Family of 5 'shop from home'food storage challenge...

Cottage_Economy

Sorry for going AWOL.

My beloved cat died suddenly shortly after I last posted and I'm devastated. Heart attack, all over in minutes, died in my arms. She was a massive 15 year old Forest cat and my constant companion for years. Very bright, intelligent, loving, cuddly and funny cat. We were a unit. Where I went she went.

I've been sobbing for days. Yesterday was the first day I didn't have cry and I'm feeling brighter and able to tackle things again.

Food went a bit pear-shaped in some respects - I didn't finish off anything in the fridge so I have some throwing out to do today as it has all gone off. I wasn't really eating until Tuesday, couldn't get it past my throat, but on the plus side I noticed my jeans are not as snug this morning. Silver linings.

DH took over the cooking and ferreted out meals from the freezer, so the home store cupboard came through when we needed it.

Will post back when I have a better handle on the fridge contents.

xxCE

Nargleblast

Cottage Economy, although it is sad, what a perfect way to die! In your arms, in her home where she had a long and happy life, quickly and without suffering. When you get a moment, light a little candle and drink a toast to your beautiful friend. It's a rite of passage, one we all go through when we have pets, so be kind to yourself.

There is a poignant verse online about "if a dog could make a will" which is a message from a deceased dog to its grieving owner. The same sentiments would apply to cats as well.

D&DD

Cottage I am so sorry to hear of your awful loss they steal your heart animals don't they? You must have been a great comfort to her as she left here to go on to her next adventure.
As a loving owner it is the hardest part of being one isn't it..
Please look after yourself I will be thinking of you, they are a part of our family and she will live on in your happy memories forever XXX


Nargle thankyou for putting it into words so beautifully XXX

Cottage_Economy

Hi All:wave:

Hope you're all well. I've finally stayed awake enough to come back and post again. So much has happened in the last three weeks (some of it lovely, some not so lovely) that I've had an immune flare from stress, and spent a lot of time asleep, but this weekend I felt the old me coming back. I'm shoving vitamins in me and the old SAD light is out as well so hopefully I'll be back up to speed soon.

Thank you all so much for your kind words about my little scruffbag. They were lovely to read. Her ashes are back and sat on my bedside table with her photo and a bit of her fur. We've been going back over her photos and videos laughing at her antics over the years.

Quite by chance, we met someone who had been trying since June to rehome his 3-yr old Maine Coon, as he was moving across the country for work and into a small studio apartment and he wanted her to have the opportunity to live a better life than cooped up waiting for him to come home. So, as of a week ago we have a new member of the family. The fluffiest, gentle most playful little lady ever. Very timid but coming on leaps and bounds.

Our other cat has accepted her almost immediately; he was quite affected by being alone for the first time in 15 years and was off his food, howling, scared and clingy. We've never known him like that but took a chance that getting this gentle girl would work out and it has. Phew.

So, she comes with an expensive addiction to John West tuna in brine, one can a day, which we're letting her have with a view to slowly switching onto something better for her as she settles in. Thankfully Sainsbo has a deal on John West at the moment but I'm slowly mixing it in with a cheaper brand with a view to moving to proper high protein complete cat food.

The pigs have gone to the abattoir and I got back around 60kg of meat, which is all in the freezers. A friend also gave me four partridge, which are prepped and in the freezer. Apart from buying the odd bit of chicken every now and then from Lidl and any yellow sticker fish and beef bargains I spot that we fancy, we're self-sufficient in meat now for some months to come.

The remains of the tuna the little lady doesn't have are being mixed with sweetcorn and mayo for DH's sandwiches. I managed to bake a large Victoria Sponge yesterday, the first one for a while and nearly forgot about it while it was cooking. A shade more 'golden' than I'd like but was very tasty apparently.

Breakfast for me was a yellow sticker banana and two boiled eggs from our hens. Lunch was GF crackers and cheese.

Tonight's dinner is yellow sticker salmon for DH and a GF cheese burger for me with rice and veggies.

Christmas is looming so it's time to start knuckling down.

Cottage_Economy

Just a quickie update today.

Been very focused on work and powered through a ton of stuff. Today is the first day I didn't feel like death warmed up and fighting sleep by 11am so I took full advantage.

Also managed 30 minutes on the treadmill and to get outside and sweep the patio, remove the saucers from under the plants and wind up the hosepipes for winter. DH cut the front lawn but couldn't get to the back lawn before spots of rain started.

My breakfast was two boiled eggs and a banana and lunch was the usual cheese and crackers followed by a fish oil tablet and iron and B vitamin capsule.

Before I went to bed yesterday I put the joint carcass from the weekend into the slow cooker overnight with a slightly worse for wear onion, carrot and some leftover gravy plus some salt and pepper. I'm about to go and strain that off and use the stock to make leak and potato soup with a bit of GF spaghetti chopped up in it. There's a couple of tail ends of bread in the fridge DH and MIL can use for dunking and I some GF bread for me. For dessert I pulled a GF plum crumble out of the freezer.

Then I'm having a shower, reading my book tucked up in bed until The Apprentice comes on at 9pm.

It's been a good day.

How are you all doing?

Cottage_Economy

Afternoon all

Horrible day weatherwise. Work up several times in the night to hear the rain lashing down and actually had to put my heated blanket on at 4am I was so cold! That's with a 15 tog duvet.

Had the usual tea, banana and two boiled eggs for breakfast. Lunch will be leftover leek and potato soup from last night, which was delicious.

I've yanked out some sausages from the freezer for tonight and found a recipe for a slow cooker sausage casserole on the BBC Good Food website. I have everything in the recipe bar sweet potatoes but I'm going to substitute in some butternut squash.

I spotted an offer on the side bar and ended up treating myself to 5 issues of the magazine for £5. I'm usually pretty good with cancelling offer subscriptions before I'm due to make a full price payment so that is a nice treat for me coming in for the next few months and will hopefully give me some inspiration. 15 years of cooking almost every night has left me a bit jaded.

No baking to be done, as there is loads of Victoria Sponge left.

DH and MIL are going out shortly together for a few hours so a quiet afternoon promises.

D&DD

Good to see you back CE and with a lovely new member of the family how wonderful!!!


We've had a bit of a month here as Rosie was diagnosed with cancer and it's been nuts since with surgeries and treatment and checkups.


She went in Monday for the removal of the lump and the soft tissue Vet who assisted just phoned with the results.


They have succeeded in removing the entire tumour with good margins which are clear of cancer and going by the results they have of her bloods and xrays it hasn't spread!!!!


So I'm bawling again but happy tears today


I have no clue what we're eating today as it's been a bit of a [EMAIL="!!!!"]!!!![/EMAIL] and chips week here tbh for obvious reasons but need to get going again to pay all her bills!!

Cottage_Economy

D&#8517 wrote: »

We've had a bit of a month here as Rosie was diagnosed with cancer and it's been nuts since with surgeries and treatment and checkups.


She went in Monday for the removal of the lump and the soft tissue Vet who assisted just phoned with the results.


They have succeeded in removing the entire tumour with good margins which are clear of cancer and going by the results they have of her bloods and xrays it hasn't spread!!!!

OMG :eek: Poor Rosie but fantastic news it was caught before it had spread :T You must be so relieved.

D&DD

I can't believe it as we've gone from getting ready to lose her to this in two weeks it's all been a bit of a blur really!
She's been an absolute star and considering she won't let anyone outside the family touch her usually (she runs away lol) she's been impeccably behaved at the vets as always and they can literally do anything with her and she stands there good as gold!


I have spent more time this past week researching dog diets than humans but have just got some lovely fat chicken breasts out for tea later. I'm thinking of maybe doing a stir fry of some sort for a change?? I have everything in for one.


I've been watching the Eat well for less series and some pioneer woman episodes I forgot I'd recorded and that always seems to give me a bit of cooking mojo back when,like you I'm feeling a bit fed up with cooking

joedenise

I sometimes do the same CE with magazine offers. I don't think I've ever forgotten to cancel in time. I just wait until I've paid and then a week or so later cancel the direct debit with the bank!

Denise