It's getting tough out there. Feeling the pinch?

joedenise

Apricots should definitely be soft when ripe.  I'd say they need a bit longer to soften up before using.

Siebrie

I always check for ripeness (apricots, nectarines, avocados, etc) by putting the fruit in the palm of my hand and very softly put my hand around it. If there is any 'give' it's ripe.

YoungBlueEyes

Same here. Apricots/peaches/nectarines etc should give a little when you give them a little squidge. If they're hard still I sit stuff in a sunny windowsill, couple of days usually sorts them. 

YorksLass

pumpkin89 said:

Florenceem said:

Prices are up and packs are shrinking - they think that we won't notice.

They don't - but they can't keep selling the same pack size at the same price, so they have to decide which combination of size reduction and price increase is going to results in the fewest lost sales.

Whatever the reason, the bottom line is: same price/smaller pack or same size pack/higher price.  They win, we lose.  

Better weather here today in that it's dry and warmer but still not very sunny.  In fact it's quite humid and that, coupled with a disturbed night's sleep (silly tickly cough), meant I was pooped by the time I got back from collecting our meds from the pharmacy.  I'd just about dropped off to sleep in the early hours when the council grass cutters came round, quickly followed by the bin men.  And to add insult to injury they didn't empty our bins - again.  I've tried to report it but apparently I can't until after 5pm as they work until then.  WTH?  They've already been early doors and won't be coming back again!  Ah well, I'll do it in the morning - another task added to the To Do list.  Sigh.

We're having a salad tonight and I'm really looking forward to it as we haven't been having those because of the chilly weather.  I've made some cheesy pasta salad with the not-so-nice linguine and I know there's a bit of pickled shredded beetroot left that can go on the plate too.  

I've portioned up the meat packs that came yesterday and have calculated there's enough for 10-12 meals for 2 so the bill total doesn't look quite so bad now.     Added bonus - I didn't have to struggle to get them in the freezer.  

YorksLass

A much better night's sleep last night but once again was woken at silly o'clock by ..... the bin men!  I'll not complain though since 4 of our 5 bins are now empty although it does mean the recycling must have gone in with the general waste.    I think someone else may have complained before I got my spoke in.      An easy cross off the To Do list.

Lovely weather first thing, cloudy midday (but dry) and then the sun appeared again.  Tomorrow also looks much better than originally forecast so I think I'll change the bedding and get the sheets washed and hung out first thing.  They always smell so much nicer after being dried outside.

Weekly Co-op trip today for odds and ends with some success on ys items - cherry tomatoes, spring onions and dwarf beans.  I also treated us to a bar of chocolate that was on clearance (has a long BBE date on it) and used some membership offers too.  Total savings: £4.48.  Any savings are always welcome. 

YoungBlueEyes

I didn’t know where to put this but this is the liveliest thread and I think most people will see it here. I hope I explain it properly. 

Himself only uses Head and Shoulders shampoo. I’ve tried topping up his bottle with cheapo stuff but he can always tell cos it makes his scalp itch. So H+S is on the ‘good list’ and I grab offers where I can. Replenishing stocks today and I got an XXL bottle in Boyes for (I think) £4.29, which is cheap, it’s usually nearer a fiver. Got it home and todays XXL bottle is smaller than the one I already had. 

So do we also need to watch sizes of the same thing now? Fgs. 

Both proper H+S, but they are a different …erm… flavour, from different shops. I don’t know which is the bigger difference - is Boyes stuff always smaller than Savers? Or is the flavour the major difference? I’ll check next time I’m out. But just to make people aware really so yous don’t get caught out like I did  

greyteam1959

But you are not comparing like for like.
It's like comparing apples & errr hairs !

YoungBlueEyes

Apples and hairs - very good  

I'll see what other shops are doing when we're out today. I thought that same size of the same brand would all be the same ..ermm... size. But maybe flavour is more of a factor than all being "XXL".

tooldle

Could it perhaps be a recent size change for the whole range, with the larger bottle being old stock and the smaller bottle new stock? Is there a manufacturer website to check?

YoungBlueEyes

Ooh good question tooldle, I don't know. I reckon that might be it though cos the larger xxl apple one is from my stash.