Not mentioning the T word at all

katieowl_2

bluebag wrote: »

I can really sympathise, I go around turning off lights and 'unfilling' the enough water to drown in kettle, unplugging stuff, adding lentils to everything and ironing wrapping paper, while most times they all use stuff like drunken sailors!!

It gets me down sometimes too, so I do feel a little blowout now and then is in order, just don't beat myself up about now.

I don't have false nails, posh clothes, sky movies/sports, a contract I-phone, a car, a cosmetic habit, go to bingo or eat chocolate, so a ready made trifle now and again is hardly going to get me a hot seat in H*ll now is it?

Oh you two...I so know where you are coming from with this. Years ago, in the 'first' recession the IR were investigating OH as they didn't believe we could have possibly lived on what he'd earned (Yeah :silenced:) Well we HAD...by being incredibly frugal. It wasn't easy, and we had this stupid [STRIKE]!!!!![/STRIKE] female Revenue personage telling us we couldn't possibly have done so, so he 'had' to be on the fiddle! I wrote a list of 'How we survive on our income' which I sent to her...and OH and I looked at it and said, actually we really don't have much of a life do we? We tried a bit harder after that to have the odd Video and a bottle of wine occassionally.

Story had a good ending, as I heard item on the BBC radio news about small businesses being hounded by the revenue, and they were asking for people who had experienced that to contact them, and the next thing I had Rory Cellan Jones in my kitchen, and we went out on all three news' broadcasts a day or two later. She got taken off the case, and OH ended up getting all his overpaid tax back. It was all incredibly stressful though, and subsequently he's been investigated again - also to no avail, as he's not doing anything wrong, except not making heaps of money, there's nothing to find. I can't recommend it as a character building life exercise TBH.

I think you get a kind of poverty exhaustion when you have to keep up watching every penny. It's very very depressing when it's a necessity not a life choice, especially when there are young children involved.

Kate

ubamother

Bobbykins wrote: »

Great news about the van Mrs Chip. Hopefully all will be sorted very soon.

Hearing you went to Aberaeron took me instantly back 40 years to my late teens! We used to go there every year with a bunch of family and friends for the August bank holiday carnival. Friend's family made up the marching jazz band that provided the music for the parade (which, IIRC used to march through at least one of the pubs!) We used to descend on the camp site on the Friday and drink away the entire following week ahhh, what it was to be young.
I wonder if the Harbour Master pub is still going strong? It used to be our base for the week.

Next time anyone's there and the tide is out, could you please have a look for a lost welly that got sucked off my foot while trying to get out of a very muddy harbour. It was only 38 years ago so might be a chance?

mardatha

It gets you down katieowl when you're down already, when you're not well or stressed. You have to keep fighting hard to get through it, but fighting itself is exhausting eh. I feel like strangling the RV just now, he's stressed to hell and wants everybody else to be the same way, and I just haven't got the energy and he's getting to me :mad:

GreyQueen

Good morning campers and I'm sorry to be a whinger but SOMEONE is hogging the Yellow Ball again, and I'm feeling a bit solar-deprived and mushroomish. Regardless of the weather, I will have to spend some time outside this weekend, even if it ends up in full waterproofs.............:)

Yesterday I returned to the homestead to find 2 deeply exciting post items- my orthotics from the podiatrist and my gas & electric bill. I haven't opened the orthotics yet because after a 14 week wait, I need to savour the moment. Plus, the guy at the clinic said I'd need to practise with them for an hour or so a day at first, and that's not really compatible with going to t'office. Plus it's nice to have a "treat" to look forward to on a Friday night, isn't it?

If anyone finds the secret pattern for the cat-gag, can they please post it on the thread as the stray my Nan took on has a cry halfway between a seagull and a rusty hinge and he never blinking shuts up unless he's fast asleep. And then he snores.

Yesterday, I took the too-thin canned curry sauce in which I'd slow-cooked the pork chops in and placed it on the stove in a stainless steel frying pan (you need a heavy pan for this). I added 3 tbsp of red lentils and the tip of the spoon of plain flour and started to simmer it down. These are the proportions of a dish I do which has the starting point of 1.5 pints stock and 2 tbsp curry paste, plus the flour and lentils.

Life being life, I quickly realised the lentils were going to take it from too-runny to too-dry, so added another can of Tesco Basics curry sauce. I know this was pure profligacy on my part (:o) but they'd reduced them from 8p to 4p a can and I felt I could push the boat out for once.

It came out very well. I put the chop in the bain marie part of my 3 tiered steamer (the saucepan kind not the electric kind) and cooked spuds and beans in the steamer part. Right tasty.

Now I have leftover curry sauce so I'm going to have that with boiled eggs for tea and that will be the end of that.

Does anyone else have to have the memory of an elephant to keep track of rolling leftovers? I should add that I never get a gippy tummy nor have I ever poisoned anyone else- that I know of, anyway.

The futility bill was an estimate done a week before it arrived and I compared the actual readings with the estimates and, even tho another week had passed, I was still over-estimated by 1 unit of gas and 20 units of electricity. As it equates to very little cash, I shall leave it. But, because I'm bonkers, I did calculate my actual daily consumption of both and can share with a waiting world;

electricity = 2.7 kWH daily (up 0.1 on last bill)
cooker gas = 1.3 kWH daily (down 0.6 on last bill)*

Which means that, even though I was over-estimated, and they jacked the prices up on 13th Sept, I'm paying less than last time.

:j I'm winning! Yes! And, by the time the next fuel bill comes in, Gollum's usage should have made a difference, too.:j

Massive excitement as the surfing is being punctuated by occasional crashing sounds from the kitchen due to the Larsen B ice shelf slowly falling away from the gubbins of Mr Beko, the elderly fridge. Been at it since before 6 am and intend to have fridge running again before w*rk. Mr Beko came back online after his 8 day hols in early September when I was suffering in the woods with the mad bushcrafters (memo to self-bl00dy stupid idea for a holiday) and has never gone KLONK since, so I'm keeping him. Until death us do part.

It's partly because I'm feeling poverty-stricken and p'd off at the idea of spending good money on a replacement, and partly because I went shopping for a new one and was appalled at the quality. Mr Beko is 12 y.o. and is from an economy brand, but is so much better made than the current offerings from Zanussi, Bosch etc etc. Talk about flimsy; the interiors reminded me of those brittle plastic egg cartons. And, most interestingly, this 12 y.o. B rated fridge uses less electricity than modern A rated fridges of the same size.

:mad: It's just a swizzle, isn't it?

Anyway, enough drivel. I may crack my wallet open with pliers this weekend to buy a little something (DVD rental probably) as have spent the princely sum of £3.05 thus far in Nov and that was on grub.

Hope you all have a luvverly day.


* the only gas which comes thru my meter powers my cooker; the gas central heating comes off a central system and is billed as a fixed weekly service charge.

mardatha

How on earth is your elect so low then GQ? We were on a crusade to get ours as low as a mouse's tummy and it still comes in at 5 units a day!

Fruball

bluebag wrote: »

Re the milk thing, just dye it green with food colour, harmless but really stops them using it.

Didn't somebody suggest before to label it "breast milk"

Now if that doesn't stop them.... :rotfl:

VJsmum

Moooooorrrrrnnnniiiiiinnnggggggg

(sorry was that too loud? )

Well the excitement of THE ROBBERY has passed - some bar steward broke into my (locked) garden in the early hours of Wednesday and nicked my sons bike. Man, i've never been so scared. I was on my own with the kids (OH was away for a few days) I heard the gate open and saw the guy take the bike from the shed - being on my own i didn't want him to see me. God bless our police force who arrived in about 4 minutes but he'd gone.

I realise worse things happen to people but i have never been so scared - anyway tis over now, tho will take a while for me to be at ease at night again.

GQ - spending that much? and it's only the 4th! :rotfl:

We didn't get a utility bill for 10 months despite asking for one many times - when it came it was £800 for gas and electric, which in a 4 bedroomed house didn't seem too bad, but still had to be paid. :eek:

I have to go shopping today - going to be a biggie as i have to buy the ingredients for our christmas cake and dad's 80th birhtday cake which is an inconvenient 4 days after crimbo.

I am thinking of making a poncho out of a fleecey throw - do you think it will work? Yesterday i sat working with no heating on and thought "i could do with a blanket over me" which is when i came up with my bright idea. Fleece doesn't fray so if i cut a square of fleece and a diamond shape in the middle for my head i thought it would be ok. Could even cut a fringe around the edges - must be worth a try for a couple of quids worth of fleece anyway.

Having friends to stay tomorrow - thought the SC would do a nice bit of brisket for Sunday lunch (still haven't named ours - but i'm tending towards "Sandra" - something that efficient must be a woman, but then we did used to have a car named Sandra hmm). The childrens / guest bathroom needs scrubbing within an inch of its life - amazing what having guests does to ones enthusiasm for cleaning. :rotfl: IS there an environmentally friendly way to remove mould from the bathroom ceiling?

Ah well, best get on - have a good day all.

muffin_man_7

mardatha wrote: »

How on earth is your elect so low then GQ? We were on a crusade to get ours as low as a mouse's tummy and it still comes in at 5 units a day!

same here i just cant get lower than 5 units a day and that is including going round turning lights off after titch has left for school we don't have a td air dry in house most stuff unless a big backlog
2 teenagers and me i only do2 wash loads a week and as soonasget to bottom of basket they fill it again mmm

and thats a basic day without doing any washing use gas for cooking everything is off that can be as far as i know?

i too would like to know GQ secrect to just under 3 units a day come on GQ please tell us how you do it
in summer my gas usage is around 2 kwh a day not sure about winter
yet i get a bill every month for gas now so will be interesting to see which weeks/months are the coldest over winter
until start using ch don't have gas fire anymore council put an electric one in will not be using it to heat living room but will put flame effect on over winter as it only cost a £1 a year for that at least little ones won't get hurt

don't keep us waiting too long GQ please i'll check back in a bit got to take titch for asthma check up and flu jab

paidinchickens

vjsmum I would be bobbing my pants as well :eek::eek:

A couple of months ago a friend had her lead pinched off her roof, only the day before had she caught them trying to steal her next door neighbours and instead of running off they stood there and gave her a load of cheek :eek: one of them even said "well we need money from somewhere":eek: her roof repairs cost her £400 :mad:

I can only see things like this getting worse, especially with police cut backs.

Look after yourself and stay safe

PIC x

EstherH

Thanks Grandma and Redlady.

Not sure what my lot would think about pink mince. Can't decide what to do, but got to do something. Will go and get started.

Esther x