EH - Essex > Hebrides...the next step of the adventure?

savingholmes

Glad the redecorating is going well. Your life always sounds hectic!

EssexHebridean

SSG we are fortunate that the flat does have a decent amount of storage, including one tall thin cupboard in the hallway that was instantly earmarked as a storecupboard when we did the second viewing before we bought! we first ran a storecupboard in our old rented flat so it was always going to be a must have when we bought somewhere - after running that system for 25+ years I'd not want to be without one now!  RS I'm honestly starting to wonder whether we'll find it's not worth hanging on to the microwave if we end up with the sort of multicooker/airfryer I'm looking at. I've started really thinking about the sort of stuff we use the microwave for at the moment as to be honest it really is less and less - starting off jacket tatties is about the most important I reckon - but I suspect they will cook a lot faster in the airfryer too... I used to use the oven and combi functions a fair amount but less so now we have the double oven. Hmmm....food for thought! 

SH It's probably not really that hectic, just I do a lot of talking about lots of different things so it sounds a lot more full-on than it is sometimes! 

Right - apologies to anyone who posts on the RMP thread on OS but this will seem familiar...food and planning time - AKA "let's see how much we can use ahead of whizzing off to the Hebrides... 

To be used then - bravely this is working from memory as I'm at work and unsurprisingly, the freezer isn't...
- Half leg of lamb - this will be cooked over the BH weekend I think, it should do a sunday lunch plus 2 more meals the following week
- 2 tubs of roasted shredded chicken (1 of these will make a pasta salad next week, the other probably the same thing but a week later)
- 1 tub of roast lamb from the last lamb joint we had (will likely use this with couscous next week)
- 1 bag of frozen roasted tomatoes (probably will be used as a pasta sauce with lots of fresh basil and some mushrooms
- 2 tubs of roast toms & peppers - these will almost certainly get used in pasta salads with either chicken or tuna
- 1 tub of roasted mushrooms - can be added to anything that needs mushroom!
- 2 (?) tubs of HM bolognese sauce - 1 next week, one the week after? Next week's will probably be used to top roasted marrow... 
- a tub of HM dhal - use as part of an indian fakeaway over the BH weekend
- the last of a bag of nice oven chips - will be used over the BH weekend

I make that a minimum of 10 meals there then...but I also need to incorporate a bag of tatties and a gigantic marrow, plus some more beetroot... 

Shopping for this week then - MrEH will get this:
Milk - him
Milk - me (1 pt skimmed)
Apples x 2 packs
bananas
Citrus - both
onions x 2
Lunches x 2?
Italian Cheese 

It's been hammering down with rain here for half the afternoon - although the office isn't getting much cooler yet seemingly. I get the nasty feeling I might drown cycling back to the car, though... 

foxgloves

I know exactly what you mean about having the desired paint colour in your head, @EH. I was the same with the feature colour we chose for our feature chimney breast. As soon as it was on the wall & had dried, I knew it was 'it'. And I still think there's nothing else which would have done the job quite as well, so am glad I was brave & steered myself away from 'aubergine' shades....my usual feature paint colour of choice & tried something different.
F

girlatplay

I think the freezer would argue that it is at work 😏

They sound like great meals.  I love hearing people's meal plans.

milann

I’m wondering if the brick wielding individual was forced to do it since he looked worried about it. Maybe to become one of the gang. Still no excuse though 😡😡
Pleased the colour of the paint is just what you expected. 

I’m really impressed how you manage to keep up with transferring cash form one pot to another. I’d never be able to remember where I was up to.

Sunshine_girl2

Have a great Eastbourne weekend . 

EssexHebridean

girlatplay said:

I think the freezer would argue that it is at work 😏

They sound like great meals.  I love hearing people's meal plans.

This made me giggle - yes, it probably would!

Foxgloves I'm glad it's not just me with paint colours - I kept trying to explain the shade I wanted and even MrEH wasn't quite "getting it" - his preferred option from the tester patches was a slightly pinker shade until I pointed out that he'd originally said when I was trying to describe what was in my mind that it "sounded like the same colour as the plaster - so we might as well just not paint! - the one he originally liked was indeed just fractionally different from the plaster colour! 
Milann you could be right about the brick-wielder - who knows. A lot of the pot transfers are automated, and for those that aren't something usually prompts it needing done so it's not too bad - we do have one regular save transfer that currently can't be automated though and keep getting a muddle with that one so it does happen! 
SG2 thank you - Eastbourne was FAB!  it's definitely my favourite of the seaside shows I think - and we do always have a real laugh there as well. We've actually already booked accommodation ready for next year too - albeit on a cancellable basis just in case plans change - but I've got a nice deal on a seafront room with a balcony which might come in rather useful! 

So a good if slightly spendy weekend - although that spendiness is as I've said before budgeted for and saved up for throughout the year so all good. I'll need to get the money transferred over to the credit card for the stuff that got put on there - although that's mainly the accommodation as I took the option to just pay now for next year's as well. Only unexpected spend was when I realised (while in the shower in the hotel room on Thursday night washing my hair) that I'd forgotten to take a hairbrush - so a Friday morning job was to go and replace that!    Got home to find that my cheque had arrived for my share of the money from my Great Aunt's estate so that was a nice surprise - now paid in and in fact has also cleared so I shifted the money to long term savings this morning so it'll start earning me some interest. Feeling very grateful that she and my Uncle were in a position to leave us something - and that it will enable me to replace my now quite elderly in photography terms, camera too. Just want to wait a wee while to see if the prices drop at all on the one I'm wanting now!

Food last night was chicken pasta salad again - this is turning into SUCH a favourite! One tub of shredded chicken and one of roasted toms and peppers out of the freezer, and it also used up the remaining salad leaves, cucumber and spring onions from last week plus a random half a fresh red pepper from the fridge too. Tonight I'm looking to  make my first foray into the marrow so I've got some mince out and will probably cook that off with curry spices, and finely chopped onion and pepper and use that to top the slices of roasted marrow with probably some couscous. Should be alright. (And yes, I realise the mince wasn't mentioned in my things to use up before but it should have been!) undecided about tomorrow but maybe spag bol for a nice straightforward simple option. 

Banking checked and all good - I'm waiting to see if EDF do take our DD as they are meant to in the next day or so after I changed the date - I didn't intend for the new date to replace this month's payment but that's how they've worked it out - hey ho. 

I'm now right in the middle of my series of short working weeks - with 2 and a half days this week having been off yesterday and off again on Thursday afternoon as some friends of mine are basing their jets from our local airfield for the Clacton airshow so I'm heading off there to see them on the ground, then I'll go to the show on Friday I think as long as the weather forecast stays looking OK. If the forecast does change then I might head across to Southend Airport instead as there will be a bit of activity there with other aircraft doing the show too. 

EssexHebridean

A small MSE win here this morning as I got an email from our current provider of satellite TV offering a £24 a month deal for 18 months if we renewed now - we're out of contract so it was already in my mind that I needed to do something with getting them to a slightly more sensible price level anyway and that fits the bill nicely! 

We also seem to be making progress towards booking next year's Hebrides jaunt too - MrEH is determined he wants to revert to our "usual" time in the late spring, and we were looking last week at a cottage we've eyed up for years - it would be very expensive even compared to where we are this year though (as in £600 more expensive!) so we hesitated - and as they say "she who hesitates is lost" or rather - loses out, as it's been booked for the fortnight we wanted in the meantime. A bit more digging today has turned up somewhere that look lovely though - we've driven past it many times and said what a great location, so... I've emailed them and we'll see what comes back - fingers crossed though, I rather think otherwise the alternative is that one of us or the other has to compromise on our dates. 

beanielou

Meant to say that I was really disapointed to miss the red arrows a couple of weeks ago.
They were passing fairly near to me either on to way to the tattoo or the way back.
It was quite misty or the har was down & after standing around we realised it must have been cancelled 

EssexHebridean

Ahh yes - they had a few cancelled around that point - my friend's wife took their two boys to Cromer for the display there and although the boys did manage to get in for a flypast nothing else was possible due to low cloud - such a shame as that display is always a good one. 

Right - banking all checked and some money transferred out of one of the long term pots to pay for the latest installment in the works on the hallway - once the bits being done today are complete it will just be the main run of flooring and skirting still to be done. That will be after we get back from the Hebrides now - but we're keen to get it done ahead of the colder weather obviously. We also now need to pay for the kitchen tap to be changed as somewhere along the line it got damaged yesterday - we have no idea how, Steve is adamant that it was nothing they'd done but to us it looks like maybe it got an electrical cable caught round it and tugged as it's dislodged the upright portion of the tap from the block below - I turned it on last night and water squirted in all directions. As you can imagine we're a bit annoyed - but it's one of those things - and we'll be extremely cautious once today is over and done with about them being in the house when we're out I think. Just hoping Steve manages to change it OK as the guy who fitted the kitchen in 2017 made a point of telling us that we needed to be super-careful with it as changing it would be incredibly difficult without needing to take cupboards apart...sigh. 

I remembered to get a tub of bolognese sauce out of the freezer first thing for tea tonight - undecided right now whether it will get used with spaghetti or with some tatties baked in their jackets - although that may depend on timings getting home as obviously the spag would be quicker!  For tomorrow I'm now leaning towards using up the last of a pack of bacon from the freezer (MrEH only used half of it over the weekend), the remaining frozen roast mushrooms, and some chorizo to make a risotto probably with chunks of roasted marrow - although the marrow is the gift that keeps on giving as it's still going to provide at least one more meal after that. I did notice that MrEH had used up the last of a tub of soft cheese from the fridge over the weekend - I didn't ask whether it was OK as it's been in there weeks and was only still there because I'd not got round to throwing it away...oh well,, he's not dead yet so it must have been OK! 

In other activities I got a nice little bit of extra cycling done yesterday - and just a short extra ride this morning although that should be bolstered tonight if I make it to the gym. It has reminded me that I really need to get the foldy bike in for a service though - I might email them and ask if I can take it in on Saturday morning. whatever it costs will be covered from the car account.