Its tough, it will get better and guess what its freezing brrrrr!

charlies-aunt

juliethemuse wrote: »

i always go to a vaiety of shops, i'm getting a bit miffed at Asdas , i used to buy their packs of 15 'luxury' sausages, right, a few weeks ago they were £2.00, bargain! then last week they were back up to £3.00 , yesterday when i did the shopping they have gone up to £4.00! all in a few weeks, wont be able to afford to eat soon at this rate! or we could just have 'shimshams' as my nan used to say, has anyone heard of them?:rotfl:

Well we have that expression here as "shimshams for ducks to sit on" - which is the multi-purpose standard response to any over curious questions!!
Another curious expression is that Christmas tree ornaments are referred to a "wessiley-bobs" anyone else know that one?

We're all a bit strange in the country! :rotfl:

maryb

lovelife wrote: »

On another note got a delivery from approved foods yesterday which included a gallon of red wine vinegar for 49p. It came in a plastic gallon container with a simple sticker on the side saying "red wine vinegar liquid, type 6%" DD's BF commented that it looked as if it had come from Osama Bin Ladens front line!! Ideas for red wine vinegar greatly appreciated :rotfl:

6% is perfect for chutney.

I did a lovely Christmas chutney recently and despite all the advice I got on here, I forgot to write down exactly what I did!! But it was made with dried cranberries, apricots , apples, a mix of red and white onion and red wine vinegar and it glows like a jewel. It may not last until Christmas as it is to die for with cheddar cheese

Primrose

grandma247 wrote: »

What a good idea about the walking! I gained a stone last year because I fell in the snow and it scared me into staying in most of the time. I did walk up and down the two flights of stairs but not nearly enough it seems.

Grandma - perhaps you should ask for a pedometer in your Christmas stocking. It's a little device which measures the number of paces you walk in a day and you can either clip it onto your skirt belt, or hang around your neck. The recommended level for the average person each day to keep reasonably fit is 10,000 paces, and that's quite a high number to achieve. My current device is broken but on a lazy day indoors I've found that often I only get in 2,000 paces, which of course, does allow the fat to pile on. The only way to avoid this, I've found, is to drastically reduce the calories on inactive days but I'm afraid most of us are creatures of habit, no matter how few daily paces we achieve, and still continue to eat our full three meals a day.

Kitcaboodle

Well, some successful and some unsuccessful moneysaving today.

On the down side, tried the Tesco own brand cocoa powder today. I bought it as it was much cheaper than Green & Blacks (I know G&B sounds extravagant but it's actually cheaper than Bournville in our local Tesco!) However, just sniffing the two types, there is a whole WORLD of difference. Thankfully I only had to use one spoon of Tesco's cocoa to two of G&B but ick, not looking forward to using up the rest of the pot. At least I know now why it was so cheap! Still, I always promise DH that I'll at least give own brand stuff a go before discounting it & some of it I actually prefer to branded (like the digestive biscuits!)

On the plus side, I popped into La Senza today as they are doing buy one get one free on their PJ's and I got two pairs of flannel pyjamas for £25, that's £12.50 each, which is good value for nice, warm PJ's. I'll really need them with the chilly weather, as our storage heater in our bedroom won't turn up any warmer as the controls are melted (and we've been waiting three months for the landlord to get a broken light fitting replaced, so I don't think it's worth asking him to fix them!)

BB1984

lovelife wrote: »

Bombshell moment yesterday, DS rang me and asked if him and his gf could move in with us they are being evicted from their flat as they can't afford the rent. GF has just completed her nurse training but has not managed to get a job so far and DS is doing an apprenticeship in social care for which he receive the grand total of £95 per week. So far her nursing bursary has paid the rent and DS's money has paid bills and food. When her bursary ended they applied for housing benefit but because of their age were only entitled to £220 a week, their rent is £450. We re in an IVA so money is very tight and strictly accounted for, I so wish we could help them, they both work so hard, DS is working in an old peoples home during the day, attending college a couple of evenings a week and doing driving lessons, a birthday present from his grandmother, he is 22 and i am so proud of how he is trying to get a life together for himself. GF had an interview yesterday but didn't get the job, lots of candidates apparently. They are moving in next Thursday, i am hoping things will be ok but i can see extra pressure for us all ahead! I feel so sorry for young people today everything seems to be stacked up against them, it seemed so much easier when i was younger, when i went to uni my fees were paid and i got a grant, my first flat cost me £9750 and it was in a good area. When i see the kids demonstrating yesterday i really feel their frustration, they have been really let down by the powers that be. If the next generation feel there is little hope, what hope is there for the rest of us:(

Should that be per month, rather than per week? Cos £450 per week in rent is extortionate! :eek:

It's great that you are helping them, and I'm sure your son realises how difficult it will be for you. Could they find a large room in a house-share? That would be a cheap way of renting a place, I know a few people that do that. Not ideal, but better than nowt.

I'm not much older than them, but I graduated at just the right time, I think - I had no problem getting a job then, but I'm not sure I'd have as much luck right now...

BB

charlies-aunt

Kitcaboodle wrote: »

Well, some successful and some unsuccessful moneysaving today.

On the down side, tried the Tesco own brand cocoa powder today. I bought it as it was much cheaper than Green & Blacks (I know G&B sounds extravagant but it's actually cheaper than Bournville in our local Tesco!) However, just sniffing the two types, there is a whole WORLD of difference. Thankfully I only had to use one spoon of Tesco's cocoa to two of G&B but ick, not looking forward to using up the rest of the pot. At least I know now why it was so cheap!

Kitcaboodle - don't grit your teeth and use it up ... take it back for a refund! Tesco products can generally be returned for refund if they aren't satisfactory in the past I've returned a bottle of wine (opened) that was 'orrible, a part used multipack of crisps that were soggy and got a full refund without any quibbles

Mrs_Veg_Plot

Parsonswife, hope you get a better nights sleep with your back. Oh has to sleep with a heat pad every night as it helps ease his back and he really dislikes taking painkillers.
Sheargar accupuncture is one of the alternative therapies I have not tried but it sounds effective. Accupunctrue did not work for me but I found rekki healing very good.

Spoke to BS again today and they made a mistake yesterday and Oh does still owe them £700. That was a short lived relief.

Got back from shopping tonight to find the kids had turned the heating up to 22 degrees :eek:. Its boiling in here now, best swop my thick pjs for a summer pair tonight.

Had tuna pasta for tea with pasta sauce from a batch I made from home growm toms and then froze in portions. Have enough for my lunch tom and the 3 girls (daugthers and niece) have made pasta salad for their lunches with the remaining pasta.

BB1984

Drum roll please........drrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.........................my boiler is fixed - we have heating! :j :j:beer::rotfl::T:T:j:D:p:beer::j

I'm so happy!

The man left about half an house ago, so the house is gradually warming up. It was only 9 degrees when I got home from work :eek:

Bless him, he was so nice and despite being kept out late (his jobs today had overrun, but he'd promised me he'd come today) he still did a thorough job and cleared up after himself despite my telling him not to worry.

He wouldn't take any money off me, either, so I snuck £20 into his bag when he wasn't looking!

So in the end, it didn't cost as much as I thought - £100 for the parts and £20 for him. Still not to be sniffed at, but we had the money put by so we won't go without food this month.

I tell you what, though, this might sound melodramatic, but being without heating or hot water has really made me reflect on how lucky we are to have it (most of the time!). There are so many people around the country who are without heating or even a roof over their heads I count my blessings.

...as do my cats who are fighting over who gets the prized spot right next to the lounge radiator....they were both under the duvet with us last night and the electric blanket!

Today is the beginning of my money month, because DH always gets paid on the 25th. Totted up my grocery spends for last month and just about managed to stick to £120, which I'm pleased and surprised about. However, we didn't buy a single item of meat in the whole month apart from a couple of reduced bits. We've been cutting down on that loads lately, and using up some of the meat that we had lingering in the freezer.

Oh my goodness, just watching Nigella that I recorded earlier - she's made the most gorgeous looking chocolate tray bake thingy.....drool :drool:

Seriously need to do some xmas shopping now....No idea what to get my Dad or Step-Dad. Or my in-laws. Saw some lovely pyjamas in Peacocks that SIL would like. Bought a tartan wheat bag for MIL, thought I could do a "cosy night in" hamper with that and some fluffy socks, chocs and maybe a dvd or something...don't know though, she's quite hard to please.

DH and I have agreed not to give each other anything this year as we got the kitten earlier in the year and she's cost quite a bit in vaccinations etc.


Can't decide whether or not to get a xmas tree this year....I'm worried the kitten will destroy it! We don't have a door on the lounge, so when we're at work she might go mad at it....anyone had experience of kittens and xmas trees...?!

BB

jue

Hi BB1984
First year we had our cat as a kitten at Christmas she spent some of her time in/up the tree but didn't damage too much. But then again we do always use shatterproof baubles and she rolled alot of them around the floor, I guess if using glass baubles this would have been a big problem! :-)

grandma247

Primrose wrote: »

Grandma - perhaps you should ask for a pedometer in your Christmas stocking. It's a little device which measures the number of paces you walk in a day and you can either clip it onto your skirt belt, or hang around your neck. The recommended level for the average person each day to keep reasonably fit is 10,000 paces, and that's quite a high number to achieve. My current device is broken but on a lazy day indoors I've found that often I only get in 2,000 paces, which of course, does allow the fat to pile on. The only way to avoid this, I've found, is to drastically reduce the calories on inactive days but I'm afraid most of us are creatures of habit, no matter how few daily paces we achieve, and still continue to eat our full three meals a day.

I have had two or three of those flippin things and they do not seem to work properly. If they catch on your clothing they go back to zero. I could do with one strapped to my leg or something:rotfl:.

I have drastically reduced the amount of food I eat but have discovered my problem is more related to the type of carbs I eat so have been experimenting with alternatives. Will power these last few months has been a big problem. I think it is low level depression because we have had a lot to cope with.

Lovelife we have been there twice in the last three years. Ds and ddil moved in the first time and stayed a year then again in the summer and have just moved out again. They were stitched up by their mortgage company the first time but thats a long story. Total incompetance and although ombudsman involved they had had enough and did not have the energy or courage to take it all the way so managed to sell up but it left them with nothing.

They were between houses the second time.

Tolerance on both sides and a willingness to discuss any potential friction area are what made it work for us. I would do it again.