Living richly; simply and debt-freely

Upsidedown_Bear

rtandon27 wrote: »

GP you must have been knackered! A four day sleep is something out of fairytales!;)

Maybe she's waiting for a Prince to wake her with a kiss?
In the absence of a Prince Smilie says will he do?

Greying_Pilgrim

Good Morning :hello:

Where does the time go?

I was going to post on here on Friday morning. However, in light of the breaking news, I figured that 'us tea' pics could wait.

Life continues to be good to us. We are very blessed and try not to forget it for a moment.

Baby Greying is a delight and changes everyday. Everyone is right when they say 'take lots of pictures' and if you're going through a sticky patch 'keep going, it won't last forever'.

In many ways, we are spending little or no 'extra' money. Yes, theoretically we are spending more money on Baby Greying's *stuff*, but then that is currently coming out of the family allowance (Greying showing age there - 'child benefit' for younger readers.......), and if we didn't have BG then we wouldn't be spending that money, but then we wouldn't be eligible for CB, so swings and roundabouts..... In other ways, eg the food budget, the household has gone entirely to pot! Still at fault is the lack of being able to shop like I used to, in multiple stores, getting the best value in each....... DH is wonderful and has taken on many new roles. Shopping is one - for which I am most grateful. I just wish I could impart the knack of *spontaneous bargain spotting* - ie knowing what is an absolute bargain, and how it can be utilised in the menu plan, or in the household in general. However, with a list, and sometimes with instructions of *where in the store* or what the packaging looks like, DH is a shopping wizard And for that, I remain grateful

Family 'silly b*ggers' continues. However, for the most part, letting them get on with it seems to be working for us. Interestingly, our non-related *family* - aka friends and neighbours - continue to shower us with love and kindness; all of which is gratefully received

I'm currently trying to get redress (non financial) from an organisation. It's taking up alot of time and I'm not getting very far. They seem intent on playing silly bar stewards, muddying the waters at every turn and treating me like an air head. I can see why nobody feels they can fight for principles and rights - everday politics, which affect ordinary folk - anymore. You just come up against brick walls of intrangience and bluster. And then you get the individual who is intent on trampling on you in order to get their 'corner office' promotion....... *sigh* Still, everyone has mortgages to pay and bills to meet, so they have to do, what they have to do I suppose.

We got gifted some home grown (HG) produce this week. Broad beans and peas and some raspberries and 3 (count 'em!) strawberries Every last morsel got utilised. I wish I could have claimed to have made 'Pea pod Burgundy' (another reference showing me age ) with the pods, but they have gone to make compost instead

Pictures, if anyone is interested;



Buddha bowl; Cornmeal and sesame seed crusted tofu with a green bean and red pepper 'salsa' on brown rice and lentils. Toasted pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds and walnuts were sprinkled over, with a pomegranate molasses vinagrette. MrW currently have cold-dron tofu for £1.17 a block, which is barginacious for this brand, so I grabbed a pack.



This used the gifted broad beans and peas, in combination with courgettes bought in ald1 in the sooper 6. It is heavily based on Leanne Brown's Creamy Courgette Fettucine, but I used caccerrece (sp?) pasta, yoghurt instead of cream and topped with a little grated cheddar. It is a wonderful seasonal dish though, and one I look forward to every summer, although the beans and peas were an added bonus - and tasted completely different to frozen



We had this last night - Palak paneer or saag paneer with lentil dhal and rice. I used the paneer that I got in h3ron f00ds for 69p a pack. I used 2 packs - a little bit too much really, but then 1 pack would have made it a bit paneer 'light'....... I used yoghurt again, rather than cream, and I tend to fry my paneer first, to get a crisp crust, before adding it to the spinach puree. I only partially pureed the spinach, i like a bit of texture. So much spinach, I now feel like 'P0peye' :rotfl:

Hopefully today will encompass a picnic lunch. Not too sure if it will involve 'near or far' travel, but a picnic lunch definitely - even if we only make it to the front room carpet

Right, best go. I've a picnic to improvise

Thank you for continuing to pop in, read and comment. It is greatly appreciated by me. Even if my 'money saving' is a bit topsy-turvy :money: at the mo

Greying X

beanielou

Good to hear from you.
My money s aving is non existant at the moment

Greying_Pilgrim

beanielou wrote: »

Good to hear from you.
My money s aving is non existant at the moment

And great to hear from you Beanie I guess we just need to keep plodding eh? and believe that it 'won't be forever'

Greying X

joeyjimbles

Wish we had Heron Foods - have to pay at least £1+ for paneer and we don't have any asian foodstores either. Thinking will have to stock up next time I go to Newcastle. The saag paneer looks delicious, well everything does, but that just took my fancy.
Glad all is going well in Greying Towers and and that BG continues to be a delight, as of course they always would be.
Shopping from our freezer this weekend revealed a bag of cooked trout so fish pie last night with spinach, leeks and peas and a sweet potato topping. Enough fish and mash leftover to make fishcakes for tomorrow's dinner. Tonight is greek pork chops (unknown date as its fallen off) with home made tzatziki, hoummus, roasted 'carcrash' new potatoes (leftover steamed, squashed with potato masher and sprinkled with garlic, chili and olive oil then roasted) and greek-ish salad. Allotments round us must be doing really well - I keep waking up to a porchfull of veg and fruit which I repay with cake.
Hope your bureaucracy - family and business - gets resolved.

Cheery_Daff

Ooh, that food looks proper tasty Greying! :j I am Most Impressed. I'm stuffing in a toasted teacake for the second weekend lunch in a row, and we have had TWO takeaways this week (ok, we ate one of them in a restaurant :rotfl: but still) Food has all gone to pot!

I shall try to channel some of your enthusiasm. If you can manage it with a small baby then I can manage it with no such happy encumbrance! :rotfl:

Tilly_MFW_in_6_YRS

Food looks delicious and great to read your news. Good luck with your battle. I'm having one of those at the moment and it's blinking frustrating.

Hope the sun came out

Tilly xxx

Greying_Pilgrim

Good Evening :hello:

Visitors. How absolutely luverly :D:D

joeyjimbles - I think that the paneer was a 'one off' (?) in our h3ron fuds. I haven't seen it since that day - although I'm pretty sure that mcculloch had it in her h3ron after ours. But unfortunately, I don't think they regularly stock it If I see it again, I shall fill my boots and the freezer Your meals sound great! Wish I had the HG new pots to make the 'car-crash' potatoes - sounds just my sort of thing

Cheery - you're mega busy with DIY and a full-time job and running hither and yon! I'm in awe! In some respects i have retained my enthusiasm and zest for life, but since Baby Greying joined us, I have become much more zealous about prioritising. And there is plenty that is getting 'ignored' to permit us to 'live for the moment'.

Tilly_MFW_in_6_YRS wrote: »

Food looks delicious and great to read your news. Good luck with your battle. I'm having one of those at the moment and it's blinking frustrating.

Hope the sun came out

Tilly xxx

:wave: to Tilly - yes, we had wall-to-wall sunshine this arvo Thankfully, the NT had set out some picnic benches in an orchard, and had put benches in the lee of the trees, rather than directly underneath them - which meant we could enjoy some shade, but didn't have to sit in bird p00p for the priveledge! The NT seems particularly bad at locating its benches/seats under trees......... Tills - *blinking frustrating* is the word! Especially when you know that people are playing with you, wasting your time to further their own ends...... I'm between a rock and a hard place with it. If I push too hard and try the legal route, it is going to have unintended consequences........ Maddening!

So, we went to a local-ish NT property. The car-park was heaving - even the overflow carpark was full. Thankfully the property itself is quite large and spread out, so we all managed to 'get lost' in the scenery. There was no queue for the loo either! :rotfl: We enjoyed our picnic in the orchard, and took our time over lunch Spot of the day was the tiniest, cutest little bunny running around in a fenced off area of cultivated ground. The area was the kitchen garden and the fencing was designed to keep the rabbits out :rotfl: Just like a scene out of Mr McGregor's garden....... :rotfl:

I had no 'salad' type bits for tea, so had to improvise a bit. However, it turned out quite well. I had a bit of brocolli bake left-over in the freezer, so i de-frosted it and heated it up a little, but it was cooled by the time we ate. I made potato salad, based on the Meat-Free monday version, pugilise salad and then 'concocted' a third salad, based on what I had in. I had got some ruby grapefruit from mr W for 10p (YS'd), so I segmented one and cut it up (it disintegrated further when I stirred the ingredients together, but no bother....), threw in a tin of butter beans, some chopped dates, some chopped sun-dried tomatoes and put a splash of oil, vinegar and pomegranate molasses into the mix I was going for a sweet/sour/salt/savoury thing. I think it worked reasonably well - actually, the dates were the key in bringing it together, it wouldn't have worked otherwise. Picture here;




Today I am grateful for these 3 things;

- Sunshine

- the sight and sound of bees, birds and butterflies - absolutely awesome

- a newsy e-mail from a friend.

Thank you everso for popping in, reading and commenting. It is always appreciated. Always.

Greying X

Greying_Pilgrim

Good Evening :hello:

I adore the sunshine, but I melt into a puddle when confronted by heat...... I'm afraid myself and Baby Greying hid indoors today We did have somewhere to go and people to see, but I figured that the risk wasn't worth it, as we would have been on shanks' pony and pram-bound respectively, walking in places with little or no shade, and which on occasion, have no 'passing traffic' (motorised or pedestrian). Had we encountered difficulties, it could have got out of hand very quickly

The upside is I have spent no money

And I did some tidying

And ice-cream seemed like a good idea for tea

Mind, I did have to resort to putting the oven on to cook for tea - which was a silly idea, given the weather But choice was a bit limited. The end result was nice, but I've warmed the house up even more *sigh* :wall:

I made courgette and sun-dried tomato bake - using my storecupboard tomatoes and courgettes got in the S6 (I read on the forum that some aldeees haven't got them, replacing them with cabbage instead......) These were bought on the weekend, before the warm weather rush..... (swings and roundabouts, there were no nectarines there today when DH was tasked to purchase some).

I accompanied it with grated beetroot (HB vaccum packed); potato salad, made with tinned potatoes, a little mayo, a little yoghurt and some HG mint and a 'riff' on the Fresh Corn Salad recipe that I discovered a couple of years ago - but I used what I had, so mine had sweetcorn, green beans (both frozen), red pepper and red onion (MrL 29p a 750g net) in it. Picture here;



It was yummy, not sure it was worth making the homestead into a kiln for though...... :rotfl:

Today I am grateful for these 3 things;

- 2 very prompt and very lovely responses to 2 e-mails I had written;

- for making the right decision, in the face of conditioning of 'keeping my word';

- for clean water, direct from the tap - I've enjoyed a plentiful supply today

Thank you for popping in and reading. It is appreciated greatly, by me

Greying X (orf to lie down in a darkened room to perspire gently......)

Cheery_Daff

evening :hello: I know what you mean about melting :eek: I had to travel to another city today which has involved 2 trains, 3 buses, and a 45 min walk :eek: Complete smelly puddle by the time I got home! :eek:

Love your list of things to be thankful for Greying, thank you :kisses3: Do you mind if I join in tonight? I've been having a tough time recently and am needing to focus on good things to be thankful for

So (hoping you don't mind) I'm thankful for

- a really interesting job, and good friends and work colleagues, and supportive senior people
- a warm day - I've complained, but in some ways it does feel *good* to have my bones properly warmed through :rotfl:
- Mr Cheery, who has done some good house-decorating today, and who is currently doing something quite difficult for my benefit which I am very appreciative of

Thanks I feel better now :kisses3: