Greying's Gaining Ground - with Gratitude & Grace

Greying_Pilgrim

Good Morning!

HI Greenbee & peb - Thanks for dropping in 😁  But you've got me worried now - I must have given the impression that 2020 was a 'bad' year for the Greying clan.  On balance, it actually wasn't.  Sure, we had some let downs, and things went wrong, and financially it got 'squeakier than squeaky' but the very fact that we finally sold Greying Towers (to someone who actually 'wanted' it, and could see great potential in it), and that we got through in mostly good health, I think that we had a good year, and that we're hopeful and positive, and looking forward to 2021 😁   As ever - pandemic aside - if we can retain good health, we are 'up' in the life stakes already.  

2020 did see a parental be diagnosed with a condition that has only one way of going.  They did receive some treatment from the nhs, but it was 'time-buying' rather than any cure or long-term 'pause'.  Health (or otherwise) of our older generation has highlighted how quickly life changes, and how quickly 'just living' and everyday tasks - even climbing stairs - can become difficult, dangerous or even impossible.  It has served to galvanise my thinking about property ownership, and I shan't baulk at considering 'bungalows' 'flats' or even assisted living spaces - even 'before' they are actually needed, as I have always said that I don't want to be a burden on LG - that's not why I gave birth to them.  

Having said that, I haven't yet seen a property that meets the criteria that we have at the moment, so there are no major decisions to be made at the mo.  

Today is starting slowly, but that is no bad thing.  We are still in a period of enjoying being all together as a family.  Greying Towers took much maintenance and much was put 'on hold' in order that DH could carry out tasks there.  Of course, restrictions meant that our weekend jaunts were curtailed anyway, but LG is currently relishing having us both around to play with.......😁

Tea this evening will be HM pizza and wedges.  I'm hopeful that the huge sack of tatties that I bought fer 'next to nowt' (just as well, as the tatties are a bit ropey 😕) will not have taken on frost over the past few nights.  It could well be another NSD today - we had one yesterday as well 😁

Thanks for reading.

Greying X

the_end_of_the_rainbow

Another one pleased to see you back. Glad 2020 was kind to you - looking forward to hearing all your news & seeing your delicious meal photos again

Greying_Pilgrim

Good Afternoon!

the_end_of_the_rainbow - thank you, but I'm not sure I can add photos anymore?  I used to use Ph0t0buk3t, as they hosted pictures for free, but they now charge an annual fee, and I'm not sure how else I could upload pics?  

Today has been a bit bitty.  Don't feel that we have achieved that much 🤔  We haven't spent any money though, so.....  We went for a family walk this afternoon.  Unfortunately, the weather thwarted our plans for an 'interesting' walk this morning, so it was another 'round the block' jaunt.  Again, we went a mile or two, so it was good from an exercise point of view, but a bit 'samey' 😕 although we did go a different route to that that i walked yesterday.

I've made the pizza dough, but I'm just plucking up the courage to go out to the shed to get some tatties....... mmmm, would be so much easier to boil up a bit o'pasta......... Still, i need to keep my frugal mindset, and frugal is rarely the 'easiest' option, so best shift-a-tail-feather 😁

I'm seriously hoping that this diary isn't going to be too 'uninteresting'.  I mean, there aren't going to be too many properties listed at the mo, and the pool of what we want/can afford/is in the right location is going to be even smaller.  Plus, until we start to see houses that are 'of interest', we're not going to know if we will need to borrow additional funds (pretty sure we will need to).  So the day-to-day of 'no spend days', or 'low spend days', and combing budgets to look for pennies to save is going to be the reality for the foreseeable.... At least in our new location (now) the takeaways are not any better (than they were around Greying Towers), so cooking from scratch and getting groceries for reasonable prices will remain a given.  I'm grateful that the takeaways are dire (well, my waistline is grateful......), but it does make things hard when you're having a teeny bit of a 'cba'd' moment......

Still, we'll try our best to save money - it just won't be in huge amounts, or necessarily on a daily basis.  But 'slow and steady' is at least one strategy to 'win' the race?  Right?

Today I am grateful for these 3 things;
1) a book for LG delivered swiftly by the musical maggy-pie.
2)  the ability to get out and about with my family
3) DH and LG getting pleasure from crafting together with a few low cost stationery items and a cardboard box.....................

Thanks for reading.

Greying X

greenbee

Photos are easier now GP - you can just upload them direct by clicking on the little 'picture' icon above the comment box. Or dragging and dropping. So we expect lots of lovely pictures of your meals  

MatyMoo

Whoop whoop whoop Greying is back in da house 🎉🥳🎉 Oh how I have missed your foodie posts and tales of BG’s wonder at the world!

2020 was an ‘interesting’ year for so many, I’m hoping that 2021 will not be quite so ‘interesting’ and will allow us other pleasures, like seeing those we hold dear, being able to give a hug when needed and getting to see the world beyond my nearest town!

Sorry to hear the olds are giving cause for concern, especially with that sort of prognosis 😢 Glad to here you aren’t all actually homeless even though you aren’t currently a home owner! I too would not be adverse to moving in to more sensible accommodation before the need arises, especially after seeing how stubborn my parental was to retain her independence after a period of bad health 😣

Sunshine_girl2

Couldn't sleep so thought I would have a look on MFW forum and have found you . Looking forward to reading your recipe suggestions and still associate cardboard box fish with you . 

I was another who thought you had maybe had another baby greying ! 

Have subscribed. 

Greying_Pilgrim

Good Morning!

greenbee - thank you!  I didn't know that - how simple is that then.  Not sure I  rustle up 'interesting' grub anymore tho.....  It doesn't help that LG is extremely picky in their eating 🙁

MatyMoo - How wonderful to 'see' you 😁  Yes, I'm afraid that what has long-time been 'self-sufficiency and independence' in the parentals, has now morphed into stubborness and an unwillingness to change.  I fully realise change is scary, but they won't even consider change with support.......

Sunshine_girl2  - Howdy!  You are very kind to not mention if my diary subsequently sent you back to sleep........ 😴🤣

So today is set up to be a nsd again.  Tea will be cardboard box fish, chips and mushy peas 😁  But technically I do have some tofu that needs using up, so I will have a think about how things can be utilised to best advantage!  The tofu is in date, but I got 2 packs for £1 from H3r0n, so they both need using this week.  And yes, I should have used one last week (that was the original plan), but what with one thing and another, I made simple fare last week.

I did brave the outdoors to wrangle some tatties from the bag last night.  I had help - DH and LG held torches and took the bowl back in the house, so that I could fumble about with lights and locks 😁  The tatties are ropey, but they do crisp up nicely when baked, so the wedges were crunchy and tasty, so worth the effort!  

I've decided to try to save the £350 into the EF in 3 months - rather than 4.  It's going to be a stretch, but I remembered that as yet, our council haven't refunded the part CT over-payment on Greying Towers.  I am totally underwhelmed with them - they are the first to insist on payment the second you get a key for a property, and yet when they owe you, they dilly-dally and make you wait.... for your money!  It won't be much money back, but it will go into the EF when it does eventually make its way back to us.  

I don't think it's worth setting the goal of having bought a house by...... [insert date]...... as at the moment everything is so up in the air.  In some ways, I'm not desperate to 'own' our home, although I do realise that renting has cons - as well as pros.  However, I don't necessarily think that we will remain in this rental house in the longer term.  It has served it's purpose, but as things didn't go entirely to plan with the sale of Greying Towers, this rental house isn't (now) 100% what we need.  It's location is good, but could be better, it's size and layout is good, but could be better (LG's bedroom is far too small even for a little personage) and the garden is too small and features too much hard landscaping for a small to enjoy safely.  But I'm certainly glad that we made the leap to move here, as it was (degree in hindsight time), entirely the right thing to do.

In terms of things like holidays, I'm reluctant to book anything really.  We had booked a holiday last year, but were in lockdown by the time it came around to being our turn at the caravan park.  I must admit, both the caravan company and Pr3m1er 1nn cancelled and refunded (hadn't paid anything to PI) without problem.  I do hope we can have adventures with LG though.  We had 3 day trips out in 2020 (one pre-pandemic and 2 when lockdown 1 was over, and you could move freely-ish).  They were simple, we took picnics and stayed away from areas that attracted crowds.  LG had an absolute ball, and still talks about those trips today, so if we could (safely and within guidelines) recreate those family adventures this year, then that would be sufficient.  

In terms of saving for our house fund, I'm loathe to set a target, as I seriously don't know how much we can accrue, when we're saving 'thruppence here' and 'ten pence' there......  And whilst I know that we're incredibly lucky that DH's job - at the mo - still exists; it is true that his wage has reduced massively.  It's as if the clock has been turned back 20 years........  

So, at the moment, I'm just going to say that we will save £350 into the EF by 31st March 2021.  It's not much, I know, but if we can do that, at least it will mean we might be able to save going forward.  Anything else will be a bonus!  And looking at it logically, if I was making a £100 overpayment on a mortgage, each month, I would be feeling good - right?

Right, best seize the day!  Thanks for reading.

Greying X

twinklie

@Greying_Pilgrim well I didn't know you were such a celeb on the boards, so I'm glad I've joined your diary early. 

My boys love days out away from people just running around having fun. They really enjoy romping through fields and woodlands with the fewer other people the better. So we've taken to hiring a holiday cottage and trying to find places near lots of open space or National Trust gardens to go to. They have an absolute ball. We have two holidays booked this year. One in Yorkshire and one in Scotland, both moved from last year. If things are more open by then we'll probably go because we avoid people anyway so wouldn't be wanting to eat out, or go to touristy places (with the exception of York Railway Museum if possible because the boys are train mad). 

Greying_Pilgrim

Good Evening!

Ha, twinklie - y'all are way too kind, it's just I'm old and been around a long time 😁  People are nice on MFW & DFW and tolerate me 😁  We too were NT members, although we let it lapse (due to financial squeakiness) in January last year.  Of course, in hindsight, it was just as well.  I have to admit, I don't know how I feel about the 'booking' to go to NT places - I mean I GET the 'why', it's just that it removes the flexibility of cancelling your plans if something arises.  So we're probably not going to rush to re-join.  That's not meant as a cheap pop at the NT or any other attraction, as I know they have to have systems to even be able to entertain opening to visitors (and I applaud their ability to adapt), it's just I think I prefer unstructured, and 'quiet' at the mo.

Well, I went for a really good walk today.  Unfortunately it was 'urban', but it was a good distance - it had got to be 3 miles+ and because I was on my own, I kept up a good pace.  it helped with the old 'headspace' too, as I've perhaps caught too many news bulletins today.......

I did decide to pull my finger out with regard to tea, and made use of one of the tofu packs that I had bought.  i drained and pressed the block and then marinated slices in a 'made-up' marinade of what I had; sesame oil, lemon juice, salt & pepper, smoked paprika.  I then dipped the slices in cornmeal and fried them in a pan, and then transferred them to the oven (LG had fish fingers, so the oven was on).  We had steamed brown basmati rice, beetroot and apple slaw (a Happy Pear recipe), and a riff on Indian sprout and carrot curry, which I microwaved rather than stir fried.  I then made up a yoghurt, mayo and lime 'drizzle'  because I had overdone the cornmeal 'dusting' and the tofu was a bit of a dry eat..........🙄  Kinda looked like this;

Filled a gap tho, and it means cardboard box fish, and chips will survive in the freezer for another day.......😁  Even I am slightly pleased at myself for making the effort to use things up - as the sprouts were on their way out (bought as part of the xmas veg offer in MrL), so it turned cheap and 'bendy' ingredients into something palatable and worthy of Veganuary (not that we're doing that).  There isn't a printed/online version of the beetroot slaw as such (if you google, the ingredients come up, but not quantities) and I have just realised that I forgot to add toasted sunflower & pumpkin seeds, but no matter.  Tea was full of good stuff 😍

Today I am grateful for these 3 things;

1) for making the effort to make tea from scratch - it was meditative, made me think and better used our available resources.
2) for being able to walk and move and get out and about - I so needed it today.
3) time and space to work things through - it helped to re-frame and gain perspective......

Today has been another NSD - I do realise that these are only useful if I spend mindfully on 'spend' days, but at least I'm not blowing money (we don't have) on toot, so......

Thanks for reading.

Greying X

edinburgher

@Greying_Pilgrim - how lovely to see you posting on your own behalf on our "part" of the boards! You have always been a much valued cheerleader for our collective efforts (your pearls of wisdom have always made me think) and it will be lovely to hear a bit more about what you're up to. 

Don't worry if it's a long road, am interested in hearing about your plans and have subscribed.

Well done on moving away from a situation with an obnoxious neighbour, the stress of such can be incredibly debilitating. We should never have bought our first flat (DJ neighbour with no concept of how sound travels and a family downstairs with very, err.... lively kids). Luckily they moved out, only for a singing tutor to move in in their place a fortnight after we listed for sale). Some decisions are just right 

All the best,
Ed