Cherry takes the reins

Cherryfudge

Is anyone else wondering whether this will change in the new year? It was a story a few months ago and has gone quiet:
https://www.tescoplc.com/news/2022/tesco-to-lock-over-a-thousand-everyday-products-at-low-prices-until-2023/

Cherryfudge

DH has taken Auntie home and was back here at 4.20, a little after I got in from the shops. I only needed cereal but actually bought loads - those post-Christmas markdowns, of course. L!dl had veg boxes which looked nice but I was carrying too much to get one and later talked myself out of it. Most of the weight has been vegetables (I see the vegetable multipack in T3sco has gone up to £1.20 from £1) which were marked down. My special weakness is the luxury Conference pears which still worked out at about 40p each after discount, but which will be delicious.

I enjoyed getting some basic housework done while DH was out (yes, really) and making the house feel more like ours again. There is laundry to be done but mostly guest bedding so no big hurry and the weather isn't going to be good for drying for some days.

When I was cleaning the fridge yesterday, I found a box of assorted packet mixes so I've used up three today (jelly, cheese sauce and sausage casserole), starting me on an exciting foray into the depths of the kitchen cupboards. I have so much that needs to be used up, but I now have more of an idea what there is.

DH is back at work tomorrow and it's my last day off.

Spending:
Housekeeping £20.31
Gifts £1.50

Today I'm thankfully for a restful day and the inclination to do something with it! For finding uses for some of the old stock and some nice bargain foods - and for the ability to buy them. For Auntie enjoying her Christmas and for a quiet evening tonight, and heating.

Honeysucklelou2

Don’t know about the price lock but 2 of my DDs that work at Mr T’s did mention their 20% discount…unfortunately not when I was doing the Christmas shop!! 

Cherryfudge

Honeysucklelou2 said:

Don’t know about the price lock but 2 of my DDs that work at Mr T’s did mention their 20% discount…unfortunately not when I was doing the Christmas shop!! 

Oh no! Two of mine worked in different supermarkets and both those got a family discount as well as a straightforward staff discount. I'm not sure if it's still happening but it would be worth asking them.

Cherryfudge

What an incredibly gloomy day! I might face the elements eventually as I want milk and eggs, but at present I'm better off indoors with occasional retreats under a heated lap blanket.

I've got the rest of the meat off the turkey and decided to turn the inedible bits into gravy rather than stock so it's in the slow cooker with carrot, onion, herbs and a red wine stock cube. When it finishes cooking I'll thicken it with cornflour and portion it up once I have freezer space. Why doesn't someone invent temporary inflatable freezers for use in between Christmas and New Year? Gravy will be used whereas stock won't. I think it might be time for another pie - the second this week - unless I get inventive in the next hour or so.

DS2 is home overnight. I'd just washed his bedding, thinking it could dry on the airer over a couple of days. Now it's in the tumble dryer. So much for energy bills. No progress on kitchen cupboards yet.

Cherryfudge

I went down to the shops and got everything on the list except milk (heavy and not urgent) I think it's warmed up out there. I also found salmon marked down so we had that for tea. It was all of 11p more than the vegan spread and 15p more than the 15 eggs which I also bought so that was probably a good deal, though not by last year's standards.

We've been looking at holidays and the large amount of leave I still need to take. I've put my work rota, known leave, church cleaning and babysitting days on the calendar for the first quarter, and found a deal on a holiday we like (but they are all so expensive!). Tomorrow the plan is to try to book leave at the same time as each other and get the holiday before they're booked up. DH has the day off to try to use up some of his annual leave.

I'm let off this week's church cleaning on Friday as there's not much to do, and A, H and the baby are away for a few days so no usual meet-up tomorrow. It's all looking like a minimal few days, especially if the wet weather continues.

Spending:
Housekeeping: £9.74

And the things I'm thankful for - managing to repurpose all the turkey! DS2 being back (11pm - early for him). Milder weather. People here to talk to (you keep me sane and somewhat accountable on days like today). Lots of annual leave to look forward to.

Cherryfudge

I woke up to a sunny day! Yes, we had showers later but so much nicer than yesterday.

I've added Italian to my Duolingo as it's such an amazing-sounding language and I'd like to have  few words I can use on holiday. I've challenged Dh to join in, then at work we were practising Makaton so I have a feeling my new words are going to be a hopeless jumble (though rather fun, as I decided decided the Makaton for a turtle looks like a swimming sandwich).

DS2 left just before lunch but at least he has days off. His work is full on and I think he picks up quite a lot of extras.

DH made another turkey pie and I'm back to my overnight oats for work meals, so there's a tiny bit more fridge space. I've told DH the rest of the smoked salmon and turkey are for him. I didn't enjoy either. Mind you with the amount of biscuits and sweets still washing round work, and the cheeses in our fridge, I could do with a low calorie alternative!

I haven't spent anything today but I think DH got milk, so there has been some spending. I checked to see if my annual leave had been processed and it looks as though I forgot to click the button on it, so that was never going to go far. All requests to date are now in, and payday is tomorrow, with a quite a healthy pay packet as the extras from October and November are now through. I've also put my name down for three more sleep ins, including a weekend one which gets me a £30 bonus for working on a weekend off. ... that's if I don't change my mind.

Today I'm thankful for extras at work but not too many people booked in (we're stretched again). Also for Dh having a day off and me having plenty of leave to take, which will hopefully more than balance out the extras I've picked up.

Cherryfudge

The sunshine has forgotten to happen today. Ah well, it was nice while it lasted. Wind and rain again.

I loved that bit of Italian I did yesterday: my brain has definitely switched on the language learning part and it's much, much easier to understand and remember than it used to be, plus I trust my instincts more. A lesson learned over the last few years is that mistakes aren't failure, and the need to re-do or add practice sessions is all part of becoming proficient, whether it's knitting or French. ('This is making me stronger'). I stayed up late doing some more, which of course isn't the best idea for health but I wanted to reinforce the morning's work. Then this morning I had a lie in before doing a bit more.

Lunch is a spicy soup that I bought because I had a discount: Thai-style chicken from L!dl, and it's quite nice.

I'm off to work in a couple of hours. It looks as though they have managed to get the weekend shopping which will save me a trip in the rain. I'd offered to go before my shift if they couldn't get out, but no one's texted me. Looks like an NSD followed by a sleep in.

Sun_Addict

I didn’t realise you could learn 2 languages at the same time on Duolingo. Mistakes definitely aren’t failure, it’s the best way to learn in my opinion. 

Cherryfudge

Sun_Addict said:

I didn’t realise you could learn 2 languages at the same time on Duolingo. Mistakes definitely aren’t failure, it’s the best way to learn in my opinion. 

I had several apparently on the go at one time from dipping a toe in the water, but I deleted all but French when I decided to focus for a while. Click on the flag icon and it will give you the option to add others.