It's STILL tough and not getting better - so how are we coping?

parsonswife8

mardatha wrote: »

Does anybody else get really sick fed up of never going OUT ? And I dont mean nights out, I mean out anywhere!! I sit in this house day in day out week in week out and I never go ANYWHERE and today I am ready to SCREAM. But if I whine at rattyknickers all I get is the "no money for petrol" story..

I hardly ever go out and never go out alone, always with OH. I don't like crowds and have had too many falls to go out alone, got to have him to hang on to.

Got to go up to London by train, to see consultant at the hospital on Monday. Would do anything not to have to go.:(

mardatha

I'm ok as long as its in a car, with little walking. But he wont spend money on petrol unless its something HE wants to do And I cant whine or argue to go out just for the sake of it because it is all money.. but I get so fedup sometimes.

parsonswife8

mardatha wrote: »

I'm ok as long as its in a car, with little walking. But he wont spend money on petrol unless its something HE wants to do And I cant whine or argue to go out just for the sake of it because it is all money.. but I get so fedup sometimes.

I don't blame you for feeling fed up. Sometimes, a change of scenery can do you the world of good. We take short breaks quite often at our caravan in Norfolk and each time, we go and have a looksee in the different towns and villages. Nice sandy beach near there too, can paddle in the water.

Go out now and again for a meal, using Tesco vouchers or 2-for-1 vouchers, never go to the cinema, potter around in charity shops sometimes, but that's it.

I shop online for groceries mainly and buy quite a bit off Ebay.

Stay home alone when OH goes to see his mum in the afternoon once a week and when he does work once a week for charity.

Quite used to my own company now.

EstherH

Charis wrote: »

Whatever it was may have already left the apple. I soak ours to evict the critters, then peel, cut up and discard the yukky bits. Once the rest is cooked it's fine. Proper old style. They never threw away good food. The reason it's got lodgers is because it's organic (not been sprayed) and worth eating. I remind myself of the cost of a tiny jar of apple sauce in the supermarket if I ever feel inclined to be fussy.



The pointy end of a pear is the first bit to go soft, that's where the greengrocer always used to test first. Some pears never amount to much as raw fruit but poached (especially in red wine) they are delicious. Or you can cut into cubes, part cook and throw a good few blackberries in for the last few minutes of cooking. Our blackberries get a good soak before cooking too, as their 'lodgers' are smaller and can get missed. Once cooked, stewed fruit keeps for ages in the freezer and is a welcome reminder of summer during the winter.





To be honest, green leafy veg are supposed to be the best of all, for vitamins, minerals and folic acid and they are the one thing you haven't mentioned. Fruit is expensive and can be quite high in sugar. Most of it is imported, so if there is ever a transport crisis we'll all have to get used to a very different diet.

I've found growing my own to be more trouble than it's worth too, especially this year when my beans were smothered in blackfly and my chard was devoured by leaf miners. If you really don't like growing veg just do some salad leaves or a few tomatoes in a pot near the house. Once you get used to the likes and dislikes of plants they seem easier to manage, though they do have good and bad years. In the meantime at least you'll save sometimes but not feel overwhelmed. Someone said on this thread the other day 'Grow what you like to eat' which is good advice, though you might find bananas a challenge with the summers we have these days :cool:

Don't think to poach pears. Could I put in crumbles then as well? Will definitely make more effort to use what is there this year. Have been inspired by you all.

We don't eat cabbage and sprouts - nightmares for me and hubby of being made to sit at table until all of dinner was eaten. We swore we wouldn't do it with our kids. Not so sure now, that that was the right approach as DS was very fussy growing up, but he has grown out of it. However, we still don't like cabbage and sprouts. I buy frozen brocolli, cauli, peas, sweetcorn, mixed veg sometimes, frozen leeks and swede when can get to farmfoods or similar but they aren't convenient, and local supermarkets don't have them. Frozen peppers are good.

Might try again to grow something next year. I enjoyed doing it, it's was just that the end results weren't so good. The onions were miniscular, the leeks never materialised, the spring onions I did a couple of years ago werent too bad but very thin. I have done cut and come salad leaves in the past and they were good. The potatoes, seemed to be expensive because I used seed pots to start with and the dustbin needed a lot of compost to fill it up and keep earthing up and not a lot of potatoes for the outlay. Maybe try again next year. Will try to make more use of apples, pears and blackberries this year. Put first 4oz in freezer the other day, usually just bring them in and eat them, but seemed more sense to save them up and then make something with them. Don't have any local foraging places and tbh wouldn't know what to look for apart from blackberries, be scared to pick something poisonious.

kezlou

ceridwen wrote: »

I think it would probably be possible in extremis to make bread from just plain Value white flour/dried yeast/cheapest salt and a bit of cheap sunflower oil to ensure it would keep a bit better and it would work out a lot cheaper than the standard price readymade breads and still be healthier than them...I havent tried it...but that is my thinking...

I actually make white bread from plain white i've run out of strong white.
Makes a 2lb loaf
500g plain white flour
1 tsp table salt
2 tsp granulated sugar
3g dried yeast
220ml of water

This is the recipe i have posted on the grocery thread with the more recent changes.
Basic white bread recipe (makes a 2lb loaf)
250g Strong White Bread Flour
250g Plain Flour
220ml of cold water
1 tsp salt
2 tsp sugar
7g dried fast action yeast ( or if using bread machine about 1 1/2 tsp of fast action yeast)
2 tsp of dried milk powder (optional)

In the bread machine, put it on a basic setting, 2lb loaf.

When i assisted with the recipes i told weezl that the bread i make is far cheaper than the one she did, due to the fact i do 1/2 and 1/2.

hahaha :rotfl:broomstick classic :rotfl:

gailey argos is quite good for slowcookers, but i would ask on freecycle first. I can fit a whole large chicken in mine.

mardatha i get sick too, especially now with this stupid grr knee. But i used to leave him on his own, take the boys with me and disappear. Now i get annoyed if he's with me lol

Not sure whats happening today, might pop into town to put a cheque in the bank. Prob carry on with curtains but i can't walk very far its turning a boring school holiday for the boys. OH has gone caving, which has really annoyed me as the boys want to go out. apparently he said to us what do we want to do. This was last night and he only meant friday night. The about 11pm he went oh i did ask you what you all wanted to do over the weekend. Oh no you flaming didn't. He does this everytime so that he doesn't have to deal with the boys or me. Really really annoyed me.

annie123

mardatha wrote: »

Does anybody else get really sick fed up of never going OUT ? And I dont mean nights out, I mean out anywhere!! I sit in this house day in day out week in week out and I never go ANYWHERE and today I am ready to SCREAM. But if I whine at rattyknickers all I get is the "no money for petrol" story..

What about on the back of his bike lots of miles to the gallon.

I'm looking forward to a weekend of not going out.
Today is the 4th in a row of bbq's for birthdays, anniversary's etc and all of them have been £30 of petrol each, this one will be more.
One more next weekend then I'm staying put.
Car MOT Tuesday, fingers crossed it passes, cant afford another £800 bill like we had for DH van and car tax next month too.
At least this all happens in the summer when bills are cheaper:)

EstherH

Gailey, I have a Morphy Richards 6.5ltr slowcooker and it's great. You can get big chicken in. But you can't put it in the oven.

We don't have Aldi very close, drive to one every so often. Mostly shop at Morrisons and Tesco. Find Morrisons cheaper, but fruit doesn't keep as well. Go to Lidl sometimes. Might try there more often.

I thicken gravy with Bisto but If I use oxo I use plain flour it's cheaper than cornflour. Use it to make sauces too.

annie123

EstherH wrote: »

The potatoes, seemed to be expensive because I used seed pots to start with and the dustbin needed a lot of compost to fill it up and keep earthing up and not a lot of potatoes for the outlay. Maybe try again next year.

Spuds grow in about 10" of soil, thats all you need, if you want to earth up more than that, use crumpled newspaper to stop leaves falling all over the place.
Put 4" of soil in, add seed tatty, cover with 2" of soil, add extra compost upto 10" in total

gailey_2

I find social gatherings all at once.

Yes get sick of not going out.

Shops nearest me not much occasionally browse charity shop.

Because no car unless weather good or I really need something I dont go out get sick of being at home in winter as kids get bored.
Will have school run in september maybe toddlers not sure as feel odd in large groups.
Because we so skint only place I enjoy going to is carboot sale once a month.

Im probably in all day as raining here.
need to find hubbys lost charger and tidy.

might have sold a buggy lady from netmums over later to look which will pay some bills.

feeling bid sad and fed up today think its just tiredness, stress over money and weather combined.

EstherH

Thanks everyone for recommendations. Will try again next year.