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

LannyLee

Kitcaboodle wrote: »

I really, really want to have a go at making home-made crumpets - but it would mean buying some metal rings to use to cook them in.

I used to love Warburtons ones, they were the only ones nice enough to have with just salt & butter. However, they have added something to them over the last year or so that disagrees with me, it makes me bloat up and get painful stomach cramps. I am fine with wheat & fine with yeast, so it must be something they use in the baking process. Want to try making my own with no nasties in it!

I also want to try making my own poppadoms & see if those can be cooked in the microwave as well as shop-bought ones (microwaved poppadoms were a wonderful discovery, no need for oil for cooking them - but the raw ones cost almost as much as the pre-cooked ones in our local Tesco & I've never really rated Pattaks which is all they do). Must find an Indian food supplies shop that sells Gram flour, etc!

So many recipes, so little time, especially as little one kept me up until 2:30am in the end last night!

buy the little tins of beans etc & cut both ends off - does the job for me!

juliethemuse

of course you havent offended Annie, i know what i must do , as its going to hit them hard when they leave home, when i said that to OH he fell about laughing and said 'them 2 will never leave home, they have it too good here!'
eek it wont be so good when Sky gets taken off, i can see it coming,
i should also mention i have sadly just lost my job working in a shop, so i'm quite down about it, and my ends wont seem to meet a the minute,

Annie56

hi Julie, glad you werent offended by my post and sorry to hear you have lost your job, I lost mine about 8 weeks ago and seperated from the miserable OH at the same time, its hard but doable, I love this forum, everyone is so helpful and kind and its brimming full of moneysaving ideas and tips,have a good mooch round it makes wonderful reading, then the ends might meet a bit better.

Im doing a bit of sewing later, putting a new zip on my bodywarmer, as it would have cost £12.50 eeeek to have the local tailoring place do it...so I have bought zip for £1.45 from a nice little haberdashery place I found in town...so with a little time and effort and no doubt lots of cussing I should manage lol

hi to everyone x
Annie56

seasalt_2

Well done on job, Mrs B and hope you get some more hours and in bigger blocks iykwim.

Sammy you are doing so well, chin up hen, you will get there. What did happen about the car in the end?

Julie, I'm with annie on this one. Different if they had offered and you didn't want to take it/could afford to help them out until they find work, but they should be contributing something, however small (welcome to the real world, lads!) AND should be helping with laundry (doing their own?), cooking, housework etc so you don't have to do it all. My 14yr old DD had summer job this year and offered to pay us something! We said we would rather she saved it for college or as a safety net for whatever she does after leaving school and both she and DS now pay for pretty much everything (social lives/clothes etc) apart from school shoes and clothes. Means thay have to make decisions about what their priorities are - I think it's good for them!

ETA. I'm sorry you have just lost your job - even more reason they should be helping to make the family ends meet.

Primrose

julie - I too believe it's important that your two boys contribute to their board and keep, even though they are only getting Jobseekers Allowance. If they're allowed to grow up thinking they can live for free, they're going to be very selfish and unreliable husbands, partners or fathers in later life. If they refuse to cough up what you consider to be a reasonable sum, especially if you've now lost your job, either suggest to them that they move out, or stop doing their cooking and laundry. How they learn to behave now, in terms of being responsible citizens who have to pay their way , will colour how they live their adult lives. It will also help them learn to budget - an essential life skill for everybody.
Do hope you manage to find another job soon.

Thats_Me_3

Julie, I was beaten by Annie et al. WON'T pay anything, WON'T!!!!!! Who's house is it? Who pays the mortgage/rent? Maybe they should try renting somewhere and not paying their rent!!

Sorry, I'm not having a go at you truly I'm not, but if you allow them to behave like this with you, they will most likely carry on and treat other people like it. It is not a good atitude to have. Sorry again, but as soon as my girls left school, they contributed to the housekeeping, even though their first jobs were very low wage.

kidcat

Hi julie, dont want to bombard you but I was always taught that if ou teach children about paying their own way, saving etc they are much less likely to get into serious debt later in life, so by being tough with them now you are actually helping them later on.

skyelark

Primrose wrote: »

I chop meat into one inch chunks, fry lightly until surface of meat is seared brown. Transfer to a caserole with chopped carrots, onions, celery (and any other vegs you have such as swede, turnip or chopped tomatoes). Put a couple of Oxo cubes and a heaped teaspoon of cornflour to thicken into a little COLD water in a measuring jug. Stir until dissoved. Add boiling water (sufficient to cover the meat & vegs) mix and stir into dish. Cook in a low oven for one & a half hours or until meat is tender. Check halfway through to ensure liquid hasn't evaporated. If it's getting low make up another Oxo cube with some water and stir in. (I suspect slow cookers probably need less water than oven or hob cooking because evaporation is less).

Thank you. Sounds delicious!:T

skyelark

ceridwen wrote: »

In cakes - they are richer than hens eggs and thats what people usually do with them AFAIK.

Thank you. Love baking, will try tonight. What does AFAIK mean? Lost on all abreviations I am afraid.

kidcat

skyelark wrote: »

Thank you. Love baking, will try tonight. What does AFAIK mean? Lost on all abreviations I am afraid.

AFAIK - As far as I know??:)