Two Pennies Left

Fortune_Smiles

The snow is here! The lights started flickering about half an hour ago and we realised that the log baskets were empty :eek: I'd persuaded Mr F to leave them as I didn't want him out chopping logs when he was poorly.

However, a single snowflake/rain drop landing on a power line in our hamlet can cause a power cut so cue the two of us bundling up and traipsing out to the log pile to chop by lamp light in the snow. We quite enjoyed the little adventure :cool:

So the log baskets are full and the camping light is out on the coffee table ready for action. Because we are now living in Arctic conditions and need to batten down the hatches :rotfl:

I had a lovely lunch and catch up with my friend today (before Narnia arrived). Costs to come from my personal spends. De-cluttered a couple of Christmas presents which weren't suitable for us but I knew she'd love.

Meals were leftovers. I made a Veggie Shepherd's Pie the other day. It's a long time since I last made this recipe and I'd forgotten I usually half the amounts as the full recipe feeds 10 :eek: So we've been living of it ever since :rotfl: Mr F had that for his lunch and I'd also made some baked potato filling yesterday and there was enough for our supper today too.

I've been following the discussions about what people consider to be 'leftovers' with interest. In the Fortunate household we consider leftovers to be perishable ingredients which were bought for a particular meal but weren't entirely used in it or a complete meal which wasn't eaten up in the first sitting. I always call them "Gourmet Leftovers" if Mr F asks :rotfl:

I'm supposed to be meeting another friend for a catch up tomorrow (bad timing but they have limited availability). However, if the snow stays she might prefer to delay.

Stay safe everyone. I know it isn't the Arctic but the roads are still treacherous tonight.

Fortune x

Fortune_Smiles

Life is ticking along and there's not much to report. I met a friend yesterday and bought her a coffee. Mr F is picking up a new light switch for my truck today as the current one sticks and the MOT is booked for Wednesday. So light spends and a few Tilly-tidies are all that are happening at the mo.

Mr F's cough is lingering but he is gradually feeling better. We didn't plan anything for the weekend in case he wasn't up to it.

So a relaxing time is planned.

Have a great weekend guys!

Fortune x

VintageHistorian

Glad to hear Mr F is on the mend!

We had flickering lights here on the evening it was snowing, after checking another forum (and Twitter) it appeared a lot of the south east was going through the same thing, National Grid must have been having a very busy evening!

Have a lovely rest of the weekend FS!

Moneyfordreams

We up north blinked and missed the snow. My sister was visiting and said she drove though it... mmm not convinced

Glad to hear both you and Mr F are recovering

greent

Hope you managed to keep the weekend as relaxing Glad to hear Mr F is recovering x

Fortune_Smiles

VintageHistorian wrote: »

Glad to hear Mr F is on the mend!

We had flickering lights here on the evening it was snowing, after checking another forum (and Twitter) it appeared a lot of the south east was going through the same thing, National Grid must have been having a very busy evening!

Have a lovely rest of the weekend FS!

Thanks VH. The power stayed on here so they must have been doing something right. We get lots of power cuts though and have a little generator that can run heating and hot water if necessary. It's come in handy on many occasion.

Moneyfordreams wrote: »

We up north blinked and missed the snow. My sister was visiting and said she drove though it... mmm not convinced

Glad to hear both you and Mr F are recovering

We're feeling much better now thanks MfD. It came down quite heavily here but only stayed until lunchtime the next day.

greent wrote: »

Hope you managed to keep the weekend as relaxing Glad to hear Mr F is recovering x

We did thank you greent. Mr F is definitely on the mend now. I think he should be pretty much back to normal by next week. Still a long time to be poorly though.

Fortune x

Fortune_Smiles

Mr F and I have been badly frightened by the bathroom scales :eek:

As a result we have decided to avoid added sugar Easier said than done

Our diet is generally very good. I cook our meals from scratch and use organic food, sourced locally and in season whenever possible. However, we do tend to indulge when we are out or entertaining or have guests and those things have been happening rather a lot lately. No too hard to remedy.

Its the hidden sugars that are the problem. I'd heard about them but checking the ingredients of the items in my on-line shopping basket today was a huge shock. They are in everything :eek: Bread and crisps and all manner of snacks including those that are supposed to be healthy. Fortunately we don't eat much of those things but trying to avoid all the hidden stuff is going to be difficult even for us.

We're giving it a go anyway and are on Day 3. It's only added refined sugar we're avoiding. Fresh and dried fruit are still on the menu... and wine A girl's got to have something to look forward to :rotfl:

The (lower sugar) grocery shop came in at £10.91 under budget so I've transferred that to the savings. Also Tilly-tidied the bank accounts.

I wonder if there'll be any MS impact of the new diet? We shall see.

I hope today hasn't been too blue for you.

Fortune x

Fortune_Smiles

The days are falling back into a routine now.

I was on the waiting list for a gym class today. There were six people ahead of me but eventually I got a call to say there was a place available. Too late - I couldn't get there in time for the start I am booked in for next week though

Sugar free is going well. I tried a Sugar-free Banana Cake recipe which turned out well. It was plenty sweet enough but a different texture to my usual recipe. The bananas I used were quite big so the batter was probably a little slacker than it should be. I'll leave the milk out next time unless the mixture looks very stiff. Nice to know my sulky bananas still have a cake home to go to.

Lunch was Hearty Pasta Soup and supper was Lincolnshire Sausage & Lentil Simmer. I left the pancetta out as I didn't have any and served it with a version of Colcannon made with some sprouts that needed using up. No sugar to see here.

My energy levels seem to be higher and more consistent over the day so I'm hoping that's a positive effect of the new diet.

Some TCB cashback became available today so I've squirreled that away in my bank account. I would love a Dy$on hairdryer but it feels wrong to spend so much money on one. I think I'll try to save for one using 'extra' cash, ie anything I earn from surveys or cashback. I'll feel better about splurging then. A quick tot up gives me £55 so far towards the cost.

I made some clothes repairs and, finally, managed to de-sequin the Christmas jumper so have a useful addition to my wardrobe. Don't think I'll be doing further de-sequinning any time soon though, it took me ages.

I even did some filing today - made a dent if only a little one :T Filing is the very last thing on my list that gets done so I'm feeling quite virtuous. Now to tackle the tax return :eek:

The truck is in for its MOT tomorrow. Mr F has replaced a stubborn light switch which comes up as an advisory every year so we're not expecting any work to be needed. I usually wait in the pub until its finished and, this time, have arranged to catch up with a writing friend at the same time so I won't be lonely

Can't belief how quickly the days are going at the moment - we're half way through the Winter already :cool:

Night all

Fortune x

Karmacat

I agree about the effects of coming off refined sugar, Fortune - it really is toxic, and without it, you eat more of other foods, which have nutrients and micronutrients in them; digestion is also helped because you're not simultaneously trying to flush toxins from your system, its a win-win

Fortune_Smiles

Karmacat wrote: »

I agree about the effects of coming off refined sugar, Fortune - it really is toxic, and without it, you eat more of other foods, which have nutrients and micronutrients in them; digestion is also helped because you're not simultaneously trying to flush toxins from your system, its a win-win

I'm definitely feeling better for it Karma. Our meals are generally very healthy but my problem is treats. Coffee with the girls has always been accompanied by cake, eating out must include dessert, gifted chocolates have to be eaten all in one go, etc. I've got much more energy without the sugar and it stays at a consistent level over the day. My mood is elevated too. I'm hoping to see some improvements in my skin and weight next. Fingers crossed.

Fortune x