Finally I have a mortgage I can start to pay off!

the_cross_rabbit

if we can't find one we'll just do ourselves, the beauty of having a dog is you always have some sort of plastic bag in your pocket available for the inevitable or rubbish. I know which I'd rather pick up
Crx

themadvix

Well turnovers came out well (feeling rather pleased with myself) but it turned into a bit of a marathon... cat chicken all cooked and frozen and a chilli cooked for dinner (used various bits up too) as well.

* NV survey done (£44.75, so nearly at payout)

Suffolk_lass

Re pastry - I watched Simon Hopkinson make a traditional quiche followed by Nigel Slater making a fig and something pie on Friday - I paid just enough attention to note that both use the same proportion of fat, flour, salt and water to my shortcrust pastry - although from experience I don't weigh it any more.

For very short pastry, we use 120g of fat to 200 g of flour, a pinch of salt and about 3 tablespoons of ice-cold water. Personally mine is "rubbed in" by the food processor on pulse (but they both treat it with a religious-like reverence) - the trick is to not over-handle it. I add the water while the processor is on low speed but have also done the sprinkle and cut in with a knife method SH uses. Rest it in the fridge for 30 minutes and use plenty of flour on the surface, pin and top of the pastry to stop it sticking! It is so much nicer than shop bought shortcrust and so much cheaper. 

Our cheat with puff is to spread butter on ready-made and then fold it as though it were rough-puff - but clearly this does not help you get to grips with it. My late great B-i-L was a master baker and his Austrian M-i-L taught him to make strudel pastry... definitely one of the dark arts (like plastering, but that is a whole other thing!). What an interesting skill to work to master!

Karmacat

Mysterious pastry and beach cleaning ... I like it!  Also real confetti, thats wonderful

themadvix

Morning all,

Thanks SL. I can do shortcrust (follow Delia but use butter only, no lard), but only under duress and with a food processor... I don't love rubbing fat in. Anything else had been beyond me until this weekend. I'd definitely make the turnovers/the rough puff again though - it wasn't too tricky, just a bit time consuming. I reckon the rough puff would be acceptable as a strudel pastry (UK style, I know it's not the real deal, but it's what the frozen ones taste like!). Choux next!

We had a lovely day on Saturday and collected two buckets on rubbish from the beach. It was cold and very windy, but the sun was out and I love the Norfolk skies, especially at Brancaster. After our walk we tried to charge at a pub, but the car and charger didn't want to talk (our car only has a small battery so it's limited as to where it can charge - which is fine and we knew before we bought it), so no free electricity but a fairly expensive pub lunch, which was both very nice and paid for by DH (who had the expensive steak!).

Yesterday was a work marathon - I had a large assignment with a tight deadline (really only yesterday to work on it), so nothing else got done really. DH came home en route to a night away for work, so we had leftover chilli for lunch and then in the evening I went to Mum's for dinner, which was nice. The work might have been testing, but at least it's a good amount of money.

This morning I have the electrician here to fit the charging point. Once he's gone I'll need to go and post some ebay bits and see to the cats (my last visit today, I'll miss them - such lovely boys).

I have made the leap day OP this morning. Unfortunately the barstewards add the interest on before taking the monthly payment, so we're not (and were never) below £70k!!   £77.86 to find! Have had some more feedback from Ebay and it's now been three weeks, so will transfer some of the cash in there across, but there's still more to be found.

MS things:
* Am doing my best to make use of overnight cheap electricity. Put the d/w on at 10.40 last night (cheap rate from 12.30), so 50 mins of cheapy electricity as the eco wash takes 2 hr 50 mins! Have also dug out the instructions for washing machine to see if we can programme that to run overnight (and we'll spin it in the morning). Car is charging on schedule overnight
* Four more ebay sales, including my old laptop. Need to send today.
* Cats

Gratitudes:
* Lots of work
* Chance to relax yesterday evening after a  looong day's work
* Lunchtime catch-up with DH
* Lovely day out at the seaside - have said to mum I'll take her soon
* The last of the electrical appointments today

Have a good day all!

themadvix

Have picked up a short cat sitting job for the weekend from a previous customer! This is the first repeat booking I've had and it's one of my favourite cats (walking distance and no litter tray - woohoo!). Really pleased that they've come back to me.

Charging point is now all installed, working and charges the car much more quickly. Have visited the cats and dropped off one Ebay parcel. Now just finishing lunch and work and then will post the remaining parcels. Then, I think, I'll feel caught up-ish!

Jessy103

That's great news, vix! You'll soon have your own cat sitting business

Cheery_Daff

Great news on the cat, and also on the charging point, woo hoo! 

Reading about your ebay postage trials and sympathising - I was due to receive a parcel today, sent signed for and guaranteed before 1pm, and did it arrive? Nope. Rang Royal Mail who said 'oh dear, it appears we have failed to deliver your parcel'... Er, yes you have! Pesky bunch. Most vexing from the selling end I imagine, don't blame you for sending it signed for (I'm hoping mine will turn up eventually...)

themadvix

Morning all,

Thanks Jessy and Cheery - not sure I want a proper cat sitting business, it might feel like work then, but I as it is, I quite enjoy the occasional visit, especially if I can walk to them And it's a nice way to supplement my income when work is quiet (better than surveys!). Cheery, that's very vexing indeed about your missing parcel - what's the point of offering these services if a) they can't deliver and b) they don't even seem bothered when they don't?! Fingers crossed your parcel arrives today.

We set the washing machine to run overnight last night and apart from the softener ball bashing around it was fine (left on hold, so DH put it on to spin this morning). Washing on the line by 9 am too, feeling very virtuous! And better still, with the car doing a full charge overnight and the washing machine, we've used about 9kWh today and it's only cost 90p!

I've whizzed round and done several houseworky jobs this morning - between the marathon work assignment on Monday and the electrician yesterday I was a bit behind - so tulip petals are now beautifully nestled in a jam jar ready for use as confetti, end of the bread has been chopped up for croutons and frozen and I've even dusted! The main non-work job today is to actually sort the house insurance, even if that's just ringing up and renewing (it's less than last year, so probably will just do that). If I do sort it, I should free up some budgeted money that can be OP'd

MS things:
* Super cheap green electricity and maximising its use (wm and d/w - but we can't programme d/w)
* Leftovers for lunch today
* Watchers on ebay items - really hoping some of these go!
* Will make a banana loaf later to use up some brown nanas.
* Clicks

Gratitudes:
* Sunshine first thing (it's clouded over now)
* Repeat customers
* A night in with DH tonight

Have a good day all!

themadvix

Morning all,

I didn't manage to do home insurance yesterday as the insurance company wouldn't pick up the phone! I've found a way to see if they'll answer my query online, but sometimes it would just be easier to be able to talk to someone. So that's my first job for today.

I paid myself before month end, so hadn't done my money shuffles.... so had a text from FD this morning telling me that they'd sorted an unarranged OD (zero balance in there except when I fund the RS, which I obviously haven't done this month!). So that's on the to-do list too. Also have some work and going to pop to the zero-waste shop to top up - we're ok really for another week at the moment, but having run the Brexit stash down, I'm not sure I want to be left short in case we have to stay at home for an enforced period of time!

MS things:
* Collected keys for visiting the kitty at the weekend
* Leftovers for lunch
* Clicks done (7SB Feb bonus)
* Receipt Shoppixed
* ebay fees paid (they had charged me the full 10% FVF for my old laptop - I'm sure I listed it after opting in to the £1 offer. Not impressed, but no hope of arguing that with them.
* D/w on overnight

Gratitudes:
* Plenty of work
* Yummy fajitas for dinner
* A date booked in to see friends at the end of the month

Have a good day all!