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

Memory_Girl

mardatha wrote: »

Ooooh that means I'm legal to drive a quad. :j:j:j
Em.
Anybody got a spare one they're not using ? The ones around here are covered in sheep poo and wet collies ..

OMG!! Like the one thats just parked up outside my window!!!!

Very nice liver and cream collie - albeit steaming gently in the sunshine after the shower. I can just imagine the aroma!!!

Memorygirl

gailey_2

Im quite a cranky mood now. its still tipping down, hubbsy quashed window shopping idea , cant afford softplay or swimming as our last 50quid is on reserve for cheap baccy. His contact was suppost to sell them to him yesterday.
He said he ring again when hes next in area.
But bet it be fri or after meaning we stuggled for last few days for nothing.

I know its cheaper than buying from shop but really got my backup.
hes been out all morning whilst kids been crawling the walls.

Maybe its the weather making me very grumpy.

I hate being couped up in house.

parsonswife8

Shame Gailey, never mind.

OH was in the kitchen washing the dishes just now. Saw this Indian dude with a long beard come up to our front door. OH came through to the front room and said, "Thought we were having a visit from the Taliban", whilst handing me a takeaway menu for curry.

:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

Just been reading the menu and now, feeling like curry.

Hardup_Hester

Gailey I get most of my meat from the local butchers, it's better quality & usually cheaper, as for the bacon, I split it into 4 rasher bundles & freeze them, a pack or 36 rashers should last us a month or two.
Hester

northwest1965

gailey - have you tried using the offcuts/mishapes they sell in Morrisons. Great for cooking. What about a nice leek/bacon & potato pie for the freezer? (might be better when leeks are cheap)

BigMummaF

jediteacher wrote: »

....Families are funny things - you have no choice who you get.

Aren't they just :undecided I know we can't all have the same likes & dislikes or Life would be very boring, but please! It's no wonder the divorce rate is so high with two people with opposing family heritage both trying to do things the only way they know how My FIL--a lovely man I hasten to add!--thought it hilarious that I kept hubby's socks for 'best' away from his work ones, but I was fed up keep buying new ones when we went out anywhere because all the others were full of holes from wearing steel toe-caps all day :mad: A minor irritation I suppose, but get enough of them for enough time & the itch goes way past scratching!

Grumpycupple wrote: »

Just back from a family funeral that went as well as you would expect it to do. I am sick of going *home* for those events as it is always sad occasions.Anyway while we were down there we got invited to a niece's wedding....

We had a similar situation a couple of weeks back & now we are trying to organise a 'family picnic' It's actually on my in-laws side; when their father walked I made a concious decision to encourage The Offspring to keep contact as my family are scattered across the wider plains & in any case, it wasn't Aunt B's fault my marriage ended.
Not sure what your budget or time is for the Gift but what about making a crochet/ knitted blanket or embroidering the Couple's initials on a pair of fleece Or how about a photo album with a few of your favourite recipes slotted in where the pictures should go, along with some old style hints & tips & the space to add their own.Giving them instructions on how to read the forums on here would be a good start too!

Can I recommend The Victorian Pharmacy on the BBC; they made their own custard powder this week from cornflour, turmeric & almond essence :rotfl: It's interesting to see what passed for commercially available medicines & how some of the Old Wives Tales have more than a little truth about them.

Hippeechiq

I single freeze rashers of bacon in cling film. It's a bit of faffing about, but that way I only have to take out what I need, rather than a whole pack of it and work another meal around it.

I also single freeze sausages for the same reason. Open freeze them first, and then chuck em in the freezer in bags of eight, then I can take out as few or many as I like at a time.

I used to have a local butcher when I lived in Suffolk - best sausage maker in the world! lol But I can't find anything even close in Dorset. Have tried a couple of local butchers, but don't like what I've bought from them. Cheap sausages make me feel sick, I can't help it, it doesn't matter what or how I cook them, they just make me feel sick.

Used to buy Walls, but they've gone up to like £2 + and I don't think they're particularly great either and most of the other packet sausages look like pink willies - ew!! :rotfl: and what is it they make them with?.....shredded rusks?/sawdust?....it ain't meat, that's for sure.

In desperation, I tried a pack of M & S Premium (98% Pork) a couple of years back, and they're quite nice. I wait till they have the offer of 3 double packs for £10 and then get 48 sausages for £10. Just under 21p a sausage - can't grumble at that eh?

Andraste

There's a butcher on our local market that makes the best sausages I've ever tasted, no rusk or filler, just meat and seasonings. The pork and leek is fab! We used to roast them in the oven instead of a joint when we'd got all the kids round for dinner, but these days it's often cheaper to get a joint of meat instead. The men of the family could eat for England, and although I do my best to fill them up with spuds and veg, the meat still seems to disappear before you know what's happened.

Lindy_-_Loo

We buy bacon at netto - its 6 rashers for £1 and really nice. Friend uses farmfoods frozen bacon 18 slices for £2.50.

boys had some lego boards in the post today when home from library. Got them off ebay (sold stuff last week), they were made up, so glad i have boys who dont care if its new or not. Explained that another boy doesnt play with lego anymore so we bought it off him. DS2 xmas present off ebay came but he hasnt seen that!

Gailey - he get promotion?

OH did extra training at work so he can work in the lab making glasses as well as selling them, completed training only to be told that the company have decided not to give the payrises this year as it not cost effective. Would have been about £3000 a year - never mind. His wages are low so we qualify for free prescriptions which is somethong.

Austin_Allegro

gailey wrote: »

Im quite a cranky mood now. its still tipping down, hubbsy quashed window shopping idea , cant afford softplay or swimming as our last 50quid is on reserve for cheap baccy. His contact was suppost to sell them to him yesterday.
He said he ring again when hes next in area.
But bet it be fri or after meaning we stuggled for last few days for nothing.

I know its cheaper than buying from shop but really got my backup.
hes been out all morning whilst kids been crawling the walls.

Maybe its the weather making me very grumpy.

I hate being couped up in house.

If tobacco is costing you and you really have to have it, you can make it go further by 'cutting' it with herbs - start gradually then build up the amount as you get used to less nicotine.
There are all kinds of traditional herbal smoking mixtures like coltsfoot, and blackberry leaves were used during the war/austerity years. You can get these from foraging or buy herbal smoking mixtures from Holland and Barrett or from websites like this: http://www.woodlandherbs.co.uk/acatalog/herbal_tobacco.html
Beware, if you smoke this in public it does have rather a 'herbal' aroma which may get you some odd looks...:eek: