Breaking Through, Travelling On

Karmacat

ZTD wrote: »

What about this?

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2373434/Mini-Clubvan-Camper-Mini-unveils-worlds-smallest-luxury-camper-van-safari-style-tent.html

I love the Camper and the Cowley! Not so keen on the tent on the roof :rotfl:and I couldn't sleep next to the steering wheel anyway, I'm a restless sleeper cos of pain, and I'd knock myself out in short order, quite literally :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

Don't forget the option of disappearing to Spain for 6 months on the off season. It used to be cheaper than staying in England and running the central heating.

If I lived in Brighton still, I'd do that in a heartbeat - an acquaintance of mine did that for many years - actually, she still does - and she winters all over the world - Goa and Brazil have been her favourites :j In fact, selling this house and buying there again is an idea - though the house price increase will rule out buying an equivalent house to this one. That might be an advantage!

Its good to talk. Thanks Z.

Karmacat

Morning!

Well, my online conference yesterday was agonisingly dull, and kept freeze framing, it became unbearable, so I went out to the local village, to see the horticultural show that was on :j

Some gorgeous flower arrangements, and loads of plants going really cheap - one couple were selling cuttings of their fuschia plants, 3 for £1.50, so I adopted some, and had the £1 entry which was bargainous.

Potted them up already :j, the instructions sound quite precise until they're grown because they really are babies. Then I did more clearing - almost a square yard this time, one bit of it just a patch, and the rest around the lovely healthy rhubarb I'm growing - I intend for it to *stay* healthy.

Really wet here right now - with clay soil, means its quite difficult to work. And nor do I want to get soaked in the process, that won't help. But I do want to clear the self seeded strawberries further, so the rest will fruit, and plant the 2nd rhubarb in its chosen spot. Planting the gooseberry in *its* chosen spot would be nice too.

Thats certainly not going to happen this morning. I may be forced to have another cup of coffee

Karmacat

1000 council tax 40% relief
960 fuel 50% relief
168 water 40% relief
280 home and contents ins 40% relief
720 NI bill no relief
360 telecoms 80% relief
60 mobile 80% relief
210 professional organisations 100% relief
120 professional insurance 100% relief
50 Continuing Professional Development work
500 Xmas/birthdays
200 4 journeys per year to Merseyside
600 regional travel - a little tax relief
1200 food
100 dentist
20 Egyptology
3000 French mortgage
9548 TOTAL less tax relief

There are other expenses, of course - event tickets, clothes, office expenses (some of which are eligible for tax relief).

And the plan, of course, is that everything I don't *have* to spend goes to an ISA or my pension.

I'm *not* going to buy another TV licence. I'll inform them of that fact, disconnect and tidy away the aerial, and that will be that.

The food budget seems splendiferous compared to what Greying mentioned ... not eating wheat and gluten makes things difficult sometimes, and not eating cow dairy (i.e. butter and cheese made from cow's milk) can also add to the cost. Seems very difficult to know *exactly* what worth of food I eat month to month because I have no qualms about stocking up when something's good value, or if there seems to be a set of price rises imminent.

I need to keep a spending diary for:
- food
- Xmas and birthdays
- regional travel
- unbudgetted costs.

First day of the new tax year. This gives me a really good chance of working well on this! The biggest thing I can do immediately is to cook my own treats - snacks and cakes. I actually made a chocolate sauce recipe last night (which took all of 3 minutes) which was *amazingly* intense thats a keeper, tho I might have to tone down the sugar a bit

It does feel like I'm on the right path with this :beer:

Karmacat

I meant to use any spare time today to work in the garden, and I might at least take some the new little tuberous plants I was gifted into a different place - they're frost free where they are, which is what they need, but they're being munched by something, which is *not* what such tiny babies need.

I didn't plan to go out because of the weather, so I carried on working on the recipe list, including mint jelly and pickles nearly finished now - just need something for a crumble mix (and I have that somewhere, from the book I used for my cookery O level ) Plus the salad dressing my business partner does, its brilliant. Ta-da!

Other stuff, like jam, I'll get more recipes at the time.

Moving on ... I've started properly on the haybox/dehydrator body/cold smoker :j:j:j Its taking forever because I'm not doing very much at a time, and thinking lots in between times :rotfl: : sort of "measure five times, cut once" production and taking photos as I go along, for a mega blog

Instead of working in the garden, I think I'm just going to rescue those tubers, and then have a walk up to that building site before dark ...

edinburgher

Happy first day of the tax year!

What are all the reliefs for - counselling at home?

Cheery_Daff

Good planning there KC! :j :j

Karmacat

edinburgher wrote: »

Happy first day of the tax year!

Thanks! You too!

What are all the reliefs for - counselling at home?

Yep - I'm self employed and work from home (used to have a practice in London, but thats faded away). If you're genuinely in my situation, those are the sorts of things you can claim for - until I actually *read* the HMRC website properly, I never realised I could claim for council tax!

Cheery_Daff wrote: »

Good planning there KC! :j :j

Thanks Cheery! Its all down to El, she's spurring me on :j and my haybox/dehydrator/smoker is bumbling away in the background too, all the bits except the lid are cut out now, and photies taken.

I've got spreadsheets set up to keep me updated on how I'm doing with the budgets - food, trains, Xmas and birthdays, CPD, that'll do for a start

elantan

Kc that deff sounds like you have a plan going on there, I really can't wait to see the solar smoker and dehydrator etc... I'm very intrigued to know how it will work

We have a high food bill ourselves, I estimate £250 a month for both of us but we often spend much more .... It is most definitely something we need to get on top of, care to share the recipe for the treats ?

When I am eating healthy it is quite like yours in many ways, I tend to like Paleo style eating, I am starting back in that today as finally I am more settled with the organising I the house so no longer need to commit all of my time to it

Karmacat

Hi El! :kisses3: These are the first lot of the sweet ones (full list got blocked, oops):
Bananas!
350g ripe bananas
180g plain flour
2 and a half tsps baking powder
1 tsp salt
160g light brown sugar
2 beaten eggs
4 tblspns melted butter, cooled
(50g sunflower seeds, optional)
Oven preheat, 170c. Mash banana chunks to preferred texture. In a separate bowl, sift flour, baking powder & salt together. Put sugar, eggs and butter into a second bowl and whisk. Fold in bananas, then the dry ingredients, then the sunflower seeds.
Grease and lightly flour a baking tin, bake for 1 hour, till skewer in middle is clean. Cool for 10 mins in the tin, then take out.


Batter – sweet – for fruit
55g plain wholemeal flour
25g caster sugar
half tsp ground cinnamon
1 egg
4 fl oz/125ml semi skinned milk
1 and half tsp sunflower oil
10oz unprepared weight of plums, etc, halved and stoned
icing sugar for dusting.
Preheat oven to 220c/fan 200c/ gas 7. Combine flour, caster sugar and cinnamon in a bowl.
Make a well in the centre of the flour mixture, break in egg and add a little milk. Beat thoroughly with a wooden spoon. Gradually beat in remaining milk, drawing flour from sides.
Put oil in shallow 18cm 7” square non stick cake tin; heat in oven for 2 – 3 mins or until hot. Quickly and carefully place plum halves, cut-sides down, over base of tin (hot oil may spit slightly); pour batter evenly over fruit.
Bake for c 25 mins or till cooked, risen and nicely browned. Dust with sifted icing sugar if desired.


Boston Brownies – microwave
4oz plain chocolate
4oz butter
4oz soft dark brown sugar
4oz SR flour
2tsp cocoa powder
pinch salt
2 eggs, beaten
half tsp vanilla essence
4oz walnuts, chopped (no thanks)
20cm/8” dish lined with greaseproof.
Place chocolate and butter in a bowl and cook on high power for 1 – 2 mins, or until chocolate has melted.
Stir in all other ingredients and beat well.
Pour into dish and cook on low power for 8 – 10 mins, or until just slightly sticky. Allow to cool and then cut.


Buttercream1
2 egg whites
ground almonds
caster sugar
Form a paste – it can be cooked on the cake or off it.


Buttercream2
140g/5oz butter, softened
180g/10oz icing sugar
1-2 tblspns milk
Beat the butter in a large bowl till soft. Add half the icing sugar and beat till smooth. Add the remaining icing sugar and 1 tblspn milk and beat till creamy. Only use more milk if you need the mixture to loosen.


Chocolate Porridge Cake
1 cup oats
2 cups water
125g butter
4 tblspns cocoa
1 and half cups soft brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla essence
2 cups plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp bicarb
pinch salt
2 eggs, lightly beaten.
Oven heated to 180c. Grease a 20cm round cake tin, line the base.
Put oats and water in a medium saucepan and bring to the boil. Simmer and stir till the oats thicken, about 10 mins. Add butter and stir well, then the cocoa, soft brown sugar, and vanilla.
Sift together the flour, baking powder, bicarb and salt, and add alternatively with eggs to the mixture. Pour the mixture into the cake tin, bake for 45 mins or till centre of cake springs back when you press down.
Ice when cool.


Chocolate cake, low fat low sugar
415g tin of pear halves in juice
75g cocoa powder
125g caster sugar
3tspns vanilla extract
50ml walnut oil
1 large egg
225g plain flour
2 and half tspns baking powder
Drain the pears, reserve the juice. Put cocoa, sugar and 125ml pear juice into saucepan, whisk hard, at first “plop” of boil, spoon it and pear halves into a mixing bowl and leave to cool for 15 mins.
Meanwhile, line bottom and sides of a 20cm round cake tin and preheat oven to 170c, 150fan, gas 3. Spoon the chocolate mixture, vanilla and oil into a blender and puree till smooth. Pour this back in the bowl, and beat in the egg. Stir together the flour and baking powder, sift into the bowl and beat till smooth. Scrape into the cake tin and bake for 40 mins.

Cheery_Daff

Mmm - only just eaten breakfast and now here I am drooling over chocolatey treats :rotfl: