)

Has anyone else made this change and how did things work out? I am really excited but scared to take the next step

mardatha

Julie, I would really really be careful - in this current economic phase a job is a job is a job ! Maybe pretend you've stopped work and live only (and strictly!) on OH wage for a bit and see how that goes before you do anything drastic ?