Living richly; simply and debt-freely

Greying_Pilgrim

starnac wrote: »

I lurk here but don't really feel I have anything of value to contribute

I don't see it like that at all...... I am truly fortuitous at the breadth of fabulous folk that pop into this diary - I remain grateful, always.

Greying x

beanielou

starnac wrote: »

I lurk here but don't really feel I have anything of value to contribute

I am the same:o

amber03

Hope the cakes did the trick and cheered DP up, otherwise send the remaining cakes to me.

liltdiddylilt

Oh I must have these cakes. In my next lifetime They look amazing, as do the choppy bunnies and you may just have inspired a few mile round trip to the HB's on the industrial estate with little legs tomorrow. She won't make it that far but we can stop at the park and she can go in her stroller for the final (3-4 miles) stroll.

Lovely to see you back and posting, and I remember this exact selection of eggs from my lovely chucks when I was a kid. We had so many, Rhode Island Reds, Bantams made up the bulk but there were a few funny ones we got free from the childrens farm nearby when they closed to Winter

Igamogam

Bluebells: seem to be on track here. At this time of year we have a carpet of them 'over the back wall' which means at the end of the garden where we are fortunate enough to have open land - moorland scrub?? We sit half way down the mountain. Anyway its a veritable blue haze at the moment all the way up the mountain to the snow line which is creeping down towards us:eek: However the grey dreary winter skies means we are not getting that heady spicy scent from them that hangs around in the evening - hopefully the sun will reappear before the bluebells are take over by the 'head high' bracken

Greying_Pilgrim

beanielou wrote: »

I am the same:o

beanz - you have been with me from the get-go on both my diaries. You are the reason many a person on MSE still *keeps plodding* when the going gets tough. You keep chipper and supportive, even when things in your own life aren't going well, so please, know that you are being a great contribution - to this diary and to others

amber03 - soz to report that the 'bunny bun' did indeed hit the spot, even after curry plate The remaining bunnies have been microchipped and put under armed guard by DP - so I suspect there won't be any for sharing...... :rotfl:

Lilty - the choccy bunnies were in abundance in our HB before we went away last week - boxes and boxes of them (the product itself is a bag of 5, individually wrapped bunnies). But by the time we had returned, the boxes had disappeared - presumably sold, as the bags usually retail for £1 or so, so 39p was a good price. I'd definitely check with your local HB to see if they have some in stock before trekking over there, especially with Jellytotster - I'd really, really hate for you to be disappointed I grabbed my 2 bags when I saw them, as I figured that they wouldn't be around for long - I'll have to keep an eye out and see which cafes/cake shops have bunny themed offerings in the forthcoming months.... :rotfl: I'd bought mine with the intention of taking some buns to an open garden event, but we're not attending now, so I'll just have to think of something else to do with them.

And you are so right about the chucks - I think that some were bantams - they were all black, with the neatest 'feathery hat' on their heads

Igamogam - was thinking of you on hols. Had a conversation with a shop keeper about *those* socks. They didn't think that the company would honour the promise....... They didn't stock the socks either, so it was quite a short conversation :rotfl: Funny you should mention plant aromas - last week we were in the thick of swathes of gorse, and the smell in the sunshine!!! We described it as almond, but on getting back home and looking it up, it is supposed to be reminiscent of coconut. I couldn't quite see that myself, but it certainly was a very, very pleasant smell, and quite wonderful So do you think the bluebells are early?

Right, better go and do something.

Greying x

Pollygarter

I am not in the pursuit of happiness, only in the discovery of joy' - Joyce Grenfell

What a lovely quote.

I'm only just stopping my "Polly, don't do that" phase but have often said I thoroughly believe moments of joy are what I believe in. Even if I'm not having them, its good to know someone somewhere is!

Here's to a frugal Sunday.

Igamogam

Greying_Pilgrim wrote: »

Igamogam - was thinking of you on hols. Had a conversation with a shop keeper about *those* socks. They didn't think that the company would honour the promise....... They didn't stock the socks either, so it was quite a short conversation :rotfl: Funny you should mention plant aromas - last week we were in the thick of swathes of gorse, and the smell in the sunshine!!! We described it as almond, but on getting back home and looking it up, it is supposed to be reminiscent of coconut. I couldn't quite see that myself, but it certainly was a very, very pleasant smell, and quite wonderful So do you think the bluebells are early?

No bluebells are bang on target here as is the cuckoo. However large Ash tree is already in full leaf well ahead of Birches ( Ash as far as I know is the last tree to to show its spring livery) and more important is the fresh snow covering the mountains:eek:

As far as socks go I guess the only way to find out is to test it .........so far never had a need to;)

muddywhitechicken

:wave: hello Greying

Greying_Pilgrim wrote: »

We have eaten the very last eggy-peggies that we bought I mean, how can you not smile when you open up the box to see these beauties?



I bet dearest MWC would be able to tell us which chuck laid which egg too

Lovely, lovely, lovely eggs

BTW - as an official Auntie - PM me your address if you want me to send you a box of eggs. I can re-use the hatching egg packaging so they arrive safely

Greying_Pilgrim wrote: »

My May menu planner is distinctly (for the first part) wedded to the ald* S6, and will feature a lot of sweet potatoes and butternut squash I've taken a leaf out of MrMWC's culinary endeavours book and I am trying 3 recipes that were offered by a veggie cafe that MWC linked too. I am also going to make G1ll1an McKe1th's shepherdess pie, which again, features sweet potatoes. I'd actually forgotten that we had (loooooong time ago) been to that cafe. I don't remember much about it - except that it is at basement level and I remember the steps down, and I do recall that DP and I were poor as church mice and didn't have anything flash - probably a drink and a bun or something. It's probably well over 20 yrs ago - the lack of cash ain't changed much :rotfl:

I was also grateful that L1dl had decided to put aubergines in their weekly offer, as the menu planner featured them quite heavily too. Lovely, bright glossy big aubergines for 39p - winner winner, Cambodian aubergine curry dinner

Mr MWC's based-on-Rainbow-Cafe's-based-on-GMcK's-(probably-based-on-Sarah-Brown's-red-dragon-pie) shepherdess pie was delicious. His twist was that he roasted the root veg first.

I'm looking forward to seeing the Cambodian aubergine dish later in the week. The Vietnamese clay pot pork recipe he cooked on Saturday had lots of aubergine in as well. Coconut molasses don't taste coconutty so I'm waiting for him to send me the recipe so I can give you an alternative but it wouldn't be coconut!

MWCx

Greying_Pilgrim

Pollygarter - hello and welcome. I read somewhere, about the same time as I found the Joyce Grenfell quote, that for the most part (there are exceptions to every rule, natch ) happiness is more likely to be dependent on the actions/or otherwise of others, whereas joy is more likely to spring from within us in reaction to something. I've found this to be broadly true, and therefore seek to find pleasure in the small things - primarily in nature, it has to be said - each day. Unfortunately, this means that I rave on about colourful chuckin eggs, hearing cuckoo's, seeing woodpeckers and picnicking, a lot on my diary Welcome aboard!

Igamogam - I heard a cuckoo for the first time on 23rd April whilst we were away. I have not heard one since. I am not surprised to not hear one 'at home' but we've spent quite a lot of time in woodland/countryside this weekend, and have not heard another We did hear (and actually see one in flight) woodpeckers today. We have also seen a rash of bluebells - and smelt them - wonderful

muddywhitechicken - you really are the kindest most generous chuckin-keeping soul on the planet I couldn't accept such a generous gift - but may I have a pic posted on here of a 'select half a dozen'? That would fill me with such joy We went out adventurising again today, and I'm afraid I succumbed to another 1/2 doz eggs from the garden gate. Bit cheaper today, at £1.20, but they are of more mixed size (the holiday eggs were whoppers ) but again, there is more of a mix of colours, 5 of them look like different 'foundation samplers' on the make-up counter and one would definitely pass for 'American tan' tights Much more interesting than from the supermercado

Well, dear reader, we have so been whooping it up today. After being partially underwhelmed with the 'show' of bluebells yesterday (I have to say, either things have changed dramatically in 25+ yrs since the person last visited the forest location, or they got their forests mixed up ) We went off in a different direction today, and struck 'blue gold' We went armed with a bit of fuel in the car, an OS map that a friend gifted me some time ago as they had a spare, directions for 'free' parking and the offer of a cup of tea from another friend and a pack up of cheese & tommy sangers, bunny buns and coffee. How rich my life eh? 96 photos later, umpteen miles under our belt, 11 fellow-walkers said 'how-do?' to and 2 mountain bikers cheered on, I think that we can safely say that we've 'done' a significant sign of spring for 2015 All that and we had a blast biking around a forest trail yesterday too!

Also, for the most part, DP and I were walking alone, so we had some good 'together' time, chatting things through. We've some important 'life admin' to sort out and we were able to chat about how we may start making that happen. We've got a possible framework and timetable to work to.

Anyone that dips into Mr M0neymustache will know the type of ethos that he........ promotes? I'm certainly finding myself aligning to that more and more as I [STRIKE]age[/STRIKE] mature We are certainly paring back as we enter a new stage in our life, we'd certainly like to explore the 'small home' lifestyle and our recent holiday rental gave us some food for thought. It is always interesting to speak with friends, who have radically different lifestyles, as to how they view 'sustainable' retirement. Still, as ever, there are nuggets of 'good stuff' to learn from any conversation Our particular dilemma at present is to how to 'live for now' - however; cheaply, simply and *small* that is, ie going for a walk rather than paying to enter an amusement park/zoo VERSUS home maintenance, home maintenance and um, home maintenance......... Like many others, we're starting to enter a time when relatives are declining in health and mental capacity; we've contemporaries who are ditching their marriages (in addition to family members), we've health issues of our own (m.i.n.o.r. I should point out) that are starting to impinge on our abilities, strength and stickability. We're certainly beginning to ponder staying at Greying Towers for the foreseeable future. Sure, we dislike living here immensely, but don't know whether the financial hit we'd have to take to off load it due to circumstances beyond our control are worth it, and we really are not cut out to be landlords - we're not The downside of that is that new opportunities won't present themselves here, whereas they might at a new property. Mmmmmm, lot to ponder and DP is very much on-board, which is a help, but also a new development. DP is great, but confidence in his abilities has been lacking. One thing getting older does do is to encourage you to say *F-c- IT* a lot more.

I don't think that the ^ ramble adds anything to my diary - certainly no answers But I do think that the *richly but simply* mantra is us. It is increasingly defining what we do, how we do it and why we do it. I make no apology for that, but it may help to determine why the focus of this diary is somewhat different to other diaries on this area of the forum. It's not going to be for everyone, I appreciate that. But as ever, I remain extremely grateful for the gaggle of folk that wander through here on a regular basis, supporting me hugely. As ever, I am grateful, grateful, grateful

Greying