<<<out of cheese error>>>

redofromstart

GF update
MrT shortbread biscuits are crumbly but good.  Makes sense really, and @greenbee reminded me that most shortbread recipes include at least some rice flour so I should be able to adapt it to make my own.
MrT bread was not.
Warbs sough dough is good, buttered and dipped in soup

I made an absolutely awful coconut flour coconut/jam slice.  Not one for repeating!  I think I am going to stick to buying one pack a week of commercial GF biscuits and stop trying, or make something that is nice but GF by default like meringue roulade.

moving_forward

Shame about your hens.
I'm slowly getting better with houseplants, I'm the opposite to neglectful and tend to over water and have nearly killed some doing that but I'm slowly bringing them back into good health.  I love cactus (cacti ?) but have to stick with non spiky plants as M_F cat is likely to get needles and whatnot's stuck up his nose whilst investigating any new arrivals.  
Whats the mortgage over-payment schedule?  Is that something you have set yourselves or something you have to do?

redofromstart

moving_forward we are allowed to do 10% overpayment during the year and we are trying to do 1/12th of that each month.  The barrier to any big change in lifestyle is the mortgage, so we are overpaying as much as we can.  Imagine the fun we could have if we didn't have that commitment each month. 

Things have changed a lot since I started the diary, the credit card debt and student loans long gone, the painful post Northern Rock mortgage trap escaped, and us both in permanent full time roles for the first time in many years which has had a dramatic impact on the funds available to reduce debt.  The mortgage is debt, and I want it gone.  

moving_forward

Yes I know exactly what you mean about the mortgage.  I fiddle with my Mortgage interest spreadsheet repeatedly to see what over-payments will do when we shift the other debts, its a huge motivation to clear them.

Seasidegal58

You've got the beginnings of some nice colour to cheer yourself up redo!😀🌷🌷🌷🌷

As you say, the mortgage OPs will start again once your other outgoings are paid soon. 

redofromstart

Every month we do some kind of overpayment, even if it is just a couple of pounds to round us down.  The real motivator for me has been moving to a bank where the transfer is done on line, and the impact is instantly visible. I work on the basis that every pound I pay off is a pound less I am paying interest on for the next 10 years (official end date). Currently due to pay it off three years early.  
Looking forward to some spring colour @Seasidegal58, the witch hazel randomly flowered in December but the Camelias should start shortly.

redofromstart

Today I ran out of chopped tomatoes.

Waah! Waah! Mine! (apologies, yet another Pratchett reference)
Next I will run out of tea bags.  *hyper ventilates*

Seasidegal58

......but not cheese I hope!😉

Cheery_Daff

I too am a houseplant killer. I have three in various stages of death right now, including one which made it as far as the back door on the way to the compost but which somehow is still alive so I can't quite bring myself to throw it away but am instead letting it slowly dry out and shrivel up. Oh dear!!

redofromstart

@Seasidegal58 we have a cheese mountain thanks to a recent MrL promotion on long dated extra mature cheddar.  We also went to the lovely cheese shop at Hartington so I have a few tiny slithers of good cheese left to which I am quietly snaffling when nobody is looking.