make do and mend for tougher times

smileyt_2

Can I share some good news? The postman has just been and there were two envelopes from HMRC. I groaned and moaned and steeled myself to open them and ...... I have a tax refund from - get this! - 2007-2008! Ancient history! It's not much - a couple of hundred pounds, but that is a fortune to me!

Methinks my godson will be getting more than a £10 gift voucher for his birthday :j.

I will be able to replace my stair carpet, which is currently held together with parcel tape and frankly is getting to the dangerous stage.

Whoop!

meme30

I think the latest advice is not to correct them if they refer to someone long dead as alive or say they need to see their Mum etc but just to let it go.

Elona:- Yes you are right about this.

Smiley:- Brilliant news!

Hobsons_Choice

Excellent news Smiley...spend it wisely on........nah, go on and treat yourself and loved ones!

greenbee

smileyt wrote: »

Can I share some good news? The postman has just been and there were two envelopes from HMRC. I groaned and moaned and steeled myself to open them and ...... I have a tax refund from - get this! - 2007-2008! Ancient history! It's not much - a couple of hundred pounds, but that is a fortune to me!

Methinks my godson will be getting more than a £10 gift voucher for his birthday :j.

I will be able to replace my stair carpet, which is currently held together with parcel tape and frankly is getting to the dangerous stage.

Whoop!

congrats smiley :T I know this is a make do and mend thread, but it sounds like there is not much stair carpet left to mend!

fuddle

Yey! smiley, good news at last!

As for baking bread in the halo. I don't have any accessories, no. I'm not going to use any tins and just put a pile of dough on the base and watch and hope for the best. I let you know how I get on.

Byatt

There's no-one else but me to care for my sister. It's not slow, sadly.

Smiley, fab news about the tax rebate. I know from my days in the tax office, what a thrill I would get from sending out a tax rebate to someone who wasn't expecting it. I used to imagine their faces when they opened the envelope. It's probably more automatic now, but there's many a "faceless bureaucrat" who had a heart. Never got any thanks though but I imagine people were worried we'd say it was an error!

Possession

elona wrote: »

I have some tinned potatoes but also jars of bottled new potatoes which DH regards with great suspicion :rotfl:

However- if I open a tin and use some as a base for a soup or all of it for leek and potato soup or for a SC stew and or top it with pastry I doubt he will complain ( as long as I don't tell him!)

Need to go and marinade chicken pieces for tonight and also make lamb mince koftas for tonight so see you later.

Elona unbeknownst to DH I am planning to keep the potatoes until either a) we need them (!) or b) they are coming out of date and need eating up. In which case soup will be perfect, or the children love saute potatoes so I might try them out like that.

Slimey - great news

Byatt - I'm so sorry to hear about your sister. I hope you can still salvage some happy times with her.

grandma247

PhGage wrote: »

Dan Lepard's Light Cream Cheese Pastry is the most tolerant recipe I know.

I always loathed making pastry and avoided it wherever possible but this comes together well, stores for a few days in the fridge, making it really easy to pull out for a quick pie, and rolls out more readily than any other pastry I've ever tried.

Use it in place of shortcrust for savoury recipes, it is a very good topper.

I wonder if this will be good made with thick yoghurt instead of cream cheese. I will have to try it to see.

Byatt (((hugs))) it is a very cruel disease.

Pops please get yourself cheap replacement carpets rather than runner because from what you have said you are unsteady on your feet and you do not need a broken hip from tripping on a rug or a hole in the carpet.

jpscloud

That's lovely news smileyt! :beer:

I'm doing quite well in the garden but it's getting very hot out there. What a scorcher!

fuddle

Have I done my sums correctly? Using MrsC's5 min bread, amounts altered for 1 loaf I work out that if the bread in the halo works out (and we'll see in a couple of hours) then it will cost me 44.5p per loaf:

halo oven 30 mins approx - 17.5p
bread flour 500g - 20p
salt - less than 1p
yeast - 7p
+ the water cost of about 250ml
= 44.5p

That is at least £1 per loaf saving. When I first started trying to make my own bread, and in the oven it didn't seem like it was too much a saving. Now, if my sums are correct, there's no way I can buy bread.

I just hope it works. I have read that to prevent a loaf from going crusty you should put a cup of water in the oven too. I'll add some water to the base of the halo. Wish me luck!

Edit: turnip seeds have arrived. I'd best get them in!