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22 Foxhole East

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  • f0xh0les
    f0xh0les Posts: 7,624 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Mortgage-free Glee! Photogenic
    Well, happily that sack of monkeys is over for another year.

    YAY!!

    I find myself in receipt of 5 extremely large boxes of apples. Some eaters, some cookers. I obviously need some inspiration. I love a passive agressive gift, don't you?

    I went wild this morning, dropped the kids at school, rushed home, cleaned and hoovered all the top floor and middle floor bedrooms, reordered all the kids clothes drawers, cleaned 2 loos and one bathroom, cleaned and hoovered the living room and cleared all the carp from the hall.

    If nothing else, the visitors made me take a long hard look at how we use the rooms in our house, and made me think of solutions to the bits that are not working. I still think they are nuts. I am a bit worried about m-i-l's mental capacity after having played scrabble with them, I think she was shocked at how rubbish she was.

    DH bravely and manfully ran away every day Monday - Friday at 8.30am before they got here at 9.20am, and he returned at 5pm, when we then ate, and the visitors stayed until 10.30pm. DH hid behind his laptop.The kids (ratbags) mostly ran off and hid in their rooms , all except one, who wanted wall to wall movies or board games. At least one did not abandon me to my fate. M-i-l tried to bully DS1 into going somewhere and doing something he is not ready to do. I hate it when she pulls emotional blackmail nonsense on the kids. It is why her kids live in different countries to her. She is her own worst enemy.

    Anyway, they are now gone. Hooray!

    There is a nip in the air, the clocks go back in a little over a week. It is dark until nealy 7.30 am, it is AUTUMN!!

    I am allowing DH to put the heating on for an hour if he is cold from now on. I might have to set the timer for the central heating soon. It is supposed to be cooling down from now on.

    S&M sent me a free voucher for a £7.50 candle, so I have ordered that to be picked up tomorrow along with DS1's new blazer, which will turn into DS2's new blazer in 7 months when he leaves school uniform behind him forever!
    Cashback + voucher for double sparks points + credit card points bundle.
    Waitross and Tessco have both sent me spend XX get xx off vouchers.
    Morries have sent me a spend £40 get 4000 points voucher.

    I have asked the kids to each write a list of ten things that mean Christmas to them.
    So far I only have one back, and DS4 misunderstood and wrote a Christmas ransom demand instead.

    The cleaning, clearing and ordering of the ground floor will continue tomorrow. I have screwed 13 coat hooks to a spare skirting board and will mount it on the wall in the kitchen corridor - I need more space for hanging indoor PE kits/ Outdoor PE kids/Swim kits/ Blazers and School bags, along with all the coats etc. This should free up the space in the hall to mount DHs bike on the wall in the main hall so that it is up out of the way.

    I am feeling quite on top of things.
    Mind you, with the next mortgage overpayment I should be sub £101k which is mindblowingly exciting if you are me.
    Inching ever closer to being on £99k.

    Massively long term from now til Xmas - 9 weeks. I have paid for after school clubs for the primary kids, will wait for ransom demands for Xmas productions and trips for the older two. There is always something that comes up to blindside me, that is what the cc is for.
    4/10/22One Year Mortgage Free Yay!
    NSTurtle # 55 🐢 🐢 🐢 🐢 🐢 🐢🐢 🐢 🐢 🐢 🐢 🐢 🐢 🐢🐢🐢 🐢 🐢 🐢 🐢 🐢 🐢 🐢 🐢 🐢 🐢 🐢 🐢 🐢 🐢 🐢 🐢 🐢 🐢 🐢 🐢 🐢 🐢 🐢 🐢 🐢 🐢 🐢 🐢 🐢 🐢 🐢 🐢 🐢 🐢 🐢 🐢 🐢 🐢 🐢 No Turtle gets left behind.[/b]
    ******PROUD MEMBER OF THE TOFU EATING COALITION OF CHAOS !!!******
  • f0xh0les
    f0xh0les Posts: 7,624 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Mortgage-free Glee! Photogenic
    I put up 2 blinds this morning. Also a coat rack, but the screws are too short, or the rawl plugs are too rubbish, so I will replace them tomorrow.

    Yeah, I just fancied playing with the drill. Well, not really, but it was daft for things to be lying around when they should have been screwed to other things. So I got on with it.

    Will not mention it and see if anyone notices.....

    Nearly did not make it to school on time to pick up kids. I managed to lose one shoe in a pair of curtains and I had to run around trying to find another pair of trainers to go out in. Of course I found it in the place I had already looked twice, when I got in. Typical!

    Tomorrow is apple day. I need to prep these boxes and boxes of apples, as I can smell them, and as each apple is wrapped in newspaper, it is going to be a heck of a job to check each one for signs of mould, so I will try and prep a box a day. I found an apple slicer thing in a c/s, it cuts the middle out and leaves the other bits in segments. Will try that first, then open freeze and bag.
    When I lose the will to live, I will start on stewing them, and then stuffing and baking them.
    DS1 said 'why is the woman with 3 freezers giving you apples to freeze when you only have a tiny freezer?' I smiled and told him of the story of the gifting of white elephants. Still, she did give me a jar of her mincemeat to make mice pies with at Christmas. One jar will go sooooo far between 6. I must ration myself. Maybe make them and freeze ready for Xmas Day itself. Then they will have something to talk to her about and say thank you for.

    Kids' colds seem to be getting better. They have eaten every cough sweet in the house and nabbed boxes of tissues for their bedrooms. Hot drinks are being requested and they seem to be recovering.

    The laundry mountain has been scaled, and a flag stuck on the top. Hooray!
    Will fold the evil thing in the morning. When I am bored of looking at apples.
    Think a cider press might be in order for in-laws if they are going to have a surplus of this size every year. Who knows, Irish calvados might even become a thing.
    I am sure they could find the room for a still somewhere between the poly tunnel, woodshed, potting shed, hay store, stable, paddocks and woodturning studio.
    4/10/22One Year Mortgage Free Yay!
    NSTurtle # 55 🐢 🐢 🐢 🐢 🐢 🐢🐢 🐢 🐢 🐢 🐢 🐢 🐢 🐢🐢🐢 🐢 🐢 🐢 🐢 🐢 🐢 🐢 🐢 🐢 🐢 🐢 🐢 🐢 🐢 🐢 🐢 🐢 🐢 🐢 🐢 🐢 🐢 🐢 🐢 🐢 🐢 🐢 🐢 🐢 🐢 🐢 🐢 🐢 🐢 🐢 🐢 🐢 🐢 🐢 No Turtle gets left behind.[/b]
    ******PROUD MEMBER OF THE TOFU EATING COALITION OF CHAOS !!!******
  • kerri_gt
    kerri_gt Posts: 11,202 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Xmas Saver!
    Perhaps you should get the cider press and call it 'medicinal' as you consume it in order to get you through their next visit...should be nicely fermented by then.
    Feb 2015 NSD Challenge 8/12
    JAN NSD 11/16


  • greenbee
    greenbee Posts: 17,841 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    Good idea about a cider press. Then they can bring you apple juice. Or cider.

    How about making more mincemeat with the apples? That way you don't have to freeze them... And in the meantime, apples with everything :)

    Such a pity you don't live closer as I have a spare freezer (or possibly two).
  • I do an apple and onion chutney that keeps well
    Mortgage at 01.01.14 £119,481.83:eek: today £0 Emergency fund £5.5/5.5k & £200/200 cash.:jWeight 24/02/19 14st 7lb now 12st determined to stop defining myself by my mistakes. Progress not perfection.:T100%through my 1% mortgage challenge. 100% through my pb challenge.
  • f0xh0les
    f0xh0les Posts: 7,624 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Mortgage-free Glee! Photogenic
    All the suggestions sound lovely, but I already have a chutney mountain from m-i-l that is not going down. Only one of the kids really like chutney. Well, they all like mango chutney, but not other chutneys. Started an arguement at the dinner table between m-i-l and f-i-l when he announced how much he likes mango chutney and that she should make that instead of some of the other ones she makes. The thing is, she makes chutney because he grows the veg, and there is too much, and she can't bear the thought of throwing anything away.....
    I really thought they were going to start throwing things at each other, I intervened by distracting them with ice-cream. Peace-making ice-cream therapy. Honestly, it is like dealing with toddlers. Ignore them, they are just going through the terrible seventies:rotfl:

    The idea of mincemeat sounds quite fun. I might have to add a warning to the label not to drive after consumption. :D

    DS2 is at the dentist after school - joy!

    Tonight for tea we are having popcorn cauliflower and bbq sauce with coleslaw and pickles. Yeah, still running down the fridge! It is like the Tardis in there.

    Towels on the line, top floor windows open, all beds made, laundry folded and I am just about to embark on the first box of apples......
    4/10/22One Year Mortgage Free Yay!
    NSTurtle # 55 🐢 🐢 🐢 🐢 🐢 🐢🐢 🐢 🐢 🐢 🐢 🐢 🐢 🐢🐢🐢 🐢 🐢 🐢 🐢 🐢 🐢 🐢 🐢 🐢 🐢 🐢 🐢 🐢 🐢 🐢 🐢 🐢 🐢 🐢 🐢 🐢 🐢 🐢 🐢 🐢 🐢 🐢 🐢 🐢 🐢 🐢 🐢 🐢 🐢 🐢 🐢 🐢 🐢 🐢 No Turtle gets left behind.[/b]
    ******PROUD MEMBER OF THE TOFU EATING COALITION OF CHAOS !!!******
  • Yes the glut of vegetables dilemma, to chutney or not to chutney that is the question. When we first got our allotments we went done the chutney route, BAD IDEA. I made loads of the blinking stuff and it turns out DH doesn't really like chutney:mad:. He didn't tell me because he might like it if its homemade. Did he ? No. Could I give it away? No. So it sat in my cupboard waiting for unsuspecting visitors who would only be allowed to leave the house if they took some, even it meant they chucked in the bin when they got home. The last of it went in the bin when we moved house. Now if we have a glut we give it away or put it on the compost bin. Not sure were my chutney rant came from there, sorry foxholes ice- cream? Please?
    CRx
  • kerri_gt
    kerri_gt Posts: 11,202 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Xmas Saver!
    I do like chutney but there really is only so much you can eat.
    f0xh0les I'd stick some of the apples on Freegle if I were you - I'm sure there'll be some takers. Or in boxes out the front of your house - there's a few people round here that do that with overs / windfalls.
    Feb 2015 NSD Challenge 8/12
    JAN NSD 11/16


  • I've picked up fruit in response to Freecycle ads - very welcome it is too (and now I've thought of that I'm popping onto my local site to see if anyone's offering!) Hope you find some takers.
    Choose kind:)
  • f0xh0les
    f0xh0les Posts: 7,624 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Mortgage-free Glee! Photogenic
    I would love to but my rotten kids would grass me up.

    Today I made an apple pie that will easily do 12 servings. An apple crumble that will also do the same, 3 ice cream boxes full of stewed apple cinnamon and sultanas, and a big bag of apple chunks.
    50+ big apples peeled and I used my £1 c/s apple corer and segmenter. It is fabulous. I am in love. Best thing EVER. Turns out it came from the House of Swede. It is brilliant.

    So with my spare time I scraped two of the horrible polystyrene tiles off one corner of the kitchen ceiling. Blimey it makes a mess, so I tidied up after two, swept and hoovered and stopped for the day.
    4/10/22One Year Mortgage Free Yay!
    NSTurtle # 55 🐢 🐢 🐢 🐢 🐢 🐢🐢 🐢 🐢 🐢 🐢 🐢 🐢 🐢🐢🐢 🐢 🐢 🐢 🐢 🐢 🐢 🐢 🐢 🐢 🐢 🐢 🐢 🐢 🐢 🐢 🐢 🐢 🐢 🐢 🐢 🐢 🐢 🐢 🐢 🐢 🐢 🐢 🐢 🐢 🐢 🐢 🐢 🐢 🐢 🐢 🐢 🐢 🐢 🐢 No Turtle gets left behind.[/b]
    ******PROUD MEMBER OF THE TOFU EATING COALITION OF CHAOS !!!******
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