Living on next to nought - is that the key?

Greying_Pilgrim

7_week_wonder wrote: »

Evening all,

Three cheers for the new washing maching at Greying Towers - it beeps at me - should I be worried that an inanimate object beeps at me?? :beer:, and two cheers (they dropped a point for taking so bloomi' long) for the bank finally get themselves into gear - mmm, but this was only the contract, apparently the actual card etc could take another 2-3 weeks - just as well we don't *need* it......

Yesterday's 4th birthday party was very good fun. Although we could have done without the impromptu game of "Hunt the wedding ring" when Mr 7ww's wedding ring went flying off his finger during a rather energetic game of keepy-uppy with some balloons :eek: Thankfully a rather eagle-eyed 10 year-old managed to track it down in the corner of the lawn - Thank goodness Let's just say I did not begrudge the amount I spent on chocolate for the said young lady today! Splendid reward, well done young lady!

Hope the first episode of the new "soap": episode 1 - the test wash goes well;)

Have a good evening all.

beanielou wrote: »

Happy new washing machine
Hurrah for 0% card :j :j

As I mentioned above Beanie, no actual card yet, just the *opportunity* to sign a contract for one But thank you for your cheery comment - we're getting there heh?

Fortune_Smiles wrote: »

That's 2 pieces of good news Greying - there must be a third yet to come. I'll watch this space

Fortune x

Fortune - I'd not thought of it like that. Thank you for pointing that out - I'll watch too :D

Greying

Greying_Pilgrim

carolbee wrote: »

I always read your thread, I love your writing style and have an image of you as a Vanessa Redgrave type, tall and willowy. - You're almost, almost, spot on........:rotfl: I won't shatter your image of me, but I just googled Ms Redgrave and all I can say is; gosh that gal is tall........, gosh that gal is willowy........., gosh she's had a looonnng career :rotfl::D

I just had to respond at the Janet and John comment, what memories they conjure up!

Keep up your wondrous writing, you really paint a picture with words and you are of MY three things to be grateful for today and for that I and many others thank you. (Scuttles off at being thought a bit of a weird stalker)

carolbee - welcome and thank you so much for coming out of lurkdom and leaving such a nice comment. I do appreciate it and you've made my day

Chrysalis1976 wrote: »

Janet and John brought back memories for me too, now they read about Biff and Chip and that's a girl and boy!

Love your thread and food piccys.

C x

Hi Chrysalis1976, lovely to hear from you too. Mmm, Biff reminds me of Biffo the bear - I think that was a character in the Dandy comic - back in ye olden days when such things as comics existed. Funny though, I always remember the fact that the tom-boy Georgina, being called 'George' in Enid Blyton's 'Famous Five' was thought of as being terribly radical........ oh gosh, perhaps I am older than I like to think :rotfl:

Thank you for commenting - one and all - I do appreciate it. I'm finding keeping this thread very motivating, even when penny counting gets a bit wearisome, and things get a bit wobbly. But Fortune Smiles is right, it's important to note when things go right/well too

Oh, and just for accountancy accuracy, I forgot to stipulate that I was lucky enough to bag 2 YS'd loaves for 40p each today, so £1.48 total spend with the bananas.

See y'all later. I'm away to tuck the washing machine in for the night - did I tell you it counts down too????:rotfl:

Greying

Greying_Pilgrim

Good Morning :hello:

Back to normality (?) today.

Well, it's Tuesday, so it'll be TV listings guide day. Plus I need to drop into h0me B*rgins to pick up some tins of chickpeas (3 for £1) for the holiday storecupboard.

So I might get away with a low spend day, but not a NSD

I've some letters to post, 3 in total - all mundane tick box and forms, no lovely, long correspondence with friends

Dinner this evening really should be something off the meal planner, but there is nothing jumping off it to inspire me......

'Um, Greying, I have a question..... um, who wrote the meal planner???'

:(I know,I know..........:rotfl:

Eggs have been boiled and are currently cooling to make egg mayonnaise sandwiches for the snap boxes. :T

Right, better get up and at 'em and grabbaholda of the day

Thank you for popping by, reading and commenting. It is appreciated.

See y'all later.

Greying

Greying_Pilgrim

Grrrr, am so mad with self!!

I have just managed to knock the glass shield off the extractor fan in the kitchen. It flew through the air with the greatest of ease and smashed in two - with some lovely tiny shards too for good measure - on the floor.

Great.

Blooming great.

What a great start to the day Greying.

Mmmm, suspect I've boogered it royally, as it was originally from W*ckes, and I don't think that they do them anymore, never mind parts for them.

Blow, blow, blow blooming blow!

Tell me that's it now? Tell me that's 3 things?

Greying

beanielou

That is pants.
But no was was hurt & that is the main thing.

Pretty please chuck me a egg mayo sarnie.

Fortune_Smiles

That's pants Greying. EBay's good for getting out of stock parts, you could try them if Wickes can't help.

Fortune x

Karmacat

Rats, thats the three things well, at least they're over. Hope you've had some good luck in finding a replacement. Maybe over the course of the day you'll find something really inspirational to cook tonight! Sympathetic magic, y'know - think it, and it happens

I didn't know about the Access visits to Stonehenge either, but they're definitely on the website http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/daysout/properties/stonehenge/stone-circle-access/

I went as a child, when everyone could still run about everywhere, and I don't remember them being so *tall* - very unusual.

I don't have any paid work today, and I was thinking about positive things to do, both spiritually and practically, so much that I made about 3 lists - took some extra time this morning to write it all out, so I'm on track now, and really moving forward. Gratitude for connections, and to have such time available to me, is very strong.

xxx

Piquant_2

What a pain! I second the idea of ebay being a good place for getting spare parts. I think there is also a specialist site for getting discontinued parts for all sorts of thing too. I can't remember what it is called, let me get my thinking cap on....

Greying_Pilgrim

Good Evening :hello:

Thank you for the lovely replies left on my thread today. But first I must remember my manners - Greying passes over a plate of fresh egg mayonnaise sandwiches - cut on the diagonal - to Beanie

You're right Beanie - no one was hurt, so that is the main thing

Fortune - I'd not thought of the bay of e. Thank you, I'll investigate further. At least the extractor still works, but I suppose it will be less efficient and more steam will escape up the front of the unit, rather than being directed into the vent.

Karma - I'm not sure about 'inspirational', but I noticed your post when I got in, and I figured I'd perhaps have a go at a recipe that was on the planner. I wasn't really in the mood, but I figured I'd prepare the spice mix and see how I got on, which leads me into.........

I prepared the spice mix and then figured I would have a go at the dish - it was made complicated (by me) because it was a meal of 3 parts. So I figured that I would check first if there were similar recipes on line, as if it was any good, I'd want to share - plus I had got the recipes out of a veggie cookbook that seems to be a bit obscure (ie no bloggers seem to of seized upon it and cooked recipes out of it).

Well, in looking for an online version of Ethiopian lentils - the dish I was intending to cook - I came upon a much more interesting version that included sweet potatoes..... guess who's got sweet potatoes because they're in the Ald* S6?? So, I ended up cooking this new recipe instead, because I had everything and it also - potentially - simplified dinner. I say potentially, because it also included a recipe for a type of flatbread. As there was very little prep to the bread and it was more about fermenting time, I also set that to go. I have to say, the result (of the bread) was, to utilise the phrase of the day, 'pants'. However, we did enjoy a dinner of Ethiopian Lentil & Sweet Potato stew, accompanied by french beans and steamed millet. Photo, fingers crossed here;



I was delighted with this dish because it meant I can use up some yellow split peas that I have had for forever and a day. They must be well out of date by now, but I sort of held onto them when I got the pressure cooker - all attempts to cook them previously failed, because no matter what you did to them, they remained hard after cooking. I figured I would have one last attempt with the PC, and then read that you weren't to cook yellow split peas in the PC - too much froth...... Anyway, I put a cupful in the PC, added plenty of water and a splash of oil (meant to reduce froth) and cooked them for 12 mins as they were not soaked. Dear reader - it worked! In fact, it worked too well and they were cooked enough, and so dissolved a little more that anticipated in the final dish - but I now have about 300g of yellow split peas that are in the store cupboard and can be used for something :T

So, 'cheap' lentils, cheap sweet potatoes, the millet was on special at h0ll& & barr3t..... a frugal meal indeed :T

The blog post with the recipe for the spice mix needed, the lentil dish and the bread (should you wish to be brave and have a go) is HERE

The only downside was the injera flatbread, which I couldn't make work. It never got past the pancake stage and the moment you touched it, it went gooey and claggy. I ended up putting much more water in the batter, because I didn't get a 'thin batter' following the instructions given. Still, it was something I'd not attempted before, and I'd certainly give it another go to see if I could make the bread like shown on the blog. The berebere spice mix given in the recipe is not the one that I used, (I'd got that previously from elsewhere on the net), but has similar constituent spices.

Oh, and by the way, I wonder what the 'reach and influence' (a phrase picked up from Elaine at MFi3), of MSE is and who actually reads this...... There was a message on the phone when I came back. It was from the holiday place that we're going to. They had rung to see if ..........everything was ok?? :rotfl::rotfl:I'm sure it was just co-incidence and a turn of phrase, but......... Anyway, I phoned them back and retained an air of bright and breezy optimism and 'looking forward to seeing you-edness....' :rotfl::rotfl:Perhaps they're worried I'll 'break' their caravan......:D

So, in other news, I only bought the TV listing guide and the tinned chickpeas today and remembered to send off those 3 letters! So a low spend day.

Right, so the footy has started, so I'd better go and do some shouting........:T

But today, I am grateful for these 3 things;

ideas and suggestions - thank you for making them. I shall investigate further.

the transforming nature of spice on food - last week it was a jalfrezi, tonight it is Ethiopian Wat. Same sweet potato, different spicing 2 delicious dinners :T

for libraries - (c'mon, it's been a while......:D) I now have an ordnance survey map of an area that we wish to walk in. Cost to me..... nowt :T

Thank you for reading, commenting and joining in today - it is appreciated. A lot. By me.

See y'all later.

Greying

Greying_Pilgrim

Piq!

Lovely to see you. Sorry I was writing and posting when you did.

Yes, I'll be investigating the net further to see about spare parts.

Thank you.

Greying