Giving every £ a job

RebeccaPearson

Well done on economising during the temporary dip - and great that you had a pension increase!  Loving the stories re your dad and his omlette/snooker - reminds me of my grandad.

Blackcats

@PennysIntoPounds - coop should definitely consider opening a branch in in Wall Street - those city slickers will be queuing round the block to redeem their 50p off fresh fruit vouchers.  I agree though that it's a good feeling using vouchers on YS items - finding 69p mushrooms and then taking 50p off made me feel rather smug.

@savingholmes - the ikea furniture has all been delivered and assembled but not by us.  We decided to pay for assembly and an expert sourced via ikea came and did a great job.  I'm now at the arranging and re-arranging folders, books and storage boxes stage.  I really, really like the new look HQ and keep stopping and admiring every time I walk past.  

We had a lovely evening with 3 of our grandchildren on Saturday evening.  Made a cake with youngest which allowed us to chat and singalong to some 80's music.  Middle child had fun making salad, grating cheese and making salsa and guacamole and making a jug of mock sangria whilst eldest dgs cooked the chicken for fajitas.  It really was a lovely communal family meal with lots of good conversation.  Also the fussy eaters all found something they enjoyed.

finished the April grocery challenge £11 under budget - yay.  

I had a look through my recipe folder and got some good ideas for May's meal plan.  Looking forward to trying some new meals.  MrBC couldn't wait so he made melt in the middle burgers tonight - home made burgers with mozzarella in the middle - very enjoyable.

savingholmes

That sounds a lovely weekend. 

Nice to have had help on the furniture assembly. Glad that area is now bringing you joy.

Jealous of the mozzarella - I haven't dared try it again yet although there is some in my fridge calling to me... 

PennysIntoPounds

Linda McCartney mozzarella burgers are blimmin lovely if you see those on a deal and don't fancy cooking from scratch 

Good you've got the grandkids cooking, valuable skills for both them and you!

Congrats on the new look HQ

lucielle

Aww love reading about cooking with the grandchildren, they each had a role to do. I’ve had a look through recipes as well and trying some new ones. 

L

Blackcats

Thank you for popping by - yes spending time with the grandchildren is great.  There was also no squabbling which was a joy.

we are away for a week's holiday and so far it's fabulous.  We travelled by ferry which I've decided I prefer to the hassle of airports with the added bonus of not needing to weigh baggage and just being able to load the car up with as much as I wanted (6 coats is reasonable isn't it?).  Blue skies and fairly warm today but I'm sure those coats will come in handy sometime this week.  A fabulous welcome pack in our cottage featuring lots of local produce.  MrBC is desperate for one of the sausage rolls but is still too full from his big fry up breakfast.
just had a cuppa in the garden overlooking the sea.

Beginning of the month money stuff has sort of been done with just one bill left to be paid manually.  Looking forward to doing our May/June budget plan and being able to allocate money to savings pots in earnest again.  I need to top Christmas pot up to get it up to date for this point in the year.  Holiday pot is being used but is a rolling pot so needs regularly feeding.  Medical and dental has dropped down because of MrBC's recent dental treatments.  

PennysIntoPounds

Ooh have a lovely time!
Avoiding airports is always a win.

Six coats for late spring in Britain is perfectly acceptable, as long as you wear all of them at the same time 

Sun_Addict

Happy holibobs 🙂

lucielle

Have a great time. 

L

Blackcats

well I managed to wear 2 coats today but not at the same time.  This morning we had a walk along the rugged coastline with fantastic views and a big dose of history to absorb.  This afternoon we went to a pretty reservoir past the most fabulous hedgerows which were full of colourful wild flowers.  I've never seen such a lush abundance of hedgerow flowers.  MrBC took some photos on his phone and we are planning to turn at least one into a canvas.
despite being on holiday we aren't spending much money - not a deliberate effort just how it's working out.
I'm reading a good book about money and it's giving me lots to think about.  Might do some re-adjusting when we get home but in the meantime I shall concentrate on watching the sunset over the sea.