I have lost my OS ways, help!

Caterina

Good morning,

Ailz95 thank you, I had seen those on AF and hummed and haarred then chickened out of buying them, you can get them in H&B but much more expensive. Will have to try them if I see them on offer somewhere, but normally I do cauliflower or runner beans or courgette ribbons as pasta substitutes, but they are not very filling. Even if very tasty.

Icey77 the budget for your Oma's birthday is excellent, I hope you all have a lovely day. Enjoy your BBQ today, just seen weather forecast and it should hold well.

Villagelife welcome back, I am sorry you are having such stress from work. I can recall that feeling of dread, the idea of dragging myself back to a job I hated. Is there any way you can start by reducing your hours, arrange some flexibility to take time off, or even change jobs? Look at this, in case it helps you (it is helping DH) http://m.acas.org.uk/index.aspx?articleid=1616

Early start today as DH was up before the plasterers to climb the scaffolding and measure for gutter change. So I made us a nice smoked salmon omelette using HG parsley. We were discussing how a £300 GC budget means £1 per per head per meal, it is a bit tight if you like a bit of fancier stuff (wild smoked salmon, cod loin, avocados to think of some) but can be balanced by meals made of oats, grains and pulses and YS stuff, as well as free allotment veg and cheap ones from the market.

We agreed to set a beer money budget as it impacts on the grocery spend. I think that as a hard working man he has the right to a few beers per week, I can get the 99p ones in L!dl or they even have his favourites at £1.25. 4 bottles per week would set us back £20 per month, which is really reasonable. Plus a few for DS, but for the most part he buys his own, I think that a £30 beer budget is reasonable and it does not impact on grocery spend.

When the kids were younger, but already working odd jobs, babysitting, cats feeding etc, I used to have a takeaway jar, where we all put a few coins now and then. When we got to £8 we had a takeaway, nowadays it would have to be more like £12. I either cook our rice or I go without rice (lower carb) and they have it with bread. Always vegetarian so two large portions and a side dish are plenty. I am starting this again and ask the men to contribute, not just me putting coins in!

After breakfast DH went to his aikido, so once I have finished here I shall put a wash on, then pop to the allotment for some lettuce, nearly at the and now, should really plant some more but every time I do the slugs kill it. Not very motivating.

Then we are off to buy wood for the guttering fascias, paint for the windows, windowsills and doors, what fun. I might drive to the tip while DH is going his wood painting. I CAN'T WAIT for the works to be over and have my weekends back with him, doing silly things, wandering around London window shopping or just pottering in the park or work the allotment. These days is DIY all the time, to make up for those barstewards builders who are letting us down so badly.

At least, in a week we are off to Scotland for a few days to see his sister, we might be travelling abroad by then, who knows! Then in November a few days in Rome with my dear Aunt, that will be fun, and diet disaster, but hey ho! We will manage to lose it afterwards.

Very excited about tomorrow. Really hating the idea of being stuck in DIY hell, I booked myself to attend a vegetable fermenting course, all day for a bargainous £12 inc. vegetables, run by a medical herbalist in a garden in East London. Something to look forward to.

Very impressed, the plasterers (no connection with the kitchen builders) have finished rendering the back of our house and it looks great. Well worth the expense, it really improves the house and it will serve as an extra layer of insulation, and we no longer have to look at that hideous pockmarked pebbledash.

Ok, off I go, have a good OS day.

tatabubbly

H guys!! Back from a very wonderful few days with OH in Dubai (we live in the GCC so it's an hour away)....

Delighted I stayed in my budget (kinda!) of €400, I did have to borrow €20 off the OH though for 'just in case' but it wasn't needed.... Dubai is expensive expensive!! Holy moly!! We tried using the shuttle from the hotel to places and on our touristy day of sightseeing I made sure we went to the old part of town were we got an old style boat ride for 20p!!

Back to normality today. Went and did a big shop today, I've stocked up on all my tins and some pasta that was on offer!

OH wants enchiladas for dinner which is perfect as I have tortillas to use up and I make my own homemade sauce!

On another note, we bought our wedding rings!! Very reasonably priced, OH got an amazing bargain on his platinum ring and I got a beautiful ring as well... All for €1080 which is €80 above our budget but we want them to last!!!

Happy belated anniversary Caterina! Hi to all the newcomers!

Can't imagine the stress of builders...

Caterina

Good morning,

Welcome back from your holidays tatabubbly and thank you for your congratulations. Well done for your wedding ring bargains!

Yesterday would have been a NSD but DH bought some masking tape at the DIY shop. But it was a grocery NSD and I am pleased that the GC figure is stationary.

Last night the old Indian lady gave us yet another curry with chappatti and pakoras, this way we get our lovely Indian takeaway but homemade just two doors down and delicious. Although it is monetary free, there is always a little price to pay, she is very cunning, she calls me to give me some food (I don't ask, she always offers and takes offence if I refuse!), then she shows me something in her house that needs repairing, so I smile and tell her that I shall send DH around. He is her hero, having fixed virtually unfixable items. She is well OS! She will want the impossible to be repaired! Yesterday it was her attic trap door, too small for the opening, so today DH will buy a piece of plywood, he is going to get some wood for the building works in the house anyway, so no special trip, and will repair the door for her.

We don't mind helping, I buy her a bit of fruit sometimes and sit with her chatting, we don't really understand each other much, her English is limited, she just chats away in Punjabi and I nod for the most part. She has recently lost her son who lived next door to her and misses him bitterly. Her DIL works and looks after the teenage kids but I have the impression that they don't always get along. So she is very lonely and I don't mind in the least to sit there with her and watch Punjabi TV.

Today vegetable fermenting course, can't wait! It will be a grocery NSD too if I can help it, as it am taking a packed lunch. Unless DH and DS go to buy something to eat while I am out, the GC figure will be still for another day.

Have a lovely OS day, all.

villagelife

Thanks for the link Caterina - homeworking is definately impossible with my job and flexible working is virtually impossible and part of my problem is the inflexibility and the goalposts that keep changing and the politics of the job rather than the actual work.
My qualification is very limited in the field that I can work in so changing will involve retraining so I will need to seriously think about this.

Not very OS yesterday other than being given cooking apples and cleaning the house.
Had to buy washing machine as mine has finally reached point of no return but have been saving for it.
Had to buy some bits for DS1 and DS2 for uni but didn't cost much - less than I had planned.
Went for a meal at a pub which was good food and I just had 2 starters when we dropped DS1 off at uni.

tatabubbly

Shocked by our savings at the minute after coming back from holidays, I'm so tightening our belt!

My mum is coming on a visit in 16 days and I am so excited! We have decided not to go home at Xmas as it's going to cat us an absolute fortune so I'm going to treat her when she is here to make up for it!!

Just watched a YouTube clip on the zero based budget.. Me and the OH are very lucky and are debt free so I'm hoping it could help our savings!!

Icey77

Evening all

Saturday was a NSD, hurrah!!! Today wasn't however I had to buy desserts to take to a BBQ so went with New York cheesecake, Lemon Tart and Chocolate Brownie with cream ... and I had a bit of each yum!!! The BBQ was lovely too, most of the kids and parents from our NCT group, it's lovely that we still see each other so much and our kids all get on barring the odd toddler tantrum.

The Police BBQ was fabulous too, there were about 15 kids in all and they had the bouncy castle and inflatable slide to themselves. Frog had a great time and DH had several more Peroni's than he intended. We were very late leaving though and we paid for it as it completely messed up Frog's bedtime and she had an atrocious night and was very very grumpy today. Fingers crossed she has a better night tonight!

Builders back tomorrow and the days highlight is our weekly shopping trip to Mr T's

Caterina

Good evening, a quick update as am nearly asleep, soo tired!

What a lovely fantastically interesting and incredibly OS day I have had, in the community allotment where the course was run.

The woman is a medical herbalist and committed to making people aware of the benefits of fermentation, at an accessible cost for all. Her morning talk was very interesting and we asked lots of question, then after lunch we prepared the veg (provided in the cost) to put in our jars.

We were asked to bring a packed lunch but a woman allotment holder had made us a few platefuls of pakoras using her veg, then a big salad, then the teacher had brought tasty fermented foods to try. We did not go hungry.

At the end we had a tour of the herb garden and I discovered a quince tree. I was told that I can come back in november to pick up some, which is a rare treat.

I am very happy, the day outdoor away from the kitchen works did me the world of good.

Good night.

villagelife

Caterina - the day sounds great and full of knowledge and food!
A warm day outside away from building works must have been bliss.

Yesterday we took MIL to Wisley - managed free entry as MIL has membership and one of us went through as a carer.
I wanted to look at herbs, fruit and veg gardens mainly and came back with loads of ideas for the garden.

Caterina

Good morning,

Early start today as DH needs to go in work early so he can be back home early to supervise some works in the house. It goes on *yawn*....

My plan for today:

Breakfast for all and packed lunch for DH then tai chi in the park, then a trip to the shops for a food top up.

Then back home to hang laundry, lunch with DS and out again as quickly as possible to avoid the builder. Probably will go to the library to return one of the books, which I have finished.

This afternoon I have to do my first drive back and forth with the boys: pick up the little one from coach, take to cricket, drive to school to pick up the older one who is at choir practice, pick up the little one from cricket, then take them home. A bit of a palaver but at least I don't have to cook, I just drop them home. And today DS is coming with me to shadow me, as he will be covering for me when I am in Scotland next week.

Have a good OS day.

bellaquidsin

Was yesterday OS, well, we had visitors and I cooked a half price piece of beef long and low and it was yummy. I made Yorkshire puddings and served an array of vegetables, green beans from the garden, the rest were from Ald! The pudding was a homemade apple and blackberry pie with custard, very basic but as always very well received. The visitors didn't stay for tea so we just ate bits and bobs from what we'd got.


To many, I suppose this would seem pretty OS but to me it's just what I've always done, but then I am old so I suppose OS just comes naturally. I do have spending splurges but then I can afford it these days, but I always return to my OS roots because that is where I feel most comfortable and at home.


Dinner tonight consists of leftovers to which I will add roast potatoes and parsnips to make it look a bit more 'posh'.


I'm going to spend the morning doing old style ironing, then this afternoon I have a clinic appointment. For what, I am not going to say, but I will give you a clue, it's very old style.


Bella.