Spend Nowt, Buy Nowt, Owe Nowt

brizzlegirl

And an EF of £2.5k is more than we have. Even now. Well done on having that xx

Honeysucklelou2

Sorry to read this...on the plus side having time  to do your garden will be good. Good exercise, fresh air and you can make the garden as you want it to be. It’s surprising how much can be done - our allotment hasn’t looked this well tended for years 🤣.

XSpender

DH has cut his and DS hair with the clippers and has fixed the living room radiator which has been cold all year   I made a coffee cake and DS made, iced and decorated a Victoria sponge with very minimal supervision.  Not much else has been done really over the last couple of days.  I have made a huge list of the jobs that need doing in about half the house and will finish the list off for the rest of the house today.

We have made the decision to cancel the DD for the holiday payment plan (doesn’t cancel the holiday) and will call them over the next couple of weeks to see if we can transfer the deposit (for a fee I expect) to a summer 2021 holiday.  We really can’t afford it if my next full pay is not until end of July IF I still have a job then.  

I am down to 12 library books left to read!!!!

We have stuck to the meal plan every day except yesterday when DH and I ate up some of the Christmas party food leftovers as we weren’t particularly hungry.  I am also being very conscious not to waste anything so will be having smoothies this morning to use up some older bananas and strawberries.  I will need to go to a shop early next week for milk, fruit and bread but have enough in for about another 2 weeks main meals.

brizzlegirl

Have a great weekend XS, tackling that to do list and staying healthy

janb5

Hiya all,
You might like this banana cake recipe.  used it regularly over the years and it`s so quick and easy.
Also you can freeze over ripe bananas very successfully.

Banana cake

 4oz butter or margarine

6oz caster sugar
8oz self raising flour
2 eggs
2 large or 3 medium, very ripe bananas

2 teaspoons honey

¼ teaspoon cinnamon

Heat the oven to gas mark 4; 180C
Grease a 2lb loaf tin.
Mash the bananas with a sturdy fork.
Cream the butter and sugar together and mix in the eggs

Add the honey and cinnamon
Mix together the two yellow sludges you now have.
Mix in the flour.
Scrape into the loaf tin and bake for 40 minutes then lower the temperature to gas mark 2; 150C and cook for a further 30 minute

 * I sprinkle demarara sugar on mine before baking *.

 

badmemory

Have you tried it with chopped walnuts in.  50gm in & 10 on top.

XSpender

Thanks for the banana cake recipe.  I usually add chocolate but the walnuts sound lovely.  DH is allergic to tree nuts and DS doesn’t like them so more for me 👍

After a couple of lazy days last week when DH was first off I am back on it this week.  I can only sit about for so long.  Yesterday I managed to:
1) finished painting the downstairs loo and utility room
2) found another massive tub with about 1/4 of white emulsion in so managed to do the utility room ceiling too
3) gave up using the crappy grout pen and freshened up the grout with white emulsion after deep cleaning the tiles
4) deep cleaned the white plastic sink drainer in the utility thanks to DH never cleaning the paint off it when he decorated.  Still have the bowl to sort out, the bleach bath wasn’t very effective
5) temporarily fixed saggy sofa by putting a long piece of wood under the seat cushions leftover from joinery work last year
5) ‘encouraged’ DS to do some homework.  He is way behind with the work from last week when I was flat out working from home but we will get there.  
6) 2 loads of washing on the line, vac downstairs
7) went for a run and managed 30 hilly minutes with a 4 minute walk in the middle.  Longest I have ran non stop in months 

We have managed to shop at the local co-op for the last couple of weeks as only really needed bread, milk, cheese, fruit and yogurt but at some point towards the end of this week I will have to brave a bigger supermarket and am dreading it.  I’m dreading the queuing and forgetting something as it is a one way system up and down every aisle and will take ages. 

No sight of the h@ven refund yet although the balance on my account tis zero so should be on it’s way.  We have moved a chunk of this months wages into emergency savings.

I have shopped from home this week and have found a spare anti bac spray which is nowhere in the shops (use a specific one due to oiled oak worktops), a third of a 5l tin of the emulsion for our bedroom (to paint where we the repairs done November last year) and 2 massive pots of fence stain (for the fence and shed).  We will need some paintbrushes though.

i have splashed out on some new slippers as mine are worn out and a bit whiffy and I will be in them a lot for the next 3 months!

DH is technically still at work today and has some calls to make so I will keep busy with the following:

1) change and wash at least 2 sets of bedding and re make beds
2) finish painting grout in utility 
3) gloss skirting and doors (3!) in utility (second coat)
4) clean utility window and frame and wash down white goods
5) bake something - fancy flapjack but will make 2 batches one with normal oats and one with GF
6) take dog and DS for a walk/scoot (DH turn for solo exercise)
7) vac and dust bedrooms
8) more homework with DS 

That little lot should keep me out of mischief.

Honeysucklelou2

Well done  on finding the materials at home to get jobs done.  Must go and look in the cupboard to see what I can get on with!

XSpender

1) change and wash at least 2 sets of bedding and re make beds
2) finish painting grout in utility 
3) gloss skirting and doors (3!) in utility (second coat)
4) clean utility window and frame and wash down white goods
5) bake something - fancy flapjack but will make 2 batches one with normal oats and one with GF
6) take dog and DS for a walk/scoot (DH turn for solo exercise)
7) vac and dust bedrooms
8) more homework with DS 

I have been feeling achey and tired for the last couple of days.  I overdid it on Monday with the run and decorating.  Not helped by hay fever which adds to the achey and groggy feeling. I am going to leave my next run until tomorrow morning.

The flapjack is yummy even if I did forget to add the syrup!

I have kept up with the housework routine, aided by DH and DS and have made a good start on clearing and tidying the conservatory which has become a dumping ground as we don’t use it in the winter as it is too cold.

DH has made a start on the garden makeover and it looks tidier already. He has 3 weeks of furlough (it will be longer I expect) and wants to have most of the garden sorted by then, weather permitting.  A lot of our existing garden waste is dry as it is from last year so we will burn it in the burney bin thing.  Our neighbour has a habit of leaving her washing on the line for several days so we will need to be considerate to when we light it.

The shopping from home continues.  I have found a paint brush for the fence, will move the prints from the hall into the downstairs loo as I need something black and white, will move some others from the dogs bedroom to the hall and have asked DH to fish out a small shelf/display cabinet from the shed I had in my old kitchen so I can paint it and repurpose it for the utility room.  I also found a recipe to make scones using the buckwheat flour I have never opened and will try my hand at some point at making galettes.  We have these at my dad’s with ham, cheese and egg.

Yesterday morning I braved the queue at the big @sda.  I was only queuing about 15 minutes and got almost everything on my very long list.  The shelves were well stocked if not having many variations of the same product.  I couldn’t get gf flour, tiger bread or anything from the gf frozen section as it was still completely bare. I also couldn’t get desiccated coconut or icing sugar and forgot the chocolates I wanted to send to my Mum as a treat with a homemade by DS Easter card.  The local little Tesco should have them.  Most people followed the black arrows marked on the floor and kept their distance.  I spent a lot but didn’t buy more multiples of items than I would do normally.  I now have enough to make over a 100 main meal portions and can shop locally for the next few weeks for milk, fruit and the odd item.

Today DH is planning to spend in the garden with DS and I will continue to tidy and then clean the conservatory, clean the kitchen (today’s focus on the list), make banana bread to use up some brown bananas and spend some time on homework with DS.

brizzlegirl

All sounding positive XS, keep on going. xx