Living on next to nought - is that the key?

Greying_Pilgrim

Good Morning :hello:

DawnW wrote: »

My granny used to say that parsley seeds had to go down to the devil seven times before they came up :rotfl::rotfl:

Anyone else heard that one? Or did she make it up?

I've not heard that phrase DawnW but that doesn't mean to say that it's not a common idiom. L1sa Tar8uck on R2 was asking listeners to phone in their family sayings a couple of weeks ago, it was interesting to hear the variety.

Mind you DawnW, I must reside everso near H3ll, as these seeds have germinated in express time in the grand scheme of things :rotfl:

Well, we've been busy since the crack of dawn here at Greying Towers. One household task accomplished - did mean I can't claim today as a NSD, but it's a task I loathe, so glad to of got it out the way.

We came home and I did honour my commitment to make pancakes. They were nigella's American pancakes. We had them with a batch of cherry compote that has been residing in the freezer for..... 4 years :eek: Given that the people who gave us the cherries moved and a bungalow now resides where the cherry tree once was, I figure it was about time that we used them up. Actually, the cherries tasted fine, but for some reason the compote recipe used butter. That had given a very 'dairy' tang to the compote. It wasn't overpowering, but if I made cherry compote again, I wouldn't bother with it as an ingredient.

I also sliced up a banana and we had a stack each, with a nice cup of coffee. Felt very luxurious - and I've 6 square inches more space in the freezer :rotfl:

7 Week Wonder I was thinking about your encouraging words regarding the potential for savings for the 'key' fund snowballing after my success in month 1. I have worked out that I already need to save double - £33 if we are to break even with bills versus available cash in August........ no pressure then :rotfl: Far from placing BoB's turnip on the mantelpiece and admiring it, I think I'll have to come up with '27 interesting turnip dishes' pretty smart

Right, I'm off for a pootle around the diaries and may be back later.

Have a great day.

See y'all later.

Greying

Upsidedown_Bear

DawnW wrote: »

My granny used to say that parsley seeds had to go down to the devil seven times before they came up :rotfl:

Anyone else heard that one? Or did she make it up?

I hadn't heard that but a quick search on the worldwide interweb suggests a lot of other people have

Greying_Pilgrim

Just popped back on to say that I was right, the blog that I linked to for the 'Nigerian Peanut Butter stew' does appear to be the work of a MSE'r. I'm not sure who she is on here, but her blog is ace - veggie and meat recipes with costings too. And as it is not my blog- nor do I have any connections with it, I think I'm allowed to implore you to go take a look. I've linked to the 'About' page as it also has the recipe index at the top left for you to click on and peruse. HTH

Greying

Greying_Pilgrim

Good Evening :hello:

I thought I had better check in this evening, just in case a 'no show' would have you all worrying, knowing that I consumed ancient cherries this morning :D

I have spent most of the day standing up and concentrating - and no I wasn't batting for Australia either So my shoulders are now complaining like anything and my eyes are more than a bit tired....

For dinner this evening I made Green Bean and Tomato Bredie for the first time. It is a South African dish - normally made with Lamb. However, I followed a recipe (which I think was veggie - don't think I adapted it) from 'Eat Well, Spend Less' by Sarah Flower. It's not a cook book that I would rate - think there is plenty of similar information on the internet/MSE/blogs etc. I borrowed the book from the library. However, I cannot find a similar veggie version on the internet - so I am sorry about that. I thought that 'bredie' was the word for stew, but apparently it refers to the spinach in the dish - you learn a new thing everyday I served it with coarse bulghar wheat and we had the first 'harvest' of coriander leaves sprinkled over the top I thought it was nice (the coriander gave it a nice lift) DP thought it delish - but then we skipped lunch today (still too full of pancakes) so perhaps a sheet of cardboard with a side serving of sawdust would of been rated delish :rotfl:

I think that's about it from me today, I am however, grateful for these 3 things;

being part of a team - DP pottered away at all manner of tasks today whilst I focused in on one project. Sometimes the roles are reversed. I'm grateful I'm part of 'Team Greying' (doesn't sound particularly attractive though, does it? :rotfl:)

choice - I had a choice of what I ate for breakfast today. For a variety of reasons, many people did not have that same choice today.

passionate advocates - whether it's a garden open for charity, a blog, a book or a 'how to' video on t'internet. Someone has taken the time, effort and trouble to communicate their passion, for your delight, your pleasure, your benefit and/or your education. Hurrah for enthusiasts :T

Thank you for stopping by to read and comment. I appreciate it very much.

Until tomorrow, see y'all later.

Greying

Greying_Pilgrim

Good Morning :hello:

Just a quick note from me this morning.

Today will be a spend day, as I have to get bananas and yoghurt (for starter), however, these 2 items are budgeted for, so I shall be keen to avoid all impulse purchases

Dinner this evening will be kedgeree - minus the kipper - and I'm hoping to do something spiffingly decorative with my new boiled egg slicer :rotfl::rotfl:(it's the little things.........)

Snap boxes are all packed up and ready to go. So no spends on lunch. DP has also requested a flask of coffee again due to the dank weather - but at least no pennies will filter into the machine at work

Thank you all for popping in and reading. I appreciate it.

Have a great day.

See y'all later.

Greying

Greying_Pilgrim

Good evening :hello:

Well, this post was going to be uplifting and enthusiastic about a couple of 'small wins' that I had today with regard to saving into the key fund.

Instead, 'real life' has taken over and I'm sitting here keeping out of the way whilst DP paddles around in a re-flooded kitchen trying to get to the bit on the washing machine that appears to of failed and flooded the kitchen the first time around :( Why is it that washing machines are designed to keep as much water in them after you have manually emptied them, as you managed to get out by manually emptying them????? (confused? - do try to keep up at the back :rotfl:)

Sigh, I seem to remember writing in one of my first posts that things were going to be tight with this plan, but that we might make it through providing nothing else went wrong..... Now we have the wonderful dilemma, do we pay for a washing machine engineer to come out - with a non-existent emergency fund - or do we buy a new washing machine with a non-existent emergency fund?

I don't mind admitting that I am a little bit down in the dumps, in fact, I'm quite far down, because I have just bumped into Stig...... (the stig that existed before 'The Stig' on Top Gear ).

Thank goodness there has been good news reported elsewhere on forumsville. :T for Piq.

So yes, whilst I agree with all those frugal websites and bloggers that advocate saving for an emergency fund above almost all other expenditure, what do you do if an emergency hits and wipes out the fund, and then another hits before you have hardly had time to start rebuilding your emergency fund? I'm worried that these things have an annoying habit of hitting in 3's - DP is eyeing me warily and wondering what norty things I have done to attract such bad Karma.......:rotfl:

I'm afraid I've also had to break into the value pack of salted cashew nuts, which were to be used for some recipe or other, and hand feed them to DP as we had both got to the snapping at each other stage - never helpful Blood sugar levels are slowly being restored.

So, I'm afraid I'll have to tell you about the 'good' stuff' at another juncture, I'm about to don my water wings and re-enter the kitchen. Dinner will definitely be a sandwich tonight.

From a rather soggy Greying Towers, Thank you for reading - and visiting - I do appreciate it, greatly.

See y'all later folks.

Greying

Shovel_Lad

Greying_Pilgrim wrote: »

I'm afraid I've also had to break into the value pack of salted cashew nuts,

DawnW

sorry to hear about your washing machine/ flooded kitchen nightmare :mad:

I hope it doesn't cost too much to sort out

I keep waiting for mine to die - it is about 20 years old, has had a new seal, a new door, (when DD was much younger she accidentally bashed it with something and broke it), and one 'working part' type repair during this time, but keeps going. This is despite the fact that DD used to come round most days with piles of washing belonging to herself and her boyfriend - how on earth did just two people have so much washing? Come to think of it, my elder DD used to do that as well..... Thankfully it survived and has a much easier time of it now that both DDs have their own washing machines :rotfl:

When it does eventually go, I will be buying a B*sch again!

beanielou

Sorry to hear WM news
I was lucky enough recently to get a second hand one from a friend

7_week_wonder

Oh poor Greying, I'm really sorry to hear about the washing machine. Sometimes life sucks (it's just a shame that the washing maching doesn't : sorry, bad 7ww). I'm glad you've got some restorative cashew nuts on hand: if I lived any nearer I'd let you have our emergency stash (always assuming I could find them - I have hidden them so well I'm not sure where they are!)

Not sure what to suggest: is it definitely terminal? Is there anywhere near you that does good reconditioned machines (there are places here where you can get one that even comes with a short guarantee)?

My plans for tonight feature an early night with the radio and my crocheting.

I hope things improve Greying: don't lose heart, there will come a day when the small wins turn to bigger ones, and life doesn't get in the way.