22 Foxhole East 12 August 2016 at 1:55PM edited 30 November -1 at 1:00AM in Mortgage-Free Wannabe 2K replies 247.2K views

greenbee

Ignore your kids. Let them become feral Or evict them into the back garden. As for the weight loss, don't focus on weight, focus on measurements as they're more important. 

Congrats on the foraging. 

VelvetFreak

Hi f0xh0les! I have just read your entire diary over the last couple of weeks. It has been great entertainment during these boring times of social isolation. I very much enjoy your use of the word "swine" and will be adding it to my own vocabulary. 

f0xh0les

The school has rescheduled the residential for......the Friday - Monday of the first week back in Autumn term.

I guess there were no refunds huh?

kerri_gt

f0xh0les said:

The school has rescheduled the residential for......the Friday - Monday of the first week back in Autumn term.

I guess there were no refunds huh?

That will be helpful in getting them back into the school routine then....not. Still I guess they're trying to get the good weather still.

Baileys_Babe

VelvetFreak said:

Hi f0xh0les! I have just read your entire diary over the last couple of weeks. It has been great entertainment during these boring times of social isolation. I very much enjoy your use of the word "swine" and will be adding it to my own vocabulary. 

I read @foxholes entire diary in February. I enjoy your writing style. I lived in Leicester for just over 10 years, from the late '80s, my parents lived there until about 2 years ago. When you are describing where places are I refer to my mental map and often think that is just around the corner from X or that's where we did Y.

f0xh0les

Hey Velvet, hiya BB!  nice to have you onboard. 

I am frazzled.  ds4 is a sneaky little ratbag who has had to spend the last 6 hours catching up his school work.  He is currently at 10am on Wednesday. It is 7pm on Friday in the real world.  He just picked and chose which bits he did, and then announced " done it! easy peasy! now all  I have to do is draw a picture!", lying little weasel.  But I caught him out this morning, and dh took 3 & 4 out for a scoot in the park after breakfast, and then I was lying in wait with lunch prepared, and then I sprung the homework trap.   DS3 has been up to his elbows in Mary Beard documentaries -that is what passes as history homework.  I love Mary Beard. She is a total nut. Utterly Bonkers.  If the Queen drops dead of CV and Charlie falls off his perch, I think we should have an Open-University Cultural Revolution and vote Mary Beard in as ersatz-Queen and Head of State.

In other news, DS2 (uber-ratbag) has spent the whole afternoon revising his psychology and came down and had me quiz him!! I rewarded him with chocolate and he went away a happy camper.

Daily death toll just got scary! Boris has the virus, designated survivor Dominic Raaaaaaab has the virus, half the cabinet have it, pretty soon the only ones left will be Govey and Larry, the Chief Mouser to the Treasury (love his twitter)  Even the Chief Scientific Health Officer chap that keeps telling us to stay at home washing our hands, like, f.o.r.e.v.e.r.r.r.r.r.r.r.r.r.r.r.r.r.r.r.r.r.r.r.r.r.r has keeled over.. creak!......... bump!

DH had to record a short audio for one of his lectures (20 mins), so he sat outside at my bargain patio table and chairs in the yard, in a sunny spot and did it out there all happy-like.  His camp bed is now also out every morning as I do not have a sun lounger. 95% the same. I looked out of the kitchen window and the smaller two were stretched out on it in total bliss. 

Leicester-upon-Sea.  Costa del Clarendon Park. Rio de Saffron Lane.

My bank balance is looking fab!  I still have £122 in my purse. Barely spending a thing, and Tuesday is payday already.

My heart goes out to anyone who does not know what they will be paid this month, or even if the job will even be there when all this is over.  Average household debt is around £15k.  I am so debt averse I will not even do interest free credit on stuff. I am a cash in the bank before I even look to buy something kind of girl. 

Hence my house still being a state, when it could have been finished by now, if we had started when we moved in.  We are lucky dh can work from home with his full pay, and I am totally aware how very lucky we are.  Promotion request deadline was today. Time for him to start climbing the greasy pole, as it were. 

Did a bit of experimental baking today.  I tried using the unsweetened Oat milk in a cake mix.  It looked totally weird, bake took longer than expected, but it has made the softest fluffiest sponge, and the kids decimated it.  I am not expecting any weight loss for today, but I had not baked anything for the kids for flippin' ages. The coconut loaf disappeared first, then half the raisin and cranberry cake was gone.  Happy kids.  The only thing was, you had to wait until it was cooled before you turned it out, the poor coconut cake looked like a squashed trainer. It was too hot when I took it out and the 180 degree flip just did not agree with it.  The other one I let cool and it behaved itself.

Gloves are off tomorrow.  The Scrabble comes out.  The seeds are going into the pots and planters we already have.

I am not going outside the house except to volunteer - and if I need to pick up the odd vegetable or pack of pittas, then 7pm on Mondays seems to be a good time to go.  But I should not need anything until then anyway.

Baileys_Babe

Like yourselves OH, is working from home on full pay. In what looks to be a very secure job.

 I feel very sorry for all those who have no idea what their income will come payday and if they will have a job to return to.

Tomorrow, me and OH are going to go through the fridge & cupboard and see what meals we can make. Write a shopping (wish) list and decide when I'm going shopping, probably Tuesday.

Plan for tomorrow is gardening if it is dry, followed by board games.

kerri_gt

Well if nothing else everyone is going to have very tidy gardens this summer.  Tomorrow i am repainting a step to the side garage door that for some unknown reason keeps flaking. I tried to patch it over the winter to keep the wood from rotting but gloves are off tomorrow (or should that be on under the circumstances?) and paint will be out.
Glad to hear DS2 got his finger out, pity about ratty DS4...he'll learn.
Honestly,  the state of politics atm I do wish Sitting Image was still going, it would be entirely un-pc material but could really do with some light relief atm and after all, ITV2 can get away with showing Contagion last night.... not sure who was doing the scheduling there, work experience intern? 
Next week OH will be wfh with me, he's been home this week but unwell (jammy sod is now out of isolation,  me as the non-sick one still under lock and key...necessary but unfair). It will be the first time we've actually both wfh together so should be interesting.  I wfh anyway ( seems a lot of foll realising we don't just sit around in oir pjs watching daytime telly whilst answering the odd email all day) but if he's been off its usually him being on holiday. New experience, wonder if we should get name plates for our respective working rooms lol. 

Foxholes, did you use the same amount of oat milk as normal milk in your baking? We have oat milk for cereal so interested to try it in baking too. Actually i also have lots of coconut in various forms...could you perhaps chuck the recipe this way? It would be much appreciated  

f0xh0les

Take a mug (normal size mug - nothing fancy) One mug s/r flour, just under 1/4 mug sugar, heaped teaspoon baking powder, 1/3 mug dess. coconut, in a bowl.  Pour oat milk up until an inch from the top, 2 teaspoons (or the cap) vinegar, any vinegar, white, brown, cider, whatever you have (never tried balsamic!) in with the milk, stir, pour the rest of the mug full with veg oil or sunflower oil.  Get a whisk or a bowl, add wet mix to dry mix and stir for about 20 seconds -vegan cake is quick.  Check the consistency is ok - mine was a little bit slack, but baked really well, just check it is not too firm (- all depends on the age/quality/ storage conditions of your flour..  just play with it ) then bake on about GM 4  / 180 degrees  check after 10 for buns or 25 for cake, it might take longer, and coconut is a !!!!!! for burning on't bottom, so you might want to raise your  shelf a little bit and  just use your nose. 

Basic vegan cake mix, pimp it with cocoa powder (just add more milk)/ mixed spice and golden syrup , apple and cinnamon ,choc chips , almond essence and raspberries, dried fruit, whatever you fancy. 

I am still the same weight.  It is blowing a gale here.  Not going out. Nothing on tv.  

Oh, I have to post a letter today. The highlight of my day.  Don't think the seeds are going to happen today - tomorrow is 1 degree or something. I can already feel dh's finger reaching for that +1 button on the central heating control panel, and he is not even out of bed yet. It is his metaphorical finger, (like Mr Tickle, reaching for warmth from the cosiness of his bed).

Baileys_Babe

Thanks for the recipe @foxholes I'm not confident with cooking with cups, in fact, I usually go in search of an alternative recipe. What size tin do you usually use?

OH has already mentioned a couple of times that it is cold today. I plan to get in on the defensive before he adjusts the heating or lights the fire by getting us all out gardening shortly, the combination of physical movement generating heat and when we come back in it will make it feel warmer, with the bonus the garden will be a little tidier.
OH if left to his own devices would opt for sitting on the sofa reading a book.